(Editor’s note: Third in a three-part series about Wisconsin natives Steve Boettcher and Mike Trinklein, an unlikely duo of University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh graduates who have gone on to tell television history. through the PBS series “Pioneers of Television”, speaking with hundreds of Hollywood’s biggest stars).

So how did it happen on God’s green earth?

Two guys from Wisconsin who attended UW-Oshkosh, with no connection to Hollywood, produce a PBS series – “Pioneers of Television” – where they met and interviewed the biggest stars in the film and television industry.

“Yeah, that’s a really good question,” said Cedarburg’s Mike Trinklein.

The stars did align, to some extent, but it was Steve Boettcher of Trinklein and Appleton who put in a lot of hard work to align them.

They were two guys with opposite skills that matched perfectly. They were able to use their Wisconsin roots to their advantage. And there was a toughness gene found in only a select few humans.

But Trinklein will tell you, in this case it wasn’t him.

“Actually it’s a good thing that Steve and I met because I probably wouldn’t have had a career in this… well, I couldn’t because Steve brought that kind of tenacity and dynamism to the project,” said Trinklein de Boettcher. . “And he was willing to resist any form of humiliation or embarrassment to achieve his goal. More than I would.”

Of course, Steve Boettcher doesn’t quite see it that way.

“Mike is very smart,” Boettcher said. “And I think that’s what impressed me. Rule number one: always work with people smarter than you. And it’s Mike.

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One thing Mike Trinklein likes to do is pan for gold.

Not a cowboy in the swirling water of the creek, but discovering the little nuggets most people never knew about the people they love to watch on TV.

For example, did you know that when 26-year-old Howie Mandel auditioned for “St. Elsewhere,” was he thinking of trying out what he considered his dream job: a sitcom?

And then he read the script.

“And it just wasn’t funny,” Mandel said. “It’s like the worst sitcom I’ve ever read in my life.”

But once he understood the premise of the show, he accepted the role of Dr. Wayne Fiscus.

Or that comedian Tim Allen’s career was launched on a dare, when in 1973, while a student, his buddies persuaded him to take the stage at a comedy club in suburban Detroit, and the rest is, well, you know.

And did you know that Ray Romano and Bob Newhart, successful actors/comedians, were failed accountants?

Did you know that when George Clooney was on ‘ER’ he was also shooting ‘Batman & Robin’ at night? But memorizing all the medical jargon for “ER” was getting awkward because he didn’t have enough time to study, so when he had to talk to a patient in bed, Clooney would grab a marker and write his lines on the sheets. And the sheets weren’t always changed, so in other scenes you can see Clooney’s cheat sheets in the background.

“It’s all Mike Trinklein,” Boettcher said. “Mike is a voracious reader and any book that’s come out, or any piece of literature he’ll read.

“I remember one day Mike said, ‘Hey, I’ve got all these books and I’m just going to bring them to the office and drop them off.’ I see seven, eight, nine, 10 bins full of books. And I said, ‘Mike, there are hundreds and hundreds of books here.’ So I just opened a trash can, flipped through the book, and highlighted it throughout. And each book is highlighted from cover to cover.”

Trinklein said when the time came to interview a Hollywood star, he decided it was best to come prepared. First, he said it helped him not become a star, and second, he found that they not only appreciated his thoroughness, but it also helped them to engage more.

“They would immediately appreciate that because most of the time when you’re a celebrity, you’re going to talk about your new project, and the person (the interviewer) doesn’t really know that much,” Trinklein said. “They don’t have time. It’s just the way the world works.

“But for that I had the time, and so I was able to spend months, sort of, studying and researching people before I interviewed them to be; they would like me to know. And I always kind of incorporated one of those details into a very early question.

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Steve Boettcher had a difficult phone call to make.

He and Trinklein flew to Los Angeles the day after comedian/actor Robin Williams took his own life. They wanted to produce a special tribute. And they wanted Williams’ friends and colleagues to come to the “Comedy Store” in Hollywood – where so many like Williams got their start – and talk about their friend.

One of the people Boettcher called was Pam Dawber, Williams’ co-star in her TV comedy series “Mork and Mindy.”

