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Veteran soap actor Joe Marinelli, who starred on NBC’s Santa Barbara, CBS’ Guiding Light, and ABC’s General Hospital, has died. He was 68. Marinelli passed away on Sunday (June 22), in Burbank, California, after a battle with stomach cancer, his wife, Jean Marinelli, told The Hollywood Reporter. According to his agent, Julie Smith, Marinelli had been living with throat and stomach cancer for a few years, per CNN. Born on January 21, 1957, in Meriden, Connecticut, Marinelli studied at Loyola Marymount University and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before landing early acting gigs on classic shows like Cagney & Lacey, L.A. Law, and Hill Street Blues. His first major role was in the television soap opera Santa Barbara, where he played Bunny Tagliatti across 170 episodes from 1988 to 1990. He’d continue to appear in guest roles across TV throughout the 90s, including episodes of Hunter, Equal Justice, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures,...

Sarah Jessica Parker “panicked” after filming the Sex and the City pilot, as she told costar Kristin Davis on Davis’ podcast, Are You a Charlotte? In fact, Parker even tried to quit the production when HBO ordered it to series. “I was like, ‘I can’t be on a TV show. I don’t think I’m suited for that,’” Parker told Davis in the podcast’s May 15 episode. When Sex and the City came around, Parker had been a series regular on other TV shows — Square Pegs, A Year in the Life, and Equal Justice — and the idea of signing on for another long-term TV project “kind of depressed” her, she said. “I think that it was the idea of doing the same thing over and over and over again,” she explained. “And I think I’d always been lucky that I got to be in a television series,...

Before becoming the face of Sex and the City, Sarah Jessica Parker wasn’t exactly sold on the idea of joining the show. She had doubts about whether she was cut out for the fast-paced, fashion-heavy world the series promised. In fact, she felt she wasn’t suited for that life at all, unsure if the glitz, glam, and nonstop attention aligned with who she really was off-camera.

But despite her hesitation, Parker took the leap, and the rest is HBO history. Looking back, it’s wild to think the woman who defined Carrie Bradshaw nearly passed on the role that changed everything.

Sarah Jessica Parker almost walked away from Sex and the City Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City | Credits: HBO

“I don’t think I’m suited for that life.” That’s what Sarah Jessica Parker told Kristin Davis on the latest episode...

Eboni K. Williams appeared on The Real Housewives of New York for one season as the first Black member of the cast in 2020. When the show rebooted for season 14, Eboni and the other Housewives were replaced, but the lawyer and television personality has remained in the public eye personally and professionally.

Since Rhony, Eboni has embraced many titles. She's made numerous appearances on network television, hosts Equal Justice with Judge Eboni K. Williams, and penned her second book, Bet On Black: The Good News About Being Black In American Today. Her first book, Pretty Powerful: Appearance, Substance, and Success was published in 2017.

Eboni has also taken on what may be her proudest role: single mother. Eboni has been very vocal about becoming a mother and the journey she took to make it happen. In addition to finding a sense of community among other single mothers, here's how Eboni has been...

Eboni K. Williams made history by being the first Black cast member on the Real Housewives of New York City. Since she left, she has spoken out about her negative experience on the reality show, appeared on Real Housewives of Potomac, wrote a book called Bet On Black, and currently stars on Equal Justice with Judge Eboni K. Williams. She also openly talked about her IVF journey.

The Real Housewives of New York Season 13's own, Eboni K. Williams, is making headlines after announcing her newest venture. Williams is set to launch a courtroom-style show, reminiscent of Judge Judy, called Equal Justice with Judge Eboni K. Williams. The show will be available this fall in hour-long episodes and will be featured on broadcast television as well as streaming services. This is not the first time Williams has made headlines since being cast on Rhony. Williams was part of the only season of Rhony that didn't film a reunion episode and didn't get reunited for a second season with that group of women. Since then, the show has been completely recast. There is lots of speculation for why the season didn't get a reunion but a lot of the women on the reality show point their fingers at Williams.

