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Carolyn Raskin, the pioneering Emmy-winning producer who worked on four highly rated Frank Sinatra TV specials and the first four seasons of Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, has died. She was 97.

She died Sept. 24 at her home in Sherman Oaks, her nephew Mark Raskin told The Hollywood Reporter. Her family chose not to announce her death until now.

Raskin also collaborated with Dinah Shore on NBC’s The Dinah Shore Chevy Show from 1959-63; on the singer’s 1969 NBC special, Like Hep; on her 1974-80 syndicated daytime talk show, Dinah!; and on her 1976 CBS summer replacement series, Dinah and Her New Best Friends.

In 1968, the Los Angeles Times named her a “Woman of the Year” for her accomplishments in television.

Raskin was born on Aug. 22, 1927, in Sioux City, Iowa. After attending the University of Iowa, she was a social worker but “found it terribly depressing to be exposed to such tremendous problems 10 hours a day,...

By the time the curtain rang down on CBS’ “The Judy Garland Show” on March 29, 1964, the musical variety show had, in just one season, three producers and three different formats. Despite good reviews from critics and Judy Garland’s devoted fan base, the series wasn’t felled by the mercurial Garland being difficult but by the Cartwrights — Ben, Little Joe, Adam, and Hoss — of NBC’s ratings powerhouse “Bonanza.”

Though “The Judy Garland Show” was cancelled after one season, it certainly has lived on over the past six decades. The show was included in TV Guide’s 2013 list of 60 series that were “Cancelled Too Soon.” It certainly was the series that got away. Not only was the mercurial Garland in top (and emotional) voice, but the show also featured a powerhouse of guest stars from her frequent leading man Mickey Rooney, Ray Bolger from “The Wizard of Oz” and newcomers such as Barbra Streisand.

Perry Cross, who served as Johnny Carson’s first producer on The Tonight Show before he exited to run an ABC program hosted by Jerry Lewis that came and went after 13 episodes, has died. He was 95.

Cross died March 9 of kidney cancer at a hospital in Los Angeles, his son, Larry Cross, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Cross started out producing Ernie Kovacs’ CBS weekday morning show in 1952 and also worked on The Red Skelton Hour, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Soupy Sales Show, Life With Linkletter, The Garry Moore Show and several Jonathan Winters live specials during his career.

Cross had been producing The Tonight Show in the immediate aftermath of host Jack Paar’s departure on March 30, 1962, guiding the NBC program in Hollywood and New York that featured guest hosts for six months until Carson took over.

NBC wanted Cross to be Carson’s producer,...

The film and television director, producer and writer died of natural causes at his Bel Air Home. He was 89.

Yorkin was born in the coal mining town of Washington, Pennsylvania on February 22 1926 and after serving in the Navy embarked on a career as a camera engineer for NBC.

He became a stage manager and then writer, working on NBC’s variety showcase The Colgate Comedy Hour. He moved into directing that show and then directed stints on programmes such as The Spike Jones Show and Light’s Diamond Jubilee.

Film director credits include Love Hurts, Twice In A Lifetime, Arthur 2: On The Rocks, The Thief Who Came To Dinner, Start The Revolution Without Me, Inspector Clouseau, Divorce American Style and Come Blow Your Horn.

He also served as executive producer on Blade Runner and played a role as producer in bringing to fruition the sequel, which is set to begin shooting next summer.

His credits...

The latest in a long and growing list of Bill Cosby accusers came forward on Tuesday. A 58-year-old woman named Patricia (last name undisclosed) from Andrea Constand's 2005 civil lawsuit tells BuzzFeed that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her on two separate occasions. The first happened in Massachusetts in 1978, when Patricia was 22, after Cosby invited her over to his family home for a dinner party that she thought would also include Cosby's wife, Camille. Instead the two dined alone, with Cosby offering Patricia a mixed drink that later caused her to "black out" after he requested that she "pretend to be an elegant queen with oatmeal dripping all over her face." Patricia says she ended up naked in his guest bedroom but "doesn't remember much." The next incident happened two years later, in 1980, after a live taping of The Dinah Shore Show. Patricia says Cosby asked that she style...

