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Actor Tim Russ was an army brat who, at an early age, became interested in acting and theater. He attended St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, getting a degree in theater arts, and he continued his acting studies in grad school at Illinois State University. His first professional acting gig was a supporting role in an episode of the reboot of "The Twilight Zone" in 1985, and his first movie was a small part in the 1986 Ralph Macchio vehicle "Crossroads." Audiences of a certain age likely recall Russ' cameo in Mel Brooks' 1987 spoof "Spaceballs." He was the Spaceball officer who, while (literally) combing the desert with an outsize afro pick, announced that "We ain't found s***!" That same year, Russ appeared in the wonderfully absurd "Death Wish 4: The Crackdown," a film that boasts one of the best death-by-bazooka scenes in cinema history. 

Russ remained prolific, however, picking up dozens of...

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Does any major network do wacky show titles as well as CBS? I don't think so. It's the home of such creatively, chaotically named shows as "Jake and the Fatman," "Gary Unmarried," "Joan of Arcadia," "United States of Al," "Syzyszynk," and -- my personal favorite, name-wise -- "God Friended Me." The network's wacky titles go all the way back to TV's golden age, but their schedule still features several weirdly named shows today. Without giving each of them a watch, it's hard to tell your "Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage" from your "Bob Hearts Abishola," but one unusually named show made its mark recently with a short but loved two-season run: "So Help Me Todd."

The name of "So Help Me Todd" gives few hints about the show's premise, but it was actually about a flailing private detective ("Pitch Perfect...

Harvey Laidman, a television director known for working on multiple episodes of “The Waltons,” “Matlock” and “7th Heaven,” died Jan. 3 in Simi Valley, Calif. He was 82.

Laidman’s death was confirmed to Hollywood Reporter by his son, Dan Laidman, with the cause of death being cancer.

Throughout his multiple decades in the industry, Laidman directed episodes on a wide range of shows, including “Hawaii Five-o,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Quantum Leap,” “The Dukes of Hazzard,” “Magnum, P.I.,” “Jake and the Fatman,” “The Fitzpatricks,” “Eight Is Enough,” “The Blue Knight” and “Kojak.”

Laidman went on to direct a total of 11 episodes of “The Waltons” as well as 10 episodes of “Scarecrow and Mrs. King,” 33 episodes of “Matlock” and 16 episodes of “7th Heaven,” marking his final screen credit in 2004.

Chester Spier, a set decorator on “Matlock,” shared a tribute to his longtime friend on Facebook, writing that “Harvey had a brilliant sense of humor and a keen eye,...

Harvey Laidman, a veteran TV director who helmed multiple episodes of such series as The Waltons, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, the original Matlock and 7th Heaven, has died. He was 82.

Laidman died of cancer on Jan. 3 in a hospice facility in Simi Valley, his son, Dan Laidman, told The Hollywood Reporter.

During his three-decade-plus career, he also directed installments of The Blue Knight, Family, Hawaii Five-o, Hunter, Kojak, Eight Is Enough, The Incredible Hulk, Lou Grant, Knots Landing, Falcon Crest, Airwolf, Knight Rider, Magnum, P.I., Jake and the Fatman, Silk Stalkings and Jag.

Laidman served as assistant director and unit production manager on the second and third seasons of CBS’ The Waltons from 1973-75, then advanced to the director’s chair to call the shots on 11 episodes of the beloved period drama from 1975-81.

He also helmed 10 episodes of CBS’ Scarecrow and Mrs. King from 1985-87; 33 episodes of NBC...

Buddy cop shows have long been one of TV’s most beloved genres, delivering action, humor, and heart through iconic partnerships.

From the classic bromance of Starsky & Hutch to the gritty realism of Line of Duty, these shows prove that two heads are always better than one.

As explored in The Buddy Cop Genre Isn’t Dead — It’s Just Moved Overseas, the genre has shifted its focus overseas for various reasons, where innovative storytelling has breathed new life into it.

(CBS/Norman Shapiro)

With recent hits like Hawaii Five-0 and Line of Duty carrying the torch into the 2020s, the enduring appeal of these shows lies in their ability to capture teamwork, trust, and the occasional clash of personalities.

This list celebrates the traditional law enforcement duos that defined the genre while showing why these partnerships remain timeless, even as the genre evolves.

