News

Steve Martin’s movie career is replete with comedy classics such as The Jerk, Roxanne and Father of the Bride, in which Martin and Martin Short appear in several scenes together and somehow resist the urge to relentlessly roast each other.

But he also made a number of not-so-memorable comedies. One movie that didn’t make much of a cultural dent was Sgt. Bilko, the 1996 remake of the ‘50s sitcom The Phil Silvers Show. The story of a scheming, amoral U.S. army sergeant flopped at the box office, and has since been largely forgotten. Even Martin himself wasn’t a fan.

In retrospect, perhaps the most interesting thing about Sgt. Bilko is that the filmmakers ended up feuding with the U.S. military while making it.

It’s not uncommon for Hollywood movies to negotiate deals with the Pentagon that allow them to use real-life military equipment and facilities in exchange for certain concessions.

The 2025 stamp designs are out! There are the usual boring sets — American vistas? More U.S. flags? Vibrant leaves? — but one announcement has set comedy hearts aflutter: a commemorative stamp featuring the late sitcom superstar Betty White. Score!

“An icon of American television, Betty White (1922–2021) shared her wit and warmth with viewers for seven decades — including roles on The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” said the Usps in its announcement. “The comedic actor, who gained younger generations of fans as she entered her 90s, was also revered as a compassionate advocate for animals. Dale Stephanos created the digital illustration based on a 2010 photograph by Kwaku Alston. Greg Breeding, an art director for Usps, designed the stamp.”

In other words, Betty White was a badass.

White isn’t the first comedian honored by the Post Office, but she’s on a very short list. While you can’t...

From The Red Skelton Show and I Love Lucy to Get Smart and All in the Family through Taxi, Cheers and Murphy Brown to Frasier, Seinfeld and 30 Rock to Modern Family, Veep and Ted Lasso, the Emmy Awards have been laughing at TV best comedies for more than 70 years. Here is a gallery of all the shows to win the golden statuette since 1952; click on the image above to launch it.

The category itself has gone by various names, starting with Best Comedy Show and rolling through Best Comedy Series, Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Humor, Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Comedy to the current Outstanding Comedy Series. But the yuks have remained constant, whether it’s Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance trying to keep up with the conveyor belt at the chocolate factory or Jason Sudeikis Yank-coaching an English football club.

Our gallery lists all of the winners,...

Gloria Stroock, who played Rock Hudson’s secretary on McMillan & Wife and appeared in films including Fun With Dick and Jane, The Competition and The Day of the Locust, has died. She was 99.

Stroock died May 5 of natural causes in Tucson, Arizona, her daughter, Kate Stern, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Stroock was married to Emmy-winning writer-producer Leonard B. Stern (Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion, The Phil Silvers Show, The Honeymooners, Get Smart and much more) from 1956 until his death in 2011 at age 87.

Her late younger sister was Geraldine Brooks, a Tony nominee and Warner Bros. contract player (Cry Wolf, Embraceable You).

Stroock recurred as Maggie, the secretary of Hudson’s San Francisco police commissioner Stewart McMillan, on the final three seasons (1974-77) of McMillan & Wife, the NBC series created by her husband.

She portrayed the wife of Richard Dysart’s art director in John Schlesinger’s The Day of the Locust...

Terry Carter, who portrayed Pvt. Sugie Sugarman on The Phil Silvers Show, the sidekick of Dennis Weaver’s character on McCloud and Colonel Tigh on the original version of Battlestar Galactica, has died. He was 95.

Carter died Tuesday at his home in Manhattan, his son, Miguel Carter DeCoste, told The New York Times.

Carter appeared three times on Broadway early in his career and produced and directed a documentary on jazz legend Duke Ellington for PBS’ American Masters series in 1988.

The Brooklyn native appeared on all four seasons (1955-59) of CBS’ The Phil Silvers Show (also known as Sgt. Bilko) as Pvt. Sugarman. He then played Sgt. Joe Broadhurst alongside Weaver’s Deputy Marshal Sam McCloud on NBC’s McCloud from 1970-77 and Tigh in the 1978 Battlestar Galactica movie and 1978-79 ABC series.

An only child, John Everett DeCoste was born in Brooklyn on Dec. 16, 1928. He graduated from Stuyvesant High...

Terry Carter, best known for his roles in the original Battlestar Galactica, McCloud, and Foxy Brown, has died. The actor was 95 years old. Carter’s death was confirmed by his son in The New York Times, but no cause of death has been revealed at this time. A Brooklyn, New York, native, Carter will be remembered for his decades-long career in which he broke the color barrier with plenty of milestone roles. Carter became one of the first Black actors to be a series regular on a TV sitcom with his role as Private Sugarman on The Phil Silvers Show, on which he appeared in 92 episodes from the year 1955 to 1959. Everett Collection In Battlestar Galactica, Carter was known for his role as Colonel Tigh in the film and original television series. Meanwhile, Carter also made a name for himself with his portrayal of Sgt. Joe Broadhurst in McCloud. Additionally, he...

Terry Carter, best known for his portrayal of Sgt. Joe Broadhurst on NBC’s McCloud from 1970 to 1977, has died, his son confirms to The New York Times. He was 95 years old.

