Gloria Stroock, who played Rock Hudson’s secretary on McMillan & Wife and appeared in films including Fun With Dick and Jane, The Competition and The Day of the Locust, has died. She was 99.
Stroock died May 5 of natural causes in Tucson, Arizona, her daughter, Kate Stern, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Stroock was married to Emmy-winning writer-producer Leonard B. Stern (Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion, The Phil Silvers Show, The Honeymooners, Get Smart and much more) from 1956 until his death in 2011 at age 87.
Her late younger sister was Geraldine Brooks, a Tony nominee and Warner Bros. contract player (Cry Wolf, Embraceable You).
Stroock recurred as Maggie, the secretary of Hudson’s San Francisco police commissioner Stewart McMillan, on the final three seasons (1974-77) of McMillan & Wife, the NBC series created by her husband.
She portrayed the wife of Richard Dysart’s art director in John Schlesinger’s The Day of the Locust...
Stroock died May 5 of natural causes in Tucson, Arizona, her daughter, Kate Stern, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Stroock was married to Emmy-winning writer-producer Leonard B. Stern (Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion, The Phil Silvers Show, The Honeymooners, Get Smart and much more) from 1956 until his death in 2011 at age 87.
Her late younger sister was Geraldine Brooks, a Tony nominee and Warner Bros. contract player (Cry Wolf, Embraceable You).
Stroock recurred as Maggie, the secretary of Hudson’s San Francisco police commissioner Stewart McMillan, on the final three seasons (1974-77) of McMillan & Wife, the NBC series created by her husband.
She portrayed the wife of Richard Dysart’s art director in John Schlesinger’s The Day of the Locust...
- 5/14/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Johnny Carson has arrived on Netflix. Or rather, a deepfake version of him has.
A scene in Jerry Seinfeld’s new movie for the streamer features the comic in a scene with Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon on a 1960s-era episode of The Tonight Show.
Unfrosted, which is Seinfeld’s directorial debut, follows the (highly fictionalized) creation of the Pop-Tart in the 1960s.
The scene in question features Seinfeld’s character, fictional Pop-Tarts mastermind Bob Cabana, appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1963. Since Carson passed away in 2005, creating the scene meant deepfaking Carson’s face while an actor delivered the lines in Carson’s voice. That role went to comedian Kyle Dunnigan.
In an interview with Comicbook.com, Unfrosted co-writer and producer (and former Fox late-night host) Spike Feresten revealed that Dunnigan insisted on finding new angles into a Carson impression.
Continue reading Jerry Seinfeld’s Unfrosted Features...
A scene in Jerry Seinfeld’s new movie for the streamer features the comic in a scene with Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon on a 1960s-era episode of The Tonight Show.
Unfrosted, which is Seinfeld’s directorial debut, follows the (highly fictionalized) creation of the Pop-Tart in the 1960s.
The scene in question features Seinfeld’s character, fictional Pop-Tarts mastermind Bob Cabana, appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1963. Since Carson passed away in 2005, creating the scene meant deepfaking Carson’s face while an actor delivered the lines in Carson’s voice. That role went to comedian Kyle Dunnigan.
In an interview with Comicbook.com, Unfrosted co-writer and producer (and former Fox late-night host) Spike Feresten revealed that Dunnigan insisted on finding new angles into a Carson impression.
Continue reading Jerry Seinfeld’s Unfrosted Features...
- 5/3/2024
- by Nick Riccardo
- LateNighter
Bill Lomas, who produced the Hollywood Christmas Parade for 42 years, died Friday of cancer at his home in Lakewood, California, publicist Steve Moyer announced. He was 88.
Nicknamed “The Parade King,” Lomas headed Pageantry Productions and produced thousands of parades locally and throughout the state of California beginning in 1966. He also organized Irish fairs and Celtic music festivals around the Southland as well as events in Hawaii and Arizona.
Lomas guided the Hollywood Christmas Parade through 2023; he was ill but determined to work last year’s event, Moyer said. The parade, first held in 1928, runs on the Sunday after Thanksgiving over a three-mile route and is televised.
He and his late second wife, Ronnie, “live and breathe parades,” director Larry Harman told the Los Angeles Times in 1991. “They are a unique couple. Whatever you want, they’ll get it, whether it is a camel, an elephant, anything. They’re your one-stop shopping for parades.
Nicknamed “The Parade King,” Lomas headed Pageantry Productions and produced thousands of parades locally and throughout the state of California beginning in 1966. He also organized Irish fairs and Celtic music festivals around the Southland as well as events in Hawaii and Arizona.
Lomas guided the Hollywood Christmas Parade through 2023; he was ill but determined to work last year’s event, Moyer said. The parade, first held in 1928, runs on the Sunday after Thanksgiving over a three-mile route and is televised.
He and his late second wife, Ronnie, “live and breathe parades,” director Larry Harman told the Los Angeles Times in 1991. “They are a unique couple. Whatever you want, they’ll get it, whether it is a camel, an elephant, anything. They’re your one-stop shopping for parades.
- 3/25/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Plot: A live television broadcast in 1977 goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms.
Review: I’ve always had a fondness for late-night talk shows and their host. While I’m more of a Letterman and Conan guy, the shadow of Carson looms largely over anyone in that space. So the concept of Late Night With The Devil immediately appeals to me. They would always have a slew of guests, ranging in their celebrity status, all with the purpose of popping a rating. But what if one of those guests were actually able to prove the existence of the supernatural? The possibilities are endless.
Following the night that a struggling late-night show was able to prove the existence of a supernatural presence (or were they?), Late Night With The Devil is like a slow descent into Hell. I always love a horror film that brings you on...
Review: I’ve always had a fondness for late-night talk shows and their host. While I’m more of a Letterman and Conan guy, the shadow of Carson looms largely over anyone in that space. So the concept of Late Night With The Devil immediately appeals to me. They would always have a slew of guests, ranging in their celebrity status, all with the purpose of popping a rating. But what if one of those guests were actually able to prove the existence of the supernatural? The possibilities are endless.
Following the night that a struggling late-night show was able to prove the existence of a supernatural presence (or were they?), Late Night With The Devil is like a slow descent into Hell. I always love a horror film that brings you on...
- 3/23/2024
- by Tyler Nichols
- JoBlo.com
Millennials rejoice! 26 years later, Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell are once again serving up fast-food morsels in the achingly-awaited "Good Burger 2." Folks who grew up on Nickelodeon's kid-friendly sketch comedy series "All That" have been clamoring for a return to the chaotically unclean confines of Good Burger, and now that it's here, I'll let those whose satiric sensibilities were partially formed by the original pass judgment on the quality of the sequel.
I do, however, know Sinbad. A comedic force of nature, I first saw the man rack up multiple wins on the Ed McMahon-hosted talent competition "Star Search" in the 1980s. I remember watching him besting a young Dennis Miller; this bothered me at the time, but considering Miller's career trajectory, I am firmly in Sinbad's camp. After all, who else possessed the bravery to ask which part of the chicken produced the Chicken McNugget?
In any event,...
I do, however, know Sinbad. A comedic force of nature, I first saw the man rack up multiple wins on the Ed McMahon-hosted talent competition "Star Search" in the 1980s. I remember watching him besting a young Dennis Miller; this bothered me at the time, but considering Miller's career trajectory, I am firmly in Sinbad's camp. After all, who else possessed the bravery to ask which part of the chicken produced the Chicken McNugget?
In any event,...
- 11/23/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
It seemed like he'd be with us forever, but the iconic game show presented and primetime TV mainstay Bob Barker has died at the age of 99. Barker was best known as the long-running host of "The Price is Right" revival, which premiered on CBS in 1972. Barker told contestants to "Come on down!" and ushered them through the fabulous Showcase Showdown innumerable times during his tenure as host through 2007. But even before those three-plus decades of television excellence, Barker had already hosted the popular game show "Truth or Consequences" for 21 years, between 1956 and 1975.
Barker is perhaps the most prolific game show presenter in American broadcast history, but his eminence extended beyond daytime TV. His trademark combination of unflappable reliability, chivalrous old-school charm, and slight underbelly of mischievous caddishness lent itself to a remarkable ability to send up his own persona in cameo roles in films and scripted television series. Barker appeared...
Barker is perhaps the most prolific game show presenter in American broadcast history, but his eminence extended beyond daytime TV. His trademark combination of unflappable reliability, chivalrous old-school charm, and slight underbelly of mischievous caddishness lent itself to a remarkable ability to send up his own persona in cameo roles in films and scripted television series. Barker appeared...
- 8/26/2023
- by Ryan Coleman
- Slash Film
And now the topper to one of this movie year’s biggest trends. Sure, we’ve had comic book superheroes, action tentpoles, and even a couple of flicks based on TV shows. But who knew that 2023’s box office would be “turbo-charged” by “toy stories”. No, I’m not speaking of Woody and Buzz. No, we started the year with a horror hit based on a phony toy that’s not named Chuckie, M3GAN. Then came the true story “spy-like” thriller about the creation of the video game Tetris. the stakes were raised considerably by another pixel powerhouse, The Super Mario Brothers Movie, followed by a new Transformers entry (also in that “action tentpole” category). And now, at last, “the queen” has arrived. Yes, the perennial princess of the toy department shelves comes to the big screen (after a slew of “straight-to-video” releases and a few TV shows), and...
- 7/21/2023
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Clarence Thomas’ connections to wealth and expensive vacations run deeper than billionaire businessman and Nazi-enthusiast Harlan Crow. The New York Times reports that Thomas has milked relationships with the rich he made through the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, a scholarship association, to benefit himself and his wife.
Because of their Horatio Alger connections, Thomas and his spouse, Virginia, have been invited to join luxurious vacations and parties in addition being granted V.I.P. access to sports events. Thanks to the association, Thomas also rubbed elbows with the likes of...
Because of their Horatio Alger connections, Thomas and his spouse, Virginia, have been invited to join luxurious vacations and parties in addition being granted V.I.P. access to sports events. Thanks to the association, Thomas also rubbed elbows with the likes of...
