News

The “Morning Joe” team had much to say Monday morning about “Dilbert” creator Scott Adams’ recent racist remarks and the professional fallout he’s experienced in the days since – but it mostly amounts to one sentiment: Good riddance.

“I’ve seen people who have spoken out against cancel culture repeatedly,” co-host Joe Scarborough began, addressing panelist Rev. Al Sharpton. “You and I have actually, as well, on many occasions have spoken out against the wokeness of this cancel culture. But, I mean, this is – even some people who are really intensely fighting cancel culture are saying, ‘This ain’t cancel culture, this is just racism being called out.’ People don’t want to be associated with a guy that says, ‘I’m gonna stay away from Black people.'”

On Wednesday, Adams shared a video in which he ranted about a recent Rasmussen poll that determined only a narrow majority...

“I made him the highest paid actor in Hollywood history. We had a lot of fun!” So purrs Tom Hanks’ brazenly camp Col. Tom Parker in the new Elvis biopic. The film, which is the most decadent, jewel-encrusted piece of kitsch ever given an 85 million budget, is as much a monument to director Baz Luhrmann’s showmanship as it is Elvis Presley’s. For who else could condense the larger than life excess of a man dubbed “the King of Rock ’n Roll” into a three-ringed circus that keeps all its plates in the air for 160 minutes?

Elvis really is a marvel in spectacle and indulgence—plus a breakout for star Austin Butler who is so superb as the titular character that Luhrmann more than once slips in footage of the real Elvis’ 1950s rock star career, as well as clips from his ill-advised detour in 1960s Hollywood… and few viewers ever seemed to notice!

Emmy-winning comedienne Pat Carroll, a prolific stage and television actress known for shows such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Laverne & Shirley, has died. She was 95. Carroll passed away at her home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on Saturday, July 30, while recovering from pneumonia, her daughter Kerry Karsian told The Hollywood Reporter. Born on May 5, 1927, in Shreveport, Louisiana, Carroll would begin her acting career in 1947, landing a role in the film Hometown Girl. From there, she went on to star in numerous television shows, including the sitcom Make Room for Daddy, Studio 57, The Steve Allen Show, and Caesar’s Hour, for which she received an Emmy Award. Throughout the 1960s and 70s, Carroll would appear in various sketch/variety shows, including The Danny Thomas Show, The Red Skelton Show, and The Carol Burnett Show. Then, in 1976, she joined the popular sitcom Laverne & Shirley. Over the next three decades,...

The world just got a little less funny as comedian Jackie Mason has died. Mason, the controversial comedian who was known for his politically incorrect humor, made a name for himself through a series of one-man shows on Broadway to great success, though he also had a recurring voice role on The Simpsons. The New York Times reports that Mason died in a Manhattan hospital on Saturday, per his longtime friend Raoul Felder. He was 93.

Mason was born Yacov Moshe Maza on June 9, 1928, to a long line of rabbis. He later became a rabbi himself and led congregations whereupon he noticed gentiles coming in just to hear his jokes in the sermons. Following his father's death, Mason resigned from his job as a rabbit to focus on his comedy work. Though his act was considered too controversial for some venues, Mason was able to pick up spots on TV programs like The Steve Allen Show,...

Luke Kirby, who continues his role as the taboo-flaunting comic Lenny Bruce on Season 3 of Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” won an Emmy as Best Comedy Guest Actor last year. He managed to beat out such A-level talents as Matt Damon and Robert De Niro, who were both up for their appearances on “Saturday Night Live.”

Kirby, who is sporting a rather impressive quarantine mustache these days, was rather calm as he gave his acceptance speech onstage and offered thanks to all the right people as he read his speech off a card. Was that just an act?

In our recent webchat (watch the exclusive video above), he reveals, “I think it was likely an act. My adrenal glands have a tendency to lean towards a more laconic, lethargic tone. I think sitting there for the two hours that it took to get to that category. All the blood...

