Jodie Comer has become the 100th performer to win a Tony Award for their Broadway debut for her performance in the play, “Prima Facie.”
She won Best Actress in a Play for portraying Tess, a lawyer who concentrates in providing legal defense for men who are accused of sexual assault but soon has the unthinkable happen to her. She is the 11th person to win the category for her first outing on a Broadway stage. She joins:
SEE2023 Tony Awards: Every winner (and nominee) in all 26 competitive categories
Martita Hunt, “The Madwoman of Chaillot” (1949)
Beryl Reid, “The Killing of Sister George” (1967)
Phyllis Frelich, “Children of a Lesser God” (1980)
Jane Lapotaire, “Piaf” (1981)
Joan Allen, “Burn This” (1988)
Pauline Collins, “Shirley Valentine” (1989)
Janet McTeer, “A Doll’s House” (1997)
Marie Mullen, “The Beauty Queen of Leeane” (1998)
Jennifer Ehle, “The Real Thing” (2000)
Deanna Dunagan, “August: Osage County” (2008)
Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other...
She won Best Actress in a Play for portraying Tess, a lawyer who concentrates in providing legal defense for men who are accused of sexual assault but soon has the unthinkable happen to her. She is the 11th person to win the category for her first outing on a Broadway stage. She joins:
SEE2023 Tony Awards: Every winner (and nominee) in all 26 competitive categories
Martita Hunt, “The Madwoman of Chaillot” (1949)
Beryl Reid, “The Killing of Sister George” (1967)
Phyllis Frelich, “Children of a Lesser God” (1980)
Jane Lapotaire, “Piaf” (1981)
Joan Allen, “Burn This” (1988)
Pauline Collins, “Shirley Valentine” (1989)
Janet McTeer, “A Doll’s House” (1997)
Marie Mullen, “The Beauty Queen of Leeane” (1998)
Jennifer Ehle, “The Real Thing” (2000)
Deanna Dunagan, “August: Osage County” (2008)
Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other...
- 6/12/2023
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
Myles Frost became the latest addition to the list of people who have taken home a Tony Award for their Broadway debut. His win makes him the 98th member of this particular winners’ club.
Frost, who won Best Actor in a Musical for playing Michael Jackson in “Mj,” is the 13th person to win that category for their first time stepping into a character on a Broadway stage. He joins:
Ezio Pinza, “South Pacific” (1950)
Robert Alda, “Guys and Dolls” (1951)
Robert Lindsay, “Me and My Girl” (1987)
Brent Carver, “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (1993)
Alan Cumming, “Cabaret” (1998)
Hugh Jackman, “The Boy From Oz” (2004)
John Lloyd Young, “Jersey Boys” (2006)
Paulo Szot, “South Pacific” (2008)
David Álvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish (joint nomination), “Billy Elliot” (2009)
Douglas Hodge, “La Cage aux Folles” (2010)
See 2022 Tony Awards: Every winner (and nominee) in all 26 categories
Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other acting categories that have...
Frost, who won Best Actor in a Musical for playing Michael Jackson in “Mj,” is the 13th person to win that category for their first time stepping into a character on a Broadway stage. He joins:
Ezio Pinza, “South Pacific” (1950)
Robert Alda, “Guys and Dolls” (1951)
Robert Lindsay, “Me and My Girl” (1987)
Brent Carver, “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (1993)
Alan Cumming, “Cabaret” (1998)
Hugh Jackman, “The Boy From Oz” (2004)
John Lloyd Young, “Jersey Boys” (2006)
Paulo Szot, “South Pacific” (2008)
David Álvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish (joint nomination), “Billy Elliot” (2009)
Douglas Hodge, “La Cage aux Folles” (2010)
See 2022 Tony Awards: Every winner (and nominee) in all 26 categories
Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other acting categories that have...
- 6/13/2022
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
Though there have been deaf characters in movies for decades they were rarely played by hearing impaired actors. Hollywood was looking for big names for their movies and overlooked performers who were deaf. Case in point: Did you know that Loretta Young played deaf characters in both 1939’s “The Story of Alexander Graham Bell” and 1944’s “And Now Tomorrow”? And hearing actors Jane Wyman and Patty Duke won Oscars playing deaf characters. It wasn’t until 1986’s “Children of a Lesser God” that a deaf actress, Marlee Matlin, won an Oscar for playing a deaf character.
Change has been slow since then, but this past year has been encouraging. Paul Raci received an Oscar nomination this year as a Vietnam Vet who became hearing impaired in the conflict runs a shelter for recovering hearing impaired substance abuse addicts in “Sound of Metal.” Teenage deaf performer Millicent Simmonds returned this year...
