David Ketchum, who passed away on August 10 at the age of 97, is probably best remembered for his recurring role on the NBC sitcom Get Smart! (1965-70). He was the guy whose head would pop up out of vending machines, mail boxes and washing machines as Agent 13. His appearances opposite Don Adams are
This has been a transitional year for the Television Critics Associiation. It was finally acknowledged that the semi-annual press tour, or “the Bataan death march with cocktails” as veteran scribes called it, was, like late night television, viewed by the networks as no longer financially supportable. To paraphrase Tina Fey at one of our award
Today, August 15, 2025, would have been Oscar Peterson’s 100th birthday. The Canadian jazz piano phenomenon, who passed away at 82 in 2007, won eight Grammy awards. He is celebrated in a wonderful documentary titled, “Oscar Peterson: Black + White.” Released in 2021 and directed by Barry Avrich, the COVID-era tribute features many musicians who
I grew up with the classic Match Game daytime series, the one Gene Rayburn hosted with that telescoping mic. It featured Bret Summers, Charles Nelson Reilly and Richard Dawson, all served on a bed of orange shag carpeting. A decade ago a revival featured Alec Baldwin as host, complete with that goofy antenna mic. The
Editor’s note: summer is a good time to finally crack open those books you’ve been meaning to read all year. Contributor Maurice Tougas gets things started with his review of Desi Arnaz, The Man Who Invented Television (Simon and Schuster), Lucille Ball – just Lucy to her millions of fans – has rightfully been elevated
Mark Maron’s WTF podcast has been essential listening for me ever since the COVID pandemic. He’s been at it since way before that, sixteen years in fact. His peers consider him the O.G. of podcasting. His decision to shut things down come October, podcast wise, has nothing to do with the title of his new
I met Loni Anderson 20 years ago in Los Angeles on a Television Critics Association press tour. It was at a cable network event that took place at the Universal Hilton. Other stars, including Wayne Newton and George Hamilton were in the room. It was cool meeting those guys as well but Anderson stood out
Every Sunday night back in the 1950s and ’60s families would gather around their living room TV and watch The Ed Sullivan Show. The variety hour ran 23 seasons, ending 54 years ago in 1971. Now streaming on Netflix, the documentary Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan is not just another “best of” blast of nostalgia.