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Just four days after earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Play and five more citations for its cast members, Purpose has just won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Today's announcement of the finalists and winner by Columbia University described Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' work as "a play about the complex dynamics and legacy of an upper-middle class African American family whose patriarch was a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement. A skillful blend of drama and comedy that probes how different generations define heritage."

Cole Escola's Oh, Mary! also received recognition as a finalist for the Pulitzer. Columbia described the play as "a zany portrait of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln's family life, whose outrageous humor also serves as an empathetic celebration of anyone who's been marginalized or misunderstood." Escola's riotous spoof took off-Broadway and now Broadway by storm and earned Tony nominations for Best Play,...

In the early- to mid-1970s, a number of prominent filmmakers found modest success with star-studded whodunnits. In 1972, Joseph L. Mankiewicz directed Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine in a splendid adaptation of Anthony Shaffer's intricately plotted play "Sleuth." A year later, Herbert Ross directed the wickedly clever "The Last of Sheila," a mystery concocted by Anthony Perkins and Stephen Sondheim, and featuring such marquee names as James Coburn, Dyan Cannon, Richard Benjamin, Raquel Welch, and James Mason. Then in 1974, moviegoers got a double dose of Agatha Christie with Sidney Lumet's "Murder on the Orient Express", and Peter Collinson's "And Then There Were None".

There was no cultural development driving this sudden spate of whodunnits; it was just a reminder that people love to watch a bunch of great actors get thrown into the same location where foul play has been committed, and then try to work out...

Acclaimed actor Lisa Lu, whose storied career spans over 65 years across film, television and stage, will be honored with the 2,811th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Bestowed the title of a “Living Legend” by the Chinese Government, Lu is a three-time Golden Horse winner whose recent work includes her memorable turn as Ah Ma, the matriarch of Singapore’s richest family in Warner Brothers’ box office hit “Crazy Rich Asians” (2018). Even in her 90s, Lu has maintained an active career, starring in “The Disappearance of Mrs. Wu” (2021), voicing Grandma Bai in the animated feature “Rally Road Racers,” and appearing in multiple episodes of the Hulu series “Death and Other Details” (2024).

Her stage career has been equally impressive, starring in Stan Lai’s epic eight-hour play “A Dream Like a Dream,” playing Lady Bracknell in the Chinese stage production of “The Importance of Being Earnest” at the National Theatre in Taipei,...

Ruth Buzzi, who was so hilarious as the lonely spinster Gladys Ormphby, the lady who swung her handbag as a lethal weapon, on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, has died. She was 88.

Buzzi died Thursday of complications from Alzheimer’s at her home near Fort Worth, Texas, her longtime rep, Mike Eisenstadt, told The Hollywood Reporter. In July 2022, her husband, actor Kent Perkins, revealed that she was “bedridden and incapacitated” after suffering a series of strokes.

Buzzi appeared in the original Broadway production of the musical comedy Sweet Charity, played Marlo Thomas’ pal Margie “Pete” Peterson on ABC’s That Girl, starred opposite Jim Nabors on a Saturday morning kids show, The Lost Saucer, and spent many years on Sesame Street.

Early on in her career, Buzzi had a comedy act with Dom DeLuise in which he played the incompetent magician Dominic the Great and she his assistant, Shakuntala.

Buzzi was...

Malcolm in the Middle and King of the Hill will soon experience a resurrection. These are just two of the many recent examples of long-dead sitcoms returning for new episodes. While this might seem like a relatively recent phenomenon, it’s not that far away from a much older TV tradition: the sitcom reunion special. These typically one-hour specials would drop in on the beloved star characters and see how they’re doing years later.

In fact, sometimes a reunion special was exactly what a show needed to tie up loose ends after the series was unexpectedly canceled; for example, in a Gilligan’s Island reunion, all the castaways were rescued. Other times, however, the whole thing comes off as forced and dated.

Here are five such examples of TV reunion specials with varying levels of success…

1 The Odd Couple

In the final episode of The Odd Couple, after five...

Gold Derby's top news stories for April 2, 2025.

Watch the Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld trailer

Disney+ has released the trailer (watch below) and key art for Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld, Lucasfilm Animation's new anthology series of animated shorts. Created by Dave Filoni, chief creative officer of Lucasfilm, the show premieres May 4, aka the unofficial Star Wars holiday that sounds just like "may the force be with you." Tales of the Underworld is the next incarnation of 2022's Tales of the Jedi and 2024's Tales of the Empire, and this time focuses on the criminal underbelly of the Star Wars galaxy through the eyes of former assassin Asajj Ventress and outlaw Cad Bane.

Hans Zimmer to receive lifetime achievement honor

Two-time Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer is this year's career achievement honoree at the Banff World Media Festival. The trophy will be bestowed at the Rockie Awards in...

