If anyone knows TV, it’s me. Not only do I happen to, unapologetically, love the medium, I can’t imagine what a day without TV Land, televised sports, or the Food Network would be like. Don’t want to know! Anyway, I am sitting on tremendous TV knowledge and that knowledge leads me to announce that the fact that Betty White is returning to television is the best “television-related” news in two forevers. This beautiful and hilarious comedienne is one in a gazillion and how any network has let her go unutilized this long is beyond me. For that matter, come on, shouldn’t the entire Golden Girls cast be gainfully employed on television and the movies?
Betty White has signed on in a Recurring Role in a promising new TV Land original series, Hot in Cleveland. I’m also doing back flips over the concept of Valerie Bertinelli returning to television. I think her recent commercial campaign, her autobiography, and bikini pics (with snow and ice covering most of the country, I chose to show one of these pics at the top of the post – Valerie can thaw out as much ice now as she did 20 years ago… probably more!) reminded the public of just how much we all love her. TV Land is absolutely brilliant to bring both ladies back into our living rooms.
From TV Land:
“HOT IN CLEVELAND”
New York, NY, January 13, 2010 – TV Land announced today that it has signed comedic actresses Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick to star as best friends in the network’s sitcom pilot “Hot in Cleveland.” Additionally, the incomparable Emmy Award-winning Betty White has also been cast in the comedy pilot as a recurring guest star. The sitcom, which was previously announced in October along with comedy pilot “Retired at 35,” is TV Land’s foray into scripted comedy series and is a TV Land PRIME presentation.
“Hot in Cleveland” is written by Emmy Award-winning Suzanne Martin (“Frasier,” “Ellen”) and is produced by Emmy Award-winner Sean Hayes’ Hazy Mills Productions.
The new comedy revolves around three fabulous, LA women of a certain age and best friends (Bertinelli, Leeves and Malick). Their lives are changed forever when their plane unexpectedly lands in Cleveland and they soon rediscover themselves in this new “promised land.” Loving their new home, the women find themselves living under one roof and battling their sassy, property caretaker, played by Betty White.
Popular actress Valerie Bertinelli is most-remembered for her role as “Barbara Jean Cooper” on the beloved Norman Lear sitcom “One Day At A Time.” She also starred in “Touched By An Angel” for the show’s final two seasons. More recently, Bertinelli became a spokesperson for the Jenny Craig weight-loss program and in 2008 she released the autobiography Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound At A Time, which discussed her struggles with weight loss. In November 2009, Bertinelli released a fitness DVD called “Losing It and Keeping Fit” and also wrote a follow-up book called Finding It: And Satisfying My Hunger for Life without Opening the Fridge.
Jane Leeves starred for 11 seasons in the Emmy Award-winning NBC comedy “Frasier” and was also nominated for an Emmy as Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on the series as Daphne Moon. More recently, Leeves lent her voice to The Disney Channel’s “Phineas and Ferb” and guest-starred in USA Network’s “The Starter Wife.” Leeves is also known to audiences for playing the memorable character “Marla Penney” in several episodes of “Seinfield.”
Wendie Malick was nominated for two Emmy Awards and won a Golden Globe for her role as the hilarious and beautiful fashion editor Nina Van Horn in the NBC ensemble comedy “Just Shoot Me.” She appeared as Judith Tupper Stone in the early 1990s in the HBO comedy “Dream On,” for which she won four CableACE Awards as Best Actress in a Comedy Series. Malick’s work has included roles in the movies “The American President,” “Scrooged” and “Bugsy.”
One of television’s most beloved and talented actresses whose career has spanned over 50 years, Emmy Award-winning actress Betty White is best known for her role in the classic sitcom “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and the beloved series “The Golden Girls.” White won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for the first season of “The Golden Girls” and was nominated every year of the show’s run. The series ran from 1985 to 1992 on NBC. White has also guest-starred on a number of television programs including “Ally McBeal,” ‘The Ellen Show,” “That 70s Show” and won an Emmy in 1996 for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, appearing as herself on a memorable episode of “The John Laroquette Show.” White had a recurring role in ABC’s “Boston Legal” from 2005 to 2008 as the calculating, blackmailing gossip-monger Catherine Piper, a role she originally portrayed as a guest star on “The Practice” in 2004. Most recently, White appeared in the 2009 motion picture, “The Proposal” with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. She will be honored with the Screen Actors Guild Achievement Award on January 23, 2010.