The Malcolm in the Middle cast is filled with great actors – both sitcom staples and traditional dramatic performers in comedic roles – playing the show’s delightfully wacky characters. Created by Linwood Boomer, Malcolm in the Middle revolves around the titular child prodigy and the various misadventures he gets into with his dysfunctional family. From its single-camera shooting style to its regular fourth-wall breaks, Malcolm in the Middle made a few stylistic revolutions to the TV comedy format that went on to influence future sitcoms. Its dark, surreal comic sensibility was also a radical break from the family sitcom style.

A consistent ratings success and a hit with critics, Malcolm in the Middle ran for seven seasons on the Fox broadcast network. Throughout its run, the series won many prestigious awards – including a Peabody Award. While the writing was highly acclaimed, Malcolm in the Middle received particular praise for the work of its hilarious ensemble cast.

Veda Tunstall remembers the first time film people started poking around her hometown asking questions, and it wasn’t for the documentary that became “Descendant.”

Tunstall, a subject in Margaret Brown’s movie about the search for a long-lost slave ship near a community called Africatown, says that years before Brown showed up, other filmmakers wanted to make their own movies about hunting for the Clotilda. That didn’t go well. The community’s needs were never in mind and the story being told wasn’t their own; it was the ship’s.

The investment of time and attention that Brown and production company Participant put into “Descendant” felt different. The film also follows actual descendants who live in Africatown and examines how their ancestors’ actions can be traced across generations. The search for the slave ship was only half the story.

“We were just trying to figure out how to find other descendants,...

I See You has all the makings of an excellent thriller, including a cast consisting of established Hollywood stars and up-and-coming talent. The 2019 movie follows a detective investigating a mysterious disappearance while seemingly supernatural events begin to happen to his family. Following its premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival, I See You was released on VOD in the U.S. without theatrical distribution. Fortunately, I See You's true story connection and realistic nature make the movie more frightening than a typical straight-to-video horror film, and it's become a modern horror cult classic.

Critics also praised I See You, particularly in recognition of its actors, with veterans like Helen Hunt elevating the movie beyond the restrictions of the indie horror genre. Its expertly crafted narrative unfolds with unquestionable tension, and the performances from the cast help to sell every twist and turn that the movie throws at the audience.

Just days after Warner Bros. announced the cancellation of “Judge Mathis” after 24 seasons, Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group has scooped up the services of Judge Greg Mathis to host a new first-run one-hour strip for fall 2023.

“Mathis Court with Judge Mathis” has been given a “firm go” by Allen Media Group, which is now pitching the show for broadcast, cable and distribution platforms.

In addition to broadcast syndication, the show will join Allen Media Group’s eight court series are carried on its television network Justice Central, available in more than 50 million U.S. homes. Allen Media Group’s “America’s Court with Judge Ross” (which premiered in fall 2010), as well as “Justice for All with Judge Cristina Perez,” “Justice with Judge Mablean,” “Supreme Justice with Judge Karen,” “The Verdict with Judge Hatchett,” “We the People with Judge Lauren Lake” and “Equal Justice with Judge Eboni K. Williams.” (“Equal Justice...

Judge Greg Mathis won’t be retiring from the TV bench after all.

Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group will produce a new syndicated strip featuring Mathis, titled Mathis Court With Judge Mathis. The show will be available for syndication in the fall and also run on Allen Media’s Justice Central cable channel.

The announcement of Mathis Court comes just a few days after Warner Bros. TV said it will end Judge Mathis after 24 seasons in syndication (the latest iteration of The People’s Court, which has been on for 26 years, is also coming to a close). The show will join a roster of court series from Allen’s company that also includes Justice for All With Judge Cristina Perez, Justice With Judge Mablean, Supreme Justice With Judge Karen, The Verdict With Judge Hatchett and We the People With Judge Lauren Lake. Along with Mathis Court, Equal Justice With...