A few years ago, after a few rough battles with the press and paparazzi and the cancellation of his MSNBC talk show, Alec Baldwin penned a much-publicized article announcing he’d be leaving “public life.” He reconsidered that departure and then appeared in the popular 2018 films “BlacKkKlansman," “Mission Impossible: Fallout” and "A Star Is Born," as well as the 2019 release "Motherless Brooklyn." On the small screen, he appeared in the limited series “The Looming Tower," recreated his recurring role on the reboot of “Will and Grace" and hosted “Match Game."

Most notably Baldwin continued his appearances on “Saturday Night Live” lampooning Donald Trump. He made so many appearances in 2017 that he won an Emmy as Best Comedy Supporting Actor, his third career prize after his two leading wins for "30 Rock."

On the film side, Baldwin earned Oscar, Golden Globe, SAG and Critics Choice nominations for his supporting turn in...

Handsome leading man Richard Chamberlain, who came to prominence in the 1960s medical series “Dr. Kildare” and then became king of the miniseries with such ratings blockbusters as “Shogun” and “The Thorn Birds,” has died. He was 90.

Chamberlain’s death was confirmed to Variety by publicist Harlan Boll. The actor died Saturday, March 29 in Waimanalo, Hawai’i, of complications following a stroke, according to Boll.

“Our beloved Richard is with the angels now,” Martin Rabbett, Chamberlain’s longtime partner, said in a statement. “He is free and soaring to those loved ones before us. How blessed were we to have known such an amazing and loving soul. Love never dies. And our love is under his wings lifting him to his next great adventure.”

Chamberlain’s All-American matinee idol looks stood in the way of his acting career at times until he proved himself onstage in a highly lauded production...

How fitting that TV’s most iconic waitress knew just what to order. Despite having already built a solid theater résumé, Linda Lavin was still the new girl in town in 1976, when she wowed viewers in the sitcom Alice as a waitress and single mom. A blue-plate special of snark, wit and wisdom, Lavin’s star turn earned her two Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy nod. From there, the beloved actress bounced between the stage — including a Tony-winning performance in Neil Simon‘s Broadway Bound — and the small screen, where she’s played Sean Hayes‘ mom on Sean Saves the World, an undead Meals-on-Wheels recipient on Santa Clarita Diet and, most recently, a nosy neighbor on Netflix’s No Good Deed. Disney Now, Lavin — who passed away in December shortly after being diagnosed with lung cancer — is getting her rightful flowers in the deeply emotional and authentic ninth...

There’s not a lot that’s modern about Hulu’s broad and campy sitcom Mid-Century Modern. A fusion of Will & Grace and The Golden Girls from the W&g creators, it’s a classic multi-cam comedy (directed by legendary sitcom pro James Burrows), juiced up with hysterical audience laughter that erupts every time its characters talk in punchlines, Neil Simon by way of Harvey Fierstein. The setting replaces Miami with Palm Springs, a place so gay “even the trees are named Joshua” (some of the jokes are actual groaners). And Ketel One martinis have replaced cheesecake as the go-to nightcap for the three gay men of a certain age who decide to live together after a member of their close circle of friends suddenly passes away. The great comic actor Nathan Lane leads the cast as neurotic mama’s boy Bunny, who, like The Golden Girls‘ Dorothy (Bea Arthur...

The American Theatre Wing will soon be announcing the Tonys' Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. It traditionally goes to veteran stage performers, directors, choreographers, playwrights, songwriters, producers, and designers. In some years there are multiple honorees. Last year's recipients were directors Jack O'Brien and George C. Wolfe.

Several living male Broadway vets have already received this award: Paul Gemignani, Alan Ayckbourn, Athol Fugard, Tommy Tune, Marshall W. Mason, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Harold Wheeler, Joel Grey, and John Kander. Here are 10 possibilities, all accomplished men over the age of 65. Vote in our poll below to let us know who you’d like to see honored.

Sign UPfor Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions

John Caird

Two-time Tony-winning director for The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1982) and Les Misérables (1987). Additional nominations for helming Stanley (1997) and cowriting Jane Eyre the Musical (2001).

Tim Curry

Three-time Tony-nominated actor for Amadeus (1981), My Favorite Year...

Linda Lavin, the Broadway, TV and film star who died in December, will be honored by Broadway’s Shubert Organization with the traditional dimming of lights at the venue where Lavin gave her Tony-winning performance in 1986’s Broadway Bound.

The lights of the Broadhurst Theatre will dim on Tuesday, March 11 at 6:45 pm/Et in Lavin’s honor.

Perhaps best known for her long-running, nine-season role as Alice Hyatt on TV’s Alice, Lavin had a robust stage career, beginning with A Family Affair in 1962 and continuing to Our Mother’s Brief Affair in 2016. In all, she appeared in 17 Broadway productions, with some of her most notable performances being in It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s Superman, the 1966 musical that showcased Lavin’s showstopping performance of the song “You’ve Got Possibilities”; Neil Simon’s Broadway Bound (1986); Wendy Wasserstein’s The Sister Rosensweig (1993); and Nicky Silver’s The Lyons (2012).

Lavin,...

