News

Michael Cole, who gained fame as one of the three stars of ABC’s The Mod Squad, has died at the age of 84.

Cole passed away Tuesday in Los Angeles at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center, his publicist Rachel Harris tells The Hollywood Reporter. No official cause of death has been released.

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Cole worked in film and theater, along with a guest appearance on Gunsmoke, before landing...

Michael Cole, who starred as Pete Cochran on the hit counterculture drama Mod Squad and later played Harlan Barrett on General Hospital during a 50-year acting career, has died. He was 84.

His reps at Bmf announced the news, but did not provide details.

Born July 3, 1940 in Madison Wi, Cole was one of the three young hippies-turned-cops alongside Julie (Peggy Lipton) and Link (Clarence Williams III) in Mod Squad, which debuted in September 1968 on ABC. “One White, One Black, One Blonde” read the promo materials for the series, which was aimed at a youthful audience during a turbulent time. The trio was given a choice: fight crime or be sent to jail themselves. They chose the former, under the tutelage of Capt. Adam Greer (Tige Andrews).

Executive produced by Aaron Spelling and Danny Thomas, Mod Squad tapped into the zeitgeist of the late ’60s, portraying a positive image for the counterculture...

Michael Cole, who portrayed Pete Cochran, one of the three young undercover cops that made up The Mod Squad on the 1968-73 ABC series, died Tuesday. He was 84.

Cole died at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center, publicist Rachel Harris announced. No cause of death was revealed.

Produced by Aaron Spelling and Danny Thomas, The Mod Squad also starred Peggy Lipton as flower girl Julie Barnes (a vagrant who had fled her prostitute mother) and Clarence Williams III as Lincoln Hayes (arrested during the Watts riots). Pete, meanwhile, was a rich kid who had been booted from his parents’ home after being caught stealing and racing a car.

To avoid jail time, the three agreed to become cops under the guidance of Captain Adam Greer (Tige Andrews). The tagline for the hit series was “One white, one black, one blonde.” (Cole titled his 2018 memoir I Played the White Guy.)

The Mod Squad...

Prior to "Gilligan's Island," Natalie Schafer had a professional acting career that lasted for decades. When she was still in her 20s, Schafer began appearing in numerous Broadway productions, often in smaller roles, and rarely in a play that ran for a very long time. She was an expert in playing a certain kind of high-society bourgeoisie biddy, and tended to play comedically clueless archetypes. Beginning in the 1940s, Schafer started to appear in films as well, appearing in multiple features a year. In the 1950s, she stretched into television, and was soon playing guest characters on many of the hottest anthology shows of the day.

At some point along the way, Shafer began telling people that she was 12 years younger than she actually was, likely hoping to avoid a stubborn, unjust stigma in Hollywood against older women. She had a stipulation in her contract that she receive no extreme closeups,...

As one of the best action stars on the block, Jason Statham has been entertaining us for the best part of the last 20 years. With his lean and rock-hard physique coupled with his gruff English accent, Statham epitomizes the hard man energy needed to survive on screen. Be it French goons, gigantic sharks, vampires from Mars, or Jet Li, Statham has taken everyone on. Given a license to create bad Photoshop images and discuss hypothetical film pitches that will never happen, here we suggest exactly who The Stath should beat the crap out of next.

Jason Vs Superman

Warner Bros.

Tagline: #ReleaseTheStathamCut

James Gunn's Superman is coming, and wouldn't it be great to just see Jason Statham play hhimself and go up against the Man of Steel himself? Why not, I guess.

Getting a job at a rival newspaper company, Statham, breaking the fourth wall and talking directly to the audience,...

Prior to "Gilligan's Island" in 1964, Tina Louise was already a long-working actress. Indeed, Louise worked her first modeling gig at the age of two, appearing in an ad campaign for her father's candy store. In high school, she started studying acting, and landed her first professional gig in 1956, appearing in an episode of the TV series "Studio One." She made her feature film debut in Anthony Mann's celebrated drama "God's Little Acre," in which Louise played Griselda, the wife of a character played by Jack Lord. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance. 

Louise went on to star in other high-profile film projects, including Michael Curtiz's "The Hangman," and the 1960 Italian historical epic "The Siege of Syracuse," in which she played three different roles. Louise also played the poet Sappho in a film called "The Warrior Empress." In 1964, she appeared in a film called "For Those Who Think Young,...

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Terrence O’Hara, who directed 85 episodes of the CBS dramas NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles from 2003 until this year, died Dec. 5 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after a five-year battle with cancer, his family announced. He was 76.

A former actor who studied at the American Film Institute, O’Hara was a director for more than 30 years, also working on such other shows as The Blacklist, Smallville, Nikita, Lie to Me, Rosewood, Heroes, The Unit, Legends, Dollhouse, Grimm, Sons of Anarchy, The Shield, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Jag, Angel, Magic City, The X-Files, Dark Angel, Touched by an Angel and Pacific Blue.

