The Amazing Johnathan, the veteran magician and comic who headlined in Las Vegas for more than a decade and appeared often on television including stand-up specials and David Letterman’s shows, died late Tuesday at his home in Las Vegas. He was 63 and had been struggling with health problems including cardiomyopathy for several years.
His wife, sideshow stunt artist Anastasia Synn, confirmed the news to the Las Vegas Journal-Review today. “I’m losing my beautiful, brilliant husband,” she’d said Tuesday on social media.
Born John Edward Szeles on September 9, 1958, in Detroit, he began doing street comedy in San Francisco as in the early 1980s and starting landing guest spots on TV including Thicke of the Night, Up All Night and Late Night with David Letterman. He would go on to appear many times on Letterman’s show on NBC and later CBS.
As stand-up comedy boomed in the late ’80s and early 1990s,...
His wife, sideshow stunt artist Anastasia Synn, confirmed the news to the Las Vegas Journal-Review today. “I’m losing my beautiful, brilliant husband,” she’d said Tuesday on social media.
Born John Edward Szeles on September 9, 1958, in Detroit, he began doing street comedy in San Francisco as in the early 1980s and starting landing guest spots on TV including Thicke of the Night, Up All Night and Late Night with David Letterman. He would go on to appear many times on Letterman’s show on NBC and later CBS.
As stand-up comedy boomed in the late ’80s and early 1990s,...
- 2/23/2022
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Daniel Radcliffe has been tapped to play musician “Weird Al” Yankovic in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, a Roku Original biopic from Funny or Die and Tango that will be available for streaming exclusively on The Roku Channel.
Yankovic and Eric Appel penned the feature, with the latter Funny or Die alum set to direct, after helming a short film of the same name for the production company back in 2010. Production will kick off in Los Angeles early next month.
Known for pastiching and parodying the works of his musical contemporaries, Yankovic is the biggest-selling comedy recording artist of all time. A five-time Grammy winner, his 2014 release Mandatory Fun was the first comedy album in history to debut at #1 on Billboard’s Top 200. He is one of only three artists to land top 40 hits in each of the last four decades—the others being Michael Jackson and Madonna.
Yankovic and Eric Appel penned the feature, with the latter Funny or Die alum set to direct, after helming a short film of the same name for the production company back in 2010. Production will kick off in Los Angeles early next month.
Known for pastiching and parodying the works of his musical contemporaries, Yankovic is the biggest-selling comedy recording artist of all time. A five-time Grammy winner, his 2014 release Mandatory Fun was the first comedy album in history to debut at #1 on Billboard’s Top 200. He is one of only three artists to land top 40 hits in each of the last four decades—the others being Michael Jackson and Madonna.
- 1/18/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Blockbuster Video was recently back in the news after its last remaining outpost in Bend, Oregon began offering movie lovers a chance to spend the night on an air mattress or pull-out couch, surrounded by rows and rows of new releases. The cost was the same as a movie rental — $4 (not accounting for those exorbitant late fees!). The AirBnB promotion went viral, riding a crest of social media interest both from Twitter-users who fondly remember spending weekends picking out movies at their local Blockbuster, as well as from Gen Z members for whom the idea of a “video” is as relevant as a Spanish galleon.
Now, 1091 Pictures has acquired worldwide digital and broadcast rights to “The Last Blockbuster,” the story of how one small town video store managed to survive the decline and fall of its corporate parent. The film follows Sandi Harding, the manager of the Oregon-based Blockbuster...
Now, 1091 Pictures has acquired worldwide digital and broadcast rights to “The Last Blockbuster,” the story of how one small town video store managed to survive the decline and fall of its corporate parent. The film follows Sandi Harding, the manager of the Oregon-based Blockbuster...
- 8/17/2020
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Al Yankovic can be described in a lot of ways besides "Weird." Most people know that he's a chart-topping singer-songwriter, a director-producer, a top-notch parodist, an author and a die-hard polka enthusiast. Even those who have followed his career closely, however, may have forgotten he was, for a brief moment, the host of a short-lived children's television show.
The Weird Al Show debuted on CBS on September 13, 1997 as part of their Saturday morning lineup. Each episode began with the all important "today's lesson" before viewers were invited into Yankovic's underground...
The Weird Al Show debuted on CBS on September 13, 1997 as part of their Saturday morning lineup. Each episode began with the all important "today's lesson" before viewers were invited into Yankovic's underground...
- 9/13/2017
- Rollingstone.com
We’re well aware that the Captain Underpants movie is pretty far outside The A.V. Club’s usual demographic, but there’s not much we won’t put ourselves through for new “Weird Al” Yankovic music. So when we heard that Yankovic was gifting the upcoming film with the same theme song magic he once applied to Spy Hard and his own The Weird Al Show, we couldn’t resist the urge to check it out.
And while the end result’s not exactly “Eat It,” it’s still pretty perky and fun. (“Watch out crime,” Yankovic sings, “It’s wedgie power time.”) We’re not familiar enough with the Underpants Saga to know how faithful Yankovic’s lyrics are to the overall mythos, but it seems to match the film’s bright, juvenile animation pretty well.
[via Consequence Of Sound]...
And while the end result’s not exactly “Eat It,” it’s still pretty perky and fun. (“Watch out crime,” Yankovic sings, “It’s wedgie power time.”) We’re not familiar enough with the Underpants Saga to know how faithful Yankovic’s lyrics are to the overall mythos, but it seems to match the film’s bright, juvenile animation pretty well.
[via Consequence Of Sound]...
