News

Mitzi Gaynor, star of 1950s big-screen musicals including “South Pacific” and “Les Girls” and a series of beloved variety specials in the 1970s, died on Thursday. She was 93.

Gaynor’s management team, Rene Reyes and Shane Rosamonda, confirmed to Variety that she died of natural causes.

“For eight decades she entertained audiences in films, on television and on the stage. She truly enjoyed every moment of her professional career and the great privilege of being an entertainer,” Reyes and Rosamonda wrote in a statement on Gaynor’s X account. “Off stage, she was a vibrant and extraordinary woman, a caring and loyal friend, and a warm, gracious, very funny and altogether glorious human being.”

Gaynor starred as Navy nurse Nellie Forbush in the 1958 big-screen adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “South Pacific” together with Rossano Brazzi as French planter Emile De Becque and John Kerr as Lt. Cable. Gaynor sang...

Tony Lo Bianco, the Brooklyn actor who oozed criminal charm in the gritty 1970s New York City dramas The French Connection and The Seven-Ups, has died. He was 87.

Lo Bianco died Tuesday night of prostate cancer at his horse farm in Poolesville, Maryland, his wife, Alyse, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Lo Bianco was also memorable as a smooth-talking con man with a lonely nurse (Shirley Stoler) for a girlfriend/accomplice in Leonard Kastle’s documentary-style The Honeymoon Killers (1970), which Francois Truffaut once said was his favorite American film.

In another cult classic, the horror thriller God Told Me To (1976), directed by Larry Cohen, Lo Bianco starred as a New York cop who investigates a series of bizarre murders orchestrated by the leader of a religious group (Richard Lynch).

He received a best actor Tony nomination in 1983 for playing Eddie Carbone in a revival of Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge,...

George Maksian, who spent 44 years as a film and TV columnist for the New York Daily News at a time when it had the largest circulation in the U.S., died at 94 on May 23. No cause was given.

Working out of the newspaper’s former home on E. 42nd St. in Manhattan, Maksian covered the celebrity beat and was widely syndicated.

His interview list included Ed Sullivan, Howard Stern, Johnny Carson, Barbara Walters, David Letterman and Bette Midler.

But Maksian held a special reverence for Mike Connors of TV’s Mannix, a fellow Armenian-American. Both were born of parents who escaped the Armenian genocide.

Maksian once said sportscaster Howard Cosell wrote a four-page letter to the editors complaining about his boxing coverage.

Maksian reported that Cosell had complained about being forced by ABC to continue covering boxing, objecting to the brutality. But Maksian found out that Cosell’s contract allowed...

Ty Burrell and Bryan Cranston are set to walk a Tightrope! for the Roku Channel.

The two Emmy winners are teaming up for a comedic reworking of a short-lived detective drama from the late 1950s (exclamation point very much included). Burrell will star in and executive produce the six-episode series, while Cranston is an executive producer.

Roku made the announcement Tuesday at its newfronts presentation to advertisers, where it also showcased upcoming programming including a travel series from Tracee Ellis Ross, culinary competition Best Bite Wins hosted by Josh Peck and a talk show from John Cena, among others.

Tightrope! aired for one season in 1959-60 on CBS. The drama starred Mike Connors as an undercover police officer who infiltrated various criminal organizations. The Roku show will “reshape the drama of the vintage 1950s series into a slapstick comedy, where Burrell plays a lone wolf detective following cases city to...

Stephen Kandel, the prolific screenwriter whose work over four decades in television spanned Sea Hunt to Star Trek, Batman to Barnaby Jones and Mannix to MacGyver, has died. He was 96.

Kandel died Oct. 21 of natural causes in his Boston apartment, his daughter Elizabeth Englander told The Hollywood Reporter.

Kandel also wrote multiple episodes of such shows as The Millionaire, The Rogues, Gidget, I Spy, Ironside, The Wild Wild West, It Takes a Thief, Dan August, The New Mike Hammer, Mission: Impossible, Room 222, The Magician, Medical Center, Cannon, Hawaii Five-o and Hart to Hart.