- 7/9/2023
- by Peter Wade
- Rollingstone.com
In 1968, John Lennon and Paul McCartney went to New York and appeared on The Tonight Show. The pair were in the city to announce that they had established their company, Apple Corps. McCartney said he had been uneasy for much of the trip, but Lennon said he found the Tonight Show appearance particularly off-putting. He explained why he thought the interview was so embarrassing.
Ed McMahon, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and Joe Garagiola | NBCU Photo Bank John Lennon said a ‘Tonight Show’ appearance with Paul McCartney was embarrassing
When Lennon and McCartney appeared on The Tonight Show, regular host Johnny Carson was absent. In his place was guest interviewer Joe Garagiola, a former baseball player. This was Lennon and McCartney’s primary problem with the interview. After the pre-show interview, they raised an issue with the fact that Garagiola would be interviewing them.
“I told them who Joe was, all in the most laudatory terms,...
Ed McMahon, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and Joe Garagiola | NBCU Photo Bank John Lennon said a ‘Tonight Show’ appearance with Paul McCartney was embarrassing
When Lennon and McCartney appeared on The Tonight Show, regular host Johnny Carson was absent. In his place was guest interviewer Joe Garagiola, a former baseball player. This was Lennon and McCartney’s primary problem with the interview. After the pre-show interview, they raised an issue with the fact that Garagiola would be interviewing them.
“I told them who Joe was, all in the most laudatory terms,...
- 6/10/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
I watched Ash vs. Evil Dead with my parents when it aired, not because they had any interest in it — they had never seen an Evil Dead movie — but because they had Starz and I’m cheap. Although they’ve always been supportive of my interest in the genre, neither of them watch horror movies. My mother is particularly averse to being scared, despite having read every Stephen King book.
Through the violence and bloodshed, however, she found herself enjoying the show and, like so many, fell in love with Bruce Campbell as antihero Ash Williams. I was pleasantly surprised that my sainted mom, at age 66, agreed to join me at Bruce-o-Rama when it came through Beverly, Ma at the Cabot Theatre on April 16.
The tour finds Campbell visiting 22 cities across the country for an evening of hybrid entertainment that includes hosting the pop culture game show Last Fan Standing...
Through the violence and bloodshed, however, she found herself enjoying the show and, like so many, fell in love with Bruce Campbell as antihero Ash Williams. I was pleasantly surprised that my sainted mom, at age 66, agreed to join me at Bruce-o-Rama when it came through Beverly, Ma at the Cabot Theatre on April 16.
The tour finds Campbell visiting 22 cities across the country for an evening of hybrid entertainment that includes hosting the pop culture game show Last Fan Standing...
- 4/19/2023
- by Alex DiVincenzo
- bloody-disgusting.com
Perry Cross, who served as Johnny Carson’s first producer on The Tonight Show before he exited to run an ABC program hosted by Jerry Lewis that came and went after 13 episodes, has died. He was 95.
Cross died March 9 of kidney cancer at a hospital in Los Angeles, his son, Larry Cross, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Cross started out producing Ernie Kovacs’ CBS weekday morning show in 1952 and also worked on The Red Skelton Hour, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Soupy Sales Show, Life With Linkletter, The Garry Moore Show and several Jonathan Winters live specials during his career.
Cross had been producing The Tonight Show in the immediate aftermath of host Jack Paar’s departure on March 30, 1962, guiding the NBC program in Hollywood and New York that featured guest hosts for six months until Carson took over.
NBC wanted Cross to be Carson’s producer,...
Cross died March 9 of kidney cancer at a hospital in Los Angeles, his son, Larry Cross, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Cross started out producing Ernie Kovacs’ CBS weekday morning show in 1952 and also worked on The Red Skelton Hour, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Soupy Sales Show, Life With Linkletter, The Garry Moore Show and several Jonathan Winters live specials during his career.
Cross had been producing The Tonight Show in the immediate aftermath of host Jack Paar’s departure on March 30, 1962, guiding the NBC program in Hollywood and New York that featured guest hosts for six months until Carson took over.
NBC wanted Cross to be Carson’s producer,...
- 4/4/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The NBC comedy Cheers was the place “where everybody knows your name.” The staff and regulars at Cheers were all friendly amongst each other, and to any newbies who wandered in for a cold one. The show was so popular that lots of celebrities guest starred on Cheers, too. Most were lovely, but two stood out for their hostility.
L-r: Bill Medley not one of the bad guest stars, Woody Harrelson, Rhea Perlman, and Kelsey Grammer | NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Cheers writer Ken Levine named those 2 on an episode of his Hollywood and Levine podcast about Cheers celebrity guest stars. Here’s why Ed McMahon and Wade Boggs were rude to Levine and the creators of Cheers.
Johnny Carson did ‘Cheers’ but his sidekick refused to guest star
Tonight Show host Johnny Carson appeared on a season 10 episode of Cheers shortly before his retirement. The show filmed on...
L-r: Bill Medley not one of the bad guest stars, Woody Harrelson, Rhea Perlman, and Kelsey Grammer | NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Cheers writer Ken Levine named those 2 on an episode of his Hollywood and Levine podcast about Cheers celebrity guest stars. Here’s why Ed McMahon and Wade Boggs were rude to Levine and the creators of Cheers.
Johnny Carson did ‘Cheers’ but his sidekick refused to guest star
Tonight Show host Johnny Carson appeared on a season 10 episode of Cheers shortly before his retirement. The show filmed on...
- 4/1/2023
- by Fred Topel
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Norman Steinberg, the Emmy-winning screenwriter who teamed with Mel Brooks on Blazing Saddles and My Favorite Year and wrote for the Michael Keaton-starring Mr. Mom and Johnny Dangerously, has died. He was 83.
Steinberg died March 15 at his Hudson Valley home in upstate New York, his family announced.
Steinberg also wrote Yes, Giorgio (1982), starring Italian opera star Luciano Pavarotti in his feature acting debut, and co-wrote Funny About Love (1990), directed by Leonard Nimoy and starring Gene Wilder and Christine Lahti.
The Brooklyn native and former lawyer won his Emmy very early in his career, for his work on a Flip Wilson variety show.
His TV résumé also included developing Marlo Thomas’ 1974 landmark kids special, Free to Be … You & Me (he brought Brooks in on that); serving as a writer and executive producer on the first two seasons of CBS’ Cosby; and creating the short-lived CBS sitcoms Doctor, Doctor and Teech.
Steinberg died March 15 at his Hudson Valley home in upstate New York, his family announced.
Steinberg also wrote Yes, Giorgio (1982), starring Italian opera star Luciano Pavarotti in his feature acting debut, and co-wrote Funny About Love (1990), directed by Leonard Nimoy and starring Gene Wilder and Christine Lahti.
The Brooklyn native and former lawyer won his Emmy very early in his career, for his work on a Flip Wilson variety show.
His TV résumé also included developing Marlo Thomas’ 1974 landmark kids special, Free to Be … You & Me (he brought Brooks in on that); serving as a writer and executive producer on the first two seasons of CBS’ Cosby; and creating the short-lived CBS sitcoms Doctor, Doctor and Teech.
- 3/22/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After Johnny Carson ended his 30-year run and retired from The Tonight Show, he was asked to lend his voice to the animated classic The Simpsons. But the original idea for his part didn’t exactly suit him.
Depicting him as himself, writers wrote him to be a “bad brother-in-law” -type staying with the Simpsons, lazing around their house in his retirement. He turned that pitch down, but the writers weren’t ready to give up on him. They finally got him to agree to lend his voice when they created something perhaps more suitable.
(L-r) Ed McMahon and Johnny Carson | Alice S. Hall/NBCU Photo Bank Why Johnny Carson turned down ‘The Simpsons’
On an episode of The Friars Club Podcast, Mike Reiss, once a showrunner for The Simpsons, spoke about how he wrote for The Tonight Show and “got fired by Johnny Carson, which everybody did.”
As luck would have it,...
Depicting him as himself, writers wrote him to be a “bad brother-in-law” -type staying with the Simpsons, lazing around their house in his retirement. He turned that pitch down, but the writers weren’t ready to give up on him. They finally got him to agree to lend his voice when they created something perhaps more suitable.
(L-r) Ed McMahon and Johnny Carson | Alice S. Hall/NBCU Photo Bank Why Johnny Carson turned down ‘The Simpsons’
On an episode of The Friars Club Podcast, Mike Reiss, once a showrunner for The Simpsons, spoke about how he wrote for The Tonight Show and “got fired by Johnny Carson, which everybody did.”
As luck would have it,...
- 3/14/2023
- by Katie Rook
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
The death of icon Raquel Welch sparked conversations about her life and career and how she became a sex symbol early on. She once discussed how things could go wrong for actors like her with Johnny Carson. In their discussion, she revealed the “sex kitten” movie role she couldn’t live down for decades. But was the late-show legend prepared to let her do it then?
Raquel Welch | Afp/Getty Images Raquel Welch’s early career as a sex symbol
After launching a movie career in the ’60s, Welch eventually made a name for herself as a sex symbol. She once said that leaning into “sex kitten” roles early on was a way to open other doors, noting she wasn’t “a fool” about her appeal (per Los Angeles Times).
She explained, “I realized when I came along [that] I wasn’t Meryl Streep who had been put into a bikini.
Raquel Welch | Afp/Getty Images Raquel Welch’s early career as a sex symbol
After launching a movie career in the ’60s, Welch eventually made a name for herself as a sex symbol. She once said that leaning into “sex kitten” roles early on was a way to open other doors, noting she wasn’t “a fool” about her appeal (per Los Angeles Times).
She explained, “I realized when I came along [that] I wasn’t Meryl Streep who had been put into a bikini.
- 2/15/2023
- by Katie Rook
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Celebrated cartoonist and screenwriter Daniel Clowes discusses his favorite formative films with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Baxter (1989)
Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1966) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Ghost World (2001) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Art School Confidential (2006)
Help! (1965) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s review
The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! (1966) – John Landis’s trailer commentary,
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) – Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review
Gone With The Wind (1939)
Mudhoney (1965) – John Badham’s trailer commentary
Finders Keepers, Lovers Weepers! (1968)
Common Law Cabin (1967)
Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (1970) – Michael Lehmann’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
The Seven Minutes (1971)
Black Snake (1973)
An American Werewolf In London (1981) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray reviews
Lady In A Cage (1964) – Darren Bousman’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review
The Wild One (1953)
Hush…...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Baxter (1989)
Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1966) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Ghost World (2001) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Art School Confidential (2006)
Help! (1965) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s review
The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! (1966) – John Landis’s trailer commentary,
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) – Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review
Gone With The Wind (1939)
Mudhoney (1965) – John Badham’s trailer commentary
Finders Keepers, Lovers Weepers! (1968)
Common Law Cabin (1967)
Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (1970) – Michael Lehmann’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
The Seven Minutes (1971)
Black Snake (1973)
An American Werewolf In London (1981) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray reviews
Lady In A Cage (1964) – Darren Bousman’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review
The Wild One (1953)
Hush…...