His 56th and final NCIS episode, “Birds of a Feather” — the show’s 19th-season finale — aired May 23; the last of his 29 NCIS: Los Angeles assignments, “Bonafides,” aired in March. He also helmed four episodes of NCIS: New Orleans in 2014-16.

“One...

In the 1991 comedy “L.A. Story,” local weatherman Steve Martin felt safe in prerecording some TV forecasts so he could take time off in the summer. Similarly, this week’s VOD report could have been filed last week with little fear of inaccuracy. Netflix’s 200 million Russo Bros. original “The Gray Man” immediately hit #1 on the streamer’s in-house chart after its online debut July 22, a week after the film’s nominal theatrical release.

Even at #1, a Netflix chart can tell only a small part of the story. A major new English-language new original is the default #1 more often than not. Last week’s #1 film was its contemporary update of Jane Austen’s “Persuasion”; this week it’s #4. Usually Netflix can live with that, but “The Gray Man” is its most expensive feature to date. Even a second week at #1 would be unusual; “Senior Year” with Rebel Wilson is its...

Vera Farmiga is a nurse facing unimaginable choices in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina in the trailer for the Apple TV+ limited series “Five Days at Memorial.”

The new series is based on actual events and is an adaptation of the book of the same name. Premiering Aug. 12, “Five Days at Memorial” “chronicles the impact of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath on a local hospital. When the floodwaters rose, power failed and heat soared, exhausted caregivers at a New Orleans hospital were forced to make decisions that would follow them for years to come,” per a logline from the streamer.

Farmiga stars alongside Cornelius Smith Jr. and Cherry Jones. The cast includes Robert Pine (“CHiPs”), Julie Ann Emery, Adepero Oduye, Molly Hager, Michael Gaston and W. Earl Brown.

Also Read:

Apple TV+ Renews Maya Rudolph’s ‘Loot’ for Season 2

Cuse and Ridley are the writers and executive producers. Cuse, Ridley...

Richard T. Jones is launching an independent production company dubbed Prophecy Pictures Entertainment, Variety has learned exclusively.

Jones is starting the company with producing partners Jeremy Loethen and Kristy Horiuchi. The company’s emphasis is on developing and producing mainstream family, faith-based, and inspirational content across all platforms.

The company already has multiple projects in development. Among those is a biopic about Democratic Republic of the Congo’s world-renowned virologist Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe, who discovered Ebola in 1976 but was not internationally recognized and later pioneered the first treatment for the deadly virus. Also in development is a television series based on the sci-thriller book series “The Rho Agenda” by Richard Phillips. The books revolve around three teenagers who are altered by an alien starship and propelled into a war to save humanity from an approaching Armageddon.

Jones currently stars in the ABC drama series “The Rookie.” He will next be...

William Lucking, who played Piney Winston in FX’s Sons of Anarchy and had 100-plus other film and TV credits during a nearly half-century career, has died, his agent confirmed to Deadline. He was 80.

Lucking died October 18 at his home in Las Vegas. No cause of death has been revealed.

An obituary shared by his wife Sigrid Lucking reads, “Although William often played toughs and strongmen, in his actual life he was an elegant man with a brilliant intellect who loved to argue about politics and current affairs, discuss philosophy and physics, and assert fine-pointed opinions about art and poetry.”

Lucking was born on June 17, 1941, in Michigan and moved with his family to California in the 1950s. With a degree in literature from UCLA, he furthered his theater studies at the Pasadena Playhouse.

Throughout his lengthy career in Hollywood, he portrayed a diverse range of characters on the big and...

Joanne Linville, who played the Romulan commander in a memorable 1968 Star Trek episode and had scores of other screen credits, died Sunday. She was 93. CAA made the announcement but did not disclose a cause of death.

Linville began racking up TV guest roles in the mid-1950s, appearing on such series of the era as Studio One, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Kraft Theatre and Playhouse 90. She continued to guest on drama series throughout the ’60s, including such classics as Bonanza, Gunsmoke, The F.B.I., Route 66, Ben Casey, I Spy and a two-part Hawaii Five-0.

Of her work in that era, she might be most recognizable as Lavinia Gordon, the owner of a ruined Southern mansion in the Civil War-themed 1961 Twilight Zone episode titled “The Passersby,” which also starred James Gregory.

But despite her prolific active career from the mid-’50s to the late-’80s, and included a few latter-day roles, Linville...

Exclusive: Jessica McNamee has signed with Hyperion for agency representation.

The Australian actress was most recently seen playing Sonya Blade in Warner Bros.’ Mortal Kombat, directed by Simon McQuoid, which rebooted the martial arts fantasy film series, based on the popular video game franchise of the same name.

