Sketch comedy duo McCall and Brill thought they were about to have their big break, getting booked on the star-making platform of their time: “The Ed Sullivan Show.” The only problem: it turned out that they were one of the acts performing in between sets from the Beatles making their American debut.
Mitzi McCall, who died this week, shared the tale of woe alongside her partner and husband Charlie Brill on a classic episode of NPR’s iconic show “This American Life.”
“If you got a shot on ‘Ed Sulivan,’ you had a shot at stardom,” Brill said.
They figured out what they wanted to perform, rehearsing their sketches repeatedly and performing them at a Santa Monica club to what Brill called “a lovely, lovely reaction. And we told everybody. In fact, I think I sky-wrote it over Hollywood. We’re on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show.’ Yoo-hoo!”
The pair were...
Mitzi McCall, who died this week, shared the tale of woe alongside her partner and husband Charlie Brill on a classic episode of NPR’s iconic show “This American Life.”
“If you got a shot on ‘Ed Sulivan,’ you had a shot at stardom,” Brill said.
They figured out what they wanted to perform, rehearsing their sketches repeatedly and performing them at a Santa Monica club to what Brill called “a lovely, lovely reaction. And we told everybody. In fact, I think I sky-wrote it over Hollywood. We’re on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show.’ Yoo-hoo!”
The pair were...
- 8/10/2024
- by Mike Roe
- The Wrap
If you had to pinpoint the start of the 1960s — that is, the counterculture revolution — two events are almost universally agreed on as the era’s formative earthquakes. One was the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The other (the real spark to the tinderbox) was the first appearance of the Beatles on “Ed Sullivan,” which happened only 11 weeks later, and which all but answered the assassination by saying, “Here is joy. Here is hope. Here’s a new way to be.”
Yet there was another global media phenomenon that took place over a slightly longer period of time, and it was one that was just as defining of the era’s new energy. That was the scandalous romance of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. We tend to think of that saga as, simply, the apotheosis of celebrity gossip. Yet as it plays out in Nanette Burstein’s luscious and enveloping...
Yet there was another global media phenomenon that took place over a slightly longer period of time, and it was one that was just as defining of the era’s new energy. That was the scandalous romance of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. We tend to think of that saga as, simply, the apotheosis of celebrity gossip. Yet as it plays out in Nanette Burstein’s luscious and enveloping...
- 8/7/2024
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
June Walker Rogers, a singer, dancer and comedian who performed on Broadway and television and wrote several musicals and a book about how to survive in show business, has died. She was 97.
She died July 8 at her home in Westport, Connecticut, her family announced.
Born in Steubenville, Ohio, and raised in Queens, June L. Walker started dancing at age 5 and soon had a nightclub act, appearing on bills with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Louis Prima, Don Rickles, Rodney Dangerfield and, when he was known as the singer “Calypso Gene,” Louis Farrakhan.
After being placed in an accelerated pilot program for gifted children in the New York school system, she graduated from high school at 15. She accepted a scholarship to Columbia University but left college to make her Broadway debut in 1944 in the comedy revue Laffing Room Only, starring Ole Olsen & Chic Johnson.
The platinum blond returned...
She died July 8 at her home in Westport, Connecticut, her family announced.
Born in Steubenville, Ohio, and raised in Queens, June L. Walker started dancing at age 5 and soon had a nightclub act, appearing on bills with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Louis Prima, Don Rickles, Rodney Dangerfield and, when he was known as the singer “Calypso Gene,” Louis Farrakhan.
After being placed in an accelerated pilot program for gifted children in the New York school system, she graduated from high school at 15. She accepted a scholarship to Columbia University but left college to make her Broadway debut in 1944 in the comedy revue Laffing Room Only, starring Ole Olsen & Chic Johnson.
The platinum blond returned...
- 8/3/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jay Leno is known for two things: hosting The Tonight Show and preventing other people from hosting The Tonight Show. Okay, three things if you count repeatedly crashing vintage motor vehicles. The point is, Leno isn’t generally known for being a great actor, even despite the fact that, in his pre-talk show days, he literally starred in a Rush Hour-esque action-comedy with Pat Morita. It wasn’t good.
Leno later admitted that his only starring vehicle, Collision Course, was “terrible” and the clunky process put him off of film acting entirely.
But despite that disastrous experience, Leno was apparently still game to co-star in an upcoming movie. And it’s a drama. About The Beatles. Seriously.
Midas Man tells the story of Brian Epstein, who famously discovered and managed Liverpool’s Fab Four before tragically dying at the age of 32. The promising film stars legit dramatic actors like Eddie Marsan,...
Leno later admitted that his only starring vehicle, Collision Course, was “terrible” and the clunky process put him off of film acting entirely.
But despite that disastrous experience, Leno was apparently still game to co-star in an upcoming movie. And it’s a drama. About The Beatles. Seriously.
Midas Man tells the story of Brian Epstein, who famously discovered and managed Liverpool’s Fab Four before tragically dying at the age of 32. The promising film stars legit dramatic actors like Eddie Marsan,...
- 7/25/2024
- Cracked
Steven Spielberg is known for being one of the most talented and respected figures in Hollywood. He has been a part of some of the most critically acclaimed films of all time, making him a timeless icon in the industry. Since success brings forth influence as well, it can be assumed that he has a lot of power in the film industry.
Steven Spielberg | Photo by Gage Skidmore, licensed under Cc By-sa 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Although he has mostly used it for the right reasons, he also has a reputation for being ruthless when pushed. Megan Fox famously experienced the brunt of this trait. However, many believe Spielberg to also be the reason behind Shia Labeouf’s professional shortcomings. However, some would like to disagree.
Steven Spielberg’s Play With Megan Fox’s Career
During the filming of the cult-classic Transformers series, it was well known that Megan Fox was not getting along with director,...
Steven Spielberg | Photo by Gage Skidmore, licensed under Cc By-sa 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Although he has mostly used it for the right reasons, he also has a reputation for being ruthless when pushed. Megan Fox famously experienced the brunt of this trait. However, many believe Spielberg to also be the reason behind Shia Labeouf’s professional shortcomings. However, some would like to disagree.
Steven Spielberg’s Play With Megan Fox’s Career
During the filming of the cult-classic Transformers series, it was well known that Megan Fox was not getting along with director,...
- 7/24/2024
- by Ananya Godboley
- FandomWire
Jane Fonda and Bob Newhart’s paths didn’t cross much over the many decades of their respective careers — but in the last eight years, they became neighbors and friends, as Fonda wrote in an Instagram tribute to Newhart, who died Thursday at age 94. “He was just like on the screen: understated, kind, wry, and very funny,” Fonda wrote on Instagram. “As I’m the oldest one around here these days, Bob liked to have me come over to reminisce with him about the old timers, Red Skelton, Ed Sullivan,...
- 7/19/2024
- by Brian Hiatt
- Rollingstone.com
Bob Newhart, the iconic comedian and actor who launched a more than six-decade run in show business in 1960 with his introduction of a deadpan, stammering everyman character whose popularity he rode well into his 80’s with a Grammy-winning comedy album and a pair of beloved Emmy-nominated sitcoms, is dead. He was 94 and passed away at his home on Thursday following a short illness. His longtime publicist Jerry Digney announced his death in a press release.
Newhart burst on the scene in 1960 with his album “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart,” the first comedy album ever to top the Billboard charts. It won three Grammy Awards in ’61, including Album of the Year, Spoken-Word Comedy Album and New Artist. Newhart’s first two albums of comedy monologues (the second called “The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back!”) in fact held Billboard’s top two spots simultaneously, a rare feat.
SEECelebrity Deaths 2024: In Memoriam...
Newhart burst on the scene in 1960 with his album “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart,” the first comedy album ever to top the Billboard charts. It won three Grammy Awards in ’61, including Album of the Year, Spoken-Word Comedy Album and New Artist. Newhart’s first two albums of comedy monologues (the second called “The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back!”) in fact held Billboard’s top two spots simultaneously, a rare feat.