Cagney & Lacey (1982-1988) (CBS/Screenshot)

Breaking barriers and redefining the genre,...

Bradford English had a screen acting career that spanned from 1971 to 2010, and over those 39 years he racked up more than 70 credits – but for many of us, he’s best remembered for playing the drunk, abusive blowhard John Strode in the 1995 horror sequel Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. Sadly, we lost English right before Halloween this year, as it has been reported that he passed away on October 25th in Pasadena, California at the age of 82.

English was born in South Orange, New Jersey on January 16, 1942. His obituary can be found online and says he “was a true force of life and was filled with love. He was a husband and a family man who was survived by his loving wife and high school sweetheart Cecelia Gail English. Together they created a beautiful family of four children: James Bradford English Jr., Jeffrey Brennan English, Kristin Lunney English and Colleen Margaret Theresa English.

Jeri Taylor, the Emmy-nominated producer, showrunner, director and writer known for her work on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Star Trek: Voyager,” which she co-created, has died. She was 86.

Taylor died Thursday, Oct. 24, the official “Star Trek” website announced.

Taylor joined the “Next Generation” team during its fourth season in 1990. By its sixth season, she was promoted to co-executive producer alongside Rick Berman and Michael Pillar. She then served as the series’ executive producer and showrunner for its seventh and final season, for which she earned an Emmy nomination for best outstanding series.

Taylor went on to create “Voyager” with Berman and Piller and served as the showrunner for the first four seasons of the series from 1995 to 1998. She later worked as a creative consultant for the show’s final three seasons.

Taylor penned more than 30 episodes across the “Star Trek” franchise; she was most proud of the “Next Generation” episode “The Drumhead,...

Over the course of a screen acting career that stretched across fifty years, Charles Cyphers racked up 100 credits, but he’s best known for his collaborations with John Carpenter, having appeared in the director’s Assault on Precinct 13, Halloween, Someone’s Watching Me!, Elvis, The Fog, and Escape from New York. His most popular character was Sheriff Leigh Brackett from the 1978 Halloween, a role he reprised in 1981’s Halloween II and, after a forty year absence from the Halloween franchise, 2021’s Halloween Kills. Sadly, we’ve lost this great character actor, as Variety reports that Cyphers has passed away “from a brief illness” at the age of 85.

Cyphers’ manager Chris Roe confirmed his passing to Variety and provided the following statement: “Charles was a lovable and sensitive man. He always had the best stories, and you got a full performance while he told you. He was a close friend and...

Russell Todd

Courtesy

Best known for portraying the role of Dr. Jamie Frame over a three-year run on “Another World,” actor Russell Todd will enter “The Locher Room” alongside host Alan Locher on the show’s Wednesday, February 28 episode, taking place live at 3:00 p.m. Et/noon Pt.

Russell will take a trip down memory lane as he looks back on his career as an actor, model, and agent. Outside of his roles on such soaps as “The Bold and the Beautiful,” “Capitol” and “The Young and the Restless,” Russell is also known for starring in the films “Friday the 13th: Part 2” and the remake of “Where the Boys Are ‘84,” playing as Scott Nash, a role originated by Jim Hutton.

Russell’s other credits include the CBS series “High Mountain Rangers,” the TNT Western “Border Shootout,” “Jake and the Fatman” and “Riptide.” More recently, Russell wrapped production on the upcoming thriller “Stiletto,...

Elderly television viewers in the 1980s and '90s had an amazing Hollywood ally in Dean Hargrove.

The small-screen veteran got his start in the 1960s as a writer for "My Three Sons" and "The Bob Newhart Show" (the unsuccessful precursor to the wildly successful 1970s sitcom of the same name), and received credit for some of the best episodes of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." He wrote on arguably the greatest mystery series to ever air on network TV (we're not arguing if you read that passage and immediately thought "Columbo"), and kept Dennis Weaver employed as a producer on "McCloud."

But his most lasting impact on the medium was his 1985 - 2002 run as the producer of such old-people-go-a-sleuthin' shows as the "Perry Mason" television movies, "Jake and the Fatman," "The Father Dowling Mysteries," "Diagnosis: Murder" and the grandpappy of them all, "Matlock."

Hargrove's genius was turning America's favorite TV...