- 11/15/2022
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
On Sunday, actor Ty Burrell will fulfill a goal that has long been on his bucket list: taking part in a Super Bowl commercial.
He put a lot of work into it. In a 30-second spot slated to air in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, Burrell will be spotted making frivolous purchases like a jetpack, a giant yacht called the “TyTanic” and a life-size robot. He even agrees to buy a live Pegasus — all to the detriment of the character he portrays. “It’s a miracle if that scene makes it to air,” says Burrell, in an interview. “This horse was just hungry. It was a very sweet horse, and it was on actual grass, and it was sort of looking at us like, ‘You’re expecting me to look at you when there’s delicious grass? You’re crazy.’’’ Burrell even pretended to speak to the animal...
He put a lot of work into it. In a 30-second spot slated to air in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, Burrell will be spotted making frivolous purchases like a jetpack, a giant yacht called the “TyTanic” and a life-size robot. He even agrees to buy a live Pegasus — all to the detriment of the character he portrays. “It’s a miracle if that scene makes it to air,” says Burrell, in an interview. “This horse was just hungry. It was a very sweet horse, and it was on actual grass, and it was sort of looking at us like, ‘You’re expecting me to look at you when there’s delicious grass? You’re crazy.’’’ Burrell even pretended to speak to the animal...
- 2/10/2022
- by Brian Steinberg
- Variety Film + TV
Sam Riddle, the famous Los Angeles DJ of the 1960s and producer of long-running talent show “Star Search,” died at his home in Palm Desert, Calif, on Monday, a representative confirmed to Variety. He was 83. Riddle had been suffering from Lewy Body Dementia.
Starting his career as a radio jock, Riddle was recognized as one of the founding figures behind the “Boss Radio” format. Moving to TV, he then hosted Los Angeles variety shows, including “9th Street West” and “Hollywood A-Go-Go.” He eventually became a producer, working on shows such as ABC’s “Almost Anything Goes” and “Star Search Starring Ed McMahon,” where he gave career breaks to stars such as Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Dave Chappelle, Christina Aguilera and many more. Additionally, he’s known for recognizing the Spanish-language market and oversaw the early creation and production of numerous specials and series for Telemundo and Univision, including “Ritmo...
Starting his career as a radio jock, Riddle was recognized as one of the founding figures behind the “Boss Radio” format. Moving to TV, he then hosted Los Angeles variety shows, including “9th Street West” and “Hollywood A-Go-Go.” He eventually became a producer, working on shows such as ABC’s “Almost Anything Goes” and “Star Search Starring Ed McMahon,” where he gave career breaks to stars such as Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Dave Chappelle, Christina Aguilera and many more. Additionally, he’s known for recognizing the Spanish-language market and oversaw the early creation and production of numerous specials and series for Telemundo and Univision, including “Ritmo...
- 9/28/2021
- by Katie Song
- Variety Film + TV
Sam Riddle, an original “Boss Radio” DJ on Khj Los Angeles who also produced and narrated Star Search and many other TV shows, died Monday at his home in Palm Desert, CA. He was 85. Riddle’s family said had been battling Lewy body dementia.
Showbiz & Media Figures We’ve Lost In 2021 – Photo Gallery
Riddle was one of Khj’s original Boss Jocks during the mid-1960s and went on to host local TV shows including Hollywood A Go Go, 9th Street West, Boss City and Sounds of Now. He also co-hosted Get It Together with Mama Cass and Sam Riddle at the turn of the 1970s. The 2021 HBO documentary Tina includes Riddle announcing the first big TV appearance of Ike and Tina Turner.
Born on December 12, 1937 in Fort Worth, Texas, Riddle served in the Air Force reserves during the Vietnam War. He got his radio start with DJ gigs in Texas,...
Showbiz & Media Figures We’ve Lost In 2021 – Photo Gallery
Riddle was one of Khj’s original Boss Jocks during the mid-1960s and went on to host local TV shows including Hollywood A Go Go, 9th Street West, Boss City and Sounds of Now. He also co-hosted Get It Together with Mama Cass and Sam Riddle at the turn of the 1970s. The 2021 HBO documentary Tina includes Riddle announcing the first big TV appearance of Ike and Tina Turner.
Born on December 12, 1937 in Fort Worth, Texas, Riddle served in the Air Force reserves during the Vietnam War. He got his radio start with DJ gigs in Texas,...
- 9/28/2021
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Sam Riddle, the popular Los Angeles “Boss Radio” deejay of the 1960s who went on to produce the Ed McMahon-hosted TV talent show Star Search, has died. He was 83.
Riddle died Monday at his home in Palm Desert after a battle with Lewy body dementia, a publicist announced.
In an era when radio disc jockeys exerted huge influence on sales and pop culture, the Texas native started out in L.A. radio on Krla and jumped to Kfwb before landing at Khj-93, where he became one of the founding jocks behind the “Boss Radio” format.
By virtue of ...
Riddle died Monday at his home in Palm Desert after a battle with Lewy body dementia, a publicist announced.
In an era when radio disc jockeys exerted huge influence on sales and pop culture, the Texas native started out in L.A. radio on Krla and jumped to Kfwb before landing at Khj-93, where he became one of the founding jocks behind the “Boss Radio” format.
By virtue of ...
- 9/28/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Sam Riddle, the popular Los Angeles “Boss Radio” deejay of the 1960s who went on to produce the Ed McMahon-hosted TV talent show Star Search, has died. He was 83.
Riddle died Monday at his home in Palm Desert after a battle with Lewy body dementia, a publicist announced.
In an era when radio disc jockeys exerted huge influence on sales and pop culture, the Texas native started out in L.A. radio on Krla and jumped to Kfwb before landing at Khj-93, where he became one of the founding jocks behind the “Boss Radio” format.
By virtue of ...
Riddle died Monday at his home in Palm Desert after a battle with Lewy body dementia, a publicist announced.
In an era when radio disc jockeys exerted huge influence on sales and pop culture, the Texas native started out in L.A. radio on Krla and jumped to Kfwb before landing at Khj-93, where he became one of the founding jocks behind the “Boss Radio” format.
By virtue of ...
- 9/28/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
If bon mots were bonbons, Fran Lebowitz would be Willie Wonka.
She has been dispensing witty observations for decades now, in her book The Fran Lebowitz Reader, as a frequent and reliably funny guest on late-night TV, and most recently in the Netflix documentary series Pretend It’s a City.
Her friend Martin Scorsese directed the Emmy-contending series, the second documentary he’s made that focused on Lebowitz, after the 2010 film Public Speaking. Pretend It’s a City consists of conversations between the two, as well as public speaking engagements Lebowitz made before Covid hit, moderated by the likes of Spike Lee, Alec Baldwin, and Olivia Wilde.
The seven-part series includes an ample supply of pithy comments, most of them springing from Lebowitz’s curmudgeonly point of view—a longtime New York resident (though originally from New Jersey) who feels constantly irked by the foibles of people with whom she shares the city.
She has been dispensing witty observations for decades now, in her book The Fran Lebowitz Reader, as a frequent and reliably funny guest on late-night TV, and most recently in the Netflix documentary series Pretend It’s a City.
Her friend Martin Scorsese directed the Emmy-contending series, the second documentary he’s made that focused on Lebowitz, after the 2010 film Public Speaking. Pretend It’s a City consists of conversations between the two, as well as public speaking engagements Lebowitz made before Covid hit, moderated by the likes of Spike Lee, Alec Baldwin, and Olivia Wilde.
The seven-part series includes an ample supply of pithy comments, most of them springing from Lebowitz’s curmudgeonly point of view—a longtime New York resident (though originally from New Jersey) who feels constantly irked by the foibles of people with whom she shares the city.
- 6/14/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Chloe Decker and the demon Mazikeen have kissed at least twice before (either as part of a ruse or amid misread feelings), but never quite the way they do in the newly released Lucifer blooper reel.
As part of Netflix’s #GeekedWeek event, this Wednesday treated Lucifer fans to not just the gag reel above, but also an afternoon table read by the series’ cast, on the heels of Season 5B’s release — and with an eye on the sixth and final season arriving… some day.
More from TVLineLucifer EPs on Sending [Spoiler] to Hell, Season 6 TeasesLucifer's Lesley-Ann Brandt Reflects on...
As part of Netflix’s #GeekedWeek event, this Wednesday treated Lucifer fans to not just the gag reel above, but also an afternoon table read by the series’ cast, on the heels of Season 5B’s release — and with an eye on the sixth and final season arriving… some day.
More from TVLineLucifer EPs on Sending [Spoiler] to Hell, Season 6 TeasesLucifer's Lesley-Ann Brandt Reflects on...
- 6/9/2021
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
When the documentary The New York Times Presents: Framing Britney Spears premiered on FX in February, it caused a sensation. More than 1 million reactions were tweeted within a few days of its debut. And Justin Timberlake, whose treatment of Spears after the pop stars’ breakup years ago was questioned in the film, felt compelled to issue a statement apologizing to his former girlfriend.
“We were all truly surprised at what a reception there was,” director and executive producer Samantha Stark said during Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted panel discussion of the documentary. “Britney Spears, for a long time, was not taken seriously, was made fun of a lot, you can see throughout her life, with the media coverage. I was worried people would continue to do that, to make fun of that…but it was really, really incredible to see people really ‘get’ what we were trying to show.
“We were all truly surprised at what a reception there was,” director and executive producer Samantha Stark said during Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted panel discussion of the documentary. “Britney Spears, for a long time, was not taken seriously, was made fun of a lot, you can see throughout her life, with the media coverage. I was worried people would continue to do that, to make fun of that…but it was really, really incredible to see people really ‘get’ what we were trying to show.
