his name was elliot west. he published five novels and wrote innumerable television scripts. >> shows we would know? >> "lou grant," the old "alfred hitchcock," a lot of shows from television's early days. >> how long had he lived there? >> in the 1950's. he was born in brooklyn. my grandfather ran one of the movie palaces. he grew up in a movie theater in the 1930's. my mother was an actress at the time and is with me. she grew up in los angeles. at a certain point they moved out there. >> what was her name? >> barbara beldon. she did a lot of theater and by the time she was in her late 20's, she'd left that beyond. -- behind. >> what did you think about politics? >> i thought they were loud and noisy. my parents' friends would come over and they were all liberals, and there would be these discussions i mentioned, about vietnam and nixon, the campus riding and all of these things that were very contentious. i have spoken to hollywood conservatives in recent times, and they feel that the last decade, in the 19