Days after it was revealed that Judge Mathis would end its long run in daytime syndication, Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group has announced that it will launch Mathis Court with Judge Mathis in the fall.

The new court series will be a daily one-hour strip and will be available to broadcast television stations, as well as global network, cable, and digital distribution platforms later this year.

For 24 consecutive seasons, Warner Bros./Telepictures produced and distributed Judge Mathis, which was the second longest-running court show in continued production with the same host behind Judge Judy (which ran for 25 seasons). Judge Mathis won the Daytime Emmy in 2018 for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program, as well as the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding News, Talk or Information Series in 2004.

Judge Greg Mathis is a former judge of Michigan’s 36th District Court.

“We at Allen Media Group are proud to add Mathis Court...

Eboni K. Williams is talking about her time on The Real Housewives of New York City and the aftermath of her appearance on the Bravo reality series.

The television personality joined the show in Season 13 as the first Black housewife in the show’s history. However, she would soon start clashing with her co-stars after some refused to have conversations about race and politics in America.

When making an appearance on The View to talk about her book Bet on Black, host Sunny Hostin said Williams came to the conclusion after her time on Rhony to not “let anyone make you their Black sidekick.”

Williams then said, “I was a little disruptive on the show, I don’t know if you’ve caught the memo.”

The lawyer said that she “insisted on centering Blackness throughout my season” and added, “My hope was that more of my castmates could’ve responded like Ms.

Exclusive: Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group is set to launch another court series — Equal Justice with Judge Eboni K. Williams. The daily one-hour strip will bow fall 2023 and will be available to broadcast on television stations, as well as global cable, network, and digital distribution platforms.

A lawyer, author and television host, Williams is a former guest host on ABC’s The View and a correspondent for CBS News and Fox News. Williams is currently host of her own series on Allen Media Group’s The Grio Television Network – the daily one-hour news program The Grio with Eboni K. Williams. Williams also starred on season 13 of The Real Housewives of New York City.

As an attorney, Williams provided legal counsel in family law and civil litigation, and was also a public defender. She also worked in private practice. Williams authored the best-selling book Pretty Powerful, as well as a...

Lee Lawson, best known for her long-running role as Bea Reardon on soap opera The Guiding Light, died on May 22 at the age of 80.

Lawson played Reardon on the CBS soap from 1981 to 1990. The show ended in 2009.

Her daughter, Leslie Bova, shared the news in a Facebook post that revealed her mother had cancer and Covid-19 before her death.

“Rest, you brilliant woman ❤️,” Bova wrote Tuesday. “Thank you, mom. R.I.P.”

Lawson was born Oct. 14, 1941, in New York City, and made her debut on the CBS soap Love of Life in 1965. She also appeared in ABC’s One Life to Live in 1979 (as Wanda Webb Wolek) before beginning her role on The Guiding Light as the owner and operator of a 7th Street boarding house (and a single mother of seven).

The role saw her appear in more than 50 episodes of The Guiding Light, which was the second longest-running drama in American television history,...

Exclusive: The film and TV arm of Quality Control, the record label behind artists including hip hop artists including Lil Yachty and Migos, has struck an unscripted TV partnership with Catfish and Celebrity Game Face producer Critical Content.

The deal will see the two companies develop unscripted series for these artists, as well as the likes of City Girls and Lil Baby, and athletes that the company represents.

It builds on a partnership between the two companies that saw them make YouTube original series Home Courts, where Quavo visits legendary local basketball courts around the country to meet the athletes, artists and activists who use these public spaces to effect change in their communities.

The first project to come out of the deal is Equal Justice, a social experiment that will follow the world’s most meaningful hip hop artists as they leverage their fame and personal resources to secure top attorneys,...

The Primetime Emmy Awards were unable to capitalize on its historic and diverse nomination fields, with all major acting trophies going to white actors.

Actors that were seen as solid contenders included Billy Porter and Mj Rodriguez (“Pose”), the late Michael K. Williams (“Lovecraft Country”) and Kenan Thompson and Bowen Yang (“Saturday Night Live”) — but in the end, all ended up empty-handed.

