Question: I once went to see Bruce Willis and the Accelerators perform at B.B. King's club in Times Square. My friends all said I was crazy when I recalled a (possibly made-for-cable) special Willis did called The Return of Bruno, in which he played the part of his musical alter-ego Bruno and performed some of the songs from his first album. Is this memory just wishful thinking? Will I have to foot the bill for the next club show my friends and I attend? (Yes, there's money on this one.) Many thanks.
Answer: Looks to me like it's your pals who'll be ponying up for the next outing, Sean.
The former Moonlighting costar did indeed put together an HBO special, Bruce Willis: The Return of Bruno, which debuted in 1987 and was released on home video the same year. A combination of concert footage and faux documentary featuring Bruno Radolini, the fictional c
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Question: Matt, thanks for writing the column. I make sure to read it every Monday (and now Friday). I know you've answered a lot of questions about congested time periods, and I just realized that there might be another one coming up soon: Tuesdays at 10, or 9 here in Minnesota. I have made a season commitment to Boston Legal, and The Shield is now back as well. With your recommendation, and my appreciation of Ed and Tom Cavanagh, I'd like to give Love Monkey a chance, but is it good enough to give up one of those shows? Thanks for taking the time to answer my question.
Answer: One of the other explanations I heard for why some people ditch ABC after Housewives is because they weren't willing to give up Crossing Jordan. (I know.) Truth is, TV is a medium of habit, and it's difficult to give something up when it's part of your routine. And Josh didn't even mention the dominant show in this Tuesday time period: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. At this point, I've only seen the pilot of
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Wendie Jo Sperber with Tom Hanks
Wendie Jo Sperber, best known for playing cross-dressing Tom Hanks' confidante on the early-'80s sitcom Bosom Buddies, lost an eight-year battle with breast cancer on Tuesday. "The memory of Wendie Jo is that of a walking inspiration," says Hanks in a statement. "She met the challenges of her illness with love, cheer, joy and altruism. We are going to miss her as surely as we are all better for knowing her." Sperber's credits also included Michael J. Fox's big sister in all three Back to the Future movies.
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The Kids are Alright: The cast of Family Ties
Question: I was talking about this with my girlfriend and could swear I read somewhere that Family Ties was originally supposed to be about the parents but ended up being about the kids when they become popular. Truth or urban legend? Thanks, and keep up the good work.
Answer: Not only is it true, Peter, it was foreshadowed by Michael Gross, who played man of the house Steven Keaton, though he probably didn't know it at the time. In 1982, while shooting an episode of the series in which Keaton kids Alex (Michael J. Fox), Mallory (Justine Bateman) and Jennifer (Tina Yothers) run amok when Steven and wife Elyse (Meredith Baxter Birney) are away, the actor engaged in a bit of unintentional soothsaying. "Maybe after several episodes, Meredith and I will die, and then the series could really take off," he joked to TV Guide. "We could be kille
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Starting Dec. 13, Michael J. Fox will appear in three episodes of ABC's Boston Legal. The Family Ties funnyman will play a rich cancer patient who is sued after bribing a pharmaceutical company to ensure that he isn't given the placebo in a study.
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