SEECelebrity Deaths 2024: In Memoriam...
- 7/19/2024
- by Ray Richmond and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
On Sunday June 30 2024, MeTV broadcasts A Salute to the Red, White & Blue: Memorable Performances from the Ed Sullivan Show!
Episode Summary
In this episode, viewers are in for a nostalgic treat as MeTV presents “A Salute to the Red, White & Blue: Memorable Performances from the Ed Sullivan Show.” This special episode delves into Ed Sullivan’s patriotic spirit, showcasing how he united the nation’s performers to show support for the military efforts abroad during the show’s twenty-three-year run.
Audiences can expect a trip down memory lane as they witness iconic performances that not only entertained but also uplifted the spirits of Americans during challenging times. From stirring musical acts to heartfelt tributes, the episode highlights the significance of the Ed Sullivan Show in fostering a sense of unity and pride in the country.
Through a curated selection of performances, viewers will witness firsthand the power of music and entertainment in bringing people together.
Episode Summary
In this episode, viewers are in for a nostalgic treat as MeTV presents “A Salute to the Red, White & Blue: Memorable Performances from the Ed Sullivan Show.” This special episode delves into Ed Sullivan’s patriotic spirit, showcasing how he united the nation’s performers to show support for the military efforts abroad during the show’s twenty-three-year run.
Audiences can expect a trip down memory lane as they witness iconic performances that not only entertained but also uplifted the spirits of Americans during challenging times. From stirring musical acts to heartfelt tributes, the episode highlights the significance of the Ed Sullivan Show in fostering a sense of unity and pride in the country.
Through a curated selection of performances, viewers will witness firsthand the power of music and entertainment in bringing people together.
- 6/30/2024
- by US Posts
- TV Regular
This Sunday on MeTV at 10:00 Pm, viewers are in for a patriotic treat with “A Salute to the Red, White & Blue: Memorable Performances from the Ed Sullivan Show.” This special program delves into the historical significance of the Ed Sullivan Show and its role in rallying performers to support the military effort abroad during its twenty-three-year run. Ed Sullivan’s patriotism shines through as the show becomes a platform for showcasing the nation’s talent while also honoring the brave men and women serving the country.
Audiences can expect to be taken on a nostalgic journey through some of the most iconic performances that celebrated the spirit of America. From stirring musical tributes to heartwarming acts of solidarity, the show captures the essence of unity and support during challenging times. Ed Sullivan’s influence in bringing together diverse talents under the banner of patriotism is truly commendable and continues to resonate with viewers today.
Audiences can expect to be taken on a nostalgic journey through some of the most iconic performances that celebrated the spirit of America. From stirring musical tributes to heartwarming acts of solidarity, the show captures the essence of unity and support during challenging times. Ed Sullivan’s influence in bringing together diverse talents under the banner of patriotism is truly commendable and continues to resonate with viewers today.
- 6/23/2024
- by Jules Byrd
- TV Everyday
Who is the best male TV star of all time? Our photo gallery above takes on the tough task of ranking the 50 greatest actors and performers. Agree or disagree with our choices?
With over 70 years of television to consider, we had to provide ourselves with a few rules to help simplify things. One of those was that every man in our gallery must have been an ongoing leading star at some point, preferably more often than not. That’s why you will not see such classic supporting actors as Art Carney, Tim Conway, Don Knotts, Peter Dinklage and more. We also do not include any news/sports anchors or journalists such as Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow, Peter Jennings, Howard Cosell since they are not performers.
In order to place them in the rankings, we were looking at a combination of quality (top rated shows with the public or critics...
With over 70 years of television to consider, we had to provide ourselves with a few rules to help simplify things. One of those was that every man in our gallery must have been an ongoing leading star at some point, preferably more often than not. That’s why you will not see such classic supporting actors as Art Carney, Tim Conway, Don Knotts, Peter Dinklage and more. We also do not include any news/sports anchors or journalists such as Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow, Peter Jennings, Howard Cosell since they are not performers.
In order to place them in the rankings, we were looking at a combination of quality (top rated shows with the public or critics...
- 6/4/2024
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
George Maksian, who spent 44 years as a film and TV columnist for the New York Daily News at a time when it had the largest circulation in the U.S., died at 94 on May 23. No cause was given.
Working out of the newspaper’s former home on E. 42nd St. in Manhattan, Maksian covered the celebrity beat and was widely syndicated.
His interview list included Ed Sullivan, Howard Stern, Johnny Carson, Barbara Walters, David Letterman and Bette Midler.
But Maksian held a special reverence for Mike Connors of TV’s Mannix, a fellow Armenian-American. Both were born of parents who escaped the Armenian genocide.
Maksian once said sportscaster Howard Cosell wrote a four-page letter to the editors complaining about his boxing coverage.
Maksian reported that Cosell had complained about being forced by ABC to continue covering boxing, objecting to the brutality. But Maksian found out that Cosell’s contract allowed...
Working out of the newspaper’s former home on E. 42nd St. in Manhattan, Maksian covered the celebrity beat and was widely syndicated.
His interview list included Ed Sullivan, Howard Stern, Johnny Carson, Barbara Walters, David Letterman and Bette Midler.
But Maksian held a special reverence for Mike Connors of TV’s Mannix, a fellow Armenian-American. Both were born of parents who escaped the Armenian genocide.
Maksian once said sportscaster Howard Cosell wrote a four-page letter to the editors complaining about his boxing coverage.
Maksian reported that Cosell had complained about being forced by ABC to continue covering boxing, objecting to the brutality. But Maksian found out that Cosell’s contract allowed...
- 5/29/2024
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Watch most comedians long enough and you’ll start to hear the same stories. But watch Stephen Colbert long enough and you’ll always find he has a new reason for audiences to fall in love with his wife, Evie.
On Sunday, April 21 at The Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, California, “The Late Show” host and Ben Schwartz closed out PaleyFest LA 2024 with a wide-ranging and goofy Q&a that included Colbert retelling some of his career-best stories while gently negging his interviewer’s questioning style.
“I will tell you a question I have been asked before,” Colbert quipped, turning Schwartz’ first prompt back on the actor in a good nature. “It’s ‘What’s a question you haven’t been asked before?'”
“And Ok, we’re going to the next question, you guys!,” Schwartz said with a laugh.
Always well-paired for these kinds of media events, the improv...
On Sunday, April 21 at The Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, California, “The Late Show” host and Ben Schwartz closed out PaleyFest LA 2024 with a wide-ranging and goofy Q&a that included Colbert retelling some of his career-best stories while gently negging his interviewer’s questioning style.
“I will tell you a question I have been asked before,” Colbert quipped, turning Schwartz’ first prompt back on the actor in a good nature. “It’s ‘What’s a question you haven’t been asked before?'”
“And Ok, we’re going to the next question, you guys!,” Schwartz said with a laugh.
Always well-paired for these kinds of media events, the improv...
- 4/24/2024
- by Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
The Pretty Little Liars are back for season two and this time, they have to go to summer school!
Dubbed Pretty Little Liars: Summer School, the second season of the Max drama series sees the addition of several new faces, including a new A villain, and even the return of an actress from the original ABC Family/Freeform version of Pretty Little Liars.
Keep reading to find out more…
Here’s a synopsis: Following the harrowing events of Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, our Pretty Little Liars face a fate worse than death – summer school. However, Millwood High isn’t the only thing getting in the way of their fun summer jobs and new, dreamy love interests. A new villain, who may or may not have a connection to A, has come to town and is going to put them all to the test.
Bailee Madison, Chandler Kinney, Zaria,...
Dubbed Pretty Little Liars: Summer School, the second season of the Max drama series sees the addition of several new faces, including a new A villain, and even the return of an actress from the original ABC Family/Freeform version of Pretty Little Liars.
