News

Helen Gallagher, best known to soap fans for her role as matriarch Maeve Ryan on the ABC daytime drama series “Ryan’s Hope” has died. Gallagher passed away on Sunday, November 24. She was 98 years old.

Born July 19, 1926 in Brooklyn, New York, Gallagher was a two-time Tony Award winner and a three-time Daytime Emmy Award winner, who also appeared on the soap operas “Another World,” “All My Children” and “One Life to Live.”

The news of Gallagher’s passing was first announced by The Washington Post, which was confirmed by Edith Meeks, the executive and artistic director at the Herbert Berghof Studio, where Gallagher had a long affiliation. An official cause of death was not provided at press time.

Attending the American School of Ballet at just 15 years of age, Gallagher first gained recognition playing a ballerina on Broadway, where she performed in the corps of “Seven Lively Arts” and “Mr. Strauss Goes to Boston,...

Tl;Dr:

John Lennon was a fan of a Bruce Springsteen song and a Cars song for the same reason. He liked 1980s music with 1950s vibes as well as classic rock songs from the 1950s. The Springsteen song was huge in the United States but not the United Kingdom. Bruce Springsteen | Aaron Rapoport / Contributor

John Lennon was a big fan of one of Bruce Springsteen’s songs. He said it reminded him of 1950s music. In addition, John felt the Springsteen track was similar to one of his biggest solo hits.

John Lennon loved a Bruce Springsteen song and a Cars song with retro vibes

The book Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon includes an interview from 1980. In it, John compared some recent singles to his song “(Just Like) Starting Over.” For context, “(Just Like) Starting Over” is deeply indebted to the music of Elvis Presley and other early rock ‘n’ roll stars.

Former manager and business partner of actor Michael Keaton, Harry Colomby has died at the age of 92. Colomby died on December 25, 2021.

Bobby Colomby, Drummer for Blood Sweat and Tears, and brother of Harry, confirmed his death with multiple sources. Also, Harry had been hospitalized five years after fracturing his pelvis in a fall.

Keaton and Colomby first met in the 1970s when the actor was working in stand-up comedy. “He saw something in Keaton that was astounding,” his brother said. “He saw his career long-term and knew he had more than just a few jokes in him.”

From their first connection, the duo worked on a slew of films and shows in which Colomby wrote and/or produced Working Stiffs, Report to Murphy, Mr. Mom, Johnny Dangerously, Touch and Go, The Squeeze, One Good Cop, and Speechless.

On Instagram, Keaton commented, “My former mgr/biz partner and most of all,...

In the fall of 1990, the Louisville band Slint found itself at a crossroads.

They’d just finished recording their second album over the course of a rushed weekend in Chicago. They knew that one of their favorite labels, the esteemed indie Touch and Go, would be putting it out, but otherwise, the future seemed uncertain. Though the band wasn’t paying their bills, the members, all in their early twenties, had taken time off from college to facilitate the intensive rehearsals that birthed five of the album’s six tracks.

Max Wright, the actor who portrayed the father on the Eighties sitcom Alf, has died. He was 75. On Wednesday, Wright’s son Ben confirmed his death to the Hollywood Reporter. TMZ first reported the death, adding that Wright died at his home in Hermosa Beach, California following a long battle with cancer. He was diagnosed with Lymphoma in 1995, but was reportedly in remission for several years.

As the news broke of Wright’s death, those in the industry paid tribute to the veteran star on social media. “Rip Max Wright – A hilarious and talented actor,...

Liz Fraser, the British comic actress best known for her role in several of the bawdy Carry On series of films in the 1960s, has died. She was 88.

The actress passed away on Thursday in a London hospital, with the British Comedy Society tweeting that it was "very sad to learn that the wonderful Liz Fraser has died. She was a delight."

Born in the central London district of Southwark in 1930, Fraser's first film appearance was in 1955's Touch and Go, followed by The Smallest Show on Earth in 1957, which saw her work with Peter Sellers ...

Liz Fraser, the British comic actress best known for her role in several of the bawdy Carry On series of films in the 1960s, has died. She was 88.

The actress passed away on Thursday in a London hospital, with the British Comedy Society tweeting that it was "very sad to learn that the wonderful Liz Fraser has died. She was a delight."