Eat That Question: Frank Zappa In His Own Words takes its title from a song found on the composer’s 1972 fusion album The Grand Wazoo, and there may be no better preparation for the Frank Zappa revealed in director Thorston Schutte’s extraordinary documentary than this command to consume, and then presumably digest and defecate out, the sort of journalistic queries Zappa routinely endured, with patience, smarts and inescapable sarcasm, throughout his career. “Being interviewed is one of the most abnormal things that you can do to somebody,” Zappa explains during a TV interview to a reporter whose expression, an uneasy mixture of intimidation and confusion, remains constant throughout their encounter.

The composer’s testy relationship with the media is one of the threads that unites Schutte’s somewhat unusual approach—there are none of the usual associates, scholars and friends on hand to tell you secondhand (at best) what a genius Zappa was,...

In 1963, a young Frank Zappa appeared on “The Steve Allen Show,” where he used drumsticks and a bicycle to create a vibrant cacophony of sounds that must have been equally aggravating and fascinating to the generally square viewers of the program. After listening to Zappa’s bicycle-based orchestra, Allen gave a short speech defending artists […]

The post ‘Eat That Question: Frank Zappa In His Own Words’ Is A Doc For Fans & Newcomers Alike [Review] appeared first on The Playlist.

Bill Dana, who created and starred as the earnest character at the center of the "My Name … Jose Jimenez" routine that made him one of America's most beloved comic performers of the 1960s, has died. He was 92.

Dana, who first appeared as Jimenez on The Steve Allen Plymouth Show, where he also worked as an Emmy-nominated head writer, died Thursday at his home in Nashville, Emerson College announced.

He and a fellow alumnus founded the American Comedy Archives at the Boston school, fulfilling a lifelong goal to honor the study and appreciation of the comedic arts.

Dana contrived...

When a friend of Fats Domino's invited filmmaker Joe Lauro to hang out at Domino's New Orleans house in the early 2000s, he knew he had to make a film about the rock & roll architect. More than a decade later, Fats Domino and the Birth of Rock 'n' Roll will air tonight, on Domino's 88th birthday. The film captures how the New Orleans pianist cut what many believe is the first rock & roll record, 1949's The Fat Man, and went onto sell 65 million records, making the Billboard pop chart...

It would be somewhat easy to do a straightforward documentary on Frank Zappa: zoom in on some grainy B&W pictures of him as an R&B-loving teen; chart his rise from Sixties avant-rock bandleader to symphonic composer, from antiestablishment iconoclast to anticensorship activist; interview some of the dozens, if not hundreds, of musicians inspired by him; drop in a few nuggets of We're Only In It for the Money or 200 Motels–era concert footage. Of course, Zappa was never one to do anything the easy, or easily comprehensible,...

In 1963, a young Frank Zappa appeared on “The Steve Allen Show,” where he used drumsticks and a bicycle to create a vibrant cacophony of sounds that must have been equally aggravating and fascinating to the generally square viewers of the program. After listening to Zappa’s bicycle-based orchestra, Allen gave a short speech defending artists who have the courage to push the boundaries of their medium, ending it by wryly telling Zappa, “I congratulate you for your far-sightedness. As for your music, don’t ever do it around here again.” Allen’s opinion seemed to encapsulate mainstream music fans’ initial reactions to listening to Zappa: They might not like what they hear, but it’s hard not to respect his dedication and staunch professionalism when it came to finding new avenues in musical expression, regardless of what genre the music business was exploiting at any given time. Zappa always did his own thing,...

Pat Harrington Jr., best known for playing scene-stealing superintendent Dwayne Schneider on CBS sitcom One Day at a Time, has died at age 86. The actor had been battling Alzheimer's and was recently hospitalized following a fall, The Hollywood Reporter reports, and passed away Wednesday night in Los Angeles. 

"Dear friends, it is with the most unimaginable pain and sadness, that I tell you my father, Pat Harrington, Jr. passed away at 11:09 Pm this evening," his daughter Tresa Harrington wrote Wednesday in a Facebook post. "We were all with him today and tonight: crying,...