A cause of death was not given, but according to his son, Carter passed on Tuesday at his apartment in Manhattan.

More from TVLineMeg Bennett, Daytime Emmy-Winning Young & Restless Alum, Dead at 75Stephanie Sparks, Host of the Golf Channel's Big Break, Dead at 50Mandisa, Grammy Award-Winning American Idol Alum, Dead at 47

Carter’s big break on the small screen came in 1955 when he was cast as Private Sugarman on The Phil Silvers Show,...

Terry Carter, best known for his roles as Colonel Tigh in the original Battlestar Galactica, and as Sgt. Joe Broadhurst on TV series McCloud, died Tuesday at his home in New York City, his son confirmed to The New York Times. He was 95.

A native of Brooklyn, NY, Carter broke color barriers from the beginning of his decades-long career. Carter was one of the first Black actors as a regular on a TV sitcom series, in the role of Private Sugarman on The Phil Silvers Show. He appeared in 92 episodes on the show from 1955-1959. Nine years later, he was credited with becoming New England’s first Black TV anchor newscaster, for Wbz-tv Eyewitness News in Boston, as well as the station’s drama and movie critic, from 1965 to 1968.

His first major Hollywood role was as Detective Jaffie in the TV movie Company of Killers, but his most prominent television roles came in the 1970s,...

Terry Carter, who played sergeant Joe Broadhurst on the TV series “McCloud” and detective Colonel Tigh on the original “Battlestar Galactica,” died at his home in New York, N.Y., Tuesday morning. He was 95.

Born John Everett DeCoste in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Dec. 16, 1928, to parents of Dominican, Argentine and African American descent, Carter would go on to become the first Black TV news anchor for Boston’s Wbz-tv Eyewitness News, where he also became their first opening night drama and movie critic. He was also one of the first Black regulars on the 1956 TV sitcom series “The Phil Silvers Show,” in which he played Private Sugarman.

Carter’s other credits include the 1970 TV movie “Company of Killers,” in which he starred alongside Van Johnson and Ray Milland, and the 1974 film “Foxy Brown” with Pam Grier.

In 1979 Carter formed the Council for Positive Images, a nonprofit dedicated to enhancing intercultural and interethnic understanding through media.

Getting ready to make your 2024 Emmy predictions for Best Comedy Series? Be sure to scroll through our photo gallery that catalogs the shows with the best shots at reaping bids for the 76th annual edition of TV’s highest honors.

The current category champ, “The Bear,” is looking to become the 10th series to win this award for both of its first two seasons. It would join “The Phil Silvers Show,” “All in the Family,” “Taxi,” “Cheers,” “The Golden Girls,” “Frasier,” “30 Rock,” “Modern Family,” and “Ted Lasso” on this honor roll.

Of the seven other 2023 Best Comedy Series nominees, only “Abbott Elementary” and “Only Murders in the Building” are eligible to contend again. “Barry” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” officially concluded in spring 2023, while the futures of both “Jury Duty” and “Ted Lasso” remain uncertain. That leaves “Wednesday,” the confirmed second season of which did not air in time to qualify for consideration.

Earlier this year, NBC pulled out all the stops for it special “Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love.” And on Dec. 21, CBS is throwing a birthday party for one of its biggest stars, Dick Van Dyke, who headlined the landmark 1961-66 sitcom “The Dick Van Dyke Show” as well as the lighthearted detective series “Diagnosis, Murder,” which ran from 1993-2000.

“Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic” is a two-hour valentine to the actor, who celebrated his birthday on Dec. 13, featuring special guests such as Jane Seymour, Rob Reiner, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen and testimonials from Carol Burnett, Mark Hamill and “Mary Poppins” herself, Julie Andrews. Song-and-dance also play an important part of the special. Van Dyke earned a Tony in 1961 for “Bye Bye Birdie” and reprised his role in the 1963 musical. He introduced the Oscar-winning tune “Chim Chim Cher-ee” from 1964’s “Mary Poppins” as well as the...

Can you Prove you’re the #1 fan of Emmy’s most nominated comedy series? Just answer the 20 “Ted Lasso” questions in Gold Derby’s trivia quiz (click here to enter) before 10 p.m. Pt on Aug. 28 when the quiz ends. Afterward, we’ll send you an email with your personal score and a link to view your ranking in our leaderboard. The top two players (definition below*) will win an exclusive “Ted Lasso” swag box that includes an AFC Richmond jersey, Nike shirts, Roy Kent’s tie dye shirt, biscuits in a pink box, a whistle, a Ted Lego figurine, a coffee mug and more.

All quiz players must be registered with a free Gold Derby user account so we can track your score. Register or login here. Read our official Contest Rules. View our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

*Quiz winners must have the best accuracy percentage. In case of a tie,...

There was nothing but love for “Ted Lasso” during the joint Apple TV+/Gold Derby FYC event held August 16 at the American Society of Cinematographers Clubhouse in Hollywood. In celebration of the comedy’s 21 Emmy nominations, top artisans from the program joined TV academy voters for a festive night with dinner, drinks and trivia. Editor Alex Szabo, who is nominated with A.J. Catoline for his work on the episode “Mom City,” sat down with Gold Derby associate editor Latasha Ford to spread that love back to fans. Watch the video interview above.