Plus, he co-created Iron Horse, a 1966-68 drama from ABC and Screen Gems that starred Dale Robertson, as a gambler turned railroad baron, Gary Collins and Ellen Burstyn.

“His résumé reads like a Baby Boomer’s dream list of must-see TV,” Tom Weaver wrote in his 2005 book, Earth vs. the Sci-Fi Filmmakers.

Kandel had a hand...

Josephine Chaplin, an actress and the sixth of 11 children fathered by screen legend Charlie Chaplin, died July 13 in Paris, her family announced. She was 74.

Chaplin starred with Laurence Harvey in Menahem Golan’s Escape to the Sun (1972), about a group of people attempting to leave the Soviet Union to escape antisemitism and political repression.

She also appeared with Vittorio De Sica and Maurice Ronet in L’odeur des fauves (1972), with Liv Ullmann and Kiefer Sutherland in Daniel Petrie’s The Bay Boy (1984), and with Klaus Kinski in a German-language version of Jack the Ripper (1976).

In 1988, she portrayed Hadley Richardson, the first wife of Ernest Hemingway, in a miniseries that starred Stacy Keach.

Josephine Chaplin with Laurence Harvey in 1972’s Escape to the Sun.

Josephine Hannah Chaplin was born in Santa Monica on March 28, 1949, the third of eight children of Charlie Chaplin and his fourth wife, Oona O’Neill, the British actress...

Natasha Lyonne’s savvy, road-weary Charlie Cale is a fond homage to classic TV detectives like Jim Rockford and Lt. Frank Columbo: Like Rockford, she lives in a battered mobile home when we first meet her and she’s as dogged in solving crimes as the cigar-smoking Columbo. She also drives a bitchin’ 70s car and rocks a sweater that might have belonged to Paul Michael Glaser’s Starsky.

Here are some of the shows that influenced Rian Johnson’s series and other classic mystery of the week series, and where to watch them.

The Fugitive (1964-1967)

The original series starred David Janssen as a doctor falsely accused of murdering his wife (just like in the 1993 movie starring Harrison Ford). Always on the run from the law and taking odd jobs to survive, each week found him in a new place with a new person needing his help. All while...

Director/Tfh Guru Mick Garris discusses his favorite year in film, 1986, with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes:

Movies Referenced In This Episode

Stir of Echoes (1999)

The Sixth Sense (1999)

The Fly (1958) – Jesus Treviño’s trailer commentary

*The Fly (1986) – Katt Shea’s trailer commentary

The Fly II (1989)

Fuzzbucket (1986)

The Howling (1981) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings

Gremlins (1984) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Tfh’s Mogwai Madness

Alien (1979) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings

*Aliens (1986) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

The Terminator (1984) – Adam Rifkin’s trailer commentary

The Brood (1979) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

Scanners (1981) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary

Fast Company (1979)

Rabid (1977) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Shivers (1975)

Crimes of the Future (1970)

Crimes of the Future (2022)

Stereo (1969)

Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) – Alan Spencer’s trailer commentary

Stand By Me...

"The A-Team" and "High Plains Drifter" star Jack Ging has passed away, according to Deadline. The performer was a familiar presence for fans of early television, appearing in Western series as early as 1958 before his turn as General Harlan "Bull" Fulbright in the popular 1980s action series about a team of framed Vietnam vets. The actor's death came from natural causes at the age of 90, with outlets reporting that he passed away in his home in La Quinta, California.

Ging appeared in dozens of film and television roles over his career before his last on-screen turn in 1994. He's perhaps most-known for his turn on "The A-Team," where he played Bull, a general who hunted down the A-Team before being dramatically killed off in the fourth season finale. Another notable on-screen roles was that of Lieutenant Dan Ives in "Mannix," the long-running detective series that starred Mike Connors and began in...

Click here to read the full article.

Jack Ging, the familiar character actor who recurred on such series as Tales of Wells Fargo, Mannix, Riptide and The A-Team and appeared in three films opposite Clint Eastwood, has died. He was 90.

