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
Conan O’Brien was a great choice to host Sunday’s 97th annual Oscar telecast. After retiring at the end of 30+ years in late night, his podcast, Conan O’Brien needs a Friend, is the gold standard for celebrity conversations. He’s launched a travel series on cable and other ventures and the man has an iron stomach
Even as the year draws to a close, 2024 keeps taking them away from us. Jimmy Carter, America’s best ex-president, died Dec. 29 at 100. Olivia Hussey, famed for director Franco Zeffirelli’s “Romeo & Juliet” but also a lead in the shot-in-Canada slasher flick “Black Christmas,” gone two days earlier at 73. TCM always does
I Should Have Known Better: George Martin did that crazy-ambitious PBS history of recorded music project after all. In an earlier post, I dug back into a TCA press tour moment from eight years ago to mark the passing of Beatles’ legendary record producer. At the time, in 2008, Martin stood before reporters to answer
I’ve said it before: 1969 was an important year in the history of television. Several quiet little comedies emerged that year, shows I feel were HBO before HBO. They were all before their time, one reason none of them lasted. The examples I’ve listed before are Room 222, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father and My World