A slew of classic Disney movies are hitting for the first time on Blu-Ray, including one double-pack release, and you’re going to want to make sure to pick these up. You haven’t paid attention to some of these titles for a while, and it’s about time you got the chance to catch them on Blu-Ray. The best part is that there’s a great mix of releases hitting. Bedknobs and Broomsticks is all but lost in the cultural consciousness, and it deserves a return. The Academy Award-winning movie from the year I was born is filled with a lot of fun and adventure, and like most Disney films, holds up well for a whole new generation.

The rest of the group covers a great spectrum, including two animated “big” titles, and a 10th Anniversary release. There’s a lot to expose your family to here, so check out all the info below,...

Freaks and Geeks Episode 14 ‘Dead Dogs and Gym Teachers’

Written by Judd Apatow & Bob Nickman

Directed by Judd Apatow

Aired 10/10/2000 on Fox Family

When I think of the long-term potential missed out on Freaks and Geeks, episodes like ‘Dead Dogs and Gym Teachers’ come to the forefront of my memory. It’s an episode about two non-main characters (Bill and Millie) giving unexpected depth to their characters, family situations, and teenage lives. They come in very different forms – one from the death of a family member, and the other from a family gaining one – but they tie back to this similar idea of teenage rebellion, of how forcing ourselves to not deal with something emotional only makes things worse in the long run.

‘Dead Dogs and Gym Teachers’ is almost a what-if proposition; what if Millie were to play the role of Lindsay on the show? Being a much more stringent believer of faith,...

One of my favorite things ever is magic. I love watching magicians do their thing, it's just so damn cool to see them pull off stuff that seems impossible. I love the feeling that I get when the impossible happens before my eyes. I've learned a few tricks over the years, but I know I'll never be as good as the guys that perform magic for a living.

This is a trailer for a new documentary that centers on world-renowned magician Ricky Jay, who is a master at his craft. According to the New Yorker he's considered to be "the most gifted sleight-of-hand artist alive."

Ricky Jay is a world-renowned magician, author, historian and actor (often a mischievous presence in the films of David Mamet and Paul Thomas Anderson)—and a performer who regularly provokes astonishment from even the most jaded audiences. Deceptive Practice traces Jay's achievements and influences, from...

American TV producer/director Bob Banner has died after losing his battle with Parkinson's disease. He was 89.

The Emmy Award-winning star passed away on Wednesday at the Motion Picture and Television Fund home in Woodland Hills, California, where he lived.

Banner began his career in children's TV before taking directorial duties on pioneering talk show Garroway at Large, which ran from 1949 to 1951.

The star won an Emmy Award in 1958 as director of The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, and went on to oversee The Garry Moore Show, before working on The Carol Burnett Show in the 1970s.

Banner also used his talent to work on several charity shows, including 1964's Freedom Spectacular, featuring Bill Cosby and Sammy Davis Jr. and a 1988 AIDS benefit concert hosted by Dionne Warwick. He worked on 1980s talent show Star Search and his last project was the 1990s series Real Kids, Real Adventures.

John Shaffner, chairman of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, has paid tribute to Banner in a statement: "Bob was a true television legend. Over a long and elegant career he produced much memorable programming. He mentored so many of us, educating and encouraging young people to enter the television profession, including myself so many years ago. The television community has lost one its founders, and it is a deep personal loss for many of us. We will remember him with fondness and gratitude."

Banner is survived by his wife, Alice, three sons and two grandchildren.

Bob Banner, who won an Emmy for directing "The Dinah Shore Chevy Show" in 1958 and was executive producer of television programs including "Candid Camera," "Solid Gold" and "Star Search," died Wednesday of Parkinson's Disease. He was 89. Banner lived at the Motion Picture & Television Fund retirement community in Los Angeles. He began his career as a production assistant on "Kukla, Fran & Ollie," the puppet show for children. At the time, he was a Ph.D. student at Northwestern University in Chicago. He then became a floor manager on "Garroway-At-Large," and...