Ging died Friday of natural causes at his home in La Quinta, California, his wife, Apache Ging, told The Hollywood Reporter.

In rare starring turns, Ging played the love interest of Diane Baker’s character in a remake of Tess of the Storm Country (1960), a soldier and reluctant hero in the waning days of the Korean War in the drama Sniper’s Ridge (1961) and a clinical psychiatrist on the 1962-64 NBC medical series The Eleventh Hour.

Alongside Eastwood, Ging portrayed a marshal in Hang ‘Em High (1968), a doctor in Play Misty for Me (1971) and Morgan Allen, the mine owner (and lover of Marianna Hill’s character), in High Plains Drifter...

Click here to read the full article.

Why Gail Fisher is not more widely celebrated in the annals of Hollywood history is a mystery not even Joe Mannix could solve. Fisher was only the second Black actress to appear in a prominent role on weekly broadcast TV, after Nichelle Nichols of Star Trek. And she was the first to win an Emmy, and not one but two Golden Globe Awards.

The New Jersey native got her start studying acting with Lee Strasberg in New York City, eventually becoming a member of the Repertory Theatre at Lincoln Center. In the 1960s, she became the first Black actor “to make a national TV commercial, on camera, with lines,” as she once explained, when she was cast in an All detergent campaign. But her big break came on the second season of the CBS series Mannix, when the star detective (Mike Connors) sets up his own P.

Some people go to tropical climes or catch up on their sleep during vacation. Jane the Virgin‘s Justin Baldoni got himself a temporary government post.

While on break from playing the CW series’ heartthrob Rafael, Baldoni traveled to New York to shoot two episodes of CBS’ Madam Secretary… which seems odd, until you hear him talk about the political drama and realize he’s a superfan.

Read on to hear his thoughts about playing Kevin Park, a new co-worker who catches Daisy’s eye and who may be keeping a few secrets, then make sure to press Play on...

Mike Connors, best known for his role as detective Joe Mannix on the 1960s show Mannix, died Thursday in Tarzana, California. His son-in-law said the actor had been diagnosed just a week ago with leukemia, and passed away from complications of the disease. Connors was 91. Mannix was a detective TV series that ran from 1967 […]

Source: uInterview

The post Mike Connors, TV Detective On ‘Mannix,’ Dies At 91 From Leukemia appeared first on uInterview.

Mike Connors passed away today of leukemia at a hospital in Tarzana, CA. He was 91.

Connors is best known for his role as Joe Mannix on the CBS series Mannix that ran from 1967-1975.

He was good guy, a private detective who could take a punch like none other. 

Kreker J. Ohanian was born in Fresno, California in 1925. Of Armenian descent, the actor was told to change his name because it sounded too much like George O'Hanlon.

Connors began his film and television career in 1952 under the name Touch (a nickname he earned in college) Connors. 

Early on in the 1950s, he had a bevy of small roles in westerns such as Gun Smoke, Have Gun, Will Travel and Maverick. 

In 1959, Connors got his first series regular role in Tightrope.

Tightrope was originally going to be called Undercover Man, and that makes sense. Connor's character was an undercover agent who...

Mike Connors, best known for his titular role in the long-running CBS procedural Mannix, died Thursday of leukemia, Deadline reports. He was 91.

On Mannix, which debuted in 1967 and ran for eight seasons, Connors played disobedient, plaid coat-wearing private eye Joe Mannix. The role earned him a 1969 Golden Globe award for best actor in a drama series. The series ended its run in 1975 after producing 194 episodes.

Connors’ additional TV credits included guest stints on Murder She Wrote, Walker, Texas Ranger and, in what would be his final acting gig, a 2007 episode of Two and a Half Men.

Related storiesCBS Sets Mary Tyler Moore Tribute for Thursday,...

