Monday, May 04, 2015

This Week in Television History: May 2015 PART I

Listen to me on TV CONFIDENTIAL:


As always, the further we go back in Hollywood history, the more that fact and legend become intertwined. It's hard to say where the truth really lies.

May 4, 1975
Moe Howard of the Three Stooges, died. 
Howard was born in Brooklyn in 1897. The brother of fellow Stooges Shemp and Curly. The Stooges appeared in 190 short subjects for Columbia and more than 20 feature-length films.
Curly suffered a series of strokes which led to his death on January 18, 1952.
On November 22, 1955, Shemp died of a heart attack.
Joe Besser was hired in 1956. Joe, Larry, and Moe filmed 16 shorts through December 1957. With the death of Columbia head Harry Cohn, the making of short subjects came to an end, and Howard was forced to take a job as a gofer at Columbia.
Throughout their career, Moe acted as both their main creative force and business manager. C3 Entertainment, Inc. was formed by Moe, Larry and Curly-Joe DeRita in 1959 to manage all business and merchandise transactions for the team.
Eventhough the Stooges never made any money when thier Columbia shorts were syndicated on local TV stations, the did do very well fiancially making personal aparances in the cities where thier shorts were airing. The movie The Outlaws Is Coming (1965) has a nod to television's key role in the resurgence of the Stooges' popularity, the outlaws were played by local TV hosts from across the U.S. whose shows featured the trio's old Columbia shorts.
Normandy Productions, and amassed control over the team's finances and existed until 1994 when the heirs of Larry and Curly-Joe filed a lawsuit against Moe's family, particularly his grandsons. The result gave the other heirs more profits, and placed Curly-Joe's stepsons (Robert and Earl Benjamin) in charge of the Stooge images/sales. The moniker C3 Entertainment, Inc. was reinstated and is currently the owner of all Three Stooges trademarks and merchandising. Larry's grandson Eric Lamond is a majority owner in the company as well.

May 5,2000
The final episode of Boy Meets World aired on ABC. 


The television sitcom chronicles the coming of age events and everyday life-lessons of Cornelius "Cory" Matthews (played by Ben Savage). The show follows Cory and his friends and family through seven seasons, from his middle school days as a pre-pubescent child to his life in college as a married man. The show aired from 1993 to 2000 on ABC, part of the network's TGIF lineup. 


The entire series has since been released on DVD, as well as on iTunes


A sequel titled Girl Meets World, focusing on Cory and his pre-teen daughter Riley, began airing on Disney Channel on June 27, 2014.

May 8, 2010
Betty White becomes oldest Saturday Night Live host.
White’s hosting gig came about, in part, after hundreds of thousands of her fans signed onto a Facebook campaign rallying for it.

In late December 2009, a 29-year-old fan started a Facebook campaign dubbed “Betty White to Host SNL (please?)!” That March, after nearly half a million fans had joined the campaign, it was confirmed White would host the show on May 8, 2011. Lorne Michaels, SNL’s Canadian-born creator and executive producer, later said the show had tried to get White to host at least three times in previous decades but was unable to make it work with her schedule.


May 9, 1990
Sinead O'Connor and Nora Dunn refused to perform on Saturday Night Live after Andrew Dice Clay was named as host. 

When Andrew Dice Clay was scheduled as a host for the May 12, 1990 episode, cast member Nora Dunn immediately announced to the press that she was boycotting the show in protest. She stated the protest was in view of Clay's perceived misogynistic, politically incorrect act, and did so without informing Michaels, the cast, or most of the crew about her intent. The public backlash was immediate; the selection of Clay was compared to the Holocaust by an audience member during an interview with Michaels. Female members of the cast and crew were harassed by phone and mail for sticking with the show, and metal detectors were installed at the show to enhance security. NBC censors insisted that the episode be aired with a delay to compensate for anything Clay might say on air. During the live show, some audience members heckled Clay but were immediately removed by the increased security detail. Dunn's contract was already coming to an end, and with one episode left in the season, the staff voted against having her take part in the final episode of the season and her contract was not renewed. Sinéad O'Connor was scheduled to be the musical guest for the episode, but she also boycotted the show because of Clay's involvement, forcing the producers to find musical replacements.



To quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".



Stay Tuned


Tony Figueroa

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