- 5/1/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Britney Spears was a symbol for her entire public life. And, even in her seclusion, we can’t stop seeing her as something more, and less, than simply a person.
The new Samantha Stark-directed documentary “Framing Britney Spears,” produced by the New York Times and airing on Feb. 5 on Hulu, looks at both sides of the pop superstar’s troubled experience of fame. From childhood, Spears put her talents towards what the recording industry made available to her: a sort of flat, inoffensive notoriety, a life as an image onto which spectators could imagine anything, virtuous or otherwise. After a break — Spears’ well-documented struggles with mental health in the late 2000s, placing on hiatus her career as well as testing her personal relationships — the performer returned in a show of force, making music as well as money under the oversight of her father, who held a new judge-mandated power over her decisions,...
The new Samantha Stark-directed documentary “Framing Britney Spears,” produced by the New York Times and airing on Feb. 5 on Hulu, looks at both sides of the pop superstar’s troubled experience of fame. From childhood, Spears put her talents towards what the recording industry made available to her: a sort of flat, inoffensive notoriety, a life as an image onto which spectators could imagine anything, virtuous or otherwise. After a break — Spears’ well-documented struggles with mental health in the late 2000s, placing on hiatus her career as well as testing her personal relationships — the performer returned in a show of force, making music as well as money under the oversight of her father, who held a new judge-mandated power over her decisions,...
- 1/27/2021
- by Daniel D'Addario
- Variety Film + TV
In 1968, America was embroiled in protests over civil rights and the Vietnam War. In that tumultuous time, “The Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson turned over hosting duties for an entire week to actor and activist Harry Belafonte. His cast of guests included Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy, just months before they were assassinated, during a week that’s been mostly lost in American history. Thankfully it’s now being revisited in a new Peacock documentary, executive produced by MSNBC host Joy Reid and directed by award-winning filmmaker Yoruba Richen, aptly titled “The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show.”
At the time, Carson’s pioneering late night variety show had become one of the country’s most influential platforms. So the move to have Belafonte take this mainstream institution and transform it into a multicultural and political experience, introducing white America to his world of art and activism,...
At the time, Carson’s pioneering late night variety show had become one of the country’s most influential platforms. So the move to have Belafonte take this mainstream institution and transform it into a multicultural and political experience, introducing white America to his world of art and activism,...
- 9/10/2020
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
Every Labor Day weekend for more than 40 years, Jerry Lewis hosted the Mda Telethon from Las Vegas, joined by friends like Ed McMahon and Don Rickles. The show featured comedy, music and Lewis’ wacky stage riffing; over the years, it raised more than $2 billion for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Lewis stopped hosting the show in 2010 and died in 2017, but Wednesday, the Muscular Dystrophy Association announced the telethon will return with comedian Kevin Hart.
The Mda Kevin Hart Kids telethon will air for two hours on Saturday, October 24th at 8 p.
Lewis stopped hosting the show in 2010 and died in 2017, but Wednesday, the Muscular Dystrophy Association announced the telethon will return with comedian Kevin Hart.
The Mda Kevin Hart Kids telethon will air for two hours on Saturday, October 24th at 8 p.
- 9/9/2020
- by Patrick Doyle
- Rollingstone.com
Hey everyone! I’m the idiot who volunteered to write about The Shining, Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s 1977 novel that over the past 40 years has already been run through the discourse grinder nine ways to Sunday. Even those few who haven’t seen it likely know the story: recovering (kinda) alcoholic Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) takes wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd) to the remote Overlook hotel to serve as caretaker during the off-season and give Jack a chance to work on his book. Those plans are quickly derailed, however, as Danny’s burgeoning psychic ability (the “shine”) helps him see that the hotel is alive and less than friendly. Naturally, it possesses Jack, who attacks his family with an axe while spouting manic Ed McMahon impressions.
Personally, I quite enjoy the film as a dread-drenched blend of haunted house and possession story, and...
Personally, I quite enjoy the film as a dread-drenched blend of haunted house and possession story, and...
- 7/7/2020
- by Bryan Christopher
- DailyDead
Hugh Downs, who began appearing on television at the dawn of the medium and gained fame as co-host of 20/20, host of Today and as Jack Paar’s sidekick on the Tonight Show, has died.
The Washington Post and New York Times cited a statement from Downs’ family in reporting his death on July 1 at his home in Scottsdale, Az. The cause was reported to be a heart ailment, and not related to Covid-19.
Downs appeared on air for more than 10,000 hours, which was a record until Regis Philbin eclipsed it in the 2000s. He officially signed off in 1999 after more than a half-century on the air.
Viewers in the 1980s and 1990s got to know Downs during his long co-hosting stint with Barbara Walters on ABC’s 20/20. In her 2008 memoir, Audition, the Post recalled, Walters noted their different approaches but also her fondness for Downs.
“Hugh and I had different personalities and different styles,...
The Washington Post and New York Times cited a statement from Downs’ family in reporting his death on July 1 at his home in Scottsdale, Az. The cause was reported to be a heart ailment, and not related to Covid-19.
Downs appeared on air for more than 10,000 hours, which was a record until Regis Philbin eclipsed it in the 2000s. He officially signed off in 1999 after more than a half-century on the air.
Viewers in the 1980s and 1990s got to know Downs during his long co-hosting stint with Barbara Walters on ABC’s 20/20. In her 2008 memoir, Audition, the Post recalled, Walters noted their different approaches but also her fondness for Downs.
“Hugh and I had different personalities and different styles,...
- 7/2/2020
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
Fred Willard was an actor, a comedian, an improv genius and a gentle soul. The performer, who died May 15 of natural causes at the age of 86, was beloved in the creative community because he offered the rarest commodity in showbiz.
“He was a guarantee,” says Phil Rosenthal, creator and showrunner of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” which featured Willard in a recurring role in its later seasons.
“With Fred Willard, when his face popped up in a show or a movie, you suddenly got a little jolt of ‘This is going to be funny,’” Rosenthal says. “There are way more famous comedians who can carry movies, but you can’t always guarantee that they’re going to be funny. Fred was a guarantee.”
Willard was known for playing dimwitted characters and straitlaced, average guys who would say and do unexpectedly outrageous things.
A graduate of Virginia Military Institute and an Army veteran,...
“He was a guarantee,” says Phil Rosenthal, creator and showrunner of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” which featured Willard in a recurring role in its later seasons.
“With Fred Willard, when his face popped up in a show or a movie, you suddenly got a little jolt of ‘This is going to be funny,’” Rosenthal says. “There are way more famous comedians who can carry movies, but you can’t always guarantee that they’re going to be funny. Fred was a guarantee.”
Willard was known for playing dimwitted characters and straitlaced, average guys who would say and do unexpectedly outrageous things.
A graduate of Virginia Military Institute and an Army veteran,...
- 5/20/2020
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Amazon’s Making the Cut crowned its first winner on Friday in a two-part finale that brought the remaining designers back to where their season-long journey began.
Jonny Cota, Esther Perbandt and Sander Bos returned to New York City to showcase their final collections in fully realized pop-up shops. While Bos’ candy coated display was a success in its own right, it fell short of expectations, resulting in a third-place finish for the 24-year-old Belgium native.
More from TVLineJeffrey Tambor Reflects on Transparent Firing, Sexual Harassment Allegations: 'I'm Sorry It Ended the Way It Did'Which One Beloved TV Show Do...
Jonny Cota, Esther Perbandt and Sander Bos returned to New York City to showcase their final collections in fully realized pop-up shops. While Bos’ candy coated display was a success in its own right, it fell short of expectations, resulting in a third-place finish for the 24-year-old Belgium native.
More from TVLineJeffrey Tambor Reflects on Transparent Firing, Sexual Harassment Allegations: 'I'm Sorry It Ended the Way It Did'Which One Beloved TV Show Do...
- 4/25/2020
- TVLine.com
Washington, D.C. — Comedian Dave Chappelle was presented with the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for
American Humor Sunday night following a barrage of heartfelt tributes praising his courage, his spontaneity and his genius at drawing laughter from sobering racial commentary.
The Twain event, now in its 22nd year, was a non-stop love fest as a parade of admiring entertainers saluted Chappelle before a packed house at the center’s Concert Hall. It began with a tribute from Lorne Michaels about Chappelle’s hosting gig on “Saturday Night Live” immediately following the 2016 presidential election, and ended with comedian Jon Stewart’s reflections about his former Comedy Central colleague and recent traveling companion on the road.
Slotted in between were Sarah Silverman, Common, Bradley Cooper, Morgan Freeman, Tiffany Haddish, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, rapper Q-Tip and others. It was accompanied by a decidedly mellow band led by music director Adam Blackstone,...
American Humor Sunday night following a barrage of heartfelt tributes praising his courage, his spontaneity and his genius at drawing laughter from sobering racial commentary.
The Twain event, now in its 22nd year, was a non-stop love fest as a parade of admiring entertainers saluted Chappelle before a packed house at the center’s Concert Hall. It began with a tribute from Lorne Michaels about Chappelle’s hosting gig on “Saturday Night Live” immediately following the 2016 presidential election, and ended with comedian Jon Stewart’s reflections about his former Comedy Central colleague and recent traveling companion on the road.
Slotted in between were Sarah Silverman, Common, Bradley Cooper, Morgan Freeman, Tiffany Haddish, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, rapper Q-Tip and others. It was accompanied by a decidedly mellow band led by music director Adam Blackstone,...
- 10/28/2019
- by Paul Harris
- Variety Film + TV
The late Rip Torn, who died July 9 at 88, had a career that included decade-spanning stage work, an Oscar-nominated performance in the film “Cross Creek,” and later turns in movies as wide-ranging as “Men in Black” and “Marie Antoinette.” But to legions of viewers, he’s best remembered as Artie, perhaps the one moral major character on HBO’s “The Larry Sanders Show.” The Emmy-winning performance was perhaps the best representation of Torn’s unusual blend of toughness and tender sentimentality, a turn that was as often profane as it was unexpectedly moving.
