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| This is a
collection of old news and obituaries from the Morty's TV
News page. Dates, where shown, represent the date the
story was originally posted on the web site. Because
these are old stories, links within the stories may no
longer be active. For current news and schedules, click
here. |
You Can Browse Old
News By Month...
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Home Improvement
Neighbor Earl Hindman Dies |
 [December
30, 2003]
Earl Hindman, an actor, died lung cancer at age
61 in Stamford, Connecticut. Hindman is best known for playing next dor
neighbor, Wilson Wilson Jr. on ABC's "Home Improvement" from 1991 to
1999. Wilson dispensed folksy advice from behind a fence, with only
his eyes and forehead visible to audiences.
 Throughout
Hindman's tenure on "Home Improvement," he flew back and forth from Los
Angeles to his home in Stamford, where he resided with his wife of 27
years, Rev. Molly McGreevy. McGreevy told the Stamford Advocate
"Earl had a very deep voice. It was rich, very warm and very recognizable. He was the funniest human being I ever met. Even after 27 years of marriage, he could always crack me up."
Before being cast in "Home Improvement," Hindman worked for many years in daytime soaps portraying Detective Lieutenant Bob Reid for 16 years on
"Ryan's Hope."
Born in Bisbee, Arizona, on October 20, 1942, Hindman caught the acting bug doing theater in high school and from there launched a career that spanned more than three decades.
He first caught the eye of casting directors in his late 20s after a series of off-Broadway plays in the early 1970s, including
"Dark Moon," "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel" and a production of Henry V at the New York Shakespeare Festival.
In 1974, he landed roles in two notable movies: Alan Pakula's conspiracy thriller
"The Parallax View," starring Warren Beatty, and the crime drama "The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3," opposite Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw.
Other film credits include "Grease Lightning" (1977), "Taps" (1981),
"Silverado" (1985), "Three Men and a Baby" (1987), "Talk Radio" (1988),
"The Ballad of the Sad Café" (1991) and, most recently, 2001's "Final," a sci-fi drama directed by Campbell Scott and starring Denis Leary.
Hindman's TV-movie credits include "Murder in Coweta County" (1983), a police drama starring Andy Griffith;
"Kojak: The Price of Justice" (1987); and the epic World War II miniseries
"War and Remembrance" (1988).
He also did guest shots on such shows as "The Equalizer," "Spenser for Hire,"
"Tales from the Darkside," "Law & Order" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent."
Hindman just completed work in "Beautiful Summer," an
independent feature in which he played an old fisherman fighting off hallucinations.
McGreevy described her husband as an easy-going, humble man whose hobbies included collecting stamps and coins and playing poker with friends.
Aside from his wife, Hindman is survived by his mother, a sister and a brother. |
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Great New
Releases Coming on DVD for 2004! |
|
[December
28, 2003]
There's some great stuff coming out on DVD, a few surprises
too. MGM is releasing "The Best of Mister Ed, Volume 1" on January
13th. Turner Home Video is releasing the first season of "Gilligan's
Island" on February 3rd. MGM is putting the entire 32 episodes of the
first season of "Green Acres" on a two disc set value priced at under
$30. The first season of "What's Happening" comes out on
February 3rd. "Starsky & Hutch" will be available on March 2nd.
Links to other popular titles with releases coming up in 2004 are listed in the
DVD Releases box on the left of this page.
 The third season of "All in the
Family" is coming in the fall and there are no pre-orders yet. "Beverly Hills 90219" is
slated for next Spring. "The Dick Van Dyke Show" Season Three is
coming February 24th. "The Dick Van Dyke Show" DVDs are the
best compilations of a classic TV series on the market, chock full of extras and
cool stuff. The sixth season of "Buffy the Vampire" has
been pushed back to July. "Kung-Fu: The Complete First Season" will
hit the streets on March 16th. "Good Times" second season will be
out on February 3rd. The third season of "Angel" will be released
on February 10th.