When Neil Patrick Harris returns to TV next week, he won't be cracking jokes in another sitcom. Best Time Ever With Neil Patrick Harris (debuting on September 15th on NBC) marks the return — overdue or not — of the variety show, that long-dormant format in which kooky skits, musical guests, and frenzied production numbers are jammed into an hour of family-friendly entertainment. "When you think of the variety shows we all grew upon — Sonny and Cher and Donny and Marie — those [programs] all said, 'Sit on the couch, be entertained with a little song,...

Donna Douglas, who played Elly May Clampett on the CBS sitcom “The Beverly Hillbillies,” died Friday, NBC affiliate Wafb reports. She was 81.

TMZ reports that Douglas died at her home in Louisiana, surrounded by friends and family.

Born Doris Smith in Louisiana in 1933, Douglas appeared on “The Steve Allen Show” and “The Perry Como Show” before rising to notoriety on “The Beverly Hillbillies,” the comedy about a rural family who moved to Beverly Hills after patriarch Jed Clampett (Buddy Ebsen) struck oil.

Douglas’ agent has not yet responded to TheWrap‘s request for comment.

See photos: Hollywood’s Notable Deaths of 2014

The series,...

©2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

Oscar-nominated actor James Garner has passed away at the age of 86.

From AP:

Garner, whose whimsical style in the 1950s TV Western “Maverick” led to a stellar career in TV and films such as “The Rockford Files” and his Oscar-nominated “Murphy’s Romance,” was found dead of natural causes at his home in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles Saturday evening, Los Angeles police officer Alonzo Iniquez said early Sunday.

Police responded to a call around 8 p.m. Pdt and confirmed Garner’s identity from family members, Iniquez told The Associated Press.

There was no immediate word on a more specific cause of death. Garner had suffered a stroke in May 2008, just weeks after his 80th birthday.

Although he was adept at drama and action, Garner was best known for his low-key, wisecracking style, especially with his hit TV series, “Maverick” and “The Rockford Files.

Paul Mazursky, the five-time Academy Award-nominated writer and director, died Monday. He was 84.

Paul Mazursky Dies

Mazursky died as a result of a pulmonary cardiac arrest, a family spokesperson told Entertainment Weekly.

In the 1950s and early 60s, Mazursky broke into Hollywood as a TV actor in The Kaiser Aluminum Hour, The Steve Allen Plymouth Show, The Untouchables, Twilight Zone, The Real McCoys and more. He also made appearances on the silver screen in Blackboard Jungle and Stanley Kubrick’s Fear and Desire.

Among Mazursky’s first screenwriting credits were for The Monkees and The Danny Kaye Show. He went on to pen I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, for which he earned his first credit as a director and first Oscar nod.

Mazursky went on to receive Oscar nominations for Harry and Tonto (1974), An Unmarried Woman (1978) and Enemies: A Love Story (1990).

In later years,...

The world of cinema certainly has had its share of sympathetic bumbling and stumbling characters rich in both comedic and tragic layers and anything else in between. Some of these movie misfits are misunderstood and actually more aware then they appear. The combination of being slow-witted, clumsy, awkward, inept, unstable–it all has its entertaining points in the hapless scheme of things. Importantly, these bumbling and stumbling film figureheads generate a kind of loose-minded and in some cases underlying poignancy that resonates so soundly for global moviegoers to observe with embraced enthusiasm.

So let us take a look at a selection of klutzy candidates (both in seriousness and silliness) that inspire us to chuckle and root for in the column Whoops…Did I Do That?: Top 10 Film Bumblers and Stumblers (Note: the listing of the choices below are not in any particular order of preference):

1.) Forrest Gump from...