Tony Roberts, who appeared in Woody Allen films including “Annie Hall” while enjoying a long, bountiful career on Broadway, died Friday due to complications of lung cancer. He was 85 years old.

Roberts’ death was confirmed to The New York Times by his daughter, Nicole Burley.

Roberts appeared in six film directed by Woody Allen: “Play It Again, Sam” (1972), “Annie Hall” (1977), “Stardust Memories” (1980), “A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy” (1982), “Hannah and Her Sisters” (1986) and “Radio Days” (1987).

The actor had a long career on Broadway in which he was twice Tony-nominated: for best actor in a musical in 1968 for “How Now, Dow Jones” and for featured actor in a play in 1969 for Woody Allen’s “Play It Again, Sam.”

Roberts had most recently appeared in the 2017 television film adaptation of “Dirty Dancing.” He had most also appeared on television in a 2010 episode of “Law & Order” in which he played a U.S.

Lucille Ball was a great physical comedian, Conan O’Brien acknowledged back in 2016. But he told Carol Burnett that she was even better. “I think you surpassed her physicality in the things that you would try to do,” he said. “You were kind of fearless.”

Burnett was flattered, especially because no one had trained her in the art of pratfalls. “I taught myself to do stunts,” she confessed. “Nobody ever taught me how to do it, and I'm amazed I never broke a bone. I had a few bruises.”

The first big fall Burnett ever attempted was “back in the covered wagon days” on The Garry Moore Show. Neil Simon, still in his lowly TV comedy writer era, had written a sketch about nursery-rhyme stalwarts Jack and Jill. Everyone knows what happened to Jack — the dork fell down, broke his crown, that whole bit. A doctor character in the sketch asked Burnett,...

This is an excerpt of a piece published in Issue 6 of Notebook magazine as part of a broader exploration of the cinema of youth. The magazine is available via direct subscription or in select stores around the world.The Heartbreak KidIllustrations by Emi Ueoka.The leanest, loveliest ending. In a movie filled with good lines—“There’s no insincerity in those potatoes. There’s no deceit in the cauliflower”—Elaine May’s The Heartbreak Kid, written by Neil Simon, finishes honestly, undisguised and plain. Charles Grodin, who plays Lenny Cantrow, a sports equipment salesman stewing with self-starter anxieties and consequently sabotaging his life (and love life) and the lives of others, is sitting on a couch at his own wedding reception, having a conversation with a ten-year-old guest. In a room full of adults, champagne, the future, Lenny’s choice to seek refuge is unadorned and innocent, even if our anti-hero is far from innocent,...

Choreographer Lynne Taylor-Corbett, who taught Kevin Bacon acrobatic dance moves for his starring turn in Footloose and received two Tony nominations for her efforts on Swing!, has died. She was 78.

Taylor-Corbett died Jan. 12 of breast cancer in Rockville Centre, New York, her son, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, told The New York Times.

A onetime dancer with Alvin Ailey’s dance company, Taylor-Corbett also served as a Broadway choreographer for 1981’s Shakespeare’s Cabaret, 1985’s The Boys of Winter, 1988’s Chess, 1994’s Sally Marr … and Her Escorts, 1997-99’s Titanic, 1997-98’s Jackie and 1999-2001’s Swing!, which she also wrote songs for and directed.

Swing!, a celebration of dance in the big band era, featured zero dialogue and was nominated for five Tonys, including best musical. Taylor-Corbett was up for best choreography and best direction of a musical.

In a 1984 interview, Bacon noted he was not a dancer when Taylor-Corbett worked with...

Conan O'Brien's comedy resume can be stacked up against just about anyone in the entertainment industry. Now, the late-night TV legend is finally getting a long-overdue honor in recognition of his achievements.

O'Brien will receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the John F, Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on March 23. Netflix will stream the event, although not live.

The award is given to individuals who have impacted society in a way similar to Mark Twain. The 19th-century American author was noted for his social commentary and witticisms.

“I am honored to be the first winner of the Mark Twain Prize recognized not for humor, but for my work as a riverboat pilot,” O'Brien said, showcasing his signature sense of humor.

"For four decades, Conan O’Brien, has brought his unique blend of the smart, silly, insightful, and hilarious into our homes,” said Deborah F. Rutter,...

Back in 1993, Conan O’Brien’s career seemed like it might end before it really even began when NBC nearly canceled his fledging 12:30 am talk show, convinced they’d made a mistake by handing over David Letterman’s desk to an unknown comedy writer barely out of his twenties. But they kept him on the air and O’Brien found his comedic voice along with a mass audience. Today, he’s a beloved elder statesman with a hit podcast, a brilliant new travel show, and an upcoming stint as the host of the Academy Awards.

In her final interview with Gold Derby just months before her death, the stage and screen star looked back at her storied career.

Linda Lavin, best known for playing the title role in Alice, died Dec. 29 at the age of 87 following a battle with lung cancer. Based on Martin Scorsese‘s 1974 film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, the CBS sitcom ran for nine seasons from 1976 to 1985. Lavin was nominated for an Emmy in 1979 and earned two Golden Globes for her role as the working single mother who makes ends meet as a waitress at a diner in Arizona.

