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Veteran soap actor Joe Marinelli, who starred on NBC’s Santa Barbara, CBS’ Guiding Light, and ABC’s General Hospital, has died. He was 68. Marinelli passed away on Sunday (June 22), in Burbank, California, after a battle with stomach cancer, his wife, Jean Marinelli, told The Hollywood Reporter. According to his agent, Julie Smith, Marinelli had been living with throat and stomach cancer for a few years, per CNN. Born on January 21, 1957, in Meriden, Connecticut, Marinelli studied at Loyola Marymount University and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before landing early acting gigs on classic shows like Cagney & Lacey, L.A. Law, and Hill Street Blues. His first major role was in the television soap opera Santa Barbara, where he played Bunny Tagliatti across 170 episodes from 1988 to 1990. He’d continue to appear in guest roles across TV throughout the 90s, including episodes of Hunter, Equal Justice, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures,...

Sergio Calderón, a longtime actor who appeared in films including “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” and “Men in Black,” died Wednesday of pneumonia. He was 77.

Calderón’s representative, Julie Smith, confirmed his death to the LA Times on Thursday.

Calderón appeared in the 1997 film “Men in Black,” where he played the floating head on a pole carried by an alien that Tommy Lee Jones’s Agent K reveals, earning him the nickname “Head on a Stick.”

Calderón was born in Mexico, where attended the Instituto Andrés Soler of the Asociación Nacional de Actores. While he was working as an English teacher, he broke into the film industry with a role in “The Bridge in the Jungle” which starred John Huston. In “Under the Volcano,” directed by Huston, he played one of the murderers.

He would then go on to appear in other projects such as “Old Gringo,” “Erendira,...

LeVar Burton is making a return to children’s entertainment with Sound Detectives, a podcast debuting this spring from SiriusXM’s Stitcher.

Created by Burton in collaboration with Julia Smith and Joanna Sokolowski, Sound Detectives begins with the premise that sounds are starting to go missing in the world, and the culprit appears to be the so-called Sound Swindler. To solve the case, the characters Detective Hunch and Audie the Ear will lead kids on a narrative adventure that engages their listening skills as they compare and contrast sounds. Each episode will also take place in a different location in the world, showcasing different cultures, as young listeners try to identify what a sound is and where it is coming from.

Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Friday, Burton said that as a military kid growing up overseas, he often relied on the radio for entertainment...

A charity stunt that has grown into a social media phenomenon went terribly wrong for four Kentucky firefighters when a fire truck's ladder got too close to a power line after they dumped water on college students who were taking part in an "ice bucket challenge." Campbellsville Police Chief Tim Hazlette said the power line was never touched Thursday morning, but it carried such a high voltage that it was able to energize the ladder truck, shocking the firefighters. The two in the bucket were at a hospital burn unit early Friday. One was in critical condition and the other was in fair condition,...

Washington, Feb. 16: A team of researchers has learned that women who have difficulty paying household bills are more likely to be obese than men in the same situation.

The new study by researchers in Lafayette College's department of economics sheds new light on differences between men and women living under the strains of debt.

"It's no secret that there is a substantial correlation between household debt and health," Susan Averett, economics professor at Lafayette, notes "and research has shown that individuals with less healthy lifestyles are more likely to hold debt."

Averett and her co-author, Julie Smith, assistant professor, used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health to test whether.

The Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival is a joke.At least, that's how the annual event began four years ago, when Brooklyn-based standup comedian Eugene Mirman told fellow comics Mike Birbiglia and Julie Smith that it would be funny to name a comedy festival after himself because "it would be a ridiculous thing to do."Yet Smith took him seriously enough that she recruited Caroline Creaghead, her intern at The Onion, to help them make it happen. Together they launched the first Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival in 2008.Creaghead had no experience producing or promoting comedy events, but she soon discovered that with a name like Eugene Mirman, performers would line up to participate. "He possesses an extremely warm vibe," Creaghead says of Mirman, "and people just want to be around him, having fun. And that's what he loves, is just people having a good time. It's more about the experience that other people.

IFC (www.ifc.com) today unveiled a robust original series slate for the 2011/2012 season. The line-up includes a second season renewal of the network's popular news show, Onion News Network, which received strong viewer response and critical acclaim throughout season one, currently airing.

In addition, IFC has green lit four new original series: Commercial Kings from Reveille, Young, Broke & Beautiful produced by 44 Pictures, Whisker Wars produced by Thom Beers' Original Productions, and Bullet in the Face, created and written by Alan Spencer. IFC also announced two original series currently in development: an untitled variety show hosted by Comedy Death-Ray's Scott Aukerman and Pointless created by Ethan T. Berlin and Eric Bryant, which came to IFC through the New York Television Festival.

The announcements were made by IFC's General Manager and Executive Vice President, Jennifer Caserta, at a press event in NYC.

"Over the past year, IFC has been...

Comedy Central has unveiled its entire development slate and, as to be expected, there are plenty of funny concepts in the bunch. The standouts include Highdeas, which explores such stoner-friendly hypotheticals as “white chocolate milk” and “hamster-sized rhinos”, Jc, the animated New York City adventures of one Jesus Christ, and The Fuzz, a police procedural in a corrupt city where humans and puppets co-exist.