Originally released in 1989 – at which time the dirt on the West Coast “cool” jazz trumpeter, Chet Baker’s (born Chesney Henry Baker Jr.) grave was still relatively fresh (Baker died in Amsterdam in May 1988) – Bruce Weber’s documentary goes to exasperating lengths to legitimize the legend of Baker’s natural musical talent and iconically hip ba-da-be-bop coolness. Let’s Get Lost also chooses to focus on Baker's soft and subtle singing voice that is awkwardly affected by a slurring lisp and tendency to slide ever-so-slightly off-key. In comparison to the maestria of his pitch-perfect trumpeting, it is compelling to me that so many people (including Weber) consider Baker’s vocal performances as equally important as his trumpeting. By no means a traditional biography, Weber creates a visual poem set to a soundtrack of Baker’s tunes. Weber’s highly artistic and severely contrasted black and white footage (skillfully lensed by...

Patti Page, the legendary pop singer whose musical success spawned several television series of her own in the 1950s, has died. Page passed away on New Year’s Day in Encinitas, CA, at age 85. She had more than 100 chart hits during her decades-long career, including such pop classics as “(How Much Is That) Doggie In The Window”, “Old Cape Cod” and “Tennessee Waltz”. She was a regular on several music and variety shows during television’s Golden Age, including The Ed Sullivan Show and The Steve Allen Show. Those led to a Patti Page special on ABC, and later to consecutive series of her own on all three major networks; she was nominated for an Emmy in 1959 for ABC’s Patti Page Show. She also starred in Scott Music Hall Presents Patti Page, a summer replacement series on NBC that gave birth to the twice-weekly syndicated Oldsmobile Presents — Patti Page.

Steve Davis is the artist behind Memories of Elvis., a show he’s been performing in the St. Louis area for decades. Steve has dedicated over 20 years to perfecting the Elvis experience by paying incredible attention to detail and now he’ll be bringing that experience to Super-8 Elvis Movie Madness Tomorrow Night! This is a last-minute addition to the program which consists of condensed (average length: 15 minutes) versions of several of Elvis.s greatest films on Super-8 sound film projected on a big screen. Here.s the Elvis line-up: Blue Hawaii, Tickle Me, Roustabout, Girls Girls Girls, an Elvis Blooper Reel, and episode of The Steve Allen Show featuring guests Elvis Presley and Andy Griffith (who perform together!), and the 1978 biopic Elvis The Movie directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell as Elvis. . Steve Davis will take the stage during the break and perform some acoustic Elvis tunes.

There have been many TV bios of Elvis Presley but Elvis, The Movie, the once-elusive 1979 feature starring Kurt Russell, was the first and is still the best. When Elvis died August 16 1978 at age 42, it sent shock waves around the world, comparable to the deaths of Princess Diana or Michael Jackson in later decades. A carnival atmosphere developed in Memphis as thousands of mourners gathered around the gates of Graceland and sales of Elvis. music skyrocketed. The 3-hour epic Elvis The Movie, produced by Dick Clark for the ABC network premiered 18 months later on February 11 1979 and, despite CBS airing Gone With The Wind the same night, was one of the highest rated made-for-television movies ever shown (it played theatrically on other parts of the world . in Japan it was called The Singer!). The script by Antony Lawrence, who had penned two Elvis movies earlier in his career (Paradise Hawaiin Style and...

HollywoodNews.com: TV Land will honor the life and work of beloved actor Andy Griffith, who passed away today at the age of 86, with blocks of programming highlighting his most treasured work, “The Andy Griffith Show.” On Wednesday, July 4th from 8am-1pm Et/Pt and Saturday and Sunday, July 7th and 8th from 11am to 8pm Et/Pt, TV Land will air some of the most memorable episodes in marathons of “The Andy Griffith Show.” The TV Land Facebook page (www.facebook.com/tvland) will also pay tribute to Andy, celebrating some of his best TV moments.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of our dear friend, Andy Griffith,” said Larry W. Jones, President, TV Land. “His contributions to the entertainment industry and his role as Sheriff Andy Taylor will live forever in the minds and hearts of generations of television viewers past, present and yet to come.

