One of the best lines ever at a Television Critics Association press tour: Tina Fey was at the podium receiving a TCA Award for her series 30 Rock. She looked out over the gathering and declared that it was a great time to be in broadcast television. “It’s like being in vaudeville in the ’60s.”
While it is sad to see him gone, George Foreman had a happier ending than many of his world champion peers from the golden age of boxing. The 6-foot-3, two-time heavyweight champion passed away March 21 at 76. While he may always be remembered for being upset by a rebounding Muhammad Ali in 1974, his
Because Donald Trump was once host of a reality show called The Apprentice, I was able to meet him on a couple of occasions. Once in his office on the 25th floor of Trump Tower in Manhattan, but that’s a story for another day. The story below is a little more urgent. Today, Tuesday, November
Bob Newhart made me laugh so many times over the years, especially on his first hit TV sitcom, The Bob Newhart Show (1972-78). I’ll never forget, therefore, the one time I made him laugh. It was at a Television Critics Association Awards presentation, at least a dozen years ago. I believe our group were bestowing
Eleven years ago, in 2012, Tony Bennett put on a show for TV critics in Pasadena, Calif. The legendary singer, who passed away Friday in New York City at 96, was brought to the Television Critics Association during a January press tour by PBS. The U.S. public broadcaster has often treated reporters to a musical
Robert Blake, who died March 9 of heart disease at the age of 89, almost didn’t get to be Baretta. The gritty cop series, which ran on ABC from 1975-78, began a season earlier when it was called Toma. That series was based on a real-life New Jersey police officer named David Toma, who was
The first star I met at the first Television Critics Association press tour I ever attended was Angela Lansbury. In 1984, the stage, screen and television star, who passed away Tuesday in Los Angeles at 96, was promoting a new CBS series called Murder. She Wrote. I was a raw rookie from TV Guide Canada
“We didn’t create the wave; we’re just surfing the wave.” So says FX Networks Chairman John Landgraf, the guy who coined the phrase “Peak TV” five or so years ago. He doesn’t always sound like John From Cincinnati, or the creator of that series, David Milch. It is just that Landgraf is a thoughtful fellow