Harry Johnson, an actor who starred in hit series such as Battlestar Galactica, Law & Order, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has died after a long illness. He was 81. Johnson’s passing was confirmed by his wife, Christiane, who told Deadline he died on Tuesday, January 2, in Los Angeles, just six days after his 81st birthday. Born on December 27, 1942, in Plainfield, New Jersey, Johnson (often credited as Chip Johnson in the 1970s and 80s) got his start on the multi-part pilot episode of Battlestar Galactica in 1978. From there, he appeared in several classic TV series, including B.J. and the Bear, Quincy M.E., The Incredible Hulk, Days of Our Lives, Simon & Simon, M*A*S*H, The A-Team, and many more. Johnson continued to pop up across various TV shows throughout the 1990s and 2000s, including the likes of Jake and the Fatman, Party of Five, Melrose Place, Roswell, The Guardian, Judging Amy,...

Ed Ames, whose long career included hit recordings, TV stardom and Broadway roles, died May 21 in Los Angeles at 95. No cause was given.

Ames began his career in the 1950s as part of the singing Ames Brothers quartet, joining with his brothers Vic, Joe and Gene. The group had a hit with “Rag Mop” in 1950, and totaled 49 chart hits before ending their association in 1963. The group also had a syndicated TV program, The Ames Brothers Show.

Ames also branched off into a solo career, hitting the charts with “My Cup Runneth Over,” “Who Will Answer?” and “Try to Remember.”

Ames switched gears and did stage tours in the off-Broadway shows The Crucible and The Fantasticks, and then scored a starring role on Broadway in Carnival! He later starred with Kirk Douglas, Gene Wilder, and William Daniels in the Broadway production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Ed Ames and Darby Hinton in ‘Daniel Boone,...

Ed Ames, a member of the Ames Brothers singing quartet who starred in TV series “Daniel Boone” in the 1960s, died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 95.

Ed Ames and his brothers Vic, Joe and Gene had a hit with their version of “Rag Mop” in 1950. As a solo artist, he had hits with “Who Will Answer?,” “My Cup Runneth Over” and “Try to Remember.” In the 1950s, they had a syndicated TV program, “The Ames Brothers Show,” and 49 songs that charted before they broke up in 1963.

He then launched an acting career, which included off-Broadway performances in “The Crucible” and “The Fantasticks,” as well as a starring role on Broadway in “Carnival!” He starred with Kirk Douglas, Gene Wilder and William Daniels in the Broadway production of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

Although his background was Russian Jewish, Ames was cast several times as a Native American,...

CBS has picked up to series three of its four pilots, handing out formal orders to the Kathy Bates-led Matlock reboot, The Good Fight spinoff Elsbeth starring Carrie Preston, and the father-son comedy starring Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. that is now titled Poppa’s House.

Matlock, Elsbeth and Poppa’s House are the first scripted series orders at CBS for new entertainment president Amy Reisenbach. The former head of current programming replaced Kelly Kahl atop the network last year. Her tenure at the network goes back to 2005, when she was a manager in the current programming department, meaning her fingerprints are already all over CBS’ current schedule.

CBS, like other broadcast networks, drastically reduced the volume of pilot orders this year. The network developed only two dramas (Elsbeth and Matlock) and a pair of comedies (Jumpstart, House). All four are fully owned by CBS Studios as networks...

Josh Lucas plays a younger version of Yellowstone's John Dutton on the hit Paramount series, but here's a guide to his many other film and television credits. Lucas is the son of an ER doctor and a midwife. Instead of following his parents into medicine, the young Lucas decided to become an actor. Amid rumors of Kevin Costner leaving Yellowstone, there's been heavy speculation regarding the future of Lucas' role as the young version of Costner's character.

Indeed, though Lucas has had a long career prior to the Taylor Sheridan flagship show, he is mostly known today as the actor who plays young John Dutton. Apart from his resemblance to the Hollywood legend, Josh Lucas' performance in Yellowstone cements him as the only other actor who can actually do justice to playing the iconic rancher. While it remains unclear whether Costner is leaving Yellowstone or not, no such rumors have hounded Lucas,...

CBS has ordered pilots for a reboot of “Matlock” starring Kathy Bates and a spinoff of “The Good Wife” starring Carrie Preston, Variety has learned.