I
receive a lot of mail asking about various titles. I have no inside
information on titles that do not have release dates. Still no news on "The Simpsons" Fourth Season. There's no news for
fans waiting for "Leave it to Beaver," "Route 66,"
and the dozens of other titles you've asked about. |
|
New Network to
Feature Good Times, 227, More... |
 [December
27, 2003]
A new network geared towards urban and African Americans
is set to launch
on January 19th, nationwide! In addition to "Good Times" and "227,"
they announced they will also
air "City of Angels" and "Under One Roof."
TV-One, is joint venture between ComCast and Radio One,
and is expected to air in most ComCast markets. As I reported
earlier, cable companies are being charged higher license fees to carry the
channels we watch. In an effort to keep our cable rates from increasing,
some of the major cable companies are planning to try adding their own channels.
These channels are not to replace popular channels, like Lifetime, and BET, but
rather to drive down their rates. At this time there hasn't been any
announced plans for a classic TV channel to compete with TV Land and others,
however viewer demand could help speed up the development of such a channel.
If this is something you'd like to see, write your cable company and tell them.
Here's what the press at TV-One has to say:
LANHAM, Md., Dec. 22 -- TV One, the new entertainment
network for African American adults, will include the
classic hit comedy series "Good Times" and "227" in its
programming lineup when the network debuts in January
2004.
Airing for five highly-rated seasons (1974-1979), "Good Times" altered America's cultural landscape by tackling
topical, often controversial issues from a uniquely
African-American perspective, while delivering
heart-warming laughs. Focusing on a poor but proud
family in the Chicago projects, the Evans clan --
headed by James (John Amos) and sharp-tongued mother
Florida (Esther Rolle) -- struggled against adversity
while keeping their heads held high. The trailblazing
show also made a star of comedian Jimmie Walker whose
catchphrase "DYN-O-MITE!" became part of '70s pop
culture. The series also helped introduce the world to
superstar Janet Jackson, who, beginning at age 11,
played neighbor girl Penny Woods for several seasons.
The popular, award-winning series "227," which aired for
five seasons (1985- 1990), features life in and around
an urban apartment building and stars Marla Gibbs
(previously of "The Jeffersons"). Gibbs plays Mary
Jenkins, who with her family lives in the building,
which is chock full of entertaining and memorable
characters, including the wise-cracking,
scatter-brained Sandra Clark, played by Jackee Harry.
Harry won an Emmy Award and was nominated for a Golden
Globe for her role in the series. The series also
features Regina King as the Jenkins' teenage daughter
Brenda.
TV One acquired the rights to the series from Sony
Pictures Television.
"Many adult African Americans grew up with these two
comedy series, and our research shows that our target
audience looks forward to seeing these classics as
part of the TV One lineup," said TV One President and
CEO Johnathan Rodgers. Scheduled to launch January 19, TV One will offer a
broad range of entertainment-oriented original programming, classic series,
movies, fashion and music that focus on African American themes, issues culture
and politics.
Visit the web site at:
www.tv-one.tv. |
|
FX First Episodes |
|
[December
26, 2003]
TV Land isn't the only cable network presenting first
episodes on New Year's Day. FX will present first episodes of their
line-up on January 1st, starting at 7:00AM with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
Despite the critics and friends that told me I'd like this
series, I didn't start watching until I got the first season of "Buffy"
on DVD, and I was hooked. In the first episode, "Welcome to the Hellmouth",
Buffy moves to Sunnydale, Calif., and meets her new watcher, Giles. FX
will air the first four episodes, in a two hour block starting at 7:00AM.
So, if you've never watched "Buffy" before, give it a try. It's
just as good as you've heard.
At 11:00AM is the pilot episode of "The Practice,"
followed by the first eight episodes of "In Living Color," starting at
noon.
At 4:00PM, meet the Bundys in the first episode of
"Married With Children." The four hour block of the first eight
episodes begins with Peggy inviting their neighbors over, thus ruining Al's
plans for the night. |
|
Actress Hope
Lange Dies at Age 70 |
 [December
22, 2003]
Actress Hope Lange died Friday at age 70. Lange,
who won two Emmys for playing the lead in "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir,"
and earned an Oscar nomination for her supporting role in the 1957 film
"Peyton Place" died Friday at Saint John's Health Center after
suffering an infection caused by an intestinal inflammation.Lange starred in dozens of films and television shows over a decades-long career and appeared with some of Hollywood's top actors.
