Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Sundance Celebrates Father's Day with Father Knows West Stunt; Remembering Michu Meszaros of ALF and Janet Waldo, the Voice of Judy Jetson

SundanceTV

SundanceTV celebrates Father's Day with a "Father Knows West" marathon featuring beloved Westerns, including some classic Clint Eastwood films and the iconic TV series The Rifleman, on Sunday, June 19th at 6:00 AM EST/5:00 AM CST. The festivities begin at sun-up with ten back-to-back episodes of the The Rifleman, starring Chuck Connors and Johnny Crawford, followed by Joe Kidd, The Outlaw Josey Wales and Unforgiven. The schedule has The Rifleman from 6am-4pm, Joe Kidd, The Outlaw Josey Wales and Unforgivenfrom 4pm-12am. An encore of The Outlaw Josey Wales and Unforgiven will air from 12am-6am.


Michu Meszaros

Hungarian-born actor and circus performer Michu Meszaros, the man inside the costume in ALF, has died. He died on June 13 at a Los Angeles hospital. He was discovered on his bathroom floor by his manager Dennis Varga in a comatose state last week. He had suffered numerous health issues since a stroke eight years ago. Mr. Meszaros was 76.

Meszaros was a member of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus beginning in 1973 as the former "smallest man in the world". He trained and presented a dog act with white Standard Poodles. He was 2 feet 9 inches tall.

He wore the full-body costume of ALF during the first season of the series. Meszaros was used where scenes of ALF walking, running, or standing were required. He can be seen in the first season intro when he walks over to be part of the photo with the Tanner family. An ALF puppet was used for the half-body shots. Series creator Paul Fusco provided the voice of ALF.

In 1991, he guest starred as Mishka in an episode of Dear John. His film credits included Waxwork, Big Top Pee-wee, Warlock: The Armageddon and Freaked. He was a stunt double for Mikey in Look Who's Talking.

Janet Waldo

Actress Janet Waldo, who provided the voice of Judy Jetson in The Jetsons, has died. She died on June 12 at her home in Encino, California. She had been diagnosed with a benign but inoperable brain tumor five years earlier, according to her family. Ms. Waldo was 96.

Waldo's early television guest appearances included I Love Lucy, The Phil Silvers Show, The Lucy Show and The Andy Griffith Show. She appeared in various roles, including five episodes as Janet, in The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet from 1953-1965.

She starred as Libby Freeman in the short-lived 1964-1965 ABC sitcom Valentine's Day. Some of her later sitcom guest appearances included Please Don't Eat the Daisies, Get Smart, Petticoat Junction and Julia.

Waldo provided the voice of Judy Jetson in all versions of The Jetsons except Jetsons the Movie. The teenage daughter Judy attended Orbit High School. The series aired on ABC for one season in 1962-1963 before new episodes began airing in syndication in 1985-1987.

She provided the voice of Nancy in Shazzan. She voiced Penelope Penelope Pitstop in Wacky Races and the spin-off The Perils of Penelope Pitstop. Waldo was the voice of Josie in Josie and the Pussycats. She provided the voice of Princess/Susan in Battle of the Planets.

Some of her other voice work included The Flintstones, The Atom Ant Show, The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan, The Addams Family, Inch High, Private Eye, Jeannie, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, Alvin & the Chipmunks and The Smurfs.

We thank them for the entertainment they brought us over the years. They will be deeply missed.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Sunday, October 1

The Simpsons - "Homer's Crossing" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
eeling worthless at work, Homer volunteers to be a school crossing guard; when Homer's safety squad receives too much funding, the crossing guards become a force to be feared.

Krapopolis - "Wife Swamp" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Tyrannis returns from a quest with a girlfriend; Hippocampus, Stupendous, and Schlub fight and then befriend a species of wolves.

Bob's Burgers - "Fight at the Not Okay Chore-ral" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
When Linda and Bob suggest the kids do chores, the family ends up in a showdown.

