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Funny Thing About the Emmy Nominees for Comedy Actress

They may know she was "F-ing Matt Damon," but Emmy voters may not know that much else about the surprise entrant into the exclusive club of the funniest women on television. Sarah Silverman nabbed one of the now six coveted…

Jul 17, 2009

Emmy Nominations: I’m Pleased. I’m Pissed. How Do YOU Feel?

The most outstanding nomination of the day: “The Family Guy” as most Outstanding Comedy Series. I also liked the nomination of “How I Met Your Mother” in that category. Well-deserved. I’m pissed about the overlooking of “The Shield” and “Battlestar…

Jul 16, 2009

Funny Story About One of TV’s All-time Great Pitchmen

Discovery is airing a tribute to the late pitchman Billy Mays tonight (Thursday, July 9th, 9 pm ET/PT), and I’m eager to see it. Mays was indeed a pitchman extraordinaire. Like many of us raised on TV, we’ve come to…

Jul 9, 2009

Jackson Memorial a Dreamy, Dramatic Feat

Not since young JFK, Jr. saluted his slain father’s coffin has a child’s reaction to the loss of a parent so moved a global television audience. Paris Michael Katherine Jackson’s spontaneous, heartfelt tribute to her father was the highly emotional…

Jul 9, 2009

Today’s Beach Read: Update on Big Brother Participant Who Wanted to Auction Off Her Virginity

It ‘s summertime, which means it’s “Big Brother” time. Here’s today’s beach read: One of the wilder stories that garnered a lot of publicity in the gossip columns last fall was the one about Raffella Fica, the beautiful 20 year…

Jul 8, 2009

Now he Belongs to the Ages: Michael’s Memorial Joins Select Group of Unforgettable Telecasts

It happens only a few times in a lifetime – when presidents die and state funerals are held, when a beloved princess is killed in a sudden accident, or when men walk on the moon. And now, the memorial service…

Jul 7, 2009

Jackson Coverage: Treading the Line Between Class and Crass

The media madness surrounding the sudden death of Michael Jackson continues unabated, fueled by the public’s nearly insatiable decades-long appetite about the talented and troubled King of Pop. One can get whiplash trying to keep up with all the latest…

Jul 2, 2009

Something Smells Wrong about the Latest ‘As The World Turns’ Stunt Casting

Today is the 108th anniversary of the birth of prolific soap creator  Irna Phillips (on TV alone, she concocted “Guiding Light” and “As the  World Turns”, and had a hand in “Days of Our Lives” and “Another  World”, among others)….

Jul 1, 2009

Jackson: Maybe Now He Can Rest in Peace

Can’t stop thinking about Michael Jackson today, like everybody else. Not much I can add, except for this. The second record album I ever owned was the Jackson Five’s ABC (the first was Alvin and the Chipmunks Sing the Beatles…

Jun 26, 2009

Let the Music Play: Why Songwriters are Hurting Their Own Cause

It’s a crime! Over the past 75 years or so, American culture has generated a breathless portfolio of extraordinary pop songs from Tin Pan Alley, to the Golden Age of Broadway, to Rock N’ Roll, Country, Rap, Jazz and on…

Jun 26, 2009