Who is the best male TV star of all time? Our photo gallery above takes on the tough task of ranking the 50 greatest actors and performers. Agree or disagree with our choices?
With over 70 years of television to consider, we had to provide ourselves with a few rules to help simplify things. One of those was that every man in our gallery must have been an ongoing leading star at some point, preferably more often than not. That’s why you will not see such classic supporting actors as Art Carney, Tim Conway, Don Knotts, Peter Dinklage and more. We also do not include any news/sports anchors or journalists such as Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow, Peter Jennings, Howard Cosell since they are not performers.
In order to place them in the rankings, we were looking at a combination of quality (top rated shows with the public or critics...
With over 70 years of television to consider, we had to provide ourselves with a few rules to help simplify things. One of those was that every man in our gallery must have been an ongoing leading star at some point, preferably more often than not. That’s why you will not see such classic supporting actors as Art Carney, Tim Conway, Don Knotts, Peter Dinklage and more. We also do not include any news/sports anchors or journalists such as Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow, Peter Jennings, Howard Cosell since they are not performers.
In order to place them in the rankings, we were looking at a combination of quality (top rated shows with the public or critics...
- 6/4/2024
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Kicking off the start of Summer with the big Memorial Day weekend, a new documentary poses the question: What’s the “go-to” music for this season? Well, for the past 63 years, it’s been these pop icons out of Hawthorne, California, of course. Their signature songs invoke memories of ocean waves hitting the sand as eager athletes run through the foam with their trusty boards. Interestingly only one member of the original band surfed, though when watching a blonde adonis catching a “tasty wave”, you automatically, in your head, recall the sweet infectious harmonies of The Beach Boys.
After opening with glorious footage of an electric 1975 outdoor concert (naturally in the bright Summer sun), the doc springs back 15 or so years to the modest suburban home on 119th Street when the eldest Wilson brother Brian became fascinated by the careful vocal craftsmanship of the Four Freshmen along with other musical acts.
After opening with glorious footage of an electric 1975 outdoor concert (naturally in the bright Summer sun), the doc springs back 15 or so years to the modest suburban home on 119th Street when the eldest Wilson brother Brian became fascinated by the careful vocal craftsmanship of the Four Freshmen along with other musical acts.
- 5/24/2024
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
At the Academy Awards in 1929, Charles Reisner's "The Hollywood Revue of 1929" was nominated for Best Picture. "Revue" is a relative obscurity to modern audiences — even less well-known than that year's Best Picture winner "The Broadway Melody" — and it may even baffle certain viewers. True to its title, "The Hollywood Revue" is a collection of musical numbers, comedic sketches, and dramatic scenes, all played out "live" on a theater stage. A curtain closes and opens in between each number, and two emcees — Jack Benny and Conrad Nagel — introduce each vignette.
Such filmed stage performances may look a little odd to the modern eye, but they were common throughout the '20s and '30s. Few audiences had access to high-end live theater, and Hollywood was happy to step in to provide. Studios would distribute such revues as, essentially, a Broadway substitute, allowing distant viewers to experience the theater events...
Such filmed stage performances may look a little odd to the modern eye, but they were common throughout the '20s and '30s. Few audiences had access to high-end live theater, and Hollywood was happy to step in to provide. Studios would distribute such revues as, essentially, a Broadway substitute, allowing distant viewers to experience the theater events...
- 5/14/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
There are entire generations that have no idea that Steve Martin was a stand-up comedian. They may recognize him as one-third of the trio that’s turned Only Murders in the Building into a streaming hit, or the long-suffering patriarch of the Father of the Bride movies, or maybe as that guy with the funny mustache who was in that one thing with Beyoncé (i.e. 2006 Pink Panther reboot). Some might have watched Parenthood or Planes, Trains and Automobiles with their parents when they were younger. He’s the celebrity who,...
- 4/1/2024
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
“That movie was the President’s idea, not mine, but it was a demand, not a suggestion.”
The speaker was Jack Warner in a 1947 foreshadowing of his Donald Trumpian style. I recalled his remarks this week as I drove onto the Warner Bros lot, the fabled arena where Warner long reigned.
In his heyday, Warner was a Trump pre-clone in terms of temperament and rhetoric – a man who boasted about his mental acuity yet, to Hollywood’s power players, seemed occasionally unhinged.
I was visiting Warner Bros this week to spend some time with David Zaslav, a figure who, in temperament and politics, is the mirror opposite of Warner but whose empire is nonetheless a product of Warner’s erratic vision. Some believe that Zaslav’s studio – Hollywood in general – might still glean some insight from its founder’s idiosyncrasies.
A career maverick, Warner promoted gangster movies like Public Enemy...
The speaker was Jack Warner in a 1947 foreshadowing of his Donald Trumpian style. I recalled his remarks this week as I drove onto the Warner Bros lot, the fabled arena where Warner long reigned.
In his heyday, Warner was a Trump pre-clone in terms of temperament and rhetoric – a man who boasted about his mental acuity yet, to Hollywood’s power players, seemed occasionally unhinged.
I was visiting Warner Bros this week to spend some time with David Zaslav, a figure who, in temperament and politics, is the mirror opposite of Warner but whose empire is nonetheless a product of Warner’s erratic vision. Some believe that Zaslav’s studio – Hollywood in general – might still glean some insight from its founder’s idiosyncrasies.
A career maverick, Warner promoted gangster movies like Public Enemy...
- 3/7/2024
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
Jack Warner had been shouldering in on credit from one of his studio’s top producers. At least that’s what Hal Wallis may have told you after the 1944 Academy Awards when Jack Warner accepted the Casablanca Oscar that some felt should have been palmed by Wallis, the Warner Bros. film’s producer. But who should accept the best picture award? Today it’s the producers, but during Hollywood’s Golden Age it was sometimes the producer, sometimes the studio chief.
Wallis had been with the company for many years, first joining the studio in 1923, their first year of incorporation. Soon, Wallis was managing essential Warner films such as Little Caesar (1931), The Petrified Forest (1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1937), Dark Victory (1939), Sergeant York (1941), The Maltese Falcon (1941), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), and, of course, Casablanca (1942). Despite being released in late 1942, Casablanca didn’t go into wide release until early 1943 and wasn’t...
Wallis had been with the company for many years, first joining the studio in 1923, their first year of incorporation. Soon, Wallis was managing essential Warner films such as Little Caesar (1931), The Petrified Forest (1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1937), Dark Victory (1939), Sergeant York (1941), The Maltese Falcon (1941), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), and, of course, Casablanca (1942). Despite being released in late 1942, Casablanca didn’t go into wide release until early 1943 and wasn’t...
- 3/7/2024
- by Chris Yogerst
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In 1965, Martin Scorsese was 22 and surrounded by legends when he won the Jesse L. Laskey Intercollegiate Award at the Milestone Awards dinner hosted by the then-called Screen Producers Guild on March 8, 1965. Now, almost 60 years later, the filmmaker received the David O. Selznick Achievement Award at the 2024 PGA Awards in what he called a “full-circle” moment.
Guillermo del Toro introduced the Killers of the Flower Moon director and producer at Sunday’s award show, calling him an “indispensable titan.” When Scorsese, now 81, took the stage, he started to tell the story of the 1965 awards show and how he kissed German actress Elke Sommer on stage.
“On the stage, Alfred Hitchcock, James Stewart, Jack Benny, Samuel Goldwyn, Jack Warner and Norman Lear, Lew Wasserman, Julie Stein, Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, Janel Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, Elke Sommer and David O. Selznick,” said Scorsese. “They were the people on the dais at...
Guillermo del Toro introduced the Killers of the Flower Moon director and producer at Sunday’s award show, calling him an “indispensable titan.” When Scorsese, now 81, took the stage, he started to tell the story of the 1965 awards show and how he kissed German actress Elke Sommer on stage.
“On the stage, Alfred Hitchcock, James Stewart, Jack Benny, Samuel Goldwyn, Jack Warner and Norman Lear, Lew Wasserman, Julie Stein, Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, Janel Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, Elke Sommer and David O. Selznick,” said Scorsese. “They were the people on the dais at...
- 2/26/2024
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Martin Scorsese accepted the Producers Guild’s David O. Selznick Achievement Award at the PGA Awards tonight and took the Hollywood & Highland Ovation Ballroom down memory lane — to about 60 years ago, when he accepted a PGA nod for his student film, It’s Not Just You, Murray! at the ripe age of 22.