The new version of “Matlock” hails from Jennie Snyder Urman, who will write and executive produce the pilot under her Sutton Street Productions banner. Bates will executive produce in addition to starring. Joanna Klein of Sutton Street will also executive produce along with Eric Christian Olsen and John Will. Sutton Street is currently under an overall deal at CBS Studios, which will produce the pilot.

The official logline for the show states, “After achieving success in her younger years, the brilliant septuagenarian Madeline Matlock (Bates) rejoins the work force at a prestigious law firm where she uses her unassuming demeanor and wily tactics to win cases and expose corruption from within. Based on the classic television series of the same name.”

The original “Matlock” aired...

CBS is adding two famed attorneys to its roster.

Matlock, one of television’s most iconic crime dramas, is getting a new life at CBS. The Paramount Global-backed broadcast network has handed out a pilot order for a new take on the former defense attorney formerly played by Andy Griffith. Kathy Bates will take on the role of Madeline Matlock.

Additionally, The Good Wife/The Good Fight creators Robert and Michelle King are returning to CBS with the third series in the franchise, Elsbeth, with star Carrie Preston set to reprise her role in the drama that has also received a pilot order at the broadcast network. These are the first two drama pilot orders for CBS and are being eyed for the 2023-24 broadcast season.

Additionally, CBS is looking toward the 2024-25 broadcast season with dramas The Pact (which stems from its overall deal with the NAACP) and Sherlock Holmes entry Watson.

Click here to read the full article.

Tom Urich, an actor on Broadway and soap operas who also showed up on TV shows opposite his younger brother, the late Robert Urich, has died. He was 87.

Urich died July 17 of complications from a stroke and diabetes at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, his wife of 56 years, Judy, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Urich was a regular on the 1997 ABC miniseries Murder One: Diary of a Serial Killer and guest-starred on shows including Kate & Allie, Jake and the Fatman, Matlock, In Living Color, Silk Stalkings, Beverly Hills, 90210, Jag and The Practice.

He appeared on Broadway in Applause, Seesaw, Musical Chairs and, as Georges, in La Cage Aux Folles and on such soap operas as The Doctors, The Edge of Night, Search for Tomorrow, Another Life and Passions.

Alongside his brother, he worked on two episodes of ABC’s Vega in...

Vachik Mangassarian, a character actor with dozens of credits including Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Curb Your Enthusiasm and feature The Stoning of Soraya M., has died. He was 78.

His reps at McCaffrey Talent Management told Deadline that he died Saturday of Covid complications.

Born in Iran of Armenian descent in 1943, Mangassarian came to the U.S. in the mid-1960s, working in theater and occasionally returning to Iran, where he had roles in films including some by Iranian director Samuel Khachikian. He eventually landed his first Hollywood role in The South’s Shark (1978).

By the mid-’80s, he began scoring guest shots on such popular series as The Fall Guy, The A-Team, Sledge Hammer! and Murder, She Wrote. Mangassarian would work steadily through the 2010s, guesting on shows including Murphy Brown, Falcon Crest, Jake and the Fatman, NYPD Blue and Jag, along with some telefilms.

Mangassarian landed a key...

Bridget Hanley, star of the late ’60s TV western Here Come The Brides, died Wednesday. The 80-year-old actress had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and was living at the Motion Picture and Television Fund Wasserman Campus in Woodland Hills, according to the local paper in Edmunds, Washington, where she grew up.

Hanley played the female lead, Candy Pruitt, on ABC’s Brides from 1968-1970. Her character was the love interest of Jeremy Bolt — teen heartthrob Bobby Sherman. Bolt’s brother on the show was played by David Soul, who would soon find fame on Starsky & Hutch. The show was loosely based on Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

The actress married E. W. Swackhamer, Jr. a producer and director on Here Come the Brides, in 1969. They were together until he died in 1994.

Hanley worked throughout the ’70s and ’80s on some of the biggest shows on TV, mostly in guest-starring roles.

Romy Walthall, who starred in 1989’s The House of Usher opposite Oliver Reed and Donald Pleasence, was a regular on Steven Bochco’s Murder One and appeared on Hotel Malibu opposite Jennifer Lopez, has died at 57. Her son, Morgan Krantz, confirmed Walthall’s passing on Twitter.