Michaela Coel, nominated for four Emmys, picked up the writing limited category for “I May Destroy You,” the third time a Black creative has won the category and first for a Black woman. Past Black winners have included David Mills (“The Corner”), Anthony Hemingway (“American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson”) and Stephen Williams and Christal Henry (“Watchmen”).

A record number of 49 non-Anglo creatives were recognized in the acting and reality competition categories. While many didn’t expect anyone to unseat Jason Sudeikis (“Ted Lasso”), Jean Smart...

Hey,"Chicago P.D." fans. We unfortunately have some very bad news for you guys in this article. It turns out that your favorite crime drama Chicago Pd will not get a new episode on NBC tonight, April 14, 2021. That's right, guys. Chicago Pd is currently delayed again. So, the next, new episode 12 of Chicago Pd's current season 8 will have to wait until a later date. The good news is that later date isn't too far away. NBC has confirmed that they plan to air the new episode 12 next Wednesday night, April 14,2021 in its usual 9 pm central standard time slot. So, certainly be sure that very important date and time is securely lodged inside of your memory banks. So, what is NBC going to air instead of the next, new episode 12 of Chicago Pd's current season 8 tonight? Well, according to the TV guide listings, NBC will be airing a repeat episode of Chicago Pd.

In Chicago P.D.‘s Season 6 finale,“Reckoning,” Voight declared his faith in Halstead as Intelligence’s future leader: “This unit is gonna be yours one day… Do it the right way,” he told the young detective. Those words took on a powerful new meaning in this week’s installment, titled “Equal Justice,” as Halstead was forced to make a difficult choice that put his idea of what’s right into question.

The episode saw Intelligence encounter a grieving Black father who went undercover as a drug dealer in an effort to solve his son’s murder. Lattrell, who wasn’t a cop,...

The 1990 Primetime Emmys ceremony didn’t have any sweeps, but a longtime TV favorite won an overdue award from an unlikely group of presenters, a record was set for the most ties in a single ceremony, a couple of legends were remembered and, despite Academy love being spread around, there were two shows that surprisingly ended the night with zero major wins. Hosted by the unlikely trio of Candice Bergen, Jay Leno and Jane Pauley, the 42nd Emmy Awards ceremony took place on September 16, 1990. Let’s flashback 30 years to the highlights.

Although “Cheers” had won Best Comedy Series three times, its lead actor failed to nab a trophy himself, despite being nominated seven straight years for the classic character. However, Ted Danson finally got his moment on the stage, winning for Best Comedy Actor for his role as Sam Malone on “Cheers.” He quipped, “I suppose this means you’ll be saying,...

Prolific Emmy-nominated television writer Christopher Edwin Knopf, former president of the Writers Guild of America West, died in his sleep of congestive heart failure on Feb. 13. He was 91.

Knopf was born in New York and attended UCLA, leaving during his senior year to join the Air Force during World War II. He finished his studies at U.C. Berkeley, graduating in 1950, and began a 50-year career as a writer for motion picture and television.

He served as president of the International Writers Guild, national chairman of the WGA and president of the WGA West during 1965-67. He received 10 Writers Guild nominations and won three of them.

Knopf received the Morgan Cox Award in 1991 and the Edmund H. North Award in 2002 from WGA West.

Knopf’s credits include “Scott Joplin: King of Ragtime,” “Mrs. Sundance,” “The Girl Who Spelled Freedom,” “Baby Girl Scott,” “Peter and Paul,” and the pilot for “The Big Valley.

Warner Bros. has picked up the Michael B. Jordan legal drama Just Mercy from Broad Green Pictures, the troubled production and distribution entity, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

The move sets up the project as Jordan’s next pic, a modestly budgeted effort that will shoot in early 2018.

Helmer Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12) is directing Just Mercy, which adapts the memoir of the same name by Bryan Stevenson.