In June, following a guest appearance on CBS’ Elsbeth, Lavin reflected on her long career on screen and stage in an exclusive interview with Gold Derby, describing Alice as “like a dream.”

“My life had fallen apart, my first marriage was falling apart, and I was starting a new job,” the actress...

Linda Lavin, a versatile actress on stage and screen known for her powerhouse voice, sharp comedic timing, and warm presence, died December 29, 2024. The cause was complications from lung cancer; she was 87.

Born on October 15, 1938, in Portland, Maine, Lavin’s interest in performing began at a young age. Her Broadway debut came in 1966, introducing the song “You’ve Got Possibilities” in the short-lived musical “It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman.” But her early career is defined by her starring turn on the TV sitcom “Alice,” which ran from 1976 to 1985 and earned her an Emmy nomination.

Based on the Martin Scorsese film “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” the show starred Lavin as Alice, a widowed mother who moves to Phoenix to start a new life and work as a waitress. Lavin brought warmth, resilience, and humor to the character, earning critical praise and two Golden Globe awards.

Sad news out of the world of television today, as beloved actress Linda Lavin has passed away at the age of 87.

The news comes as a shock to fans, as Lavin was as active as ever in the weeks leading up to her death.

In addition to promoting her recent Netflix series No Good Deed, Linda was filming another sitcom, Mid-Century Modern, for Hulu.

Linda Lavin attends the premiere of Netflix’s “No Good Deed” at Tudum Theater on December 04, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) Linda Lavin’s Cause of Death Revealed

According to sources close to the situation, Lavin passed away on Sunday following a short battle with cancer.

The first report of her death came courtesy of Deadline. The outlet revealed that Linda “passed unexpectedly due to complications from recently discovered lung cancer.”

News of Lavin’s death instantly made her name an instant...

The talented actress Linda Lavin passed away on Sunday in Los Angeles. She was best known for her role as a single mother in the hit sitcom “Alice.” She was 87 years old. A representative for Lavin said that she died from problems related to her lung cancer, which had just been diagnosed.

The entertainment business was shocked by her death because she was still working up to the end. She went to the opening of her new Netflix series “No Good Deed” in Hollywood on December 4, just a few weeks before she passed away.

Lavin’s career spanned seven decades and showed how well she could switch between theater, film, and television. She became a well-known supporter of women’s rights, especially at work. In 1976, she played Alice Hyatt on CBS’s “Alice,” her most famous role. The person in the story was a single mother working as a waitress...

Linda Lavin, star of CBS’ long-running sitcom “Alice” and a Tony winner for Neil Simon’s play “Broadway Bound” who remained active in TV and on stage, died Sunday. She was 87.

A representative for Lavin confirmed the actress died unexpectedly Sunday due to complications from lung cancer that had been recently discovered. As recently as Dec. 4, Lavin attended the premiere of Netflix’s dark comedy series “No Good Deed” at the streamer’s Tudum Theater in Hollywood.

Lavin was also ready to co-star with Matt Bomer and Nathan Lane in the upcoming Hulu comedy “Mid-Century Modern,” which is in the midst of filming its first season. The show hails from “Will & Grace” creators/executive producers David Kohan and Max Mutchnick and director-producer James Burrows for 20th Television.

“Working with Linda was one of the highlights of our careers. She was a magnificent actress, singer, musician and a heat seeking missile with a joke.

Linda Lavin, the Tony-winning actress who spent nine seasons serving up meals with a side order of sass as the waitress Alice Hyatt on the hit CBS sitcom Alice, died Sunday. She was 87.

Lavin died unexpectedly in Los Angeles of complications from recently discovered lung cancer, her rep told The Hollywood Reporter.

Hal Prince gave Lavin her first big break, pulling her out of the chorus and giving her a speaking part on Broadway in 1962, and she worked twice with Neil Simon, earning the first of her six career Tony nominations for playing the sexpot Elaine in 1970’s Last of the Red Hot Lovers and then winning in 1987 for her turn as the strong-willed Kate in Broadway Bound.

A native of Maine, Lavin had recurred as feisty Det. Janice Wentworth on the first two seasons of ABC’s Barney Miller when she was hired in 1976 to topline Alice, created by Robert Getchell.

Charles Shyer, the American film director, screenwriter, and producer behind films such as “Private Benjamin” and “Baby Boom,” passed away on Friday, December 27, at the age of 83.

In a statement given to Deadline, his family wrote, “It’s with an indescribably heavy heart that we share the news of our beloved father, Charles Shyer’s passing. His loss leaves an unfillable hole in our lives, but his legacy lives on through his children and the five decades of wonderful work he’s left behind. We honor the extraordinary life he led and know there will never be another quite like him.”

Born on October 11, 1941, in Los Angeles, California, Shyer was the son of Lois Delaney and Melville Shyer, a production executive and film director who co-founded the Directors Guild of America. Shyer later benefited from his father’s work, participating in the guild’s apprenticeship program following his studies at UCLA.