She previously co-starred opposite Jason Statham in Warner Bros.’ sci-fi actioner The Meg, directed by Jon Turtletaub, also appearing in Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris’ Searchlight pic Battle of the Sexes, opposite Emma Stone. That same year, she starred in Warner Bros. comedy Chips, alongside Dax Shepard, Michael Pena and Vincent D’Onofrio.

McNamee has also appeared, on the big screen, alongside Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams, in Michael Sucsy’s romantic drama, The Vow. Additional film credits include Heath Davis’ indie Locusts, and Andrew Traucki’s horror-thriller, Black Water: Abyss.

On the TV side, the actress is perhaps best...

Nathan Jung, best known for his portrayal of Genghis Khan in the original Star Trek series, died April 24 at age 74. The location and cause of death has not been disclosed by his friend and attorney, Timothy Tau.

Jung began his acting career in 1969 with a role as Genghis Khan in “The Savage Curtain” episode of the original Star Trek.

From that launching pad, he went on to numerous guest shots on some of the biggest television shows of the 1970s and 1980s, including M*A*S*H*, Starsky & Hutch, CHiPs, General Hospital, Manimal, Riptide, Hunter, Sanford and Son, and Kung Fu.

In the 1990s, he had stints on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Martial Law and Burke’s Law.

Jung also can claim to be one of the few actors who worked with both Bruce Lee and his son, Brandon Lee. Opposite Bruce, Jung appeared on a 1969 episode of Here Comes the Brides.

Nathan Jung, the actor who appeared in “Star Trek: The Original Series,” “The A-Team” and “Kung Fu,” has died. He was 74.

Jung died on April 24, his close friend and attorney, Timothy Tau, confirmed to Variety. The cause of death has not been disclosed.

Jung kicked off his acting career in 1969 with his role as Ghengis Khan in “The Savage Curtain” episode of “Star Trek: The Original Series.” From there, taking advantage of his tall stature, his television resume exploded with roles on the biggest shows from the 1970s and ’80s. Jung appeared on “M*A*S*H*,” “Starsky & Hutch,” “CHiPs,” “General Hospital,” “Manimal,” “Riptide” and “Hunter.” He also held roles in “Sanford and Son,” in which he played Helen Funai’s cousin, Saburyo, and “Kung Fu,” in which he plaed the Dark Rider. In the ’90s, he had stints on “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” “Martial Law” and “Burke’s Law.

Exclusive: Warner Bros studio veteran Ravi Mehta has been named Head of Physical Production, Post-Production, VFX at 20th Century Studios. He will oversee all aspects of physical production for the Disney-owned 20th Century studios film division.

Mehta spent 24 years at Warner Bros where he became EVP Physical Production for the studio in the spring of 2015. He served as the executive on a slate of movies including American Sniper and The Accountant. With the announcement of the Warner Max film label, Mehta went on to oversee all features for the new streaming platform including Stephen Soderbergh’s forthcoming No Sudden Move.

Prior to the aforementioned positions, Mehta oversaw physical production at Warner Independent Productions, whose prrojects included Everything is Illuminated, Infamous and The Astronaut Farmer. In 2002, he was upped to production executive, being assigned the more budget-challenging of films such as North Country and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

Tuppence Middleton, star of Fisherman’s Friends, Downton Abbey and Sense8, discusses some of her most memorable scenes.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Imitation Game (2014)

The Current War (2017)

Cinema Paradiso (1991)

Downton Abbey (2019)

Fisherman’s Friends (2019)

Touch of Evil (1958)

Rocks in My Pockets (2014)

My Life as a Courgette a.k.a. My Life as a Zucchini (2016)

13 Tzameti (2005)

13 (2010)

In Absentia (2000)

Eraserhead (1977)

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Beetlejuice (1988)

Skeletons (2010)

Jurassic Park (1993)

Alien (1979)

Festen a.k.a. The Celebration (1998)

Abigail’s Party (1977)

Der Samurai (2014)

Under The Skin (2013)

Strasbourg 1518 (2020)

The Fall (2019)

The Wicker Man (1973)

Don’t Look Now (1973)

Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

I Live in Fear (1955)

Drunken Angel (1948)

Throne of Blood (1957)

High and Low (1963)

Godzilla (1954)

The Piano Teacher (2001)

Possession (1981)

G.I. Blues (1960)

King Creole (1958)

Léolo (1992)

Other Notable Items

War and Peace miniseries (2016)

Giuseppe Tornatore

The Crown TV series (2016- )

Masterpiece Theatre TV series (1971- )

Upstairs Downstairs TV series (1971-1975)

Monty Python’s Flying Circus...

I've always had a soft spot for half-hour comedies. Whether it's Seinfeld or Schitt's Creek, there's something intensely comforting about watching a group of characters crack jokes and overcome challenges in a tight 22 minutes. Now that we find ourselves universally in need of something warm and fuzzy, I have a recommendation for a show that's gone painfully under the radar for too long: Bless This Mess on ABC. If you just came here looking for a recommendation, there it is. Go watch it on Hulu now. If you need more convincing, read on.