Keep reading to find out more…
Here’s a synopsis: Following the harrowing events of Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, our Pretty Little Liars face a fate worse than death – summer school. However, Millwood High isn’t the only thing getting in the way of their fun summer jobs and new, dreamy love interests. A new villain, who may or may not have a connection to A, has come to town and is going to put them all to the test.
Bailee Madison, Chandler Kinney, Zaria,...
- 4/18/2024
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
Jean-Paul Vignon, the romantic French vocalist and actor who impressed audiences on both sides of the Atlantic during an eight-decade career, died March 22 of liver cancer in Beverly Hills, his family announced. He was 89.
Performing a repertoire of contemporary pop and American standards, Vignon debuted in the U.S. in 1963 at the famed New York supper club The Blue Angel, where he opened for stand-up comic Woody Allen.
Ed Sullivan would soon showcase him on his Sunday night CBS variety show in eight appearances — including one in which he sang a duet with young Liza Minnelli — and he became a regular guest on Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin’s programs.
Signed to Columbia Records, Vignon released his first U.S. album, Because I Love You, in 1964. Three years later, he had a supporting role opposite William Holden and Cliff Robertson in the World War II film The Devil’s Brigade.
In...
Performing a repertoire of contemporary pop and American standards, Vignon debuted in the U.S. in 1963 at the famed New York supper club The Blue Angel, where he opened for stand-up comic Woody Allen.
Ed Sullivan would soon showcase him on his Sunday night CBS variety show in eight appearances — including one in which he sang a duet with young Liza Minnelli — and he became a regular guest on Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin’s programs.
Signed to Columbia Records, Vignon released his first U.S. album, Because I Love You, in 1964. Three years later, he had a supporting role opposite William Holden and Cliff Robertson in the World War II film The Devil’s Brigade.
In...
- 4/3/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It was the fall of 1967. The Summer of Love had just drawn to a close. Teens and twentysomethings, when they weren't studying or punching the clock, were down for a revolution. They wanted to change the world, and, in the process, cheese off their parents. And there was no better way to accomplish the latter than to switch on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour."
Dick and Tom Smothers didn't look like troublemakers, but their CBS variety show had quickly become an annoyance for the so-called "Tiffany Network." They were a hit with their target demographic, which was, ironically, the problem. Their hip young writing staff was relentlessly satirizing the increasingly uneasy state of the world, which didn't sit well with advertisers or politically conservative executives. And while it was far from provocative to book edgy musical acts, the artists appearing on the Smothers' show were getting young folks to question...
Dick and Tom Smothers didn't look like troublemakers, but their CBS variety show had quickly become an annoyance for the so-called "Tiffany Network." They were a hit with their target demographic, which was, ironically, the problem. Their hip young writing staff was relentlessly satirizing the increasingly uneasy state of the world, which didn't sit well with advertisers or politically conservative executives. And while it was far from provocative to book edgy musical acts, the artists appearing on the Smothers' show were getting young folks to question...
- 3/24/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Steve Lawrence, a king among easy-listening crooners who rocketed to fame in the ’50s and ’60s as half of the duo Steve and Eydie, died Thursday at age 88. Lawrence died at home in Los Angeles, and the cause of death was complications from Alzheimer’s disease, according to a spokesperson for the family, Susan DuBow.
Lawrence’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis had finally put an end to his touring career in 2019, after a run in the public eye that spanned six and a half decades.
Lawrence was preceded in death in 2013 by his wife, Eydie Gormé, with whom he enjoyed nearly unparalleled success as a performing couple during their heyday as touring artists and TV stars in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. The couple had continued to tour together through 2009.
His colleagues began to weigh in Thursday. “Steve was one of my favorite guests on my variety show,” Carol Burnett said,...
Lawrence’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis had finally put an end to his touring career in 2019, after a run in the public eye that spanned six and a half decades.
Lawrence was preceded in death in 2013 by his wife, Eydie Gormé, with whom he enjoyed nearly unparalleled success as a performing couple during their heyday as touring artists and TV stars in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. The couple had continued to tour together through 2009.
His colleagues began to weigh in Thursday. “Steve was one of my favorite guests on my variety show,” Carol Burnett said,...
- 3/7/2024
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
Elvis Presley was many people’s celebrity crush. He commanded audiences of screaming fans and had affairs with a number of his co-stars in movies. According to those who knew him, he was the most charismatic person they’d ever met. Still, he didn’t win everyone over right away. One of Elvis’ biggest crushes didn’t think much of him at all before they met.
Elvis’ celebrity crush didn’t hold him in high regard before she met him
In 1956, Elvis starred in his debut film, Love Me Tender, alongside Debra Paget. Paget was a glamorous, well-established actor, and Elvis immediately fell for her. He confessed to his friends that he had a massive crush. They believed this crush stuck with him for a while, possibly even influencing his relationship with Priscilla Presley.
“If you look at her in those earlier pictures, you will see she had a decided likeness to Priscilla Presley,...
Elvis’ celebrity crush didn’t hold him in high regard before she met him
In 1956, Elvis starred in his debut film, Love Me Tender, alongside Debra Paget. Paget was a glamorous, well-established actor, and Elvis immediately fell for her. He confessed to his friends that he had a massive crush. They believed this crush stuck with him for a while, possibly even influencing his relationship with Priscilla Presley.
“If you look at her in those earlier pictures, you will see she had a decided likeness to Priscilla Presley,...
- 3/1/2024
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Elvis Presley and The Beatles both made massive, widely-viewed appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show in the early days of their careers. The choice to have both acts on the show was a good one for Ed Sullivan; both Elvis and The Beatles drew millions of viewers. Which act brought in a larger audience, though?
Elvis and The Beatles both made massive debuts on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’
In 1956, Elvis made his debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. Sullivan initially said he would not have Elvis on the show because he didn’t think he was appropriate for family viewing. After his competitor, The Steve Allen Show, trounced Sullivan in ratings when he had Elvis on, Sullivan reversed his stance.
This decision was a good one. Elvis agreed to make three appearances on the show. On his debut performance, 60 million viewers tuned in (via The Ed Sullivan Show).
In 1964, The Beatles appeared on the show.
Elvis and The Beatles both made massive debuts on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’
In 1956, Elvis made his debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. Sullivan initially said he would not have Elvis on the show because he didn’t think he was appropriate for family viewing. After his competitor, The Steve Allen Show, trounced Sullivan in ratings when he had Elvis on, Sullivan reversed his stance.
This decision was a good one. Elvis agreed to make three appearances on the show. On his debut performance, 60 million viewers tuned in (via The Ed Sullivan Show).
In 1964, The Beatles appeared on the show.
- 2/28/2024
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
In 1956 and 1964, respectively, Elvis Presley and The Beatles made appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. This was a major opportunity for both acts as it broadcast them into the living rooms of millions. The show also provided Elvis and The Beatles with sizable paychecks. Both walked away with padded wallets, but which act made more money?
Both Elvis and The Beatles received big paydays for appearing on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’
In 1964, Beatlemania hit the United States in full force when the band appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. That year, they made three appearances on the show, with their first being on Feb. 9. Their performance drew millions of viewers and flooded the studio with requests from people who wanted to see them live. Per NBC News, they earned $10,000 for their three performances.
This was nothing compared to what Elvis made eight years earlier. While Sullivan initially didn’t want...
Both Elvis and The Beatles received big paydays for appearing on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’
In 1964, Beatlemania hit the United States in full force when the band appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. That year, they made three appearances on the show, with their first being on Feb. 9. Their performance drew millions of viewers and flooded the studio with requests from people who wanted to see them live. Per NBC News, they earned $10,000 for their three performances.
This was nothing compared to what Elvis made eight years earlier. While Sullivan initially didn’t want...
- 2/26/2024
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
In 1956, Elvis Presley appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time. Millions of people tuned in to watch his performance, and Elvis would go on to appear on the show several more times. Despite the success of his appearance, Sullivan initially did not want Elvis on his show. When asked if he would allow the young musician on, Sullivan responded with a resounding no.