Painting the scene, the Killers of the Flower Moon filmmaker said: “On the stage, Alfred Hitchcock, James Stewart, Jack Benny, Samuel Goldwyn, Jack Warner and Norman Lear, Lew Wasserman, Julie SteinCary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, Janel Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, Elke Sommer and David O. Selznick. They were the people on the dais at the 13th edition of this event on March 8, 1965. That dinner was called the Milestone Awards Dinner and presented at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
“At the very end of the dais was me,” Scorsese continued. “I was all the way on the end. I was receiving the Jesse L.
Painting the scene, the Killers of the Flower Moon filmmaker said: “On the stage, Alfred Hitchcock, James Stewart, Jack Benny, Samuel Goldwyn, Jack Warner and Norman Lear, Lew Wasserman, Julie SteinCary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, Janel Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, Elke Sommer and David O. Selznick. They were the people on the dais at the 13th edition of this event on March 8, 1965. That dinner was called the Milestone Awards Dinner and presented at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
“At the very end of the dais was me,” Scorsese continued. “I was all the way on the end. I was receiving the Jesse L.
- 2/26/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro and Fred Topel
- Deadline Film + TV
The Academy Awards grew up at the 16th annual ceremony March 2, 1944. Since the first Oscar ceremony at the Hollywood Roosevelt’s Blossom Room in 1929, the Academy Awards were small banquet ceremonies for La La Land movers and shakers. But that all changed 80 years ago. World War II was in its third year and movies meant more than ever to war-weary audiences.
So, the Oscars moved to the then-Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and bleachers were introduced giving fans a chance to see their favorites walk the red carpet. And instead of a select industry audience, attendees included members of all branches of the armed services many of whom sat in bleachers on the stage at the Chinese. The ceremony was heard locally on Kfwb; Jack Benny hosted the international broadcast for the troops on CBS Radio via shortwave. And for the first time, supporting performers finally received a full-size Academy Award.
So, the Oscars moved to the then-Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and bleachers were introduced giving fans a chance to see their favorites walk the red carpet. And instead of a select industry audience, attendees included members of all branches of the armed services many of whom sat in bleachers on the stage at the Chinese. The ceremony was heard locally on Kfwb; Jack Benny hosted the international broadcast for the troops on CBS Radio via shortwave. And for the first time, supporting performers finally received a full-size Academy Award.
- 1/23/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Healthy trekkers can now find spas and wellness facilities at even modest hotels from Bangor to Baton Rouge, but Southern California has always been ahead of the curve — Two Bunch Palms first opened as the Desert Spa in 1940, and the famed Golden Door was unveiled in 1958 — and advances keep on coming. New retreats continue to open, while favorites update, expand and innovate. Below, seven havens worth checking into.
Cal-a-Vie Health Spa
The 500-acre expanse outside San Diego is designed to feel like Provence, down to the French Country furnishings, grape vines and lavender.
A spa room at Cal-a-Vie
It has also long been favored by such Hollywood stars as Julia Roberts and Shailene Woodley. Oprah Winfrey famously lured away one of the spa’s chefs years ago, and one can see why, as the menu, featuring caviar and chanterelle puree, is not one of deprivation. There is wine served twice a week,...
Cal-a-Vie Health Spa
The 500-acre expanse outside San Diego is designed to feel like Provence, down to the French Country furnishings, grape vines and lavender.
A spa room at Cal-a-Vie
It has also long been favored by such Hollywood stars as Julia Roberts and Shailene Woodley. Oprah Winfrey famously lured away one of the spa’s chefs years ago, and one can see why, as the menu, featuring caviar and chanterelle puree, is not one of deprivation. There is wine served twice a week,...
- 1/21/2024
- by Beth Landman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Imagine, if you will, a sleepy small town. The people who live there are hard-working, stubborn, and most of all, suspicious of outsiders. Enter one Bob Majors, a newspaperman from New York. Majors is a man of progress and change, but he's about to come up against a social wall the likes of which he's never seen. It's the kind of obstacle that can only be found in ... well, not "The Twilight Zone."
You might have read that description in the voice of famed "Twilight Zone" creator-narrator Rod Serling, but it's actually the premise of a totally different show in which Serling appeared — reportedly in his first non-narrator acting role — for just one episode in the early 1960s. The series was "Ichabod and Me," a poorly-received and short-lived series whose history is chronicled in David C. Tucker's book "Lost Laughs of '50s and '60s Television." The sitcom...
You might have read that description in the voice of famed "Twilight Zone" creator-narrator Rod Serling, but it's actually the premise of a totally different show in which Serling appeared — reportedly in his first non-narrator acting role — for just one episode in the early 1960s. The series was "Ichabod and Me," a poorly-received and short-lived series whose history is chronicled in David C. Tucker's book "Lost Laughs of '50s and '60s Television." The sitcom...
- 1/20/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Revered and reviled U.S. diplomat Henry Kissinger, whose death at 100 on Nov. 29 was met with the widespread view that his realpolitik was responsible for some of this country’s worst global war crimes, loved American celebrity — both his own, an expression of state power, as well as that of others, especially performers. He was “the ultimate starfucker,” noted Daniel Drezner, professor of international politics at the Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, in an appraisal published earlier this year on the occasion of Kissinger’s centennial.
Prior to meeting President Richard Nixon in 1967, Kissinger made frequent trips to Santa Monica to consult with the Rand Corporation, a global policy think tank. But after being appointed as national security adviser by the newly elected president in 1969, his profile skyrocketed — and the glitz of Hollywood was within reach. Fascinated since childhood with American popular culture, Kissinger pursued the...
Prior to meeting President Richard Nixon in 1967, Kissinger made frequent trips to Santa Monica to consult with the Rand Corporation, a global policy think tank. But after being appointed as national security adviser by the newly elected president in 1969, his profile skyrocketed — and the glitz of Hollywood was within reach. Fascinated since childhood with American popular culture, Kissinger pursued the...
- 11/30/2023
- by Gary Baum and Seth Abramovitch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Longtime TV director and producer Stan Harris, who directed TV specials for Jack Benny, Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan, David Bowie and John Wayne, among many others, died of natural causes Monday while surrounded by family in Toronto, his son Danny Harris tells Deadline. He was 92.
Harris’ prolific live music and comedy directing career began at the CBC in Toronto working with peers Norman Jewison, Arthur Hiller and Eric Till. Among the highlights of his career up north were jobs directing Canada’s Hit Parade and a Nat King Cole special, Wild Is Love.
In the early ’60s, he and his family moved to NY, where Harris began his DGA career on series such as The Bing Crosby Show, The Steve Lawrence Show and The Milton Berle Show and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
In late ’60s , Harris relocated to L.A. for a steady gig directing the massively popular Smothers Brothers show.
Harris’ prolific live music and comedy directing career began at the CBC in Toronto working with peers Norman Jewison, Arthur Hiller and Eric Till. Among the highlights of his career up north were jobs directing Canada’s Hit Parade and a Nat King Cole special, Wild Is Love.
In the early ’60s, he and his family moved to NY, where Harris began his DGA career on series such as The Bing Crosby Show, The Steve Lawrence Show and The Milton Berle Show and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
In late ’60s , Harris relocated to L.A. for a steady gig directing the massively popular Smothers Brothers show.
- 9/20/2023
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Robert Klane, who wrote the screenplays for the irreverent comedy classics Weekend at Bernie’s and Where’s Poppa? and directed the disco-era favorite Thank God It’s Friday, has died. He was 81.
Klane died Tuesday in his Woodland Hills home of kidney failure after a long illness, his son Jon Klane announced.
He wrote for the films Every Little Crook and Nanny (1972), Fire Sale (1977), The Man With One Red Shoe (1985), National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985), Unfaithfully Yours (1984), Walk Like a Man (1987) and Folks! (1992).
Among his TV writing credits were six episodes of M*A*S*H* and The Odd Couple: Together Again, a 1973 reunion telefilm starring Jack Klugman and Tony Randall that he also directed. He also wrote and produced Tracey Takes On…, winning an Emmy for his work in 1997.
“Bob had a brilliant comedy mind that went deeper and deeper to get to the truth,” Rob Reiner, an actor in Where’s Poppa? (1970), said in a statement.
Klane died Tuesday in his Woodland Hills home of kidney failure after a long illness, his son Jon Klane announced.