Legendary multihyphenate Andy Griffith has died, his close friend and Unc president Bill Friday told North Carolina’s Witn-tv. Griffith was found in his Dare County, N.C. home on Tuesday morning; he was 86.

Television viewers first met Griffith through his 1950s appearances on variety programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show and The Steve Allen Show, but it was the role of Sheriff Andy Taylor in The Andy Griffith Show, which ran from 1960 to 1968, that made him a household name. Watch the opening:

Ron Howard, who played Sheriff Taylor’s son Opie, remembers Griffith for “his love of creating,...

New York — Richard Dawson, the wisecracking British entertainer who was among the schemers in the 1960s sitcom "Hogan's Heroes" and a decade later began kissing thousands of female contestants as host of the game show "Family Feud" has died. He was 79.

Dawson, also known to TV fans as the Cockney Pow Cpl. Peter Newkirk on "Hogan's Heroes," died Saturday night from complications related to esophageal cancer at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, his son Gary said.

The game show, which initially ran from 1976 to 1985, pitted families who tried to guess the most popular answers to poll questions such as "What do people give up when they go on a diet?

He made his hearty, soaring delivery of the phrase "Survey says..." a national catchphrase among viewers.

Dawson won a daytime Emmy Award in 1978 as best game show host. Tom Shales of The Washington Post called him "the fastest,...

New York — Richard Dawson, the wisecracking British entertainer who was among the schemers in the 1960s sitcom "Hogan's Heroes" and a decade later began kissing thousands of female contestants as host of the game show "Family Feud" has died. He was 79.

Dawson, also known to TV fans as the Cockney Pow Cpl. Peter Newkirk on "Hogan's Heroes," died Saturday night from complications related to esophageal cancer at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, his son Gary said.

The game show, which initially ran from 1976 to 1985, pitted families who tried to guess the most popular answers to poll questions such as "What do people give up when they go on a diet?

He made his hearty, soaring delivery of the phrase "Survey says..." a national catchphrase among viewers.

Dawson won a daytime Emmy Award in 1978 as best game show host. Tom Shales of The Washington Post called him "the fastest,...

First off, I have to tell you that this page may load slow. We're making an awful lot of calls to the Amazon Api here, and that's bound to monkey with things. If you have no idea what that means... it's shiny. Please note also that, for the same reason, you may find, depending on traffic, that not all of the Amazon details will load properly. I apologize for that, it's just the nature of the beast, and the fact that the Api wasn't really meant for such things. If you refresh, it will probably fix.

You may have heard me mention this giveaway quite a while ago, and it's taken me a long time to figure out what sort of format to put things in, and I kept added things. Eventually it became too much to really give any kind of run down on the items, so I decided...

Sam Denoff, the Emmy-winning television writer and co-creator of "That Girl," died Friday, July 8, at the age of 83. According to the Los Angeles Times, Denoff had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease and passed away at his home in Brentwood, CA. Born in Brooklyn, NY, Denoff started off working in radio before moving to Hollywood to try his hand at television. One of his first gigs: writing for the highly influential "The Steve Allen Show." Denoff would go on to write for "The Dick Van Dyke Show" before teaming up with Bill...

The [adj.] Leonard Stern, Emmy-winning TV writer and co-creator of the popular party game Mad Libs with partner Robert Price, has passed away at the age of 88 in Los Angeles. Stern got his start at 16 years old as a jokewriter for Milton Berle and went on to write for iconic Jackie Gleason sitcom The Honeymooners, Get Smart, The Steve Allen Show and 1952 feature The Jazz Singer.

read more...

The [adj.] Leonard Stern, Emmy-winning TV writer and co-creator of the popular party game Mad Libs with partner Robert Price, has passed away at the age of 88 in Los Angeles. Stern got his start at 16 years old as a jokewriter for Milton Berle and went on to write for iconic Jackie Gleason sitcom The Honeymooners, Get Smart, The Steve Allen Show and 1952 feature The Jazz Singer.

read more...