Her big screen credits included "The Best of Everything" in 1959 with Joan Crawford;
"The Young Lions" in 1958 with Marlon Brando, "Wild in the Country" in 1961 with Elvis Presley, and
"Peyton Place" with Lana Turner. In "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir," which ran from 1968 to 1970, Lange played
widow Carolyn Muir, who moves into a seaside home with her children and
finds the ghost of a sea captain, played by Edward Mulhare. In 1971-74
Lange costarred with Dick Van Dyke in "The New Dick Van
Dyke Show" , playing the wife of Van Dyke's character, a
television talk show host.
More recently, she appeared on the screen in "Blue Velvet" in 1986, and
in the 1994 thriller "Clear and Present Danger," in which she played a
senator. |
|
Various Viacom Announcements |
|
[December
13, 2003]
Brad Garrett has been tapped to host the second annual
TV Land Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV, airing
Wednesday, March 17, 2004 starting at 9:00PM on both
TV Land and Nick@Nite. Red-carpet pre-show will only
air on TV Land at 8:30PM. Viacom has unveiled an agressive development
slate of original scripted and unscripted series and
specials. First-ever development roster -- headed
by Nick at Nite/TV Land President Larry Jones and
development and production chief Sal Maniaci -- boasts
efforts from Bill Cosby, Kelsey Grammer, Henry
Winkler, Peter Bonerz, Gay Rosenthal and David
Steinberg.
Evolution into original development has been bubbling
for both nets for more than a year, when Nick at Nite
announced it was developing "Fatherhood," the animated
comedy based on Bill Cosby's children's book. Both TV Land and Nick have the same goal of launching a block of
fresh programming by next year, though each will focus
on different kinds of fare.
For Nick at Nite, originals mandate involves
developing adult programming that kids can watch in
order to cash in on the channel's strong Nickelodeon
lead-in. Maniaci said the network's programming is
"informed by the four F's: family-friendly, funny and
familiar."
Meanwhile, programming for TV-philes is in the
pipeline for TV Land. That means a slate of originals
centered on all things TV -- including documentaries,
mockumentaries, list shows (which have put sister net
VH1 back on the map), reality/reunion specs and
sitcoms.
Acquired programs will remain both channels'
bread-and-butter biz. The originals strategy is
designed to take advantage of the large audience
watching Nick at Nite, and to give audiences a new reason
to watch TV Land.
"We're in the rerun business. It's our future, our
five-year-plan and our 10-year plan," Jones said.
"What we're attempting to do is to give people a new
way to look at their favorite shows.... (And) we want
to get people talking and thinking about, and tuning
in, to (both channels)."
As for Nick at Nite, November Nielsen numbers show the channel is up 13% in its core adult 18-49 demo
year-to-year. Nick ranks first among basic cable channels in
the demo during its Sunday-Thursday 9:00PM-6:00AM,
Friday-Saturday 10:00PM-6:00AM programming block.
Nick at Nite will shoot for an hour of original programming
once every week from 9-10:00PM for 2004, and
eventually expand to the same hour on different
nights.
"It's such a huge audience (Nick has at 8:30 p.m.)
that in some ways, it's a huge no-brainer," Jones
said.
The long-gestating "Fatherhood" is first up, with a June debut. Several companion
candidates are in development to air with the program.
Pilot orders include for Nick@Nite [Note: A
pilot order does not guarantee a slot on the network schedule.] :
"Exploding Baloney," a half hour hidden camera show
show that lets parents and teachers pull pranks on
kids. Exec producer is Joe Boyd.
"Alf's Hit Talk Show," a entertainment talker hosted
by TV's famous furry alien. Executive producers are Paul
Fusco ("Alf") and Burt Dubrow ("The Tom Green Show"). Nick also has scripts commitments for:
"Zen & Buster," from Kelsey Grammer's Grammnet
Productions, animated half-hour revolves around the
lives of Hollywood pets. Grammer will perform
voiceover for the show.