Born in the central London district of Southwark in 1930, Fraser's first film appearance was in 1955's Touch and Go, followed by The Smallest Show on Earth in 1957, which saw her work with Peter Sellers ...

Richard Venture, the prolific character actor who lent gravitas to the best picture Oscar nominees All the President's Men, Missing and Scent of a Woman and dozens of other films and TV shows, has died. He was 94.

Venture died Dec. 19 in Chester, Connecticut, his daughter Rebecca told The Hollywood Reporter.

Venture was especially memorable as Peter Sellers' valet in Hal Ashby's Being There (1979) and as a cop who commits suicide in Steve McQueen's final film, The Hunter (1980).

His body of work also includes roles in The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972), The Greatest (1977), Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), The Onion Field (1979), Touch and Go (1986), Heartbreak Ridge (1986), The Sicilian (1987), Courage Under...

One of the year’s most anticipated films opened this week in a handful of theatres across North America: Hong Kong director Ringo Lam’s Sky on Fire. After his promisingly solid return to directing after more than a decade in retirement with last year’s Wild City, hopes were high for the new film, if only because it shares the title formulation of some of his greatest works: City on Fire, School on Fire and the two Prison on Fire films. With Daniel Wu starring in a story of greed and corruption in the medical industry, it promised to be a worthy addition to the career of one of Hong Kong’s most distinguished directors, a man whose bleak tales of institutional collapse provided some of the most viscerally kinetic and apocalyptic visions of the colony in the years between the 1984 Joint Declaration and the 1997 Handover. Instead, it’s a mess,...

Wii U virtual console is getting an assortment of N64 and Nintendo DS games soon. Check out how it will all work, and how much it will cost.

Nintendo has announced that N64 games and Nintendo DS games will hit Wii U Virtual Console with improved button layout and a friendly upgrade price.

The first part of the reveal showcased that buttons will be adjusted to match the Wii U controls for N64 games. For DS titles, the buttons are adjusted plus the Wii U dual screen layout will adjust to work with DS titles utilizing two screens.

N64 titles will cost $10-$13 dollars each and DS titles willl cost $7 to $10. If you already own a game on the Wii Virtual Console you can "upgrade" the game to WiiU for $2.

Right now the two games already release are Mario 64 and Yoshi's Island for $10 each. Upcoming games include Donkey Kong 64, Mario Kart DS,...

Epochal post-rock pioneers Slint are the subjects of a new documentary, Breadcrumb Trail, by Lance Bangs. In 1991, the Louisville-based band made the now-classic Spiderland for Touch and Go and, just before its release, promptly disbanded. In the years since, the album has remained enormously influential, making its mark on math rock, post-hardcore and various other sub-genres with out-of-date critical sobriquets. As Ron Kretsch notes at Dangerous Minds, one thing pops out of this trailer: these guys were young when they laid down this thing! “So, how’d You change the world before you finished school?” he asks. Here’s director Bangs […]...

Epochal post-rock pioneers Slint are the subjects of a new documentary, Breadcrumb Trail, by Lance Bangs. In 1991, the Louisville-based band made the now-classic Spiderland for Touch and Go and, just before its release, promptly disbanded. In the years since, the album has remained enormously influential, making its mark on math rock, post-hardcore and various other sub-genres with out-of-date critical sobriquets. As Ron Kretsch notes at Dangerous Minds, one thing pops out of this trailer: these guys were young when they laid down this thing! “So, how’d You change the world before you finished school?” he asks. Here’s director Bangs […]...

Tune in tonight to the Tonight Show as Vince Vaughn talks about his love for the Chicago Blackhawks and Jay presents Vaughn with a gift for his youngest daughter Later, Vaughn discusses filming .The Internship. at the Google campus. Comedian Kathleen Madigan performs stand-up. Musical guest Scotty McCreery performs. Jay Leno.S Monologue Monday, June 03, 2013 It.S Been Touch And Go Here In Los Angeles; This Latest California Wildfire Is Getting Pretty Scary. Did You See All The Smoke And The Ash In The Air Here? Very Frightening. Governor Jerry Brown, God Bless Him, He's Got It Under Control. He Said He Is Going To Tax And Regulate The Fire Until It Gets Fed Up And Moves To...

