The Golden State Pops Orchestra paid tribute to Stu Phillips last night in the beautiful, 1930s art-deco Warner Music Hall. I didn't think I was going to be able to make it to the concert, but I was able to at the last minute and was glad I did.

I admit I was a little disappointed when I first saw the program; Stu had told me that they would be performing Knight Rider during the concert, but it wasn't listed on the schedule. These things happen, but I was still looking forward to the other performances. First, conductor Steven Alan Fox led the orchestra performing the end credits to Star Trek First Contact (not one of Stu's pieces). They also performed a classical piece Stu composed, to show that Stu wasn't just a "Hollywood" composer.

Stu came on stage and led the orchestra performing movements from Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers, and an independent film he scored, "The Name of the Game is…Kill." Before each piece, Stu would give a brief overview of the storylines and characters. He was very funny about it all, and had a tongue-in-cheek attitude about how shows were a bit different in the 70s. The BSG theme in particular was absolutely amazing performed live.

Ever wanted to hear the Knight Rider theme performed live by a symphony orchestra? This weekend you have your chance as the legendary Stu Phillips will be the focus of a concert in San Pedro California, celebrating his work on Battlestar Galactica and Knight Rider. Mr. Phillips will be even conducting the 2nd half of the performance!

More details after the jump!

All the Knight Rider fans across the globe wish to extend our sincerest warm wishes to Glen A. Larson as he turns 72 years old today. Mr. Larson not only is the creator of Knight Rider but many other countless shows such "The Fall Guy", "Battlestar: Galactica" and "Buck Rogers In the 25th Century", "Nightman" and more.

Mr. Larson is currently working to bring a motion picture version of Knight Rider to the big screen which is believed to be in the final portion of the screenwriting stage. He is scheduled to appear at the Knight Festival in Las Vegas this March.

Check out our earlier interview from this year at the Knight Rider Event at Saugus Raceway.

Here is part two of our interview with Stu Phillips, series composer and creator for the Knight Rider theme. We talked with him about his long time partnership with Glen Larson and if he has any plans to work with him in the future. We also got a peek at his original music timing sheets and learned about the process of scoring a television show. Check out our video below!

Be sure to check out Stu's website at stuwho.com for more information on Mr. Phillips.

His Knight Rider CD is available instantly on iTunes:

Knight Rider (Original TV Soundtrack)
$24.99

A huge amount of thanks goes to Mr. Phillips for generating his valuable time to this interview. He has always been very cordial and supportive to all fans, and that's really appreciated from a man of his talent. We look forward to speaking with him again at the Knight Rider Festival in Las Vegas this March.

Be sure to check out Part 1!

When channel flipping or surfing the net, you'll know instantly that you have stumbled onto something Knight Rider when you hear those first distinctive beats. The quickening tempo and bass lines recall many iconic scenes, and your heart starts to race. The theme is known by more than just your average fan, and it was as critical to the success of Knight Rider as a Turbo Boost itself.

We were fortunate enough to be able to sit down with Knight Rider composer Stu Phillips for a chat about Knight Rider. He with Glen Larson created the now iconic theme as well as scored 13 of the original 84 episodes. Check out part one of our video below with some pictures underneath.

Be sure to check out Stu's website at stuwho.com for more information on Mr. Phillips.

His Knight Rider CD is available instantly on iTunes:

Knight Rider (Original TV Soundtrack)
$24.99

After our interview, Barris takes us back into his archives for a tour. We get a special treat when he pulls out box after box of rare behind the scenes photos.

George Barris Interview Part 1
George Barris Interview Part2

In part two George talks with us about the history of talking cars and reveals some of the secret techniques he used to bring them to life.
He also tells us how he has been keeping classic KITT alive both in the backdoor pilot and at the upcoming Knight Rider Festival in Las Vegas.

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George Barris Interview Part 1

Stay tuned for part 3!

Last week we were very fortunate to spend some time with car customizer George Barris. In this video Barris tells us how he first came to be involved with Knight Rider. We also learn of the many challenges his team faced when building the different stunt and hero KITT cars. Together they had to design special modifications for the car so that KITT could pull off one amazing feat after another and still come out seemingly unscathed.

Come back tomorrow for part 2!

this KITT may or may not be appearing in Staten Island next week

If you happen to be in the NYC area in the next week - we have a couple of events for you!

First up, this weekend is the Autoseum Car Show, which helps to sponsor the construction of a car museum at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in East Garden City on Long Island. Running Saturday and Sunday, the show is open from 10am till 5pm on both days and costs $7 per person (kids under 12 free). Additionally - they are offering a special talegate event after hours on friday for $50, which includes dinner and a meet-and-greet with Barris

The vehicles include the original Batmobile from the "Batman" TV show; General Lee from "The Dukes of Hazzard"; K.I.T.T. from "Knight Rider"; the Monkeemobile from "The Monkees"; the Ford Grand Torino from "Starsky and Hutch"; and the "Drag-U-La" from "The Munsters." Original cars from the movies include the Ecto-1 from "Ghostbusters," James Bond's Aston-Martin DB5 from "Goldfinger"; the Triple X cars from "XXX" starring Vin Diesel and "XXX: State of the Union" with Ice Cube and Samuel Jackson; and the van from "Scooby Doo."