Change has been slow since then, but this past year has been encouraging. Paul Raci received an Oscar nomination this year as a Vietnam Vet who became hearing impaired in the conflict runs a shelter for recovering hearing impaired substance abuse addicts in “Sound of Metal.” Teenage deaf performer Millicent Simmonds returned this year...
- 8/28/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Demi Lovato, who was announced this week as a performer at the Grammy Awards, will sing the National Anthem a week later as part of Super Bowl Liv pregame festivities at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Sunday, February 2, the NFL and the Fox network announced today.
The pregame show, including the National Anthem, will be broadcast live worldwide.
Lovato will join a prestigious line up of Super Bowl National Anthem performers that includes Gladys Knight, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Luke Bryan, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Jennifer Hudson, Billy Joel, P!Nk, Jordin Sparks, Idina Menzel, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, and Neil Diamond.
In addition, on behalf of the National Association of the Deaf (Nad), Christine Sun Kim, internationally renowned sound artist and performer, will sign the National Anthem in American Sign Language.
The appearance, combined with the Grammy performance, marks a big return for Lovato, who has been recovering from...
The pregame show, including the National Anthem, will be broadcast live worldwide.
Lovato will join a prestigious line up of Super Bowl National Anthem performers that includes Gladys Knight, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Luke Bryan, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Jennifer Hudson, Billy Joel, P!Nk, Jordin Sparks, Idina Menzel, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, and Neil Diamond.
In addition, on behalf of the National Association of the Deaf (Nad), Christine Sun Kim, internationally renowned sound artist and performer, will sign the National Anthem in American Sign Language.
The appearance, combined with the Grammy performance, marks a big return for Lovato, who has been recovering from...
- 1/16/2020
- by Jem Aswad
- Variety Film + TV
For only the third time this decade, none of the acting winners at this year’s Tony Awards did so for their Broadway debut. This is the 21st time that this has happened over the 73-year history of these top theater honors. Most of the winners were actually on the opposite end of the spectrum, winning for the first time after years of Broadway experience and several nominations to their name including André De Shields, Celia Keenan-Bolger and Stephanie J. Block. Check out the complete list of winners here.
The previous instances of Broadway debuts being shut out at the Tonys were in: 1948, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1990, 1991, 1994, 2001-2003, 2012 and 2017.
Below, you can see the names of all 96 people who have won Tonys for their debut on the Great White Way.
SEE2019 Tony Awards: Best Musical ‘Hadestown’ sweeps with 8 wins, ‘The Ferryman’ takes Best Play
Best Actor In A Play: 16 winners
Paul Scofield, “A Man for All Seasons” (1962)
Cliff Gorman,...
The previous instances of Broadway debuts being shut out at the Tonys were in: 1948, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1990, 1991, 1994, 2001-2003, 2012 and 2017.
Below, you can see the names of all 96 people who have won Tonys for their debut on the Great White Way.
SEE2019 Tony Awards: Best Musical ‘Hadestown’ sweeps with 8 wins, ‘The Ferryman’ takes Best Play
Best Actor In A Play: 16 winners
Paul Scofield, “A Man for All Seasons” (1962)
Cliff Gorman,...
- 6/10/2019
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
Mark Medoff, the playwright who wrote Tony Award-winning play “Children of a Lesser God,” died Tuesday in Las Cruces, N.M. He was 79.
His daughter Jessica Medoff Bunchman posted news of his death on Facebook, and the Las Cruces Sun-News attributed the cause to cancer.
“Children of a Lesser God” starred John Rubinstein and Phyllis Frelich in the original 1980 Broadway production, though the play was first staged at New Mexico State and then in Los Angeles at the Mark Taper Forum. The pair played a deaf woman and a speech therapist at a state school for the deaf who try to build a relationship despite difficulties in understanding each other’s perspectives.
Medoff, who wrote more than 30 plays, crafted “Children of a Lesser God” after speaking with the deaf Frelich, who explained the lack of substantive roles for deaf actors on stage. She and her husband, Robert Steinberg, advised Medoff...
His daughter Jessica Medoff Bunchman posted news of his death on Facebook, and the Las Cruces Sun-News attributed the cause to cancer.
“Children of a Lesser God” starred John Rubinstein and Phyllis Frelich in the original 1980 Broadway production, though the play was first staged at New Mexico State and then in Los Angeles at the Mark Taper Forum. The pair played a deaf woman and a speech therapist at a state school for the deaf who try to build a relationship despite difficulties in understanding each other’s perspectives.
Medoff, who wrote more than 30 plays, crafted “Children of a Lesser God” after speaking with the deaf Frelich, who explained the lack of substantive roles for deaf actors on stage. She and her husband, Robert Steinberg, advised Medoff...