He wrote for the films Every Little Crook and Nanny (1972), Fire Sale (1977), The Man With One Red Shoe (1985), National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985), Unfaithfully Yours (1984), Walk Like a Man (1987) and Folks! (1992).
Among his TV writing credits were six episodes of M*A*S*H* and The Odd Couple: Together Again, a 1973 reunion telefilm starring Jack Klugman and Tony Randall that he also directed. He also wrote and produced Tracey Takes On…, winning an Emmy for his work in 1997.
“Bob had a brilliant comedy mind that went deeper and deeper to get to the truth,” Rob Reiner, an actor in Where’s Poppa? (1970), said in a statement.
- 9/4/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Milt Larsen, who wrote for the game show Truth or Consequences for nearly two decades and co-founded The Magic Castle in Hollywood, died Sunday of natural causes in Los Angeles, his family announced. He was 92.
Larsen produced TV specials for ABC, CBS and NBC and wrote songs with Richard Sherman, the Oscar winner who partnered with his late brother, Robert, to create tunes for such Disney classics as Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Jungle Book.
He also was the creator and consultant for the $50 million Caesars Magic Empire at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
In 1963, Larsen and his late brother, Bill, founded The Magic Castle in a 1909 French Chateau mansion on Franklin Avenue. With its many stages, labyrinthine corridors and old-fashioned decor, the place would become a renowned private club for magicians.
Larsen wrote five joke books and three books involving The Magic Castle, penned a weekly...
Larsen produced TV specials for ABC, CBS and NBC and wrote songs with Richard Sherman, the Oscar winner who partnered with his late brother, Robert, to create tunes for such Disney classics as Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Jungle Book.
He also was the creator and consultant for the $50 million Caesars Magic Empire at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
In 1963, Larsen and his late brother, Bill, founded The Magic Castle in a 1909 French Chateau mansion on Franklin Avenue. With its many stages, labyrinthine corridors and old-fashioned decor, the place would become a renowned private club for magicians.
Larsen wrote five joke books and three books involving The Magic Castle, penned a weekly...
- 5/29/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Milt Larsen, the magician and TV writer who co-founded Hollywood’s famed Magic Castle night spot, died May 28 in Los Angeles. He was 92.
Larsen had deep roots in the world of magic and in Los Angeles. His father, William Larsen Sr., was a prominent local defense attorney and a performing magician. His mother, Geraldine, made early appearances on TV as “The Magic Lady.” Milt Larsen worked as a writer for TV game shows including “Truth or Consequences” during 18 years of Bob Barker’s tenure as host in the 1950s, ’60s and early ’70s.
Larsen teamed with his older brother, William Larsen Jr., and William’s wife, Irene, in the early 1960s to transform a Gothic renaissance mansion on Franklin Avenue in the heart of Hollywood into a clubhouse designed to cater to working magicians. The trio created the Academy of Magical Arts, but the venue became known as the Magic Castle.
Larsen had deep roots in the world of magic and in Los Angeles. His father, William Larsen Sr., was a prominent local defense attorney and a performing magician. His mother, Geraldine, made early appearances on TV as “The Magic Lady.” Milt Larsen worked as a writer for TV game shows including “Truth or Consequences” during 18 years of Bob Barker’s tenure as host in the 1950s, ’60s and early ’70s.
Larsen teamed with his older brother, William Larsen Jr., and William’s wife, Irene, in the early 1960s to transform a Gothic renaissance mansion on Franklin Avenue in the heart of Hollywood into a clubhouse designed to cater to working magicians. The trio created the Academy of Magical Arts, but the venue became known as the Magic Castle.
- 5/29/2023
- by William Earl
- Variety Film + TV
Imagine growing up with famous comedian Don Knotts as your father. You might picture lots of funny faces at the dinner table or knock knock jokes on the way to school. The Andy Griffith Show actor’s daughter, Karen, once gave some insight into what it was really like at home with Don.
Don Knotts, Kathryn Metz, and their two children | CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images Karen Knotts on what Don Knotts was like as a father
Karen and her brother, Tom, grew up in Glendale, CA, which she says is about as Mayberry-like as a neighborhood is going to get in Los Angeles. She and Tom were still young when their parents divorced. Even so, they had a pretty idyllic childhood, according to Karen.
“It was a little surreal,” she told the Murfreesboro Post in 2011. “We lived in Glendale, which was almost Mayberry-like in smallness. It was a tight-knit community,...
Don Knotts, Kathryn Metz, and their two children | CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images Karen Knotts on what Don Knotts was like as a father
Karen and her brother, Tom, grew up in Glendale, CA, which she says is about as Mayberry-like as a neighborhood is going to get in Los Angeles. She and Tom were still young when their parents divorced. Even so, they had a pretty idyllic childhood, according to Karen.
“It was a little surreal,” she told the Murfreesboro Post in 2011. “We lived in Glendale, which was almost Mayberry-like in smallness. It was a tight-knit community,...
- 5/13/2023
- by Kelsey Goeres
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
The strange saga of Jamie Foxx's serious "medical complication" may be coming to a happy close.
The Academy Award-winning star of "Ray" has reportedly been hospitalized since April 12, but it appears that his mysteriously lengthy stay may be soon coming to an end. Alarms went up when, over the weekend, Foxx's friend Charlie Mack took to Instagram to post, "I need you all to constantly keep our beloved brotha @iamjamiefoxx up whom we all [love] & care for dearly in our Hearts, Minds & Prayers!!!" Given that the actor's precise condition has not been disclosed for nearly a month, this was legitimate cause for concern. Foxx is far from media shy. Put a camera in front of him, and he could effortlessly, hilariously put an end to the speculation.
Obviously, this is none of our business. Anyone with a lick of sense could compile a list of the many ailments that would preclude Foxx,...
The Academy Award-winning star of "Ray" has reportedly been hospitalized since April 12, but it appears that his mysteriously lengthy stay may be soon coming to an end. Alarms went up when, over the weekend, Foxx's friend Charlie Mack took to Instagram to post, "I need you all to constantly keep our beloved brotha @iamjamiefoxx up whom we all [love] & care for dearly in our Hearts, Minds & Prayers!!!" Given that the actor's precise condition has not been disclosed for nearly a month, this was legitimate cause for concern. Foxx is far from media shy. Put a camera in front of him, and he could effortlessly, hilariously put an end to the speculation.
Obviously, this is none of our business. Anyone with a lick of sense could compile a list of the many ailments that would preclude Foxx,...
- 5/3/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Reid Scott might be best known for playing an asshole, so it’s understandable if fans of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” are on high alert this season.
Scott joins the Prime Video comedy in its final season as Gordon Ford, a late-night talk show host and Midge Maisel’s (Rachel Brosnahan) new boss as she tackles the unruly territory of an all-male television writers room. In Episode 3, Gordon tries to kiss her, and in Episode 4 he boldly asks her out despite being married.
“I’m drawn to these characters that have these different sides to them, where you can see underneath the surface,” Scott told IndieWire via Zoom. “And that was the great thing; every script, episode-to-episode, we get to peel back another little layer and learn a little bit more about this guy and it just keeps you renewed and refreshed.”
Scott’s performance is an amalgam of late-night...
Scott joins the Prime Video comedy in its final season as Gordon Ford, a late-night talk show host and Midge Maisel’s (Rachel Brosnahan) new boss as she tackles the unruly territory of an all-male television writers room. In Episode 3, Gordon tries to kiss her, and in Episode 4 he boldly asks her out despite being married.
“I’m drawn to these characters that have these different sides to them, where you can see underneath the surface,” Scott told IndieWire via Zoom. “And that was the great thing; every script, episode-to-episode, we get to peel back another little layer and learn a little bit more about this guy and it just keeps you renewed and refreshed.”
Scott’s performance is an amalgam of late-night...
- 4/22/2023
- by Proma Khosla
- Indiewire
Mark Russell, the sly satirist who skewered America’s political elite for more than a half-century by blending stand-up comedy with biting song parodies, died Thursday. He was 90.
Russell died at his home in Washington of complications from prostate cancer, his wife, Alison, told The Washington Post.
Perhaps best known for his series of one-man PBS comedy specials that aired from 1975-2004, Russell also served as one of the hosts of the popular 1979-83 NBC reality program Real People, and he wrote a syndicated column for the Los Angeles Times for several years.
