Wednesday, March 12, 2014

CBS Summer 2014 Schedule; Remembering Sheila MacRae of The Honeymooners and Producer Ted Bergmann of Three's Company

Under the Dome

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.


Sheila MacRae

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.



Ted Bergmann

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

Tuesday, March 19

Night Court - "The Duke's a Hazard" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Gurgs' royal boyfriend pays a surprise visit, she questions their compatibility; Dan defends his family's honor after he discovers a feud that dates back centuries.

Extended Family - "The Consequences of Being Irish" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Jim learns of Trey's St. Patrick's Day fundraiser plans, he offers his expertise in an effort to save Trey and the Celtics from embarrassment.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 18)

Tuesday, March 19

  • Tracy Morgan (The Last O.G./30 Rock/The Tracy Morgan Show) - Catch Tracy on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale/God's Favorite Idiot/American Housewife/The Odd Couple/About a Boy) - Leslie appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Brendan Hunt (Ted Lasso), Marc Maron (GLOW/Maron) and Zainab Johnson (Upload) - Brendan, Marc and Zainab are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Hilary Swank (Camp Wilder) - NBC's Today catches up with Hilary in the 10am hour.
  • The cast of Girls5eva) - Busy Philipps, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Paula Pell and Sara Bareilles are guests on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse talks about his podcast Dinner's On Me on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Annie Potts (Young Sheldon/Over the Top/Love & War/Designing Women/Goodtime Girls) - Annie talks about her legendary career and new film, Ghostbuster: Frozen Empire, on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Joe Manganiello (How I Met Your Mother) - Joe stops by Tamron hall to chat about hosting the new Deal or No Deal Island, so check your local listings.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (November-March)

Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Father Knows Best - The Complete Series The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

11/07 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Sixth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/14 - Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/15 - Letterkenny - Season 11
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
12/22 - Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection (includes The Ropers and Three's a Crowd)
01/09 - South Park - Seasons 11-15 (Blu-ray)
01/16 - Ghosts (UK) - Season Five
02/13 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/27 - The Really Loud House - Season One
03/12 - Ghosts (UK) - The Complete Series
03/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
03/12 - Rick and Morty - Season 7 (Blu-ray Steelbook) (Blu-ray) (DVD)

That Girl - The Complete Series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


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