Leonard Stern, who created the seminal '50s sitcom The Honeymooners with Jackie Gleason and wrote 12 feature films (including two Abbott and Costello vehicles), died on Tuesday at age 88 in Los Angeles. In addition to acting as head writer for The Steve Allen Show and producer of the flat-out funniest show of the '60s, Get Smart, Stern also served as president of the Producers Guild of America. Let's honor his legacy with a clip from one of his first films, a little flick about a dynastic duo venturing overseas.

The Emmy Award-winning writer-producer-director Leonard Stern, who wrote for such legendary shows as “The Honeymooners” and “Get Smart,” as well as the 1952 “The Jazz Singer,” died Tuesday. He was 87. Stern’s television credits stretch to 1956’s “The Steve Allen Plymouth Show.” That same year, he wrote for “The Honeymooners” and “The Phil Silvers Show.” Later in his career, he wrote 40 episodes and executive produced 22 episodes of “McMillan & Wife,” starring Rock Hudson. His movie career included the 1952 “Jazz Singer,” starring Danny Thomas, the 1979 “Just You and Me, Kid,”...

Father’s day is coming and because of this a whole plethora of classic war movies coming to Blu-ray and is there a filmmaker whose work is more fitting for the format than David Lean? I already own Doctor Zhivago Blu and I am sure to pick up the newly released The Bridge on the River Kwai over the next few days. I’m greedy for more now, I want to own all of his latter day films in glorious 1080p.

Following an extensive 4K restoration from the original negative The Bridge on the River Kwai Blu-ray Disc™ is available on 6th June 2011.

We have three copies to give away. Read on to find out how;

This classic film, among the most prized in the Columbia Pictures catalogue, features William Holden (Oscar® Winner for Best Actor, Stalag 17, 1953) and Alec Guinness (Oscar® Winner for Best Actor, The Bridge on the River Kwai,...

To celebrate the release of The Bridge on the River Kwai, out Now, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment have given us three copies of the movie to give away on Blu-ray.

One of the all-time great war films, The Bridge On The River Kwai is yet another classic from the marvelous David Lean (Lawrence Of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago). The film is an outstanding, psychologically complex adaptation of Pierre Boulle’s 1952 novel, a classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Col. Nicholson (a fabulous Alec Guinness), the commander who supervised the bridge’s construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans. Although credited to screenwriter Carl Foreman, the script was actually written by blacklisted writer Michael Wilson. The film garnered seven Academy Awards,...

There are many shows which are described as "beloved" but only a few which truly deserve that description. The Andy Griffith Show is one of those precious few. The long running series, which inspired two spin-offs (Gomer Pyle Usmc; Mayberry Rfd), has been rerun consistently since its initial run (1960-1968), always on the air somewhere. The series celebrated it's 50th anniversary in 2010. While it's true that many shows are still remembered decades after they aired, how many are remembered as fondly as the Andy Griffith Show?

The Andy Griffith Show 50th Anniversary: The Best of Mayberry collects 17 of the most popular episodes of the series, as well as several other bonus treats. One of the best extras in the set is "Danny Meets Andy Griffith", an episode of the popular 1950s series Make Room for Daddy (Aka The Danny Thomas Show) which served as the prototype for Griffith's own show.

There are many shows which are described as "beloved" but only a few which truly deserve that description. The Andy Griffith Show is one of those precious few. The long running series, which inspired two spin-offs (Gomer Pyle Usmc; Mayberry Rfd), has been rerun consistently since its initial run (1960-1968), always on the air somewhere. The series celebrated it's 50th anniversary in 2010. While it's true that many shows are still remembered decades after they aired, how many are remembered as fondly as the Andy Griffith Show?