Ed Sullivan did not initially want Elvis on his show
In 1956, Elvis was on an atmospheric rise to success. He had begun recording with RCA Victor, a deal that brought him new wealth and opportunities. Songs like “Heartbreak Hotel” were massive hits and he began making television appearances. Still, his career was not without controversy.
Many felt that his hip-shaking dance moves were lewd and should be censored. After his dancing on The Milton Berle Show shocked audiences, critics rushed to condemn him. Sullivan was among them,...
Ed Sullivan did not initially want Elvis on his show
In 1956, Elvis was on an atmospheric rise to success. He had begun recording with RCA Victor, a deal that brought him new wealth and opportunities. Songs like “Heartbreak Hotel” were massive hits and he began making television appearances. Still, his career was not without controversy.
Many felt that his hip-shaking dance moves were lewd and should be censored. After his dancing on The Milton Berle Show shocked audiences, critics rushed to condemn him. Sullivan was among them,...
- 2/21/2024
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Sixty years ago, on February 9, 1964: The Beatles make their legendary American debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. A record-shattering 73 million people tune in to see John, Paul, George, and Ringo for the first time. It’s the biggest audience any musicians have ever faced. But there’s no evidence that any of the Fab Four are the least bit worried they might fail. The U.S.A. gets a look at these cocky kids, hears their radical new electric noise, and—crucially—sees a theater full of girl fans screaming in ecstasy.
- 2/9/2024
- by Rob Sheffield
- Rollingstone.com
Cyndi Lauper’s music doesn’t sound much like The Beatles’ Meet the Beatles! Despite that, she said Meet the Beatles! changed her life. She explained how John Lennon, in particular, inspired her. Lauper later covered one of John’s most important solo songs.
Cyndi Lauper said The Beatles’ ‘Meet the Beatles!’ felt like it belonged to her
During a 2022 interview with Pitchfork, Lauper discussed her early musical influences. “My mother had a beautiful voice,” she said. “She played a lot of Italian music. She played Puccini.” Lauper said Puccini’s Madame Butterfly was one of the soundtracks of her childhood, alongside classic Broadway musicals like The King and I, South Pacific, and My Fair Lady.
The Beatles’ Meet the Beatles! changed everything. “My sister Ellen and I didn’t know there would be anything that would be called ‘our music’ until we saw The Beatles on Ed Sullivan,” she recalled.
Cyndi Lauper said The Beatles’ ‘Meet the Beatles!’ felt like it belonged to her
During a 2022 interview with Pitchfork, Lauper discussed her early musical influences. “My mother had a beautiful voice,” she said. “She played a lot of Italian music. She played Puccini.” Lauper said Puccini’s Madame Butterfly was one of the soundtracks of her childhood, alongside classic Broadway musicals like The King and I, South Pacific, and My Fair Lady.
The Beatles’ Meet the Beatles! changed everything. “My sister Ellen and I didn’t know there would be anything that would be called ‘our music’ until we saw The Beatles on Ed Sullivan,” she recalled.
- 12/29/2023
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Selma Archerd, the widow of longtime Variety columnist Army Archerd who recurred as a nurse on Melrose Place and appeared in the first Die Hard and in two Lethal Weapon movies, died Dec. 14, her family announced. She was 98.
Archerd played Mrs. Claus in Richard Donner’s Scrooged (1988), and she also showed up on the big screen in Arthur Hiller’s W.C. Fields and Me (1975), Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976), Fun With Dick and Jane (1977), Martin Scorsese’s New York, New York (1977), Mommie Dearest (1981) and Indecent Proposal (1993).
She has 51 credits listed on IMDb. The first one was for a 1973 episode of The Brady Bunch, and she would also work on the 1988 reunion telefilm A Very Brady Christmas and in The Brady Bunch Movie (1995).
Archerd, who lived in Westwood, portrayed Nurse Amy on 25 episodes of Fox’s Melrose Place from 1995-99 and was on other series produced by Aaron Spelling,...
Archerd played Mrs. Claus in Richard Donner’s Scrooged (1988), and she also showed up on the big screen in Arthur Hiller’s W.C. Fields and Me (1975), Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976), Fun With Dick and Jane (1977), Martin Scorsese’s New York, New York (1977), Mommie Dearest (1981) and Indecent Proposal (1993).
She has 51 credits listed on IMDb. The first one was for a 1973 episode of The Brady Bunch, and she would also work on the 1988 reunion telefilm A Very Brady Christmas and in The Brady Bunch Movie (1995).
Archerd, who lived in Westwood, portrayed Nurse Amy on 25 episodes of Fox’s Melrose Place from 1995-99 and was on other series produced by Aaron Spelling,...
- 12/23/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
David Letterman and Stephen Colbert shared how they both faced nerves while hosting The Late Show, the importance of music to the late night program and what Letterman most misses about hosting when he returned to the Ed Sullivan Theater as a guest on Colbert’s program Monday night.
The appearance marked Letterman’s first on The Late Show since he retired in 2015 after his 22-year hosting run. Walking out to a loud ovation, Letterman took his bows while joking with Colbert. “Wow, Ok. Thank you,” he said. “Oh my God, Stephen, control your people.”
“I will say this is the most enthusiastic audience I’ve been near since the night I announced I was quitting,” he added, to Colbert’s laughs.
At the top of his sitdown, the My Next Guest Needs No Introduction host briefly acknowledged the difference in Colbert’s hosting style in comparison to his own...
The appearance marked Letterman’s first on The Late Show since he retired in 2015 after his 22-year hosting run. Walking out to a loud ovation, Letterman took his bows while joking with Colbert. “Wow, Ok. Thank you,” he said. “Oh my God, Stephen, control your people.”
“I will say this is the most enthusiastic audience I’ve been near since the night I announced I was quitting,” he added, to Colbert’s laughs.
At the top of his sitdown, the My Next Guest Needs No Introduction host briefly acknowledged the difference in Colbert’s hosting style in comparison to his own...
- 11/21/2023
- by Abbey White
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In retrospect, it might look inevitable, the sticky-sweet commercial marriage between soda pop and pop music. (Catchy jingles worked. Why shouldn’t catchy hit songs work even better?) But in actuality, it was far from a sure bet back when Pepsi started formulating their strategic play to become the drink of a “new generation.”
The storied Pepsi pop pivot dates back roughly to 1960 — read: pre-bikini America, still largely an Eisenhower-drab sea of crew cuts, including Elvis, who’d been unceremoniously shorn and shipped off to the army. It was an...
The storied Pepsi pop pivot dates back roughly to 1960 — read: pre-bikini America, still largely an Eisenhower-drab sea of crew cuts, including Elvis, who’d been unceremoniously shorn and shipped off to the army. It was an...
- 11/6/2023
- by Jamie Bryan
- Rollingstone.com
How did I find monsters? My father.
It was around Halloween 1956, the same week of Elvis Presley’s second appearance on Ed Sullivan.
My parents often let me stay up and watch late movies. Adventure stuff mainly: Tarzan, tiger hunters, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry. Earlier that year, the first monster I met was King Kong, when my father introduced me to him late one night.
One evening a couple of weeks later, my father said, “I have something special for you tonight.” It was James Whale’s 1931 Frankenstein.
My mother wasn’t happy.
It was around Halloween 1956, the same week of Elvis Presley’s second appearance on Ed Sullivan.
My parents often let me stay up and watch late movies. Adventure stuff mainly: Tarzan, tiger hunters, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry. Earlier that year, the first monster I met was King Kong, when my father introduced me to him late one night.
One evening a couple of weeks later, my father said, “I have something special for you tonight.” It was James Whale’s 1931 Frankenstein.
My mother wasn’t happy.
