I represent the first generation who, when we were born, the television was now a permanent fixture in our homes. When I was born people had breakfast with Barbara Walters, dinner with Walter Cronkite, and slept with Johnny Carson. Read the full "Pre-ramble"
Sunday, February 28, 2021
Monday, February 22, 2021
This Week in Television History: February 2021 PART IV
February 28, 1931
Gavin
MacLeod is born Allan
George See.
Character actor,
mayor, and ship's ambassador, who in his six decades of television is notable
for playing Joseph "Happy" Haines on McHale's Navy, Murray Slaughter on The
Mary Tyler Moore Show, and for
his lead role as Captain Merrill Stubing on The Love Boat.
February 28, 1931
Gavin MacLeod is born Allan George See.
Character actor,
mayor, and ship's ambassador, who in his six decades of television is notable
for playing Joseph "Happy" Haines on McHale's Navy, Murray Slaughter on The
Mary Tyler Moore Show, and for
his lead role as Captain Merrill Stubing on The Love Boat.
Stay Tuned
Tony Figueroa
Tony Figueroa
Sunday, February 21, 2021
Your Mental Sorbet: STORY SMASH THE STORYTELLING GAME SHOW EPISODE #11
Here is anotherthat we could use to momentarily forget about thosethings that leave a bad taste in our mouths.
STORY SMASH! This week welcome Expert Judges' comedian Blaine Capatch, Wendy Liebman and thinker Ed Crasnick! Plus spinning the wheel...Comedians Lahna Turner, Vance Sanders, Susan Sassi and storyteller Tony Figueroa! See you at 7pm PST And don't forget to chat during the show! #SpinThatWheel #gameshow #laughyourassoff NO TICKETS!
Tony Figueroa
Saturday, February 20, 2021
Your Mental Sorbet: The Love Boat TV Cast Reunion | Stars in the House
Here is anotherthat we could use to momentarily forget about thosethings that leave a bad taste in our mouths.
The Love Boat TV Cast Reunion with cast members Gavin MacLeod (Captain Stubing), Fred Grandy (Gopher), Ted Lange (Isaac), Bernie Kopell (Doc), Lauren Tewes (Julie) and Jill Whelan (Vicki) joined by frequent guest star Charo (April Lopez) and Jack Jones, who will perform the series' theme song.
To make a tax deductible donation to The Actors Fund: https://www.starsinthehouse.com
#starsinthehouse
Tony Figueroa
Monday, February 15, 2021
This Week in Television History: February 2021 PART III
February 20, 1946
Sandra Kay "Sandy" Duncan is born.
The
singer, dancer, comedienne and actress of stage and television, recognized through a blonde, pixie cut hairstyle and perky demeanor. She is best known for her performances
in the Broadway revival of Peter
Pan and in the sitcom The Hogan Family.
February 20, 1946
Sandra Kay "Sandy" Duncan is born.
Stay Tuned
Tony Figueroa
Tony Figueroa
Friday, February 12, 2021
Your Mental Sorbet: Universal Tram - SNL
Here is another
that we could use to momentarily forget about thosethings that leave a bad taste in our mouths
Tony Figueroa
Monday, February 08, 2021
This Week in Television History: February 2021 PART II
February
8, 1996
The
U.S. Telecommunications Bill was signed into law.
The bill included provisions that required TV manufacturers to install V-chip devices in all television sets with a 13 inch screen or larger. The chips would allow consumers to block "sexual, violent, and other material about which parents should be informed before it is displayed to children".
February
8, 2006
Kelly Clarkson became the first participant on "American Idol" to win a Grammy.
The
awards were for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Since U Been
Gone" and Best Pop Vocal Album for "Breakaway". She also
performed "Because of You" at the show.
February 9, 1971
The 1971 San Fernando earthquake (also known as the Sylmar earthquake).
February 10, 2006
Final episode of Arrested Development airs on Fox.
Celebrated by critics and beloved by its relatively small but devout fan base, the Fox television series Arrested Development airs its last episode on this day in 2006. Arrested Development, created by Mitchell Hurwitz, premiered in November 2003. It was almost universally acclaimed by critics, who praised its sharp, complicated writing and stellar acting, as well as the multi-layered plotlines and interesting camera work that set it apart from run-of-the-mill network sitcoms.Arrested Development was narrated by Ron Howard, the former Happy
Days star-turned-Oscar-winning movie director (2001’s A Beautiful Mind),
in an uncredited performance. Jason Bateman starred as Michael Bluth, by far
the most responsible member of a madcap family whose patriarch, George Bluth
Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor), has been sent to jail for dubious accounting procedures.
