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When Tom Hanks took the stage late during last night's 50th anniversary celebration of "Saturday Night Live," he appeared to be headed into somber territory. The lights were dimmed to blue, his tone was reverent and, as he worked into his prepared comments, the subject one that hits so very close to home for the show's alumni and friends. "As we celebrate the achievements of the past 50 years," he said, "We must also take a moment to honor those we've lost. Countless members of the 'SNL' community taken too soon." Hanks paused briefly for effect, then continued. "I'm speaking, of course, about 'SNL' characters that have aged horribly."

No comedic institution can last 50 years without finding the third rail on occasion. For "SNL," a sketch comedy series both emerged from and tore apart 1960s counterculture humor, jolting viewers with gasp-inducing gags that seemed to fly under...

Image Source: HarperCollins In the 1970s, Cher was everywhere. Although her music partnership with Sonny Bono was fading, her solo career was taking off, with a string of hit singles. But while Sonny & Cher’s run on the music charts was ending, the duo’s run on television was just beginning. With The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and The Sonny & Cher Show, they gave us six seasons of ’70s-style television variety shows, filled with music, comedy, and Cher’s ostentatious wardrobe (often courtesy of legendary designer Bob Mackie). And on her own, Cher had a two-season run of her own variety show. Between the various shows, she worked with some of the hottest stars of the day. One of the most memorable guest appearances came when The Jacksons visited her solo show, and she performed a medley of the group’s hits, singing and dancing alongside Michael Jackson.

Kelly Ripa returned from a busy week in Palm Springs with a new look, and fans cannot stop talking about it.

Live with Kelly and Mark relocated to California’s sunny Palm Springs area for a week of shows featuring Kelly and Mark Consuelos living out their dreams.

As Monsters and Critics reported, Mark learned pickleball while sporting an Old Hollywood look that fans loved.

Kelly fulfilled a dream of a whole group of audience members dressed up like Mrs. Roper from Three’s Company, all wearing Caftans, or what Kelly playfully calls Ropers.

Kelly has shown much more gray hair since she returned from Palm Springs.

After Richard Gere sat with her on Live, fans commented on it.

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A post shared by Live with Kelly and Mark (@livekellyandmark)

Kelly’s gone grayer, with fans divided on the change

Kelly has said that she wants...

Hoda Kotb is an experienced host on The Today Show, so it is surprising she would encourage a visiting celebrity to make such a large on-air blunder. Kotb was interviewing Singer Cher when she encouraged the artist to drop an f-bomb on national morning television. So what exactly happened? Keep reading to find out!

Hoda Kotb Makes A Big Mistake

Today Show host Hoda Kotb was interviewing Cher on Tuesday when she made a very large mistake. Cher and Hoda sat down to discuss Cher’s latest book “Cher: The Memoir, Part One.” Kotb was asking Cher to recount an interaction she had with famous actress Lucille Ball. Turns out the conversation was not appropriate for television, but that didn’t stop Hoda from asking her to tell it!

Today: Hoda Kotb

Cher explained to Hoda Kotb that when she was in the process of leaving her ex-husband Sonny Bono,...

When Cher’s Ex-Husband Wanted To Kill Her (Photo Credit – Instagram)

In her memoir, ‘Cher: The Memoir (Part One),’ which was released recently, Cher made a shocking revelation wherein she revealed that her ex-husband Sonny Bono contemplated killing her once. For the unversed, the singer shared a difficult and tumultuous marriage with the late singer and politician. She vividly recalled one of the disturbing incidents wherein Bono had confessed to her that he felt like killing her.

In her memoir, Cher admitted that she felt so unhappy in her marriage with Sonny Bono that she also contemplated committing suicide by jumping off the balcony of her Las Vegas hotel room. The ‘Believe’ singer mentioned in her memoir how she told Sonny she wanted to sleep with Bill, a guitarist in their band. She did not mean any of it; it was just a ploy to get separated from Bono.

Describing the incident,...

For those unaware, Cher is coming out with a memoir, aptly titled “Cher: The Memoir (Part One).”

For those also unaware, Cher now says that her former husband thought about killing her at one point.

There. Have we gotten your attention?

Sonny Bono and Cher, way back in the day. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

Back in the early 1970s, Cher was married to fellow musician Sonny Bono.