Bless This Mess kicked off on ABC during the Spring TV season last year, meaning it didn't get the mega-marketing push that is granted to a lot of Fall TV releases. It's a fish-out-of-water story starring Dax Shepard and Lake Bell as Mike and Rio, two New Yorkers who move to Nebraska to take over the farm once managed by Mike's family.

Edd Byrnes, a veteran actor best known for his role as television host Vince Fontaine in the musical Grease and as Kookie in the classic TV series 77 Sunset Strip, has died. Reportedly, Byrnes passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday at his home in Santa Monica. According to the report, Byrnes died of "natural causes," though no additional information or cause of death has yet been revealed. He was 87 years old.

A native New Yorker, Byrnes was born Edward Byrne Breitenberger in 1932. He changed his name to "Byrnes" as a teenager to honor his grandfather, Edward Byrne, giving him the familiar Edd Byrnes name. In his early 20s, Byrnes began acting in plays at the Litchfield Community Playhouse in Connecticut, sparking an interest in acting and launching a career in the field. After about a year of performances on stage, Byrnes moved to Hollywood to pursue acting work full time.

By the mid '50s,...

Edd Byrnes, the actor who played Vince Fontaine in Grease, has died. He was 87.

Byrnes’ son, news anchor Logan Byrnes, confirmed the news on Twitter, writing, “It is with profound sadness and grief that I share with you the passing of my father Edd Byrnes.”

“He was an amazing man and one of my best friends,” Logan tweeted while adding a press release that stated the actor had “died unexpectedly” on Wednesday at his home in Santa Monica, California.

It is with profound sadness and grief that I share with you the passing of my father Edd Byrnes. He was...

“Alice” star Philip McKeon has died at the age of 55, according to a representative.

McKeon died on Tuesday after a long battle with an unspecified illness.

“We are all beyond heartbroken and devastated over Phil’s passing,” family spokesperson Jeff Ballard said in a statement. “His wonderful sense of humor, kindness and loyalty will be remembered by all who crossed his path in life.”

McKeon, who was the older brother of “Facts of Life” star Nancy McKeon, was best known for co-starring alongside Linda Lavin in the CBS comedy “Alice,” from 1976 to 1985. He went on to make appearances on shows including “CHiPs,” “Fantasy Island” and “The Love Boat.”...

Philip McKeon, known for playing the son of Linda Lavin’s titular character in the classic CBS sitcom “Alice,” has died. He was 55.

The actor died Tuesday morning in Texas following a longtime illness, family spokesman Jeff Ballard confirmed to Variety.

“We are all beyond heartbroken and devasted over Phil’s passing,” said Ballard. “His wonderful sense of humor, kindness and loyalty will be remembered by all who crossed his path in life.”

McKeon played the role of Tommy Hyatt on “Alice” from 1976 to 1985. Following that, he appeared in several other TV shows including the NBC crime drama “CHiPs,” and a pair of ABC series, “Fantasy Island” and “The Love Boat,” in 1984. On the film side, McKeon appeared mostly in horror pics, among them “Return to Horror High” and “Ghoulies 4.”

His most recent credit was as a co-producer on the 2005 psychological thriller feature “The Jacket,” which starred Adrien Brody and Keira Knightley,...

Robert Walker Jr., best known for a classic early Star Trek episode and as the son of Hollywood stars Robert Walker and Jennifer Jones, died Thursday in Malibu, according to family members. He was 79.

The New York native portrayed the twitchy, callow title character in “Charlie X,” the second episode of Star Trek’s pioneering first season in 1966, and also handled the title role of the notable 1960s feature films Ensign Pulver and Young Billy Young.

For Ensign Pulver, the comedic 1964 naval drama, Walker inherited a role that had earned Jack Lemmon an Oscar for best supporting actor for Mister Roberts (1955). In the 1969 gunfighter tale Young Billy Young, Walker was the volatile outlaw who finds a mentor in Robert Mitchum in film that also featured Angie Dickinson and David Carradine. That same year Walker and his wife, Ellie Wood, appeared together in the milestone counter-culture epic Easy Rider.

Walker’s...

John J. McMahon, the former president of Carson Productions Group and Wilshire Court Productions, died Monday at his Brentwood, Calif. home after a battle with advanced prostate cancer. He was 89.

A longtime network executive, McMahon served as senior V.P. of programming and talent for NBC where he’s credited for his involvement in shows including “The Rockford Files,” “CHiPs,” “Little House on the Prairie,” “Chico and the Man,” “Police Woman,” “Sanford and Son” and “Facts of Life.”

His friend Johnny Carson hired him as president of Carson Productions in 1980, where he oversaw “TV’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes,” “John and Yoko: A Love Story” and the Academy Award nominated film “The Big Chill.”

Born in Chicago in 1930, McMahon attended the U. of Wisconsin for a year before being drafted into the Us Armed Services during the Korean War, for which he earned two Bronze Stars. After finishing his term of service,...