Mike Connors, who played private detective Joe Mannix on the CBS’ series “Mannix” died Thursday. He was 91. The popular actor had been diagnosed with leukemia last week, according to his son-in-law Mike Condon. Connors played Mannix, a good guy P.I. working for Los Angeles detective agency called Intertect, from 1967 to 1975. Also Read: Mary Tyler Moore: 7 Iconic Scenes From Trailblazer's Career (Videos) “Mannix” was the last series originated with Desilu Productions, the company co-owned by husband and wife Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. In the cult show, Mannix worked his own cases with the help of his loyal secretary Peggy Fair,...

Mike Connors, who took a punch as well as anyone while playing the good-guy private detective on the long-running Saturday night action series Mannix for CBS, has died. He was 91.

A former basketball player for legendary coach John Wooden at UCLA, Connors died Thursday in Encino from leukemia, the actor's agent confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

Mannix, the last series from Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s famed TV company Desilu Productions to air, ran for eight seasons from September 1967 until April 1975. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller (Mission: Impossible), the...

Mike Connors, who starred as a brawling L.A. private eye on the long-running CBS crime drama Mannix, died today of leukemia at a hospital in Tarzana, CA. He was 91. Connors had been diagnosed only a week ago with the disease. He died surrounded by the love of family, including his wife Mary Lou of 68 years whom he met while they were students at UCLA. “He was a wonderful father, a wonderful husband, a wonderful father-in-law and a wonderful friend,” his son-in-law Mike…...

Joan Crawford controls every aspect of this glamorous, Oscar nominated noir about a murderous marriage double-cross. Good acting enlivens a by-the-book, gimmick-laden plot, with every moment designed to flatter the star.

Sudden Fear

Blu-ray

The Cohen Film Collection

1952 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 110 min. / Street Date December 13, 2016 / 34.99

Starring Joan Crawford, Jack Palance, Gloria Grahame, Bruce Bennett, Virginia Huston, Touch Connors, Bess Flowers, Taylor Holmes, Lewis Martin, Arthur Space.

Cinematography Charles Lang

Film Editor Leon Barsha

Art Director Boris Leven

Original Music Elmer Bernstein

Written by Lenore Coffee, Robert Smith from a novel by Edna Sherry

Produced by Joseph Kaufman

Directed by David Miller

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

The Joan Crawford movie Sudden Fear is an efficient and stylish thriller. Although it’s technically film noir, its story of a two-way murder frame-up is sublimated to the actress’s overpowering personality. It’s the first movie where Crawford was able to...

Set in the high-powered world of New York City finance, Equity is a showcase for Breaking Bad star Anna Gunn to prove she unequivocally has what it takes to headline a movie.

Naomi Bishop (Gunn) works for one of the world’s largest banks, and she has a successful track record investing in start-up companies that sell for big bucks when they go public. Her last deal didn’t go so well, but she brushes herself off and she and her VP/assistant Erin (Sarah Megan Thomas) move on to dealing with Cachet, a promising privacy company despite its douchey tech bro founder. Meanwhile, Naomi’s old friend Sam (Orange is the New Black’s Alysia Reiner), now working at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, begins investigating a shady figure (Craig Bierko) who has ties to Michael Conners (James Purefoy), a broker at Naomi’s bank who Naomi’s sleeping with.

Review by Sam Moffitt

I love the silent era of movie making. I’ve written of this before and will again, many times I’m sure. Roger Ebert, on his website, made the observation (accurately I’d say) that silent films are not just movies without sound; they are a different medium altogether from the movies we are used to seeing now. Silent films are as different to sound films as radio is to television.

Hollywood Cavalcade was one of the first movies to look back at Hollywood history, and managed to involve several artists who were instrumental in making films that are still enjoyable today.

Hollywood Cavalcade tells the story of Mike Conners (Don Ameche) and his partner, ace cameraman Pete Tinney (Stu Erwin) and their trip to New York City to find a stage actress they can take back to Hollywood and make into a star of moving pictures.

The "Fringe" finale is drawing closer, and as we start to emotionally prepare ourselves for the end, it's encouraging to know that the show's stars are trying to do the same.