However, he was most at home in front of a live audience, and he spent two decades on the speaking circuit, hitting his peak in 2000 when he racked up 100 appearances in 100 different cities.
“Mark Russell was a D.C. institution who did the hardest thing a comic can do … relentlessly and righteously mock his neighbors,” Jon Stewart said in a statement.
Russell died at his home in Washington of complications from prostate cancer, his wife, Alison, told The Washington Post.
Perhaps best known for his series of one-man PBS comedy specials that aired from 1975-2004, Russell also served as one of the hosts of the popular 1979-83 NBC reality program Real People, and he wrote a syndicated column for the Los Angeles Times for several years.
However, he was most at home in front of a live audience, and he spent two decades on the speaking circuit, hitting his peak in 2000 when he racked up 100 appearances in 100 different cities.
“Mark Russell was a D.C. institution who did the hardest thing a comic can do … relentlessly and righteously mock his neighbors,” Jon Stewart said in a statement.
- 3/30/2023
- by Chris Koseluk
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jean Veloz, the innovative Lindy Hop dancer who dazzled in Swing Fever and other Hollywood musicals of the 1940s, has died. She was 98.
Veloz died Sunday at her home in Los Angeles, her friend, agent and manager Rusty Frank told The Hollywood Reporter. Frank co-produced the 2010 event A Tribute to the Groovie Movie, which celebrated Veloz and her contribution to dance.
“Jean innovated a style of swing dance that was admired around the world,” Frank said. “It was silky smooth and greatly contrasted the more jitterbug style prevalent during the 1930s-’40s.”
Generations of dancers idolized her.
In MGM’s Swing Fever (1943), Veloz whirled with servicemen portrayed by Lennie Smith and Don Gallagher in the high-octane number “One Girl and Two Boys,” accompanied by Kay Kyser’s band and sandwiched between Marilyn Maxwell’s singing.
She also did the jitterbug in Where Are Your Children? (1943), starring Jackie Cooper; danced with...
Veloz died Sunday at her home in Los Angeles, her friend, agent and manager Rusty Frank told The Hollywood Reporter. Frank co-produced the 2010 event A Tribute to the Groovie Movie, which celebrated Veloz and her contribution to dance.
“Jean innovated a style of swing dance that was admired around the world,” Frank said. “It was silky smooth and greatly contrasted the more jitterbug style prevalent during the 1930s-’40s.”
Generations of dancers idolized her.
In MGM’s Swing Fever (1943), Veloz whirled with servicemen portrayed by Lennie Smith and Don Gallagher in the high-octane number “One Girl and Two Boys,” accompanied by Kay Kyser’s band and sandwiched between Marilyn Maxwell’s singing.
She also did the jitterbug in Where Are Your Children? (1943), starring Jackie Cooper; danced with...
- 1/17/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Having just arrived in Los Angeles, Prince Philip faced a covey of reporters with photographers snapping away. “You asked about my mission to America,” he said. “The Queen and I are dedicated to helping the underprivileged. Mind you, we realize that an underprivileged child in Los Angeles is one who doesn’t have his own swimming pool.”
This was a jaunty, relaxed Prince Philip, circa 1966, unworried about the social media (there weren’t any) as he made his rounds of Hollywood. Joining him for meals and visits to sets were Natalie Wood, Shirley MacLaine, Dick Van Dyke, Gregory Peck and Joey Bishop, who, observing the Prince’s chain of jokes, said, “He’s so funny, I may run for Prince.”
The tension-packed forays of William and Kate this week, with their dire media overtones, seemed in sharp contrast to the loose, pre-woke royal expeditions of the ‘60s. While there was...
This was a jaunty, relaxed Prince Philip, circa 1966, unworried about the social media (there weren’t any) as he made his rounds of Hollywood. Joining him for meals and visits to sets were Natalie Wood, Shirley MacLaine, Dick Van Dyke, Gregory Peck and Joey Bishop, who, observing the Prince’s chain of jokes, said, “He’s so funny, I may run for Prince.”
The tension-packed forays of William and Kate this week, with their dire media overtones, seemed in sharp contrast to the loose, pre-woke royal expeditions of the ‘60s. While there was...
- 12/4/2022
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
Pierce Brosnan was two years out from making his long-awaited debut as James Bond in "GoldenEye" when he took on the thankless role of Stu Dunmeyer in "Mrs. Doubtfire." Stu is the handsome, charismatic new boyfriend of Sally Field's Miranda Hillard, who's filed for divorce from her overgrown child of a husband, Daniel Hillard, played by Robin Williams. The film is obviously a showcase for Williams, who transforms Daniel into an elderly British nanny so he can spend time with his children. This leaves Brosnan to play straight man, which he does remarkably well, but it's a bit like using a Lamborghini to haul furniture.
Brosnan, like just about everyone else who had the pleasure of acting alongside Williams, found his co-star to be ceaselessly inventive. And one scene he'll never forget finds the comedic dynamo pegging him in the back of the head with a lime.
A Poolside Humiliation
You know the scene.
Brosnan, like just about everyone else who had the pleasure of acting alongside Williams, found his co-star to be ceaselessly inventive. And one scene he'll never forget finds the comedic dynamo pegging him in the back of the head with a lime.
A Poolside Humiliation
You know the scene.
- 9/29/2022
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
The critical evolution of George Lucas' 1999 film "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" has been fascinating to behold. To this author's memory, no film — not even "Avengers: Endgame" — was more feverishly anticipated. The advertising machine kicked into overdrive. Using 1999-era dial-up internet, "Star Wars" enthusiasts would spend all day downloading the film's trailer, watching it at home, combing it for details, all before such activities became common hobbies and online cottage industries. Lucas' film may be seen as a fulcrum in geek culture. Fandom wouldn't be the same after. Fans camped outside of theaters for weeks, eschewing both work and bathing, hoping to be the first to get tickets. "The Phantom Menace" may have been the first instance of customers buying many tickets at one time, committing to seeing the film multiple times before they had even seen it once.
Then they saw it once.
It took a...
Then they saw it once.
It took a...
- 9/29/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Jeff Garlin, the former star of ABC’s The Goldbergs whose controversial real-life departure from the show saw his character killed off on the sitcom last night, says he suffers from bipolar disorder, a diagnosis he revealed for the first time in a brief Instagram post today.
“Bipolar is a motherfucker,” Garlin writes. “Sometimes it’s just too much to deal with. I’m doing the best I can. This the first time that I’ve opened up about this.”
Garlin left The Goldbergs last December following Hr investigations into misconduct allegations. Although the killing off of his character Murray Goldberg was disclosed last month by showrunner Alex Barnow, the episode that included the explanation for Murray’s absence aired as the season 10 premiere last night.
In the episode, the character Adam Goldberg said in an opening voiceover that “Just a few months ago, out of nowhere, we lost my dad.
“Bipolar is a motherfucker,” Garlin writes. “Sometimes it’s just too much to deal with. I’m doing the best I can. This the first time that I’ve opened up about this.”
Garlin left The Goldbergs last December following Hr investigations into misconduct allegations. Although the killing off of his character Murray Goldberg was disclosed last month by showrunner Alex Barnow, the episode that included the explanation for Murray’s absence aired as the season 10 premiere last night.
In the episode, the character Adam Goldberg said in an opening voiceover that “Just a few months ago, out of nowhere, we lost my dad.
- 9/22/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Jeff Garlin revealed he has bipolar disorder on Instagram, writing in a post: “Bipolar is a motherfucker. Sometimes it’s just too much to deal with. I’m doing the best I can. This the first time that I’ve opened up about this.”
Garlin shared the message the same day as “The Goldbergs” Season 10 premiere, in which his character Murray was killed off. Garlin exited the show during its ninth season. The actor’s controversial departure was a “mutual agreement” between him and Sony Pictures Television following an Hr investigation into his on-set behavior, which the actor chalked up to “silliness.”
In the first episode of Season 10, which aired Wednesday, adult Adam (voiced by narrator Patton Oswalt) announces: “Just a few months ago, out of nowhere, we lost my dad. We will always love you, Dad. Always. And we’ll find a way to continue on together, because after all,...
Garlin shared the message the same day as “The Goldbergs” Season 10 premiere, in which his character Murray was killed off. Garlin exited the show during its ninth season. The actor’s controversial departure was a “mutual agreement” between him and Sony Pictures Television following an Hr investigation into his on-set behavior, which the actor chalked up to “silliness.”