With George Sr. in prison, Michael is forced to take over management of the
Bluth Company and provide a much-needed stabilizing force for the rest of the
Bluth clan: his manipulative mother (Jessica Walter); his magician older
brother (Will Arnett); his self-obsessed sister (Portia de Rossi) and her
aspiring actor husband (David Cross); and his child-like youngest brother (Tony
Hale), who still clings to the hem of his mother’s fur coat. Rounding out the
comedy, Michael’s sensitive son (Michael Cera) harbors a crush on his cousin
(Alia Shawkat), with whom he is forced to share a room after the clan starts
sharing a model home on one of the Bluth Company’s developments.
At the 2004 Emmy Awards, Arrested Development won no fewer than four
statuettes-- for directing, writing, casting and for Outstanding Comedy Series.
Bateman also won a Golden Globe Award in 2005 for Best Actor in a Television
Series--Musical or Comedy. Despite critics’ rapture and the enthusiasm of its
fan base, the series earned low ratings from the beginning. While Fox renewed Arrested
Development for a second season, it shortened its run to only 18
episodes--a fact that was worked into the jokes on the show, along with jokes
about its corporate sponsor, Burger King, and jokes about its much higher-rated
Sunday-night competition (ABC’s Desperate Housewives). A few of the
memorable guest stars during the show’s three-year run included Liza Minnelli,
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Henry Winkler, Scott Baio and Charlize Theron.
During its third season, Arrested Development’s audience averaged
around 4 million viewers, compared with 6 million during the previous season.
With the threat of cancellation hovering, rumors flew that Arrested
Development might be picked up by HBO or Showtime--either of which might
have been a better fit for its offbeat, often racy humor. References to these
rumors were also worked into the script.
Despite the positive response from critics, Arrested Development received
low ratings and viewership on Fox, which canceled the series in 2006. In
2011, Netflix agreed
to license new episodes and distribute them on its video
streaming service. These episodes were released in May 2013. Netflix
commissioned a fifth season of Arrested Development, the first half
of which premiered on May 29, 2018, and the second half on March 15, 2019.
February 11, 1926
Leslie William Nielsen, was born on in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Nielsen appeared in over 100 films and 1,500
television programs over the span of his career beginning with dramatic roles
on television appearing in almost 50 live programs in 1950 alone during what is
now known as "The Golden Age".
Nielsen first appeared in films in 1956 when he made his feature film debut in
the Michael Curtiz-directed musical film The Vagabond King. His
lead roles in the films Forbidden Planet (1956)
and The Poseidon
Adventure (1972) received
positive reviews as a serious actor.
Although Nielsen's acting career crossed a variety of genres in both television
and films, his deadpan delivery as a doctor in Airplane! (1980) marked a turning point in his career, one that
would make him, in the words of film critic Roger Ebert,
"the Olivier of spoofs." Nielsen enjoyed further success with
The Naked Gun film series,
based on his short-lived television series Police Squad!.
His portrayal of serious characters seemingly oblivious to (and complicit in)
their absurd surroundings gave him a reputation as a comedian. He was
recognized with a variety of awards throughout his career and was inducted into
both the Canada and Hollywood Walk of Fame. Nielsen married four times and had
two daughters from his second marriage. Nielsen died in his sleep in a Fort Lauderdale, Florida
hospital of complications from pneumonia.
February 11, 1936
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is born.
Actor, director and voice artist. Some of his notable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Charlie B. Barkin in All Dogs Go to Heaven, Paul Crewe then Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and Jack Horner in Boogie Nights.
Stay Tuned
Tony Figueroa
Tony Figueroa
Friday, February 05, 2021
Your Mental Sorbet: On Golden Pond (2001) - Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer
December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021
Here is another
that we could use to momentarily forget about thosethings that leave a bad taste in our mouths
On Golden Pond is a 2001 American live television adaptation of the play of the same name starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The movie originally aired on CBS on April 29, 2001 and was filmed on a sound stage at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California.
Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer had previously starred in the highly successful 1965 film The Sound of Music, and their reuniting in this play was part of the promotion for the original broadcast of the film. The film is also notable because the author of the play, Ernest Thompson, directed this version, and Craig Anderson, the producer/director of the original Off Broadway and Broadway productions of the play, was the executive producer.
Good Night Mr. Plummer
|
| Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021 |
Here is another
On Golden Pond is a 2001 American live television adaptation of the play of the same name starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The movie originally aired on CBS on April 29, 2001 and was filmed on a sound stage at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California.
Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer had previously starred in the highly successful 1965 film The Sound of Music, and their reuniting in this play was part of the promotion for the original broadcast of the film. The film is also notable because the author of the play, Ernest Thompson, directed this version, and Craig Anderson, the producer/director of the original Off Broadway and Broadway productions of the play, was the executive producer.
 |
| Good Night Mr. Plummer |