- 10/31/2023
- by Mikal Gilmore
- Rollingstone.com
“Carrie,” the 1976 Cinderella-goes-to-the-bloodbath horror film that gave Piper Laurie, who died Oct. 14 at 91, the role for which she’ll probably be best remembered, is the movie that changed my life. I was 17, home for the Thanksgiving weekend of my freshman year at college. “Carrie” had opened earlier that month, and I went to see it on Friday at our local mall. I knew nothing about it. I was just a naïve budding film geek who saw everything that played in town. But “Carrie,” for me, was the film-geek equivalent of watching the Beatles on “Ed Sullivan.” By the time the movie was over, I was a different person.
During the big shock sequence at the end, when Carrie’s hand pokes up through the earth in front of her grave, I literally stood up out of my seat in terror. That’s how real it all was to me.
During the big shock sequence at the end, when Carrie’s hand pokes up through the earth in front of her grave, I literally stood up out of my seat in terror. That’s how real it all was to me.
- 10/15/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
The Beatles played a killer set of songs during their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Some of those songs are still famous and some are not. George Harrison discussed the band’s mindset leading up to their set.
The Beatles played a show tune on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’
According to Kiro 7, The Beatles made their first Ed Sullivan Show appearance on February 9, 1964. The Fab Four started their set with their classic love song “All My Loving.” While The Beatles played the tune during this seminal moment in their careers, the tune is mostly forgotten in the United States and rarely receives play on rock radio.
Then, the band performed a show tune called “Till There Was You.” For context, musical theater had a much bigger influence on popular music during the early 1960s than it does now. The first half of the band’s set closed with “She Loves You,...
The Beatles played a show tune on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’
According to Kiro 7, The Beatles made their first Ed Sullivan Show appearance on February 9, 1964. The Fab Four started their set with their classic love song “All My Loving.” While The Beatles played the tune during this seminal moment in their careers, the tune is mostly forgotten in the United States and rarely receives play on rock radio.
Then, the band performed a show tune called “Till There Was You.” For context, musical theater had a much bigger influence on popular music during the early 1960s than it does now. The first half of the band’s set closed with “She Loves You,...
- 10/10/2023
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
The Beatles‘ Ed Sullivan Show set changed rock ‘n’ roll, music in general, and the entire course of human history. No, that’s not going too far. Shockingly, George Harrison revealed he didn’t even rehearse for this seminal event. Here’s why — and why the performance mattered so much to him.
George Harrison got sick before The Beatles did ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’
The book George Harrison on George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters features an interview from 1977. During that interview, George discussed the behind-the-scenes of The Beatles’ first Ed Sullivan Show appearance. “The Sullivan show was funny because I didn’t attend the rehearsal, I was sick somehow on the flight over on the first trip to the States,” he recounted.
Sullivan’s crew wasn’t all that helpful. “The band did a long rehearsal for the sound people, they kept going into the control room and checking out the sound,...
George Harrison got sick before The Beatles did ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’
The book George Harrison on George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters features an interview from 1977. During that interview, George discussed the behind-the-scenes of The Beatles’ first Ed Sullivan Show appearance. “The Sullivan show was funny because I didn’t attend the rehearsal, I was sick somehow on the flight over on the first trip to the States,” he recounted.
Sullivan’s crew wasn’t all that helpful. “The band did a long rehearsal for the sound people, they kept going into the control room and checking out the sound,...
- 10/7/2023
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
When you look closely at a set of lyrics, it’s astounding how much a classic rock song can get misinterpreted. For example, the original version of Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog” was about a gigolo. However, a band changed the lyrics to be about an actual dog and the rest is history. In addition, a famous television appearance might’ve made audiences think “Hound Dog” is about a canine.
The original version of Elvis Presley’s ‘Hound Dog’ was about a freeloader
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller co-wrote “Hound Dog,” which was first recorded by Big Mama Thornton. During a 2020 interview with Elvis Australia, Stoller discussed the evolution of the song’s lyrics. “Elvis knew Big Mama’s record, but Big Mama’s version of ‘Hound Dog’ was written for a woman,” he said. “And so Elvis couldn’t perform it that way.
“There was a group, Freddie Bell and the Bell Boys,...
The original version of Elvis Presley’s ‘Hound Dog’ was about a freeloader
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller co-wrote “Hound Dog,” which was first recorded by Big Mama Thornton. During a 2020 interview with Elvis Australia, Stoller discussed the evolution of the song’s lyrics. “Elvis knew Big Mama’s record, but Big Mama’s version of ‘Hound Dog’ was written for a woman,” he said. “And so Elvis couldn’t perform it that way.
“There was a group, Freddie Bell and the Bell Boys,...
- 9/19/2023
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Clockwise from bottom left: Misery, Galaxy Quest, Almost Famous, Scream, Bye Bye Birdie (all screenshots via YouTube)Graphic: The A.V. Club
Fandom comes in many forms, whether you’re talking about the different franchises and subgenres of the pop-culture obsessed, or the types of fans themselves and how they choose...
Fandom comes in many forms, whether you’re talking about the different franchises and subgenres of the pop-culture obsessed, or the types of fans themselves and how they choose...
- 9/7/2023
- by Matthew Jackson
- avclub.com
One of the writers of Elvis Presley‘s “Hound Dog” survived an infamous shipwreck. This led to one of the most famous comments ever made about the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Afterward, one performance of “Hound Dog” made Ed Sullivan change his mind about Elvis.
The co-writer of ‘Hound Dog’ was initially unaware Elvis Presley covered it
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller wrote hits for several different artists during the 1950s. In a 2020 interview with Elvis Australia, Stoller revealed he was on the SS Andrea Doria, a cruise ship that sank in 1956. Fortunately, Stoller and his then-wife, Meryl Stoller, survived the sinking.
“We were ultimately picked up by the Cape Ann, a freighter standing by,” he recalled. “From the Cape Ann, I sent a telegram to Atlantic Records. I was supposed to have met Jerry and [record label executive] Lester Sill at Atlantic’s offices.
“Anyway when the Cape Ann pulled into New York harbor,...
The co-writer of ‘Hound Dog’ was initially unaware Elvis Presley covered it
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller wrote hits for several different artists during the 1950s. In a 2020 interview with Elvis Australia, Stoller revealed he was on the SS Andrea Doria, a cruise ship that sank in 1956. Fortunately, Stoller and his then-wife, Meryl Stoller, survived the sinking.
“We were ultimately picked up by the Cape Ann, a freighter standing by,” he recalled. “From the Cape Ann, I sent a telegram to Atlantic Records. I was supposed to have met Jerry and [record label executive] Lester Sill at Atlantic’s offices.
“Anyway when the Cape Ann pulled into New York harbor,...
- 9/6/2023
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Tl;Dr:
Roger Ebert said an Elvis Presley movie with Nancy Sinatra would become fodder for insomniacs. He compared it to the sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. The movie came out shortly before the ’68 Comeback Special.
Nancy Sinatra co-starred in one of Elvis Presley‘s movies. Superstar film critic Roger Ebert wasn’t impressed with either of their performances. Despite this, Elvis released two hit songs from the movie’s soundtrack.
Roger Ebert felt 1 of Elvis Presley’s movies captured none of his early charisma
In a 1988 interview published on RogerEbert.com, Ebert discussed Elvis’ movie Speedway. “Speedway is the late show of 20 years from now, I suppose,” he said. “What will it tell the insomniacs of 1988 about our society?
“For one thing, they will probably wonder why we considered Elvis a sex symbol,” he said.” He is as respectable on the screen as Dick Powell ever was,...
Roger Ebert said an Elvis Presley movie with Nancy Sinatra would become fodder for insomniacs. He compared it to the sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. The movie came out shortly before the ’68 Comeback Special.
Nancy Sinatra co-starred in one of Elvis Presley‘s movies. Superstar film critic Roger Ebert wasn’t impressed with either of their performances. Despite this, Elvis released two hit songs from the movie’s soundtrack.