- 4/25/2019
- by Erin Nyren
- Variety Film + TV
Ari’el Stachel became the latest person to take home a Tony Award for their Broadway debut. This victory puts him in a freshman club that now has 96 members. Watch him discuss his victory in the Tonys press room in the video above.
Stachel, who won Best Featured Actor in a Musical for playing Haled in “The Band’s Visit,” is the ninth person to claim that particular honor for his first Broadway outing. He joins:
Harry Belafonte, “John Murray Anderson’s Almanac” (1954)
Sydney Chaplin, “Bells are Ringing” (1957)
Frankie Michaels, “Mame” (1966)
Wilson Jermaine Heredia, “Rent” (1996)
Dan Fogler, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” (2005)
Levi Kreis, “Million Dollar Quartet” (2010)
John Larroquette, “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” (2011)
Daveed Diggs, “Hamilton” (2016)
Sign UPfor Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions
Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other acting categories that claimed Tony Awards.
Best Actor In A Play: 16 winners
Paul Scofield,...
Stachel, who won Best Featured Actor in a Musical for playing Haled in “The Band’s Visit,” is the ninth person to claim that particular honor for his first Broadway outing. He joins:
Harry Belafonte, “John Murray Anderson’s Almanac” (1954)
Sydney Chaplin, “Bells are Ringing” (1957)
Frankie Michaels, “Mame” (1966)
Wilson Jermaine Heredia, “Rent” (1996)
Dan Fogler, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” (2005)
Levi Kreis, “Million Dollar Quartet” (2010)
John Larroquette, “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” (2011)
Daveed Diggs, “Hamilton” (2016)
Sign UPfor Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions
Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other acting categories that claimed Tony Awards.
Best Actor In A Play: 16 winners
Paul Scofield,...
- 6/11/2018
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
Mark Medoff wrote “Children of a Lesser God” specifically for Phyllis Frelich, a deaf actress who made her professional debut as the character Sarah Norman in the 1979 production at the Mark Taper Forum and went on to play the part on Broadway the following year. The deaf actress Marlee Matlin appeared opposite William Hurt in the 1986 film version. Now, Lauren Ridloff, who starred as Sarah in the Berkshire Theater production last year, reprises the role on Broadway, continuing the tradition of deaf actresses who come out of nowhere and knock us off our feet.
Ridloff is a stunning performer. As slender and graceful as a dancer, she moves like a wood nymph in costumer Dede Ayite’s gauzy dresses, and when she speaks, through American Sign Language, her flashing fingers are hypnotically seductive.
There’s also a steely quality to her lithe frame — all the better to embody her character...
Ridloff is a stunning performer. As slender and graceful as a dancer, she moves like a wood nymph in costumer Dede Ayite’s gauzy dresses, and when she speaks, through American Sign Language, her flashing fingers are hypnotically seductive.
There’s also a steely quality to her lithe frame — all the better to embody her character...
- 4/12/2018
- by Marilyn Stasio
- Variety Film + TV
Tony-winning deaf actress Phyllis Frelich, who originated the lead role in Children of a Lesser God on Broadway, died Thursday of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). She was 70. Frelich’s husband Robert Steinberg told the AP of her passing. The two were married for 46 years, during which time their relationship inspired Mark Medoff to write Children of a Lesser God at New Mexico State University. When the play moved to Los Angeles and then Broadway Frelich played the lead role of Sarah Norman in the story of the relationship between a deaf woman and a hearing speech pathologist and won a Tony for the role in 1980. Marlee Matlin played the Sarah role in the 1986 film adaptation, for which she won the Oscar. Frelich, originally from Devils Lake, North Dakota, came from a family of deaf parents and siblings and began acting while studying at Gallaudet College. She met Steinberg in the...
- 4/13/2014
- by THE DEADLINE TEAM
- Deadline TV
Washington, April 12: Phyllis Frelich has passed away at the age of 70.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the deaf actress, who won the best actress Tony Award in 1980 for her performance in the best play winner 'Children of a Lesser God', had been struggling with progressive supranuclear palsy, which is a rare degenerative neurological disease for which there are no treatments.
Frelich also appeared on such TV series as Barney Miller, Gimme a Break!, Spenser: For Hire, Hunter, L.A. Law, Pacific Blue, ER, Diagnosis Murder and, most recently, in a 2011 episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as the mother of Gil.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the deaf actress, who won the best actress Tony Award in 1980 for her performance in the best play winner 'Children of a Lesser God', had been struggling with progressive supranuclear palsy, which is a rare degenerative neurological disease for which there are no treatments.
Frelich also appeared on such TV series as Barney Miller, Gimme a Break!, Spenser: For Hire, Hunter, L.A. Law, Pacific Blue, ER, Diagnosis Murder and, most recently, in a 2011 episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as the mother of Gil.