Image Source: Sony Pictures Remember those classic romantic comedies that just don’t seem to get made anymore? Well, dust off your Vcr (or find your remote) because we’re taking a trip back to 1980 with Seems Like Old Times! This hilarious gem stars the always radiant Goldie Hawn and comedy legend Chevy Chase, reuniting after their smash hit Foul Play. Sparks fly when Chase’s character, a writer caught in a crazy bank robbery scheme, turns to his ex-wife (Hawn) for help. With the late Charles Grodin as the jealous husband and a supporting cast including the late Robert Guillaume, it’s a comedic dream team! And here’s where the movie magic gets really interesting (via IMDb): Not a play, but a film! Unlike many of Neil Simon’s other movies, this one wasn’t based on a play. He wrote it directly for the screen! Tailor-made...

In Dennis Dugan's widely maligned 2011 comedy film "Jack and Jill," Adam Sandler played Jack, an advertising executive who was desperate to close a valuable account with Dunkin' Donuts. Jack million-dollar idea for the campaign is to secure the services of Al Pacino, as his name sorta-rhymes with the bakery's new coffee product, the Dunkaccino. Pacino plays himself in "Jack and Jill," and Jack repeatedly tries to get the actor's attention in public, as to make an impromptu ad pitch. Jack only becomes successful after Pacino expresses romantic interest in his twin sister Jill (also Sandler). 

Audiences are then "treated" to the complete version of Jack's Dunkin' Donuts commercial, and it has become the stuff of cinematic infamy. Pacino raps awkwardly about the Dunkaccino, making references to his own filmography. Sample lyrics: "Attica, hoohah, latte lite/This whole trial is out of sight/They pulled me back in with hazelnut,...

Last month playwright Jez Butterworth brought his latest work, “The Hills of California,” to Broadway. The haunting family drama explores the relationships between four sisters and their dying mother in their creaky seaside home, seamlessly moving back and forth in time between 1976 and 1955. The play previously bowed in London earlier this year, and before coming stateside it earned two Olivier Award nominations for Best New Play and Best Actress for Laura Donnelly, who reprises her performance in New York.

Since his Broadway debut only 13 years ago, Butterworth has quickly established himself as one of the theater’s most accomplished contemporary playwrights. He has two Tony nominations to his name, for New York debut “Jerusalem” in 2011 and for his Tony-winning epic “The Ferryman” in 2019. Those nominations alone already tie him with theater royalty including Ayad Akhtar, Tony Kushner, Tracy Letts, David Mamet, Lynn Nottage, Eugene O’Neill, and Wendy Wasserstein — all...

Jeremy Allen White’s success in the critically acclaimed Hulu series The Bear has turned him into the talk of the town. Further, with two Golden Globe awards under his belt, the actor sparked discussions about his lineage and family. And surprisingly, he has been mentioned in the same breath as the late legend Gene Wilder.

Jeremy Allen White in The Bear | image: FX on Hulu

Many believe the two look strikingly similar, leading this comparison to gain traction when Jeremy Allen White was fan-cast to play Willy Wonka in 2023’s Wonka by netizens who saw his uncanny resemblance to Gene Wilder. This fan-casting further led the internet to believe the two are related. Well, let’s check out if it’s true or just a chocolatey myth.

Who is Jeremy Allen White and His Family?

Born on February 17, 1991, to Eloise Zeigler and Richard White, in Brooklyn, New York, Jeremy...

It’s understandable that most movie and TV fans remember Maggie Smith for her dynamic work in the “Harry Potter” films and “Downton Abbey.” More recent and far more widely seen in their time, they are worthy examples of her outstanding work.

But unknown to even some of the most knowledgeable cinephiles is most of her screen work before the 1980s beyond her two Oscar wins (Best Actress for “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” and Supporting Actress for “California Suite”). Her passing at 89 represents a chance to look back at not only roles that conveyed her later brilliance but also, in some cases, present a broader range than what became the standard — though always with nuance and distinctiveness — Maggie Smith role of later years.

When reviewing her film career until at least 2008, it’s critical to remember that she was first and foremost a stage actor. She joined Laurence Olivier...

For most people born in the past three decades, Maggie Smith became a familiar figure as Minerva McGonagall, the transfiguration professor and deputy headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter movies. That strict but kind sorceress dispensed both imperious commands and compassionate counsel in a clipped Scottish brogue from beneath her pointed black hat.

Others might have met her as Violet Crawley, the tart-tongued Dowager Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey, whose advanced age and creeping infirmity did nothing to diminish her Old World authority — “I wouldn’t know, I’m not familiar with the sensation,” she once remarked, on the foreign concept of being wrong — or her precision at landing a cutting put-down.

Smith died today in London, aged 89, and those who know her only from those two signature roles would do well to sample the many jewels elsewhere in her seven-decade filmography.

For...