“The Larry Sanders Show” was a depiction of a world that was slipping away from its characters — Larry, played by the late Garry Shandling, is a would-be Johnny Carson figure, a network late-night host whose only real comic edge comes out when his talk show wraps for the night, as he berates himself. The chat show is buffeted...
“The Larry Sanders Show” was a depiction of a world that was slipping away from its characters — Larry, played by the late Garry Shandling, is a would-be Johnny Carson figure, a network late-night host whose only real comic edge comes out when his talk show wraps for the night, as he berates himself. The chat show is buffeted...
- 7/10/2019
- by Daniel D'Addario
- Variety Film + TV
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon will take viewers behind the scenes Monday night, February 25, in a special episode inspired by the The Larry Sanders Show.
Tina Fey will be among Fallon’s guests that night; she’s there to promote her new comedy Wine Country. But, for reasons not known to Fallon, she’s very mad at him. Which she makes very clear as viewers are watching the Wine Country clip.
The Larry Sanders Show, Garry Shandling’s much heralded skewering of late-night TV shows, aired on HBO from 1992-98. Shandling died in 2016.
Coming full circle, NBC’s iconic late-night show is paying homage to a beloved comedy series that poked fun of NBC’s late-night show.
Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, animal expert Robert Irwin and musical guest Florida Georgia Line also are contributing to the tribute episode’s backstage drama.
It’s not the first time Fallon...
Tina Fey will be among Fallon’s guests that night; she’s there to promote her new comedy Wine Country. But, for reasons not known to Fallon, she’s very mad at him. Which she makes very clear as viewers are watching the Wine Country clip.
The Larry Sanders Show, Garry Shandling’s much heralded skewering of late-night TV shows, aired on HBO from 1992-98. Shandling died in 2016.
Coming full circle, NBC’s iconic late-night show is paying homage to a beloved comedy series that poked fun of NBC’s late-night show.
Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, animal expert Robert Irwin and musical guest Florida Georgia Line also are contributing to the tribute episode’s backstage drama.
It’s not the first time Fallon...
- 2/21/2019
- by Lisa de Moraes
- Deadline Film + TV
Every Friday, we’re recommending an older movie available to stream or download and worth seeing again through the lens of our current moment. We’re calling the series “Revisiting Hours” — consider this Rolling Stone’s unofficial film club. This week’s edition: Alex Pappademas on Paul Schrader’s 1978 working-class raunchcom/working-man’s crime drama Blue Collar.
Two Detroit auto-plant workers are meeting up for a substance-fueled orgy at the home of a third. Zeke (Richard Pryor) and Jerry (Harvey Keitel) are both married; their host is Smokey (Yaphet Kotto), who isn’t.
Two Detroit auto-plant workers are meeting up for a substance-fueled orgy at the home of a third. Zeke (Richard Pryor) and Jerry (Harvey Keitel) are both married; their host is Smokey (Yaphet Kotto), who isn’t.
- 12/7/2018
- by Alex Pappademas
- Rollingstone.com
As Scream Factory continues to diversify their slate of releases — most recently striking a licensing deal with Warner Bros. at long last, resulting in more John Carpenter titles joining the lineup — one of the exciting parts of the company continues to be their commitment to giving smaller, lesser-known catalogue titles the HD treatment. They’re not always great, but they’re always worth checking out.
First up is Nightmare at Noon from Greek madman Nico Mastorakis, the director responsible for Island of Death, The Zero Boys, and Hired to Kill. Part crazy action movie, part zombie outbreak movie, Nightmare at Noon finds a small town’s water supply being tainted by a mad scientist, which turns all those who drink it into crazed, mutated monsters. If that premise doesn’t grab you — and as a genre fan, it probably should — the cast is pure B-movie heaven: Wings Hauser, Bo Hopkins,...
First up is Nightmare at Noon from Greek madman Nico Mastorakis, the director responsible for Island of Death, The Zero Boys, and Hired to Kill. Part crazy action movie, part zombie outbreak movie, Nightmare at Noon finds a small town’s water supply being tainted by a mad scientist, which turns all those who drink it into crazed, mutated monsters. If that premise doesn’t grab you — and as a genre fan, it probably should — the cast is pure B-movie heaven: Wings Hauser, Bo Hopkins,...
- 5/7/2018
- by Patrick Bromley
- DailyDead
Prolific filmmaker Larry Cohen was recently the subject of Steve Mitchell's documentary King Cohen, so it's fitting that Scream Factory's Blu-ray release of Full Moon High (coming out on April 10th) will feature a new audio commentary with Cohen that is moderated by Mitchell:
Press Release: Los Angeles, CA – The ‘80s cult classic Full Moon High comes howling to Blu-ray on April 10, 2018, from Scream Factory. Bonus features include a New audio commentary with writer/producer/director Larry Cohen (It’s Alive, Q: The Winged Serpent, God Told Me To), moderated by King Cohen filmmaker Steve Mitchell, as well as the theatrical trailer.
The problem of a typical high-school teenager takes on monstrous proportions in this comical send up of horror movies from legendary cult filmmaker Larry Cohen.
The most important thing to quarterback Tony Walker (Adam Arkin, Halloween H20) is to win the big game against archrival Simpson High.
Press Release: Los Angeles, CA – The ‘80s cult classic Full Moon High comes howling to Blu-ray on April 10, 2018, from Scream Factory. Bonus features include a New audio commentary with writer/producer/director Larry Cohen (It’s Alive, Q: The Winged Serpent, God Told Me To), moderated by King Cohen filmmaker Steve Mitchell, as well as the theatrical trailer.
The problem of a typical high-school teenager takes on monstrous proportions in this comical send up of horror movies from legendary cult filmmaker Larry Cohen.
The most important thing to quarterback Tony Walker (Adam Arkin, Halloween H20) is to win the big game against archrival Simpson High.
- 3/7/2018
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
New Yorkers of two centuries ago surely complained loudly about rampant street crime, but in the 1960s the media really ramped up the reportage paranoia. Had a new age of senseless violence begun? A New York play about terror on the subway is the source for this nail-biter with a powerful cast, featuring an ensemble of sharp new faces and undervalued veterans.
The Incident
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1967 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 99 min. / Street Date February 20, 2018 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Tony Musante, Martin Sheen, Beau Bridges, Jack Gilford, Thelma Ritter, Brock Peters, Ruby Dee, Ed McMahon, Diana Van der Vlis, Mike Kellin, Jan Sterling, Gary Merrill, Robert Fields, Robert Bannard, Victor Arnold, Donna Mills.
Cinematography: Gerald Hirschfeld
Film Editor: Armond Lebowitz
Production design: Manny Gerard
Original Music: Terry Knight, Charles Fox
Written by Nicholas E. Baehr
Produced by Edward Meadow, Monroe Sachson
Directed by Larry Peerce
Various pundits...
The Incident
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1967 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 99 min. / Street Date February 20, 2018 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Tony Musante, Martin Sheen, Beau Bridges, Jack Gilford, Thelma Ritter, Brock Peters, Ruby Dee, Ed McMahon, Diana Van der Vlis, Mike Kellin, Jan Sterling, Gary Merrill, Robert Fields, Robert Bannard, Victor Arnold, Donna Mills.
Cinematography: Gerald Hirschfeld
Film Editor: Armond Lebowitz
Production design: Manny Gerard
Original Music: Terry Knight, Charles Fox
Written by Nicholas E. Baehr
Produced by Edward Meadow, Monroe Sachson
Directed by Larry Peerce
Various pundits...
- 2/27/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
New year, same wonderful deep cuts from Scream Factory! This April, Scream Factory will unearth Crucible of Horror (1971), Daughters of Satan (1972), Superbeast (1972), and Full Moon High (1981) on Blu-ray, and we have a look at the initial release details and cover art:
From Scream Factory: “This April we have a horrifying handful of obscure hidden gems to bring to the Blu-ray format for the first time ever! Our colorful assortment includes:
Crucible Of Horror (1971) - This horrifying film tells the story of Edith (Yvonne Mitchell, Nineteen Eighty-Four), a terrorized wife, who, along with her daughter, plots to kill her husband, Walter (Michael Gough, Batman, Sleepy Hollow), to end his abusive treatment of them. They poison him and make his death look like a suicide. But they didn't count on one thing: Walter isn't ready to die...
Street Date: April 10th but get it shipped two weeks early directly from us @ https://www.
From Scream Factory: “This April we have a horrifying handful of obscure hidden gems to bring to the Blu-ray format for the first time ever! Our colorful assortment includes:
Crucible Of Horror (1971) - This horrifying film tells the story of Edith (Yvonne Mitchell, Nineteen Eighty-Four), a terrorized wife, who, along with her daughter, plots to kill her husband, Walter (Michael Gough, Batman, Sleepy Hollow), to end his abusive treatment of them. They poison him and make his death look like a suicide. But they didn't count on one thing: Walter isn't ready to die...
Street Date: April 10th but get it shipped two weeks early directly from us @ https://www.
- 1/22/2018
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
As far as audience surrogates go, you can’t get any better or time-tested than a wide-eyed optimist thrust into the middle of a culture shock. “There’s…Johnny!” protagonist Andy Klavin (Ian Nelson) ticks all those boxes, becoming a gateway to the backstage world at the Johnny Carson-hosted “Tonight Show” in Hulu’s new seven-part comedy series. But there’s a distinct style and approach to the show around Andy that elevates this from a comedy curiosity or a wistful passion project to something worth immersing in.
Rather than re-creating faint replications of antics from the time when Carson ruled late night, “There’s…Johnny!” (originally produced for Seeso, before that comedy service shut down) uses actual archival footage from the show, even incorporating memorable moments as significant plot points for the characters just off-camera. Johnny, Ed McMahon, and even a few notable guest stars pop up on...
Rather than re-creating faint replications of antics from the time when Carson ruled late night, “There’s…Johnny!” (originally produced for Seeso, before that comedy service shut down) uses actual archival footage from the show, even incorporating memorable moments as significant plot points for the characters just off-camera. Johnny, Ed McMahon, and even a few notable guest stars pop up on...
- 11/16/2017
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Jerry participated in the 2006 Doodle For Hunger in support of the St. Francis Food Pantries.