- 4/12/2014
- by Ketali Mehta
- RealBollywood.com
Phyllis Frelich, the deaf actress who won the best actress Tony Award in 1980 for her performance in the best play winner Children of a Lesser God, has died. She was 70. Robert Steinberg, her husband of 46 years, told The Hollywood Reporter that Frelich for the past few years had been struggling with PSP (progressive supranuclear palsy), a rare degenerative neurological disease for which there are no treatments. She died Thursday at their home in Temple City, Calif. PSP is the disease that took the life of actor Dudley Moore at age 66 in 2002. Marlee Matlin was the recipient of the best actress Oscar
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- 4/11/2014
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Taiko drums play at the Gilbert Foundation for the deaf and Sara (Jorga Fox) receives a text from Gil (William Petersen) saying he's needed in Peru on an investigation. Sara notices some shadows going at it in the bathroom. Gil tells her that the deaf love the vibrations from the drums. Julia (Marlee Maitlin) is the Head of the Department of Deaf Cultural studies and comments Sara must be 'The Other Mrs Grissom'. However, Gil's mother, Betty Grissom (Phyllis Frelich) replies that Sara kept her own name. Betty's proud of Julia and thinks of her as a daughter. She was Gil's ex. Dr Lambert (Anthony Natale) is the Director of the Foundation. Betty can't help sticking the boot in saying Gil's away a lot. Which Sara finds annoying to say the least. Dare I ask, was the Gilbert Foundation named for Gil. Outside Sara hears an explosion in the...
- 4/11/2011
- by mhasan@corp.popstar.com (Mila Hasan)
- PopStar
Taiko drums play at the Gilbert Foundation for the deaf and Sara (Jorga Fox) receives a text from Gil (William Petersen) saying he's needed in Peru on an investigation. Sara notices some shadows going at it in the bathroom. Gil tells her that the deaf love the vibrations from the drums. Julia (Marlee Maitlin) is the Head of the Department of Deaf Cultural studies and comments Sara must be 'The Other Mrs Grissom'. However, Gil's mother, Betty Grissom (Phyllis Frelich) replies that Sara kept her own name. Betty's proud of Julia and thinks of her as a daughter. She was Gil's ex. Dr Lambert (Anthony Natale) is the Director of the Foundation. Betty can't help sticking the boot in saying Gil's away a lot. Which Sara finds annoying to say the least. Dare I ask, was the Gilbert Foundation named for Gil. Outside Sara hears an explosion in the...
- 4/11/2011
- by mhasan@corp.popstar.com (Mila Hasan)
- PopStar
As implicitly promised in all the teases leading up to the show, Thursday's (Feb. 3) episode of "CSI" featured the return of the show's original lead character, Gil Grissom (William Petersen) -- at least for a couple minutes.
It was not, however, a particularly splashy comeback. Grissom appeared only at the end of the episode (the scene is above) to chat with his wife, Sara (Jorja Fox) and mom (guest star Phyllis Frelich), via video conference. He wasn't directly involved in the case of the week, which concerned a murder at the college for the deaf where Gil's mom teaches -- although Sara's investigation stirred up a lot of Gil-related feelings -- and he didn't interact with any of his other former co-workers.
(Petersen's cameo also didn't boost the show's ratings. The episode averaged 13.8 million viewers and a 3.0 rating among adults 18-49, pretty much in line with its same-day average for this season.
It was not, however, a particularly splashy comeback. Grissom appeared only at the end of the episode (the scene is above) to chat with his wife, Sara (Jorja Fox) and mom (guest star Phyllis Frelich), via video conference. He wasn't directly involved in the case of the week, which concerned a murder at the college for the deaf where Gil's mom teaches -- although Sara's investigation stirred up a lot of Gil-related feelings -- and he didn't interact with any of his other former co-workers.
(Petersen's cameo also didn't boost the show's ratings. The episode averaged 13.8 million viewers and a 3.0 rating among adults 18-49, pretty much in line with its same-day average for this season.
- 2/4/2011
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
One of February sweeps’ worst-kept secrets hit TV screens on Thursday night, when original CSI cast member William Petersen reprised his role of Gil Grissom.
In the episode “The Two Mrs. Grissoms,” Sara found herself facing off against not just her mother-in-law (Santa Barbara‘s Phyllis Frelich), but also a former flame of Gil’s, played by Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin.
A theme touched on in the episode involved Sara’s unorthodox marriage to Grissom, one that is typified by long stretches of geographical separation. But at episode’s end, as shown in the clip below, viewers saw that...