“Bless up for the Ted Heads!” he exclaims at the top of the interview. “Without them we wouldn’t be here. I remember season one, I was like, ‘I just hope people watch it.’ And here we are a few years later and everyone’s like, ‘We need more! We need more!’ I appreciate it. I don’t take it for granted.

“Ted Lasso” is on track to win its third Emmy in a row for Best Comedy Series, per Gold Derby’s racetrack odds. Apple TV Plus’ feel-good show topped all other laffers this year with a whopping 21 Emmy nominations (see below), just one shy of the comedy record set by “30 Rock” in 2009. Fun fact: if “Ted Lasso” goes on to win trophy #3 this September, it’d be only the seventh comedy in Emmy history to prevail for its first three seasons on the air.

The most recent time this rare feat occurred was for “Modern Family,” which actually won five times consecutively (2010-14). Before that was “30 Rock” (first three seasons in 2007-09), “Frasier” (first five seasons in 1994-98), “Taxi” (first three seasons in 1979-81), “All in the Family” and “The Phil Silvers Show” (first three seasons in 1956-58).

SEEEmmy predictions: ‘Ted Lasso’ dominated nominations, but can ‘The Bear...

Believe! The historic American Society of Cinematographers headquarters in Hollywood that sits a stone’s throw from the legendary Magic Castle was the setting Wednesday night for a standing room only event celebrating the Apple TV+ comedy sensation “Ted Lasso” and its 21 Emmy nominations (easily the most of any comedy series) that again included Best Comedy Series, with attendees indulging in dinner, drink, trivia, a screening of the series finale and all things “Lasso” at an FYC gathering co-sponsored by Apple TV Plus and Gold Derby.

While nine “Lasso” performers (including five guest actors/actresses) are among this year’s Emmy-nominated crop from the series, none were permitted to attend due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. Those nine actors to receive bids this year include Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso), Phil Dunster (Jamie Tartt), Brett Goldstein (Roy Kent), Juno Temple (Keeley Jones), Hannah Waddingham (Rebecca Welton), Sam Richardson (Edwin Akufo), Becky Ann Baker...

Wednesday night at a joint Apple TV+/Gold Derby FYC event, “Ted Lasso’s” top artisans celebrated their 2023 Emmy nominations at the American Society of Cinematographers Clubhouse in Hollywood, CA. Emmy voters in attendance had a blast answering questions at “Ted Lasso Trivia Night” as they dined on short ribs, salmon, potatoes and fresh veggies and imbibed the “Ted Lasso”-inspired Pimm’s Cup alcoholic drinks. For dessert? Chocolate-covered strawberries and yummy cheesecake. The party-goers also re-watched the Season 3 finale, titled “So Long, Farewell.”

Current and former “Ted Lasso” Emmy nominees who rubbed elbows with TV academy members were: director Declan Lowney, editor A.J. Catoline, additional editor Alex Szabo, additional editor Francesca Castro, music editor Richard David Brown, supervising sound editor Brent Findley, and re-recording mixer Ryan Kennedy.

Every table at the sold-out “Ted Lasso” event gave their all during the trivia contest, with Table 3 being the best, racking...

From The Red Skelton Show and I Love Lucy to Get Smart and All in the Family through Taxi, Cheers and Murphy Brown to Frasier, Seinfeld and 30 Rock to Modern Family, Veep and Ted Lasso, the Emmy Awards have been laughing at TV best comedies for more than 70 years. Here is a gallery of all the shows to win the golden statuette since 1952; click on the image above to launch it.

The category itself has gone by various names, starting with Best Comedy Show and rolling through Best Comedy Series, Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Humor, Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Comedy to the current Outstanding Comedy Series. But the yuks have remained constant, whether it’s Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance trying to keep up with the conveyor belt at the chocolate factory or Jason Sudeikis Yank-coaching an English football club.

Our gallery lists all of the winners,...

After two successful outings, “Ted Lasso” is looking to score at the Emmys again. With the third season returning to buzz and acclaim, the laffer is looking for a big win to join an esteemed TV company.

“Ted Lasso” is an undefeated Comedy Series champ, winning the Emmy for the past two seasons. In that time, it won 11 total Emmys. This includes two Comedy Actor trophies for Jason Sudeikis, two Comedy Supporting Actor trophies for Brett Goldstein, and one win for Hannah Waddingham in Comedy Supporting Actress.

The third season of the Apple TV+ awards juggernaut picks up with AFC Richmond back in the Premier League as Ted (Sudeikis) tries to balance coaching his upstart team with his own personal struggles and mental health well-being. As usual, the Greyhounds are once again big underdogs — particularly against West Ham United Fc, the football club controlled by former Richmond owner Rupert Mannion...

Following its history-making, back-to-back Emmy Award wins for its freshman and sophomore seasons, Apple TV+ today revealed that season three of its global phenomenon “Ted Lasso,” will premiere around the world with the first episode on Wednesday, March 15, followed by new episodes weekly, every Wednesday. Moving to its new weekly Wednesday premiere, “Ted Lasso” marks the first Apple TV+ series to launch mid-week. In the 12-episode third season of “Ted Lasso,” the newly-promoted AFC Richmond faces ridicule as media predictions widely peg them as last in the Premier League and Nate (Nick Mohammed), now hailed as the “wonder kid,” has gone to work for Rupert (Anthony Head) at West Ham United. In the wake of Nate’s contentious departure from Richmond, Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) steps up as assistant coach, alongside Beard (Brendan Hunt). Meanwhile, while Ted (Jason Sudeikis) deals with pressures at work, he continues to wrestle with his own personal issues back home,...