Robin Williams, left, and Pam Dawber of ABC’s television show ‘Mork & Mindy’ at the fifth annual People’s Choice Awards in Los Angeles, California on March 8, 1979. Williams and Dawber all two won favorite male and female performer. awards in a new television program. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

“I called her and told her about it,” Boettcher said. “I expressed my condolences and said I was working on a TV show and we would love to have you – if you want – to do an interview. And she said, ‘Steve, I’ve got it. I’ve been getting calls from “Entertainment Tonight” and morning shows, and I just don’t think I’m going to do anything.

“And I said, ‘Pam, I think that’s just a great decision on your part. I think it’s really, really great. You need your time, you need your time to think. And you have to mourn it, and I really think it’s smart that you don’t do anything. And I congratulate you. Thank you so much for the phone call” and ”click,” Boettcher said. “Ten minutes later, she calls us back and says, ‘I want to do your interview.’ I said ‘Why?’ and she said, ‘Because you’re the only one who told me I shouldn’t. You didn’t push.”’

“She showed up and did the interview. She came in front of the camera and the first question, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. And it was so meaningful. But I was sincere. That’s what I was trying to say; don’t do the maintenance. If you’re not comfortable, don’t do it. That’s what, in a weird, weird world, made him want to do it at the time. I think it’s that authentic quality that we all have.’

Some would simply call it “Wisconsin Nice”.

“I think Wisconsin Nice is one of them, but I think it goes beyond that,” Boettcher said. “We’re all kind of family-based, we’re authentic, we all want to be as generous as possible and be as honest as possible with everyone. I think that goes a long way in Hollywood.”

Just like having an eye for the obvious.

Despite having his own multimillion-dollar production company, no one ever thought of sitting down with Merv Griffin — creator of ‘Jeopardy’ and ‘Wheel of Fortune’ among many other accomplishments — to make him tell his story.

But Boettcher and Trinklein did.

“And when he passed away (in 2007), his estate contacted us and asked us to do a little video tribute for him for his funeral,” Boettcher said. ” What we have done. We just heard Merv talk about his career, his life, his family and what it all meant to him. But no one thought, even in his own company, to sit down and question the founder. It’s just one of those fascinating things, you know?

And “fascinating” would best describe their work.

“Mary Tyler Moore told us a story that she heard a laugh when she was on stage and looked up at the rafters and there was Lucille Ball watching her from the catwalk above,” Boettcher said. “Lucy didn’t want to draw attention to herself, and she kind of snuck onto the podium to watch her show.

“And Betty White was with Lucy when she got the call that Desi Arnaz had passed away. (Lucy’s) first words were, ‘I’ve always loved him,’ and then she started crying. C ‘is just kind of amazing life stories, really.’

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It wasn’t often when Boettcher or Trinklein became stars. But they are human, and they had their favorites.

“The one exception to that, the one time we interviewed Florence Henderson,” Trinklein said of “The Brady Bunch’s” fictional mother. And only because I grew up on “The Brady Bunch.” And so it was kind of like; that’s part of the appeal of the whole show, is that we all think of these people almost like family, because they’re on TV every week. And when you see them, you feel like you know them, even if you don’t know them at all.

“So she was just like, very nice and very sweet and very friendly. And then at the end of the day, we – sometimes we had a picture with a celebrity – and so I was standing next to her. And she said, ‘Oh, no, no. That’s not how you take pictures in the theater. And she kind of spun me around and put her arms around my waist and took a picture and it was like, you know, a lot closer than you normally would to a celebrity. It was like, ‘Oh my God, Mrs. Brady, wait!’ It was just very funny.”

For Boettcher, no one could match Andy Griffith.

“I loved ‘The Andy Griffith Show,’” Boettcher said. “Mayberry. … We went to South Carolina to interview Andy. And you want him to be Sheriff Taylor when you meet him. At one point, my TV geeky nature goes beyond just being a producer. It’s like you’re a fan. And you want him to be Sheriff Taylor. And he was Sheriff Taylor. When you meet, he’s as genuine and kind as you remember Sheriff Taylor, and that’s what he was.

“For me, it felt like we had chosen the right path here in life.”

Story idea: You can reach Mike Woods at 920-246-6321 or at: Michael.t.woods1@charter.com.