Also in development are potential series from the likes of Jon Benjamin (Archer), Broken Lizard (Super Troopers), and Bob Odenkirk (Mr. Show), plus a Wating… adaptation from Rob McKittrick, the writer/director of the feature film that starred Ryan Reynolds. Note that this in addition to already announced projects from Will Ferrell, Nick Swardson, and The Onion. For a complete rundown, hit the jump.

Series In Production

“Futurama” – premieres Thursday, June 24

The Emmy® Award-winning “Futurama” is back! Everybody’s favorite zany group from the future has returned with 12 brand-new episodes,...

Comedy Central is teaming up with The Onion for the tentatively-titled The Onion Sports Network, a new comedy series based on the fake newspaper’s sports coverage. According to the press release, the 10-episode series is set to debut in the first quarter of 2011 and will “take on the whole universe of modern sports - teams, players, leagues, sycophantic fans, ridiculous products and over-hyped coverage - with an eye towards appealing to sports fanatics and more casual fans, as well as long-time followers of The Onion and The Onion News Network.” It’s a concept that seems so obvious you wonder why no one’s done it before, especially when 24-hour sports networks struggle to fill their airtime. I guess you just can’t underestimate that 27th daily airing of Sportscenter.

Hit the jump for the full press release.

Comedy Centraland The Onion Join Forces

On Original Scripted Series Based...

The network ordered 10 episodes of the sports spoof show to debut in 2011 Sports coverage is finally about to get some integrity. Comedy Central has picked-up The Onion Sports Network pilot and placed a 10-episode series order for The Onion Sports Network (working title), it was announced today by Kent Alterman, head of original programming and production, Comedy Central. The scripted series from The Onion, based on its popular Onion Sports Network online video series, is set to premiere 1Q 2011.

"The Onion has such credibility in the comedy world, we feel fortunate to partner with them," said Alterman. "They will skewer the sports world, and the media coverage of sports, with the same sharpness we've seen applied to the world of politics and popular culture."

The Onion Sports Network teaming up with Comedy Central?," said Steve Hannah, CEO of The Onion. "If I were Espn, I'd consider a whole new line of work.

Comedy Central has picked up the Onion Sports Network pilot to series with a 10-episode order. The yet-untitled scripted series, based on the Onion Sports Network online video series by the popular alternative weekly fake newspaper, will premiere in the first quarter of 2010. Julie Smith and Will Graham exec produce. "With only 57 cable channels devoted to talking about sports, we felt that the sports world wasn't getting the attention it deserved," Graham said. If this news feels like déjà vu, that’s because there will be not one but two Onion-branded original series set to launch in Q1 2011, along with the [...]...

Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing. J.J. Abrams is in talks to direct his NBC espionage drama pilot Undercovers for Warner Bros. Television, marking the first time that he has directed a pilot since the series premiere of ABC's Lost. Details of Undercovers, said to be about a husband-and-wife team of spies, have been kept tightly under wraps but several have described it as a cross between Mr. and Mrs. Smith and The Bourne Identity. Project is written by Josh Reims (Felicity, Dirty Sexy Money), who will executive produce with Abrams and Bryan Burk. (Hollywood Reporter) Spoiler! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Shonda Rhimes' next Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice crossover will revolve around Eric Dane and Kate Walsh. "Mark summons Addison to Seattle Grace to perform a surgery on [a patient] (a.k.a. Leven Rambin)," writes Ausiello. "The storyline spills over into Private when, according exec producer Shonda Rhimes,...

Comedy Central is teaming with satirical newspaper the Onion for a half-hour scripted comedy.

The as-yet-untitled pilot will be based on the Onion Sports Network online video series and will take on teams, fans, sports products and sports coverage. The pilot will be geared toward sports lovers and long-time followers of the Onion.

"We are thrilled to be in business with a cultural icon like the Onion to give our audience the sports show they deserve," said Comedy Central programming president Lauren Corrao. "The short-form content on the Osn Web series is outstanding, hilarious and exactly what you'd expect from the gang. We're really excited to take this great idea and turn it into a regular, weekly series."

The project will be executive produced by Onion News Network's Julie Smith and Will Graham.

"The Onion is the biggest, most fearless, most influential news organization in the free world," said Steve Hannah,...

By Josef Adalian

Comedy Central and The Onion Thursday announced plans to develop a sports-themed scripted comedy series.

The project will be based on the Onion Sports Network, an online video service from the humor site. Comedy Central have given a pilot order to the untitled concept.

"The short-form content on the Osn Web series is outstanding, hilarious and exactly what you'd expect from the gang. We're really excited to take this great idea and turn it into a regular, weekly series," said outgoing Comedy Central programming chief Lauren Corrao.

Julie Smith and Will Graham ...

Comedy Central is teaming with satirical newspaper the Onion for a half-hour scripted comedy.The as-yet-untitled series will be based on the Onion Sports Network online video series and will take on teams, fans, sports products and sports coverage. The series will be geared toward sports lovers and long-time followers of the Onion."We are thrilled to be in business with a cultural icon like the Onion to give our audience the sports show they deserve," said Comedy Central programming president Lauren Corrao. "The short-form content on the Osn Web series is outstanding, hilarious and exactly what you'd expect from the gang. We're really excited to take this great idea and turn it into a regular, weekly series."The project will be executive produced by Onion News Network's Julie Smith and Will Graham. "The Onion is the biggest, most fearless, most influential news organization in the free world," said Steve Hannah,...