Matthew Byrd Aug 26, 2019

Sonya Blade, Kano, and a mysterious lead character appear to have all been cast in the Mortal Kombat reboot.

Thanks to a new report from The Hollywood Reporter, we now know who is going to play Sonya Blade and Kano in the Mortal Kombat reboot movie. 

It seems that Jessica McNamee is currently in negotiations to play Sonya. While the 33-year-old McNamee has only started to receive larger roles over the last couple of years, she certainly looks the part and has showcased that she may have what it takes to play this iconic Mortal Kombat character. 

Joining McNamee will be joined by Josh Lawson who has reportedly already closed his deal to play Kano in the upcoming film. Lawson's filmography is a tad more obscure, but you may know him from Anchorman 2 or the TV series Superstore. Again, he certainly seems to look the part. 

Perhaps most interesting of all,...

A suspect has been arrested in connection with the 1985 murder of Hollywood TV director and producer Barry Crane, who was found strangled and bludgeoned to death and wrapped in bedding on the floor if his townhouse’s underground garage in Studio City.

Edwin Jerry Hiatt II was arrested in North Carolina and is being held on $2 million bond. He will be extradited to Los Angeles this weekend.

Crane, who was 57 at the time of his death, was also a world-class bridge player, having earned numerous national and international titles and winning the game’s highest honor, the McKenny Trophy, six times.

He was a producer on TV’s “Mission: Impossible,” “Police Story,” “The Incredible Hulk” and “CHiPs.”

An Associated Press report from the time of the murder stated that Crane’s late-model white Cadillac was missing from the garage, though police said they were not certain whether it’d been stolen or was being serviced.

The FBI has arrested the main suspect in the death TV director Barry Crane, a killing that had gone unsolved for decades. Edwin Hiatt was taken into custody today in North Carolina and is awaiting extradition to California.

Crane, whose dozens of TV directing credits included multiple episodes of Mission Impossible, The Six Million Dollar Man and Wonder Woman, was killed in his North Hollywood home on July 5, 1985. His strangled and bludgeoned body found by a housekeeper in the garage of his luxury townhouse.

The case had gone unsolved for decades when in 2006, and again last year, a detective from the Lapd’s Robbery Homicide Division requested that evidence found at the scene of the crime be retested. In July, that evidence turned up a forensic match to Hiatt, who resided in North Carolina.

On March 8, detectives traveled to North Carolina to question Hiatt. During the interview, police say, he admitted to killing Crane.

Kip Niven, a veteran character actor whose career ranged from early-’70s TV and the first two Sensurround films to regional theater and starring in 2014’s Jayhawkers, has died. He was 73. Local media outlets in his native Kansas City, Mo, said Niven died Monday of a heart attack.

Born on May 27, 1945, he got his start with guest roles in such 1970s TV dramas as Night Gallery, Escape and Emergency! before landing a key role in the first Dirty Harry sequel. In 1973’s Magnum Force, Niven played “Red” Astrachan, one of the vigilante rookie cops who terrorize San Francisco’s underworld — and eventually Clint Eastwood, who eventually gets his revenge. Astrachan’s comrades were played by future stars Robert Urich, Tim Matheson and David Soul.

After that, Niven would appear in dozens of TV shows and more than a dozen features including Earthquake (1974) and Midway (1976), the first two movies released in...

Actor Ken Kercheval, best known as Texas businessman Cliff Barnes on the CBS series Dallas, has died. A cause of death is not known, but a spokesperson at the Frist Funeral Home in the actor’s hometown of Clinton, Indiana, told Deadline that Kercheval died Sunday. He was 83.

Kercheval’s character was a signature presence on Dallas — along with his bitter rival J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman), Barnes was the only character to appear in all 14 seasons (1978-1991) of the soapy saga about Texas crude and crude Texans. The character was originally modeled on Robert F. Kennedy but that template didn’t hold for long. Instead Barnes was defined by his family’s rivalry with the Ewings and his character was spun in varied directions as needed — his job title, for instance, changed a dozen times over the course of the series.

Kercheval was also in the 1986 prequel Dallas: The Early Years, a TV movie that fleshed out the franchise’s central conflict, the rivalry between the two oil industry families. Kercheval also returned to the character for the 1996 television movie Dallas: J.R. Returns and then again for three seasons (2012-2014) of a Dallas revival, which presented the career-bouncing Barnes as a casino industry player.

Dallas also gave Kercheval a chance to experiment with job directions himself: He went behind the camera to direct an episode of the series in each of its final two seasons.

Kercheval was born July 15, 1935, in Wolcottville, Ind., and raised in nearby Clinton. A music and drama major at Indiana University he later studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. Kercheval began his professional acting career on the stage, making his Broadway debut in the 1962 play Something About A Soldier. He went on to appear Off-Broadway in 1972’s Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill revue. His other theatre credits include The Apple Tree, Cabaret (replacing Bert Convy as Cliff), and Here’s Where I Belong. He also appeared as the title character in the original Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof, co-starring with Herschel Bernardi, Maria Karnilova, Julia Migenes, Leonard Frey, and Pia Zadora.