Often going by the stage name Romy Windsor, the actress had a steady run of TV work in the ’80s and ’90s, including a recurring role on the short-lived TV series Man of the People starring James Garner and six episodes on another Bochco-created series, Civil Wars. Walthall also appeared on some of the biggest shows of the era including T.J. Hooker, Moonlighting, Quantum Leap, Jake and the Fatman, Matlock, L.A. Law, Diagnosis Murder and The X-Files.

Whitehall’s onscreen career began in 1984 with a trio of performances: a small part in the Jerry Bruckheimer/Don Simpson-produced film Thief of Hearts, two episodes...

Joel Steiger, who served as a writer, producer and consultant on some of the most successful television mystery series of the ’80s and ’90s including “Matlock,” “Jake and the Fatman” and “Diagnosis: Murder,” died Sunday in Los Angeles after a long illness. He was 79.

After moving to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of becoming a screenwriter, Steiger went on to write and produce hundreds of the most successful mystery and drama series of the ’80s and ’90s, including “Dynasty,” “Max Monroe,” the “Perry Mason” TV movies, and “Father Dowling Mysteries.”

He received the Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1983 for writing an episode of “Remington Steele” titled “In the Steele Of The Night.”

Steiger was born in New York City on March 11, 1942. Even though he had lived in Los Angeles since his 30s, Steiger remained a quintessential New Yorker all of his life. As a young man, he worked as...

David Schramm, a veteran character best known for his work on the ’90s NBC sitcom “Wings,” has died at age 73.

His death was announced Sunday by Margot Harley, co-founder of the New York-based theater troupe the Acting Company, of which Schramm was a founding member. The exact date and cause of death were not disclosed.

Schramm, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, came to New York City as a member of the first graduating class of Juilliard School. He appeared in dozens of theater productions on and off Broadway, including a 2009-10 Broadway revival of the musical “Finian’s Rainbow.” [

But he is best known for his supporting role on all eight seasons of “Wings,” as Roy Biggins, the owner of a rival Nantucket-based airline competing with an outfit run by brothers played by Tim Daly and Steven Weber. He appeared in all 172 episodes between...

Fred Silverman, the executive who became the only person in TV history to have headed programming for each of the Big Three broadcast networks, died on Thursday at his home in the Pacific Palisades, Calif. He was 82.

Silverman died with his family by his side.

During his prolific career, Silverman was credited with helping to launch some of the most successful shows and miniseries of all time, including “All in the Family,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Happy Days,” “The Waltons” and “Roots.”

After turning both CBS and ABC around in the ratings, Silverman failed to work his magic at NBC in the late 1970s and early ’80s. Once he left the Peacock net to branch out on his own with the Fred Silverman Co., Silverman forged another career as a producer, turning out a number of successful series, including “Matlock,” “In the Heat of the Night,” “Jake and the Fatman” and “Diagnosis Murder.

Fred Silverman, the legendary television producer and executive behind such hit shows as “All in the Family,” “Soap” and “Hill Street Blues,” died on Thursday. He was 82.

Silverman was a creative executive at CBS, and would later run both ABC and NBC as those networks’ president. At 25 years old, he was named head of daytime programming CBS. He got his start at Wgn-tv in Chicago and Wpix in New York.

During his long career, Silverman was responsible for CBS shows including “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “M*A*S*H,” “The Waltons,” “Good Times,” “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour,” “Kojak,” “Cannon,” “The Jeffersons” and the animated series “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!”

Also Read: Marj Dusay, Soap Opera Actress Known for 'All My Children,' Dies at 83

With ABC, Silverman greenlit “The Love Boat,” “Laverne & Shirley,” “Family,” “Donny & Marie,” “Three’s Company,” “Eight is Enough,” “The Bionic Woman” and “Good Morning America.” His...

Robert Forster, the longtime character actor who experienced a career resurgence after his Oscar-nominated performance in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown, has died at the age of 78.

The actor’s publicist confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter that Forster died Friday at his Los Angeles home following a battle with brain cancer.

Forster’s death came the same day his final role was released on Netflix: A reprisal of his Breaking Bad role of Ed “the Disappearer” in the spinoff film El Camino.

“With more than 100 film credits spanning six decades,...

