Most people know Paul Shaffer as the bespectacled bandleader on Late Show with David Letterman. What they may not know is that Letterman's sounding board is also the music director for the annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. In 1986, Shaffer's HoF gig got him noticed by HBO, and he was brought on board as music director for an episode of the Cinemax series Sessions. This, however, would be no ordinary concert. Piano legends Fats Domino, Ray Charles and Jerry Lee Lewis would be sharing the stage at New Orleans' vaunted Storyville Ni
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While Taylor Hackford is best known for directing dramas like An Officer and a Gentleman, The Devil's Advocate and Ray, his documentaries may be some of his most interesting work. After getting his start as an investigative reporter for public television in Los Angeles, the silver-bearded cineaste went on to helm 1987's
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In the end, for American Idol wannabe Elliott Yamin, it came down to a trio of giant, video-projected percentages: 33.68, 33.26 and 33.06 — the last of which, separated from second place by just 10,000 votes, belonged to him. "I just knew.... I had that intuition that my name was going to be attached to the bottom number," he told TVGuide.com the morning after being sent packing. "And I was prepared for it, so it was easy to take and grasp." As for the oh-so-slim margin of loss to finalists Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee, he says, "It was really flattering to have been involved in such a close, tight-knit race."
Early on in the competition, the 27-year-old Virginian was handed some of the highest praise one could ever expect to hear from
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American IdolFifties night was far kinder to the wannabes than Stevie Wonder night was last week. And the evening clearly belonged to Mandisa. Wow... just wow. A note to Paula Abdul: No woman wants to be compared to a horse. Paris thrived vocally on "Fever," but she's so young that the "vamp" thing didn't work so well for her. To quote the cinema classic and '50s-themed flick Grease, "she's too pure to be pink."
For a minute I was so excited to see Live on stage doing "I Alone." But then I realized it was Chris, stopping once again in the '90s for inspiration instead of heading to the '50s like everyone else. He's always great, but I'm waiting for Simon to coax Chris out
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Desperate HousewivesOf course ABC chose to show a repeat tonight — the cast was up for best ensemble in a comedy series at the SAG Awards, airing at the same time. So glad they won for the second year in a row, and I was quite happy about Felicity Huffman continuing her winning streak: first an Emmy, then a Golden Globe (for Transamerica) and now a SAG award. She's this year's Jamie Foxx (at least Felicity doesn't sing the same Ray Charles song at every single awards show). Hopefully, she'll be announced as an Oscar nominee this Tuesday morning. Tonight's repeat reminded me of what a "whack job" (the term that Layla woman used) George was. He's a character I simply do not miss. I do, however, enjoy Lesley Ann Warren and Bob Newhart, so I hope they bring them back. And it made sense for us to see Gabrielle release that red balloo
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