New releases announced today, July 25:Donny & Marie, Sonny & Cher and Bob Hope - A Classic TV Christmas 3-Pack will be coming out November 11 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson - Johnny Carson Celebrates Christmas will be coming out November 11 Visit TVShowsOnDVD.com for the complete stories on these and other news items.
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On Friday starting at 8 pm/ET, TV Land will count down the 50 greatest TV icons, from Larry Hagman to Johnny Carson, then give a special shout-out to the legend who draws the most text votes during the show. Go, Donna Pescow! (I've always loved a long shot).... Voting is now under way for the Funniest Commercials of the Year: 2007 at VeryFunnyAds.com. The winners will be featured on a Dec. 26 TBS special hosted by Weeds' Kevin Nealon.... Dancing with the Stars' Cameron Mathison and Edyta dance live on today's The View.... Rosemary's Baby author Ira Levin died Monday at the age of 78 from natural causes. His other classic thrillers include The Stepford Wives and The Boys from Brazil. — Ben Katner
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Merv Griffin was the anti-Trump. No matter how many riches he amassed through creating the formidably successful game-show phenom of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, this band singer turned talk-show host turned entertainment mogul turned hotel/real-estate magnate never projected an air of arrogance or entitlement. Publicly affable to the end, Griffin (who died Sunday at 82) was one of those rare talents whose success only a grinch would begrudge — in part because the ubiquitous shows he's best known for continue to provide so much pleasure on a nightly basis. That lilting, nagging Jeopardy theme? He wrote it. That alone is enough to ensure him a place in the annals of TV history.But he also had a long, profitable run as a talk-show host, primarily in syndication. He was never the coolest or funniest (that would be Johnny Carson), he was never the most trenchant (that would be Dick Cavett), but he was an effortless entertainer who put the audience at ease even as he occasionally...
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After 18 seasons and 400 episodes, Fox's The Simpsons (Sundays at 8 pm/ET) has attracted more than 350 celebrities to offer their voices to animated doppelgangers. Some have played themselves (Steve Buscemi, anyone?), some new characters (Reese Witherspoon as Rainier Wolfcastle's daughter, for instance), some old characters (Kiefer Sutherland and Mary Lynn Rajskub, who reprise their roles from 24 on May 20) — and in one instance, a mix (Elizabeth Taylor played herself and voiced Maggie's first word). Throughout, producers have attract
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Americans felt as if we'd lost a personal friend when the news broke that late-night legend Johnny Carson died Jan. 23 of emphysema at his Malibu, Calif., home. He was 79. Here, some of Carson's pals and frequent guests share their fondest memories of his close to 30-year reign on NBC's Tonight Show.
Tony Bennett: I [sang] "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" on his very first show. He had on
Groucho Marx,
Joan Crawford,
Mel Brooks and
Rudy Vallee. At the show's end, he said, "Well, that's the first show. Let's see how it goes." He had no idea.
Dolly Parton: I realized how sensitive and caring Johnny was the night he did the famous joke about giving a week's pay to look down my shirt. During a camera break, he leaned over, patted my hand and said, "I really hope I didn't embarrass you — I didn't mean to." He really seemed to care. I was crazy about him. I would never do [Tonight Show] with a guest host
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