The Huffington Post caught up with Seth Gabel earlier in the week, and as well as discussing his villainous new character on The CW's "Arrow" and his lead role in the intense war film "Allegiance" (released Dec. 28 in New York and Los Angeles, available on VOD now), we couldn't help but slip in a few questions about the end of Fox's sci-fi drama.

Read on for Gabel's thoughts on bidding farewell to "Fringe" and why "Allegiance" is the kind of war film "you've never seen before."

I know that you recently attended the "Fringe" 100th episode party for the end of the series. How was that experience of going back and catching up with everyone?

It was an incredible finish.

"The newspapers said that it was an accident, but I think someone was trying to kill him."

Mike Connors is Mannix. He’s a private investigator based out of Los Angeles. He’s your basic good guy. Without any real personality and an awfully large amount of friends around town (and the world) for a guy that doesn’t seem to get out that much. Unlike Jim Rockford, Mannix isn’t overly interested his fees even though he lives with plenty of glamour. What Mannix lives for is running around, taking and giving beatings, and getting to the bottom of things. He’s pretty good at it, with the occasional help of his assistant Peggy Fair (Gail Fisher) and Lt. Malcolm (Ward Wood). Most of his work runs him into syndicate (aka mafia) and conspiracies of many kinds.

Read more...

I looked for him, but he was gone. I checked the boozy dives and the greasy spoons and the street corners where the not-nice girls hang out.

Nothing.

He was gone.

Tall guy, fedora, trench coat. You must’ve seen him. Usually smoking. He was always hanging around, poking his nose where it didn’t belong and usually getting it punched.

A real wisenheimer, too, always cracking wise.

You see him, you call. And if I find out you’ve been holding back…

If you don’t miss that kind of patois, you’re either too young to remember it, or you’ve got a tin ear. God knows, I miss it.

Back in May, some of you might remember I interviewed Road to Perdition author Max Allan Collins (http://www.soundonsight.org/max-allan-collins-road-to-perdition-on-carrying-on-mickey-spillanes-legacy/). A lot of the discussion had to do with his connection with one of the giants of private eye fiction,...

Aug. 12: Actor George Hamilton is 73. Actress Jennifer Warren is 71. Singer-guitarist Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits is 63. Singer Kid Creole is 62. Actor Sam J. Jones ("Flash Gordon") is 58. Jazz guitarist Pat Metheny is 58. Actor Bruce Greenwood ("Thirteen Days") is 56. Country singer Danny Shirley (Confederate Railroad) is 56. Guitarist Roy Hay of Culture Club is 51. Rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot is 49. Actor Peter Krause is 47. Actor Michael Ian Black ("Ed") is 41. Actress Rebecca Gayheart is 41. Actor Casey Affleck is 37. Actress Maggie Lawson ("Psych") is 32. Actress Imani Hakim ("Everybody Hates Chris") is 19.

Aug. 13: Actor Pat Harrington is 83. Actor Kevin Tighe is 68. Actress Gretchen Corbett ("The Rockford Files") is 65. Actor Danny Bonaduce is 53. Actress Dawnn Lewis ("A Different World," "Hangin' With Mr. Cooper") is 51. Actor John Slattery is 50. Actress Debi Mazar is 48. Actress Quinn Cummings ("Family") is 45. Country singer Andy Griggs is 39. Drummer Mike Melancon of Emerson Drive is 34. Actress Kathryn Fiore ("Reno 911!") is 33. Singer James Morrison is 28.

Aug.

HollywoodNews.com: The 38th Seattle International Film Festival, the largest and most highly-attended event of its kind in the United States concluded today with the announcement of the Siff 2012 Competition Awards and Golden Space Needle Audience Awards. The 25-day Festival, which began May 17, featured over 460 films from more than 70 countries, including 65 feature premieres (24 World, 25 North American, 16 U.S.) and over 700 screenings. Additionally, Siff brought in more than 300 directors, actors and industry professionals.