Roger Ebert felt 1 of Elvis Presley’s movies captured none of his early charisma
In a 1988 interview published on RogerEbert.com, Ebert discussed Elvis’ movie Speedway. “Speedway is the late show of 20 years from now, I suppose,” he said. “What will it tell the insomniacs of 1988 about our society?
“For one thing, they will probably wonder why we considered Elvis a sex symbol,” he said.” He is as respectable on the screen as Dick Powell ever was,...
- 9/5/2023
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Bob Barker was a pillar of television’s greatest generation.
Barker, the enduring host of “The Price Is Right” who died Aug. 26 at the age of 99, was a World War II veteran who trained as a Navy fighter pilot. But his destiny was not to fly missions in the Pacific theater. Barker’s service to his country came in the years after the war, when he and an elite corps of seasoned radio announcers laid a large part of the foundation for commercial television as we know it today.
Barker was a born broadcaster. He had a resonant voice, and his 6-foot-1 frame didn’t hurt in making an impression on viewers in the early days of grainy TV pictures. But his biggest asset was the gift of being to speak extemporaneously on live television – and make it look and feel natural while doing so.
Bob Barker, Longtime Host of ‘The Price Is Right,...
Barker, the enduring host of “The Price Is Right” who died Aug. 26 at the age of 99, was a World War II veteran who trained as a Navy fighter pilot. But his destiny was not to fly missions in the Pacific theater. Barker’s service to his country came in the years after the war, when he and an elite corps of seasoned radio announcers laid a large part of the foundation for commercial television as we know it today.
Barker was a born broadcaster. He had a resonant voice, and his 6-foot-1 frame didn’t hurt in making an impression on viewers in the early days of grainy TV pictures. But his biggest asset was the gift of being to speak extemporaneously on live television – and make it look and feel natural while doing so.
Bob Barker, Longtime Host of ‘The Price Is Right,...
- 8/27/2023
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
Visit https://podnews.net/update/ondemand-vs-live for all the links, and to get our newsletter.
For the first time ever, Americans are listening to more on-demand audio (like podcasts and music services) than live, linear audio (like radio), according to data from Edison Research released this week. Larry Rosin, the company's President, says that though there will always be a place for linear radio, the trend will continue into the future. What happens when Elon Musk mentions your podcast? Last week, a day after we mentioned it in Podnews, apparent Podnews reader Elon Musk (hi Elon) tweeted about Airwave's The Explorers Podcast, in a tweet that got 18 million views. Rephonic looks at the numbers to see what happened next. Business, true crime and comedy are the top categories increasing for podcast ad spend, says MediaRadar in a new study released this week. True crime podcasts might be mostly about murder,...
For the first time ever, Americans are listening to more on-demand audio (like podcasts and music services) than live, linear audio (like radio), according to data from Edison Research released this week. Larry Rosin, the company's President, says that though there will always be a place for linear radio, the trend will continue into the future. What happens when Elon Musk mentions your podcast? Last week, a day after we mentioned it in Podnews, apparent Podnews reader Elon Musk (hi Elon) tweeted about Airwave's The Explorers Podcast, in a tweet that got 18 million views. Rephonic looks at the numbers to see what happened next. Business, true crime and comedy are the top categories increasing for podcast ad spend, says MediaRadar in a new study released this week. True crime podcasts might be mostly about murder,...
- 8/25/2023
- Podnews.net
Elvis Presley was one of the most charismatic performers in the early days of rock and roll. His performances elicited a response from fans never seen before in the genre and rocketed him to superstardom rather quickly. However, for Priscilla Presley, the fan who would eventually become his wife, Elvis had one unique talent. It drew her in even before she saw him perform for the first time.
Priscilla Presley said that one of Elvis Presley’s special talents initially drew her in
In a 2017 interview with Variety, Priscilla Presley said when she first learned of Elvis Presley, he had one special talent that drew her in. This element is also historically the same for many of Elvis’ fans.
“His voice. Before I even saw Elvis, I was attracted to ‘Jailhouse Rock’ and ‘I Met a Woman,'” Priscilla revealed.
“Even in the song ‘Don’t,’ I was attracted really by his voice.
Priscilla Presley said that one of Elvis Presley’s special talents initially drew her in
In a 2017 interview with Variety, Priscilla Presley said when she first learned of Elvis Presley, he had one special talent that drew her in. This element is also historically the same for many of Elvis’ fans.
“His voice. Before I even saw Elvis, I was attracted to ‘Jailhouse Rock’ and ‘I Met a Woman,'” Priscilla revealed.
“Even in the song ‘Don’t,’ I was attracted really by his voice.
- 8/24/2023
- by Lucille Barilla
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
The Beatles didn’t have a lead singer, but viewers of The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963 thought Paul McCartney filled the role. The band’s appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show was crucial to their success. It sparked Beatlemania in The United States and established them as the biggest band of the decade. Despite this, the audio quality on the show was far from perfect. As a result, McCartney’s role in the band seemed a bit more prominent than it actually was.
Viewers incorrectly thought Paul McCartney was The Beatles’ lead singer
The Beatles set themselves apart from other bands of the time because they had four singers instead of one. While McCartney and John Lennon sang most of the band’s songs, the group thought it was important for everyone to sing at least one song on their albums. When they performed on Ed Sullivan, though, this didn’t come across to viewers.
Viewers incorrectly thought Paul McCartney was The Beatles’ lead singer
The Beatles set themselves apart from other bands of the time because they had four singers instead of one. While McCartney and John Lennon sang most of the band’s songs, the group thought it was important for everyone to sing at least one song on their albums. When they performed on Ed Sullivan, though, this didn’t come across to viewers.
- 7/7/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
The Beatles changed everything about pop music when Beatlemania took over the world. Paul McCartney and John Lennon writing face-to-face and bouncing lyrics and melodies off each other produced dozens of catchy, hummable songs. The words carrying those vocal melodies weren’t too hard to decipher, but one set of Beatles lyrics confused Bob Dylan. He admitted as much the first time he met the band.
Bob Dylan was confused by The Beatles’ lyrics for ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’
The story of the first meeting between the Fab Four and Bob Dylan is basically ingrained knowledge for classic rock fans.
The Beatles, touring the United States later in 1964 after making their TV debut on Ed Sullivan’s show earlier that year, welcomed Dylan to their New York hotel suite during an August stop. He provided the joints, Paul, John, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr got high on pot for the first time,...
Bob Dylan was confused by The Beatles’ lyrics for ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’
The story of the first meeting between the Fab Four and Bob Dylan is basically ingrained knowledge for classic rock fans.
The Beatles, touring the United States later in 1964 after making their TV debut on Ed Sullivan’s show earlier that year, welcomed Dylan to their New York hotel suite during an August stop. He provided the joints, Paul, John, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr got high on pot for the first time,...
- 6/28/2023
- by Jason Rossi
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
After finding explosive success in England, The Beatles hoped to establish themselves in the United States with a performance on The Ed Sullivan Show. The band wasn’t sure they’d catch on in America. While they were hopeful, they had to break into a big market, and the American media didn’t know what to make of them. Of course, Beatlemania caught fire after the Ed Sullivan performance. Some critics, though, thought the band did a terrible job.
The Beatles’ performance on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ received some negative reviews
The Beatles made their U.S. television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. Already, the band knew they had fans in the United States; when they arrived in New York, thousands of people greeted them at the airport. Still, they hadn’t won over American critics. They wrote off the band as a passing fad, undeserving of the attention they received.
The Beatles’ performance on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ received some negative reviews
The Beatles made their U.S. television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. Already, the band knew they had fans in the United States; when they arrived in New York, thousands of people greeted them at the airport. Still, they hadn’t won over American critics. They wrote off the band as a passing fad, undeserving of the attention they received.
