Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

About Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Celebrity Maps to Success... people living their dream... the paths they took to get there

Publisher

Vicki Abelson

Category

comedy

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

16 Jul 2016

Latest episode

20 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

389 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   20 Aug 2026

   Adam Levine's Guitar Teacher Carlos Calvo

   Adam Levine's Guitar Teacher Carlos Calvo Loved every moment with my old friend, singer/songwriter/ guitarist/teacher Carlos Calvo. It had been far too long since we last chatted, pre-COVID. The world, art, and our lives have changed drastically since then. Carlos, with his wife and daughter, moved to Spain, for one. Most of his work and mine are now online. Gratefully, it felt like we were in the same room. Gotta love the Zoom. We caught up with the Calvos’ relocation to a tiny hamlet in Galicia, the where, why, and when, and some family history plus a little geography to put things in perspective. We circled back to Carlos growing up in New Jersey, picking up a guitar at 3 1/2, his father’s guidance to study classical guitar at Carnegie Hall, coming out to LA to attend the Music School... his early gigs, including working at the original Guitar Center and a customer named Stevie Wonder, for one. Great story there. Club gigs, and Tommy Tedesco opening the door to session work, while beginning to teach: first Dionne Warwick’s son, a few other celebrity kids, and a few years in, 10-year-old Adam Levine, whom Carlos would school until Adam’s first record deal. There was also Adam’s neighbor, Jonah Hill, and his brother, Jordon Feldstein, who went on to become a prominent music manager (Maroon 5 from the band’s inception), Joe Perry’s son, two of Pamela Adlon’s daughters, and Neil Diamond’s son, which included sitting in on their family Thanksgiving dinner. Being called to teach guitar to actors who needed to play on film... like Californication, where he worked on set for years, first hired to teach Becca Moody, aka Madeleine Martin, then teaching a passionate David Duchovny how to play off camera and then working it into the show... his call with David today, now four albums of his own later. All the while doing his own singer/songwriter band thing. Throughout the pod, Carlos noodled a bit, including snippets of a couple of my impromptu requests, finally treating us to a taste of his guitar genius. Carlos and I have history. He opened for Micky Dolenz with Rob Morrow at a Women Who Write event in my living room, the two then generously playing at my book signing at Book Soup, then again at another WWW in my living room, with an unscheduled Esai Morales jumping up to sing some Beatles tunes with Carlos at the end of his set. Carlos’ Hotel Cafe gig and his first appearance on Game Changers, at that time done face-to-face, also in my living room. Always warm, humble, enthusiastic, and fun, it felt like going home. I’ve missed my friend and had so much fun spending time, even if it was across the miles. I moved the show up two hours to accommodate the time difference, not realizing it’d be midnight for Carlos when we started. Not a peep of complaint, infact I was told he’d barely finished dinner. My gratitude abounds! Carlos Calvo on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson ***Wed, August 19th, SPECIAL TIME 3 pm PT, 6 pm ET*** Streamed Live on my FB, YouTube & LinkedIn

2. 

   6 Aug 2026

   Tom Hartman, Tom Hartman

   A rabid Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman fan since its first airing in 1976, never missing an episode in the days before VCRs, DVRs, and streaming, when it took effort and planning… getting to sit down with Greg Mullavey, Tom Hartman hisself, was surreal enough, almost instantly becoming friends via the interweb, and not long after seeing him onstage in The People vs Lenny Bruce, witnessing his gift and transferring said friendship to the reals was downright crazy. I’ve come to adore the human as much as the actor. At this, our third sitdown, we faced some technical challenges at the top and the bottom (hello, unrelenting Mercury retrograde shadow), despite that, we dove straight into real talk… health challenges, family challenges, supplements, exercise, vax misinformation, political frustrations and legitimate fear, before getting to the passing of Louise Lasser, Greg’s co-star and very close friend for well over 50 years. He told us about their first meeting and their last; there are so many memories in between we’ll get to next time. We did get a great naked Jennifer Jones tale, much to the chagrin of his ex-wife Meredith McCrea… with whom Greg was learning the art of fair fighting, although not mastering it then, but finding peace with current wife, Adriana. Greg shared how they chose to marry after over 20 years together, and the whys behind it. Surprisingly, it’s made a big difference for him, in all good ways. Greg spoke of his father, a professional baseball player for the White Sox, the Red Sox, and ultimately, coaching the Dodgers, first in Brooklyn and then in Los Angeles, which is what got Greg here. We spoke of Greg’s great love for the theatre, how he segued to TV, the research he did for film, and his current role as caretaker to his brother, his daughter, and a close friend. I trust Greg’s got more thespian days ahead in the future. For all our sakes, I sure hope so. Here’s wishing Greg well with all on this plate, sent with love and gratitude for time well-spent in his thoughtful, generous, sweet company. Greg Mullavey on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson Wed, August 5th, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET Streamed Live on my FB, YouTube & LinkedIn

3. 

   23 Jul 2026

   The Sporanos Furio, Federico Castelluccio - A True Renaissance Man

   How is it possible that one human being can be a gifted artist, a world-class savvy collector, a stellar actor, skilled director, and a masterful storyteller, whilst being gracious, funny, self-possessed, and humble at the same time? If that’s not the work of the gods, what is? The quality of Federico’s conversation defied Mercury Retrograde and the moon void. His screen may have been wonky for a few moments, but his glorious remembrances flowed on. From his earliest years in Napoli surrounded by his talented siblings, Federico knew at 3 what he wanted to do. And it wasn’t aspiring to be a key player on one of the greatest shows to ever hit television screens. That was an afterthought. A later manifestation. Earning a full scholarship and his BFA from the School of Visual Arts in NY, Federico never had a day job or a Plan B. He’s had more than a few Plan As - all successfully and respectfully executed. We got a little show and tell with a great George Burns story, how he segued from commercial art to commercial film and television, auditioning for a role he’d never get that eventually led to the life-changer. We got the whole Sopranos audition story complete with a David Chase rarity, prior long-held James Gandolfini admiration, how he landed it, the classes and work in theatre that schooled him, all the while continuing with his art craft to mind-blowing proportions. More show and tell with his latest portrait, of frequent collaborator Chazz Palminteri, that I would’ve sworn was a photograph until it was almost pressed against Federico’s screen. The lips, the smile, the hair, the eyes, the ‘tude, captured as only a rarely gifted artist could. We talked Federico’s multitude of upcoming films in various stages of production… Bad News on The Doorstep with the aforementioned Palminteri, which will be the first to drop, Into The Black with beloved Cathy Moriarity and Peter Green, Lupo, a true-crime story, and Three’s Company Too, where Federico is directing as well as starring. There’s a gallery show of his portraits in the works and Sopranos appearances, which you can keep up with on his IG.

Who has been a guest on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Bradley Whitford
• Kevin Jenkins
• Gary Stockdale
• Tracy Newman
• Rosemary Butler

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

1,189,759

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.7 / 5

17 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 77 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

86

Social presence

0

YouTube

86

Engagement

85

Contact Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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