Apple TV+ recently announced that Ted Lasso would return sometime in the spring.

On Tuesday, the streaming service confirmed a premiere date -- and dropped an exciting teaser trailer.

New episodes will premiere around the world on Wednesday, March 15, followed by new episodes weekly, every Wednesday.

Moving to its new weekly Wednesday premiere, Ted Lasso marks the first Apple TV+ series to launch mid-week.

No reason for the change has been given, but Disney+ previously found success by shifting premieres from Fridays to Wednesdays.

The third and possibly final season will comprise 12 episodes.

As for what's on tap for the third season, "the newly-promoted AFC Richmond faces ridicule as media predictions widely peg them as last in the Premier League and Nate (Nick Mohammed), now hailed as the 'wonder kid,' has gone to work for Rupert (Anthony Head) at West Ham United."

"In the wake of Nate's contentious departure from Richmond,...

Heads up, stats nerds: If “Ted Lasso” wins Best Comedy Series for Season 3 at the upcoming 2023 Emmys after previously claiming trophies for Seasons 1 and 2, it will join a list of just six other laffers that have accomplished this rare feat. The most recent time this happened was for ABC’s family mockumentary “Modern Family,” which actually prevailed for its first five seasons on the air (2010-14). Before that was “30 Rock” (first three seasons in 2007-09), “Frasier” (first five seasons in 1994-98), “Taxi” (first three seasons in 1979-81), “All in the Family” (first three seasons in 1971-73) and “The Phil Silvers Show” (first three seasons in 1956-58).

Apple TV Plus’ feel-good comedy is coming off two consecutive Emmy cycles in which it won a combined 11 awards, including back-to-back trophies for series, lead actor Jason Sudeikis and supporting actor Brett Goldstein. Its other Emmy victories were for supporting actress Hannah Waddingham,...

Ted Lasso won the best comedy prize at Monday night’s Emmy Awards, following last year’s win in the same category.

“Thank you so much to everybody that’s watched this show. Thank you everybody who voted for the show, thank you everybody that works on the show,” star Jason Sudeikis, who plays the titular character, said on stage. “Everybody in the offices of Warner Brothers, Apple, Doozer, that answer all the calls. Everybody in production. Our Covid squad season two was huge. We didn’t have a single shutdown, and that was a lot because of what you men and women did for us. Everybody in post production that helps us out, that build these amazing soccer stadiums, football stadiums around us. The show is about good and evil and this show is about the truth of life. This show is about all that stuff,...

Just like last year, Apple TV Plus’ “Ted Lasso” is Gold Derby’s pick to win Best Comedy Series at the 2022 Emmys. The feel-good sports laugher claimed seven trophies last year for series, actor (Jason Sudeikis), supporting actress (Hannah Waddingham), supporting actor (Brett Goldstein), casting, picture editing and sound mixing. And now it’s the most-nominated comedy of the year with a whopping 20 bids. If “Ted Lasso” wins the top prize again, as the majority of our Experts, Editors and Users predict will happen, it’ll become the first series since “Modern Family” to prevail for Season 1 and Season 2.

In the decade since ABC’s family program won Best Comedy Series for its first five years on the air (2010-14), only two other shows triumphed in this category for their freshman seasons: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (2018) and “Ted Lasso” (2021). “Mrs. Maisel” failed to complete the one-two punch when it lost...

Larry Storch, the stand-up comic turned ubiquitous television actor who made an indelible impression as the bumbling Corporal Randolph Agarn on the 1960s sitcom F Troop, has died. He was 99.

His death was announced on his Facebook page. “It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share with you the news our beloved Larry passed away in his sleep overnight. We are shocked and at a loss for words at the moment. Please remember he loved each and every one of you and wouldn’t want you to cry over his passing. He is reunited with his wife Norma and his beloved F Troop cast and so many friends and family.”

Born in New York City – his Bronx accent would be used to enduring effect in his comic portrayals – Storch began his show business career as a stand-up comic and parlayed his popularity to a prolific and long-lasting television career,...

If reigning Emmy champ “Ted Lasso” wins Best Comedy Series again on September 12, as Gold Derby predicts, it will be the first time since “Modern Family” that a comedy claimed the top prize for Season 1 and Season 2. In the decade since, the only other Best Comedy Series contender to win for its first season was “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (2018); it lost for its second season to “Fleabag” (2019). Just how rare is it for a show to pull off this one-two punch at the Emmys? Only eight comedies in Emmy history have done so — see the list below.

“Ted Lasso” is coming off big wins at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, Producers Guild Awards and Critics Choice Awards for Season 2, proving that the buzz is still there for the Apple TV Plus feel-good comedy. The show stars Jason Sudeikis as an American football coach who travels to the UK to coach soccer,...