They released the iconic duet “I Got You Babe,” they co-starred on the show The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, they were a Very big deal at the time.

But they weren’t entirely happy back then. At all.

In her book, Cher details a stint in Las Vegas at the Sahara Hotel in October 1972 … when she told her husband she wanted to sleep with Bill, a guitarist in their band.

Cher poses during a photocall ahead of the Balmain show as...

In her new memoir, Cher recalls a dark moment in her “loveless marriage” to Sonny Bono when she considered jumping off the balcony of her Las Vegas hotel room (via People).

The incident occurred in 1972, three years after Cher and Bono officially wed. (Cher was 16 and Bono 27 when they met in 1962; they had an unofficial wedding ceremony in 1964.) At the time, the couple was wildly popular thanks to their numerous hit songs and their smash variety TV show, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour. But professional success did not bring personal fulfillment.

Mel Brooks, who directed Teri Garr in the iconic 1974 comedy Young Frankenstein, remembered the actor upon her death Tuesday, recalling Garr’s talent and spirit.

“So very sorry to hear about Teri Garr’s passing,” Brooks said in a statement on social media. “She was so talented and so funny. Her humor and lively spirit made the Young Frankenstein set a pleasure to work on. Her ‘German’ accent had us all in stitches! She will be greatly missed.”

Garr was a standout in a film filled with standouts. She played Inga, the German lab assistant to the visiting American Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, played of course by Gene Wilder. As the seemingly ditsy — “seemingly” being the operative word — Inga, Garr employed a rather ersatz German accent, hence Brooks’ quote marks around the word.

Mel Brooks, Teri Garr and Cloris Leachman at the 40th anniversary celebration of ‘Young Frankenstein...

David Letterman is calling Teri Garr, who died Tuesday, one of his “all time favorite guests,” while Garr’s Mr. Mom costar Michael Keaton laments “a day I feared and knew was coming.” And Richard Dreyfuss, who costarred with Garr in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, remembers her as “vibrant, playful and so funny.”

The late, great Teri Garr, who brightened everything from sitcoms, variety shows, talk shows, some of the funniest movies ever made and even the occasional drama is being remembered by co-stars and colleagues today for the light she was.

“I adored Teri,” tweeted Dreyfuss. “She was vibrant, playful and so funny. Her essence created an ease in every scene we did together.

Teri Garr, the star of Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein who earned an Oscar nomination for her role in Tootsie, has died at the age of 79. Best known for her film roles, Garr was a preternaturally gifted comedic genius and a fixture on late-night TV, where she often dropped by The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson and Late Night With David Letterman. Garr passed away on October 29 following a prolonged battle with multiple sclerosis, as confirmed by Variety.

In addition to acting, Garr was a trained dancer and talented singer whose early credits included go-go dancing as a background extra. After taking a step back from acting in the late '90s, Garr later revealed in a 2002 interview with Larry King that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a chronic autoimmune disorder that affects the central nervous system.

Related The Best Performances In Mel Brooks Movies, Ranked

Throughout his long career,...

Allan Blye, an Emmy-winning writer for “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” and “Van Dyke and Company,” died Friday morning at home in Palm Desert, Calif., a family spokesperson confirmed. He was 87.

In 1968, Tom and Dick Smothers convinced Blye to move to Los Angeles to serve as head writer and producer on their new variety show, CBS’ “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.” There, Blye worked alongside young comedians such as Bob Einstein, Steve Martin, Rob Reiner and Carl Gottlieb. The show won an Emmy for best writing in a variety comedy television series in 1969.

Blye wrote and produced many shows throughout his career, including “The Andy Williams Show,” “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour,” “The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show,” “That’s My Mama,” “The Bobby Vinton Show” and “The Ray Stevens Show,” which he co-created with Chris Bearde. Blye also co-wrote several TV specials, such as Elvis Presley’s 1968 “Comeback Special...

If a cross-section of documentary filmmakers were offered access to live performances, behind-the-scenes footage and even private phone calls during a couple of years in the life and career of John Lennon, it’s unlikely that many of them would choose the period of 1971-1972. That was when Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, got heavily into political causes and made “Some Time in New York City,” an unwieldy and hamfisted slice of rock ‘n’ roll agitprop that long ago secured its reputation as the worst album of Lennon’s career.