Then on August 26th and 27th on Staten Island, Soundsation (2311 Forest Ave., at the corner of South Avenue) will be displaying a replica of KITT, as well as having George Barris himself appear. Originally, an infamous version of the Super Pursuit Mode KITT was scheduled to be on display, but due to some travel issues, this may not happen and a terrific KITT replica will be there instead.

The Event is free - however they are looking for donations as part of a fund raiser for a little 5 year old girl named Sarah Boschi, who is suffering from a couple of genetic diseases.

KITT was known for his knack for helping Michael out of a jam. It's hoped that KITT fans will step up to help Sarah.

After all, as Michael's benefactor, Wilton Knight, famously told him, "one man can make a difference."

[Newsday on Aviation show]

[SILive on Staten Island apperance]

Sam Nicholson is CEO and founder of Stargate Digital the company responsible for the over 300 special effects shots in NBC's new Knight Rider movie.

Here is Part 2 of our interview with David Andron. David has been responsible for writing and creating the new Knight Rider on NBC

Read part two of our interview to find out what he had to say about the project, the process and the future if it goes (when) to series.

Welcome back to Part 2 of our interview with David Bartis the Executive Producer of he new Knight Rider movie airing on February 17th.

You can read part one here and learn about the backstory of this Knight Rider project - or continue on to hear more from our interview.

We were thrilled to get the chance to speak to David Bartis. Mr. Bartis is the Executive Producer of the new Knight Rider Pilot and we spoke to him via phone at the Dutch Oven offices on January 9th 2008. This is the first part of a two part interview.

" target="_blank">Stars cars sets off alarms

Studio officials responded with a cease and desist order demanding that Barris never again make "misrepresentations regarding any involvement with the 'Back to the Future' films." They called upon Barris to remove images of the flying DeLorean from his company's website and restrict his display of replicas of the gull-winged car used by Michael J. Fox to time travel in the popular 1985 movie and its sequels.

Others, meanwhile, complained that film cars such as the K.I.T.T., the General Lee and the Monkeemobile were not originally designed and built by Barris, either.

For the 1982 "Knight Rider" movie and its 84-episode TV series, Scheffe designed and built the computer-crammed K.I.T.T. car used by David Hasselhoff. Barris was hired to build an upgraded version of the car for the show's third season with concept sketches from Scheffe.

But Barris "kind of makes it sound like he came up with the original concept," said movie car fan Nate Truman, a TV graphics operator who lives in Gardena and owns a replica Batmobile.

"The car guys want to get the story out while George Barris is still alive and can be confronted," Paul said. "I don't personally dislike him. But he's messing up the industry by misrepresenting history."

K.I.T.T. creator Scheffe, a Mar Vista resident who now is an art director for Sony Pictures Imageworks, agreed.

"George is an institution. He's done amazing things. I don't want to step on anyone's toes. But it's good for the people who did the work to get credit for it."

Stu Phillips dropped us a line to give us an update on his latest appearance:

HI FANS,

STU PHILLIPS WILL BE APPEARING IN PERSON AT THE SCI FI CONVENTION AT THE PASADENA CONVENTION CENTER ON MARCH 11TH, 12TH AND POSSIBLY THE 13TH, IN PASADENA, CA. FOR MORE INFO GO TO: www.creationent.com/cal/stgs.htm. THIS WAS A LAST MINUTE INVITE SO YOU WILL NOT SEE ME LISTED. THAT IS WHY I AM POSTING THIS NOTICE.

I WILL HAVE COPIES OF MY BOOK AVAILABLE, AND WILL DISCUSS THE NEW SOUNDTRACK CD OF KNIGHT RIDER WHICH WENT INTO PRODUCTION THIS WEEK. THE SOUNDTRACK WILL CONTAIN THE COMPLETE AND ORIGINAL MAIN TITLE AS WELLAS THE COMPLETE SCORE FROM THE PILOT "KNIGHT OF THE PHOENIX" AS WELL AS MUSIC FROM "TRUST DOESN'T RUST'... "FORGET ME NOT"... "NOT A DROP TO DRINK" AND SOME CUES FROM "INSIDE OUT." THERE WILL BE A BOOKLET AS WELL AS PICTURES AND A MESSAGE FROM GLEN LARSON. THIS IS THE SOUNDTRACK YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR. LICENSED AND BLESSED BY UNIVERSAL STUDIOS.

LOOKING FORWARD TO MEETING AND GREETING ALL KR FANS.

STU PHILLIPS