In the first episode of Season 10, which aired Wednesday, adult Adam (voiced by narrator Patton Oswalt) announces: “Just a few months ago, out of nowhere, we lost my dad. We will always love you, Dad. Always. And we’ll find a way to continue on together, because after all,...
- 9/22/2022
- by Ethan Shanfeld
- Variety Film + TV
“The Goldbergs” alum Jeff Garlin opened up about his bipolar disorder diagnosis following an Hr investigation over misconduct allegations on the ABC series.
Garlin was at the center of a three-year Hr investigation over claims of perpetuating a toxic work environment involving accusations of demeaning workplace behavior, especially toward women. Garlin’s absence during Season 9 of “The Goldbergs” sparked controversy after a stand-in was used for Garlin’s character Murray. “The Goldbergs” showrunners Alex Barnow and Chris Bishop later confirmed Garlin would not be appearing in the upcoming Season 10, which premiered September 21.
Garlin took to Instagram the same day of “The Goldbergs” Season 10 premiere, writing, “Bipolar is a motherfucker. Sometimes it’s just too much to deal with. I’m doing the best I can.”
He added, “This the first time that I’ve opened up about this.”
Bipolar disorder is a manic-depressive illness of the brain that causes extreme...
Garlin was at the center of a three-year Hr investigation over claims of perpetuating a toxic work environment involving accusations of demeaning workplace behavior, especially toward women. Garlin’s absence during Season 9 of “The Goldbergs” sparked controversy after a stand-in was used for Garlin’s character Murray. “The Goldbergs” showrunners Alex Barnow and Chris Bishop later confirmed Garlin would not be appearing in the upcoming Season 10, which premiered September 21.
Garlin took to Instagram the same day of “The Goldbergs” Season 10 premiere, writing, “Bipolar is a motherfucker. Sometimes it’s just too much to deal with. I’m doing the best I can.”
He added, “This the first time that I’ve opened up about this.”
Bipolar disorder is a manic-depressive illness of the brain that causes extreme...
- 9/22/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Jeff Garlin is revealing that he’s been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, Sept. 20, the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star went public for the first time about his mental health struggles.
“Bipolar is a motherf**ker,” he wrote. “Sometimes it’s just too much to deal with. I’m doing the best I can. This the first time that I’ve opened up about this.”
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Jack Benny (@jeffgarlin)
Garlin’s revelation comes months after he parted ways with “The Goldbergs” at the end of last season in the midst of allegations of misconduct on the set of the ABC sitcom; perhaps not coincidentally, the season premiere of the show airs on Wednesday night.
Last December, Garlin addressed the allegations with Vanity Fair, insisting it was simply a case of his jokes being misunderstood. He did, however, reveal that...
Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, Sept. 20, the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star went public for the first time about his mental health struggles.
“Bipolar is a motherf**ker,” he wrote. “Sometimes it’s just too much to deal with. I’m doing the best I can. This the first time that I’ve opened up about this.”
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Jack Benny (@jeffgarlin)
Garlin’s revelation comes months after he parted ways with “The Goldbergs” at the end of last season in the midst of allegations of misconduct on the set of the ABC sitcom; perhaps not coincidentally, the season premiere of the show airs on Wednesday night.
Last December, Garlin addressed the allegations with Vanity Fair, insisting it was simply a case of his jokes being misunderstood. He did, however, reveal that...
- 9/21/2022
- by Brent Furdyk
- ET Canada
Click here to read the full article.
Gayle S. Maffeo, the three-time Emmy-nominated producer who worked on the first season of Roseanne and all eight seasons of another hit ABC sitcom, the Tim Allen-starring Home Improvement, has died. She was 81.
Maffeo died Friday at her home in Los Angeles after a brief battle with cancer, her daughter, Laura, announced.
Maffeo had produced specials starring Frank Sinatra, Jack Benny and George Burns in the 1960s and ’70s before she segued to sitcoms including Nell Carter’s Gimme a Break!, Dabney Coleman’s Buffalo Bill, Mary Tyler Moore’s Mary, Head of the Class and Open All Night.
She served as senior vp television for Matt Williams and David McFadzean’s Wind Dancer Productions, where she produced Roseanne in 1988-89, Home Improvement from 1991-99 and other shows such as Carol Burnett’s Carol & Company, Dan Aykroyd’s Soul Man, Thunder Alley and Buddies.
Gayle S. Maffeo, the three-time Emmy-nominated producer who worked on the first season of Roseanne and all eight seasons of another hit ABC sitcom, the Tim Allen-starring Home Improvement, has died. She was 81.
Maffeo died Friday at her home in Los Angeles after a brief battle with cancer, her daughter, Laura, announced.
Maffeo had produced specials starring Frank Sinatra, Jack Benny and George Burns in the 1960s and ’70s before she segued to sitcoms including Nell Carter’s Gimme a Break!, Dabney Coleman’s Buffalo Bill, Mary Tyler Moore’s Mary, Head of the Class and Open All Night.
She served as senior vp television for Matt Williams and David McFadzean’s Wind Dancer Productions, where she produced Roseanne in 1988-89, Home Improvement from 1991-99 and other shows such as Carol Burnett’s Carol & Company, Dan Aykroyd’s Soul Man, Thunder Alley and Buddies.
- 9/14/2022
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
Virginia Patton, who portrayed Ruth Dakin Bailey, the sister-in-law of Jimmy Stewart’s George Bailey, in the Frank Capra holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life, has died. She was 97.
Patton died Thursday at an assisted living facility in Albany, Georgia, the Mathews Funeral Home announced.
Patton’s character in the 1946 film was married to Harry Bailey (Todd Karns), and her big scene takes place at the Bedford Falls train station, when she meets George and Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) for the first time.
While crewmembers were lighting her scene — filmed at the Santa Fe railroad’s now-defunct Lamanda Park station in Pasadena — with her stand-in, she was wondering about how she was going to eat her buttered popcorn while wearing white gloves.
“I was dressed as a young matron. I had a hat, a suit and white gloves, I was coming to meet my new in-laws,...
Virginia Patton, who portrayed Ruth Dakin Bailey, the sister-in-law of Jimmy Stewart’s George Bailey, in the Frank Capra holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life, has died. She was 97.
Patton died Thursday at an assisted living facility in Albany, Georgia, the Mathews Funeral Home announced.
Patton’s character in the 1946 film was married to Harry Bailey (Todd Karns), and her big scene takes place at the Bedford Falls train station, when she meets George and Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) for the first time.
While crewmembers were lighting her scene — filmed at the Santa Fe railroad’s now-defunct Lamanda Park station in Pasadena — with her stand-in, she was wondering about how she was going to eat her buttered popcorn while wearing white gloves.
“I was dressed as a young matron. I had a hat, a suit and white gloves, I was coming to meet my new in-laws,...
- 8/21/2022
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Who is the best male TV star of all time? Our photo gallery above takes on the tough task of ranking the 50 greatest actors and performers. Agree or disagree with our choices?
With over 70 years of television to consider, we had to provide ourselves with a few rules to help simplify things. One of those was that every man in our gallery must have been an ongoing leading star at some point, preferably more often than not. That’s why you will not see such classic supporting actors as Art Carney, Tim Conway, Don Knotts, Peter Dinklage and more. We also do not include any news/sports anchors or journalists such as Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow, Peter Jennings, Howard Cosell since they are not performers.
In order to place them in the rankings, we were looking at a combination of quality (top rated shows with the public or critics...
With over 70 years of television to consider, we had to provide ourselves with a few rules to help simplify things. One of those was that every man in our gallery must have been an ongoing leading star at some point, preferably more often than not. That’s why you will not see such classic supporting actors as Art Carney, Tim Conway, Don Knotts, Peter Dinklage and more. We also do not include any news/sports anchors or journalists such as Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow, Peter Jennings, Howard Cosell since they are not performers.
In order to place them in the rankings, we were looking at a combination of quality (top rated shows with the public or critics...