But that’s the period that director Kevin Macdonald and co-director Sam Rice-Edwards had to work with to make “One to One: John & Yoko,” which had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Friday and will also play in Telluride this weekend. The filmmakers have managed to make a bracing, scattered and somewhat revelatory look at...

From Mary Tyler Moore’s black capri pants to the waist-cinching corsets on Bridgerton, the costumes on television’s hottest shows over the past 70-plus years have influenced what we wear more than viewers may realize. That’s the premise of Hal Rubenstein’s just-released book, which is sure to spawn an escapist deep dive by even the most casual TV fan.

Dressing the Part: Television’s Most Stylish Shows (Harper, $36) explores the costume design of 50 high-profile TV series, from I Love Lucy and The Donna Reed Show in the 1950s, to Downton Abbey, Sex and the City, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and others. But it was Bridgerton that inspired the idea for the book. “Harper wanted to do a book on Bridgerton’s costume design, and my feeling was that it was a period costume show that [didn’t relate yet],” Rubenstein told The Hollywood Reporter. “I thought we would see the ramifications...

Coslough Johnson, the Emmy-winning writer who worked with his late older brother, Arte Johnson, on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In and wrote for two variety shows toplined by Sonny and Cher, has died. He was 91.

Johnson died March 23 of prostate cancer at a nursing facility in the Thousand Oaks area, his wife, Mary Jane, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Johnson also worked on sitcoms including The Monkees, Bewitched, That Girl, The Partridge Family, Good Times, Flo, Operation Petticoat and Cpo Sharkey and on cartoons featuring Mighty Mouse, Heckle and Jeckle, The Flintstones, Voltron and He-Man.

He wrote on the first three seasons (1968-70) of NBC’s Laugh-In, the final three seasons (1971-74) of The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and the lone season (1976-77) of The Sonny and Cher Show, those last two for CBS.

Other variety shows on his résumé included The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show...

Emmy voters demonstrated a clear love for Hulu’s new comedy “Only Murders in the Building” by bestowing the series with 17 nominations. Steve Martin felt plenty of that affection as he is on the ballot for three of those bids: as a producer for Best Comedy Series, as a writer (alongside John Hoffman) for the episode “True Crime,” and for his performance in the Best Comedy Actor race. If Martin wins his acting bid it will be the first time the entertainer snatches an acting trophy at the Emmys. But the win would break an even more mind-boggling stat for the industry veteran: it would be his first Emmy win in 53 years.

See When funny men compete at the Emmys: Steve Martin vs. Martin Short (‘Only Murders in the Building’)

Martin has been nominated at the Emmys 13 times, including his three bids this year for “Only Murders.” He was first...

Bill Pitman, a guitarist and bassist in the legendary Wrecking Crew of Los Angeles session musicians, has died at the age of 102.

The New York Times confirmed Pitman died Thursday at his home in La Quinta, California. While no cause of death was revealed, the musician recently fractured his spine in a fall, and spent the last month of his life recovering from that accident.

As a member of the elite Wrecking Crew, Pitman was deployed on albums by artists like Sam Cooke, Nancy Sinatra, the Monkees, James Brown, and the Beach Boys.

Apple Original Films has landed a new documentary from A24 and Tremolo Productions featuring Steve Martin. The untitled two-part documentary film featuring the legendary writer, producer, director, actor, and comedian will explore his life and career. It will be directed and produced by Academy Award winner Morgan Neville. Martin currently stars in Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, which he created with John Hoffman and also serves as writer and executive producer for. (It has been renewed for a third season.) His on-screen TV credits also include appearances on Saturday Night Live, The Martin Short Show, The Tracey Ullman Show, and The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. Martin won an Emmy in 1969 for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy, Variety or Music for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. He has been nominated for 12 more Emmys, including for Only Murders in the Building and his 30 Rock guest spot. The new...

Click here to read the full article.

For a man who spent the bulk of the 1970s standing on stages all by himself, Steve Martin has a remarkable track record with collaboration in Hollywood. From his first TV writing gig to his Grammy-winning musical pair-ups, here’s a look at some of Martin’s most fruitful creative partnerships. (Read THR’s cover story on Steve Martin here.)

