BillCosby-related stories
Posted Oct 27th 2009 9:03AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Celebrities, Awards, Reality-Free
One of America's greatest TV icons has been officially recognized as one of its greatest humorists. Yes, he's still one of the greatest TV icons, but giving him another honor for his work in TV is like giving Jay Leno a free car.
Bill Cosby received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Monday at the Kennedy Center.
The event, set for broadcast on PBS on Nov. 4., featured presentations and words from comedy notables such as Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld. It also featured a
Cosby Show reunion of sorts with Phylicia Rashad and Malcolm-Jamal Warner. It's a good thing Dr. Huxtable didn't take his boy out of the world after all.
Posted Oct 17th 2009 2:09AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Jay Leno
Thursday's return of
30 Rock afforded a pretty fun segue into
The Jay Leno Show.
30 Rock has always been a little self-aware, and here they took that to the next level. During the closing credits, Jack (Alec Baldwin) said to Liz (Tina Fey), "Step into the light, Lemon. There's nothing wrong with being fun and popular and just giving people what they want." He then turns directly to the camera and adds: "Ladies and gentlemen, Jay Leno."
Unfortunately, when we cut to
The Jay Leno Show, his dancing girls (an homage to Jenna's video in
30 Rock) were better at looking good in their tight shorts than they were at dancing. Then, after Leno came out, we got to overhear a woman wanting to get something signed. "Can I leave it?"
I did enjoy the smooth transition into the show. It creates a sense of synergy on the network where you feel like all these shows are one big happy family. Except for
Southland. But I guess there's always that one relative nobody wants around ... Hey, I just wrote a Jay Leno joke!
Continue reading Leno Weekly: Bill Cosby, Jeff Dunham, Dana Carvey and more!
Posted Sep 10th 2009 3:02PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: TV Royalty, The Apprentice, Interviews, Celebrities, TCA Press Tour
Joan Rivers was in Pasadena in July to promote her show on TV Land,
How'd You Get So Rich?, but when I spoke to her after her presentation, I was more interested in a couple of issues. First, her longevity in a business that takes even older comedians and tosses them to the side (Cosby, for instance, is more community activist than comedian these days). Second, I wanted to ask her about her experience on
The Apprentice, which included her
feuds with wedding planners, Clint Black, and Annie Duke.
But, Joan being Joan, she also randomly let loose on Brooke Shields, Sarah Palin, and whoever else was in her mind during the ten minutes we spoke.
We start off by talking about longevity. She feels one of the reasons she stays relevant is that she doesn't live in the past. "I don't give a shit about Johnny Carson," she said.
Continue reading Joan Rivers on longevity, Brooke Shields, and not caring about Johnny Carson
Posted Dec 30th 2008 10:02AM by Eliot Glazer
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Late Night, Programming, Video, Celebrities, Retro Squad, Reality-Free, Cheers
While
ABC,
NBC, and
CBS have historically remained in a cutthroat battle for viewers, each network has shared one common trait: come the season of network promotional campaigns, all actors
must be prepared to look absolutely ridiculous.
After the jump ... Remember this
pop cultural gem (video below) that gained traction on the Net not too long ago? The sheer oddity of the clip alone forces us to ask ourselves several questions: do these people all live together? Why is
Marla Gibbs dressed like an astronaut? Does
Bea Arthur do everybody's shoppingl? CAN'T
NELL CARTER JUST SIT DOWN AND REST HER FEET FOR A SECOND? (Seriously,
give her a break!)
Continue reading Seven retro network promos to leave you confused, delighted - VIDEOS
Posted Aug 22nd 2008 2:01PM by Richard Keller
Filed under: Video, Commercials, Celebrities, Retro Squad, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free
Ladies and gentlemen, I would now like to take you into the world of how a writer of TV-related items thinks during his day. After reading about Jerry Seinfeld's new role as pitchman for Microsoft's Vista operating system my mind didn't turn to thoughts of how Jerry has become a corporate shill and will do anything to get his mug back on television. Nor did I think about the many pluses and minuses of Microsoft Vista. No, what I reflected upon was the fact that Jerry is not the first high-profile television personality to promote a computer.
That, in turn, brought me to YouTube and its glorious library of video history, from which I was able to cull a few examples of those other big-time TV folks who expounded on the glories of those new-fangled personal computers. New-fangled, you question? Yes, because these examples all come from the 1980s: the dawn of the personal computer era. Here are five examples of our favorite stars promoting the dickens out of their Commodore, Atari, and Texas Instruments computers.
Continue reading Five more television personalities who have pitched computers - VIDEOS
Posted Jun 15th 2008 12:02PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Video, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free, The Dick Van Dyke Show
It's Father's Day. Dad's day of the year. Earlier this week, I took the
AOL TV Dad's Quiz, like
Debra, and I was reminded of the variety of fathers on the tube. I think I have a unique take on TV dads. My own died when I was just eight, so I tend to admire those characters that remind me of him. For that reason, the pipe-smoking, cardigan sweater wearing Jim Anderson on
Father Knows Best doesn't ring true; neither does the coarse Archie Bunker of
All in the Family.