- 4/17/2022
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Lucille Ball is very much back in the public eye due to the success of the acclaimed film "Being the Ricardos". Here's a blast from the past, provided by Shout! Factory- the complete Dean Martin Roasts program "honoring" Lucille Ball. The lineup of greats is almost surrealistic: Jack Benny, Dan Rowan, Don Rickles, Bob Hope, Ginger Rogers, Dick Martin, Totie Fields, Milton Berle, Henry Fonda, Nipsey Russell, Vivian Vance, Rich Little, Foster Brooks, Phyllis Diller, Gale Gordon, and, of course, Dino. This time capsule from 1975 is the epitome of what would now be called politically incorrect humor, but it thankfully preserves a period of time in which people could not only take a joke about themselves, but were honored to be the recipient of those pointed barbs. - Lee Pfeiffer...
- 4/4/2022
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
AUTOMAT_film_Mel Brooks drinking coffee photographed by Carl Reiner while the two were writers for Your Show of Shows, c. 1950-1954 in The Automat. Photo courtesy of A Slice of Pie Productions
Mel Brooks, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Colin Powell, Carl Reiner and Elliot Gould were all fans of the Automat, the iconic automated cafeterias that dominated New York and Philadelphia in the first half of the 20th century. The Automat, Lisa Hurwitz’s delightful, enlightening documentary, serves up pure charm, and Mel Brooks, in this look back at the Horn and Hardart Automat, a now-vanished beloved, and unique, American institution.
The Automat is available to stream as part of the virtual St. Louis Jewish Film Festival through Mar. 13. For tickets and more information, visit their website https://jccstl.com/arts-ideas/st-louis-jewish-film-festival.
The Automat delivers a dazzling array of memories from those who ate there, alongside the history of the...
Mel Brooks, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Colin Powell, Carl Reiner and Elliot Gould were all fans of the Automat, the iconic automated cafeterias that dominated New York and Philadelphia in the first half of the 20th century. The Automat, Lisa Hurwitz’s delightful, enlightening documentary, serves up pure charm, and Mel Brooks, in this look back at the Horn and Hardart Automat, a now-vanished beloved, and unique, American institution.
The Automat is available to stream as part of the virtual St. Louis Jewish Film Festival through Mar. 13. For tickets and more information, visit their website https://jccstl.com/arts-ideas/st-louis-jewish-film-festival.
The Automat delivers a dazzling array of memories from those who ate there, alongside the history of the...
- 3/13/2022
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Long ago, in a distant and far away America, independent films could make their mark at the megaplex, and some of them could be documentaries. Remember the glory days of “Rgb” (total domestic gross: $14 million), “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” ($22.8 million), “Three Identical Strangers” ($12 million), “They Shall Not Grow Old” ($18 million), and “Apollo 11” ($9 million)?
I’m not saying that Lisa Hurwitz’s “The Automat,” had it been released in those now possibly vanquished days, could have joined the commercial company of those films (though maybe it could have). But when I caught this marvelous documentary at Film Forum in New York, the audience for it was ecstatic. It was not an audience of young people; it was the kind of older folks who, statistically speaking, haven’t been going to the movies. But they turned out for this one, and when I left at the end, a bunch of...
I’m not saying that Lisa Hurwitz’s “The Automat,” had it been released in those now possibly vanquished days, could have joined the commercial company of those films (though maybe it could have). But when I caught this marvelous documentary at Film Forum in New York, the audience for it was ecstatic. It was not an audience of young people; it was the kind of older folks who, statistically speaking, haven’t been going to the movies. But they turned out for this one, and when I left at the end, a bunch of...
- 2/25/2022
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Lisa Hurwitz with Anne-Katrin Titze on Mel Brooks’s original song with composer Hummie Mann for The Automat: “He composed Mel’s films Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Dracula: Dead and Loving it, and so it was all kind of perfect.”
In the second instalment with The Automat director Lisa Hurwitz we discuss her work with writer and editor Michael Levine, the interview with Colin Powell, Mel Brooks and composer Hummie Mann’s collaborations, the well-chosen clips in her film, including Sylvia Sidney and Peter Lawford, Jean Simmons and Victor Mature, a Jack Benny party, Tweety Bird and The Flintstones at the Automat, an Edward Hopper painting, and 99 Records founder Ed Bahlman’s childhood fondness for the baked beans at the Automat.
Lisa will participate in three in-person post-screening Q&As this weekend for the theatrical opening at Film Forum in New York of The Automat.
Mel Brooks recording...
In the second instalment with The Automat director Lisa Hurwitz we discuss her work with writer and editor Michael Levine, the interview with Colin Powell, Mel Brooks and composer Hummie Mann’s collaborations, the well-chosen clips in her film, including Sylvia Sidney and Peter Lawford, Jean Simmons and Victor Mature, a Jack Benny party, Tweety Bird and The Flintstones at the Automat, an Edward Hopper painting, and 99 Records founder Ed Bahlman’s childhood fondness for the baked beans at the Automat.
Lisa will participate in three in-person post-screening Q&As this weekend for the theatrical opening at Film Forum in New York of The Automat.
Mel Brooks recording...
- 2/18/2022
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Carl Kurlander, who went from being director Joel Schumacher’s assistant to writing St. Elmo’s fire with him, wrote a look back on that film for Deadline as well as a tribute when the director passed away., Kurlander today shares memories about Louie Anderson, the comic and actor who died last Friday in Las Vegas at age 68. Kurlander co-authored The F Word: How to Survive Your Family with Louie Anderson and was a consultant on his The Louie Show on CBS. His other credits include St Elmo’s Fire, he has been a senior lecturer at the U of Pittsburgh and producer of Chasing Covid and other titles. Here he discusses the empathy Anderson showed to most everyone around him, and many career breaks he provided, actions informed by the slights and hardships he faced in his own life.
Louie Anderson is being mourned by millions. He’s a widely beloved figure.
Louie Anderson is being mourned by millions. He’s a widely beloved figure.
- 1/23/2022
- by Carl Kurlander
- Deadline Film + TV
Dwayne Hickman, whose turn as eternal romantic Dobie Gillis made him a teen idol in the 1960s, has died this morning at age 87 in his Los Angeles home of complications from Parkinson’s Disease.
An actor, producer, director and artist, Hickman starred in the hit TV series The Bob Cummings Show and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. He died on the birthday of his dearest friend and former “Dobie …” cast member Bob Denver, whom he again costarred opposite in the CBS, movie of the week, Surviving Gilligan’s Island, playing a CBS network executive.
Born Dwayne Bernard Hickman on May 18, 1934 in Los Angeles, Hickma’s earliest screen appearances included began at age six, making his film debut, as an extra in The Grapes of Wrath.
As a teen he starred in his first television series opposite Bob Cummings, where he honed his comedic skills under the watchful eyes of...
An actor, producer, director and artist, Hickman starred in the hit TV series The Bob Cummings Show and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. He died on the birthday of his dearest friend and former “Dobie …” cast member Bob Denver, whom he again costarred opposite in the CBS, movie of the week, Surviving Gilligan’s Island, playing a CBS network executive.
Born Dwayne Bernard Hickman on May 18, 1934 in Los Angeles, Hickma’s earliest screen appearances included began at age six, making his film debut, as an extra in The Grapes of Wrath.
As a teen he starred in his first television series opposite Bob Cummings, where he honed his comedic skills under the watchful eyes of...
- 1/9/2022
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Like a lot of us, Aaron Sorkin loves Lucy. (For the record, the writer-director seems pretty fond of Desi as well.) He digs the way that former model Lucille Ball took her knocks as a contract player at Rko and transitioned to radio, where her manner of goosing punchlines through physical comedy — listeners couldn’t see her, but hey, that’s how Jack Benny did it — attracted the attention of TV executives. Sorkin admires the manner in which Ball wooed Cuban musician Desi Arnaz, her co-star in the forgettable 1940 romp Too Many Girls,...