Without much fanfare, a little show called The Seinfeld Chronicles debuted on television 30 years ago. At the time, the show hadn’t even been ordered as a series — it was initially a one-episode experiment. After it finished second in its time slot (behind Jake and the Fatman), NBC took a chance on the show. [...]

The post On ‘Seinfeld’s’ 30th Anniversary, Jerry’s Prouder Than Ever appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.

Kristoff St. John, the actor best-known for portraying Neil Winters on CBS’ long-running daytime soap “The Young and the Restless,” has died. He was 52.

His attorney Mark Geragos confirmed the news to Variety. Geragos also posted on Twitter, saying, “Few men had the unique strength, courage & sensitivity that @kristoffstjohn1 lived every single minute of every day. He impacted everyone he met and millions who he inspired and in turn admired him. On behalf of @MiaStJohnBoxer & @TheStJohnFamily thank you for all of your love.”

The Daytime Emmy Awards also noted St. John’s death via Twitter. “It is with unbelievable sadness that we say goodbye to our friend, #DaytimeEmmys winner @kristoffstjohn1. @YandR_CBS Rip.”

St. John received numerous awards, including nine Daytime Emmys, over the 25 years he worked on “The Young and the Restless.” His first major role on a soap opera was on NBC’s “Generations.” The show was canceled...

Chinese American actress Mai Tai Sing died on July 11. Sing appeared in numerous films and TV series and was a performer at San Francisco’s legendary Forbidden City nightclub. She was 94.

Sing died in Hawaii after battling heart disease according to the Los Angeles Times. Born Mae Tsang in Oakland on Dec. 22, 1923, Sing’s entertainment career started when she, without any experience in dance, became a chorus girl in Forbidden CIty’s all-Chinese shows in the ’40s.

She rose up in the ranks and became the dance partner of Wilbur Tai Sing. They toured the country and eventually married and had two daughters, but divorced in 1954.

She started to appear in TV and film in the ’50s when Asian Americans were barely seen on the screen. She appeared in episodes of Hong Kong and The New Adventures of China Smith. She went on to appear in Hawaii Five-o in 1975 and...

Comedian ‘apologises’ for Cockney accent in Mary Poppins.

Dick Van Dyke will receive the Britannia Award For Excellence In Television from BAFTA La in October.

The celebrated actor and comedian will collect his honour at the 2017 Amd British Academy Britannia Awards on October 27 in Beverly Hills.

The 91-year-old entertainer has earned five Emmys, a Tony, a Grammy, the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award, and induction into in Television Hall of Fame in a career spanning more than seven decades.

Television credits include The Dick Van Dyke Show, Jake And The Fatman, and Diagnosis Murder. In film he famously appeared in Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as well as Dick Tracy, and more recently the Night At The Museum films. He won a Tony for Bye Bye Birdie.

“I appreciate this opportunity to apologise to the members of BAFTA for inflicting on them the most atrocious Cockney accent in the history of cinema,” Van Dyke said...

Blame The Bad Seed (1956) for every murderous moppet that has skipped across the screen in subsequent years. Village of the Damned, The Omen, The Good Son, The Children, and many more have explored the taboo of killer kiddies. One of the oddest of the bunch is Ed Hunt’s Bloody Birthday (1981), a ridiculously fun turn with not just one, but three mini-Mansons on hand to clean up the schoolyard.

Well, that’s a bit of a misnomer, as our rascally trio tends to focus on grown ups, what with their stupid rules against homicide and premature burial. (Don’t worry – one of the protagonists is a classmate who is put in mortal danger. All’s fair.) Bloody Birthday was rolled out twice; first in limited release in April of ’81, and then in ’86 (also limited release). The film made its money back but didn’t earn any good grace from critics...

A few years ago, when I was a fledgling screenwriter, I pitched a TV show. It was an idea cooked up with legendary producer Warren Littlefield, so I had the opportunity to tour the networks and cable channels with our project. The show was called Coup. The idea was simple: a young Los Angeles club promoter gets in over his head when he decides to overthrow a foreign country in order to save his mother, who had been captured by that country. Okay, it wasn’t that simple. It was quite complicated, in fact, and I wrote a precise outline that I had memorized and could say in about 8 minutes if my nerves remained steady and I didn’t throw up all over myself. As part of the outline, I had a list of 12 things a person would need in order to overthrow a country, (an army, an inside man,...

