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When someone stumbles across a photo of Irene Ryan from the 1960s and then sees her character on The Beverly Hillbillies, one question springs to mind: "How old was Irene Ryan when she played Granny?" As a main character throughout the nine seasons of The Beverly Hillbillies, Daisy May Moses, better known as "Granny", was a fixture of '60s and '70s television. Jed's mother-in-law, Granny, is a shotgun-toting, mountain medicine-applying, short-tempered woman who has little patience for the easy, breezy lifestyles of Beverly Hills, California, and always makes sure to let everyone know she's a country girl at heart.

While The Beverly Hillbillies may be one of those '60s sitcoms lost to time and all the network television that came afterward, in the moment, it was hugely popular. Even with big names like Erika Eleniak as Ellie May and Buddy Ebsen as Jed, it's hard to...

Leave It to Beaver was a groundbreaking sitcom from the 1950s, setting the stage for future family-friendly series. Key cast members, like Jerry Mathers (Beaver) and Tony Dow (Wally), found continued success in TV after the show. Some cast members, like Ken Osmond (Eddie Haskell), struggled with typecasting but later found success in other shows.

Remembered as one of the seminal sitcoms from the early days of television, the Leave It to Beaver cast had a massive impact on popular culture. The show aired for six seasons starting in 1957, and it became a cultural touchstone for the late-'50 and early-'60s. Though incredibly simplistic compared to modern sitcoms, Leave It to Beaver blazed the trail for the genre and was often imitated in the ensuing decades. A true syndication hit, the series found its greatest popularity when it began to play in syndication.

Leave It to Beaver chronicled the adolescent life of its titular character,...

Carla Balenda, who starred alongside Dana Andrews and Claude Rains in the Rko Pictures thriller Sealed Cargo and portrayed Mickey Rooney’s girlfriend on the NBC sitcom Hey Mulligan, has died. She was 98.

Balenda, billed at times as Sally Bliss, her birth name, died April 9 of natural causes at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, her grandson Jim Martin told The Hollywood Reporter.

She also played a nurse on the 1955-56 syndicated series The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu, starring Glen Gordon, and recurred as Miss Hazlitt, Timmy’s (Jon Provost) teacher, on CBS’ Lassie from 1958-63.

In Sealed Cargo (1951), Balenda portrayed a woman who is aboard a fishing trawler bound for Newfoundland when she and the skipper (Andrews) wind up tangling in the North Atlantic with Nazis led by Rains’ character. She often said it was her favorite role.

When Rooney took his first crack at television,...

Good luck trying to slow Sling Freestream down. The hub for free ad-supported TV (Fast) channels added 16 new channels during the last week of March, and apparently liked that number so much that it is replicating the addition this week. Freestream is free, or you can simply enjoy the add-ons if you subscribe to the full Sling TV, which is a budget way to watch your favorite cable channels.

Get 50% Off $40+ / month sling.com

Yes, another 16 new channels are now available to Sling Freestream users. This brings the service’s channel count to nearly 250, and that’s before you get to an on-demand library of 41,000 titles. There’s something for everyone on Sling Freestream, and the new channel additions this week include:

MagellanTV Now - A linear streaming offering of global documentary streaming service MagellanTV. Explore the rich and dramatic stories of real life, from the discoveries of science that...

Screenwriter Jeb Stuart joins hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante to discuss a few of his favorite movies.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Die Hard (1988)

The Fugitive (1993)

Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960) – Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review

The Face of Fu Manchu (1965) – Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review

The Detective (1968) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Dirty Harry (1971) – Alan Spencer’s trailer commentary, Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Rear Window (1954) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Vertigo (1958) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary, Brian Trenchard-Smith’s review, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

North By Northwest (1959)

The Trouble With Harry (1955)

Casablanca (1942) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Wait Until Dark (1967) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Switchback (1997)

Jeremiah Johnson (1972)

The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

The Getaway (1972) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary

The Thin Man (1934)

Another 48 Hrs (1990)

Commando (1985) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

The Long Riders (1980)

The Warriors...