"Kids Say the Darndest Things," armed with a new host,
the latest edition of Art Linkletter and Bill Cosby's
format of the same name. Linkletter, Eddie Krtizer and
Irvin Atkins produce.
Scripted series on the slate for Nick@Nite include:
"Return Engagement," a sitcom revolving around retired thesps living in a
"Melrose Place"-type complex.
Project comes from actor-director Peter Bonerz ("Just
Shoot Me.")
"Take 2" chronicles the life of a classic TV
star-turned-psychologist who is unable to escape the
shadow of his former fame. Series was created by Dan
Schneider ("Big Fat Liar.")
"My Man Marty," about a long-lost laffer given new
life on a network's schedule, from exec producers
Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert ("Stripperella.")
"The Tommy Lynch Project," a la "The Larry Sanders
Show," series is a behind-the-scenes comedy about a
hidden camera dating skein. Tommy Lynch (Nickelodeon's "Romeo") produces.
As for TV Land, while down 19% in its target
adults 25-54 demo from the previous November, is
celebrating its most-watched year ever in the same
demo and total viewers.
TV Land has greenlit the six-seg series "TV Land
Moguls," which exemplifies the strategy of targeting tubeaholics. Hosted by Merv Griffin, series--from CBS
News Prods.--- profiles TV's pioneering producers over
the decades including Norman Lear, Aaron Spelling,
Steven Bochco, Dick Wolf, David E. Kelley and Jerry
Bruckheimer. "The goal is to talk about TV overall and contemporize
the TV expertise we have to talk about television in
today's marketplace as well," said Maniaci.
Also back for a second year will be the "TV Land
Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV," which notched 15
million overall viewers on both TV Land and Nick at
Nite. The behind-the-scenes spec from the first TV
Land Awards "All Access Pass: The TV Land Awards" is
set to air January 28th.
In the development pipeline for TV Land are:
The reality pilot "Living in TV Land," a slice of life
look at a day in the life of classic TV actors such as
Dick Van Patten, Jack Klugman, Alan Thicke, Tim Conway
and Bernie Kopell. Craig Nevius ("The Black Scorpian")
produces.
"TV Land Real Characters," a half-hour mock biography
series profiling classic TV icons -- not actors who
played them.
"Table Read," from Gay Rosenthal Prods. ("Behind the
Music"), reunites former television casts for a
re-reading of a memorable episode.
"David Steinberg Project," a talk show parody a la
"Fernwood 2Nite" aimed at Hollywood.
"Hello Out There," behind-the-scenes laffer about running a classic TV
network.
"TV Land Collectibles," a TV memorabilia take on "Antiques Road
Show." Move into original development seems something for risk for a channel
with a proven track record in repeats.
"It's not a safe bet," Jones concedes. "We're not naive about that. But to
pass up this huge audience that's delivered to our doorstep seems like a missed
opportunity." What's more, "There will be value (in originals) when we talk to
our advertisers and our cable affiliates." |
|
Changes at Spike:
A-Team Leaves |
|
[December
13, 2003] [Pavan]
In a last minute move, "Cheers" will be leaving Spike TV
effective Monday, December 15. Cheers' 7:00PM slot
will now be "Star Trek: TNG" and 2:00AM slot will be
"Seven Days" for Dec 15-23 (Dec 24-Jan 2, Spike will have movies/specials
all day long).
There is word that "Cheers" might return
in January, but moving to 6 and 6:30PM and still airing 2 and 2:30AM starting
January 5, it is not official yet.
"The A-Team" will be leaving Spike TV after it's
Tuesday, December 23 airing (Dec 24-Jan 2, Spike will have movies/specials all
day long). The new Spike TV schedule starts January 5, and "Real TV" will
be replacing "The A-Team." The reason why is because Spike TV/TV Land
(and the rest of the Viacom channels) is losing the rights to the show after
December 31, it looks like they will not renew. |
|
New Judith Light
Comedy to Air in 2004 |
 [December
13, 2003]
Judith Light of "Who's the Boss" and "Sisters"
Robert Klein will star in the mid-season replacement "The Stones."