Dame Maggie Smith leaves behind a towering legacy in the wake of her death at the age of 89. The legendary actress spent almost 70 years dominating the stage and screens big and small on both sides of the pond. She won two Oscars, five BAFTAs, four Emmys, and a Tony over the course of many decades, during which she never stopped working and never stopped stealing scenes. She was a generational talent who meant something different to each generation: one of the faces of the ‘60s British invasion of Hollywood; a theatrical legend; character actress; comedic gem; and everyone’s favorite wizarding school deputy headmistress. Smith worked until almost the very end, which included being a supermodel for a 2023 Loewe campaign.

But it was the scathingly witty Dowager Duchess who came to define the final years of her illustrious career and made her one of the most beloved TV stars of the 2010s.

Dame Maggie Smith was many things. Hilarious and tragic. Elegant and aloof. Enchanting and deadly serious. Most will attribute their appreciation of her multiple-generation spanning career to roles in the “Harry Potter” or “Sister Act” franchises or perhaps “Downton Abbey,” which elevated her fame to a level she often spoke disdainfully of. For Smith was not an actress who was in it for the red carpets or accolades — though she received many, including two Oscars, five Baftas, four Emmys, and a Tony — but rather treated acting as a sturdy profession, one that required of her the utmost presence while on set or stage.

Beginning her career in the early 1950s, she played Viola in William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” at The Oxford Playhouse, followed later by roles in “As You Like It” and “The Merry Wives of Windsor” at London’s famed Old Vic theater. She rose to prominence on...

Maggie Smith, the Oscar-winning British actress who starred in Downton Abbey and the Harry Potter series, has died at the age of 89.

Smith’s sons announced her death Friday morning in a statement. No cause of death was revealed, but the actress was at a British hospital at the time of her death.

“It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith,” her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin said in the statement to Rolling Stone. “She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning,...

Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone make for an appealing and very welcome stage duo in Broadway’s new comedy-drama The Roommate, a pairing that’s selling out the Booth Theatre in an engagement opening tonight.

Unfortunately, their third costar – a beige landline telephone that gets an implausibly large role for a play set in the current day – is required to pull more weight than it or the story can handle.

First produced in 2015 at a Louisville regional theater, Jen Silverman’s play shows its age with that wall phone – the superfluous presence of an iPhone suggests maybe there’s been some tinkering over the years, and, if so, not enough – while other details might have seemed dated even nine years ago.

And those aren’t the only flaws in this awkwardly paced, abruptly mood-shifting tale of two very...

The Jurassic Park franchise is one of the most iconic franchises in the world, so its no surprise that the popular 90s sitcom Seinfeld managed to include a cheeky dinosaur reference in the show. It wouldnt be the first time an unrelated movie or TV show referenced an aspect of the dinosaur series, especially since Jurassic Park has such a long-running timeline and expansive lore.

Seinfeld might be a television show about people doing nothing, but Seinfeld was very up-to-date with its pop culture references. In one episode, Jerrys artist ex-girlfriend plagiarizes a monologue from the Neil Simon movie, Chapter 2, in her apology letter to him. Another episode parodied the magic bullet theory from the 1991 film JFK with Jerrys magic loogie theory. However, Seinfeld managed to hide a Jurassic Park Easter egg, and its really exciting.

Related How Jurassic World Rebirth Could Be Connected To The Other 6 Jurassic Movies

Jurassic World...

Peter Marshall, who hosted the popular game show The Hollywood Squares for more than 15 years and had a long career as an actor, singer and comic, died today of kidney failure at his Encino home. He was 98. His publicist Harlan Boll confirmed to news to Deadline.

Marshall won four Daytime Emmys for hosting the syndicated Hollywood Squares from 1966-81. The tic-tac-toe game featured two contestants agreeing or disagreeing with celebrities who provided answers to Marshall’s questions — which ranged from silly to ribald. The format has been revived a few times over the years, with a new edition hosted by Nate Burleson with Drew Barrymore in the famed center square is to premiere in midseason.

Among the scores of stars who appeared on Hollywood Squares were Walter Matthau, Gloria Swanson, Glenn Ford, and Milton Berle, as well as regulars Paul Lynde — who often killed as the center square — Rose Marie,...

A two-part documentary about comedy legend Mel Brooks from directors Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio has been set at HBO.

The HBO Documentary Films and Apatow Productions project, now in production, will trace Brooks’ journey from Brooklyn to Hollywood and Broadway. Joe Beshenkovsky, who last worked with Apatow and Bonfiglio on HBO’s four-hour documentary George Carlin’s American Dream, will edit the documentary.

Apatow promises a career-spanning film about the comedy legend behind classic movie farces and parodies. “I went into comedy because of my love for Mel Brooks. This project is the dream of a lifetime,” the Hollywood writer-director-producer said in a statement.

Brooks’ career began with Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows where he worked alongside the late Carl Reiner, Neil Simon, and Larry Gelbart. That’s after the teenage comedian in the Catskills conquered the entertainment world with his satirical comedy.

Brooks earned an Oscar...

