Frazier Moore of The Associated Press has a lovely tribute to two actors who passed away Christmas Eve: Jack Klugman and Charles Durning. Klugman, 90, and Durning, 89, had hundreds of credits and were two of the greatest character actors ever. Read Moore’s column here. Gene Trindl’s 1971 cover portrait of Klugman (right) with Odd
Hagman: the brim kept getting bigger to extend past his eyebrows It was just about a year ago, in January of 2012, when Larry Hagman faced television critics as a group for the final time. The TV icon passed away Friday at 81 of complications from cancer. He was battered but unbowed, thin from the
Was up north painting the unplugged cottage and a bit behind on posting, so missed this milestone from Sunday: the 50th anniversary of the first Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. Carson’s official debut on Oct. 1, 1962 only survives on a short audio clip. As has been noted here before, the first 10 years of
I’ve been up at the unplugged cottage, sanding and painting, so was not in front of my laptop Sept. 28 to do the 40th annual salute to St. Paul. A few catch up musings: Henderson’s goal was, without a doubt, the most electrifying thing I ever saw on TV. It is hard to put in
Have to agree with colleague David Bianculli of TV Worth Watching that the 1969 moon landing was “the best TV show I ever saw in my life.”Neil Armstrong, who died today at 82, was the biggest star on or off the planet that summer. It was July 20, 1969, and–like every July–I was up at
Phyllis Diller, who died Sunday at 95, always struck me as the female Bob Hope. Her delivery and timing were very much patterned off Hope’s confident, straight at you patter. Like Hope the master, how she said things was usually funnier than what she was saying. With Diller, you thought it was all about how
Windom in 1997 William Windom’s death last Thursday brings up another indelible memory from that last stop on the fame machine, the Hollywood Show. Back in 1997, the Emmy-winning actor, who died of heart failure at 88, was among many celebrities from TV’s “Golden Age” taking part in autograph meet-and-greets with fans. At the time
Denny Laine. He was in Wings; I eat them BURBANK, CA–What better way to celebrate the end of another press tour then to go to the place where the stars ultimately wind up–The Hollywood Show. The celebrity autograph exhibition and marketplace takes place a couple of times a year at the Burbank Marriott hotel. Other