It looks like we can be expecting a new Blade Runner movie to hit theaters in the next few years. Warner Bros-based Alcon Entertainment (the financing and production company behind The Blind Side and The Book of Eli) are currently in final discussions to secure film, television, and ancillary franchise rights to develop prequels and sequels to Ridley Scott‘s classic 1982 sci-fi film.

I just want to point out that the deal exclude rights to remake the original film, so you will not see a remake of Blade Runner.

I've always wanted to see more movies made based on the world of Blade Runner. Hopefully they will end up being worthy of the film that Scott created and live up to the expectations of the fans. That's not going to be an easy thing to do, and I'm sure not everyone will be happy with the outcome. Moon director Duncan Jones...

[1] Warner Bros-based Alcon Entertainment (the financing and production company behind The Blind Side and The Book of Eli) are in final discussions to secure film, television and ancillary franchise rights to produce prequels and sequels to Ridley Scott's iconic 1982 science-fiction film Blade Runner. Not many details are known about the situation, but we have been told the following: Alcon’s franchise rights would be all-inclusive, but exclude rights to remake the original. The Company, however, may produce projects based on situations introduced in the original film. The project would be distributed domestically by Warner Bros. International rights are yet to be determined. So don't expect to see a remake of the original movie. It is also unclear if they have any screenplay or treatments for possible projects. You might recall that Eagle Eye screenwriters Travis Wright and John Glenn were paid to explore a potential secret sequel [2] from 2003-...

The Post Office unveiled some very special stamps yesterday morning in Southern California; a set devoted to classic television.

The "Early TV Memories" set of commemorative stamps were launched at a special event at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in North Hollywood. The 20 shows that are honored on the stamps are The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet; Alfred Hitchcock Presents; The Burns and Allen Show; The Dinah Shore Show; Dragnet; The Ed Sullivan Show; The Honeymooners; Hopalong Cassidy; Howdy Doody; I Love Lucy; Kukla, Fran and Ollie; Lassie; The Lone Ranger; Perry Mason; The Phil Silvers Show; The Red Skelton Show; Texaco Star Theater; The Tonight Show; The Twilight Zone; and You Bet Your Life.

All of the performers pictured on the stamps are no longer with us. Stars like Sid Caesar would likely also have been honored but Post...

The Post Office unveiled some very special stamps yesterday morning in Southern California; a set devoted to classic television.

The "Early TV Memories" set of commemorative stamps were launched at a special event at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in North Hollywood. The 20 shows that are honored on the stamps are The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet; Alfred Hitchcock Presents; The Burns and Allen Show; The Dinah Shore Show; Dragnet; The Ed Sullivan Show; The Honeymooners; Hopalong Cassidy; Howdy Doody; I Love Lucy; Kukla, Fran and Ollie; Lassie; The Lone Ranger; Perry Mason; The Phil Silvers Show; The Red Skelton Show; Texaco Star Theater; The Tonight Show; The Twilight Zone; and You Bet Your Life.

All of the performers pictured on the stamps are no longer with us. Stars like Sid Caesar would likely also have been honored but Post Office rules stipulate that a living person can't appear on a stamp.

Stamp collecting is something I just never got into (don't worry, I have plenty of other obsessions), but this might be the first time I actually go to my local post office and get a sheet.

Yesterday, 20 new classic TV stamps were unveiled: I Love Lucy, The Twilight Zone, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, The Honeymooners, Texaco Star Theater, Perry Mason, The Lone Ranger, Burns and Allen, Ozzie and Harriet, Hopalong Cassidy, Lassie, Dragnet, You Bet Your Life, The Dinah Shore Show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Phil Silvers Show, Howdy Doody, The Red Skelton Show, and Kukla, Fran, and Ollie, Continue reading Classic TV stamps unveiled

 

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