“A festival’s success is dependent on two basic principles: providing a platform for filmmakers to be celebrated and connecting them to audience members that would not otherwise be aware of their remarkable stories,” said Siff Artistic Director Carl Spence. “This year a record number of filmmakers participated in person and online with virtual Q&A’s successfully expanding the conversation around the best in cinema with passionate audiences, illuminating guests and distinguished industry in attendance.”

Siff Managing Director Deborah Person said,...

I can't remember a time I went to the Seattle International Film Festival (Siff) press launch and looked over the list of films and saw so many I was interested in seeing. The claim to fame for over the years is to call it the largest and most-highly attended festival in the United States. This is a fact I've often taken issue with as I don't equate quantity with quality. Granted, there has been a large number of quality features to play the fest over the years, including Golden Space Needle (Best Film) winners such as Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), My Life as a Dog (1987), Trainspotting (1996), Run Lola Run (1999), Whale Rider (2003) and even recent Best Director winner, Michel Hazanavicius's Oss 117: Nest of Spies in 2006. That said, looking over this year's crop of films I see a lot of films I will be doing my absolute best to see.

I was watching a movie on TV the other day here in my wireless cave in Taiwan: "If All the Women in the World," a 1966 James Bond spoof produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by Henry Levin. It starred Mike Connors, Dorothy Provine and Terry-Thomas. I enjoyed every minute of the film, from beginning to end, and it was interesting to me that in the movie, the bad guys were not the Soviets but the Communist Chinese, who wanted to take over America. This was made in 1966, remember. How things have changed! Not. I noticed that the movie had...

Cinema Retro columnist Tom Lisanti's new book Dueling Harlows: Race to the Silver Screen has just been released. Here is the press release:

Dueling Harlows: Race to the Silver Screen is the fascinating backstory of the competition to get two rival film biographies both titled Harlow into theaters first that quickly turned into one of the nastiest, dirtiest feuds that Hollywood ever witnessed

In 1965, in a rare occurrence not seen before or since, two motion pictures with the same title about the same subject opened within weeks of each other.

Carol Lynley was Jean Harlow in Bill Sargent’s Harlow a quickie B&W independent production filmed in Electronovision. Carroll Baker was Jean Harlow in Joseph E. Levine’s Harlow a big budget color extravaganza from Paramount Pictures. Both endeavored to tell the story of the legendary thirties blonde bombshell’s passionate love life and her meteoric rise from bit...

Westwood - The master of sensual European cinema golden years have a tint of blue. UCLA just hosted retrospective of Radley Metzger’s films. His most important films are being released on Blu-ray. He’s about to take the director’s chair as he approaches 83.

His masterwork Camille 2000 was just released Blu-ray with an extended version from Cult Epics. The 1969 update of Dumas’ The Lady of the Camellias takes place in an esoteric Italy. The restored high definition transfer gives a detailed look at that magical time. The Party Favors had a chance to chat with Radley Metzger about the release.

Trailer provided by Video Detective

Radley is a true independent filmmaker. He owns the rights to his films instead of selling them off to distributor. He’s not at the mercy of an indifferent studio executive to keep his cinematic legacy available. The first question had to be...

 

Connors is on a real life case to track down his missing royalties.

Another icon of 1960s TV claims he was snookered out of merchandising and video royalties. Mike Connors, who starred in the popular private eye series Mannix, claims that Hollywood accounting practices manage to show that his hit series that ran for years is still technically in the loss column, thus CBS and Paramount are denying him royalties. Connors says the more the show grosses, the greater the losses. This is due to notorious accounting practices that artificially inflate a show's production costs and overheads. Actors and actresses have been taking studios to court for decades over this method of denying royalties to talent. For more click here...

Actor Mike Connors is taking legal action against bosses behind his classic 1960s series Mannix over allegations he is owed millions in royalties.

The 85-year-old, who starred in the title role as a private investigator, filed a lawsuit against Paramount and CBS Television Studios bosses in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday.

In his complaint, Connors included a copy of his 1966 contract stipulating he should earn a percentage of "net profits" and "gross proceeds" from the use of his name and likeness - money he claims he has never received.