- 6/23/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Beatles merchandise was everywhere in the 1960s. Fans could buy pins, record racks, mop-top wigs, magnetic hair decorating games, and even locks of the Fab Four’s hair. The band’s first recording is one of the most valuable albums around, but one rare Beatles record (or at least one associated with the Fab Four) trumps it, and we might never see the one-of-a-kind item ever again.
Frank Sinatra’s song for Ringo Starr’s wife might be the rarest Beatles record ever
The Beatles climbed to the top in England before their popularity exploded in the United States in 1964. Older entertainers weren’t ready to get off the stage, though.
Multi-talented singer and actor Kenny Lynch called Paul McCartney and John Lennon idiots. What was the offense? They just couldn’t figure out how to finish a song. He must have realized they were the wave of the future...
Frank Sinatra’s song for Ringo Starr’s wife might be the rarest Beatles record ever
The Beatles climbed to the top in England before their popularity exploded in the United States in 1964. Older entertainers weren’t ready to get off the stage, though.
Multi-talented singer and actor Kenny Lynch called Paul McCartney and John Lennon idiots. What was the offense? They just couldn’t figure out how to finish a song. He must have realized they were the wave of the future...
- 6/19/2023
- by Jason Rossi
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
There was no mention of artificial intelligence Thursday at Tribeca Festival’s Paul McCartney talk with Conan O’Brien.
Instead of going into further detail about his recent plans to use AI technology to extricate the vocals of his former bandmate, John Lennon, from an old demo to create a final Beatles record, McCartney took a trip down memory lane with O’Brien.
During the hourlong entry in the Tribeca fest’s “Storytellers” series, O’Brien displayed various photos from McCartney’s new book, 1964: Eyes of the Storm, which the singer-songwriter described in detail.
“It’s so lovely for me to see these memories and just remind me of where we were, what we did in those days,” McCartney said.
The book features 275 largely unseen photographs shot by McCartney, taken between the end of 1963 through early 1964, when The Beatles became an international sensation. McCartney thought he had lost the photos until recently,...
Instead of going into further detail about his recent plans to use AI technology to extricate the vocals of his former bandmate, John Lennon, from an old demo to create a final Beatles record, McCartney took a trip down memory lane with O’Brien.
During the hourlong entry in the Tribeca fest’s “Storytellers” series, O’Brien displayed various photos from McCartney’s new book, 1964: Eyes of the Storm, which the singer-songwriter described in detail.
“It’s so lovely for me to see these memories and just remind me of where we were, what we did in those days,” McCartney said.
The book features 275 largely unseen photographs shot by McCartney, taken between the end of 1963 through early 1964, when The Beatles became an international sensation. McCartney thought he had lost the photos until recently,...
- 6/16/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Deadline Film + TV
Suzy Eddie Izzard (“Stay Close”) and Ed Speelers (“Outlander”) are the new additions to the cast of “Midas Man,” the delayed film on The Beatles manager Brian Epstein that has now wrapped filming.
The film began production with Jonas Akerlund (“Lords of Chaos”) as director, who departed the project for unknown reasons. Sara Sugarman (“Vinyl”) was attached to the project for a year before Joe Stephenson (“Doctor Jekyll”) stepped in. Stephenson has just wrapped the shoot, canning what will be 95% of the completed film, Variety understands.
Written by Brigit Grant, the film follows Epstein, manager of The Beatles from 1962 until his untimely death at the age of 32 in 1967. Epstein’s impact extended beyond the Fab Four, encompassing British Invasion acts such as Gerry and the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas.
Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (“The Queens Gambit”) plays Epstein. The ensemble cast includes Emily Watson, Eddie Marsan and Jay Leno as Ed Sullivan.
The film began production with Jonas Akerlund (“Lords of Chaos”) as director, who departed the project for unknown reasons. Sara Sugarman (“Vinyl”) was attached to the project for a year before Joe Stephenson (“Doctor Jekyll”) stepped in. Stephenson has just wrapped the shoot, canning what will be 95% of the completed film, Variety understands.
Written by Brigit Grant, the film follows Epstein, manager of The Beatles from 1962 until his untimely death at the age of 32 in 1967. Epstein’s impact extended beyond the Fab Four, encompassing British Invasion acts such as Gerry and the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas.
Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (“The Queens Gambit”) plays Epstein. The ensemble cast includes Emily Watson, Eddie Marsan and Jay Leno as Ed Sullivan.
- 6/14/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Suzy Eddie Izzard and Ed Speleers (Downton Abbey) are among the actors who have joined the supporting cast of Midas Man, the feature biopic of Beatles Manager Brian Epstein.
In the pic, Izzard portrays British music promoter Allan Williams, famously known as “The Man Who Gave Away The Beatles,” while Ed Speleers is Tex Ellington, Epstein’s love interest. Other additions include Darci Shaw (The Colour Room), who plays singer Cilla Black, and Milo Parker (Mr. Holmes) is Epstein’s longtime assistant, Alastair Taylor.
Previous cast attached to the project included actors Lukas Gage, Bill Milner, and Rosie Day. We understand the changes were due to scheduling issues because of delays to production following multiple creative changes to the pic. Last week, we reported that UK director Joe Stephenson (Doctor Jekyll) quietly took the reins earlier this year from previous filmmaker Sara Sugarman (Vinyl), who left after what sources described...
In the pic, Izzard portrays British music promoter Allan Williams, famously known as “The Man Who Gave Away The Beatles,” while Ed Speleers is Tex Ellington, Epstein’s love interest. Other additions include Darci Shaw (The Colour Room), who plays singer Cilla Black, and Milo Parker (Mr. Holmes) is Epstein’s longtime assistant, Alastair Taylor.
Previous cast attached to the project included actors Lukas Gage, Bill Milner, and Rosie Day. We understand the changes were due to scheduling issues because of delays to production following multiple creative changes to the pic. Last week, we reported that UK director Joe Stephenson (Doctor Jekyll) quietly took the reins earlier this year from previous filmmaker Sara Sugarman (Vinyl), who left after what sources described...
- 6/14/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: It’s been a long and winding road but Beatles manager movie Midas Man has finally reached post-production having recently taken on a third director to get it over the line.
UK director Joe Stephenson (Doctor Jekyll) quietly took the reins earlier this year from previous filmmaker Sara Sugarman (Vinyl) who left after what sources described to us as creative differences and scheduling issues.
Sugarman herself took over in late 2021 from filmmaker Jonas Åkerlund (Polar) who also left during shoot after not seeing eye to eye with producers.
The Queen’s Gambit actor Jacob Fortune-Lloyd stars in the biopic as The Beatles manager Brian Epstein. Also starring are Emily Watson, Eddie Marsan, Lukas Gage, Bill Milner, Rosie Day as Cilla Black and Jay Leno as Ed Sullivan.
Portraying the Fab Four are newcomers Jonah Lees as John Lennon, musician Blake Richardson as Paul McCartney, Leo Harvey Elledge as George Harrison,...
UK director Joe Stephenson (Doctor Jekyll) quietly took the reins earlier this year from previous filmmaker Sara Sugarman (Vinyl) who left after what sources described to us as creative differences and scheduling issues.
Sugarman herself took over in late 2021 from filmmaker Jonas Åkerlund (Polar) who also left during shoot after not seeing eye to eye with producers.
The Queen’s Gambit actor Jacob Fortune-Lloyd stars in the biopic as The Beatles manager Brian Epstein. Also starring are Emily Watson, Eddie Marsan, Lukas Gage, Bill Milner, Rosie Day as Cilla Black and Jay Leno as Ed Sullivan.
Portraying the Fab Four are newcomers Jonah Lees as John Lennon, musician Blake Richardson as Paul McCartney, Leo Harvey Elledge as George Harrison,...
- 6/9/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Pat Cooper, an acerbic stand-up comedian who later had a career acting in films and TV series including Analyze This, Seinfeld and the original Charlie’s Angels and was a favorite of Howard Stern, died Tuesday at his home in Las Vegas. He was 93.
His wife, Emily Connor, announced the news.
