Friday, December 05, 2008
Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna Show on TV Land Soon?; Remembering Paul Benedict (Mr. Bentley on The Jeffersons)
The network has ordered a pilot presentation of a project that would follow the lives of the husband-and-wife duo along with their two daughters. The project is executive produced by Jason Carbone. Both Hamlin and Rinna appeared on separate seasons of Dancing with the Stars as well.
Should TV Land go forward with the project, said to have generated interest from a few cable networks, it will go straight to a half-hour series pickup targeted for a 2009 debut.
While that series might not be picked-up yet, there is some hard news for the actual schedule. The weather outside may be frightful but TV Land is keeping viewers warm throughout the winter season with a hearty helping of touching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition episodes, exciting theatrical releases in Friday PRIME Movies, the second season premiere of the hit reality series High School Reunion and the spring premiere of the much-anticipated elimination dating series The Cougar during its TV Land PRIME programming block. Additionally, TV Land will air a hilarious New Year's Day marathon and ring in 2009 with Jan-centric episodes of The Brady Bunch.
We have mentioned all that, but just a reminder of some of the stuff to come!
Paul Benedict, the actor who played the wacky English neighbor Harry Bentley on the sitcom The Jeffersons, has died. But his death is pretty mysterious. Benedict was found dead Monday (December 1) on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts...his brother, Charles said authorities were still investigating the cause of death.
Benedict began his acting career in the 1960s in the Theatre Company of Boston, alongside such future stars as Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino.
Benedict went on to appear in a number of movies, including a role as the oddball director in The Goodbye Girl with Richard Dreyfuss.
But he was known primarily for his role as the crazy neighbor to George Jefferson on The Jeffersons from 1975-1985. The accented speech that he used even offstage led many to assume that Benedict was British, but in fact he was born Sept. 17, 1938, in Silver City, N.M. His other TV credits include guest roles on All in the Family (the backdoor pilot episode for The Jeffersons), Maude, Harry O, Kojak, Murder She Wrote, A Different World, Tales from the Crypt, Morton & Hayes, Seinfeld, Guiding Light, The Drew Carey Show, and a recurring role on Sesame Street as "The Mad Painter" in the early 1970s.
His other movie roles include After the Sunset, The Man with Two Brains, The Addams Family Movie, Cocktail, and Arthur 2. On Broadway he played opposite Al Pacino in the 2-man Broadway play Hughie (by Eugene O'Neill) in mid '90s and in 2000 he played Mayor Shinn in The Music Man.
We will certainly miss him. He was wonderful and hilarious on The Jeffersons, and let's hope TV Land does a tribute marathon for him. If they do, we will certainly let you know. If not, as a tribute to him, let someone walk on your back! Leave your memories of Paul Benedict on our message board. Mr. Benedict was 70.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Tuesday, November 18
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 17)
Tuesday, November 18
- Rhea Seehorn (Whitney/I'm with Her) - Catch Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Ariana Grande (Sam & Cat/Victorious) - Ariana appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Josh Hutcherson (Future Man) - Josh is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Ted Danson (A Man on the Inside/Mr. Mayor/The Good Place/Bored to Death/Help Me Help You/Becker/Ink/Cheers) - Ted appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Greta Titelman (Fantasmas/Search Party/Los Espookys) - Greta is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
- Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Daniel Radcliffe (Miracle Workers) - Daniel talks about Every Brilliant Thing on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Vivica A. Fox (Mr. Box Office/Getting Personal/Arsenio/Out All Night) - Vivica talks about The Christmas Campaign on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Ana Gasteyer (American Auto/People of Earth/Lady Dynamite/Suburgatory) - Ana drops by the studio to talk aboout her new album on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom talks about This World of Tomorrow on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Craig Robinson (Killing It/Ghosted/Mr. Robinson/The Office/Lucky) - Craig tells Sherri about his new animated Netflix film In Your Dreams and his upcoming appearance on FOX's Celebrity Name That Tune on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Oliver Hudson (Splitting Up Together/Rules of Engagement/My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star) and Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - Oliver and Drew are hitting the headlines at the news desk on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season
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