Remembering Ed McMahon; WGN Pulls Hillbillies; TNT Adds CSI NY

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Remembering Ed McMahon; WGN Pulls Hillbillies; TNT Adds CSI NY

Ed McMahon, a fixture on U.S. late-night television for 30 years as the full-throated announcer and sidekick for the late Johnny Carson on NBC's The Tonight Show, has died this morning (Tuesday, June 23, 2009).
The veteran TV personality, best known for his nightly introduction of Carson in a deep, booming voice with the drawn-out line, "Heeeeeeeeere's Johnny!" died at a Los Angeles-area hospital early this morning with his wife and loved ones by his side. McMahon had been battling pneumonia and other illnesses for about the past month. Ed and Johnny first worked together in 1957 as announcer and host on the daytime game show Who Do You Trust? The duo moved to the Tonight Show in 1962 when Carson succeeded Jack Paar for three decades, stopping in 1992 when Carson retired as host. Ed was also famous for his "Hi-oooooh!" line.
Among his other roles, he was with Dick Clark on the TV series and specials TV Bloopers And Practical Jokes on NBC from 1982 until 1998. He was also host of the successful weekly syndicated series Star Search, which began in 1983 and ended in 1995.
He has appeared on many sitcoms as himself over the years such as Here's Lucy, ALF, Full House, Who's the Boss?, Roseanne, Living Single, Malcolm & Eddie, The Simpsons, Suddenly Susan, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Popular, That '80s Show, Family Guy, It's All Relative, and Scrubs.
He has also appeared on TV series as a character as well, such as an earlier episode of Here's Lucy, Ellen Queen, Newhart, Burke's Law, Nurses, and Baywatch. He had a regular role on the short-lived comedy called The Tom Show starring Tom Arnold on The WB in the 1997-98 season.
In recent years was co-host for TV Land's ALF Hit Talk Show and co-host in 2003 for a handful of episodes for Jimmy Kimmel Live!. And last summer he and his family appeared on Celebrity Family Feud battling the The Kardashians, Deion & Pilar Sanders, Tiki Barber's families.
Ed will certainly be missed by everyone. He was a familiar face and had a familiar voice that everyone knew. He is survived by his wife, Pamela, and five children. Ed was 86. Share your memories of Ed on our message board.

Back to our regular news, WGN America is pulling The Beverly Hillbillies from its line-up starting Monday (June 29). They will replace it with another airing of America's Funniest Videos in the 8am weekday hour. WGN America has not lost rights to air Hillbillies, so it WILL return soon to a better timeslot I'm told. I think it would have returned anyway since it doesn't expire until Fall 2011. Ya'll come back now ya here, indeed! And remember when we promised something for classic TV this summer on WGN America? Well we will soon announce what that is! So we won't have to wait until the fall to see more classic TV! Keep checking back for that and the return of Hillbillies (and maybe more)!

TNT has acquired the crime drama CSI: NY for its "we know drama" line-up starting Friday, July 3. They will share the series with Spike TV, which currently airs the reruns. TNT has the primetime rights starting in July, so Spike TV will be only airing it in the daytime (1-3pm) and early evening (5-7pm) starting in July as we mentioned. TNT will launch CSI: NY with a block on Friday, July 3 from 7pm-11pm. Then the series will air weeknights at 7pm and Wed-Fri at 8pm as well. The regular schedule will see some time changes due to this addition on TNT. Here is how the schedule will look: 6-8am Angel, 8am-11am Charmed, 11am ER, 12pm-2pm Las Vegas, 2pm Charmed, 3pm-5pm Law & Order, 5pm-7pm Bones, and 7pm CSI: NY. 8pm will have The Closer encore on Monday, Bones on Tuesday, and CSI: NY Wed-Fri. With original series the rest of the time on weeknights. 1am-6am late nights sees a mix of blocks of Cold Case, Without a Trace, and Law & Order. Movies air in late night on Fridays and sometimes on Thursdays. No signs of NYPD Blue, X-Files, and Alias, but they are airing LAPD: Life on the Street as a filler.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, July 9

Shifting Gears - "Gummies" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Riley is horrified when she finds weed gummies in Carter’s pocket, prompting surprising advice from Matt. Meanwhile, Eve inadvertently lands Gabriel and Stitch in hot water after asking them to donate to a charity auction.

Shifting Gears - "Kiss" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Jimmy returns with a new job and a proposition for Riley and the kids to move into his house, Riley is torn between her past and her future. Meanwhile, Matt's feud with Eve flares up once again after she damages his car.

Abbott Elementary - "Volunteers" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Ava announces the school district is sending a group of volunteers to help out at Abbott; however, when they arrive, things don’t go as planned.

Abbott Elementary - "100th Day of School" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
During Abbott’s 100th day of school celebrations, Barbara receives a surprise from her daughter. Melissa, Jacob and Mr. Johnson join forces to conduct a search party.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "The Gang F***s Up Abbott Elementary" (FXX and FX, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Months after the Gang visited, Abbott's Principal Ava walks viewers through some of the unseen footage of the Gang's volunteerism and reveals their true intentions.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "Frank Is in a Coma" (FXX and FX, 9:33PM ET/PT)
The five stages of grief set in for Dee as Frank lies on his deathbed; the Guys plot their new path forward by pitching their business ventures to Philadelphia's elite.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 7)

Wednesday, July 9

Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Salma Hayek Pinault (The Sinbad Show) - Watch Salma on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Jean Smart (Hacks/Samantha Who?/Center of the Universe/In-Laws/Style & Substance/Designing Women) - Jean is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Cole Escola (Human Resources/Search Party/Mozart in the Jungle/Difficult People) - Cole appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Richie Moriarty (Ghosts), Betsy Sodaro (Ghosts/Duncanville/Disjointed/Animal Practice) and Punam Patel (Ghosts/Return of the Mac/Kevin from Work) - Richie, Betsy and Punam are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
Tika Sumpter (mixed-ish/Final Space/The Game) - Tika sits down with the Tam Fam to talk about her new children's book I Got It From My Mama a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Isabela Merced (100 Things to Do Before High School/Growing Up Fisher) - Isabela chats about her film Superman on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Anna Camp (Perfect Harmony/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/The Mindy Project) and Justin Bartha (The New Normal/Teachers) - Anna and Justin discuss their film Nuked on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory) - Simon talks about Peacock's Poker Face on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.