It was television, however, where Kercheval became a face familiar to millions. His credits included appearances on E.R., L.A. Law,, Murder She Wrote, CHiPs, Highway to Heaven, Kojak, The Love Boat, Matlock, and Starsky & Hutch. His film credits include Network, The Seven-Ups and F.I.S.T. in the 1970s.

Ken Kercheval, who played oil tycoon Cliff Barnes, the rival of Larry Hagman’s J.R. Ewing on “Dallas,” has died. He was 83.

A spokeswoman at Frist Funeral Home in Kercheval’s hometown of Clinton, Ind., confirmed his death on Wednesday to Variety, but did not provide additional information.

Kercheval and Hagman were the only two stars who appeared on CBS’ soap opera “Dallas” for its entire 14-season run between 1978 to 1991. Kercheval was a recurring character for the first two seasons, but was then upped to a regular in the 1979-1980 season. He reprised his role in the 1996 “Dallas” reunion, the 2004 CBS reunion special and the 2012-2014 TNT revival. He was among five series stars who directed episodes, taking the helm for two episodes for Seasons 13-14.

When “Dallas” viewers asked him when Cliff was “finally going to get J.R.,” Kercheval always answered: “This Friday night!”

In the 1960s,...

Denise DuBarry Hay, a staunch advocate of the film industry in the Coachella Valley, died Saturday at UCLA Medical Center after battling a deadly fungus. She was 63 and her death was confirmed by her husband, Bill Hay.

DuBarry Hay began her career as an actress, apppearing in the TV series Black Sheep Squadron and CHiPs, as well as the film “Being There.”

But the business world was calling, and in 1990 she co-founded Thane International, a global direct response company, with husband, Bill Hay. The company was formed after Denise produced an infomercial in 1987 for a video, “Play the Piano Overnight.” The video became the basis for an “Overnight Music” series for Thane.

After selling Thane International, the Hays started Kaswit, Inc., an incubator for home and health products, including the book “Don Sullivan’s Secrets to Training the Perfect Dog” and training accessories.

In 1998, she was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year,...

Denise DuBarry, an actress and producer who was president of Palm Springs Women in Film and Television, died Saturday at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles after battling a deadly fungus, her husband told the Desert Sun newspaper. She was 63.

DuBarry appeared in Hal Ashby's Being There (1979), The Devil and Max Devlin (1981) and Monster in the Closet (1986); had a recurring role as nurse Samantha Greene Moore on Robert Conrad's Black Sheep Squadron; and showed up on the soap opera Days of Our Lives, CHiPs and The Love Boat.

A resident of La Quinta, DuBarry recently produced two films, Do It or Die (2017) ...

Denise DuBarry, an actress and producer who was president of Palm Springs Women in Film and Television, died Saturday at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles after battling a deadly fungus, her husband told the Desert Sun newspaper. She was 63.

DuBarry appeared in Hal Ashby's Being There (1979), The Devil and Max Devlin (1981) and Monster in the Closet (1986); had a recurring role as nurse Samantha Greene Moore on Robert Conrad's Black Sheep Squadron; and showed up on the soap opera Days of Our Lives, CHiPs and The Love Boat.

A resident of La Quinta, DuBarry recently produced two films, Do It or Die (2017) ...

We have our new Fred and Daphne in the upcoming Scooby-Doo movie. Warner Bros. is currently trying to make use of their Hanna-Barbera characters, which they haven't been doing a ton with in recent years, in the hopes of generating some nostalgia-fueled business at the box office. That all starts with a new animated Scooby-Doo movie and they're bringing aboard quite a bit of star power in order to drum up interested. Case in point, Zac Efron and Amanda Seyfried have been cast as Fred and Daphne, respectively.

According to a new report, Zac Efron has signed on to voice Fred Jones, with Amanda Seyfried on board to voice Daphne Blake. They join an already star-studded cast, which includes Will Forte as Shaggy, Gina Rodriguez as Velma, Tracy Morgan as Captain Caveman and the legendary Frank Welker will reprise his voice as the titular talking dog. Welker also voiced Fred...

I was recently challenged to list my top 10 favorite movies of all time, which proved an impossible task; however, I can easily name my favorite Decade for filmmaking: the 1930s. Movies truly evolved during this decade, with the final one of 1939 becoming the greatest year ever for films: “Gone with the Wind,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “Stagecoach,” “Ninotchka,” “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” “Wuthering Heights” and so many more! Since that special year is celebrating its 80th anniversary, let’s take a look back.