Andrew time travels 35 years back to revisit the theatrical release of the Buck Rogers In The 25th Century film...

Once synonymous with science fiction, the phrase ‘That Buck Rogers Stuff’ once called to mind everything the average person thought about Science Fiction - ray guns, rocket ships and robots. Certainly in the 1928, when the then-christened Anthony Rogers made his debut, he was something pretty unique in Sci-Fi - the space adventurer as swash-buckler. Given the nickname ‘Buck’ by John F. Dille, the novel, Armageddon, was adapted into the comic strips in 1929 and then in 1932, Buck Rogers became the first major Science Fiction radio drama. 1939 saw Larry ‘Buster’ Crabbe take on the role for a 12-part serial. All of this is to say that Buck Rogers was around for quite a while before many people of my generation discovered him.

Buck Rogers In The 25th Century arrived on UK shores via the medium of cinema.

The news that NBC is planning a remake/reboot of "Murder, She Wrote" starring Oscar winner Octavia Spencer unleashed waves of snark online Thursday (Oct. 24). It's the latest example of TV networks and studios turning to old properties in the hopes that a new audience will take to them.

Leaving aside the question of whether such reboots actually work -- recent history shows a lot more misses than hits -- the "Murder, She Wrote" news got us thinking: If we were profit-hungry TV executives, what other shows might be ripe for a 21st-century update? Some ideas, and the networks that would call them home:

"Diagnosis Murder" (ABC): As with the CBS original, a renowned physician moonlights as a police consultant and often ends up working with his detective son. Dick Van Dyke and his real-life son Barry starred the first time around; the reboot would reunite on-screen father and...

Prolific television director Don Medford, who is perhaps best known for the two-episode finale of the 1960s drama The Fugitive, died December 12 at West Hills Hospital and Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 95. His family reported the death Wednesday. The 1967 conclusion of Fugitive, the popular series about a man falsely accused of murdering his wife (played by David Janssen) and relentlessly pursued around the country by a determined detective (Barry Morse), was seen by a then-record of an estimated 78 million viewers — a milestone that stood until the “Who Shot J.R.” episode of Dallas drew an estimated 83 million in 1980. Medford’s TV career stretched from the early 1950s Tales Of Tomorrow through the late ’80s Jake And The Fatman. Among the many major and varied series he worked on were the anthologies Alfred Hitchock Presents and The Twilight Zone, The Untouchables with Robert Stack, M Squad with Lee Marvin,...

Chicago – With roles as diverse as Screech, Little Orphan Annie, Jake (from “Jake and the Fatman”) and Angie in the film “Kick-Ass,” the era from the 1980s and beyond are nicely personified by Dustin Diamond (“Saved by the Bell”), Aileen Quinn (“Annie”) Joe Penny (Jake) and Yancy Butler (“Kick-Ass”).

They appeared last March at ‘The Hollywood Show,’ a twice-a-year event in which fans can mingle, take photographs and get autographs from the participants – like this nostalgic group of actors – who appear there. There is also a great opportunity to purchase memorabilia from a host of showbiz vendors, all in one room. The fall session of The Hollywood Show will take place at the Hilton Rosemont Hotel on River Road in Rosemont, Ill, on September 7th, 8th and 9th, 2012. For complete details click here.

HollywoodChicago.com was there to interview all the actors from TV and film. Photographer Joe Arce took...

Chicago – “The Hollywood Show” comes back to Chicagoland next weekend, September 7th, 8th and 9th, and with it the usual fun line-up of celebrity TV and movie favorites. The autumn show appearances include Pam Grier, Loni Anderson, Robert Loggia, Connie Stevens, Lainie Kazan and June Lockhart.

“The Hollywood Show” is a twice-a-year event in which fans can mingle, take photographs and get autographs from the celebrities that appear there. There is also a great opportunity to purchase memorabilia from a host of showbiz vendors, all in one room. The Hollywood Show will take place at the Hilton Rosemont Hotel on River Road in Rosemont, Ill. For complete details click here.

HollywoodChicago attended the spring 2012 show, and captured Exclusive Portraits by photographer Joe Arce. Click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through the slideshow or jump directly to individual photos with the captioned links below. All images © Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.