Born Pasquale Caputo on July 31, 1929, in Brooklyn, he tried to join multiple branches of the U.S. Armed Forces but was rejected and turned to comedy. He adopted his stage name during an early-’60s stint doing stand-up, which further angered the Italian family he often roasted in his act.
Cooper became estranged from his parents while focusing on his insult-heavy comedy career. His angry onstage persona led to multiple firings from stints opening for the likes of Frank Sinatra and Paul Anka. By the mid-’60s, he was being booked on many of the era’s most popular variety...
His wife, Emily Connor, announced the news.
Born Pasquale Caputo on July 31, 1929, in Brooklyn, he tried to join multiple branches of the U.S. Armed Forces but was rejected and turned to comedy. He adopted his stage name during an early-’60s stint doing stand-up, which further angered the Italian family he often roasted in his act.
Cooper became estranged from his parents while focusing on his insult-heavy comedy career. His angry onstage persona led to multiple firings from stints opening for the likes of Frank Sinatra and Paul Anka. By the mid-’60s, he was being booked on many of the era’s most popular variety...
- 6/7/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Pat Cooper, the famously fast-talking and angry stand-up comedian who often appeared on Ed Sullivan and Howard Stern’s shows, died Tuesday in Las Vegas. He was 93.
Cooper appeared on “Seinfeld” in the Friars Club episode, playing himself. He also appeared with Robert DeNiro in the 1999 film “Analyze This” as Salvatore Masiello and reprised his role in “Analyze That.”
He was a frequent guest host on the Mike Douglas Show in the 1970s, and appeared many times on the Howard Stern show throughout the 1990s and 2000s, where he was known for his cranky persona.
Born Pasquale Caputo to an Italian family in Brooklyn, he started out playing local New York clubs. In 1963, he landed a spot on “The Jackie Gleason Show,” and then began performing at the Copacabana, where he opened for acts including the Four Seasons and Jimmy Roselli.
Cooper went on to perform at clubs across the country,...
Cooper appeared on “Seinfeld” in the Friars Club episode, playing himself. He also appeared with Robert DeNiro in the 1999 film “Analyze This” as Salvatore Masiello and reprised his role in “Analyze That.”
He was a frequent guest host on the Mike Douglas Show in the 1970s, and appeared many times on the Howard Stern show throughout the 1990s and 2000s, where he was known for his cranky persona.
Born Pasquale Caputo to an Italian family in Brooklyn, he started out playing local New York clubs. In 1963, he landed a spot on “The Jackie Gleason Show,” and then began performing at the Copacabana, where he opened for acts including the Four Seasons and Jimmy Roselli.
Cooper went on to perform at clubs across the country,...
- 6/7/2023
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Pat Cooper, the brash Italian-American stand-up from Brooklyn whose anger real and imagined provided fuel for a long career in comedy, has died. He was 93.
Cooper died Tuesday night at his home in Las Vegas, his wife, Emily Conner, announced.
A mainstay in nightclubs from Atlantic City to Las Vegas, Cooper opened for Ginger Rogers at the Desert Inn and Frank Sinatra at the Sands. He said he once refused to take out a joke about an upside-down St. Anthony statue that Sinatra wanted excised and never worked with the singer again.
Also known for his nonstop, rapid-fire delivery, Cooper appeared as himself on the 1996 Seinfeld episode “The Friars Club” — he participated in many a roast at that famed comedic establishment in midtown Manhattan — and made regular appearances on late-night talk shows, for Ed Sullivan and, starting in the 1980s, on Howard Stern’s radio program.
The bespectacled comic played...
Cooper died Tuesday night at his home in Las Vegas, his wife, Emily Conner, announced.
A mainstay in nightclubs from Atlantic City to Las Vegas, Cooper opened for Ginger Rogers at the Desert Inn and Frank Sinatra at the Sands. He said he once refused to take out a joke about an upside-down St. Anthony statue that Sinatra wanted excised and never worked with the singer again.
Also known for his nonstop, rapid-fire delivery, Cooper appeared as himself on the 1996 Seinfeld episode “The Friars Club” — he participated in many a roast at that famed comedic establishment in midtown Manhattan — and made regular appearances on late-night talk shows, for Ed Sullivan and, starting in the 1980s, on Howard Stern’s radio program.
The bespectacled comic played...
- 6/7/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Hey, did you hear this one, folks? Just under six months after suffering severe burns during an accident while filming his titular reality show, Jay Leno has detailed his continued pain even as he continues to work.
Speaking with People, Jay Leno said of recovering from his accident, “I’m alright, I’ve got a broken collar bone and two broken ribs and a couple cracked knee caps, but I’m okay…There’s a little pain, but it’s not bad…Pain is constant, so if it’s constant you’re okay. Pain from a burn, after a while you get used to it and eventually it goes away, but it’s not terrible.”
Despite the pain, Jay Leno has tried to give his accident and the reactions to it a little perspective. “They were just accidents…Real people have accidents every day. When you’re in show business people fawn all over you.
Speaking with People, Jay Leno said of recovering from his accident, “I’m alright, I’ve got a broken collar bone and two broken ribs and a couple cracked knee caps, but I’m okay…There’s a little pain, but it’s not bad…Pain is constant, so if it’s constant you’re okay. Pain from a burn, after a while you get used to it and eventually it goes away, but it’s not terrible.”
Despite the pain, Jay Leno has tried to give his accident and the reactions to it a little perspective. “They were just accidents…Real people have accidents every day. When you’re in show business people fawn all over you.
- 5/31/2023
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
Ed Ames, the deep-toned baritone pop singer and actor who portrayed the faithful Cherokee sidekick Mingo on the 1960s NBC series Daniel Boone, has died. He was 95.
Ames died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles after a battle with Alzheimer’s, his wife Jeanne told The Hollywood Reporter.
A native of Massachusetts and a son of Jewish immigrants from Ukraine, Ames starred as the Oxford-educated Mingo opposite Fess Parker as Daniel Boone on the first four seasons (1964-68) of the TV Western.
His most memorable night on television, however, came in April 1965 during an appearance on NBC’s The Tonight Show. Demonstrating to host Johnny Carson how Mingo would expertly handle a tomahawk, he hurled the weapon at an outline of a cowboy drawn on a wooden board — and it stuck right in the crotch.
As the audience howled, Carson left his desk and said to Ames in now-classic ad-libbed lines,...
Ames died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles after a battle with Alzheimer’s, his wife Jeanne told The Hollywood Reporter.
A native of Massachusetts and a son of Jewish immigrants from Ukraine, Ames starred as the Oxford-educated Mingo opposite Fess Parker as Daniel Boone on the first four seasons (1964-68) of the TV Western.
His most memorable night on television, however, came in April 1965 during an appearance on NBC’s The Tonight Show. Demonstrating to host Johnny Carson how Mingo would expertly handle a tomahawk, he hurled the weapon at an outline of a cowboy drawn on a wooden board — and it stuck right in the crotch.
As the audience howled, Carson left his desk and said to Ames in now-classic ad-libbed lines,...
- 5/26/2023
- by Mike Barnes and Duane Byrge
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
As I mentioned last week, nostalgia appears to be playing a big role in this just-started cinema Summer season. The remake of that 1990s buddy comedy may just be the tip of the iceberg. For this holiday weekend’s big, really big as Ed Sullivan would say, movie release, go back just two or three more years to 1989. That year may be best known for the Batman box office blockbuster, but it’s also a watershed moment for feature Animation, particularly at the “Mouse House”. Disney feature animation was just beginning to snap out of a creative stupor as the modest successes of The Great Mouse Detective and Oliver & Company began to offset the losses of the fantasy debacle The Black Cauldron. This is all covered in the superb documentary feature Waking Sleeping Beauty. And then two Broadway “whiz-kids,” thought that the company should return to classic fairy tales with a Tony-worthy musical score.
- 5/25/2023
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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