- 12/10/2021
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
The former head of the ACLU discusses some of the movies – and sports legends – that made him.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Mighty Ira (2020)
The Jackie Robinson Story (1950)
42 (2013)
Shane (1953)
Panic In The Streets (1950)
Last Year At Marienbad (1962)
The Seventh Seal (1957)
La Strada (1954)
Wild Strawberries (1957) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
The Virgin Spring (1960) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
The Last House On The Left (1972) – Darren Bousman’s trailer commentary
A Walk In The Sun (1945) – Glenn Erickson’s review
Paths Of Glory (1957) – George Hickenlooper’s trailer commentary, John Landis’s trailer commentary
All Quiet On The Western Front (1930) – Ed Neumeier’s trailer commentary
Lonely Are The Brave (1962)
Casablanca (1942) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
On The Waterfront (1954) – John Badham’s trailer commentary
12 Angry Men (1957)
Inherit The Wind (1960)
Judgment At Nuremberg (1961)
Witness For The Prosecution (1957)
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
The Verdict (1982)
Twelve Angry Men teleplay (1954)
The Front (1976)
Judgment At Nuremberg teleplay...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Mighty Ira (2020)
The Jackie Robinson Story (1950)
42 (2013)
Shane (1953)
Panic In The Streets (1950)
Last Year At Marienbad (1962)
The Seventh Seal (1957)
La Strada (1954)
Wild Strawberries (1957) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
The Virgin Spring (1960) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
The Last House On The Left (1972) – Darren Bousman’s trailer commentary
A Walk In The Sun (1945) – Glenn Erickson’s review
Paths Of Glory (1957) – George Hickenlooper’s trailer commentary, John Landis’s trailer commentary
All Quiet On The Western Front (1930) – Ed Neumeier’s trailer commentary
Lonely Are The Brave (1962)
Casablanca (1942) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
On The Waterfront (1954) – John Badham’s trailer commentary
12 Angry Men (1957)
Inherit The Wind (1960)
Judgment At Nuremberg (1961)
Witness For The Prosecution (1957)
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
The Verdict (1982)
Twelve Angry Men teleplay (1954)
The Front (1976)
Judgment At Nuremberg teleplay...
- 10/19/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
A Night at the Opera
Blu ray
Warner Archive
1935/ 1.33:1
Starring The Marx Brothers, Allan Jones, Kitty Carlisle
Directed by Sam Wood
When the Marx Brothers bolted the scrappy but frugal Paramount for the gilded halls of Metro Goldwyn Mayer, fans of the comedians feared the worst—would the anarchic trio maintain their punk rock cred or had they sold out for the Top 40? The answer was revealed in their first go-round with the studio, 1935’s A Night at the Opera. And it was a standoff—though the Brothers remained world class provocateurs, MGM survived with its reputation intact and a big hit on their hands.
Opera‘s basic plot stays close to the Marxian blueprint; three agents of chaos, a fast-talking con man, a pun-happy piano player, and a tongue-tied hedonist, infiltrate a revered if musty institution, upend said institution, and go on their merry way. Though that premise...
Blu ray
Warner Archive
1935/ 1.33:1
Starring The Marx Brothers, Allan Jones, Kitty Carlisle
Directed by Sam Wood
When the Marx Brothers bolted the scrappy but frugal Paramount for the gilded halls of Metro Goldwyn Mayer, fans of the comedians feared the worst—would the anarchic trio maintain their punk rock cred or had they sold out for the Top 40? The answer was revealed in their first go-round with the studio, 1935’s A Night at the Opera. And it was a standoff—though the Brothers remained world class provocateurs, MGM survived with its reputation intact and a big hit on their hands.
Opera‘s basic plot stays close to the Marxian blueprint; three agents of chaos, a fast-talking con man, a pun-happy piano player, and a tongue-tied hedonist, infiltrate a revered if musty institution, upend said institution, and go on their merry way. Though that premise...
- 10/12/2021
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Not long after Chris Kattan joined Saturday Night Live in 1996, a rumor started circulating that he and fellow cast member Norm Macdonald didn’t get along. To be sure, their styles of comedy were wildly different: Kattan physical and wildly theatrical, Macdonald deadpan and droll. The pair fanned the flames of hatred in interviews, but Kattan says now that things were much different behind the scenes. In reality, they shared a “comedic love” like the faux frenemies Jack Benny and Fred Allen, one that continued beyond their time together on SNL.
- 9/16/2021
- by Althea Legaspi
- Rollingstone.com
“Ted Lasso,” “The Mandalorian,” “Hacks,” “The Flight Attendant,” “The Crown” and “The Queen’s Gambit” are among the top nominees for the 73rd annual Primetime Awards, which are set for Sept.19 on CBS with Cedric the Entertainer, who stars on the network’s sitcom “The Neighborhood,” set to host. But this is now, but what about the Emmys 60 years ago.
Dick Powell hosted the 13th Emmy Awards which took place at the famed Moulin Rouge Nightclub in Los Angeles on May 16, 1961. There were just three broadcast networks as well as local channels and National Education Television, now known as PBS.
History was made when The Flintstones” became the first animated series to be nominated in a main category: program achievement in the field of humor. It would be nearly 50 years before another animated series, “The Family Guy,” contended for a top award.
Veterans such as Jack Benny and Red Skelton were among the winners,...
Dick Powell hosted the 13th Emmy Awards which took place at the famed Moulin Rouge Nightclub in Los Angeles on May 16, 1961. There were just three broadcast networks as well as local channels and National Education Television, now known as PBS.
History was made when The Flintstones” became the first animated series to be nominated in a main category: program achievement in the field of humor. It would be nearly 50 years before another animated series, “The Family Guy,” contended for a top award.
Veterans such as Jack Benny and Red Skelton were among the winners,...
- 7/15/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Roy Christopher, a 10-time Emmy winning production designer and art director whose credits include decades of work on Oscar, Tony, Emmy and Grammy awards broadcasts, died of natural causes Tuesday, Feb. 2, at his home in West Hollywood. He was 85.
His death was confirmed by the Television Academy.
Art Directors Guild Nelson Coates said in a statement, “Roy Christopher was a legendary designer and gentleman who consistently raised the bar for excellence in production design through his career and by mentoring the next generation of designers. He was a major influencer on popular culture and the visual presentation of our industry to the world.”
In addition to the awards ceremony broadcasts, Christopher’s extensive roster of credits include art direction for all seasons of Welcome Back, Kotter, Wings, the original Murphy Brown, Frasier and Becker. Production design credits include many of those series in addition to Just Shoot Me!, American Playhouse,...
His death was confirmed by the Television Academy.
Art Directors Guild Nelson Coates said in a statement, “Roy Christopher was a legendary designer and gentleman who consistently raised the bar for excellence in production design through his career and by mentoring the next generation of designers. He was a major influencer on popular culture and the visual presentation of our industry to the world.”
In addition to the awards ceremony broadcasts, Christopher’s extensive roster of credits include art direction for all seasons of Welcome Back, Kotter, Wings, the original Murphy Brown, Frasier and Becker. Production design credits include many of those series in addition to Just Shoot Me!, American Playhouse,...
- 2/8/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Roy Christopher, Famed Production Designer Behind Tony Awards, Oscars and ‘Murphy Brown,’ Dies at 85
Roy Christopher, the multiple Emmy-winning production designer behind numerous awards shows as well as “Murphy Brown,” “Frasier,” and “Wings,” died on Feb. 2. He was 85.
A rep confirmed to Variety that Christopher died in his sleep.
Nelson Coates, President of the Art Director’s Guild said, “Roy Christopher was a legendary designer & gentleman who consistently raised the bar for excellence in production design through his career and by mentoring of the next generation of designers. He was a major influencer on popular culture and the visual presentation of our industry to the world.”
After graduating from California State University Fresno in 1957, Christopher began his career as an art director, working on “The Name of the Game” in 1970. That same year, he would work on “Jack Benny’s 20th Anniversary TV Special,” and in 1979, Christopher landed the job of art director at the Oscars, creating the concept design behind the 51st Annual Academy Awards.
A rep confirmed to Variety that Christopher died in his sleep.
Nelson Coates, President of the Art Director’s Guild said, “Roy Christopher was a legendary designer & gentleman who consistently raised the bar for excellence in production design through his career and by mentoring of the next generation of designers. He was a major influencer on popular culture and the visual presentation of our industry to the world.”
After graduating from California State University Fresno in 1957, Christopher began his career as an art director, working on “The Name of the Game” in 1970. That same year, he would work on “Jack Benny’s 20th Anniversary TV Special,” and in 1979, Christopher landed the job of art director at the Oscars, creating the concept design behind the 51st Annual Academy Awards.
- 2/7/2021
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Black Americans saw very little representation of their lives and culture on TV during the 1950s. The only mainstay was Eddie Anderson, who played Jack Benny’s sardonic valet Rochester on CBS’ “The Jack Benny Program.” In 1937, he’d became the first Black performer to be a regular on the radio version of the beloved comedy series and played Rochester on television from 1950-65. Terry Carter played Pvt. Sugie Sugerman for 98 episodes of CBS’ Emmy Award-winning “The Phil Silvers Show.’ And Black singers and performers would occasionally appear on various musical-variety series.