He is also the National Chairman for the Us Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Charities & foundations supported
Jerry Lewis has supported the following charities:
Augie's QuestFriars FoundationMarch Of DimesMuscular Dystrophy AssociationSt. Francis Food Pantries and SheltersWorld Smile Foundation Read more about Jerry Lewis's charity work and events. Related articles Jerry Lewis Tops Charity SurveyJerry Lewis Mda Telethon Still Going StrongJerry Lewis Awarded Oscar For Charity WorkObituary: Ed McMahon's Charity WorkJerry Lewis Passes Charity Torch To Son
Explore celebrities by social reach, cause, location, field and more with Insider Access →
Copyright © 2017 Look To The Stars. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this via email or in your news reader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright, and we would be grateful if you would contact us.
He is also the National Chairman for the Us Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Charities & foundations supported
Jerry Lewis has supported the following charities:
Augie's QuestFriars FoundationMarch Of DimesMuscular Dystrophy AssociationSt. Francis Food Pantries and SheltersWorld Smile Foundation Read more about Jerry Lewis's charity work and events. Related articles Jerry Lewis Tops Charity SurveyJerry Lewis Mda Telethon Still Going StrongJerry Lewis Awarded Oscar For Charity WorkObituary: Ed McMahon's Charity WorkJerry Lewis Passes Charity Torch To Son
Explore celebrities by social reach, cause, location, field and more with Insider Access →
Copyright © 2017 Look To The Stars. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this via email or in your news reader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright, and we would be grateful if you would contact us.
- 8/21/2017
- Look to the Stars
1993
More than 20 years ago my swagger caused a rift between DC Comics and myself and that caused problems between DC and Milestone.
The pressure was put on Milestone to silence me. Silence me from what you ask? Calling DC Comics on their shit is what.
I gave up a significant income to concentrate on Milestone. DC was in breach of my deal, and as a result, I lived more than a year on my savings waiting for these people to pay me.
I did well, and my lifestyle conveyed that. My wife and I moved three times in just as many years. Our space got more luxurious until I found a loft, so dope (throwback slang it means fucking fantastic) thought I’d never want to leave there.
How dope?
If Milestone wanted to impress anyone those meetings took place in my new loft. That lifestyle was not because of...
More than 20 years ago my swagger caused a rift between DC Comics and myself and that caused problems between DC and Milestone.
The pressure was put on Milestone to silence me. Silence me from what you ask? Calling DC Comics on their shit is what.
I gave up a significant income to concentrate on Milestone. DC was in breach of my deal, and as a result, I lived more than a year on my savings waiting for these people to pay me.
I did well, and my lifestyle conveyed that. My wife and I moved three times in just as many years. Our space got more luxurious until I found a loft, so dope (throwback slang it means fucking fantastic) thought I’d never want to leave there.
How dope?
If Milestone wanted to impress anyone those meetings took place in my new loft. That lifestyle was not because of...
- 5/21/2017
- by Michael Davis
- Comicmix.com
Comedy Central on Thursday introduced viewers to an intentionally funny version of President Donald Trump, as portrayed by comedian Anthony Atamanuik in the new late-night comedy series The President Show.
VideosSeth Meyers: Trump’s Been Misleading the Nation Since Home Alone 2
The episode began with a press conference, during which President Trump addressed his first 100 days in office.
“In my first 100 days, I signed 30 executive orders, fired 59 missiles into Syria, took 16 golf trips, got 500 holes-in-one and talked to a lady astronaut on the computer,” Trump said. “All of that is 785 things, which if you round up is a million.
VideosSeth Meyers: Trump’s Been Misleading the Nation Since Home Alone 2
The episode began with a press conference, during which President Trump addressed his first 100 days in office.
“In my first 100 days, I signed 30 executive orders, fired 59 missiles into Syria, took 16 golf trips, got 500 holes-in-one and talked to a lady astronaut on the computer,” Trump said. “All of that is 785 things, which if you round up is a million.
- 4/28/2017
- TVLine.com
Elisabeth Moss in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
Two exciting new limited series are making rather unconventional debuts this week, with The Handmaid’s Tale premiering on Hulu, which hasn’t had such a big event program like this before, and Genius giving National Geographic its first scripted show. We’re also saying goodbye to Bates Motel, welcome back to Silicon Valley, and hello in a new form to Dear White People. Plus there are a couple new places to have a laugh at the president.
To help you keep track of the most important programs over the next seven days, here’s our guide to everything worth watching, whether it’s on broadcast, cable, or streaming for April 23–29:
SUNDAYSilicon Valley (HBO, 10pm)
The boys of Pied Piper return, but they’re no longer a united force. The fourth season promises internal strife, as Richard (Thomas Middleditch) appears to quit his own company, as...
Two exciting new limited series are making rather unconventional debuts this week, with The Handmaid’s Tale premiering on Hulu, which hasn’t had such a big event program like this before, and Genius giving National Geographic its first scripted show. We’re also saying goodbye to Bates Motel, welcome back to Silicon Valley, and hello in a new form to Dear White People. Plus there are a couple new places to have a laugh at the president.
To help you keep track of the most important programs over the next seven days, here’s our guide to everything worth watching, whether it’s on broadcast, cable, or streaming for April 23–29:
SUNDAYSilicon Valley (HBO, 10pm)
The boys of Pied Piper return, but they’re no longer a united force. The fourth season promises internal strife, as Richard (Thomas Middleditch) appears to quit his own company, as...
- 4/23/2017
- by Christopher Campbell
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Forever, it seems, we’ve known that, more than just about anything, Owen has wanted to be a father. (Heck, you can tell just from this picture of him with Harriet, can’t you?) And in Thursday’s Grey’s Anatomy, it sure looked like Amelia was about to make her husband’s dream — as well as our very early fall preview — come true. Were the newlyweds really expecting? Read on and find out.
Related2017 Renewal Scorecard: What’s Coming Back? What’s Getting Cancelled? What’s on the Bubble?
‘Tell Me When It’S Real’ | As “Both Sides Now” began,...
Related2017 Renewal Scorecard: What’s Coming Back? What’s Getting Cancelled? What’s on the Bubble?
‘Tell Me When It’S Real’ | As “Both Sides Now” began,...
- 10/21/2016
- TVLine.com
Hey now, and hallelujah: After a few years stuck in streaming purgatory, all 89 episodes of The Larry Sanders Show are now available on HBO Go/HBO Now, as of this Friday. It’s a fitting home, too, since the original run of Sanders aired on HBO from 1992 to 1998 — and changed television as we know it.
If you’re not familiar, Larry Sanders stars Garry Shandling as the chronically insecure host of a struggling late-night talk show. Rip Torn co-stars as his no-bs producer Artie, along with Jeffrey Tambor as Larry’s self-loathing sidekick Hank Kingsley. Looking back now, Sanders was revolutionary,...
If you’re not familiar, Larry Sanders stars Garry Shandling as the chronically insecure host of a struggling late-night talk show. Rip Torn co-stars as his no-bs producer Artie, along with Jeffrey Tambor as Larry’s self-loathing sidekick Hank Kingsley. Looking back now, Sanders was revolutionary,...
- 9/23/2016
- TVLine.com
Ivan Tors and Curt Siodmak 'borrow' nine minutes of dynamite special effects from an obscure-because-suppressed German sci-fi picture, write a new script, and come up with an eccentric thriller where atom scientists behave like G-Men crossed with Albert Einstein. The challenge? How to make a faceless unstable atomic isotope into a worthy science fiction 'monster.' The Magnetic Monster Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1953 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 76 min. / Street Date June 14, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Richard Carlson, King Donovan, Jean Byron, Leonard Mudie, Byron Foulger, Michael Fox, Frank Gerstle, Charles Williams, Kathleen Freeman, Strother Martin, Jarma Lewis. Cinematography Charles Van Enger Supervising Film Editor Herbert L. Strock Original Music Blaine Sanford Written by Curt Siodmak, Ivan Tors Produced by Ivan Tors Directed by Curt Siodmak
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
How did we ever survive without an "Office of Scientific Investigation?" In the early 1950s, producer Ivan Tors launched himself with a trio of science fiction movies based on that non-existent government entity, sort of an FBI for strange scientific phenomena. As of this writing, Kino has released a terrific 3-D Blu-ray of the third entry, 1954's Gog. The second Tors Osi mini-epic is the interesting, if scientifically scrambled Riders to the Stars, which shows up from time to time on TCM but has yet to find its way to home video in any format. The first of the series, 1953's The Magnetic Monster is considered the most scientifically interesting, although it mainly promotes its own laundry list of goofy notions about physics and chemistry. As it pretends that it is based on scientific ideas instead of rubber-suited monsters, Tors' abstract threat is more than just another 'thing' trying to abduct the leading lady. Exploiting the common fear of radiation, a force little understood by the general public, The Magnetic Monster invents a whole new secret government bureau dedicated to solving 'dangerous scientific problems' -- the inference being, of course, that there's always something threatening about science. Actually, producer Tors was probably inspired by his partner Curt Siodmak to take advantage of a fantastic special effects opportunity that a small show like Magnetic could normally never afford. More on that later. The script plays like an episode of Dragnet, substituting scientific detectives for L.A.P.D. gumshoes. Top-kick nuclear troubleshooter Dr. Jeff Stewart (Richard Carlson) can't afford to buy a tract home for his pregnant wife Connie (beautiful Jean Byron, later of The Patty Duke Show). He is one of just a few dauntless Osi operatives standing between us and scientific disaster. When local cops route a weird distress call to the Osi office, Jeff and his Phd. sidekick Dan Forbes (King Donovan) discover that someone has been tampering with an unstable isotope in a room above a housewares store on Lincoln Blvd.: every metallic object in the store has become magnetized. The agents trace the explosive element to one Dr. Serny (Michael Fox), whose "lone wolf" experiments have created a new monster element, a Unipolar watchamacallit sometimes referred to as Serranium. If not 'fed' huge amounts of energy this new element will implode, expand, and explode again on a predictable timetable. Local efforts to neutralize the element fail, and an entire lab building is destroyed. Dan and Jeff rush the now-larger isotope to a fantastic Canadian "Deltatron" constructed in a super-scientific complex deep under the ocean off Nova Scotia. The plan is to bombard the stuff with so much energy that it will disintegrate harmlessly. But does the Deltatron have enough juice to do the job? Its Canadian supervisor tries to halt the procedure just as the time limit to the next implosion