10:35: Stephen Colbert joins Jon Stewart on stage with a leaf blower. Ah, another bit about the "green" Emmys. The leaf blower, Colbert says, runs on "Al Gore's tears. He's a crybaby."10:37: Colbert accuses Stewart of flying to L.A. in his "private jet sandwich." Eesh. They're trying too hard. Where's Bruce Vilanch when you need him? I mean, I love me some Stewart and Colbert, but this feels forced.10:39: Kyra Sedgwick clearly agrees with me. She's smiling so hard, I feel her pain.10:40: Ricky Gervais wins Lead Actor, Comedy. "Ricky couldn't be here tonight, so instead we're going to give this to our friend Steve Carell," Stewart says. See? Right there, that was funnier than the whole leaf blower bit. Especially when Carell runs on stage.10:40:30: Felicity Huffman is presenting with House. God, those Housewives really do hate each other, don't they?10:41: Sally Field wins Lead Actress, Drama. Terrified of the Muzak, Sally is talking faster than a teenager after a double latte. The v...
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Game-show bigwig Merv Griffin, 82, died of prostate cancer early on Sunday. His family issued a statement explaining that his recurrence of prostate cancer, for which he was hospitalized earlier in the week, progressed quickly.The veteran talk-show host created a multimillion-dollar empire in the entertainment industry, most notably by producing Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. Wheel host Pat Sajak tells the Hollywood Reporter, "The loss of a dear friend has made it difficult to focus on Merv's enormous contribution to the world of entertainment. I'm dealing with deep sadness and the realization that I will never hear that wonderful laugh of his again. He meant so much to my life, it's hard to imagine it without him."Former first lady Nancy Reagan remembers Griffin as "a dear, dear friend," telling the trade, "He was there for me on some of the hardest days when Ronnie was fighting Alzheimer's." "To say that working with Merv Griffin was the highlight of our careers is an understatem...
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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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Game-show mogul Merv Griffin, 82, is reportedly "gravely ill," according to Entertainment Tonight. The Jeopardy! creator was hospitalized and treated for prostate cancer — a recurrence of which was discovered during a routine medical exam — at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in July, but sources now tell ET that his prognosis does not look good.Griffin's reps have yet to confirm or deny these reports.
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Merv Griffin may be in a Los Angeles hospital being treated for a recurrence of prostate cancer, but illness hasn't dampened the talk-show host turned production mogul's notorious hands-on approach. His staff sent a copy of Merv Griffin's Crosswords, his new syndicated game show debuting Sept. 10, to his Cedars-Sinai Medical Center room, and Griffin, who devised the concept and wrote all the music for the show, took a look and decided host Ty Treadway needed a new haircut. "Send him to my guy," Griffin told his staff. Treadway, who is sporting a new, spiky look these days, tells TV Guide, "It took an 82-year-old to make me look a little cooler." — Reporting by Ileane Rudolph
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