I’ve amassed an enormous list of articles that informed my research for all nine of my books, and it allows for a fascinating look back at TV, movies, and music from 1948 to today. Since end notes in books are in print and inherently hard to truly explore online (who wants to type out that long URL?), I’m including the still-good ones here for easy access, starting with my books on The Mickey Mouse Club, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and Seinfeld. I’ll cover the other books in a follow-up post. I recommend scrolling through and clicking on anything that catches your eye. There’s some real vintage stuff in here: a 1994 profile of director John Hughes! A 1970 Time piece on TV ratings wars! A 1910 New York Times piece on Gibson Girls!
Why? Because We Still Like You?: A History of The Mickey Mouse Club (published 2010)
John Hughes’ view from the top, Entertainment Weekly, 1994
Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted: And All the Brilliant Minds Who Made The Mary Tyler Moore Show a Classic (published 2013)
The queen of comedy, Independent, 2005
President Truman makes first transcontinental television broadcast, History.com, 2009
Mary Tyler Moore, Television Academy Foundation, 1997
Carl Reiner, Television Academy Foundation, 1998
David Merrick, 88, Showman Who Ruled Broadway, Dies, The New York Times, 2000
Rhoda and Mary—Love and Laughs, Time, 1974
N.D. TV Tower No Longer World’s Tallest, NPR, 2010
Television: Dann v. Klein: The Best Game in Town, Time, 1970
Time Essay: Goodbye to ‘OUR MARY’, Time, 1977
Noted Director Reza Badiyi Dies at 81, Television Academy Foundation, 2011
Love Is All Around, Oprah.com, 2008
John Rich, Television Academy Foundation, 1999
Marilyn Monroe Slept Here, CNN.com, 2011
A Brief History of Women’s Protests, Time, 2011
Nation: Nixon: The Pursuit of Peace and Politics, Time, 1970
Television: The New Season: Perspiring with Relevance, Time, 1970
Fred Silverman, Television Academy Foundation, 2001
CBS Reported Ready to Drop Sullivan Show After 23 Years, The New York Times, 1971
James L. Brooks: What I’ve Learned, Esquire, 2010
Show Business: Victorious Loser, Time, 1973
Bea Arthur, Star of Two TV Comedies, Dies at 86, The New York Times, 2009
TV’s Women Are Dingbats, The New York Times, 1973
Report on the Broadcast of Violent, Indecent, and Obscene Material, Federal Communications Commission, 1975
Inside TV’s ‘Family Hour’ Feud, The New York Times, 1975
David Lloyd, 75, Dies; Wrote ‘Chuckles’ Episode, The New York Times, 2009
In memory of David Lloyd, by Ken Levine, 2009
Screen: Burt Reynolds as Unmarried Husband: Post-Divorce Blues, The New York Times, 1979
TV: Comedy of Divorce, The New York Times, 1983
Comedy Buoys ‘Terms of Endearment,’ The New York Times, 1983
‘Mary Tyler Moore Show’ Newscaster: Actor Ted Knight Dies of Cancer, Los Angeles Times, 1986
Mary Tyler Moore: ‘I’m Not an Innately Funny Person,’ The New York Times, 1985
Mary Tyler Moore: A Career Retrospective, ABC News, 2009
Recreating History, Oprah.com, 2008
Is Feminism Dead?, Time, 1998
She Turned the World on With Her Smile. But Where Will the Hat Land?, The New York Times, 2025 [I found this one post-book.]
Television: Doing Less with Moore, Time, 2000
Mary and Rhoda, Variety, 2000
‘30 Rock’ Lives, and Tina Fey Laughs, The New York Times, 2007
Seinfeldia: How a Show About Nothing Changed Everything (published 2016)
Jerry Seinfeld: Making Something Out of Nothing, New York, 1998
Angry Middle-Aged Man, The New Yorker, 2004
Korean Deli Where ‘Seinfeld’ Was Conceived Has Closed, Observer, 2014
Jerry Seinfeld, AMA Transcripts, 2014
Judd Apatow’s Family Values, The New York Times, 2007
‘Fridays’: The ‘SNL’ Ripoff That Nearly Surpassed the Original, Vulture, 2012
George Shapiro, Television Academy Foundation, 2007
Comedy Review: Laughing on Empty, Los Angeles Times, 1989
With the Help of ‘Seinfeld,’ Legend in His Own Time; The Real Kramer Tries to Capitalize, The New York Times, 1996
The Lost Roles of Seinfeld, Vulture, 2011
Jason Alexander, Television Academy Foundation, 2013
Seinfeld’s Michael Richards Says Racist Laugh Factory Rant Made Him Face His Insecurities: ‘The Damage Was Inside of Me,’ People, 2024 [I found this after the book]
The Biz: The Research Memo That Almost Killed Seinfeld, TV Guide, 2014
Jerry Seinfeld Things “Friends” Was Inspired by “Seinfeld,” Says It’s the “Same Thing with Good-Looking People,” AOL, 2026 [I found this after the book]
A Visit With: Julia Louis-Dreyfus; She Who Gives ‘Seinfeld’ Estrogen, The New York Times, 1993