James B. Sikking, the prolific, Emmy-nominated actor known for his roles on Hill Street Blues and Doogie Howser, M.D., died July 13 of dementia. He was 90.

Sikking died at his Los Angeles home, where his publicist Cynthia Snyder tells Deadline that the actor was surrounded by family in his final moments.

“In a remarkable career, Sikking’s wonderfully exciting face gave us drama, comedy, tragedy and hilarious farse. His career spanned over six decades in television, film and on stage,” said Snyder in a statement, adding: “His talent, integrity and imagination intrigued and delighted audiences.”

Sikking earned an Emmy nom in 1984 for playing the gung-ho S.W.A.T. leader Lt. Howard Hunter on Hill Street Blues during the show’s full 1981-87 run and co-starred as the title character’s father Dr. David Howser on Doogie Howser, M.D. from 1989-93. He also was a regular on Brooklyn South in 1997-98 appeared on such shows as Rawhide,...

Garry Marshall's 1987 film "Overboard" is brisk and light, although the premise is a little dark. Kurt Russell plays Dean, a blue-collar widower who is hired by a spoiled heiress named Joanna Stayton (Goldie Hawn) to build a custom closet. Dean does quality work, but Joanna refuses to pay him because of a few small, insignificant details. Joanna is an entitled, spoiled brat who treats everyone poorly. 

When Joanna later falls off of a yacht and begins suffering from amnesia, Dean picks her up from the hospital, telling her that she's actually his wife Annie. 

Joanna is taken to Dean's home, and he gets a form of karmic revenge on her. Dean instructs her to do extensive difficult chores around the house, and to take care of his four sons. For a short while, he takes delight in watching her suffer with the hard work, understanding that she was too...

Kelsey Grammer seems to be a pretty busy guy. In addition to hosting historical docudramas for Fox News’ streaming service and brewing beer in the name of Jesus, he’s also starring in the new World War II drama Murder Company, a movie that probably would do way better were it to change the title to Frasier Crane Joins the Army.

To promote the film, Grammer recently spoke with Yahoo! Canada, revealing that his performance was partly inspired by his grandfather, who was a colonel during World War II. But since chatting with Grammer and not asking about Frasier Crane would be a little like making a trip to Las Vegas and not drunkenly pissing your money away, naturally the subject of the Frasier reboot was brought up.

When asked about the upcoming second season of the Paramount+ series, which is currently in production, Grammer responded, “We’re having a great time and the scripts,...

When Nicole Holofcener was coming up in the ’90s, she was celebrated as that rare thing: a female writer-director. Today, she’s no longer a rarity, and she’s still delivering sharp, funny observational comedies about flawed middle-class New York women. But somehow, the breadth and potential of her talent remains elusive.

Hollywood gives her scripts to write and rewrite and polish (for the big bucks). She wrote, with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, “The Last Duel” for Ridley Scott, crafting the Jodie Comer character, and the Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh roles in Marvel’s “Black Widow.” She made more on that three-week assignment than three of her movies combined, she said at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, which tributed her this year, playing three of her films for an audience unfamiliar with her work. She’s currently writing for Gillian Anderson and Greta Lee in Disney’s latest iteration of “Tron.

Carrie Courogan titled her new book about Elaine May, the legendary writer, director, and comic, “Miss May Does Not Exist.” But for some, it might feel like May’s feature films don’t necessarily either – particularly “The Heartbreak Kid.” The 1972 comedy – a box office hit upon its release and future Oscar nominee – is out of print on physical media, never cycles through the surfeit of available streaming platforms, and rarely screens at repertory theaters. So it was little surprise to find an enthusiastic crowd inside New York’s Metrograph theater on Wednesday night for a 35mm members-only showing of “The Heartbreak Kid” pegged to the recent release of Courogan’s book. (The print was loaned out by the Academy Film Archive.)

Based on the short story by Bruce Jay Friedman and written for the screen by Neil Simon, “The Heartbreak Kid” focuses on Lenny Cantrow (a sublime Charles Grodin), a...

Robert De Niro was fired from The Goodbye Girl by Mike Nichols, but it didn't hold him back from becoming one of the most respected actors. Richard Dreyfuss replaced De Niro and won an Oscar for his performance. Both actors went on to have successful careers in Hollywood. Despite being replaced in the film, De Niro continued to star in acclaimed movies like The Deer Hunter and Raging Bull.

It may seem hard to believe, but Robert De Niro was fired from a film by a legendary director about a year after winning an Oscar for his performance in The Godfather Part II. During an appearance at the recent Tribeca Festival in New York City, De Niro detailed his experiences on the film, The Goodbye Girl, and how he was replaced by another acting legend, Richard Dreyfuss.

According to a report by People, the 80-year-old De Niro appeared at a...

Anthea Sylbert, the twice-Oscar-nominated costume designer behind “Chinatown,” “Shampoo” and “Rosemary’s Baby,” died Tuesday. She was 84 years old.