is coming due! Sincere, likeable and quaint, The Magnetic Monster is nevertheless a prime candidate for chuckles, thanks to a screenplay with a high clunk factor. Big cheese scientist Jeff Stewart interrupts his experimental bombardment of metals in his atom smasher to go out on blind neighborhood calls, dispensing atom know-how like a pizza deliveryman. He takes time out to make fat jokes at the expense of the lab's switchboard operator, the charming Kathleen Freeman. The Osi's super-computer provides instant answers to various mysteries. Its name in this show is the acronym M.A.N.I.A.C.. Was naming differential analyzers some kind of a fetish with early computer men? Quick, which '50s Sci-fi gem has a computer named S.U.S.I.E.? The strange isotope harnesses a vague amalgam of nuclear and magnetic forces. It might seem logical to small kids just learning about the invisible wonder of magnetism -- and that understand none of it. All the silverware at the store sticks together. It is odd, but not enough to cause the sexy blonde saleswoman (Elizabeth Root) to scream and jump as if goosed by Our Friend the Atom. When a call comes in that a taxi's engine has become magnetized, our agents are slow to catch on. Gee, could that crazy event be related to our mystery element? When the culprit scientist is finally tracked down, and pulled off an airliner, he's already near death from overexposure to his own creation. We admire Dr. Serny, who after all managed to create a new element on his own, without benefit of a billion dollar physics lab. He also must be a prize dope for not realizing that the resulting radiation would kill him. The Osi troubleshooters deliver a stern lesson that all of us need to remember: "In nuclear research there is no place for lone wolves." If you think about it, the agency's function is to protect us from science itself, with blame leveled at individual, free-thinking, 'rogue' brainiacs. (Sarcasm alert.) The danger in nuclear research comes not from mad militarists trying to make bigger and more awful bombs; the villains are those crackpots cooking up end-of-the-world scenarios in their home workshops. Dr. Serny probably didn't even have a security clearance! The Magnetic Monster has a delightful gaffe in every scene. When a dangerous isotope is said to be 'on the loose,' a police radio order is broadcast to Shoot To Kill ... Shoot what exactly, they don't say. This line could very well have been invented in the film's audio mix, if producer Tors thought the scene needed an extra jolt. Despite the fact that writer-director Curt Siodmak cooked up the brilliant concept of Donovan's Brain and personally invented a bona fide classic monster mythology, his '50s sci-fi efforts strain credibility in all directions. As I explain in the Gold review, Siodmak may have been the one to come up with the idea of repurposing the climax of the old film. He was a refugee from Hitler's Germany, and had written a film with director Karl Hartl. Reading accounts in books by Tom Weaver and Bill Warren, we learn that the writer Siodmak had difficulty functioning as a director and that credited editor Herbert Strock stepped in to direct. Strock later claimed that the noted writer was indecisive on the set. The truly remarkable aspect of The Magnetic Monster comes in the last reel, when Jeff and Dan take an elevator ride way, way down to Canada's subterranean, sub-Atlantic Deltatron atom-smasher. They're suddenly wearing styles not worn in the early 'fifties -- big blocky coats and wide-brimmed hats. The answer comes when they step out into a wild mad-lab construction worthy of the visuals in Metropolis. A giant power station is outfitted with oversized white porcelain insulators -- even a set of stairs looks like an insulator. Atop the control booth is an array of (giant, what else) glass tubes with glowing neon lights inside. Cables and wires go every which-way. A crew of workers in wrinkled shop suits stands about like extras from The Three-Penny Opera. For quite some time, only readers of old issues of Famous Monsters of Filmland knew the secret of this bizarre footage, which is actually from the 1934 German sci-fi thriller Gold, directed by Karl Hartl and starring Hans Albers and Brigitte Helm. Tors and Siodmak do their best to integrate Richard Carlson and King Donovan into this spectacular twenty-year-old stock footage, even though the extravagant production values and the expressionist patina of the Ufa visuals are a gross mismatch for The Magnetic Monster's '50s semi-docu look. Jeff's wide hat and David Byrne coat are there to make him look more like Hans Albers in the 1934 film, which doesn't work because Albers must be four inches taller and forty pounds beefier than Richard Carlson. Jeff climbs around the Deltatron, enters a control booth and argues with the Canadian scientist/turnkey, who is a much better match for the villain of Gold. Jeff changes into a different costume, with a different cap -- so he can match Albers in the different scene in Gold. The exciting climax repurposes the extravagant special effects of Otto Hunte and Günther Rittau, changing the original film's attempted atomic alchemy into a desperate attempt to neutralize the nasty new element before it can explode again. The matching works rather well for Jeff's desperate struggle to close an enormous pair of bulkhead doors that have been sabotaged. And a matched cut on a whip pan from center stage to a high control room is very nicely integrated into the old footage. The bizarre scene doesn't quite come off... even kids must have known that older footage was being used. In the long shots, Richard Carlson doesn't look anything like Hans Albers. A fuel-rod plunger in the control room displays a German-style cross, even though the corresponding instrument in the original show wasn't so decorated. Some impressive close-up views of a blob of metal being bombarded by atomic particles are from the old movie, and others are new effects. Metallurgy is scary, man. The "Serranium" threat establishes a pattern touched upon by later Sci-fi movies with organic or abstract forces that grow from relative insignificance to world-threatening proportions. The Monolith Monsters proposes giant crystals that grow to the size of skyscrapers, threatening to cover the earth with a giant quartz-pile. The Sam Katzman quickie The Day the World Exploded makes The Magnetic Monster look like an expensive production. It invents a new mineral that explodes when exposed to air. The supporting cast of The Magnetic Monster gives us some pleasant, familiar faces. In addition to the beloved Kathleen Freeman is Strother Martin as a concerned airline pilot. Fussy Byron Foulger owns the housewares store and granite-jawed Frank Gerstle (Gristle?) is a gruff general. The gorgeous Jarma Lewis has a quick bit as a stewardess. The Kl Studio Classics Blu-ray of The Magnetic Monster is a fine transfer of this B&W gem from United Artists. Once hard to see, it was part of an expensive MGM-Image laserdisc set twenty years ago and then an Mod DVD in 2011. The disc comes with a socko original trailer that explains why it did reasonably well at the box office. Every exciting moment is edited into a coming attraction that really hypes the jeopardy factor. At that time, just the sight of a hero in a radiation suit promised something unusual. Nowadays, Hazardous Waste workers use suits like that to clean up common chemical spills. The commentary for The Magnetic Monster is by Fangoria writer Derek Botelho, whose name is misspelled as Botello on the disc package. I've heard Derek on a couple of David del Valle tracks for Vincent Price movies, where he functioned mainly as an Ed McMahon-like fan sidekick. His talk tends to drift into loosely related sidebar observations. Instead of discussing how the movie was made by cannibalizing another, he recounts for us the comedy stock footage discovery scene from Tim Burton's Ed Wood. Several pages recited from memoirs by Curt Siodmak and Herbert Strock do provide useful information on the film. Botelho appreciates actress Kathleen Freeman. You can't go wrong doing that. Viewers that obtain Kino's concurrent Blu-ray release of the original 1934 German thriller Gold will note that the repurposed scenes from that film look much better here, although they still bear some scratches. On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor, The Magnetic Monster Blu-ray rates: Movie: Good + Video: Very Good Sound: Excellent Supplements: Commentary with Derek Botelho, Theatrical trailer Deaf and Hearing Impaired Friendly? N0; Subtitles: None Packaging: Keep case Reviewed: June 8, 2016 (5138magn)
Visit DVD Savant's Main Column Page Glenn Erickson answers most reader mail: dvdsavant@mindspring.com
Text © Copyright 2016 Glenn Erickson...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
How did we ever survive without an "Office of Scientific Investigation?" In the early 1950s, producer Ivan Tors launched himself with a trio of science fiction movies based on that non-existent government entity, sort of an FBI for strange scientific phenomena. As of this writing, Kino has released a terrific 3-D Blu-ray of the third entry, 1954's Gog. The second Tors Osi mini-epic is the interesting, if scientifically scrambled Riders to the Stars, which shows up from time to time on TCM but has yet to find its way to home video in any format. The first of the series, 1953's The Magnetic Monster is considered the most scientifically interesting, although it mainly promotes its own laundry list of goofy notions about physics and chemistry. As it pretends that it is based on scientific ideas instead of rubber-suited monsters, Tors' abstract threat is more than just another 'thing' trying to abduct the leading lady. Exploiting the common fear of radiation, a force little understood by the general public, The Magnetic Monster invents a whole new secret government bureau dedicated to solving 'dangerous scientific problems' -- the inference being, of course, that there's always something threatening about science. Actually, producer Tors was probably inspired by his partner Curt Siodmak to take advantage of a fantastic special effects opportunity that a small show like Magnetic could normally never afford. More on that later. The script plays like an episode of Dragnet, substituting scientific detectives for L.A.P.D. gumshoes. Top-kick nuclear troubleshooter Dr. Jeff Stewart (Richard Carlson) can't afford to buy a tract home for his pregnant wife Connie (beautiful Jean Byron, later of The Patty Duke Show). He is one of just a few dauntless Osi operatives standing between us and scientific disaster. When local cops route a weird distress call to the Osi office, Jeff and his Phd. sidekick Dan Forbes (King Donovan) discover that someone has been tampering with an unstable isotope in a room above a housewares store on Lincoln Blvd.: every metallic object in the store has become magnetized. The agents trace the explosive element to one Dr. Serny (Michael Fox), whose "lone wolf" experiments have created a new monster element, a Unipolar watchamacallit sometimes referred to as Serranium. If not 'fed' huge amounts of energy this new element will implode, expand, and explode again on a predictable timetable. Local efforts to neutralize the element fail, and an entire lab building is destroyed. Dan and Jeff rush the now-larger isotope to a fantastic Canadian "Deltatron" constructed in a super-scientific complex deep under the ocean off Nova Scotia. The plan is to bombard the stuff with so much energy that it will disintegrate harmlessly. But does the Deltatron have enough juice to do the job? Its Canadian supervisor tries to halt the procedure just as the time limit to the next implosion is coming due! Sincere, likeable and quaint, The Magnetic Monster is nevertheless a prime candidate for chuckles, thanks to a screenplay with a high clunk factor. Big cheese