Ed McMahon Remembered at Special Tribute

• Jul 2, 2009 04:16 PM ET
• by Adam Bryant

Ed McMahon

Ed McMahon was honored by dozens of friends, family and celebrities, including Tom Arnold, who said the late Tonight Show sidekick was someone "100 percent of the people liked."

Arnold, who worked with McMahon on the 1997 WB sitcom The Tom Show, joked about McMahon's reunion with talk-show king Johnny Carson in heaven.

Check out the greatest TV sidekicks of all time

"Hey, Johnny, great news: I brought Farrah (Fawcett) and Michael Jackson with me. We're gonna have a hell of a show tonight," Arnold said at the Television Academy of Arts & Sciences tribute in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Other celebrities in attendance included ... read more

Wentworth Miller's Latest Break? Law & Order: SVU

• Jul 2, 2009 03:40 PM ET
• by Adam Bryant

Wentworth Miller

Prison Break star Wentworth Miller will guest star in the Season 11 premiere of Law & Order: SVU, TVGuide.com has confirmed.

Miller, who spent years running from the police on Prison Break, will be on the other side of the law this time around. He will play a NYPD cop named Nate Kendal, who saves a rape victim and crosses paths with Benson and Stabler.

Check out some of TV's best male-female duos

Alas, Miller's run ... read more

Fall TV: Christian Slater in Talks to Front Bruckheimer Drama

• Jul 2, 2009 03:32 PM ET
• by Matt Mitovich

Christian Slater

Film vet Christian Slater, who last fall played a superspy in NBC's short-lived My Own Worst Enemy, is in talks to front ABC's new Jerry Bruckheimer-produced crime drama.

In The Forgotten, Slater would fill the lead role of a former cop who heads up a team of amateur detectives. Among the character's baggage is the fact that his 11-year-old daughter was kidnapped three years prior.

Review our complete round-up of fall TV news

In the original pilot, the lead role was played by ... read more

Jermaine Jackson: "I Wish It Was Me"

• Jul 2, 2009 03:02 PM ET
• by Mickey O'Connor

Jermaine Jackson

In a tearful interview on NBC's Today show, Jermaine Jackson said he should have died instead of his brother, Michael, whose death last week remains under investigation.

"I wish it was me," he told Today's Matt Lauer, who sat down with Jackson on the grounds of his late brother's Neverland Ranch. "I always felt that I was his backbone, someone to be there for him."

See our complete Michael Jackson coverage

While the Jackson family confirmed no public memorial service would take place at Neverland this weekend, Jackson said he hoped the 2,500-acre ranch would be his brother's final resting place. "This is his home, he created this, why wouldn't he be here?" he told Lauer. Jackson's interment at Neverland would require an exception by local officials because burials are restricted to cemeteries. (Should Michael be buried at Neverland? Vote in our poll below.)

Harve Presnell Dies at 75

• Jul 2, 2009 02:32 PM ET
• by Adam Bryant

Harve Presnell

Harve Presnell, the Golden Globe-winning actor best known for his role as William H. Macy's father-in-law in Fargo and who starred in Broadway musicals The Unsinkable Molly Brown and Annie, has died. He was 75.

The actor died Tuesday at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., after a battle with pancreatic cancer, Presnell's agent told the Associated Press.

See other celebrities who have died this year

Born, George Harvey Presnell on Sept. 14, 1933, he was known for his booming baritone voice. The 6-foot-4 actor first gained attention in 1960 as ... read more

Ratings: Talent Is Tops, But Philanthropist May Need Help

• Jul 2, 2009 12:37 PM ET
• by Matt Mitovich

America's Got Talent

Wednesday's ratings recap:

8 pm/ET
ABC's Wipeout topped the hour with 7.8 million total viewers, up 100K week-to-week. So You Think You Can Dance's Top 14 performance show, however, led the demos, and averaged 7.65 mil over its two-hour run.

9 pm
America's Got Talent was the night's most-watched program, delivering 11.3 million viewers (up 9 percent week-to-week). Me, I'd prefer to see the Hoff drink, like, six fewer Red Bulls before each show. ABC's I Survived a Japanese Game Show (3.83 mil) dropped 350K.

10 pm
Despite having an even stronger lead-in this week, NBC's The Philanthropist (5.7 mil) plunged 23 percent from its premiere, placing a distant second behind a CSI: NY repeat (8.1 mil).

Crave scoop on your favorite TV shows, from this summer or the upcoming fall season? E-mail senior editors Matt, Mickey and Tim at mega_scoop@tvguide.com. Also, follow TV Guide on Twitter.

Top Moments: A Jackson Tribute, a Bachelorette Reunion and More

• Jul 2, 2009 12:10 PM ET
• by TV Guide News

Janet Jackson, Stephen Colbert

After last week's many tragedies, we were grateful to lighten up this week with some good old fake drama: a ghastly goodbye, the return of a very undead celebrity, and a Bachelor reunion so silly we hope it was staged. Welcome to Top Moments, refreshingly phony edition. See the list after the jump. read more

July Fourth Weekend Marathons

• Jul 2, 2009 11:56 AM ET
• by Gina DiNunno

True Blood and M*A*S*H

Who needs the beach and fireworks to celebrate Independence Day when there are endless hours of television to be had? Check out our roundup of the weekend's marathon programming (all times are ET):

A&E
CSI: Miami
Saturday, July 4: 5 — 9 pm
Tattoo Highway
Sunday, July 5: 1 — 4 pm 

Animal Planet
Dogs 101
Saturday, July 4: 2 pm — 12 am Sunday

Smits: PBS Special "Puts a Whole Different Spin" on Fourth of July

• Jul 2, 2009 11:52 AM ET
• by Matt Mitovich

Jimmy Smits

Each year as America celebrates its birthday, few celebrations are as rife with emotion, inclusiveness and patriotic goodness as A Capitol Fourth, the PBS special that broadcasts from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

A Capitol Fourth "reflects a tapestry of what this country is, just in terms of the music alone," says Jimmy Smits, who is repeating as host of the special.

Canada's nice, too — check our list of favorite TV stars from the Great White North

Among the music acts helping the U.S. of A. turn a spry 233 this year are Barry Manilow, Aretha ... read more

Neil Patrick Harris Eyed as Awesome Emmys Host

• Jul 2, 2009 09:36 AM ET
• by Matt Mitovich

Neil Patrick Harris hosting the Tonys

CBS, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and Neil Patrick Harris are working on a deal that would make the How I Met Your Mother star the host of this year's Primetime Emmy Awards, airing Sept. 20.

An agreement had not been reached as of late Wednesday — and CBS had no comment on the buzz — but Variety reports that all parties are hopeful to see Harris "tux up" and take charge of the 61st annual Emmys.

Emmys 2008: Revisit the fashion hits and misses

Just recently for CBS, Harris earned raves as host of ... read more