The suit states, "Notwithstanding all of the hard work, time and effort put into the series, Mr. Connors has never received any profits on Mannix in the ordinary course of participation accounting. Indeed, even as the series continues to generate revenue to this day from exploitation and DVD sales, it sinks deeper and deeper into debt."

Connors is seeking unspecified damages.

A statement from CBS bosses to the Hollywood Reporter reads, "This lawsuit is a mystery worthy of Mannix's detective skills. Before the case was filed, we had not heard from Mr. Connors or his lawyers, and we had not been made aware of any dispute. We will honor Mr. Connors' contract and fulfill all of our obligations."...

Mike Connors, the actor who played detective Joe Mannix in the CBS series "Mannix" four decades ago, is looking to solve the mystery of where all of his royalties money went. Connors, 85, files suit against Paramount Pictures Corporation and CBS Television Studios in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday, claiming breach of written contract, negligent misrepresentation and unfair business practices, among other charges. Connors alleges that he is owed royalties on DVDs and other products deriving from the series, which ran from 1967 to 1975. The suit claims that Connors has only...

Encino, CA - While Charles Nelson Reilly is beloved for his time on Match Game, there’s more to this actor than Dumb Dora answers. He was the toast of Broadway with roles in Hello Dolly and Bye, Bye, Birdie and won the Tony for How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying. Later in life he directed several plays on the Great White Way. While many actors sum up their lives in thick tomes, Charles created a one-man show. He was a stage performer so this was the best way to distill his experiences for an audience. The Life of Reilly captures his final performance before his passing in 2007.

After playing the festival circuit and a limited theatrical release, Life of Reilly is finally out on DVD, Blu-ray and iTunes. You can take Charles every where. In edition to the feature film, there’s tons of bonus features including...

PBS' "Pioneers of Television" will feature television icons James Garner, Linda Evans, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Angie Dickinson, Stefanie Powers, Robert Conrad, Mike Connors, Nichelle Nichols, Martin Landau, Bill Cosby, Fess Parker who reveal how they broke new ground in their famous TV roles. A special "Legendary Women of Television" event with Angie Dickinson, Linda Evans, Nichelle Nichols and Stefanie Powers will take place at New York City's 92nd Street Y on January 16 to mark the series premiere. Pioneers of Television reveals intriguing stories and uncovers fascinating facts from the early days of television, including: Gene Roddenberry's first choice to play Spock in "Star Trek."William Shatner's first TV role (hint: it's not in the "Science Fiction" episode).The first show...

Television audiences have been fascinated with crime dramas since Dragnet moved from radio to the small screen in 1951. From Joe Friday to Columbo, TV cops have been cracking cases and entertaining viewers for decades.

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences recently honored a group of TV crimefighters past and present. On the scene was Mike Connors, who starred Mannix and was the evening's special honoree.

Current stars in attendance included Thomas Gibson from the CBS series Criminal Minds, Matt Bomer from USA's White Collar, Matt Passmore and Carlos Gomez from A&E's The Glades, and Boris Kodjoe from (the sadly just canceled) Undercovers.

And have no fear. The legacy of the butt-kicking female cop was also represented at the event by Lee Merriweather who played Betty on Barnaby Jones from 1973 to 1980, Marg Helgenberger from CSI, Angie Harmon from TNT's Rizzoli and Isles, and Mary McCormack from USA's In Plain Sight.

Even if you live and work in Hollywood, you don’t get many chances to be in the presence of greatness. And on those rare occasions when you do, you hardly ever get to be surrounded by it. Last night, we were fortunate enough to be on the red carpet at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences celebration of Bob Newhart’s 50th anniversary in show business.

So, not only did we get to interview one of our all-time TV favorites for the Archive of American Television, but we met a few of his friends, too. Lucky for us his best buddies include the mastermind insult comic Don Rickles, the sketch comedy king Tim Conway, and the historic sitcom sidekick Bill Dailey.