Paul Raci, 72, has already won several critics organization’s awards including from the National Society of Film Critics for his performance as Joe, a recovering alcoholic who lost his hearing in the Vietnam War. Joe runs a house for recovering deaf addicts that Ruben (Riz Ahmed), a drug addict who lost his hearing playing drums, goes to live. Raci ranks in the top five contenders for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars according to our exclusive odds.

And there’s a good reason wh: the actor gives such a natural, forceful performance as the no-nonsense Joe-his parents were deaf. He’s also fluent in American Sign Language and has appeared in some dozen productions of the Los Angeles-based Deaf West Theater and is lead performer of the Asl Black Sabbath tribute band Hands of Doom. And just as Joe, Raci is also a Vietnam Vet.

Character actors have won Oscars...

Who wants to meet Eddie Munster? Lucky St. Lous-area fans of The

Munsters will have the chance this Sunday when he makes an appearance at Cosmic Comics (132 West Main Street in downtown Belleville). He’ll be there from 12-4pm and will be bringing along his Munster’themed autos ‘Dragula’, and ‘The Munsters Coach’ That’s Mother’s Day, so take your Mom to meet Eddie! A Facebook invite for the event can be found Here

Butch was born on August 2, 1953 in Los Angeles California. He made his acting debut in 1961 at the age of eight opposite Eddie Albert in the film “The Two Bears”. While living in Illinois with his grandmother, Butch was flown to Los Angeles to test for the role of Eddie Munster at CBS Studios. “I went in and an hour later I came out with the job” he recalls. Although a cute little kid, he could play brat parts easily.

The Toyman Toy Show in St. Louis has been going strong for over 25 years now and just keeps getting bigger and better! The fun takes place seven times a year at The Machinists Hall 12365 St Charles Rock Road in Bridgeton, Mo 63044. There are over 120 vendors at the Toyman Toy Show spread out over 220 tables. all selling vintage toys, comics, dolls, diecast cars, movie memorabilia, and more as well as cosplayers and artists. It’s an unbelievable amount of fun for only $5!

The next Toyman Show is November 6th from 9:00a to 3:00p and Butch Patrick, Eddie Munster from the beloved ’60s TV show The Munsters will be there! Butch was born on August 2, 1953 in Los Angeles California. He made his acting debut in 1961 at the age of eight opposite Eddie Albert in the film “The Two Bears”. While living in Illinois with his grandmother, Butch was flown to...

The Toyman Toy Show in St. Louis has been going strong for over 25 years now and just keeps getting bigger and better! The fun takes place seven times a year at The Machinists Hall 12365 St Charles Rock Road in Bridgeton, Mo 63044. There are over 120 vendors at the Toyman Toy Show spread out over 220 tables. all selling vintage toys, comics, dolls, diecast cars, movie memorabilia, and more as well as cosplayers and artists. It’s an unbelievable amount of fun for only $5!

The next Toyman Show is November 6th from 9:00a to 3:00p and Butch Patrick, Eddie Munster from the beloved ’60s TV show The Munsters will be there! Butch was born on August 2, 1953 in Los Angeles California. He made his acting debut in 1961 at the age of eight opposite Eddie Albert in the film “The Two Bears”. While living in Illinois with his grandmother, Butch was flown to...

Michael Parks, a character actor who enjoyed a career renaissance in recent decades thanks to high profile roles in films by Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez and Kevin Smith, died Wednesday at the age of 77.

Parks' agent confirmed the actor's death to The Hollywood Reporter, though a cause of death was not revealed.

Parks made his acting debut in a small role in 1961 on the sitcom The Real McCoys, and, over the ensuing decades, racked up dozens of roles on both television and feature films, most notably as the casino owner...

Michael Parks, the longtime character actor who was a favorite of directors like Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, and Kevin Smith, has died, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The news was confirmed by his agent, who declined to name a cause of death. He was 77.

Parks was born in 1940 in Corona, California, where he worked manual labor jobs like picking fruit and driving trucks before his breakthrough on the ABC sitcom The Real McCoys in 1961. Although he also appeared in films during the decade, he remained an in-demand TV actor throughout the 1960s, starring in the counterculture drama series Then Came Bronson in 1969-1970. (Parks also recorded the theme song to the show, “Long Lonesome Highway,” which led to a three-album run at MGM.)