Stevenson is the venerated founder of the Equal Justice Initiative which fights on behalf of the poor, the wrongly condemned and death-row prisoners trapped in the justice system. Just Mercy was...

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend are working on expanding their family.

The couple — who wed in 2013 and welcomed their first child, Luna, in April 2016 — are hoping to add more kids to their growing brood soon, Teigen told E! News Thursday while on the red carpet at the first-ever Revolve Awards, where she was receiving the “Woman of the Year” honor.

“We’re still trying… I’m going for, I mean hopefully in the next few years, because for me I really want to just knock ’em out,” the 31-year-old cookbook author said, adding that she’s feeling “good.”

“That’s my dream,...

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend are opening up about plans to expand their family. The couple stepped out on separate coasts Thursday evening as they were each honored for their achievements. Teigen was in Los Angeles to receive the "Woman of the Year" honor at the first-ever Revolve Awards. While Legend was honored at the NAACP Ldf National Equal Justice Awards in New York City. While on the red carpet at the events, both stars talked to E! News exclusively about their plans to have a second child. "I feel good, I feel good, we're still trying...I'm going for I mean hopefully in the next few years because for me I really want to just knock 'em out," Teigen shared with E! News'...

Andra Day, 32, paid homage to the influential legacy of Billie Holiday at the 2017 Global Citizen Festival with an impassioned performance of the infamous protest ballad, Strange Fruit. The Grammy nominee partnered with Google and the Equal Justice Initiative to shed light on the powerful social justice message embedded in Holiday’s song, which redefined the power of music almost 80 years ago.

Andra Day used her powerhouse vocals to send a strong message against racial violence to the thousands of global citizens in the audience. After singing her last note of the emotional lyrics, she reached out to the audience on...

R&B singer Andra Day delivered a striking rendition of the famous protest song "Strange Fruit" on The Daily Show Wednesday. The song was first made famous by Billie Holiday, but has also been performed by Nina Simone, Jeff Buckley, UB40 and Annie Lennox.

The sparse arrangement found Day partnering with just a guitarist, who unspooled blues riffs beneath her stunning vocals. Day began singing Abel Meeropol's vivid lyrical poem about the lynchings of African Americans in the South at a low moan. Day also tied the song to...

Ian Manuel spent 26 years behind bars after he shot a woman in the face when he was just 13 years old, but he rarely felt alone. That’s because the woman he hurt, Debbie Baigrie, decided to forgive him — and more.

The night he shot her, in Tampa, Florida, on July 27, 1990, is something they both still relive.

Baigrie, then 28, was out with friends for the first time since giving birth to her second child, and she was walking back to her car to head home. Manuel, who had a history of minor run-ins with the law, was with a group of...

More than 26 years ago, on July 27, 1990, Debbie Baigrie was walking to her car to head home from dinner with her friends in Tampa, Florida. Baigrie, then 28, was enjoying her first night out since giving birth to her second child.

Then she saw a group of men walking toward her.

“I’m serious, give it up,” she remembers one saying as she turned around to find a gun pointed at her. The weapon went off, sending a bullet through her mouth.

Miraculously, Baigrie survived the shooting, though she underwent some 40 dental procedures over the next 10 years.

Three days later, Ian Manuel,...

For the first time since being acquitted in 2011 in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, Casey Anthony spoke out in an interview with the Associated Press.

“I’m okay with myself, I sleep pretty good at night,” the 30-year-old, once dubbed “the most hated mom in America,” said, adding that she feels a kinship with O.J. Simpson.

People began covering the case the day after Caylee was reported missing, interviewing more than 200 key players in the case. Here is People’s cover story from July 4, 2011, just days before the shocking verdict.

For three intense weeks, George and Cindy Anthony...