Family Guy - "Fertilized Megg" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Meg agrees to be Bruce and Jeffery's surrogate, causing a pregnant Meg to annoy her family; when the couple fails to pick up the baby, the Griffins must take care of their new family member.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 25)

Friday, September 29

  • Amy Poehler (Duncanville/Parks and Recreation) - Watch Amy on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Lea Michele (The Mayor) - Lea is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Nathan Lane (Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Margaret Cho (All-American Girl) and Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite) - Margaret and Maria are guests on repeats of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
  • Patton Oswalt (A.P. Bio/The Goldbergs/The King of Queens) - Patton will be on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (June-October)

Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series Family Matters - The Complete Series Step by Step - The Complete Series ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition)

06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
07/18 - South Park - Seasons 21-25 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
07/25 - The Neighborhood - Season Five
07/25 - Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin - Season One
07/25 - Superstore - The Complete Series
08/22 - Back to Life - Season 1 / Season 2
08/29 - Smiling Friends - Season 1 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

09/30 - SitcomsOnline Digest: WGA Strike Officially Over; ABC Cancels Home Economics
09/29 - Lifetime Announces New Thrillers; Big Mouth Season 7 Trailer
09/28 - New Season of Wolf Like Me on Peacock; Max Original Animated Series Debuts October 19
09/27 - Moonlighting Coming to Hulu; Showtime Announces Date for The Curse
09/26 - Rick and Morty Season 7 Trailer; Fox's Krapopolis Debuts Well
09/25 - Laff Fall 2023 Schedule with Last Man Standing and Man with a Plan; Upload Returns October 20
09/24 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 25, 2023)
09/23 - SitcomsOnline Digest: An End on the Horizon for WGA Strike?; Hallmark Ready for Christmas
09/22 - The Santa Clauses Season 2 Launches November 8; CBS Alters Fall Schedule
09/21 - Penn & Teller: Fool Us Gets New Return Date; Netflix's Unicorn Academy Premieres November 2
09/20 - Paramount+ Announces Colin from Accounts; The Really Loud House Gets Halloween Movie
09/19 - The Simpsons Season 34 Streams October 11 on Disney+; Good Burger 2 Set for Holiday Season
09/18 - Hulu's Huluween and Disney+'s Hallowstream Line-Up; Shining Vale Returns October 13 on STARZ
09/17 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 18, 2023)
09/16 - SitcomsOnline Digest: ABC Cancels Wonder Years Reboot; Byron Allen Makes $10 Billion Offer to Buy ABC
09/15 - Antenna TV's Bewitched Halloween Marathon; Rewind TV's Sabrina the Teenage Witch-O-Ween Marathon
09/14 - Dancing with the Stars Season 32 Cast; BUZZR Celebrates 40 Years of Press Your Luck
09/13 - TBS Acquires Modern Family; The Frasier Awards on COZI TV
09/12 - Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen Gets CBS Late Night Run; Unsolved Mysteries: Behind the Legacy Special
09/11 - Matt Rife Gets Netflix Special; Star Trek Day and Kid Cudi Join Forces
09/10 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 11, 2023)
09/09 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Warner Bros. Television Suspends Deals with Top Creators; Fran Drescher Re-Elected President of SAG-AFTRA
09/08 - CBS Announces Hosts of Game Show; New Goosebumps Premieres Friday the 13th This October on Disney+ and Hulu
09/07 - MeTV Presents Svengoolie's Halloween BOOnanza!; The CW Moving Fall Comedies to Thursdays
09/06 - CBS to Air NCIS: Sydney This Fall; Fox Makes Fall Change
09/05 - TBS and TNT September Stunts Include Big Bang Theory Batman Day Marathon; Netflix UK Produced Series Updates
09/04 - TV Marathons on Labor Day 2023 Include Three's Company
09/03 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 4, 2023)
09/02 - SitcomsOnline Digest: No Third Season for How I Met Your Father; Spectrum Dispute with Disney Could Spell End of Cable
09/01 - September Is Anniversary Month on Hulu; Freeform's 31 Nights of Halloween Returns for Its 25th Anniversary
08/31 - Max's Original Comedy Series Starstruck Season 3 and Our Flag Means Death Season 2 Premiere Dates; AXS TV Announces Fall Programming Lineup
08/30 - The Partridge Family Coming to AXS TV Starting Oct. 2; CBS to Air A Tribute to Bob Barker Special Aug. 31, Marathon of Match Game Episodes to Air Sept. 2 on Game Show Network