In the episode “The Two Mrs. Grissoms,” Sara found herself facing off against not just her mother-in-law (Santa Barbara‘s Phyllis Frelich), but also a former flame of Gil’s, played by Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin.
A theme touched on in the episode involved Sara’s unorthodox marriage to Grissom, one that is typified by long stretches of geographical separation. But at episode’s end, as shown in the clip below, viewers saw that...
- 2/4/2011
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
The man that defined "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" is returning soon as promised. William Petersen quit the show in January 2009 after nine years but his character, Gil Grissom, is not dead, just "out there". The actor is now ready to revisit the Las Vegas department for a brief cameo.
According to EW, Gil's return has been paved since December last year when his long-lost mother, played by Phyllis Frelich, was introduced. This Thursday, February 3, Gil's wife, Sara investigates a murder that occurs in Betty Grissom's workplace. "A night full of celebration ends with a bang when the director of a scholarship foundation for the deaf is killed by a deadly car bomb, prompting Sara to interrogate the students and faculty of the college."
Turns out, there's more story underneath all of this, involving Betty's feeling towards her daughter-in-law. EW said Grissom's mom never felt like Sara is the one for her son.
According to EW, Gil's return has been paved since December last year when his long-lost mother, played by Phyllis Frelich, was introduced. This Thursday, February 3, Gil's wife, Sara investigates a murder that occurs in Betty Grissom's workplace. "A night full of celebration ends with a bang when the director of a scholarship foundation for the deaf is killed by a deadly car bomb, prompting Sara to interrogate the students and faculty of the college."
Turns out, there's more story underneath all of this, involving Betty's feeling towards her daughter-in-law. EW said Grissom's mom never felt like Sara is the one for her son.
- 2/1/2011
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
The original leader of "CSI" is coming back -- for at least a minute or two.
William Petersen, who starred on the CBS hit for its first eight-plus seasons, is set to make a brief appearance as Gil Grissom in an upcoming episode -- possibly the one airing Thursday (Feb. 3). EW reports that it's confirmed Petersen's cameo (contacted by Zap2it, a CBS rep had no comment), although it doesn't say when.
Examining the evidence on our own, though, it seems likely that Grissom will be back on screen on Thursday. It's a circumstantial case, but we think it's a pretty solid one.
Thursday's episode is called "The Two Mrs. Grissoms," and it involves a murder investigation that takes Sara (Jorja Fox) to the school for the deaf where Grissom's mother (guest star Phyllis Frelich) works. Marlee Matlin also guest-stars as a fellow faculty member and former girlfriend of Gil's...
William Petersen, who starred on the CBS hit for its first eight-plus seasons, is set to make a brief appearance as Gil Grissom in an upcoming episode -- possibly the one airing Thursday (Feb. 3). EW reports that it's confirmed Petersen's cameo (contacted by Zap2it, a CBS rep had no comment), although it doesn't say when.
Examining the evidence on our own, though, it seems likely that Grissom will be back on screen on Thursday. It's a circumstantial case, but we think it's a pretty solid one.
Thursday's episode is called "The Two Mrs. Grissoms," and it involves a murder investigation that takes Sara (Jorja Fox) to the school for the deaf where Grissom's mother (guest star Phyllis Frelich) works. Marlee Matlin also guest-stars as a fellow faculty member and former girlfriend of Gil's...
- 2/1/2011
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
Now here’s a love letter to CSI devotees: EW has learned exclusively that William Petersen will reprise his role as Gil Grissom with a cameo in an upcoming episode. The actor – who left the show in January 2009 – already shot his appearance on the CBS drama and we’re told his return involves Jorja Fox, who plays Gil’s on-screen wife Sara. It’s unclear exactly when he’ll appear back in or around the lab, but TV Line teased that it may occur this week.
As EW first reported in December, the writers paved the way for a possible...
As EW first reported in December, the writers paved the way for a possible...
- 1/31/2011
- by Lynette Rice
- EW - Inside TV
Marlee Matlin has revealed that she is keen to star in a new CSI spinoff series. The deaf actress will play Julia Holden, a college professor and the protege of Gil Grissom's mother Betty (Phyllis Frelich), in an episode expected to air in February. She joked to Zap2it: "We have to have another CSI. I'm making the announcement that I think there should be CSI: Chicago. I want it badly and I'm dead serious about it." She added: "I need to be (more)...
- 12/20/2010
- by By Morgan Jeffery
- Digital Spy
If Marlee Matlin has her way, there will be more "CSI" dramas than just the three -- the original, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," and its spin-offs, ("CSI: Miami" and "CSI: NY") that CBS has on the air now.