Four of this year’s eight Emmy nominees for Best Comedy Series are freshman shows: “Ted Lasso,” “Hacks,” “The Flight Attendant” and “Emily in Paris.” If one of them pulls off a win on Emmy night, they’d be the first laffer since “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” three years ago to prevail for Season 1. This phenomenon actually happens less than you think. Indeed, only four freshman shows this century have claimed the top comedy category: “Mrs. Maisel” (2018), “Modern Family” (2010), “30 Rock” (2007) and “Arrested Development” (2004) — see the complete list below.

“Ted Lasso” is the overwhelming front-runner to take home the Emmy Award, particularly as it’s coming off big victories at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice and SAG Awards. Jason Sudeikis won Best Comedy Actor at all three kudos, with the critics also honoring the Apple TV Plus show as Best Comedy Series and Hannah Waddingham as Best Comedy Supporting Actress.

When making your predictions for what will win Best Comedy Series at the Emmys, never count out first-year shows. “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (2018), “Modern Family” (2010) and “30 Rock” (2007) are the last three laffers to prevail for Season 1 (see the complete list below), and now “Ted Lasso” is hoping to join them. A whopping 26 of our 28 Emmy Experts predict a victory for the Apple TV Plus comedy, while the other two forecast another first-year program, HBO Max’s “Hacks.”

“Ted Lasso” is coming off big victories at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice and SAG Awards, with Jason Sudeikis winning Best Comedy Actor at all three kudos. He plays the titular American football coach who travels to England to coach soccer, a sport he knows nothing about. The broadcast critics group also honored “Ted Lasso” as Best Comedy Series and scene-stealer Hannah Waddingham as Best Comedy Supporting Actress.

SEEAre we headed for a Hannah vs.

Apple’s “Ted Lasso” is the early front-runner to win the Emmy for Best Comedy Series, according to exclusive Gold Derby odds. The feel-good comedy has already won the Critics Choice Award in this top category, with Jason Sudeikis and Hannah Waddingham claiming acting trophies with that group and Sudeikis taking home the Golden Globe. However, the race isn’t a done deal just yet, especially with HBO Max’s “The Flight Attendant” flying hot on its wings. What will win?

There’s nothing Emmy voters love more than rewarding first-year comedies, and both of these contenders fit that bill this year. “Ted Lasso” streamed last August-October on Apple TV Plus, while “The Flight Attendant” aired on HBO Max from November-December. Both shows are hoping to join a long line of freshman Best Comedy Series champs that prevailed for their first seasons, including “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” in 2018, “Modern Family...

There’s nothing Emmy voters love more than rewarding first-year comedies, and “Ted Lasso” fits that bill this year. The show streamed last fall on Apple TV Plus, which means it’s now eligible for the 2021 Emmys. If Gold Derby’s early predictions pan out and “Ted Lasso” wins, it’ll join a long line of freshman Best Comedy Series champs including “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” in 2018, “Modern Family” in 2010 and “30 Rock” in 2007 — see the complete list below.

SEEEarly Emmy predictions: ‘Ted Lasso’ could pull off a sweep following Globes and Critics Choice wins

“Ted Lasso” is coming off big victories at the recent Golden Globes and Critics Choice TV Awards. Jason Sudeikis won Best Comedy Actor at both kudos. The broadcast critics also honored “Ted Lasso” as the Best Comedy Series and scene stealer Hannah Waddingham won Best Comedy Supporting Actress. Next up is the SAG Awards, with...

We told you. Remember the rules. You didn’t listen. Now we’re Back with an all new batch of guest recommendations featuring Blake Masters, Julien Nitzberg, Floyd Norman, Tuppence Middleton and Blaire Bercy.

Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Wild Angels (1966)

Spirits of the Dead (1966)

The Trip (1967)

Mooch Goes To Hollywood (1971)

Stalker (1979)

The Candidate (1972)

The Parallax View (1974)

Network (1976)

Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

Ace In The Hole (1951)

Margin Call (2011)

Death Wish (1974)

Death Wish (2018)

Seconds (1966)

Soylent Green (1973)

Rage (1972)

Assault on Wall Street (2013)

Repo Man (1984)

Elmer Gantry (1960)

The Train (1965)

Clouds of Sils Maria (2014)

Strange Brew (1983)

To Have And Have Not (1944)

Singin’ In The Rain (1952)

Easter Parade (1948)

The Band Wagon (1953)

Guys And Dolls (1955)

On The Town (1949)

Casablanca (1942)

The Dirt Gang (1972)

Back To The Future (1985)

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

The Big Sleep (1946)

Bomba, the Jungle Boy (1949)

My Man Godfrey...

Black Americans saw very little representation of their lives and culture on TV during the 1950s. The only mainstay was Eddie Anderson, who played Jack Benny’s sardonic valet Rochester on CBS’ “The Jack Benny Program.” In 1937, he’d became the first Black performer to be a regular on the radio version of the beloved comedy series and played Rochester on television from 1950-65. Terry Carter played Pvt. Sugie Sugerman for 98 episodes of CBS’ Emmy Award-winning “The Phil Silvers Show.’ And Black singers and performers would occasionally appear on various musical-variety series.