Parks worked steadily throughout the ’70s and ’80s, and scored another breakout role as Canadian drug runner Jean Renault on the second season of ...

The Toyman Toy Show in St. Louis has been going strong for over 25 years now and just keeps getting bigger and better! The fun takes place seven times a year at The Machinists Hall 12365 St Charles Rock Road in Bridgeton, Mo 63044. There are over 120 vendors at the Toyman Toy Show spread out over 220 tables. all selling vintage toys, comics, dolls, diecast cars, movie memorabilia, and more as well as cosplayers and artists. It’s an unbelievable amount of fun for only $5!

The next Toyman Show is November 6th from 9:00a to 3:00p and Butch Patrick, Eddie Munster from the beloved ’60s TV show The Munsters will be there! Butch was born on August 2, 1953 in Los Angeles California. He made his acting debut in 1961 at the age of eight opposite Eddie Albert in the film “The Two Bears”. While living in Illinois with his grandmother, Butch was flown to...

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,...

Dann Cahn, a pioneer of the three-camera method of filming and editing TV sitcoms, has died. Cahn also was the last surviving member of the original creative team behind the landmark series I Love Lucy. He was 89 and died Wednesday of natural causes at his home in west Los Angeles. Cahn worked on Lucy‘s entire six-season run from 1951 to 1957. Unlike series that preceded it, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s show used three motion picture cameras instead of one. The multicamera technique allowed for a show to be filmed continuously and in sequence, like a stage play. The amount of footage overwhelmed editors at the time, according to the La Times, and they located a cutting-edge device that had been created for the quiz show Truth Or Consequences. When it was delivered to Desilu, Cahn called it a “monster” because it wouldn’t fit into the editing room so...

Fourteen million cable TV watchers can't be wrong. As the dust settles on the History Channel dramatization of the great American feud - the network's ratings record-setter Hatfields & McCoys airs its third and final installment Wednesday night - perhaps it's time to step back and look at the real-life patriarchs being portrayed by Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton. The series tells the tale of West Virginia's Devil Anse Hatfield (Costner) and Kentucky's Randall McCoy (Paxton), close friends until the end of the Civil War. Once home, simmering tensions and resentments soon explode into an all-out rivalry that encompasses years of land disputes,...

No other folk do blood feuds like Mason-Dixon Line Americans. Wedged between the Smoky Mountains and the Mississippi is enough pure meanness to power New York City from now until the Mayan Doomsday. They may pronounce themselves zealots for the religion of “turn the other cheek,” but hillbillies make Sicilian mobsters look laid back.

Of all the famed conflicts between Jayhawks and Bushwackers, State Line mobsters and small-town Sheriffs, moonshiners and claim jumpers, one stands out in the annals of American history: The Hatfield-McCoy feud. If American vengeance had a brand, it would be Hatfield-McCoy.

Nobody did eye-for-an-eye like these good old boys. And yet nobody knows much about them. The grit of their conflict has been washed under a sugary tide of commercialism, relegating their deep human suffering to the stuff of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, dinner theater.

Until now. Until here, loyal reader. Because in honor of what looks...

Three of Stallone’s best films are about to be into one explosive package on DVD & Blu-Ray! James Mangold’s under-appreciated Cop Land, John Flynn’s Lock Up and the classic Rambo: First Blood will be in a 3-Pack DVD and Blu-Ray set from Lionsgate Home Entertainment in August! Read below for all the fine details!

From the Press Release:

The world’s favorite action superstar, Academy Award® nominee Sylvester Stallone (Best Actor in a Leading Role, Rocky, 1976), is back with the Blu-ray Disc and DVD release of the Stallone 3-Film Collector’s Set from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Just in time for the theatrical release of his highly anticipated action film, The Expendables 2, this collection features three of Stallone’s most memorable hit films Cop Land, Rambo: First Blood and Lock Up, together for the first time. A must-have for Stallone fans of all generations, the collection...

Nashville, Tenn. -- Actor George Lindsey was remembered Friday as the grinning Goober who made television viewers laugh for three decades on "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Hee Haw."