Also in the cast are Jay Baruchel ("Undeclared"), Lindsay Sloane ("Grosse Pointe"),
The comedy is about the crazy reality of two adult children living in their childhood home with their divorcing but still friendly parents. Winston Stone (Baruchel), a brainy science geek, is thrown for a loop when he and his hip, funky sister, Karly (Sloane), meet their parents, Barbara (Light) and Stan (Klein), to celebrate their anniversary, and the elders announce that they are getting an amicable divorce after 25 years of marriage. Winston sees it as the end of the world, but Karly acts like it doesn't really matter. Now, as the Stones still try to live under one roof, they may nag, tease, annoy and antagonize each other, but they always do it with love.
"The Stones" will debut on CBS in January and will air on Wednesdays at 8:30PM
replacing "Becker." |
|
Big TV & Movie
Memorabilia Auction Today |
|
[December
11, 2003]
$2 Million worth of TV and movie memorabilia will be auctioned today by Joseph Maddalena's
company, "Profiles in History." Items include" Custom-Built, Fully
Operational "Black Beauty" Car Driven by Bruce Lee as "Kato" in the Classic TV
Series "The Green Hornet."
 In addition, the world's largest and most important collection of futuristic
guns and weapons will be put on the block, from such landmark productions as
"The Alien" films, "The Terminator" films, "Babylon 5," "Dune," "Battlestar
Galactica," "Dr. Who," "Red Dwarf," "Flash Gordon," "The Invaders," "Logan's
Run," "Predator 2," "Batman," "Blake's 7," "The Fifth Element," "V," "SeaQuest:
DSV," "Men in Black," "The Outer Limits," "RoboCop," "Ultraman," "Lost in
Space," and "Judge Dredd." This collection was painstakingly acquired over the
past 12 years by a single dedicated collector, and each piece is the finest
known example of each variety in existence.
 |
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Ron Howard's Jefferson High
sweater from "Happy Days." |
Bidders may attend in person on today at the Westin Hotel, bid by phone and
fax, or by simultaneous live Internet hookup through eBay Live Auctions (www.ebayliveauctions.com ),
which reaches buyers around the world. All items to be auctioned are
available for review in a soon-to-be-published full-color catalog obtainable
through the Profiles in History's offices at 110 North Doheny Drive, Beverly
Hills, Calif., or by visiting the company's website at
www.profilesinhistory.com. |
|
Morty's B-TV
Holiday Spectacular |
 [December
9, 2003]
As the Holiday approach, all our favorite classic TV stations
are presenting special blocks of Holiday programming, and so am I.
Included in my line-up is "Gunsmoke," "Dragnet," "Our Miss Brooks," "Burns
and Allen," "The Life of Riley," "Red Skelton," "My Friend Irma,"
"Roy Rogers," "The Milton Berle Show," and more.
But this isn't TV, it's B-TV. What is B-TV? "B-TV " is "Before
Television." Before many of our favorite classics were on TV, they were on
radio. I've put together a collection of popular radio shows that became
TV shows and from now to January you can listen on line to over 60 Holiday
episodes. Click Here |
|
Schedules |
|
[December 5, 2003]
In a diabolical plot to keep me busy, TV Land has been busy
revising their schedules. Those of you waiting for "Green Acres" to
start in January, will have to wait for an April/May debut.
"Family Ties" and "All in the Family" are
moving over to TV Land from Nick@Nite in January. "Family Ties" kicks off
with a big 48 hour marathon starting at 6:00AM on December 6th (see the
episode schedule here). "Family
Ties" is being added is because of TV Land & Nick@Nite's new "Family Table"
campaign. The promos started airing last Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. I'm
sure you'll see them during the 48-hour event this weekend. "All in
the Family" kicks off with a 48 hour marathon starting Saturday, December
27th at 6:00AM.
Just to keep us guessing, Nick@Nite
cancelled repeat broadcasts of their "Holiday Special," but snuck one in on TV
Land on Monday, December 8th. The all new special features Ted Danson ("Cheers"), Mary Steenburgen,
Joyce DeWitt ("Three's Company"), Raven ("The Cosby
Show"), French Stewart, Martin Mull ("Roseanne"),
recording artists Vince Gill & Amy Grant and "American
Idol" star Clay Aiken are among the special celebrity
guests that share their favorite holiday memories and
music in this one-hour special.
