Midwest Movie Maker

Earlier this month – after a bunch of schedule wrangling – I got the chance to chat with Bob Heath, Hot in Cleveland ’s producer and resident Northeast Ohio expert. When I asked him about growing up in Akron, he mentioned living on the west side of town. When I said I grew up the Montrose area, Bob perked up and chatted about how the only thing there when he was kid was the swim club. Not just any swim club, I thought. You mean Montrose Swim & Racquet Club , my place of employment for six burger-flipping summers. We spent the next five minutes chatting about Montrose Drive-In and the Freez. It was a great ice breaker and the following 30 minutes breezed by. We talked about Akron’s old TV station and some of Northeast Ohio’s great personalities, like Tim Conway , who will make a guest appearance later this season on HiC . The interview was light and fun, just like the show. But when it was cut short by a call to the set, I knew I had to hold the producer to at least one tough...

Wendi Malick, Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, and Betty White are 'Hot in Cleveland' Bob Heath remembers the Montrose Drive-In . He remembers the swim club , the Freez and the horse farm on the hill. All of those places are gone, replaced by outlet stores, chain restaurants, movie theaters and more. “Nothing was there,” says Heath, who grew up in West Akron . “It’s amazing how it’s changed.” Change is amazing. And it’s the driving force behind the four main characters on Hot in Cleveland , TV Land’s first original sit-com. Heath serves as the show’s producer. 'Hot in Cleveland'? Tell me more Hot in Cleveland follows the misadventures of three L.A. women in their 50s: hopeless romantic Melanie ( Valerie Bertinelli ), cynical businesswoman Joy ( Jane Leeves ), aging actress Victoria ( Wendi Malick ). The women wind up in Cleveland when their plane makes an emergency landing at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.  When they discover the men in Cleveland think they’r...