A true tastemaker and a real gentleman, legendary late night executive producer Peter Lassally died July 19 in Los Angeles. He was 93. Back in 2008, I had the great pleasure of interviewing Mr. Lassally as he was winding up his extraordinary career in late night with his final stint as executive producer of The
Today is a jolly holiday occasion — Dick Van Dyke’s 100th birthday. Hats off to one of the greatest entertainers of this or any century. He is well known, of course, for his ’60s series The Dick Van Dyke Show, “Bye Bye Birdie,” and such cherished children’s films as “Mary Poppins” and “Chitty Chitty Bang
Johnny Carson was born on this days a century ago. One hundred years ago?! You are correct, sir. The Emmy and Peabody award-winning entertainer died in 2005 at age 79. In 30 years as host of The Tonight Show, Carson presided over over 4500 episodes, interviewing over 25,000 guests. From 1962 to 1992 he was
Jay Leno says he almost backed out of an upcoming booking in Canada. The former Tonight Show host crosses the border with special guest Arsenio Hall May 2 to perform at Casino Rama north of Toronto. Leno has played before thousands in this room in other years, but was having second thoughts after the barrage
Since the dawn of television, viewers have always wanted to be amazed. One who knew this was George Joseph Kresge, Jr., a.k.a. The Amazing Keskin. Billed as a mentalist with special powers of perception, Kreskin (born in 1935 in New Jersey) was one of those amazing TV distractions that tickled viewers in the late ’60s
Early last month, when I wrote about the death of Canadian talk show host Mike Bullard, it reminded me of a turning point for one of the biggest late night stars in America: Conan O’Brien. Now 61, O’Brien was 40 early in 2004 and after a decade at 12:35 a.m. secure enough in his job
Harry Belafonte made a lasting impression a dozen years ago on a visit before Television Critics Association reporters. The activist/singer, one of the last Black Civil Rights icons of the 1960s, passed away Tuesday, April 25. He was 96. Back in July of 2011, he stood out as a towering figure from a golden age
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