The Andy Griffith Show 50th Anniversary: The Best of Mayberry collects 17 of the most popular episodes of the series, as well as several other bonus treats. One of the best extras in the set is "Danny Meets Andy Griffith", an episode of the popular 1950s series Make Room for Daddy (Aka The Danny Thomas Show) which served as the prototype for Griffith's own show.

Chicago – David Lean’s “The Bridge on the River Kwai” is one of the most beloved epics of all time and not only has the film been restored for a massive Blu-ray Collector’s Edition release but a new print will roll at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago starting Friday, November 12th, 2010. If you’ve never seen the 1957 Best Picture winner, there’s never been a better time.

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0

“The Bridge on the River Kwai” was a massive hit when it was released in 1957, winning seven Oscars, including Director (David Lean), Actor (Alec Guiness), Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Score, Cinematography, and Picture. It beat “12 Angry Men” and “Witness For the Prosecution” for the big prize and has made multiple lists of the best films of all time. When the American Film Institute did their first list of the best 100 films ever made in 1998, “The Bridge on the River Kwai...

Showtime has just announced a second season for the unscripted series The Green Room with Paul Provenza. The show pits major comics in an uncensored environment where they can cut loose and talk about hot, offbeat and sometimes outrageous topics without worry of being politically incorrect or offending the public. Season 1 featured comedians from Bob Saget and Roseanne Barr to living legend Jonathan Winters (The Steve Allen Show, The Tonight Show). Season 2 is slated for 6 episodes, featuring leading comics who share their innermost thoughts, personal anecdotes and raw humor with each other in an intimate setting. The Green Room with Paul Provenza Season 2 will be filmed in Los Angeles and debut on the network in 2011.

The 1957 Best Picture winner The Bridge on the River Kwai will finally be released on Blu-ray on November 2. This film received a 4K restoration with the original negatives and newly-restored 5.1 audio and this new set will also include a new 32-page book with photos and information and a set of replica lobby cards. You can take a look at the packaging below. The film stars William Holden and Alec Guinness.

When British P.O.W.s build a vital railway bridge in enemy-occupied Burma, Allied commandos are assigned to destroy it in David Lean's epic World War II adventure The Bridge on the River Kwai.

A group of British POWs is forced to build a bridge in Burma for the Japanese. Led by Colonel Nicholson, they not only build the bridge but organize the whole building program and are proud of the final result. However, unbeknownst to the POWs,...

The voice of Cinderella, Ilene Woods, passes away at 81Variety is reporting that Ilene Woods, best known for voicing the title character in Disney's 1950 animated classic Cinderella, died July 1 in Canoga Park, California "of Alzheimer's-related causes."

Woods was 81.

She was born Jacquelyn Ruth Woods and began her career in radio, singing weekly for ABC's "The Ilene Woods Show". She went on to record a demo for the Disney feature. Walt Disney himself hired Woods for Cinderella soon after.

The young soprano got a Disney Legends award over half a century later for her voice work as Cinderella.

Later TV appearances included spots on The Steve Allen Show and Arthur Godfrey and His Friends.

She is survived by her husband, Edward Shaughnessy, a son; a daughter; and three grandchildren.

Cinderella was released February 15th, 1950 and stars Ilene Woods, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Rhoda Williams, James MacDonald, Luis Van Rooten, Don Barclay,...

Recently, we spoke with Paul Provenza, star of Showtime's upcoming series The Green Room with Paul Provenza. Provenza's new series is all about getting the best comedians together for an all out rip-fest, where feelings are tossed aside and anything is fair game. Paul was in New York promoting his new book, ¡Satiristas!, at Gotham Comedy Club. In this exclusive interview, Provenza discusses his gloves-off approach to The Green Room as well as working with some of comedies greats. Comedy savants will note that Provenza was able to get living legend Jonathan Winters (The Steve Allen Show, The Tonight Show) on the show, which demonstrates the caliber of talent on The Green Room. As a Bronx native, Provenza also tells us what it means to be a New York comic and how his background has shaped his comedy. See the exclusive interview: [jambovideo id="214850" wide="yes" /] The Green Room with Paul Provenza ...