The Public Theater presents the free one-night event, Public Forum Shakespeare In America, tonight, June 30 at 800 p.m. at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Whitney Bashor, Annette Bening, Jessica Chastain, author E.L. Doctorow, Jackie Hoffman, Justin Levine, Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson, and Micah Stock join this exciting evening, which will celebrate Shakespeare and the newly released Library of America book, Shakespeare in America, edited by Public Theater Shakespeare Scholar in Residence James Shapiro.

The Public Theater announced additional casting today for the free one-night event, Public Forum Shakespeare In America, on Monday, June 30 at 800 p.m. at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Whitney Bashor, Annette Bening, Jessica Chastain, author E.L. Doctorow, Jackie Hoffman, Justin Levine, Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson, and Micah Stock join this exciting evening which will celebrate Shakespeare and the newly released Library of America book, Shakespeare in America, edited by Public Theater Shakespeare Scholar in Residence James Shapiro.

It’s foolish to get too amped or too peeved over Emmy nominations. I cried my last tears over slights and snubs after Twin Peaks went 2-for-14 in 1989. How David Lynch lost in the directing category to a tie between Equal Justice and thirtysomething still makes me want to wrap someone in plastic. The lesson I learned: You can’t count on the people who make entertainment to validate the entertainment that you, the consumer, love the most. There have been moments in recent years when my most passionate television interests have aligned with the Emmy majority. See: When Lost won Outstanding Drama,...

10. The juxtaposition of these two 1986 winners:

9. 2005 Favorite Hair - Jennifer Garner

8. 1991 Favorite Male Musical Performer - Hammer (he'd dropped the "Mc" at this point)

7. 2009 Favorite Drama Movie and Favorite Independent Movie - The Secret Life of Bees

6. 2006 this thing:

5. 2007 Favorite Group - Nickelback

4. The following Favorite New TV Shows (aka, the "We Love This Show So Much, It Will Be On Forever!" award; from 2008 on, I defy you to remember a single one of these programs):

2011 - $#*! My Dad Says

2009 - Gary Unmarried

2008 - Moonlight

2007 - The Class

2000 - Stark Raving Mad

1999 - La Doctors

1998 - Brooklyn South

1996 - Murder One

1992 - Homefront

1991 - Equal Justice

3. 2008 Favorite Female TV Star and 2010 TV Drama Actress Winner - Katherine Heigl (she'd really honed her craft in that two year period)

2. 2011 Favorite Movie Winner - The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

1. 2007, 2008, and 2009 Favorite TV Comedy Winner - Two and a Half Men...

"Save the Last Dance" director Thomas Carter has a gig for another jig.

Carter will direct Mandate Pictures' teen dance movie "Dream On" for producer Laurence Mark ("Dreamgirls"). Jason Ubaldi wrote the screenplay.

The storyline follows a 17-year-old girl who delves into the underground hip-hop scene in Atlanta after her dreams of becoming an Olympic gymnast are dashed by an injury.

Carter will also produce the project, which the studio hopes to start filming by the end of the year. David Blackman, Rachel Miller and Mandate president Nathan Kahane will serve as executive producers; Tamara Chestna and Mary Lee will co-produce. Lionsgate is handling international sales.

The CAA-repped Carter has also directed the features "Swing Kids," "Metro" and "Coach Carter" and episodes of the series "Equal Justice," "Miami Vice" and "St. Elsewhere."

Mark has recently produced "Julie & Julia," "The Lookout" and the dance movie "Center Stage."

Mandate recently produced "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist,...

Jason Anders/Starlog: So let's talk about your childhood and what it was like to grow up with your father serving as a U.S. army intelligence officer; what was it like for you to spend parts of your childhood in West Germany and Okinawa, how did that impact your life, and do you remember at what point you considered acting a pursuable passion?

Joe Morton: First off, my father was not an intelligence officer. He was a captain in the artillery but, essentially, his job was to integrate the arm forces overseas. We are speaking about the years between 1951 to 1958. That means my father showed up, with my mother and I in tow, to what ever post he was assigned to ... racially unannounced. That time of my life was fiercely strange and difficult. My father was constantly battling his white superior officers as well as the white enlisted...