Filed under: TV News

Cinematographer Dennis Hall died Thurs., Oct. 20, while shooting the new USA Network series, 'Common Law.' He was 54.

Hall was in New Orleans with the crew filming when he suffered a heart attack in his hotel. His roommate, a camera operator, called the paramedics. They were unable to revive Hall.

"He could walk into a room that was deathly quiet or filled with negative energy and immediately liven everything up," cinematographer John C. Flinn III, who took Hall with him as his assistant on the 1980s TV shows 'Magnum, P.I.' and 'Jake and the Fatman,' told the Hollywood Reporter. "He was a great first assistant, a great cameraman and a great cinematographer. I'm so proud of him."

 

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After all the buildup, Conan O'Brien's return to television on TBS Monday night was a modest, lowkey and slightly awkward affair - Seth Rogen, the first celebrity guest on what is now called Conan, was promoting The Green Hornet, a movie that doesn't even open until January. Both he and O'Brien seemed aware that they had committed an unstated, inexplicable breach of talk-show protocol. It was as if Rogen had been expected to bring coffee cake and instead showed up with a plate of uncooked ribs. But O'Brien is still dealing with the fallout of the past year's talk-show...

Before he became famous as the "Fatman" in TV's "Jake and the Fatman", William Conrad was a fairly prolific director, and one of his best films (to this woman anyway) was 1965's Two on a Guillotine, which is bowing on DVD for the first time on June 22nd.

Cult favorite suspense/horror film Two on a Guillotine stars Connie Stevens as the daughter of a demented magician played by the iconic Cesar Romero. It has been remastered for this release and is available exclusively via WarnerArchive.com.

Synopsis:

Twenty years ago a little accident with a guillotine trick left magician Duke Duquesne’s wife and on-stage assistant without a head ... and their baby daughter, Cassie, without a mother. Now The Great Duquesne may have another trick up his sleeve. He dies, leaving Cassie a sizable inheritance if she’ll spend seven nights in his spooky mansion. With a fearless young reporter at her side,...

Name three shows that scored bigger series-finale audiences than 24. Name three shows that scored bigger series-finale audiences than Law & Order. And explain why you shouldn't. Rub it in, that is. The answers—and more questions—in the season's-almost-over TV ratings quiz: 1. Ok, for fun and giggles, give us three legendary shows that went out with bigger bangs than last night's 24. If you said Jake and the Fatman, Nash Bridges and The Nanny, or a combo of nearly 100 other series, you'd be correct. (Here's Wikipedia's handy list to the most-watched series finales of all time.) For the record, Jack Bauer's final escape averaged an estimated 8.9 million, below its season...

Screenwriter Franklin Thompson has died at the age of 75.

Thompson, who also worked as an agent for writers, passed away on 2 December at his home in California, according to industry trade paper Daily Variety.

He began his career in Hollywood as a junior agent at the H.N. Swanson Agency, before racking up writing credits on 1982's Forced Vengeance and several TV series including Standing Tall and Jake and the Fatman.

Thompson also served as an executive consultant on Perry Mason.

A memorial will be held in his honour on 31 January in Pasadena, California.

John C. Flinn III will receive the American Society of Cinematographers Career Achievement in Television Award at the 24th annual Asc Outstanding Achievement Awards on Feb. 27 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Century City.

Flinn has earned seven Emmy nominations for "Magnum P.I.," "Jake and the Fatman," "The Operation," "Babylon 5" and "Hunter: Back in the Force." He was also nominated for three Asc Awards for "Jake" and took top honors for an episode of that show in 1993.

"John Flinn's consistently artful and imaginative cinematography has earned the admiration of his peers," said Asc president Michael Goi. "He has made significant contributions to compelling storytelling in a diverse range of successful and memorable dramatic television series, movies and miniseries."...

Lea Thompson is on the case for Jane Doe. Hallmark Channel has tapped the actress to star in Jane Doe, one of three Mystery Movie franchises set to premiere on the cable network in January. In Jane Doe, Thompson will portray Cathy Davis, a soccer mom with an extraordinary ability to solve puzzles who has a secret life as an independent contractor working for the government. Hallmark also has cast Joe Penny (CBS' Jake and the Fatman) as Cathy's former partner in a top-secret government operation.