“Hot in Cleveland” is part of TV Land’s foray into scripted comedy series and is one of two sitcom pilots for the network. The cast of the network’s other pilot, the multicamera “Retired at 35″ was announced last week with Johnathan McClain, “Saturday Night Live” alum Casey Wilson and acting veterans Jessica Walter and Christine Ebersole landing starring roles opposite previously cast George Segal. “Retired” follows David (McClain), a successful young businessman who decides to leave the New York rat race behind and move into his father Alan’s (Segal) Florida retirement home.
TV Land has created a really powerful primetime line-up. But wait! It just got even better and even funnier. Raymond just walked into the room and the party has officially begun.
One of the best-written, consistently hilarious comedies of all-time Everybody Loves Raymond is joining TV Land’s Primetime line-up.
“EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND”…AND TV LAND IS NO EXCEPTION!
Series Joins The Network On Thursday, March 18
New York, NY, January 25, 2010 – TV Land welcomes the hilarious Barone family to the network when the Emmy Award-winning sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond” premieres on Thursday, March 18 with a four-day primetime event. The series then joins the schedule for a primetime block each weeknight starting at 9PM ET/PT. Viewers will fall in love all over again with the antics of Ray Barone’s entire family, from his over-bearing mother Marie and his wise-cracking father, Frank, to his wife Debra’s no-nonsense impatience with him and the incessant sibling rivalry between Ray and younger brother Robert.
“We’re excited to begin airing ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ so that we can infuse our schedule with a fan favorite, giving us a great lead-in audience for our newest original series “First Love, Second Chance,” states Jaclyn Cohen, senior vice president of programming and acquisitions for TV Land. “Our acquisitions of beloved television staples are critical to TV Land’s success as they transition viewers into our new original content. We are sure that our viewers will love this “Raymond and “First Love” pairing as both shows have the common thread of showing relationships in all their glory — the good AND the bad.”
The winner of 15 Emmy® Awards, “Everybody Loves Raymond” ran in primetime on CBS for eight seasons. The premise was born out of Ray Romano’s own life experiences of raising his children along with his wife, all while his parents and brother lived close by. In “Everybody Loves Raymond,” Romano plays Ray Barone, father of three and a sports writer for a local newspaper. Patricia Heaton plays his wife, Debra, who endures her husband’s overbearing parents played brilliantly by Doris Roberts and the late Peter Boyle. As in real life, Ray’s brother Robert, played by Brad Garrett, is a policeman who lives with his parents. Guest stars for the series run included hilarious appearances by Kevin James, Fred Willard, Georgia Engel and Chris Elliott.
Impossible! I just came across some Audrey Hepburn posters and art prints that even I don’t have…. yet. She is just ridiculously beautiful – so graceful and lovely. Cut from a cloth that seems to have blown out of Hollywood years ago.
What an amazing mark Don Knotts left on television’s history and on all of our lives, for that matter. Can you even imagine life without Barney Fife?!?!
Betty Ann Lynn was born August 29, 1926 in Kansas City. The lovely actress is best remembered as Thelma Lou in Andy Griffith – the girlfriend of everyone’s favorite deputy, Barney Fife. We all know a lot more about Thelma Lou than we do Betty Lynn.
