Marg Helgenberger on shooting her final ‘CSI’ episode

By doris | Published: January 27, 2012

Full Story at CNN.com

In preparation for Marg Helgenberger’s last episode of “CSI” — which aired on Wednesday on CBS — EW talked to the 53-year-old actress about becoming the third original star (behind Gary Dourdan and William Petersen) to depart the long-running crime drama, as well as what she’ll miss, and whether she’ll ever come back.

Entertainment Weekly: You say goodbye to the other members of the CSI team in the last scene of your final episode. Was that by design?

Posted in Actress, Change, Farewell, Shows, Television | Leave a comment

Leno’s ‘Tonight Show’ joke offends Sikh community

By doris | Published: January 26, 2012

Full Story at TheMarquee.Blogs.CNN.com

Late night hosts are using everything they’ve got to poke fun at the Republican presidential candidate race, from Jimmy Fallon making campaign ad parodies to Jimmy Kimmel’s “A Charlie Brown GOP Debate.”

But “The Tonight Show’s” Jay Leno might have gone too far for a few laughs.

On January 19, the show aired images of each GOP candidate’s home during Leno’s monologue. When it came to Mitt Romney, however, the image of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, India was shown as his summer home, possibly to mock the extent of Romney’s wealth.

Posted in Comedian, Host, Television | Leave a comment

Hospital must pay Garth Brooks $1 million

By doris | Published: January 25, 2012

Full Story at Entertainment.msnbc.com

An Oklahoma hospital in Garth Brooks’ hometown must pay $1 million to the country singer because it failed to build a women’s health center in honor of his late mother, jurors ruled Tuesday evening.

Jurors ruled that the hospital must return a $500,000 donation to Brooks plus pay him $500,000 in punitive damages in Brooks’ breach-of-contract lawsuit against IntegrisCanadian Valley Regional Hospital in Yukon. Brooks said he thought he’d reached a deal in 2005 with the hospital’s president, James Moore, but sued after learning the hospital wanted to use the money for other construction projects.

Posted in Hospital, Lawsuit, Money, Singer | Leave a comment

Photojournalist Eve Arnold dies at 99

By doris | Published: January 24, 2012

Full Story at Entertainment.msnbc.com

Eve Arnold, a globe-trotting photojournalist who captured iconic images of Marilyn Monroe, has died, the Magnum photo agency said Thursday. She was 99.

Magnum spokeswoman Fiona Rogers said Arnold died peacefully Wednesday in a London nursing home.

Born in Philadelphia in 1912 to Russian immigrant parents, Arnold began working as a photographer in the 1940s and took pictures for Life magazine during a golden age of magazine photojournalism.

Posted in Death, Legend, Movies, Photos | Leave a comment

Seacrest launching a lifestyle, entertainment TV network

By doris | Published: January 23, 2012

Full Story at TODAY.msnbc.msn.com

Ryan Seacrest is getting his own TV network after all.

The multi-hyphenate, along with partners AEG and talent agency CAA, have struck a deal with billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban to rebrand his HDNET as AXS TV (pronounced Access) beginning this summer.

The channel’s programming lineup will rely heavily on live lifestyle and live entertainment fare, leveraging the music assets of AEG, a top venue owner and and tour promoter, and the A-list connections and production capabilities of Seacrest. As part of the rebrand, the network will cater to pop culture and entertainment enthusiasts rather than the younger, heavily-male demographic that HDNet historically has targeted. Cuban will continue to lead the channel on behalf of the venture, with Denver, Co.-based Philip Garvin still involved as general manager of network operations.

Posted in Actor, Entertainment, Network, Television | Leave a comment

Singer Etta James dies at 73

By doris | Published: January 22, 2012

Full Story at Entertainment.msnbc.com

Etta James’ performance of the enduring classic “At Last” was the embodiment of refined soul: Angelic-sounding strings harkened the arrival of her passionate yet measured vocals as she sang tenderly about a love finally realized after a long and patient wait.

In real life, little about James was as genteel as that song. The platinum blonde’s first hit was a saucy R&B number about sex, and she was known as a hell-raiser who had tempestuous relationships with her family, her men and the music industry. Then she spent years battling a drug addiction that she admitted sapped away at her great talents.

Posted in Death, Hospital, Singer | Leave a comment

Brooks chokes up testifying about hospital gift

By doris | Published: January 21, 2012

Full Story at news.Yahoo.com

CLAREMORE, Okla. (AP) — Country singer Garth Brooks told jurors Friday that he believed he had a “done deal” to honor his late mother with a women’s health center in his Oklahoma hometown, and said he still doesn’t understand how he received nothing for a $500,000 gift.

Brooks is suing Integris Canadian Valley Regional Hospital in Yukon, accusing it and its president of reneging on a pledge to build the center and name it after his mother, Colleen, who died of cancer in 1999. The center was never built, and Brooks wants his money back, plus punitive damages.

Posted in Charity, Donate, Hospital, Money, Singer, Sues | Leave a comment

Does ‘General Hospital’ have a future in primetime?

By doris | Published: January 20, 2012

Full Story at CNN.com

(EW.com) — Though “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” are history, “General Hospital” — for now — is firmly ensconced in ABC’s daytime lineup.

But since ratings aren’t as strong as they used to be — the show’s averaging a 1.1 rating among adults women 18-49, down 21 percent from last year — and given how Katie Couric’s syndicated talk show is coming to ABC stations this fall, it’s still possible that the good people of Port Charles may lose their home in daytime.

But it could have a future in primetime: EW has confirmed that ABC entertainment chief Paul Lee is pondering one scenario that would allow the soap to air as an evening summer series. Not a bad thought, right?

Posted in ABC, Abuse, Network, Programming, Soaps, Television | Leave a comment

‘One Life to Live’ ends its 43-year run

By doris | Published: January 19, 2012

Full Story at TheClicke.today.msnbc.msn.com

After 43 years of daytime drama, “One Life to Live” will live no more once Friday’s final episode airs.

The end of the soap opera marks the end of a series of ups and downs for fans of the Lord family saga. In April of 2011, viewers first learned that “One Life to Live,” along with its network companion “All My Children,” would soon be no more. But then there was hope. Prospect Park promised to bring shows back to life online. Unfortunately for the soaps’ faithful followers, the plan didn’t pan out.

Posted in Actor, Actress, Cancel, Farewell, Soaps | Leave a comment

‘American Idol’ Returns for Season 11

By doris | Published: January 18, 2012

Full Story at ABCNews.go.com

It’s Ba-a-a-ck!

The 11th season of “American Idol” arrives on Fox tonight, and host Ryan Seacrest says for some viewers, the return can’t come soon enough.

“I’ve been hearing a lot of ‘We can’t wait,’” Seacrest told ABC News Radio. “Actually, I’ve been hearing more ‘I can’t wait for ‘American Idol ‘to come back this next season’ than I’ve heard in two or three years.’”

Seacrest says he finds that interesting, because there’s so much more competition, from shows like NBC’s “The Voice,” but, he noted, “From what I hear, there’s just something about the original, and the Americana, that is ‘American Idol.’”

Posted in ABC, American Idol, Competition, Singer, Songwriter, Television | Leave a comment