Matlin guest-stars in an episode of the original "CSI," tentatively scheduled to air Thursday, Feb. 3. In "The Two Mrs. Grissoms," which has been in production this past week, Matlin plays Julia Holden, a professor at a college for the deaf, whose mentor is fellow professor Betty Grissom (Phyllis Frelich), mother of former head CSI Gil Grissom (William Petersen).
This causes tension with Grissom's current wife, CSI Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox), who simultaneously must deal with her mother-in-law and with Julia, who's also Grissom's ex-girlfriend. It doesn't help that both Julia and Mrs. Grissom are deaf and can speak to each other in American Sign Language, which Sara is struggling to learn.
As to whether Mrs.
Matlin guest-stars in an episode of the original "CSI," tentatively scheduled to air Thursday, Feb. 3. In "The Two Mrs. Grissoms," which has been in production this past week, Matlin plays Julia Holden, a professor at a college for the deaf, whose mentor is fellow professor Betty Grissom (Phyllis Frelich), mother of former head CSI Gil Grissom (William Petersen).
This causes tension with Grissom's current wife, CSI Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox), who simultaneously must deal with her mother-in-law and with Julia, who's also Grissom's ex-girlfriend. It doesn't help that both Julia and Mrs. Grissom are deaf and can speak to each other in American Sign Language, which Sara is struggling to learn.
As to whether Mrs.
- 12/18/2010
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
Enjoy a generous serving of snack-sized entertainment news with your Thursday diet of prime-time entertainment.
Whenever NBC's series "Love Bites" makes it to the air, it won't be on for as long as initially planned. The network has cut the order for the show, a romantic anthology starring new mom Becki Newton, Constance Zimmer and Greg Grunberg, from 13 episodes to nine. The show doesn't have a premiere date yet. [Deadline]
"Dallas" star Larry Hagman will pay a visit to Wisteria Lane on an episode of "Desperate Housewives" later this season. He'll play a new beau of Lynette's (Felicity Huffman) mom (returning guest Polly Bergen). He also says that he's seen a script for a possible "Dallas" reboot at TNT that would concentrate on younger generations of the Ewing family: "We're negotiating right now," he says. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Spike TV and Philo have teamed up for the "Video Game Awards" premiering this Saturday, December 11 at 8 p.
Whenever NBC's series "Love Bites" makes it to the air, it won't be on for as long as initially planned. The network has cut the order for the show, a romantic anthology starring new mom Becki Newton, Constance Zimmer and Greg Grunberg, from 13 episodes to nine. The show doesn't have a premiere date yet. [Deadline]
"Dallas" star Larry Hagman will pay a visit to Wisteria Lane on an episode of "Desperate Housewives" later this season. He'll play a new beau of Lynette's (Felicity Huffman) mom (returning guest Polly Bergen). He also says that he's seen a script for a possible "Dallas" reboot at TNT that would concentrate on younger generations of the Ewing family: "We're negotiating right now," he says. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Spike TV and Philo have teamed up for the "Video Game Awards" premiering this Saturday, December 11 at 8 p.
- 12/9/2010
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
CSI has located the mother of Gil Grissom.
Tony Award-winner Phyllis Frelich has landed this key role and will appear in an episode tentatively scheduled for February 3.
Here's a rundown of what's on tap:
A murder will take place at a school for the deaf where the elder Mrs. Grissom is a teacher. She'll butt heads with Sara when that Mrs. Grissom shows up to investigate.
This episode will also feature Marlee Matlin - who we speculated could take on the role of Grissom's mother - as a school colleague who used to date Gil.
Tony Award-winner Phyllis Frelich has landed this key role and will appear in an episode tentatively scheduled for February 3.
Here's a rundown of what's on tap:
A murder will take place at a school for the deaf where the elder Mrs. Grissom is a teacher. She'll butt heads with Sara when that Mrs. Grissom shows up to investigate.
This episode will also feature Marlee Matlin - who we speculated could take on the role of Grissom's mother - as a school colleague who used to date Gil.
- 12/9/2010
- by matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal)
- TVfanatic
Filed under: TV News
'Modern Family' patriarch Ed O'Neill said he was misquoted in a recent article that alleged he didn't think Jane Lynch deserved her Emmy for playing Sue Sylvester on the Fox hit 'Glee.'
A TV Guide Canada story earlier this week (which has since been retracted) quoted O'Neill as saying "I love Jane, honestly I do. I'm dying to star in one of Christopher Guest's movies alongside her, but I don't think she should have gotten the Emmy for that part. [Sue Sylvester] is just a one-note character."
However, the actor told Entertainment Weekly, "I never said those words and transcripts of the press conference attest to that fact. ... I absolutely never said, nor do I believe that Jane -- whom I think is an enormous talent -- was undeserving of the award."
In other TV news ...
o. As MTV's 'Skins' adaptation readies for its Jan.