Bob Einstein From left: Martin with Einstein

The late comic and writer (right), who’d go on to create the Super Dave Osborne persona, shared a windowless office with Martin while the two wrote for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1968. Sharing an Emmy win for writing on the show, they would work together again on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.

Carl Reiner From left: Martin and Reiner

One of Martin’s mentors, the Hollywood legend helped the comic make the transition from stand-up to leading man.

The Television Critics Association (TCA) has announced the winners of the organization’s 38th Annual TCA Awards, recognizing the best television offerings from the 2021-2022 season.

ABC’s first-year public school sitcom Abbott Elementary made the grade as the night’s top winner with four victories. The series took home some of the TCA’s highest honors, including Individual Achievement In Comedy for series creator, producer, writer, and star, Quinta Brunson; as well as Outstanding Achievement In Comedy, Outstanding New Program, and the Program Of The Year Award.

Other winners include This Is Us star Mandy Moore, who earned the award for Individual Achievement In Drama after being snubbed by the Emmys; acclaimed Disney+ rock doc The Beatles: Get Back, which won the Outstanding Achievement In News And Information Award; CBS’ globe-hopping The Amazing Race, which shared Outstanding Achievement In Reality Programming with HBO Max’s glam Legendary; the surreal...

Cher’s lawsuit claiming Sonny Bono’s widow, Mary Bono, owes her $1 million in unpaid royalties for Sonny & Cher songs — including hits like “I Got You Babe” — had its first major court hearing Monday, April 25, with a federal judge asking a telling hypothetical.

U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt heard arguments on a pending motion to dismiss the suit and challenged Mary Bono’s position that the federal Copyright Act allows her to terminate the 50% right to royalties that Sonny Bono agreed to fork over to Cher when the...

“We should do our own podcast,” Oliver (Martin Short) suggests to Charles (Steve Martin) and Mabel (Selena Gomez). “I’m sure that every true-crime podcaster wishes he was on the case from the start.”

The central characters of Hulu’s wonderful new comedy Only Murders in the Building, these three would know all about that. They are neighbors in an expensive Manhattan apartment complex who’ve never had much to say to one another until discovering two things in rapid succession: One, that they are all hooked on the same...

Bob Einstein, best known for his recurring role on Curb Your Enthusiasm and for creating the stuntman character Super Dave Osborne, died Wednesday after a battle with cancer, our sister site Deadline reports. He was 76.

Einstein began his Hollywood career as a writer for several variety series, including The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and the short-lived Van Dyke and Company. His behind-the-scenes work earned him two Emmy Awards (in 1969 and 1977), as well as four more Emmy nominations.

In front of the camera, Einstein became known for his satirical character Super Dave Osborne, an optimistic...

4:15 Pm -- HBO tells us they had scheduled Bob to part of season 10 of 'Curb,' but his health prevented it. Larry David says, “Never have I seen an actor enjoy a role the way Bob did playing 'Marty Funkhouser' on 'Curb.' It was an amazing, unforgettable experience knowing and working with him. There was no one like him, as he told us again and again. We’re all in a state of shock.

Bob Einstein, a two-time Emmy winner who has recurred on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm since its launch and created the wacky Super Dave Osborne character, died today in Indian Wells, CA. He was 76 and recently had been diagnosed with cancer.

Best known to today’s viewers for playing the serious, often surly but always hilarious Marty Funkhouser on Curb, Einstein was a foil for its creator-star Larry David. He appeared in nearly two dozen episodes of the series dating from 2004 to the most recent season.

Einstein’s younger brother, actor-director Albert Brooks, tweeted today, “R.I.P. My dear brother Bob Einstein. A great brother, father and husband. A brilliantly funny man. You will be missed forever.”

A comedian’s comedian, Einstein first made his name as a writer. His career dates to the 1960s, when he won his first Emmy as part of the writing team for The...

“Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again” could bring Cher her lucky seventh Golden Globe nomination. The well-reviewed film has raked in more than $350 million to date. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association loves to recognize box office hits almost as much as it loves a good comeback story. Cher hadn’t made a move in almost 10 years and makes quite the return to the screen in “Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again.” Her entrance is via helicopter and she looks smashing in a white suit and wig.