Things like:
Thelma Lou made great cashew fudge
Thelma’s cousin Karen had a smoky voice and was a skeet shooting fool
Thelma Lou’s cousin Mary Grace was… well, she was nice, real nice
Thelma Lou wanted nothing more than to marry her beloved Barney Fife
Opie crushed on Thelma Lou for a while until he realized she couldn’t (or wouldn’t) climb trees
Thelma Lou played the piano and sang for the church choir – unlike her boyfriend, she could carry a tune
Thelma Lou’s portrayer, Betty Lynn, could also carry a tune. And dance! The lovely actress came from a musical background and even performed on Broadway in such musical productions as “Walk with Music” (1940) and “Oklahoma!” In the 1940s, Betty was signed by Twentieth Century Fox and appeared in several of their popular movies, billed herself briefly as “Betty Ann Lynn” before abruptly dropping her middle name from credits.
Betty Lynn made her movie debut in a small role in the classic Clifton Webb comedy Sitting Pretty in 1948. After another minor part in Apartment for Peggy (1948), she earned a featured part in June Bride (1948) starring Bette Davis and Robert Montgomery. She played kid sister to Barbara Bates.
While on hiatus from the Disney series “Texas John Slaughter” (1959), Betty tested and won the recurring role of Deputy Barney Fife’s steady girl on The Andy Griffith Show. She was part of the cast for five seasons, until Knotts officially left the series for motion pictures. The producers were thinking of keeping her on the show but Betty felt her role would be incomplete without her connection to the Fife character.
Betty Lynn had recurring roles on “Family Affair” (1966) and “My Three Sons” (1960) and guest parts on “The Farmer’s Daughter” (1963), “The Smith Family” (1971) and “Little House on the Prairie” (1974), and “Barnaby Jones” (1973). She rejoined the Mayberry cast for a reunion in the TV movie Return to Mayberry in 1986. In the same year, Andy Griffith hired her to play his secretary in a handful of episodes for his “Matlock” (1986) series. Betty’s last acting role on TV was in 1990 and, save for a stage appearance in “Love Letters” in 2002 opposite another former Mayberry resident Howard Morris, she officially left acting.
Residing in the same West Hollywood home since 1950, she moved away from California to a Mayberry-inspired town, Mount Airy, in North Carolina. This was actually Andy Griffith’s hometown. The actress never married and lives in a retirement community in Mount Airy.
Once, when asked why she became an actress, Betty Lynn said, “I wanted everybody to like me.“ She got more than she bargained for, then. Everyone LOVES Betty Lynn.
Elvis fans, you’re going to love this interview with Music photo archivist Michael Ochs. Ochs headed the publicity departments of Columbia, Shelter and ABC Records in the ’60s and ‘70.
In the words of Spinner.com, Ochs possesses one of the largest stores of Elvis pictures this side of Graceland. Click through the link above to read the fascinating interview with Ochs – it’s great stuff no self-respecting fan of the King will want to miss out on.
You know you want it – don’t even try to fight it. Jump over to Calendars.com and get hands on James Dean. James Dean 2010 Wall Calendar.
James Dean is such a wonderful American icon – as recognizable as Marilyn Monroe and Abraham Lincoln. In just over a year, Dean starred in three films and became a representation of the rebellious American youth of the mid-fifties. He still personifies the mystery and restlessness of adolescence today.
The outstanding photographs in this calendar pay homage to the James Dean that fans will always remember and love.
One of the most hilarious sitcoms of all time, Home Improvement, is coming to TV Land. The network will celebrate the Taylor’s arrival with a week-long marathon of hilarity.
From TV Land:
“Does everybody know what time it is?” “TOOL TIME!” Make some room Sheriff Andy Taylor, there are new Taylors in town when the hilarious comedy “Home Improvement” joins TV Land beginning Monday, January 4, 2010 at 8:00PM ET/PT. The series kicks off with a week-long marathon featuring the accident-prone “Tim Taylor” (Tim Allen) as he amusingly tries to balance the drama and chaos of his life as a husband, father and his fix-it television show “Tool Time.” Beginning January 11th, “Home Improvement” can be seen weeknights at 9:00PM ET/PT on TV Land.
“TV Land is thrilled to add another hugely popular and much-loved television family to our network,” states Larry W. Jones, president of TV Land. “Men and women alike love to watch with Tim Allen’s lovingly know-it-all character on the show because they either know someone just like him…or they are married to him.”
