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
Monday, July 14
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to Pomp and Circumstance" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Tina and Gemma plan a joint graduation party for Malcolm and Grover, on part one of the hour-long seventh season finale.
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to Venice" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The Butlers and Johnsons help Malcolm start a new chapter in a new city that, while just across town, is worlds away from the neighborhood, on part two of the hour-long seventh season finale.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 14)
Monday, July 14
- Chris Distefano (Benders) - Chris guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) - Watch Hannah on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Shane Gillis (Tires) - Shane appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Liza Colón-Zayas (The Bear) - Liza is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Jack McBrayer (30 Rock) - Jack appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Paul Feig (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch/The Louie Show/The Jackie Thomas Show/Dirty Dancing) and Anna Kendrick (Love Life) - Paul is a guest and Anna makes a special appearance on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Amy Sedaris (No Activity/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/Strangers with Candy) and Dan Levy (Schitt's Creek) - Amy and Dan are guests on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo.
- Julie Bowen (Modern Family/Ed) - Julie chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Jason Priestley (Call Me Fitz/Sister Kate), Vanessa Morgan (The Latest Buzz) and Giacomo Gianniotti (Backpackers/Selfie) - Jason, Vanessa and Giacomo talk about the dramedy Wild Cards on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Malin Akerman (Dollface/Sin City Saints/Trophy Wife/Childrens Hospital) - Malin talks about The Hunting Wives on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Meg Donnelly (American Housewife) - Meg talks about Disney's Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Rosemarie DeWitt (United States of Tara) - Rosemarie and Eric Bana talk about Netflix's Untamed 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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