Legends-related stories
Posted Aug 3rd 2009 9:01AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: TV Royalty, Music and Variety, Celebrities, Documentary, TCA Press Tour, Reality-Free
One of the things that never gets old about the press tour is that at any moment, you could be in the middle of a blow-your-mind, surreal pop culture moment. That's exactly what happened to me yesterday evening, as the PBS sessions were wrapping up.
Patti Smith had the last session, to promote her biographical movie on
POV called
Patti Smith: Dream of Life. It was fascinating, as she was pretty open with the reporters about why she let filmmaker Steven Sebring into her life for eleven years, what she likes to watch on YouTube (Maria Callas for one) and all sorts of fun stuff. But I had to leave to interview another legend, Norman Lear, who was there with producer Mark Johnson to promote the documentary
Playing For Change: Peace Through Music.When we were done with the interview, Lear, Johnson, the publicists and I were about to walk our separate ways when we heard music coming from the ballroom. When we open it, we see Patti Smith playing her guitar for the critics, in the middle of her second song. So imagine me and Norman Lear, standing there, listening to Patti Smith.
Continue reading Surreal pop-culture moment: Norman Lear watching Patti Smith - TCA Report
Posted Apr 3rd 2007 4:21PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: TV Royalty, OpEd, Celebrities
It took me several years to really appreciate Rodney Dangerfield. When I was young and knew everything, his act seemed so easy to me: just a bunch of one-liners and a few nervous tugs of his tie. Now that I'm older and a bit wiser, I realize it's not that his act was easy, it's that he made it look easy (and that ain't easy). Perhaps he's not as relevant to today's younger crows looking for comedy with a bit more cruelty and bite, but it's not as if Dangerfield's act was kind, but the unkindness was always turned toward himself, something lacking in today's comedians like David Cross (who I also like, but I've always been more fond of comedy based on self-deprecation).
Continue reading Upcoming documentaries to honor Rickles and Dangerfield
Posted Jan 22nd 2007 7:04PM by Julia Ward
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Celebrities
There's a quality I really admire in older women. It's the "I no longer give a crap what you think of me" quality. They've seen it all, done it all, been there and back and have no reason not to speak their minds. It's so damn refreshing in a world of publicists and politesse to hear some old curmudgeon honestly and blithely offer their withering assessment of the world.
The now 80 year-old Charlotte Rae, television's Mrs. Garrett of
Facts of Life fame, gave a mouthful to reporters on the red carpet of the LA premiere of
Joan Collins and Linda Evans' theatrical turn in Legends. When asked about Collins, Rae responded, "Joan Collins is a bitch! There's no doubt about it. Everyone says she's an extremely difficult person."
The Insider sprung the tape of Rae's remarks on Collins in a backstage interview. Collins reply: "Who is this cow!" I don't know what it is about these catty old broads, but I love them.
[Via
After Elton]
Posted Jan 10th 2007 7:34PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Cable, News, TV Royalty, TV on DVD, Celebrities
Here's an odd thought: Larry King celebrates 50 years in the news biz this year, the same year Katie Couric celebrates her 50th birthday.
King and CNN will mark the anniversary with a 3 disc DVD set (I'm talking about King's 50th anniversary, not Couric's birthday - no idea is CBS will release something for her) of his Larry King Live stuff. The set will be released on April 17, and each disc will focus on a different theme. Disc one will be "Hollywood Film Stars and Legends," Disc two will be "Presidents and First Ladies, News and Scandals," and Disc 3 will be "Stars and Broadcast Icons, Comedians and Unforgettable Moments."
I hope that these are complete interviews and not just edited "greatest hits" package. King fans will want to see the entire interview with each person, even the phone calls he takes from viewers in the second half of the show.
Posted Jan 8th 2007 3:02PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Cable, Commercials, Music and Variety, Celebrities, Game Show
This Wednesday, January 10 at 10pm TV Land will debut a new series called Myths and Legends. The series will supposedly uncover the truth behind such urban legends as Mama Cass' death by ham sandwich, the hanging Munchkin from the Wizard of Oz, and Walt Disney's frozen head.
I only see one problem with this new show: it's completely unnecessary. A lot of the stuff this show plans to cover has already been covered before by other TV specials, and folks who were curious about these things have already investigated with the help of sites like Snopes.com. I'm usually a big fan of TV Land's original shows -- hell, I even liked I Pity the Fool, but someone tell me how this show made it to the air? Do I really want to sit and watch a show that tells me things I already know?
Okay, I won't completely dismiss a show I've yet to see. Maybe they'll approach these old rumors in a cool and refreshing way, but the premise alone feels more than a little stale.
Posted Nov 25th 2006 3:28PM by Julia Ward
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Celebrities
The bitches are back.
Dynasty's Krystle Carrington and Alexis Carrington Colby have been
reunited for a nightly cat fight in the touring production of playwright James Kirkwood's
Legends. The production has settled down for a two-week stint in Washington DC, but you can expect to see it on the road over the next several months.
Former 80s primetime soap stars Evans and Collins star as aging movie star rivals clinging to what remains of their fading glamor. The play, itself, is notoriously lousy. Carol Channing and Mary Martin starred in a mid-80s tour of the show, which was more famous for the backstage rather than on-stage drama. None of that really matters though.
Continue reading Cat fight tonight! Joan Collins and Linda Evans reunite
Posted Sep 9th 2006 11:24AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV Royalty, Talent, Programming, OpEd, Celebrities, Comedy Central
The ill-fitting blue suit and red tie. The sweat-soaked shirt. The bulging eyes and fidgety manner. The rapid-fire jokes about getting "no respect."
Rodney Dangerfield was in the Pantheon of comedy greats for all those reasons, but his fantastic stand-up comedy was just a part of his legacy, as we find out in the fun Comedy Central documentary
Legends: Rodney Dangerfield, which airs Sunday night at 9.
This is the first in CC's
Legends series, where the lives of comic giants are examined through interviews with the stars that were influenced by them. In this episode, the mega-stars come out to talk about the man they equally admire and are indebted to: Jerry Seinfeld, Roseanne Barr, Chris Rock, Robert Klein, Bob Saget, Stiller & Meara, Bill Murray, Jay Leno, Norm MacDonald, Jeff Foxworthy, Adam Sandler, Sandra Bernhardt, Susie Essman, Ray Ramone, Bill Maher and Rob Schneider all provide commentary on how Rodney influenced their careers from afar, and how gracious he was with his knowledge and advice.
Continue reading Review: Dangerfield gets the Legends treatment in fun documentary
Posted Apr 16th 2006 8:04AM by Adam Finley
Filed under: TV Royalty, Celebrities
This September, Turner Classic Movies will air a one-time, one-hour
Dick
Cavett Show special in which the famous TV talker will sit down with filmmaker and comedy legend Mel Brooks. The
special will be filmed before a live audience on an updated version of the set of the original series. In addition to
the new interview with Brooks, who is currently adapting his movie
Young Frankenstein into a musical, TCM has
also secured the rights to Cavett's "classic" interviews with the likes of Robert Mitchum, Bette Davis,
Ingmar Bergman, Alfred Hitchcock, Woody Allen, Groucho Marx, and Katharine Hepburn. Those interviews will also air
during the month of September. Now I just have to remind myself to remind my Tivo to record the Woody Allen, Alfred
Hitchcock, and Groucho Marx episodes.
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