Pianist Hazel Scott was given her own summer series “The Hazel Scott Show” on DuMont in 1950. But she was soon named as a Communist by “Red Channels”. Though she denied the charges, the series couldn’t attract a sponsor and was history after four episodes. Likewise, NBC’s 1957-58 “The Nat King Cole Show” couldn’t find a...

In the very earliest days of television in the 1940s and early 1950s, our country was still reeling from World War II. As time has marched on, we have waged wars in Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East. Throughout these years, our small screens have brought us many different types of military men and women who have represented the heroes of these and other battles.

One of the earliest successful television series was the Emmy-winning sitcom “You’ll Never Get Rich,” later retitled “The Phil Silvers Show,” which brought us the iconic Sgt. Bilko. Other successful comedies have followed, including “McHale’s Navy,” “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.,” “Major Dad” and the most successful and longest-running “M*A*S*H,” which gifted us a number of memorable characters from the 4077th.

SEEAlan Alda Interview: ‘Marriage Story’

Military series offered one of television’s first ventures into the action genre, with shows such as “The Rat Patrol.

In the very earliest days of television in the 1940s and early 1950s, our country was still reeling from World War II. As time has marched on, we have waged wars in Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East. Throughout these years, our small screens have brought us many different types of military men and women who have represented the heroes of these and other battles.

One of the earliest successful television series was the Emmy-winning sitcom “You’ll Never Get Rich,” later retitled “The Phil Silvers Show,” which brought us the iconic Sgt. Bilko. Other successful comedies have followed, including “McHale’s Navy,” “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.,” “Major Dad” and the most successful and longest-running “M*A*S*H,” which gifted us a number of memorable characters from the 4077th.

Military series offered one of television’s first ventures into the action genre, with shows such as “The Rat Patrol.” A few years later,...

Josip Elic, remembered for his performance as the confused, constantly tired asylum inmate Bancini who carries Jack Nicholson’s rebellious, basketball-dunking McMurphy on his shoulders in 1975’s One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, died Monday at a rehabilitation facility in New Jersey. He was 98.

His death was announced by his friend, manager Matt Beckoff, in a Facebook post. Elic had been in failing health since suffering a fall at his New York residence several years ago; he lived with friend and caretaker, the actress Lee Meredith, and her husband at their home in River Edge, New Jersey, before transferring to a nearby assisted-living residence, according to a 2018 North Record newspaper profile.

After early TV roles in 1950s series such as Kraft Theatre, The Phil Silvers Show, Peter Gunn and The Asphalt Jungle, Elic made appearances in two Twilight Zone episodes. Soon came roles in the 1964 camp classic Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, a 1966 TV adaptation of Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory, and, in 1967, Mel Brooks’ The Producers. In the latter, he was featured in a memorable scene as the violinist who gets a bottle of champagne dumped down his pants by Zero Mostel.

He’ll best be remembered for his role as Cuckoo‘s befuddled Bancini, a near-catatonic patient who repeatedly mutters an exhausted “I”m tired,” only once rising in anger during a group therapy session shouting “I’m tired! And it’s a lot of baloney!” His major moment, though, was an improvised basketball court scene in which Nicholson’s McMurphy climbs atop the towering Bancini’s shoulders to teach the other asylum inmates how to dunk a basketball – all under the watchful, scornful eye of Louise Fletcher’s sadistic Nurse Ratched.

In the North Jersey Record interview last year, Elic and Meredith spoke of their long friendship and Elic’s recent health problems.

“He was living in New York all by himself,” Meredith said. “He had these steep stairs he was going up and down. His doctors said, ‘You can’t be alone any more.’ So Joe came here, and things worked out pretty well. We’re kind of his family now.”

Said Elic, “They were wonderful to me. Took care of me right and left. Changed my sheets, wouldn’t let me go into the kitchen to wash my cup or anything.”

His friend and caretaker survives him, as does a sister.

It makes sense that screenwriter and playwright Neil Simon, who pretty much defined American humor on stage, screen and TV for several decades until his death 2018 at the age of 91, knew how to turn humiliation, heartache, opposites-attract relationships, adultery, marital tensions, likable losers, glib nostalgia and modern insecurities into red, white and blue hilarity. What else would you expect from a Jewish boy from the Bronx who was born on the Fourth of July in 1927, right before the Great Depression?

SEEMel Brooks movies: 12 greatest films ranked worst to best

With parents whose marriage he would kindly describe as being “tempestuous,” Doc, as he was called, sought out books by such humorists as Mark Twain, Robert Benchley, George S. Kaufman and S.J. Perelman in order to bury his own troubles while picking up hints on how to use words to incite laughter. His work often paired humor with an undercurrent of pathos,...

It makes sense that screenwriter and playwright Neil Simon, who pretty much defined American humor on stage, screen and TV for several decades until his death 2018 at the age of 91, knew how to turn humiliation, heartache, opposites-attract relationships, adultery, marital tensions, likable losers, glib nostalgia and modern insecurities into red, white and blue hilarity. What else would you expect from a Jewish boy from the Bronx who was born on the Fourth of July in 1927, right before the Great Depression?

With parents whose marriage he would kindly describe as being “tempestuous,” Doc, as he was called, sought out books by such humorists as Mark Twain, Robert Benchley, George S. Kaufman and S.J. Perelman in order to bury his own troubles while picking up hints on how to use words to incite laughter. His work often paired humor with an undercurrent of pathos, intertwining chuckles with tears. In the ‘50s, he...