'Modern Family' patriarch Ed O'Neill said he was misquoted in a recent article that alleged he didn't think Jane Lynch deserved her Emmy for playing Sue Sylvester on the Fox hit 'Glee.'
A TV Guide Canada story earlier this week (which has since been retracted) quoted O'Neill as saying "I love Jane, honestly I do. I'm dying to star in one of Christopher Guest's movies alongside her, but I don't think she should have gotten the Emmy for that part. [Sue Sylvester] is just a one-note character."
However, the actor told Entertainment Weekly, "I never said those words and transcripts of the press conference attest to that fact. ... I absolutely never said, nor do I believe that Jane -- whom I think is an enormous talent -- was undeserving of the award."
In other TV news ...
o. As MTV's 'Skins' adaptation readies for its Jan.
- 12/9/2010
- by Jean Bentley
- Aol TV.
Phyllis Frelich has reportedly signed up for a role in CSI. Entertainment Weekly says that the actress will play Gil Grissom's mother in the show. The episode, which is expected to air on February 3, focuses on a murder at the school for the deaf where Grissom's mother works as a professor. Grissom's wife Sara (Jorja Fox) goes to investigate the case but struggles to get on with her mother-in-law, (more)...
- 12/9/2010
- by By Catriona Wightman
- Digital Spy
Sorry Teddy/Ian shippers! Newcomer Freddie Smith has been cast as Teddy's (Trevor Donovan) new beau, Marco on "90210". Marco is described as a "hot, super-athletic, openly gay love interest." Fans can expect to see Smith turn up sometime in February. Kyle Riabko, who plays Teddy's current love interest Ian, has reportedly chosen to leave to make himself available for pilot season. [Movieline]
Tony award-winning actress Phyllis Frelich has been cast on "CSI" as Gil Grissom's long lost mother. The episode, which is set to air Feb. 3, will feature a murder at a school for the death with Frelich's character teaches at. Grissom's wife Sara goes to investigate and goes head-to-head with her mother-in-law. Funnily enough, Frelich's on-screen son, William Petersen, will not appear in the episode. [EW]
Pint-size "Jersey Shore" star Snooki will be placed inside a ball that will drop in Times Square on New Year's Eve for MTV's "New Year's Bash.
Tony award-winning actress Phyllis Frelich has been cast on "CSI" as Gil Grissom's long lost mother. The episode, which is set to air Feb. 3, will feature a murder at a school for the death with Frelich's character teaches at. Grissom's wife Sara goes to investigate and goes head-to-head with her mother-in-law. Funnily enough, Frelich's on-screen son, William Petersen, will not appear in the episode. [EW]
Pint-size "Jersey Shore" star Snooki will be placed inside a ball that will drop in Times Square on New Year's Eve for MTV's "New Year's Bash.
- 12/9/2010
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
Get ready for the mother of all CSI episodes, because we’re about to meet Gil Grissom’s long lost mother! EW has learned exclusively that Tony award-winning actress Phyllis Frelich will play the role of Mrs. Grissom — and go head-to-head with the new Mrs. Grissom — in an episode tentatively scheduled to air Feb. 3.
Here are the details: A murder occurs at a school for the deaf where Grissom’s mom is a professor. Sara (Jorja Fox) goes to investigate but ends up facing an unexpected challenge — a surprising lack of affection from her mother-in-law. Apparently, Grissom’s mom never...
Here are the details: A murder occurs at a school for the deaf where Grissom’s mom is a professor. Sara (Jorja Fox) goes to investigate but ends up facing an unexpected challenge — a surprising lack of affection from her mother-in-law. Apparently, Grissom’s mom never...
- 12/9/2010
- by Lynette Rice
- EW - Inside TV
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Andrew Shea's debut feature is an example of a film that doesn't work -- it unsuccessfully straddles the line between comedy and drama and suffers from awkward shifts in tone and lapses in credibility.
And yet, it has a freshness, an originality, a daringness to try something different that earns it major points. It also has that all-too-rare commodity in current American movies: charm. The film was recently showcased at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival.
"Santa Fe" takes on a timely subject that has gone relatively unexplored in the cinema, except for exploitation purposes: the insidious effects of cults. Gary Cole stars as Paul Thomas, a former policeman who has returned to Santa Fe after an eight-month imprisonment. It seems that he, his wife (Sheila Kelley) and young daughter (Tina Majorino) were members of a doomsday cult that culminated in a horrifying episode of mass murder, for which Paul was held partially responsible.