“Home Improvement” was a smashing success on ABC where it ran for eight seasons and received numerous awards and nominations including seven Emmys and a Golden Globe win for Tim Allen in 1995 for “Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series – Comedy/Musical.” Audiences fell in love with the hysterical and often-times relatable family dynamic between “Tim,” his wife, “Jill” (Patricia Richardson) and sons “Brad” (Zachary Ty Bryan), “Randy” (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) and “Mark” (Taran Noah Smith) — making the Taylors one of the most popular television families. Tim’s partner and best friend “Al” (Richard Karn) added an additional comedic layer to the show, as did the Taylors’ neighbor, “Wilson” (Earl Hindman), and the gorgeous “Tool Time” assistant, “The Tool Time Girl” (Pamela Anderson and later Debbe Dunning).
The “Home Improvement” week-long launch event schedule is as follows (all times listed are ET/PT):
Monday, January 4, 2010
8:00PM #001 – Pilot
8:30PM #004 – Wild Kingdom
9:00PM #007 – Nothing More Than Feelings
9:30PM #006 Satellite On A Hot Tim’s Roof
10:00PM #11 – Bubble, Bubble Toil & Trouble
10:30PM #019 – Baby It’s Cold Outside
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
8:00PM #021 – Birds Of A Feather Flock To Taylor
8:30PM #022 – A Battle Of The Wheels
9:00PM #025 – Read My Hips
9:30PM #037 – Bell Bottom Blues
10:00PM #042 – Bye Bye Birdie
10:30PM #047 – Birth Of A Hot Rod
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
8:00PM #049 – To Build Or Not To Build
8:30PM #054 – This Joke’s For You
9:00PM #058 – A Frozen moment
9:30PM #062 – Twas The Night Before Christmas
10:00PM #067 – The Eve Of Construction
10:30PM #071 – What You See Is What You Get
Thursday, January 7, 2010
8:00PM #072 – Swing Time
8:30PM #077 – He Ain’t heavy…
9:00PM #086 – Some Like It Hot Rod
9:30PM #088 – Twas The Night Before Chaos
10:00PM #091 – It’s My Party
10:30PM #092 – Super Bowl Fever
Friday, January 8, 2010
8:00PM #109 – Room Without A View
8:30PM #114 – Oh, Brother
Saturday, January 9, 2010
8:00PM #115 – High School Confidential
8:30PM #124 – Mr. Wilson’s Opus
9:00PM #125 – Alarmed By Burglars
9:30PM #154 – Room At The Top
10:00PM #159 – Jill’s Passion
10:30PM #163 – Bright Christmas
Sunday, January 10, 2010
8:00PM #168 – Taking Jill For Granite
8:30PM #176 – From Top To Bottom
9:00PM #191 – Knee Deep
9:30PM #193 – Young At Heart
10:00PM #194 – Love’s Labor Lost pt. 1
10:30PM #195 – Love’s Labor Lost pt. 2
Credit: Images and information courtesy of TV Land.
BURGLAR: Uh. Gentlemen…. Now if you’ll stop right there. Hold up your hands, please.
FRED: Barney…
BARNEY: Yes, Fred?
FRED: It’s a stick up.
BARNEY: (getting an idea) Hey, uh, wait a minute. This guy’s a burglar…
FRED: Barney, this ain’t What’s My Line.
From the Episode Fussin’ and Feudin’:
WILMA: Fred’s in there, napping. Trying to relax away the tensions. Today’s the playoff for the Lodge Golf Semi-finals, or something, in Fred’s division.
BETTY: Oh. How’s Fred doing? Is he improving?
WILMA: Last month he broke 70.
BETTY: Strokes?
WILMA: Clubs. You know Fred’s temper, Betty.
Also from the Episode Fussin’ and Feudin’:
FRED: (Dreaming that he won the golf match) My opponent for this match, Charlie Pummlestone, put up a good fight, and was ahead for a while. But as the hula dancer said, It’s how you wind up that counts. He he he he he.”