Unlike “Game of Thrones,” which could go out by tying the Best Drama Series Emmy record of four wins this year, “Veep” won’t have the chance to do so on the comedy side should it win a fourth statuette with its own final season. That would only good enough for the silver medal position, but it’d still be in pretty nice company.

“Veep,” which three-peated in Best Comedy Series from 2015-17 before skipping last year’s cycle, would join “All in the Family” and “Cheers” as four-time winners. The former three-peated from 1971-73 and took home a fourth statuette in 1978, while the latter triumphed in 1983, ’84, ’89 and ’91. “The Dick Van Dyke Show” could also count here because it won the category in 1963, ’64 and ’66, and it was one of four shows to share the single program prize in ’65, when the Emmys restructured the show into just four categories for program,...

Growing up among his native Brooklyn’s brick-and-fire-escape facades in the 1930’s, production designer-to-be Albert Brenner often dreamed of the wide open spaces depicted in his favorite Saturday-matinee Westerns. At 16, he landed his first “art job”: dressing windows for a New York City department store.

Two years later, Brenner swapped mannequins for military service and flew in B-24 bombers until World War II ended in 1945. On the G.I. Bill, he attended Yale University, graduating with skills in drafting, and went into summer stock theater under designer Samuel Leve, toiling away on plays like “The Fifth Season” and gaining a union card in the process.

He developed his designer chops in New York on TV shows like “The Phil Silvers Show,” “Car 54, Where Are You?” “Captain Kangaroo” and “Playhouse 90.” His first day on the Silvers show, where he eventually earned $250 a week, was nearly his last, when he...

Legendary playwright Neil Simon has died of complications from pneumonia at the age of 91, the Associated Press reports.

During his storied career, Simon won four Tony Awards, the Pulitzer Prize, four Writers Guild of America Awards and a lifetime achievement honor from the American Comedy Awards. He was also the recipient of a Kennedy Center honor in 1995, and won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2006.

Simon is perhaps best known to TV audiences for developing the Odd Couple franchise. What began as a 1965 Broadway play was eventually adapted into a 1968 feature film starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon.

Neil Simon, the creator of such Pulitzer and Tony award-winning plays as The Odd Couple, Barefoot in the Park and Lost in Yonkers, has died at 91. He died last night at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City from complications from pneumonia.

Simon was a giant of popular content creation, the playwright behind works that were performed worldwide by high schools, local theater groups and Broadway, where he was dominant in the last half of the 20th century. Simon’s unparalleled career in the theater included more than thirty plays and musicals that opened on Broadway over a span of four decades.

He made his playwriting debut in 1961, with Come Blow Your Horn and concluded his Broadway run with 45 Seconds From Broadway in 2001.

“No playwright in Broadway’s long and raucous history has so dominated the boulevard as the softly astringent Simon,” wrote John Lahr in The New Yorker in 2010. “For almost half a century,...

Neil Simon, one of the most prolific playwrights in American history, has died ... TMZ has learned. Sources tell TMZ, Simon died Sunday morning at 1 Am Et after being on life support. We're told he had a failing kidney and also Alzheimer's and dementia. A rep said Simon died as a result of complications from pneumonia. Simon had a kidney transplant in 2004 and the donor was his longtime friend and publicist Bill Evans. Simon's first big...

Charlotte Rae -- the actress who played the beloved Mrs. Garrett in "Diff'rent Strokes" and "The Facts of Life" -- has reportedly died. According to EW, reps for the Emmy-nominated star confirmed she'd passed away Sunday in her L.A.-area home. While a cause of death wasn't made immediately clear, Rae announced last year she had been diagnosed with bone cancer that spring. Rae starred as the Drummond family's kooky housekeeper, Edna Garrett, on...

The first and only time “Will & Grace” won Best Comedy Series at the Emmys was a full adult ago — 18 years, way back in 2000. The NBC sitcom could pick up a bookend Emmy in September with the revival, which would set a record for the longest gap between Best Comedy Series wins.

Now it goes without saying that this wouldn’t be possible without the revival, and a gap this long is practically unheard of, since most shows don’t run continuously for nearly two decades, let alone receive Emmy recognition for that entire duration. The Emmys like to get into streaks with their favorites and then drop them like a bad habit.

Sixteen shows have won multiple Best Comedy Series and almost all of them did it with consecutive wins. “Frasier” and “Modern Family” both pulled off a five-peat. All six three-time winners — “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “The Phil Silvers Show,...

Middleton, Idaho – On the day of the 88th Academy Awards, Hollywood lost a venerable character actor and Oscar winner, George Kennedy. Kennedy won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar at the 40th Academy Awards for his role in “Cool Hand Luke.” He passed away at a care facility in Idaho, age 91.

George Kennedy in 2010

Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

George Harris Kennedy was born in New York City in 1925. He parlayed a military career that began during World War II into a technical advisor role for “The Phil Silvers Show” in the late 1950s. Encourage by Silvers to begin acting, he made his debut in the film “Little Shepard of Kingdom Come” (1961). The beefy, solid character actor made numerous TV and film appearances, including “Charade” (1963), “Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte” (1964) and “The Dirty Dozen” (1967).