A public memorial service drew an estimated 400 people who paid last respects to Lindsey, 83, who died Sunday.

He was the beanie-wearing Goober on "The Andy Griffith Show" from 1964 to 1968 and its successor, "Mayberry Rfd," from 1968 to 1971. He played the same jovial character, a mechanic, on "Hee Haw" from 1971 until it went out of production in 1993. Reruns of those shows are still seen on TV.

Griffith did not attend, but sent a statement that was read by country music broadcaster Keith Bilbrey at the service at Westminster Presbyterian Church.

"George was a better joke teller than me, and I will say here that I `borrowed' jokes from George that he may have `borrowed' from Minnie Pearl," Griffith confessed. "George told me his...

Nashville, Tenn. -- Actor George Lindsey was remembered Friday as the grinning Goober who made television viewers laugh for three decades on "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Hee Haw."

A public memorial service drew an estimated 400 people who paid last respects to Lindsey, 83, who died Sunday.

He was the beanie-wearing Goober on "The Andy Griffith Show" from 1964 to 1968 and its successor, "Mayberry Rfd," from 1968 to 1971. He played the same jovial character, a mechanic, on "Hee Haw" from 1971 until it went out of production in 1993. Reruns of those shows are still seen on TV.

Griffith did not attend, but sent a statement that was read by country music broadcaster Keith Bilbrey at the service at Westminster Presbyterian Church.

"George was a better joke teller than me, and I will say here that I `borrowed' jokes from George that he may have `borrowed' from Minnie Pearl," Griffith confessed. "George told me his...

Nashville, Tenn. — George Lindsey, who made a TV career as a grinning service station attendant named Goober on "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Hee Haw," has died. He was 83.

The Marshall-Donnelly-Combs Funeral Home in Nashville said Lindsay died early Sunday morning after a brief illness.

Lindsey was the beanie-wearing Goober on "The Andy Griffith Show" from 1964 to 1968 and its successor, "Mayberry Rfd," from 1968 to 1971. He played the same jovial character on "Hee Haw" from 1971 until it went out of production in 1993.

"America has grown up with me," Lindsey said in an Associated Press interview in 1985. "Goober is every man; everyone finds something to like about ol' Goober."

He joined "The Andy Griffith Show" in 1964 when Jim Nabors, portraying Gomer Pyle, left the program. Goober Pyle, who had been mentioned on the show as Gomer's cousin, replaced him.

"At that time, we were the best acting ensemble on TV," Lindsey once told an interviewer.

George Lindsey, the Alabama native who played Goober on The Andy Griffith Show, Mayberry Rfd and Hee Haw, died early this morning in Nashville after a brief illness. He was 83. Goober was the cousin of the character Gomer Pyle played by Jim Nabors. Griffith issued a statement: “George Lindsey was my friend … Our last conversation was a few days ago … I am happy to say that as we found ourselves in our eighties, we were not afraid to say `I love you.’ That was the last thing George and I had to say to each other. `I love you’.” Best known as Goober, Lindsey had a long TV career that included roles in Gunsmoke, Mash, The Wonderful World of Disney, CHIPs, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, The Real McCoys, The Rifleman, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and The Twilight Zone. Movie roles included Cannonball Run II, Take This Job and Shove It...

Nashville, Tenn. — George Lindsey, who made a TV career as a grinning service station attendant named Goober on "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Hee Haw," has died. He was 83.

The Marshall-Donnelly-Combs Funeral Home in Nashville said Lindsay died early Sunday morning after a brief illness.

Lindsey was the beanie-wearing Goober on "The Andy Griffith Show" from 1964 to 1968 and its successor, "Mayberry Rfd," from 1968 to 1971. He played the same jovial character on "Hee Haw" from 1971 until it went out of production in 1993.

"America has grown up with me," Lindsey said in an Associated Press interview in 1985. "Goober is every man; everyone finds something to like about ol' Goober."

He joined "The Andy Griffith Show" in 1964 when Jim Nabors, portraying Gomer Pyle, left the program. Goober Pyle, who had been mentioned on the show as Gomer's cousin, replaced him.