On Saturday, December 13, 2003 6:00AM to Monday, December 14 6:00AM
TV Land will have a "Bonanza 42 Episode Hoe-down Holiday Marathon"
Saturday, December 13 6:00AM. to 6:00PM; 12:00AM to 6:00AM and Sunday, December
14 6:00AM. to 6:00AM (episode info coming soon) . Stuck in the
middle of this event, is another event: "12 Shows of Christmas"
Saturday, December 13, 2003 6:00PM. to Midnight. This is the six hour
holiday special features episodes that have absolutely nothing to do with the
Holiday's, unless you want to re-write "The Twelve Days of Christmas"
carol, which TV Land has attempted.
"Fatherhood," the original animated series from
Nick@Nite and Bill Cosby has been pushed back until March 2004 on
Nick@Nite. It was slated to start January 20, airing
Tuesdays at 9:00PM.
But wait there's more! Rather than a 48 hour
marathon of first and last episodes on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, there
will be just just two 15 hour blocks, airing on December 31 and January 1st from
6:00AM to 9:00PM. At 9:00PM on January 1st, TV Land's new 2004 schedule will
start, and will include "Carol Burnett and Friends," "All in the Family,"
"Family Ties," and maybe another surprise or two. Now I'm not holding
back, I really have no clue as to what else (if anything) they're planning.
As soon as I get more details, they'll be added to the schedules.
With "All in the Family" and "Family Ties"
moving to TV Land, a new January grid for Nick@Nite
is expected, but nothing has been announced.
I think I've got all the holiday episodes on other
networks listed in the Viewer's Guide. It's
pretty big this year and is continued on a second page.
Pavan says you can forget his theory about "Dark
Shadows" filling one of the "Ryan's Hope" slots on SoapNET. Former ABC daytimer
"Port Charles" will join the lineup at SOAPNet,
beginning December 29, airing in back to back episodes
Noon-1:00PM "Port Charles" launched on ABC in 1997 and
finished it run on October 3, 2003.
So "Ryan's Hope" will air 2-3:00PM and 4-5:00AM. This doesn't mean that
"Dark Shadows" may not eventually end up on SoapNET, it's just not where
we guessed it would air.
Please remember that this web site announces what these stations plan
to air, and plans can change. Some stations are a little bit behind in
finalizing plans this year, I try to keep up with the changes. Also
remember, that these schedules are unofficial, neither Pavan or myself can
change what the stations air. Please don't write to me asking for new
shows or schedule changes, I'd like to help but I don't work for TV Land, or any
other station. Information in contacting those networks is
here.
|
|
TV Stars
Headlines |
[December 1, 2003]
Actor John Amos Helps Wildfire Victims
[Associated Press
Sunday November 30 11:35 AM ET]
Actor John Amos had to do something when he heard about a man driven out of his home so quickly by last month's wildfires that he didn't have time to grab his shoes.
 Full Details.
Dick Van Dyke Enjoys Computer Graphics
[Associated Press
Saturday November 29 6:15 PM ET]
Retired comic actor Dick Van Dyke has found a high-tech outlet for his talent.
"I'm a computer animator. I'm a real nerd," the 78-year-old Van Dyke told The Associated Press in an interview to promote the DVD release of the 1968 musical fantasy
"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang."
Full Details.
Lisa Kudrow
and Aisha Tyler Going to Work for CBS Pilot
[Reuters December 1, 3:29 AM ET] "Friends" co-star Lisa Kudrow and Aisha Tyler, who recently had a recurring role on the hit sitcom, are staying close friends with a workplace comedy set up at CBS.
Full Details.
Bergen Stretches to Be Herself on 'Grace'
[Zap2It Monday, December 01 11:42 AM (LOS ANGELES)] Fans of NBC's
"Will & Grace" have heard Megan Mullally's Karen refer to her acquaintance "Candy Bergen" on several occasions, but on Thursday, Dec. 4, that enigmatic friend will finally appear, played by none other than, naturally, Candice Bergen.
Full Details. |
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