Wednesday, March 12, 2014
CBS Summer 2014 Schedule; Remembering Sheila MacRae of The Honeymooners and Producer Ted Bergmann of Three's Company
CBS has announced premiere dates for its summer 2014 slate of original programming, which includes the event series Under the Dome and Extant, the new steamy legal drama Reckless, the police drama Unforgettable and the return of the summer reality hit Big Brother. Together, CBS will present approximately 90 hours of first-run series programming this summer. It all starts with Big Brother, hosted by Julie Chen, which will debut early for the second straight summer, beginning Wednesday, June 25 at 8:00PM ET/PT with the first of its three weekly broadcasts. The Thursday edition, featuring the live eviction show, premieres June 26 at 9:00 PM with the first eviction the following week (July 3). The Sunday broadcast premieres June 29 at 8:00 PM ET/PT.
Beginning June 29, Sundays will feature a three-hour block of all original entertainment programming with the aforementioned Big Brother at 8:00 PM ET/PT, leading into new drama Reckless at 9:00PM ET/PT and followed by the third season of Unforgettable at 10:00PM ET/PT. As previously announced, Under the Dome, last summer's #1 program, returns for its sophomore season on Monday, June 30 at 10:00PM ET/PT. The premiere episode will be written by Stephen King, on whose bestselling novel the series is based. The summer event series Extant, starring Academy Award winner Halle Berry, will now premiere Wednesday, July 9 at 9:00PM ET/PT instead of its previously announced July 2 debut.
Actress Sheila MacRae, who starred as Alice Kramden in The Jackie Gleason Show, has died. She died on March 6 at the Lillian Booth Actor's Home in Englewood, New Jersey. She suffered from dementia but was otherwise in good health and died of natural causes. Ms. MacRae was 92.
MacRae's early television credits included Search for Tomorrow, I Love Lucy (as herself), Lux Video Theatre, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and The Trials of O'Brien. She played Alice Kramden in around 50 episodes of The Jackie Gleason Show (aka The Color Honeymooners) from 1966-1970. She later co-hosted The Sheila MacRae show in 1971. Her other guest appearances included The Love Boat, General Hospital and Murder, She Wrote. In 1990, she played Marilyn Buckman in the NBC dramedy Parenthood.
Survivors include her children Heather and William "Gar" MacRae, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Her daughter Meredith (actress in My Three Sons and Petticoat Junction) died in 2000 and son Robert in 2010. She was a beautiful, talented and funny woman. She will be deeply missed.
Television producer Ted Bergmann, who worked as an executive producer for Three's Company and its spinoffs, has died. He died on March 2 following surgery at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California. Mr. Bergmann was 93.
Bergmann worked at the Dumont Television Network beginning in 1947. He sold commercial time to clients for such early Dumont TV shows such as The Original Amateur Hour, Fashions on Parade, Captain Video and His Video Rangers, The Arthur Murray Party, Cavalcade of Stars and Life Is Worth Living. He later worked as a producer of the Grammy Awards for seven years.
He was an executive in charge of production for Three's Company for all eight seasons on ABC from 1976-1984. He worked in the same capacity on its spinoff series The Ropers and Three's a Crowd. In 1998, he was interviewed for the E! True Hollywood Story on Three's Company.
The Archive of American Television conducted an extensive interview with him on March 17, 2004. Survivors include his wife Beverly, six children, two stepsons, 14 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. We thank him for the entertainment he brought us over the years. He will be greatly missed.
Note: There are two people with credits that are mistakenly combined on IMDB and Wikipedia. Ted Bergmann is the executive producer born in 1920. Ted Bergman is a writer who worked on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Sanford and Son, What's Happening!!, Sanford, Gimme a Break!, What's Happening Now!!, Small Wonder, Out of This World, The Munsters Today and It's Garry Shandling's Show. We posted a behind-the-scenes article about Sanford and Son written by him last June. Writer Ted Bergman was born in 1940 and is still living. His website is Dogs and Cats Go Hollywood.
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.
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.
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)
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