"At that time, we were the best acting ensemble on TV," Lindsey once told an interviewer.

Best known for his role as "Goober" on The Andy Griffith Show, George Lindsey has died at the age of 83. The thesp, who starred on Hee Haw and appeared on TV shows like Gunsmoke, died Sunday after battling an undisclosed illness, according to Nashville television station Wsfa. Before Lindsey's career in television sparked, he dabbled in theater, landing roles in Broadway plays like All American and Wonderful Town after studying at the American Theater Wing in New York City. He then went on to play villainous characters on western shows like The Rifleman and Gunsmoke, and appeared in The Real McCoys, The Twilight Zone and The Jar, among other things. But Lindsey's career truly took...

This morning, we have news briefs about the passing of two television veterans -- one from behind the scenes and one in front of the camera.

Also, Henson puppets may be returning to NBC, American Horror Story gets cut, and a celebration of Cagney & Lacey for their 30th anniversary (original series image at right). Plus, some notable dates in TV history.

Jack Elinson, Rip

A veteran TV comedy writer, whose career stretched over 50 years, died last Thursday at his home in Santa Monica. Elinson was 89 years old. After writing for shows like The Johnny Carson Show and The Real McCoys in the 1950s, he went on write for Make Room for Daddy, The Andy Griffith Show, and Hogan's Heroes. As a producer, he worked on Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C., That Girl, and Good Times. He was also an executive producer, working on...

TV comedy writer Jack Elinson, whose career stretched over 50 years, died Thursday at his home in Santa Monica. He was 89. His numerous credits as writer during the 1950s included the series All-Star Revue, The Colgate Comedy Hour, The Duke, The Jimmy Durante Show, Hey, Jeannie!, The Johnny Carson Show, and The Real McCoys. During the 1960s, The Danny Thomas Show (aka Make Room for Daddy), The Andy Griffith Show, Hogan’s Heroes, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (producer), Run, Buddy, Run (producer), and That Girl (producer). He wrote and served as producer on many series in the ’70s, such as Good Times (producer), and One Day at Time (executive producer), as well as The Doris Day Show (producer), Arnie and the animated sitcom Wait Till Your Father Gets Home. During the ’80s, his work included The Facts of Life (executive producer) and 227, the Marla Gibbs-starring comedy series which...

My Son, The History Lesson

On his debut album Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening recorded in July of 2009, comedian Aziz Ansari presents a veritable torrent of pop culture references throughout the hour-long routine. He jokes about harassing his cousin Harris on Facebook, pokes fun at Cold Stone Creamery, Cvs Pharmacy and Craigslist and then finishes with two big pre-encore bits involving Kanye West and R. Kelly, including an extended impression of R&B singer Kelly both in concert and then getting lapdances at the after-party. He even makes fun of himself for being tongue-tied around M.I.A.

It’s a great album from a very funny comic who, given his ongoing role in Parks & Recreation, his hosting this past summer of the MTV Movie Awards and parts in movies like Get Him to the Greek, Funny People and the upcoming 30 Minutes or Less (which will be his first...

Actor Richard Crenna, the Emmy Award-winning television actor who also made a name for himself in movies as Sylvester Stallone's commanding officer in the Rambo films, died Friday of pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles; he was 76. Crenna started his career in radio and television, appearing on the Burns And Allen radio show and later in two popular TV series, Our Miss Brooks and The Real McCoys. Crenna began pursuing a film career in the mid-`60s, appearing in The Sand Pebbles, Marooned and Wait Until Dark. After toiling in B-movies throughout the `70s, he made a resurgence with 1981's Body Heat, playing the duped husband of Kathleen Turner, and appeared a year later as Col. Samuel Trautman in First Blood, playing mentor to Sylvester Stallone's John Rambo, returning for the two hugely successful Rambo sequels. He also appeared in 1984's The Flamingo Kid, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination, and spoofed his Rambo character in 1993's Hot Shots! Part Deux. Crenna continued working in television through the 90s, most recently appearing in the drama Judging Amy opposite Tyne Daly. Crenna is survived by his wife, Penni, and three children. --Prepared by IMDb staff...