Now, his name cleared, he comes back to find his wife romantically involved with a New Age-style chiropractor/acupuncturist, who responds to Paul's anger at this turn of events with the offer of a hug. They advise him to attend the workshop of a local guru, Eleanor (Lolita Davidovich), but Paul, paranoid about self-styled leaders, vehemently refuses. He ultimately relents, and slowly, despite all his reservations, he finds himself first falling in love with Eleanor and then becoming obsessed by her.
Mark Medoff's screenplay veers unpredictably -- from somber melodrama to social satire to all-out slapstick. The film works best in its quieter moments, when it pokes fun at Santa Fe's various New Age philosophies and when it explores Paul's desperate need to find meaning in his life and his desperate crusade against gurus (talking to a group of sixth-graders, he offers Sarte's line about "Hell is other people"). The overly complex story line suffers from a surfeit of subplots; the one about the political battles between Paul's sister (Pamela Reed) and the town's condescending mayor (screenwriter Medoff) is particularly unnecessary.
Still, the film definitely has its moments, and the characterizations are complex and interesting. Cole skillfully delineates both the comic and haunted dimensions of his character, and Davidovich is at her most charming. Majorino offers one of the best child performances in quite a while, even if she must cope with such silly plot devices as her character's speaking in a French accent after a blow to the head. Coming off worst is deaf actress Phyllis Frelich (a Tony winner for Medoff's "Children of a Lesser God"). As Paul's outraged psychologist who expresses her anger in sign language, she is basically reduced to a walking sight gag.
Santa Fe
Absolute Unequivocal LLC
Credits: Director: Andrew Shea; Screenplay: Mark Medoff, Andrew Shea; Producers: Larry Estes, Andrew Shea; Executive producers: Sharon Bialy, Boaz Davidson; Director of photography: Paul Elliott; Editor: Melissa Gerrero; Music: Mark Governor. Cast: Paul: Gary Cole; Crystal: Tina Majorino; Lea: Sheila Kelley; Dan: Jere Burns; Eleanor: Lolita Davidovich; Nancy:Pamela Reed. Color/stereo; Running time -- 97 minutes; No MPAA rating...
And yet, it has a freshness, an originality, a daringness to try something different that earns it major points. It also has that all-too-rare commodity in current American movies: charm. The film was recently showcased at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival.
"Santa Fe" takes on a timely subject that has gone relatively unexplored in the cinema, except for exploitation purposes: the insidious effects of cults. Gary Cole stars as Paul Thomas, a former policeman who has returned to Santa Fe after an eight-month imprisonment. It seems that he, his wife (Sheila Kelley) and young daughter (Tina Majorino) were members of a doomsday cult that culminated in a horrifying episode of mass murder, for which Paul was held partially responsible.
Now, his name cleared, he comes back to find his wife romantically involved with a New Age-style chiropractor/acupuncturist, who responds to Paul's anger at this turn of events with the offer of a hug. They advise him to attend the workshop of a local guru, Eleanor (Lolita Davidovich), but Paul, paranoid about self-styled leaders, vehemently refuses. He ultimately relents, and slowly, despite all his reservations, he finds himself first falling in love with Eleanor and then becoming obsessed by her.
Mark Medoff's screenplay veers unpredictably -- from somber melodrama to social satire to all-out slapstick. The film works best in its quieter moments, when it pokes fun at Santa Fe's various New Age philosophies and when it explores Paul's desperate need to find meaning in his life and his desperate crusade against gurus (talking to a group of sixth-graders, he offers Sarte's line about "Hell is other people"). The overly complex story line suffers from a surfeit of subplots; the one about the political battles between Paul's sister (Pamela Reed) and the town's condescending mayor (screenwriter Medoff) is particularly unnecessary.
Still, the film definitely has its moments, and the characterizations are complex and interesting. Cole skillfully delineates both the comic and haunted dimensions of his character, and Davidovich is at her most charming. Majorino offers one of the best child performances in quite a while, even if she must cope with such silly plot devices as her character's speaking in a French accent after a blow to the head. Coming off worst is deaf actress Phyllis Frelich (a Tony winner for Medoff's "Children of a Lesser God"). As Paul's outraged psychologist who expresses her anger in sign language, she is basically reduced to a walking sight gag.
Santa Fe
Absolute Unequivocal LLC
Credits: Director: Andrew Shea; Screenplay: Mark Medoff, Andrew Shea; Producers: Larry Estes, Andrew Shea; Executive producers: Sharon Bialy, Boaz Davidson; Director of photography: Paul Elliott; Editor: Melissa Gerrero; Music: Mark Governor. Cast: Paul: Gary Cole; Crystal: Tina Majorino; Lea: Sheila Kelley; Dan: Jere Burns; Eleanor: Lolita Davidovich; Nancy:Pamela Reed. Color/stereo; Running time -- 97 minutes; No MPAA rating...
- 11/18/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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