SEEOscar Best Picture Gallery: History of Every Academy Award-Winning Movie

The film industry was still in its youth as the decade rolled in with “talking pictures” becoming the new standard. Besides mastering the technical aspects of that, they were still learning how to develop a story, how to act for the camera as opposed to stage acting, and how to engineer special effects. At the same time,...

Jed Allan -- another member of the "Beverly Hills, 90210" family and a soap opera legend -- has died, according to his son. Rick Brown posted the sad news on Jed Allan's official Facebook fan page Saturday, saying Jed passed away peacefully while surrounded by family. He added, "Thank you for all who are part of this wonderful tribute to my dad on Facebook."  Jed played Rush Sanders on '90210' -- the father of Ian Ziering's Steve Sanders.

Soap opera veteran Jed Allan, best known for playing Don Craig on “Days of Our Lives,” C.C. Capwell on “Santa Barbara” and Rush Sanders on “Beverly Hills, 90210,” died Saturday. He was 84.

“So sorry to post the very sad news of my fathers [sic] passing tonight,” Allan’s son Rick posted on Facebook Saturday night. “He died peacefully and was surrounded by his family and loved so much by us and so many others. Thank you for all who are part of this wonderful tribute to my dad on Facebook.”

Allan’s connection to the daytime drama genre began in the ’60s on the long-gone soaps “Love of Life” and “Secret Storm.” But it wasn’t until he joined “Days of Our Lives” in 1971 as attorney Don Craig and was romantically teamed up with Deidre Hall’s Dr. Marlena Evans that he became a daytime superstar. He remained on the show for 14 years,...

Carmen Argenziano -- who's perhaps best known from "Stargate Sg-1" -- has died ... TMZ has learned.  Argenziano passed away Sunday, according to his personal appearance agency, Event Horizon Talent. His agent, who books him for conventions, confirms to TMZ that Argenziano had, in fact, died ... but the circumstances of his death remain unclear for now.  The Pennsylvania-born actor has starred in tons of TV shows and movies over the course of his 5-decade career, including "The Rockford Files,...

11:53 Am Pt -- Ken's ex-wife, Jackie, tells us he had been battling heart issues for several months, and had stint surgery in October. But she adds, his heart illness continued to worsen in recent weeks, and he'd been in and out of the hospital. Jackie says their daughter, Jennifer, Ken's partner Susie and herself were all by his side until the end. She adds, Susie had been with Ken for 26 years and encouraged him through his ailment.

Ken Berry, the veteran comic actor who starred in such 1960s, ’70s and ’80s sitcoms as “F-Troop,” “Mayberry, Rfd” and the “Carol Burnett Show” spinoff “Mama’s Family,” died Saturday at the age of 85.

His ex-wife Jackie Joseph-Lawrence reported the news, “with very deep sorrow,” on her Facebook page. “F-Troop” co-star Larry Storch also shared the news on his own Facebook page, adding, “Goodnight Captain. We miss you already.”

The Illinois native known for his aw-shucks charm also made memorable appearances in Disney films such as “Herbie Rides Again” and “The Cat From Outer Space.”

Also Read: Carol Burnett Disses Modern Broadcast TV: 'There Are Just Too Many Cooks Now'

After serving in the U.S. Army under Sgt. Leonard Nimoy, mostly entertaining the troops, Berry landed a spot on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” He became a contract player for Universal Studios, appearing predominantly in musical films, and then transitioned to TV.

Ken Berry, who is best known for his roles in the classic TV shows Mama’s Family and F-Troop, died Saturday. He was 85.

Berry’s ex-wife Jackie Joseph-Lawrence announced the news of his death on Facebook saying, “With very deep sorrow, I must inform friends of Ken Berry that he died a short time ago.” No further details about his death were given.

Born in Illinois November 3, 1933, Berry showed an interest in singing and dancing at a young age. When he was 15 years old, he toured with a tap dancing ensemble. After high school, he went on to join the army where he served under pre-Star Trek Sergeant Leonard Nimoy. He would continue to perform in talent contests and a competition to appear on Ed Sullivan’s Toast of the Town where he placed third and appeared on television.

Berry is known for role as Vinton in classic TV...

Ken Berry, the amiable and musically-talented TV actor of the 1960s and ’70s who starred in “F Troop,” “Mama’s Family” and “Mayberry R.F.D.,” died Saturday.

His former wife, actress Jackie Joseph-Lawrence posted the news on Facebook. “F Troop” co-star Larry Storch wrote on Facebook, “We hope you know how much you were loved. Goodnight Captain.”

Berry played Captain Parmenter on Western sitcom “F Troop” for two years in the mid-1960s.

On “Mama’s Family,” he played Vinton Harper on the “Carol Burnett Show” spinoff, which starred Vicki Lawrence, Rue McClanahan and Betty White. The sitcom ran two seasons on NBC in 1983 and 1984, and two years later was revived in syndication, where it was a hit and ran until 1990.

Berry appeared as widowed farmer Sam Jones on “The Andy Griffith Show” and transitioned into the lead as the show spun off as “Mayberry R.F.D.”