It was in 1967 that he won the role of “Dragline” opposite Paul Newman in “Cool Hand Luke.

By Lindsey Bahr, AP Film Writer

Los Angeles (AP) -- George Kennedy, the hulking, tough-guy character actor who won an Academy Award for his portrayal of a savage chain-gang convict in the 1960s classic "Cool Hand Luke," has died.

His grandson Cory Schenkel says Kennedy died on Sunday morning of old age in Boise, Idaho. He was 91.

He had undergone emergency triple bypass surgery in 2002. That same year, he and his late wife moved to Idaho to be closer to their daughter and her family, though he still was involved in occasional film projects.

His biggest acting achievement came in "Cool Hand Luke," a 1967 film about a rebellious war hero played by Paul Newman who is bent on bucking the system as a prisoner on a Southern chain gang. Its theme of rebelling against authority and the establishment helped make it one of the most important films of the tumultuous 1960s.

Some of the greatest (or at least heavily favored) American television shows got the big screen treatment when they were selected to have their small screen following turn into a cinematic experience. Unfortunately, for every beloved nostalgic television show that translated successfully in movie theaters (The Brady Bunch Movie, Star Trek, Batman, etc.) there are boob tube stinkers that overtake the good crop. Sure, there are middle-of-the-road movie adaptations of television programs that have a mixed bag reception (1997’s Leave It To Beaver, 1987’s Dragnet, 2012’s Dark Shadows, etc.). Nevertheless, it is always the unflattering fare that receive the bulk of the attention (do you register, 1999’s The Wild, Wild West ?).

In Boob on the Tube: Top Ten Worst Movie Adaptations of TV Shows we will take a look at the top ten televised offenders that dared to venture into cinema’s stratosphere only to end up floating down shamefully...

Film ‘Jupiter Ascending’ rises to absurd and hilarious heights

That sound you’re hearing is a massive sigh of relief from David Lynch. He no longer holds the dubious distinction of producing the most expensive B-movie in the history of Hollywood. That honor now belongs to The Wachowskis, whose Jupiter Ascending has officially displacedDune at the top (or bottom) of the heap. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however. Jupiter Ascending not only looks spectacular, it’s a laugh riot. Ridiculous dialogue, hammy performances, and enough mythology to baffle Zeus make this disaster a must-see for all lovers of cheese… read the full article.

The Conversation: Drew Morton and Landon Palmer Discuss ‘The Killing’

Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing (1956) is not my favorite work by the visionary director. In fact, the film probably wouldn’t even make it onto a list of my top five Kubrick films. Yet, with...

Shout! Factory's brand has always focused firmly on the past: DVD sets of classic TV series ranging from The Phil Silvers Show to Pee-wee's Playhouse. But the company itself has kept an eye on the future, and with industry-wide DVD sales in decline, today it's launching Shout! Factory TV, a multi-platform streaming channel stocked with golden oldies to be viewed on modern media.“We've been working on this strategy for years,” says company co-founder Garson Foos, explaining that the onslaught of digital product available on Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, and YouTube made the move inevitable. Classic TV, Foos says, will be its “sweet spot,” differentiating Shout! Factory from the current slate of streaming networks. “Netflix does not have much, so there's a hole in the market,” Foos says. Starting today, its site will offer 1,000 hours of programming, including series like Hill Street Blues, Father Knows Best, and The Twilight Zone, and...

Between finales, pilots, and premieres, there’s plenty of TV to talk about this week on the podcast. First we look at the week in comedy, including Key & Peele’s Superbowl special and a contentious Man Seeking Woman. Then Kate looks at some genre before Simon joins her to discuss The 100, and we round out our week with the dramas, including the series finale of Parenthood, the pilot of Fortitude, and the long-awaited season premiere of The Americans. Afterward, Emmy Award winner (and current writer for The Simpsons) Michael Price returns to join Kate at the DVD Shelf to discuss multi-cam comedy and two classics of the genre, The Phil Silvers Show (aka Sgt. Bilko) and F Troop.

Our Week in Comedy (13:42-43:33): Parks and Rec, Key & Peele Superbowl Special, Archer, Man Seeking Woman, Broad City, Adventure Time, Jane the Virgin

Our Week in Genre (44:28-...

Allen Jenkins. Illustration by Tony Millionaire from the book The Depression Alphabet Primer, by Daniel Riccuito with illustrations by Tony Millionaire.

Utterly relaxed in his lumpen condition, character actor Allen Jenkins craves no self-improvement—external circumstances are a perennial cause of concern, but within his skin, everything is pronounced satisfactory. He and the world have agreed to disagree. Imagine a sad and slapdash identikit collaged from discards veering toward Neanderthal.

Overall effect: the big toe.

Jenkins excels as stooges and losers when Hollywood is choked with them. His powerhouse harnessed to stock screen personas, as if to fulfill a collective need of the 1930s, every mother’s son compressed into one hyphenate—the titan-shlump. An American type, ideal for our man Jenkins, who could explode into three dimensions and collapse again; it would serve him well throughout a fairly long career, even as his habitual boozing persisted.

As a hit-man...