She plays Ruby Sheridan, the mother of Meryl Streep‘s character Donna who travels to the idyllic Greek isle to to support her granddaughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried‘) who is pregnant. Ruby has a dramatic reunion with her ex-lover, Fernando, played by Andy Garcia. That scene, in which they sing, er, “Fernando,” is one of the highlights of the movie.

See ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again...

Cher is turning back time on her career and legacy — one that she thought she wouldn’t be around to see anymore.

The legendary songstress, who turns 70 on Saturday, sat down for a revealing chat in Billboard‘s May 27 issue, touching on the ups and downs of her six-decades in the spotlight.

The interview comes days before the “Believe” singer receives the Billboard Music Awards‘ prestigious Icon Award — in honor of her 100 million albums sold worldwide and 22 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. (She’s also the first artist to have a no. 1 single on a Billboard chart in each decade...

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,...

I’ll speak for myself. I am not ready to hear the words “Cher” and “dead” in one sentence.If we could turn back time, it would be to the groovy days of the early 70’s when “I got you babe” was the close to one of our favorite TV shows, “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.” It was hard enough when Sonny died. Then little Chastity grew up and became Chaz, and through all of this tumult, Cher has Still been rocking some serious vintage Bob Mackie gowns and headdresses while belting out those hits.I can’t have Cher on death’s door. […]...

Steve Martin has been named recipient of the highly prestigious AFI Life Achievement Award to be presented June 4th and aired on TNT and later on sister network TCM. After generally reserving this coveted prize to actors and directors who made their mark in dramatic films this is second time in the past three years that the American Film Institute has decided to lighten things up by giving their award to a person who made their mark in comedy. And it has paid off. Mel Brooks got the honor in 2013 and it resulted not only in a hilarious and memorable evening, it got higher ratings and brought the AFI special its first Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special in August. But Martin is the first recipient who actually started and made their reputation as a stand up comic. And his films beginning with The Jerk and continuing with such modern comedy...

The Wasteland:

Television is a gold goose that lays scrambled eggs;

and it is futile and probably fatal to beat it for not laying caviar.

Lee Loevinger

When people argue over the quality of television programming, both sides — it’s addictive crap v. underappreciated populist art — seem to forget one of the essentials about commercial TV. By definition, it is not a public service. It is not commercial TV’s job to enlighten, inform, educate, elevate, inspire, or offer insight. Frankly, it’s not even commercial TV’s job to entertain. Bottom line: its purpose is simply to deliver as many sets of eyes to advertisers as possible. As it happens, it tends to do this by offering various forms of entertainment, and occasionally by offering content that does enlighten, inform, etc., but a cynic would make the point that if TV could do the same job televising fish aimlessly swimming around an aquarium,...

Innovative animator whose credits include Lady and the Tramp, Petroushka and Grease

The pioneering animator John David Wilson, who has died aged 93, launched his studio, Fine Arts Films, in 1955 and found success with his first short subject, an adaptation of a Japanese folk tale, Tara the Stonecutter, which was screened in America with Teinosuke Kinugasa's Oscar-winning samurai drama Jigokumon (Gate of Hell, 1953). Next came Petroushka (1956), for which Igor Stravinsky (despite negative feelings towards animation following Disney's Fantasia) was persuaded by Wilson to prepare a shortened score for the film and conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the soundtrack. Petroushka won several festival awards and was the first animated film to be accepted by the Venice film festival.

Wilson's diverse productions ranged from innovative TV commercials for Instant Butter-Nut Coffee, made with the actor and humorist Stan Freberg, to a groundbreaking 15-minute film, Journey to the Stars, for the United...

Last night’s Watch What Happens: Live featured Andy Cohen interviewing one of his idols, Cher. This late-night show is definitely geared towards a certain audience — if you have an aversion to trivia games played by reality stars living in Bravoland and constant mentions of drinking, then this isn’t the show for you.

Yet there’s a certain charm to it, mostly due to Andy’s sheer excitement over everything in the world. Even when he’s mentioning things like the “Jackhole of the Day,” he says it nearly bouncing out of his seat and with such a smile...