Nick: Open bottle of Vodka, a used glass. What do you think; one last drink?

Greg Sanders: One last laugh.

This week’s episode, "Take My Life, Please!," had all the markings of a pretty standard installment of CSI: Two cases going at the same time, twists in each, and of course, lots of guessing until the end.

But don’t confuse “standard” with bad or boring. After 10 years, “standard episodes” on CSI still have writing well above some of the other shows out there (I am looking at you FlashForward).

Allow me to start with a Fanboy moment and say Tim Conaway still looks great and still has great comic timing. For example, when he is asked what he did after Knuckles and Nash broke up 30 years ago he makes an awesome reference to his real life career when he says: “I was on two hit TV Sshows...

When I was a kid, I loved the cartoon Top Cat. I'm not sure why. Maybe it was the cool music or the fact it was set in New York City. I also really loved Top Cat's voice.

Arnold Stang, the voice of the clever feline, died earlier this week at the age of 91. Stang was in 75 gazillion TV shows and movies over the years (you'd know the face and/or the voice even if you couldn't place the name), including The Jonathan Winters Show, Broadside, Batman, Bonanza, The Red Skelton Show, December Bride, The Steve Allen Show, The Milton Berle Show, Emergency, and Mathnet.

He was also in several movies, including Hercules in New York, Dennis The Menace, and It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. He was also the original voice of Buzz Bee in Honey-Nut Cheerios commercials.

After the jump, an episode of Top Cat.

Continue reading Arnold Stang,...

The William Castle Film Collection (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, $80.95) includes eight pictures produced and directed by master showman Castle. In Part One of this lengthy DVD review, I dissected four of them—13 Ghosts, Homicidal and the two best, The Tingler and Mr. Sardonicus. Believe you me, it was a ghastly business! As Sardonicus would say, “I have known a ghoul—a disgusting creature that opens graves and feeds on corpses.” Like a DVD reviewer. See here.

In this epic conclusion, I am fitted out with a Strait-jacket (about time!) and also chronicle Zotz!, 13 Frightened Girls and The Old Dark House, the three Castle entries new to DVD (which lack the short, individual “making of” documentaries accompanying the other five). Only two of these eight flicks were shot in color (Girls, House); theatrical trailers are included with all of the movies. And that’s all you need to know as we continue—in amazing Screamarama,...

Tom Poston, the Emmy award-winning actor who played comic sidekicks to a number of TV stars, most notably Bob Newhart, Robin Williams, and Steve Allen, died Monday night at his home in Los Angeles; he was 85. Poston, who was married to actress Suzanne Pleshette, passed away after a brief illness, the nature of which was not initially disclosed. Before venturing into television, Poston made his Broadway debut in 1947 in the acclaimed production of Cyrano de Bergerac starring Jose Ferrer, and assayed a number of dramatic roles onstage. In the mid-1950s he was selected by Steve Allen to appear as a recurring character in a number of man-on-the-street comic sketches on The Steve Allen Show, and he won an Emmy for the part in 1959. Poston worked almost exclusively in television throughout his career, occasionally taking the small film role, and appeared on Get Smart and The Bob Newhart Show, among other sitcoms. In the late 1970s he played the cantankerous neighbor to Robin Williams on the hit show Mork and Mindy, and in the '80s had arguably his most famous role, that of handyman George Utley on Bob Newhart's second sitcom, Newhart, a part which earned him three Emmy nominations. Poston guest starred on a wide variety of sitcoms and dramas, among them ER, Dharma & Greg, The Ellen Show, Becker, Will & Grace, That 70s Show and most recently the Disney show The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Poston was married twice before he tied the knot in 2001 with Suzanne Pleshette, whom he first met in 1959 on Broadway and worked with on The Bob Newhart Show. He is survived by Pleshette and three children from his previous marriages. -Mark Englehart, IMDb staff...