“Mayberry R.F.D.” ran from 1968 to...

A new2K restoration of Dario Argento's Opera will invade the UK's shores on Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD this November. See all the blood and terror in high definition and a brand new interview with Dario as part of the Blu-ray/DVD special features. Also: Comet TV's October contest details, 4Dx Horror Film Fest announcement, and The Forest of the Lost Souls Blu-ray and Amazon Prime release details.

New Opera 2K Restored Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD UK Release Details: "Restored in 2K with reference to Argento's own personal print Dario Argento (Suspiria) returns to CultFilms with this breath-taking new restoration of his visionary horror masterpiece Opera. Splattered with stylistic bloodshed and soaring cinematography, Opera shows Italy's master of horror at the very height of his game.

When young understudy Betty takes the lead role in a new operatic production of Verdi's Macbeth, she soon attracts the attention of...

Paul Bradshaw Joseph Baxter Jul 31, 2019

The violent cat and mouse duo are headed for a live action hybrid ‘toon, as a new Tom & Jerry movie is in the works.

Tom and Jerry are getting a Space Jam-style live-action/animated hybrid feature treatment!

Indeed, while Disney is busy turning every one of its old animated classics into live action movies, Warner Bros is starting to mine its own ’toon archives for possible film adaptation ideas – with a Wile E. Coyote movie and Space Jam 2 both in the works. Next up on the reboot list is Hanna Barbera’s Tom and Jerry – the heart-warming tale of a cat and a mouse who have spent almost 80 years trying to kill each other.

The film will be directed by Tim Story.

Tom and Jerry Movie Cast

The Tom and Jerry cast just acquired a quartet of new cast members. With the news confirmed via EW,...

John Peter Kousakis began his career in 1979 as a production assistant on the television mini-series The French Atlantic Affair, which led to work as a second assistant director on Chips. From there Kousakis worked as an Ad on some of the most popular series of the era, including The Greatest American Hero, The Fall Guy, and The A-Team, but he caught the directing bug during his first foray into features, working as a second Ad on the Burt Reynolds-Hal Needham car chase extravaganza Cannonball Run II. Since then he has moved back and forth between production management positions and […]...

John Peter Kousakis began his career in 1979 as a production assistant on the television mini-series The French Atlantic Affair, which led to work as a second assistant director on Chips. From there Kousakis worked as an Ad on some of the most popular series of the era, including The Greatest American Hero, The Fall Guy, and The A-Team, but he caught the directing bug during his first foray into features, working as a second Ad on the Burt Reynolds-Hal Needham car chase extravaganza Cannonball Run II. Since then he has moved back and forth between production management positions and […]...

Bill Daily, best known to TV audiences for his role as Major Roger Healey in I Dream of Jeannie, has died at the age of 91, Variety reports.

Daily passed away on Sept. 4 in Santa Fe, N.M. He is survived by his son, J. Patrick Daily. A cause of death has not been disclosed.

The actor, whose earliest credits include episodes of Bewitched and My Mother the Car, was cast as Jeannie‘s Major Healey in 1965 and appeared in all five seasons, as well as follow-up TV-movies I Dream of Jeannie… Fifteen Years Later (1985) and I Still Dream of Jeannie...

Mary Willard, playwright, TV writer and wife of four-time Emmy nominee Fred Willard, has died at the age of 71.

Willard died on July 13, but news of her death was recently made public.

Champion is the one word that comes to mind when remembering Mary Willard and she wasn’t just Fred Willard’s best cheerleader, but she also mentored and nurtured a number of creative comedic writers and actors through the Willards’ Los Angeles-based comedy sketch group The Mohos over the last two-plus decades (which anecdotally I was a part of some years ago).

‘Let’s put on a show’ was an unofficial mantra, and within less than two-weeks time, the troupe would pull wigs out of the closet and brush up pages for performances at the Io West and The Bang Theater and even as far as the Inland Empire. Those trying out sketches at Mohos had the opportunity...

Cori Wellins starred in Arachnophobia and appeared on an episode of CHiPs as a kid, but after interning for her own agent during her senior year at UCLA, she shifted her focus from performing to representing talent (including Glow showrunner Liz Flahive and Master of None co-creator Alan Yang). "It's just a tough trade," says the Wme partner of her childhood career. "I met with my first agent when I was 10 — I remember him telling me that I was fat, I had thin hair, I had a high forehead, that I was never going to make ...

Cori Wellins starred in Arachnophobia and appeared on an episode of CHiPs as a kid, but after interning for her own agent during her senior year at UCLA, she shifted her focus from performing to representing talent (including Glow showrunner Liz Flahive and Master of None co-creator Alan Yang). "It's just a tough trade," says the Wme partner of her childhood career. "I met with my first agent when I was 10 — I remember him telling me that I was fat, I had thin hair, I had a high forehead, that I was never going to make ...