So, here's my five favorite sitcom dads, the ones I related to the most. That means I've excluded single dads and animated dads. That means Hank Hill, Homer Simpson, Peter Griffin and Fred Flintstone are ineligible for my list. Also, this is strictly sitcom pops.
Continue reading Five memorable TV dads - VIDEOS
Posted May 29th 2008 5:23PM by Erin Martell
Filed under: Celebrities, Reality-Free
I love Cosby sweaters--those loud, patterned fashion monstrosities that look good on no one.
Bill Cosby is auctioning off three sweaters from his days as Heathcliff Huxtable on
The Cosby Show. Proceeds from the
eBay auction will benefit Hello Friend/The Ennis William Cosby Foundation, which supports education. Cosby started the foundation in 1997 to honor his son's memory.
The auction will run from June 2 to June 18, with opening bids starting at $5,000 per hideous sweater. It's all for a good cause, though. Hello Friend donates books to underfunded schools and helps train teachers, among other things. Ennis Cosby was studying to be a teacher at the time of his death, and his family wanted to continue his work.
Continue reading Get your very own Cosby sweater
Posted Feb 22nd 2008 12:02PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Daytime, Celebrities
Reunions are hot, you know? On February 12, for example,
Oprah reunited (most of) the kids from
The Cosby Show, with Bill appearing via satellite. Well, never one to let a good idea go to waste, NBC jumped on the theme. They recently had a
Family Ties reunion on
Today, so now the morning show is commencing tomorrow with a series of more
"Together Again" features. Tune into 8:00 a.m. hour each day so you don't miss a thing!
Continue reading Today to host classic TV cast reunions
Posted Jun 15th 2007 5:58PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Late Night, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show
Charlie Rose: TBA - The Late Show With David Letterman: Michael Moore and Bill Burr
- Jay Leno: Bill Cosby, Avril Lavigne, Charlie Gilpin and Bryant Ashton
- Jimmy Kimmel Live: Nicole Richie, Jeff Ross, and Mr. Phil and Son
- Tavis Smiley: Khaled Hosseini and Toby Keith
- Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Jessica Biel, Bear Grylls, and Paul F. Thompkins
- The Late, Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Bob Barker, Seth Green, and Henry Cho
- Last Call With Carson Daly: Dr. Drew and Satellite Party
Posted Apr 26th 2007 11:08AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: News, TV Royalty, Celebrities, Talk Show
CNN's scheduled 50th Anniversary salute to Larry King was called off because of special coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings, but they've now set a new date and new guests for the celebration. It all starts this Monday.
- Monday, April 30: George Tenet
- Tuesday, May 1: Oprah Winfrey
- Wednesday, May 2: Katie Couric interviews King
- Thursday, May 3: 50 Years of Pop Culture, with Anderson Cooper and Ryan Seacrest
- Friday, May 4: An All-Star Salute, with Bill Maher, Bill Cosby, Alec Baldwin, Kathy Griffin, and many others.
Not sure why Tenent is part of the 50th Anniversary. Former President Bill Clinton was originally part of the event, but his appearance ran as scheduled a couple of weeks ago. I wonder if Baldwin will show up (unless it's taped).
Posted Apr 12th 2007 2:43PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: TV Royalty, Celebrities, Talk Show
As we've mentioned before, Larry King is celebrating 50 years in the news business, and all next week CNN is going to mark the occasion with a week of special Larry King Live shows. Here's the lineup:
- Monday, April 16: Oprah Winfrey
- Tuesday, April 17: Katie Couric
- Wednesday, April 18: 50 Years of Pop Culture - a look at everything that Larry has covered over the five decades, with hosts Anderson Cooper and Ryan Seacrest
- Thursday, April 19: Former President Bill Clinton
- Friday, April 20: A special hour hosted by Bill Maher
Continue reading Here's the lineup for CNN's salute to Larry King
Posted Jun 17th 2006 1:32PM by Richard Keller
Filed under: OpEd, The Five
All right everybody, get those crappy ties and self-made cards ready. It's time once again for the forgotten holiday known as Father's Day. Yes, the bastard cousin to the extremely popular Mother's Day. The one that people forget is the third Sunday in the month of June, not the second. The holiday where your loving family wants to fill your day with special events when all you really want to do is have some privacy to write your damn TV Squad articles!
Ahem. So, in the fine tradition of tomorrow's holiday, where you usually pay for your own dinner out, we present the five television dads who would be grateful if they received a wallet made out of dried macaroni.
Continue reading The Five: Best TV dads
The TV Squad Podcast: Vik Sahay of Chuck, Oprah talk, brutal timeslots, and more!
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