Saturday Night’s Children: Julia Louis-Dreyfus (1982-1985), Vulture, 2012
Julia Louis-Dreyfus: From ‘Seinfeld’ to ‘Veep,’ NPR, 2012
Julia Louis-Dreyfus Talks ‘Tangles,’ ‘Seinfeld,’ ‘SNL,’ and Toll Alzheimer’s Disease Is Taking on Her Family, The Hollywood Reporter, 2026 [I found this after the book]
Julia Louis-Dreyfus: bucking the Seinfeld ‘curse,’ The Guardian, 2012
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Queen of Frazzled Single Women, on Taking Her Act to the Big Screen, The Hollywood Reporter, 2013
How Does Seinfeld Define Comedy? Reluctantly, The New York Times, 1991
Seinfeld’s Finale Episode Aired on This Day in 1998: See Behind-the-Scenes Photos, NBC, 2026 [I found this after the book]
The End of ‘Seinfeld,’ Rolling Stone, 2012
The Gibson Girl Analyzed by Her Originator; Artist Whose Delineation of the Young American Woman Made Him Famous Tells How the Type Came Into Existence and What Her Mission Is, The New York Times, 1910
Otherwise Engaged, The New York Times, 2000
Recognition Humor: Seinfeld Shows Why Television Is Today’s Best Medium for Comedy, The Atlantic, 1992
Jerry & George & Kramer & Elaine, Rolling Stone, 1993
‘Seinfeld’ Star John O’Hurley Shares 5 Surprises That Came with Being Elaine’s Boss, ABC News, 2014
Company Killer or Retail Guru? An Executive’s Often Painful Path Through 4 Businesses, The New York Times, 1999
Giuliani Zeroing in on Crime Issue; New Commercials Are Focusing on Fears of New Yorkers, The New York Times, 1993
On the Set With/The ‘Seinfeld Steinbrenner; The Head Yankee, Deconstructed, The New York Times, 1996
On Saving the Soul of New York City and Yourself, Off the Grid Village Preservation Blog, 2014
Who Needs America Online?, The New York Times, 1995
Keyword: Context, Wired, 1996
Another Boss, Another Revolution, Fortune, 2004
My Trip to San Diego with Larry David, 920spot, 2013
Kubrick, Vanity Fair, 1999
Hillary packs ‘em in at BevHills appearances, Variety, 1994
Andy Ackerman, Television Academy Foundation, 2007
Jerry Stiller, Television Academy Foundation, 2005
‘Seinfeld’ TV Father Dead at 82, CBS News, 2005
Emmys: Jerry Seinfeld on Why He May Never Go Back to TV, The Hollywood Reporter, 2013
Yada Yada Yuppies, The New York Times, 1997
‘Seinfeld’ finale touches some, bothers others, CNN.com, 1998
Masturbation on TV: Yet Another Lasting ‘Seinfeld’ Innovation, The Atlantic, 2012
Behind the Lost Episode of ‘Seinfeld,’ Screen Crush, 2014
Seinfeld Battles Actor Danny Hoch … Party of Jive … Ally McShut-Up-Already! … A Decadent S.A.G. Show, Observer, 1998
‘Blackout’ awakens at Miramax; Hammer hit, Variety, 1996
Seinfeld, Variety, 1997
How Jerry Seinfeld Has Spent Decades Nursing One Massive Single Regret Over How He Walked Away from ‘Seinfeld,’ OK!, 2026 [I found this after the book]
Seinfeld Says It’s All Over, and It’s No Joke for NBC, The New York Times, 1997
The Thursday-Night Massacre, The New York Times, 1998
Immortalized by ‘Seinfeld,’ the Soup Nazi returns to NYC, Mass Live, 2010
The Media Business; Commercial-time rates for last ‘Seinfeld’ should break records, The New York Times, 1998
NBC Apologizes for ‘Seinfeld’ Episode on the Puerto Rican Day Parade, The New York Times, 1998
The Final Seinfeld: I Told You So!, Observer, 1998
Television Review; ‘Seinfeld’ Goes Out in Self-Referential Style, The New York Times, 1998
His Latest Engagement—Seinfeld to Marry the Beauty Who Dumped Her Newlywed Hubby, New York Post, 1999
Fox Will Sign Up 12 New Stations; Takes 8 from CBS, The New York Times, 1994
Seinfeld: “The Statue”/”The Heart Attack”/”The Revenge,” AV Club, 2010
Seinfeld: “The Handicap Spot”/”The Junior Mint”/”The Smelly Car,” AV Club, 2011
Sony Pictures Television’s Seinfeld Earns and Unprecedented Fifth Cycle in Syndication,” PR Newswire, 2013
Seinfeld is laughing all the way to the bank: TV show generates $3.1bn in repeat fees since final episode, Independent, 2013
J. Peterman is back/This time the catalog king is writing the ‘adventures’ of his new furniture line, SFGate, 2004
“Seinfeld” Writer Takes on Conservative Outrage Over Holiday Festivus Pole Protests, Mother Jones, 2013
Breaking Down the Multi-Billion-Dollar Seinfeld Economy, Vulture, 2014
9 Wildly Successful Brands Born from TV Fame, Entrepreneur, 2013
Richards says anger, not racism, sparked tirade, Today.com, 2006
Jerry Seinfeld’s The Marriage Ref labelled ‘painful and pointless’ by critics, The Guardian, 2010
A Show About Something: Marriage, The New York Times, 2010
Still Riffing Over Coffee Cups, Seinfeld Renews a Web Series, The New York Times, 2013
Such a good idea!!