scientist Jeff Stewart interrupts his experimental bombardment of metals in his atom smasher to go out on blind neighborhood calls, dispensing atom know-how like a pizza deliveryman. He takes time out to make fat jokes at the expense of the lab's switchboard operator, the charming Kathleen Freeman. The Osi's super-computer provides instant answers to various mysteries. Its name in this show is the acronym M.A.N.I.A.C.. Was naming differential analyzers some kind of a fetish with early computer men? Quick, which '50s Sci-fi gem has a computer named S.U.S.I.E.? The strange isotope harnesses a vague amalgam of nuclear and magnetic forces. It might seem logical to small kids just learning about the invisible wonder of magnetism -- and that understand none of it. All the silverware at the store sticks together. It is odd, but not enough to cause the sexy blonde saleswoman (Elizabeth Root) to scream and jump as if goosed by Our Friend the Atom. When a call comes in that a taxi's engine has become magnetized, our agents are slow to catch on. Gee, could that crazy event be related to our mystery element? When the culprit scientist is finally tracked down, and pulled off an airliner, he's already near death from overexposure to his own creation. We admire Dr. Serny, who after all managed to create a new element on his own, without benefit of a billion dollar physics lab. He also must be a prize dope for not realizing that the resulting radiation would kill him. The Osi troubleshooters deliver a stern lesson that all of us need to remember: "In nuclear research there is no place for lone wolves." If you think about it, the agency's function is to protect us from science itself, with blame leveled at individual, free-thinking, 'rogue' brainiacs. (Sarcasm alert.) The danger in nuclear research comes not from mad militarists trying to make bigger and more awful bombs; the villains are those crackpots cooking up end-of-the-world scenarios in their home workshops. Dr. Serny probably didn't even have a security clearance! The Magnetic Monster has a delightful gaffe in every scene. When a dangerous isotope is said to be 'on the loose,' a police radio order is broadcast to Shoot To Kill ... Shoot what exactly, they don't say. This line could very well have been invented in the film's audio mix, if producer Tors thought the scene needed an extra jolt. Despite the fact that writer-director Curt Siodmak cooked up the brilliant concept of Donovan's Brain and personally invented a bona fide classic monster mythology, his '50s sci-fi efforts strain credibility in all directions. As I explain in the Gold review, Siodmak may have been the one to come up with the idea of repurposing the climax of the old film. He was a refugee from Hitler's Germany, and had written a film with director Karl Hartl. Reading accounts in books by Tom Weaver and Bill Warren, we learn that the writer Siodmak had difficulty functioning as a director and that credited editor Herbert Strock stepped in to direct. Strock later claimed that the noted writer was indecisive on the set. The truly remarkable aspect of The Magnetic Monster comes in the last reel, when Jeff and Dan take an elevator ride way, way down to Canada's subterranean, sub-Atlantic Deltatron atom-smasher. They're suddenly wearing styles not worn in the early 'fifties -- big blocky coats and wide-brimmed hats. The answer comes when they step out into a wild mad-lab construction worthy of the visuals in Metropolis. A giant power station is outfitted with oversized white porcelain insulators -- even a set of stairs looks like an insulator. Atop the control booth is an array of (giant, what else) glass tubes with glowing neon lights inside. Cables and wires go every which-way. A crew of workers in wrinkled shop suits stands about like extras from The Three-Penny Opera. For quite some time, only readers of old issues of Famous Monsters of Filmland knew the secret of this bizarre footage, which is actually from the 1934 German sci-fi thriller Gold, directed by Karl Hartl and starring Hans Albers and Brigitte Helm. Tors and Siodmak do their best to integrate Richard Carlson and King Donovan into this spectacular twenty-year-old stock footage, even though the extravagant production values and the expressionist patina of the Ufa visuals are a gross mismatch for The Magnetic Monster's '50s semi-docu look. Jeff's wide hat and David Byrne coat are there to make him look more like Hans Albers in the 1934 film, which doesn't work because Albers must be four inches taller and forty pounds beefier than Richard Carlson. Jeff climbs around the Deltatron, enters a control booth and argues with the Canadian scientist/turnkey, who is a much better match for the villain of Gold. Jeff changes into a different costume, with a different cap -- so he can match Albers in the different scene in Gold. The exciting climax repurposes the extravagant special effects of Otto Hunte and Günther Rittau, changing the original film's attempted atomic alchemy into a desperate attempt to neutralize the nasty new element before it can explode again. The matching works rather well for Jeff's desperate struggle to close an enormous pair of bulkhead doors that have been sabotaged. And a matched cut on a whip pan from center stage to a high control room is very nicely integrated into the old footage. The bizarre scene doesn't quite come off... even kids must have known that older footage was being used. In the long shots, Richard Carlson doesn't look anything like Hans Albers. A fuel-rod plunger in the control room displays a German-style cross, even though the corresponding instrument in the original show wasn't so decorated. Some impressive close-up views of a blob of metal being bombarded by atomic particles are from the old movie, and others are new effects. Metallurgy is scary, man. The "Serranium" threat establishes a pattern touched upon by later Sci-fi movies with organic or abstract forces that grow from relative insignificance to world-threatening proportions. The Monolith Monsters proposes giant crystals that grow to the size of skyscrapers, threatening to cover the earth with a giant quartz-pile. The Sam Katzman quickie The Day the World Exploded makes The Magnetic Monster look like an expensive production. It invents a new mineral that explodes when exposed to air. The supporting cast of The Magnetic Monster gives us some pleasant, familiar faces. In addition to the beloved Kathleen Freeman is Strother Martin as a concerned airline pilot. Fussy Byron Foulger owns the housewares store and granite-jawed Frank Gerstle (Gristle?) is a gruff general. The gorgeous Jarma Lewis has a quick bit as a stewardess. The Kl Studio Classics Blu-ray of The Magnetic Monster is a fine transfer of this B&W gem from United Artists. Once hard to see, it was part of an expensive MGM-Image laserdisc set twenty years ago and then an Mod DVD in 2011. The disc comes with a socko original trailer that explains why it did reasonably well at the box office. Every exciting moment is edited into a coming attraction that really hypes the jeopardy factor. At that time, just the sight of a hero in a radiation suit promised something unusual. Nowadays, Hazardous Waste workers use suits like that to clean up common chemical spills. The commentary for The Magnetic Monster is by Fangoria writer Derek Botelho, whose name is misspelled as Botello on the disc package. I've heard Derek on a couple of David del Valle tracks for Vincent Price movies, where he functioned mainly as an Ed McMahon-like fan sidekick. His talk tends to drift into loosely related sidebar observations. Instead of discussing how the movie was made by cannibalizing another, he recounts for us the comedy stock footage discovery scene from Tim Burton's Ed Wood. Several pages recited from memoirs by Curt Siodmak and Herbert Strock do provide useful information on the film. Botelho appreciates actress Kathleen Freeman. You can't go wrong doing that. Viewers that obtain Kino's concurrent Blu-ray release of the original 1934 German thriller Gold will note that the repurposed scenes from that film look much better here, although they still bear some scratches. On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor, The Magnetic Monster Blu-ray rates: Movie: Good + Video: Very Good Sound: Excellent Supplements: Commentary with Derek Botelho, Theatrical trailer Deaf and Hearing Impaired Friendly? N0; Subtitles: None Packaging: Keep case Reviewed: June 8, 2016 (5138magn)
Visit DVD Savant's Main Column Page Glenn Erickson answers most reader mail: dvdsavant@mindspring.com
Text © Copyright 2016 Glenn Erickson...
- 6/14/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The original three amigos: band leader Doc Severinsen, Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon.
By Lee Pfeiffer
It's almost too good to be true. After long, complex negotiations the cable channel Antenna TV has closed a deal to begin showing full length vintage episodes of "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" beginning January 1. The shows will provide a fascinating time capsule that extends over Carson's thirty years hosting of the iconic NBC late night program. Full one hour episodes will air on weeknights while earlier 90 minute episodes will be telecast on weekends. In today's age of basically crass, dumbed-down interview shows, Carson's "Tonight" episodes will probably resonate better than ever. The show would present an astonishing array of guests that represented everyone from legendary actors and singers to literary figures and politicians. For a generation that grew up on the show it will be great to hear Ed McMahon once again bellow,...
By Lee Pfeiffer
It's almost too good to be true. After long, complex negotiations the cable channel Antenna TV has closed a deal to begin showing full length vintage episodes of "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" beginning January 1. The shows will provide a fascinating time capsule that extends over Carson's thirty years hosting of the iconic NBC late night program. Full one hour episodes will air on weeknights while earlier 90 minute episodes will be telecast on weekends. In today's age of basically crass, dumbed-down interview shows, Carson's "Tonight" episodes will probably resonate better than ever. The show would present an astonishing array of guests that represented everyone from legendary actors and singers to literary figures and politicians. For a generation that grew up on the show it will be great to hear Ed McMahon once again bellow,...
- 12/30/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Sure, Justin Timberlake brought down the house with Chris Stapleton during their big duet at Wednesday night's CMAs, but that's not the first time he's killed it with a televised country performance. Back in 1992, an 11-year-old Justin appeared on Star Search as Justin Randall, his first and middle names, and wowed the crowd when he sang Alan Jackson's "Love's Got a Hold on You." Although he didn't win, he did sweetly shake the hand of his competitor. Host Ed McMahon also wished him luck - which, of course, in hindsight, he probably didn't need. Check out the fun flashback video above, then see the best pictures of Jt's big night at the CMAs!
- 11/5/2015
- by Laura Marie Meyers
- Popsugar.com
Like his protégé David Letterman, Johnny Carson entertained America every night for decades, but was largely a mystery off camera. "He doesn't trust very many people, so people who don't know him think he's aloof, stiff, snobby," said his third wife Joanna. But he did open up in a 1979 60 Minutes profile, which can be viewed below, when a confrontational Mike Wallace visited Carson's home in Bel Air, California. The journalist and his crew followed the late night host as he prepared for his show that night by reading newspapers and magazines,...
- 6/23/2015
- Rollingstone.com
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