Herbie J Pilato

Herbie J Pilato
Pilato in 2020
Born	(1960-10-09) October 9, 1960 Rochester, New York, US
Nationality	American
Occupation	Writer
Years active	1992–present

Herbert James Pilato (born October 9, 1960) is an American writer and talk show host best known for his books about classic television programming in the United States.

Biography

Early life and education

Herbert James Pilato was born on October 9, 1960, in Rochester, New York to Frances Mary Pilato (née Turri) and Herbert Pompeii Pilato. His parents were of Italian descent. He completed a bachelor's degree from Nazareth College of Rochester, and also attended the University of California, Los Angeles.

Career

An aspiring actor, he applied in late 1983 to become an NBC page, and was accepted six months later. He made uncredited appearances in several television shows, but never landed a breakthrough role. In 1989, he returned to Rochester to care for his aging parents and to write.

Pilato's all-time favorite TV show, the 1960s sitcom Bewitched, was the subject of his first book, The Bewitched Book, published in 1992. He followed it with a companion guide to the early 1970s television series Kung Fu. Writing for AsianWeek, Gerald Lim described The Kung Fu Book of Caine (1993) as, "everything and anything one could possibly want to know – and not want to know" on the subject, and "an overly heroic portrait of Caine". A second book about the series, The Kung Fu Book of Wisdom, followed in 1995. Given Pilato's subject expertise, he was hired to consult on the 2005 film Bewitched, a re-imagining of the original series. A revised edition of his first book, retitled Bewitched Forever, was published in 2004.

Pilato told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle that his usual practice when researching a show is to interview as many people involved with it as possible, and that directors, writers, and producers are often "more open to interviews as they don't get the chance to talk about themselves as much as actors". He also hires a team of fans to help with trivia. He started writing a book about The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman in 1993, and finished it two years later, but it was not published until 2007, after he found a new publisher. Nearly half of the book is devoted to an episode-by-episode guide. Brett Taylor, of Video Watchdog, wrote that the volume, "earns its definitive title hands down; even for those with only a casual interest, it proves more diverting than one might expect". Another pop-culture/media tie-in book, about Life Goes On, quickly followed, as did as a book drawing on his experience as an NBC page.

In 2012, Pilato returned to Bewitched and its star Elizabeth Montgomery with his first biography, Twitch Upon a Star. Based to a great extent upon his four interviews with Montgomery, who died in 1995, Pilato's work explores her complicated life. A year later, he followed with The Essential Elizabeth Montgomery.

In 2019, Pilato published a biography of television star Mary Tyler Moore.

As of 2021, Pilato hosts Then Again with Herbie J Pilato, a talk show on Amazon Prime about classic TV.

Works

• Pilato, Herbie J (1992). The Bewitched Book: The Cosmic Companion To TV's Most Magical Supernatural Situation Comedy. New York: Delta. ISBN 9780385306997.
• —— (1993). The Kung Fu Book Of Caine: The Complete Guide To TV's First Mystical Eastern Western. Boston: Tuttle Co. ISBN 9780804818261.
• —— (1995). The Kung Fu Book Of Wisdom: Sage Advice From The Original TV Series. Boston: C.E. Tuttle. ISBN 9780804830447.
• —— (2004). Bewitched Forever: The Immortal Companion to Television's Most Magical Supernatural Situation Comedy. Irving, TX: Tapestry Press. ISBN 9781930819405.
• —— (2007). The Bionic Book: The Six Million Dollar Man And The Bionic Woman Reconstructed : The Cybernetic Compendium To TV's Most Realistic Sci-Fi Superhero Shows. Albany, GA: BearManor Media. ISBN 9781593930837.
• —— (2007). Life Story: The Book Of Life Goes On. Albany, GA: BearManor Media. ISBN 9781593930851.
• —— (2008). NBC & Me: My Life As A Page In A Book. Albany, GA: BearManor Media. ISBN 9781593931315.
• —— (2012). Twitch Upon A Star: The Bewitched Life And Career Of Elizabeth Montgomery. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 9781630760250.
• —— (2013). The Essential Elizabeth Montgomery: A Guide To Her Magical Performances. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 9781589798243.
• —— (2014). Glamour, Gidgets, And The Girl Next Door: Television's Iconic Women From the '50s, '60s, and '70s. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 9781589799707.
• —— (2016). Dashing, Daring, and Debonair: TV's Top Male Icons From The '50s, '60s, and '70s. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 9781630760533.
• —— (2019). Mary: The Mary Tyler Moore Story. Jacobs/Brown Press. ISBN 9780999507841.