The Emmy-nominated comedy writer-producer died Tuesday in Burbank. He was 89. George Burditt wrote dozens of episodes of the hit sitcom Three’s Company and served as its executive producer from 1981-84. He earned four Emmy noms as a writer during the 1970s — two each for variety shows The Sonny And Cher Comedy Hour and Van Dyke And Company — and also penned episodes of All In The Family, Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, The Ropers, Doc and Three’s A Crowd. His producing credits include the sitcoms Silver Spoons, 227 and Three’s A Crowd. Born in Boston, Burditt served in the Marines in the Pacific during World War II. He worked for American Greetings in Cleveland before moving to La to become a TV writer. His son Jack Burditt is an Emmy-winning writer-producer on such comedies as 30 Rock and Frasier and creator of Last Man Standing. Along with son Jack, George Burditt...

Cher is heading back to the small screen.

The music legend, who last starred on "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour"40 years ago, is working on a TV pilot. The gay icon is in development with Logo, an Lgbt-centric cable channel, on a period drama, set in 1960s Hollywood.

Cher is working with veteran TV writer Ron Zimmerman on the show and while she is currently attached as writer, she may also co-star.

Logo's Senior Vice President of Original Programming Brent Zacky made the announcement about Cher's potential show at the 2013 Television Critics Association Press Tour on Saturday.

"We read some of the stuff that Cher and Ron had written and it was really terrific," Zacky told The Hollwyood Reporter. "The deal is brand-new and we're just getting started on the project ... We're very carefully and hopefully diligently taking a few shots in this arena and we'll see how it pans out.

Cher could be headed back to TV. More than 40 years after The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour premiered, Logo took the opportunity of Saturday's presentation at the Television Critics Association press tour to announce that the iconic singer, actress, writer and producer has signed a development deal with the Lgbt-skewing network. Terms of the deal were being kept under wraps until a later date. There were few details at the time of the announcement, but network senior vp original programming Brent Zacky said that she's collaborating with comedian Ron Zimmerman for a pilot script set in early 1960s

read more...

Hector Ramirez, the most nominated individual in Emmy history, didn't have time to dwell on earning five more noms Thursday to bring his total to 60. He was rushing off to start work on yet another series, NBC's "America's Got Talent."

The veteran cameraman, who has won 15 times, is constantly in demand -- doing the Academy Awards, the Grammys, "American Idol" and dozens of others series and specials -- all without an agent or manager.

"You provide a service to the directors," Ramirez said, "and they keep calling. In this business, everything is word-of-mouth. You build up a reputation that carries you through day after day, year after year."

He got his first Primetime Emmy nom in 1978 and his first trophy, for a Neil Diamond special, in 1986.

Once on a show, Ramirez tends to stick. He has been on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" since it began, earning Emmy noms five...

Pop veteran Cher is auctioning off 700 personal items - including costumes, jewelry and even her own bed - in a bid to raise more than $1 million for charity. The 60-year-old star will kick off the glitzy sale on October 3 with the help of auction giant Sotheby's and Julien's Auctions. Cher insists she is ready to let many of her treasures go, as she is desperate to revamp her plush Malibu, California, home. The Cher Charitable Foundation will benefit from the proceeds. She says, "I'm truly excited about it, having had this stuff for so many years. I'm only keeping about five items from everything I have. When I got off the road, something happened and I said, 'You know, I think it's time to do something different. But my house is so full that there's no way to do something different unless I totally change it." Items from the statuesque star's collection include neo-Gothic art and furniture and a 16th-century terra-cotta figurine of Jesus Christ, as well as outfits featured on The Sonny And Cher Comedy Hour in the 1960s.

Married pop stars Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson came through for ABC on Sunday, leading the network to a rare nightly victory in the adults 18-49 demographic with their 9 p.m. Nick and Jessica Variety Hour special. The hourlong Nick and Jessica, an experiment with a throwback to the Sonny and Cher era of hip musical comedy-variety, easily won its hour with an average of 11.4 million viewers and 4.7 rating/11 share in adults 18-49 demo, according to preliminary estimates from Nielsen Media Research. And that was enough to persuade ABC to move forward Monday with plans for a Christmas special hosted by Lachey and Simpson and to eye other talent for old-fashioned network "event" specials, ABC executives said.