Sylbert died in Skiathos, Greece, according to media reports and as confirmed by Sakus Lalus, who’s directing a documentary on her life titled “My Life in 3 Acts.”

The documentary follows the costumer as she writes her memoir, delving into three decades of Hollywood history.

“Anthea Sylbert is a real trailblazer, not only as a brilliant Costume Designer two-times Oscar nominated, but as one of the few women in those years of the New Hollywood Era who crossed over from the creative and of moviemaking to the world of producing, first as an executive for Warner Bros., for United Artists and then for the SylbertHawn Film Productions, cofounded with her best friend, actress Goldie Hawn,” the documentary synopsis states.

Her designs were first seen on the big screen in Arthur Hiller’s...

Anthea Sylbert, an Oscar-nominated costume designer who worked on some of the signature films of the late 1960s and 1970s, including “Rosemary’s Baby,” “Carnal Knowledge,” “Chinatown,” “Shampoo,” “Julia” and “King Kong,” and a producer later in her career on a number of films starring Goldie Hawn, has died. She was 84.

Her death was confirmed by Robert Romanus, her stepson.

Sylbert, subject of a forthcoming documentary by Sakis Lalas titled “Anthea Sylbert: My Life in 3 Acts,” also served as an executive at United Artists and Warner Bros., at a time when there were few women in the C-suites of Hollywood. She also worked repeatedly with director Mike Nichols, both onscreen and onstage, and was Oscar-nominated for her costuming on period films “Chinatown” (1974) and “Julia” (1977).

Assessing Sylbert’s work on “Chinatown,” GlamAmor, a website dedicated to the history of fashion in film, said in 2012: “Sylbert crafted clothes for Faye Dunaway that...

Anthea Sylbert, the two-time Oscar-nominated costume designer who worked on Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown, Carnal Knowledge, Shampoo and Julia before becoming a studio executive and producer, has died. She was 84.

Sylbert died Tuesday in Skiathos, Greece, director Sakis Lalas told The Hollywood Reporter. Lalas just finished a documentary about Sylbert titled, My Life in 3 Acts.

Sylbert partnered with two-time Oscar-winning production Richard Sylbert on eight films and with his twin brother, Paul Sylbert — her first husband and another Oscar-winning production designer — on another three.

“Paul is the more bitter, more angry of the two,” she told Peter Biskind in 1993. “Someone once put it this way: Dick is more of a diplomat. He will put the ice pick somewhere in your back, you’re not quite sure, and you sort of feel tickled; Paul, while facing you, sticks it in your gut. I always used to think that if you put them together,...

Robert De Niro blames himself for not knowing enough about comedy to pull off a future Oscar-winning role.The ‘Raging Bull’ actor, 80, starred in and started filming the never-produced 1970s film ‘Bogart Slept Here’ – before the script was reconfigured into the 1977 film ‘The Goodbye Girl’, which won its star Richard Dreyfuss, 76, an Academy Award.De Niro said his then-director Mike Nichols, 83, didn’t find him a comedic fit and eventually fired him.He told Quentin Tarantino, 61, about the project during a question and answer session at the Tribeca Film Festival as it launched its De Niro Con celebration of its iconic co-founder: “I blame myself. I didn’t know certain things. It was a certain type of comedy – (scriptwriter) Neil Simon – that had the timing that would be a certain way… it just wasn’t working. “I shot for about two weeks. It was the worst. You know, I’ve...

This year’s Tribeca Film Festival has launched its De Niro Con celebration of its iconic co-founder, and one of the first big events included a rousing discussion with verbal odd couple Quentin Tarantino and Robert De Niro.

The event started on Friday afternoon with a screening of “Jackie Brown,” Tarantino’s 1997 third feature — via a handsome 35mm print on loan from Martin Scorsese. De Niro has a key supporting role as the recently-imprisoned Louis Gara, a man of few words with an ability to conjure violence quickly.

Tarantino, a notably quick-talking cinephile, peppered De Niro, a man of few words, with questions during their 40-minute post-film discussion, starting first with the actor’s ability to bring comedy to “Jackie Brown.” Tarantino praised De Niro’s portrayal of the “slow” ex-con — senses dulled from a post-prison daze and frequent bong hits during the movie.

“I’ve watched the movie with...

There was a time back in the 1990s when one wouldn’t find Robert De Niro doing many interviews. He supposedly didn’t like them, and felt awkward. However, today on the ‘first’ day of Tribeca’s De Niro Con, the actor’s Jackie Brown filmmaker Quentin Tarantino unlocked the method actor at the Sva Theater.

While the Q&a took place after a 35Mm print screening of Jackie Brown, how Tarantino’s process of working with the 2x Oscar winner was only one facet of their 30-minute plus dialogue.

For, what was truly racking Tarantino’s head: Why, oh, why was De Niro let go by Mike Nichols off of what would become Neil Simon’s The Goodbye Girl; the project originally known as Bogart Slept Here? The movie would wound up being directed by Herbert Ross, and the lead role of struggling actor Elliot Garfield would go to...