- 5/13/2017
- by William Hughes
- avclub.com
"Weird Al" Yankovic has signed on as the new bandleader/co-host of Comedy Bang! Bang!, Scott Aukerman's absurdist IFC talk show. The parody master will follow rapper Kid Cudi, who held the position for 20 episodes, and musical improv-comic Reggie Watts (now James Corden's side-kick at The Late Late Show), who appeared in the first 70 episodes.
"If you would have told me, when I was a teenager, listening and laughing along to Al's In 3-D album, that one day I would partner up with him, I would have asked...
"If you would have told me, when I was a teenager, listening and laughing along to Al's In 3-D album, that one day I would partner up with him, I would have asked...
- 1/25/2016
- Rollingstone.com
I had the chance to sit down with Ant-Man director Peyton Reed and thought there was no better time to release the interview than now, thanks to the film hitting theaters this week. Reed is probably best known for directing the comedy films Yes Man and The Break-Up. He has also directed episodes of New Girl, Grosse Pointe and The Weird Al Show. It was an absolute blast to sit down with him and I think you'll learn a thing or two that may surprise you both about film and the people behind it. What did the filmmakers have to say about bringing Peyton Reed on to bring the story and the new franchise to the forefront of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? They thought he was the perfect choice! "I've been a fan of Peyton's for a long time," says producer Kevin Feige. "I have met and spoken to him...
- 7/16/2015
- ComicBookMovie.com
Actor Dick Van Patten, best remembered as gentle father Tom Bradford on the sitcom Eight Is Enough and for appearing in several Mel Brooks movies, has died. He had been hospitalized for diabetes-related complications in Santa Monica, California where he passed away, according to People. He was 86.
Born in Queens, New York in 1928, Van Patten cut his teeth on Broadway – making his stage debut at age seven – before transitioning to television in 1949 with a recurring role on a comedy-drama about immigrants living in turn-of-the-century San Francisco called Mama. He would...
Born in Queens, New York in 1928, Van Patten cut his teeth on Broadway – making his stage debut at age seven – before transitioning to television in 1949 with a recurring role on a comedy-drama about immigrants living in turn-of-the-century San Francisco called Mama. He would...
- 6/23/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Marvel are continuing to attract plaudits for looking beyond the conventional and predictable when selecting directors for their films. Whether recruiting directors from a predominantly small screen background, or those with prestigious Shakespearean adaptations on their CV, or those with left-field cult work in their recent past, it continues to work to great effect. As much of a shame as it is to see Edgar Wright move on from Ant-Man, he has been replaced with just as interesting a director in Peyton Reed, who has Yes Man, The Break-Up and TV’s The Weird Al Show on his resume.
What Marvel seem to appreciate is that a track record as a really good director is worth a lot more than a track record with big budgets, special effects or comic brook properties. Indeed, some really smart thinking seems to be going into tracing a thread from some of the thematic...
What Marvel seem to appreciate is that a track record as a really good director is worth a lot more than a track record with big budgets, special effects or comic brook properties. Indeed, some really smart thinking seems to be going into tracing a thread from some of the thematic...
- 9/2/2014
- by Dave Roper
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
On Friday night the Ifp and 7 For All Mankind put the spotlight on seven talents that soon will get your attention. Nestled in the Tr Suites in Park City, the 7 Fresh Faces In Film party rocked late into the night. Attendees included industry vets like producers Ted Hope, Vanessa Hope, and Jamie Patricof; Visit Films topper Ryan Kampe; Slated’s Duncan Cork; new media expert and consultant Brian Newman; filmmaker and distribution guru Jon Reiss; the much buzzed about cast of Pariah and even Olympic snowboarder Shaun White.
But the night belonged to these seven faces.
Olivia Crociccha – Starring in Azazel Jacobs‘ Terri at this year’s Sundance, Crociccha has also starred in episodes of Law & Order, Rescue Me and will star in David O. Russell‘s upcoming Nailed.
Thomas Dekker – Acting since age six Dekker has been in everything from The Weird Al Show to Jackie Chan Adventures, but...
But the night belonged to these seven faces.
Olivia Crociccha – Starring in Azazel Jacobs‘ Terri at this year’s Sundance, Crociccha has also starred in episodes of Law & Order, Rescue Me and will star in David O. Russell‘s upcoming Nailed.
Thomas Dekker – Acting since age six Dekker has been in everything from The Weird Al Show to Jackie Chan Adventures, but...
- 1/24/2011
- by Jason Guerrasio
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
In 1997, CBS television had the brilliant idea to give pop-music satirist "Weird Al" Yankovic his own Saturday Morning kids show, under the one stipulation...that it be educational. Despite that anchor, Al managed to make one of the most endearing and fun kids shows since Pee Wee's Playhouse. In fact, the show was often cited as the next-best-thing to the revered show....up until the following year, when CBS canceled its entire Saturday Morning line up. They even went as far as to strip cartoons from the programming! Of course, The Weird Al Show was caught in the crossfire and hit the chopping block as well.
So, what does a live-action TV show have to do with the Saturday Morning Cartoons segment here at ComicMix? Well, not All the content of the episodes were educational... Al managed to slip in some awesome sketches, music and...of course, cartoons! A big animation fan,...
So, what does a live-action TV show have to do with the Saturday Morning Cartoons segment here at ComicMix? Well, not All the content of the episodes were educational... Al managed to slip in some awesome sketches, music and...of course, cartoons! A big animation fan,...
- 8/21/2010
- by Ian Bonds
- Comicmix.com
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