Along the way we heard tales of what a joy it is to work with Bob. And, even more importantly, stories about what an all around good guy he is.

DVD Playhouse—October 2009

By

Allen Gardner

The Wizard Of Oz 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’S Edition (Warner Bros.) A true highlight in digital restoration technology, Warner Bros. restoration of the 1939 classic is cause for celebration. The Technicolor of the late ‘30s looks as though it was shot yesterday, and is especially stunning on Blu-ray, which was produced by scanning each of the film’s original Technicolor camera negatives using 8K resolution. From this scan, a final “capture” master was created in 4K, yielding twice the resolution seen in the master utilized for the film’s previous DVD release. Judy Garland’s Dorothy is charming as ever, and the entire cast: Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley and Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch, are all stellar. Four disc set bonuses include: Sing-along track; Documentaries and featurettes; Two 1914 silent films produced by Oz author L. Frank Baum, based on his stories...

Burbank – Chat Fatigue is coming.

Forget swine flu (or H1N1); Chat Fatigue will be the sickness that will overtake millions this fall. The group most susceptible to this are NBC viewers. Now that Jay Leno will be taking over the 10 p.m. slot from Monday to Friday (starting Sept. 14) on the Peacock network, viewers will get four hours of people sitting behind desks and talking directly to the camera.

Can the average viewer really handle going from Leno to local news to Conan O’Brien to Jimmy Fallon to Carson Daly? How many guys in suits and ties sitting behind a desk do you want to experience after an 8 hours of work day with guys in suits and ties sitting behind desks? They’re all going to stare at you through the boob tube and jibber jabber. Kinda like the doofus with the desk next to you at work.

The Untouchables is the classic crime TV series that ran from 1959 to 1963 on ABC, based on the novel by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, following the adventures of Ness, the Prohibition agent, who fought gangsters in 1930's Chicago with the help of a special team of agents nicknamed the 'Untouchables'. The mostly violent stories revolved around Ness' enmity with the criminal empire of Chicago mob boss 'Al Capone', starring actor Robert Stack as Ness and Bruce Gordon as 'Frank Nitti'. Desilu produced 118 episodes, introduced by radio newsman Walter Winchell, featuring memorable orchestrated theme music by Nelson Riddle. Notable guest-stars included actors Jack Lord, Lee Marvin, James Caan, Mike Connors, Martin Balsam, Peter Falk, Telly Savalas, Lee Van Cleef, Charles Bronson, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York. Click on any of the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek a clip from an episode of The Untouchables.

Actor and author Chris Lemmon.

Chris Lemmon Sheds Light On Jack Lemmon: The Man Behind The Magic

By

Alex Simon

Contrary to popular belief, not all movie stars’ offspring had dysfunctional lives filled with drug abuse, domestic violence and self-destruction. Some children of stars have even gone on to live “normal” lives outside of La-la land, and hold their famous parents in high esteem. Take the case of Chris Lemmon. Born June 22, 1954 in L.A., Chris is the son of two-time Oscar winning actor Jack Lemmon and actress Cynthia Stone. Although his parents divorced when he was young, Chris remained close to both throughout their lives and penned a tribute to his father, (who passed in 2001) called A Twist of Lemmon in 2006, published by Algonquin Books.

A successful actor in his own right and a graduate of Cal Arts, Chris Lemmon most recently has collaborated with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment...

Few TV credits sequences have ever been as slam-bang as the opening to the long-running detective series Mannix. Under a propulsive, naggingly catchy Lalo Schifrin theme, star Mike Connors leaps, ducks, punches, and races, on a screen that's sliced into quadrants, turning Connors into primetime's first cubist action hero. The credits promise that Mannix will be a show so action-packed that it'll verge on abstraction, and that it'll be hipper than the average cops-and-robbers fare. More often than not, both those promises are kept. The 26 episodes on the Mannix: The First Season DVD set are drawn from the 1967-'68 season, which differs some from the show Mannix would become. Before going into business for himself in Season Two, Connors worked for a state-of-the-art detective agency, where he was the guy to call when the...