Just a month after the band announced it would be putting out a single on member Dave Sitek’s new label, TV On The Radio has announced its split from Interscope Records. Singer Tunde Adebimpe told Spin that the label “can ask for another record,” but he doesn’t think the band’s going to do it, saying, “They did what they did. That’s as diplomatic as I can put that.” (Interscope has been the band’s home since 2006’s Return To Cookie Mountain; prior to that, Tvotr was on Touch And Go.) Adebimpe also told Spin that ...

D.C. post-hardcore act and Touch And Go Records darlings Girls Against Boys have reunited following a 10-year hiatus. The group led by Eli Janney last released a full-length record in 2002, but will be dropping an Ep sometime this year. The first single, “It’s A Diamond Life,” is already streaming and available for download at Consequence Of Sound. So listen to that, then go put on Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby for old times’ sake. The group also has a number of tour dates coming up. They’re mostly in Europe, but September finds it hitting New York ...

Yes, I have too much time on my hands. Here's a new feature that was fun to put together (though quite time-consuming, which makes me worry about my ability to do this every month). I look back at rock, pop, and R&B albums that came out five years ago, ten years ago, etc.

1967

Buffalo Springfield: Again (Atco)

There was much chaos surrounding the creation of this quintet 's second album. Bassist Bruce Palmer, in some ways the soul of the band, was unavailable due to a drug charge deportation, and a string of session players took his place. Stephen Stills, who saw himself as the leader of the group, was feuding with Neil Young, who considered himself an equal, and Young actually quit -- but returned. And that's without getting into the fiasco that was the band's management team.

Nonetheless, it was a quantum leap forward from their debut,...

San Diego indie-rock duo Pinback has announced a new record, its first in five years. Information Retrieved comes out Oct. 16 on Temporary Residence, the group’s new label after its former home, Touch And Go, scaled back operations. The band’s last record, Autumn Of The Seraphs, was “delicate,” yet it worked into a “substantial roar” according to some publication called The A.V. Club. Information Retrieved has been teased since 2009, when the band first hinted it was working on a record. Members Rob Crow and Zach Smith dragged their feet, though, presumably busy with other projects like ...

The rumors of Touch And Go Records’ demise were, apparently, at least a little premature. Sure, the label’s been releasing catalog material and limited-edition Calexico box sets in recent months, but the news today that the former Chicago label is putting out new material comes as a welcome surprise. Of course, that new material is a 7-inch from the grating sibling duo CocoRosie. But, hey, any news is good news, right? The single’s A-side, “We Are On Fire,” was produced by TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek. The record’s B-side, “Tearz For Animals,” features vocals by ...

Zsa Zsa Gabor turned 95 years old Monday, defying the grim expectations that have developed after a string of health scares over the past year. Numerous times in the last 12 months, Gabor has been rushed to the hospital, causing the public to fear the worst but ultimately beating the odds and amazing the world with her remarkable resiliency. Also read: Zsa Zsa Gabor "Touch and Go" After Latest Hospitalization The actress began 2011 in a bad way, arriving at the hospital with an infected lesion that would ultimately lead to the amputation...

Someone needs to perform an Inception on MTV, it's been too long since they were the destination for music videos. The channel has been lost in a limbo, a reality show hell with no musical kick, no Edith Piaf to pull them back out and remind them what it was all about in the first place. Now, Universal Music Group has pulled their videos from them in favor of Vevo.

The news came just after newcomer Vevo scored big with the live webcast of an Arcade Fire show from Madison Square Garden, the one directed by Terry Gilliam late last week. The whole thing is a blow to MTV's online content especially since Umg seems to represent most of the mega-acts that are omnipresent on the site -- Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Eminem, Rihanna, Kanye, and the rest.

Wait, losing those artists is a bad thing, right? Not so fast.

He used to be Beetlejuice and Batman. Now Michael Keaton is a first-time director and a contented man

Michael Keaton is standing in the middle of his London hotel room, transfixed by the widescreen television before him. He holds out the remote control as if he's offering a gift to the gods. The volume goes up, the volume goes down. The image freezes, then fast-forwards. The urge to wrest the handset from him and take charge is overwhelming, and lasts at least until you remember the fabled Keaton temper. ("I'm a good thrower," he once said. "And kicker.") But his doddery behaviour in the face of technology is endearing. Eventually, he hits on the scene he was hunting for. "Wait, you gotta see this," he says breathlessly. "Listen, you hear that song? Oh, man. That's the one we wanted to use but it was too expensive."

The film that's monopolising...