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

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

Two Wisconsin guys who attended UW-Oshkosh, with zero ties to Hollywood, produce a PBS series — “Pioneers of Television” — where they met and interviewed the biggest stars the movie and television industry offered.

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

The stars aligned, to a degree, but it was Trinklein and Appleton’s Steve Boettcher who did a lot of heavy lifting to get them lined up.

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

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

“In fact, it’s a good thing Steve and I met because I probably would not have had a career in this… well, I wouldn’t have because Steve brought that sort of tenacity and drive to the project,’’ said Trinklein of Boettcher. “And he was willing to withstand any kind of humiliation or embarrassment to get to his goal. More than I would do.’’

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

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

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

Not cowboy in the stream swirling water kind of thing, but discovering the little nuggets most folks never knew about the people they love to watch on television.

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

And then he read the script.

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

But once he was clued in on the premise of the show, he accepted the part of Dr. Wayne Fiscus.

Or that comedian Tim Allen’s career was launched on a dare, when in 1973 as a college student, his buddies coaxed him to step up on 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 both, were failed accountants?

Were you aware that when George Clooney was starring in “ER,” he was also filming “Batman & Robin” at night? But memorizing all the medical jargon for “ER” became troublesome because he didn’t have enough time to study, so when he had to speak to a patient in bed, Clooney would take a marker and write out his lines on the bedsheets. And the sheets were not always changed, so in other scenes, you can see Clooney’s “cheat sheets” in the background.

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

“I remember one day, Mike said, ‘Hey, I’ve got all these books and I’m just going to bring them into the office and drop them off.’ I’m seeing seven, eight, nine, 10 bins filled with books. And I said, ‘Mike, there’re hundreds and hundreds of books here.’ So I just opened one bin, paged through the book, and it’s highlighted all the way through. And every book is highlighted all the way through.’’

Trinklein said when it came time to interview a Hollywood star, he decided it would be best to over-prepare. One, he said it helped him from becoming star-struck and, two, he realized they not only appreciated his thoroughness, but it also helped them become more engaged.

Mike and Steve with Ed McMahon (Courtesy: Steve Boettcher and Mike Trinklein)

“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 (interviewer) doesn’t really know that much,’’ said Trinklein. “They don’t have time. It’s just the way the world works.

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

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Steve Boettcher had a tough phone call to make.

He and Trinklein flew out to Los Angeles the day after comedian/actor Robin Williams took his life. They wanted to produce a tribute special. 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 on his breakout television comedy series “Mork and Mindy.”

Robin Williams, left, and Pam Dawber, of ABC's TV show "Mork & Mindy" at shown at the Fifth Annual People's Choice Awards in Los Angeles, Calif., March 8, 1979. Both Williams and Dawber won the Favorite Male and Female Performer awards in a new TV program. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

“I called and talked to her about it,’’ Boettcher said. “I expressed my condolences and said I was working on a TV show and we’d love to have you — if you want — to do an interview. And she said, ‘Steve, I’ve been thinking about this. I’ve gotten calls from ‘Entertainment Tonight’ and the morning shows, and I just don’t think I’m going to do anything.’

“And I said, ‘Pam, I think it’s just a great decision of yours. I think it’s really, really awesome. You need your time, you need your time to reflect. And you need to mourn him, and I really think it’s smart that you’re not going to do anything. And I applaud you for it. Thank you very much for the phone call,’ and ‘click,’’’ said Boettcher. “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 should not do it. You didn’t push.’’’

“She showed up and did the interview. She came on camera and the first question, her eyes starting pooling up with tears. And it was just so meaningful. But I was sincere. I meant it; don’t do the interview. If you’re not comfortable, don’t do it. That’s what, in a weird, strange world, made her want to do it then. I think it’s that genuine quality that we all have.’’

Some would simply call it “Wisconsin Nice.” 

“I think Wisconsin nice is part of it, but I think it goes beyond that,’’ said Boettcher. “We’re all kind of family-based, we’re genuine, we all want to be as generous as possible and be as honest as possible with everybody. I think that goes a long way in Hollywood.’’

As does having an eye for the obvious.

Despite owning his own multi-million production company, nobody there ever thought to sit down with Merv Griffin — creator of “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune” among many other accomplishments — to have him tell his story.

But Boettcher and Trinklein did.

“And when he passed away (in 2007), his estate reached out to us and asked us to put together a little video tribute to him for his funeral,’’ said Boettcher. “Which we did. We just had Merv talking about his career, his life, his family and what it all meant to him. But no one thought, even in his own company, about sitting and interviewing the founder. It’s just one of those fascinating things, you know?’’

And “fascinating” would best describe their job.

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

“And Betty White was with Lucy when she got the call that Desi Arnaz died. (Lucy’s) first words were, ‘I’ve always loved him,’ and then she began to cry. It’s just kind of amazing stories of life, really.’’

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It wasn’t often when either Boettcher or Trinklein became star struck. But they’re human, and they had their favorites.

“The only exception to that, the one time, when we interviewed the Florence Henderson,’’ Trinklein said of the fictional mother of “The Brady Bunch.” And only because I grew up on ‘The Brady Bunch.’ And so it was sort of like; that’s part of the appeal of the whole series is that we all kind of think of these people almost like members of the family, because they’re on TV every week. And when we see them, we feel like we know them, even though we 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’d get a photo with a celebrity — and so I stood next to her. And she said, ‘Oh, no, no. This is not how we do photos in the theater.’ And she sort of spun me around and put her arms around my waist and took a photo and it was like, you know, much closer than you would normally get to a celebrity. It was like, ‘Oh my gosh, Mrs. Brady, wait!’ It was just very funny.’’

For Boettcher, there was no one that could match Andy Griffith.

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

“To me, that was like, we picked the right path here in life.’’

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