Pianist Hazel Scott was given her own summer series “The Hazel Scott Show” on DuMont in 1950. But she was soon named as a Communist by “Red Channels”. Though she denied the charges, the series couldn’t attract a sponsor and was history after four episodes. Likewise, NBC’s 1957-58 “The Nat King Cole Show” couldn’t find a...
Pianist Hazel Scott was given her own summer series “The Hazel Scott Show” on DuMont in 1950. But she was soon named as a Communist by “Red Channels”. Though she denied the charges, the series couldn’t attract a sponsor and was history after four episodes. Likewise, NBC’s 1957-58 “The Nat King Cole Show” couldn’t find a...
- 6/25/2020
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Stanley Kramer’s executive secretary Leah Bernstein died on Thursday of complications from coronavirus at the Motion Picture & Television Fund retirement home in Woodland Hills in Los Angeles. She was 99.
She is the sixth Mptf resident to die of coronavirus complications in the past two weeks, beginning with John Breier on April 7 followed by Allen Garfield, Ann Sullivan, Allen Daviau and Joel Rogosin. There are 162 residents at the residential campus and another 62 in the nursing facilities, with 14 who have tested positive in an isolation wing and two others in hospitals. Nine of the facility’s 400 employees have tested positive.
Bernstein also served as executive secretary to Irving Fein, Jack Benny’s manager, and animator Ralph Bakshi. She worked on 28 films with Kramer and counted Sidney Poitier, Bobby Darin, and Vivien Leigh among her friends. In a 2015 interview, she said, “I remember Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney playing outside the window,...
She is the sixth Mptf resident to die of coronavirus complications in the past two weeks, beginning with John Breier on April 7 followed by Allen Garfield, Ann Sullivan, Allen Daviau and Joel Rogosin. There are 162 residents at the residential campus and another 62 in the nursing facilities, with 14 who have tested positive in an isolation wing and two others in hospitals. Nine of the facility’s 400 employees have tested positive.
Bernstein also served as executive secretary to Irving Fein, Jack Benny’s manager, and animator Ralph Bakshi. She worked on 28 films with Kramer and counted Sidney Poitier, Bobby Darin, and Vivien Leigh among her friends. In a 2015 interview, she said, “I remember Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney playing outside the window,...
- 4/24/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Leah Bernstein, the former executive secretary to producer-director Stanley Kramer, has died of coronavirus-related complications at the Motion Picture & Television Fund’s skilled nursing home in Woodland Hills. She was 99.
Bernstein is the sixth retiree to die of Covid-19 at the Woodland Hills facility, despite the staff’s efforts to contain the spread of the virus.
More from Deadline'Magnum P.I.,' ‘77 Sunset Strip’ Producer Joel Rogosin Is Fifth Mptf Motion Picture Home Resident To Die Of CoronavirusThe Cruel Ageism Of Covid-19 Threatens To Temporarily Purge Older Actors From The ScreenL.A. County Coronavirus Update: Daily Number of Deaths Drops; Seniors Now A Major Focus
During her long career in Hollywood, Bernstein also worked as the executive secretary to Irving Fein, Jack Benny’s longtime manager, and animator Ralph Bakshi. She had lived in the Mary Pickford House on the Motion Picture campus for the past two years.
Bernstein was born...
Bernstein is the sixth retiree to die of Covid-19 at the Woodland Hills facility, despite the staff’s efforts to contain the spread of the virus.
More from Deadline'Magnum P.I.,' ‘77 Sunset Strip’ Producer Joel Rogosin Is Fifth Mptf Motion Picture Home Resident To Die Of CoronavirusThe Cruel Ageism Of Covid-19 Threatens To Temporarily Purge Older Actors From The ScreenL.A. County Coronavirus Update: Daily Number of Deaths Drops; Seniors Now A Major Focus
During her long career in Hollywood, Bernstein also worked as the executive secretary to Irving Fein, Jack Benny’s longtime manager, and animator Ralph Bakshi. She had lived in the Mary Pickford House on the Motion Picture campus for the past two years.
Bernstein was born...
- 4/24/2020
- by David Robb
- Deadline Film + TV
If you’re looking to take a break from binge-watching garbage television and exercise your brain during quarantine, film historian Annette Insdorf and 92Y might have a perfect solution for you. Beginning Sunday, March 29, you can take the online film course “Reel Pieces Remote: Classic Films with Annette Insdorf,” for five weeks every Sunday at 8 p.m.
The five films she has selected — all of them indisputable masterpieces — can be streamed on The Criterion Channel. You can view the film any time before the Sunday night class, along with a prerecorded introduction from Insdorf, followed by the weekly lecture that will also engage live group discussion. Signing up for the 92Y class includes a free Criterion Channel trial membership good for 45 days. The cost for the five courses altogether is $150 — not free by any means, if you’re in the position to enroll.
More from IndieWireThe Show Must Go On:...
The five films she has selected — all of them indisputable masterpieces — can be streamed on The Criterion Channel. You can view the film any time before the Sunday night class, along with a prerecorded introduction from Insdorf, followed by the weekly lecture that will also engage live group discussion. Signing up for the 92Y class includes a free Criterion Channel trial membership good for 45 days. The cost for the five courses altogether is $150 — not free by any means, if you’re in the position to enroll.
More from IndieWireThe Show Must Go On:...
- 3/22/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
She was a Chicago TV pioneer who went on to co-create two enduring TV franchises, the CBS soap operas “The Young and the Restless” and “The Bold and the Beautiful.”
But more than anything else, Lee Phillip Bell, who died Feb. 25 at the age of 91, was remembered by friends and colleagues as a gracious, erudite and kindhearted person who was the definition of a “great lady,” in the words of “Y&r” star Eric Braeden.
“When she walked into a room, you just knew that this was someone worthy of enormous respect,” Braeden tells Variety. “You knew from talking to her that she was someone who was so informed about various subject matters and was so used to talking intelligently on television about them.”
Phillip Bell got her start in her native Chicago when television was in its infancy. She was a forerunner of future Chicago-based talk show personalities Oprah Winfrey...
But more than anything else, Lee Phillip Bell, who died Feb. 25 at the age of 91, was remembered by friends and colleagues as a gracious, erudite and kindhearted person who was the definition of a “great lady,” in the words of “Y&r” star Eric Braeden.
“When she walked into a room, you just knew that this was someone worthy of enormous respect,” Braeden tells Variety. “You knew from talking to her that she was someone who was so informed about various subject matters and was so used to talking intelligently on television about them.”
Phillip Bell got her start in her native Chicago when television was in its infancy. She was a forerunner of future Chicago-based talk show personalities Oprah Winfrey...
- 3/3/2020
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
Lee Phillip Bell, co-creator of popular soap operas “The Young and the Restless’ and “The Bold and The Beautiful,” died on Tuesday. She was 91.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Bell created two of daytime television’s hit soap operas,”Y&r” and “B&b,” along with her late husband William J. Bell. In 1975, Bell won a Daytime Emmy for outstanding drama series for “Y&r” and received the Daytime Emmy’s lifetime achievement award in 2007.
Aside from her work in daytime television, Bell was a broadcast journalist who began her career in Chicago. She produced and and hosted her own show, “The Lee Phillip Show” for CBS TV for over 30 years. Throughout her career, she produced and narrated numerous award-winning specials and documentaries covering social concerns such as foster children, the subject of rape, children and divorce, and babies born to women in prison.
During the time of her show, Bell interviewed presidents Gerald Ford...
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Bell created two of daytime television’s hit soap operas,”Y&r” and “B&b,” along with her late husband William J. Bell. In 1975, Bell won a Daytime Emmy for outstanding drama series for “Y&r” and received the Daytime Emmy’s lifetime achievement award in 2007.
Aside from her work in daytime television, Bell was a broadcast journalist who began her career in Chicago. She produced and and hosted her own show, “The Lee Phillip Show” for CBS TV for over 30 years. Throughout her career, she produced and narrated numerous award-winning specials and documentaries covering social concerns such as foster children, the subject of rape, children and divorce, and babies born to women in prison.
During the time of her show, Bell interviewed presidents Gerald Ford...
- 2/26/2020
- by Klaritza Rico
- Variety Film + TV
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