Monday, January 15, 2024
Apple TV+ Winter Slate with Peanuts and Fraggle Rock Specials; Remembering Joyce Randolph of The Honeymooners

Apple TV+ unveiled an exciting winter programming slate for kids and families, featuring brand new Peanuts content as well as returning fan-favorite and critically acclaimed series. Launching February 16, the new Peanuts special, Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin, uncovers the origin story of one of Peanuts' most beloved characters and how he ultimately makes friends with Charlie Brown and the gang. Acclaimed series also returning this winter includes the second season of the award-winning series, Sago Mini Friends, debuting January 26, and season two of the iconic and Emmy Award-winning series from The Jim Henson Company, Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, debuting March 29, as Tony and Grammy Award winner, and Emmy Award nominee Daveed Diggs (Hamilton) returns for season two alongside Academy Award winner Ariana DeBose (Schmigadoon!), Emmy Award winner Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso) and Emmy Award winner Catherine O'Hara (Schitt's Creek) in guest star roles.
Actress Joyce Randolph, who was best known for playing Trixie Norton on The Honeymooners, has died. She died in her sleep of natural causes at home in Manhattan's Upper West Side on January 13. Ms. Randolph was 99.
Randolph originally portrayed Trixie Norton on The Jackie Gleason Show in 1952 on CBS. She played the character in skits from 1952 to 1957. She starred as Trixie Norton in the 1955-1956 CBS sitcom The Honeymooners. The series follows the lives of New York City bus driver Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleason), his wife Alice (Audrey Meadows), Ralph's best friend Ed Norton (Art Carney) and Ed's wife Trixie as they get involved with various schemes in their day-to-day living. Randolph did not appear in every episode and had a less developed character, though she is shown to be somewhat bossy toward her husband.
In 1991, Randolph and Meadows reprised their roles in the episode "Fur Flies" of the ABC sitcom Hi Honey, I'm Home. Some of her other television guest appearances included Rocky King, Detective (1950), Buck Rogers, Famous Jury Trials, The Clock, The Plainclothesman (5 episodes) and The Doctors and the Nurses. On Broadway, she appeared in Ladies Night in a Turkish Bath (1950).
She was interviewed for The Interviews: An Oral History of Television on October 27, 1999.
Ms. Randolph did a wonderful job playing Trixie Norton. She was the last surviving cast member of The Honeymooners. We thank her for the laughs and entertainment that she brought us. She will be deeply missed.
Actor Peter Crombie, who had a recurring role as Crazy Joe Davola in Seinfeld, has died. He died after a brief illness on January 10 in Palm Springs, California. Mr. Crombie was 71.
Crombie appeared as Crazy Joe Davola in five episodes in the fourth season (1992-1993) of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. Crazy Joe Davola is a writer who suffers from mental problems. He stalks Jerry and dates Elaine. Depressed that Elaine rejected him, he dressed up as the clown from the opera Pagliacci and beats up several street toughs who antagonize him. The name was used with the consent of Fox TV executive, Joe "Lennard" Davola.
Some of his other sitcom guest appearances included Perfect Strangers, The John Larroquette Show, Get Smart (1995) and Grace Under Fire.
He appeared as Norman Minter in five episodes of the 1996 Fox drama L.A. Firefighters. Some of his other television guest appearances included Leg Work, Spenser: For Hire, Law & Order, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Diagnosis: Murder, L.A. Law, Picket Fences, Profiler, NYPD Blue and Walker, Texas Ranger.
Some of his film credits included Born on the Fourth of July (1989), The Doors (1991), Natural Born Killers (1994), Se7en (1995) and My Dog Skip (2000).
Mr. Crombie did a great job portraying one of the more memorable Seinfeld side characters. We thank him for his work on television and in films. He will be greatly missed.
We also remember German actor Christian Oliver. He starred as Brian Keller in Saved by the Bell: The Class. Oliver and his two daughters, Madita and Annik, were killed on January 4 after the four-seater private plane they were on crashed off the coast of Bequia, a Caribbean island in the Grenadines. Everyone on board, including the American pilot, Robert Sachs, was killed on impact. Mr. Oliver was 51.
Oliver starred as Brian Keller in the second season (1994) of the NBC sitcom Saved by the Bell: The New Class. It aired as a part of the network's TNBC Saturday morning line-up. Brian Keller is is a new transfer student from Switzerland. He is interested in Rachel Meyers (Sarah Lancaster), and he is also a schemer.
He appeared in a 2005 episode of The Comeback. Some of his television guest appearances included Sliders, V.I.P., Crossing Lines, Timeless and Hunters (5 episodes).
Some of his film credits included The Good German (2006), Speed Racer (2008) and Valkyrie (2008).
Mr. Oliver was known to German audiences for his role as Jan Richter in the action series Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei from 2002 until 2004. We thank him for his work on television and in films. He will be missed.
Actress Cindy Morgan was best known for playing Lacey Underall in Caddyshack and Lora/Yori in Tron. She was found dead of natural causes at her home in Lake Worth Beach, Florida, on December 30, 2023. Ms. Morgan was 69.
Morgan's sitcom guest appearances included The Love Boat, Tough Cookies, Beverly Hills Buntz, She's the Sheriff, Harry and the Hendersons and The Larry Sanders Show.
She starred as Gloria Marlowe in the 1982-1983 CBS adventure series Bring 'Em Back Alive, which also starred Bruce Boxleitner. She had a recurring role as Gabrielle Short in 15 episodes in seasons six and seven of the CBS prime time soap opera Falcon Crest from 1987 to 1988.
Some of her other television guest appearances included Vega$, CHiPs (3 episodes), Hawaiian Heat, Masquerade, The Fall Guy, Crazy Like a Fox, Amazing Stories, The Highwayman, Matlock (3 episodes), Mancuso, FBI (1990), Hunter (2 episodes) and Under Suspicion.
Ms. Morgan was a talented and lovely actress in the 1980s. We thank her for work on television and in films. She will be sorely missed.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Thursday, June 19
Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Typhoid Georgie" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Georgie worries he’s letting his family down when he’s forced to stay home with a cold, and Mandy worries about how her career will affect her marriage.
Ghosts - "Alexander Hamilton and the Ruffle Kerfuffle" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Jay becomes obsessed with the success of a fellow chef, Isaac serves up a cautionary tale about his own rivalry with Alexander Hamilton (Nat Faxon). Also, Elias Woodstone (Matt Walsh) returns from hell with a limited-time offer for the ghosts.
Bob's Burgers - "The Lost City of Atlantic" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The Belchers have a wild night at a casino and Linda learns more about her late grandfather than she wanted to know.
Grimsburg - "Evidence Locker" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Memories are sparked when Grimsburg PD cleans an evidence locker.
The Great North - "Super Smash Lovers Adventure" / "Serendipi-Beef Adventure" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Honeybee and Wolf renovate the guest cabin; after an extreme experience, Ham, Judy and Moon get whole new outlooks on life; on a field trip to view Curlew's Kissin' Comets, Beef rushes to stop his kids from suffering a terrible fate.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 16)
Thursday, June 19
- Seth Rogen (The Studio/Platonic/Undeclared) - Catch Seth on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Ramy Youssef (#1 Happy Family USA/Ramy/See Dad Run) - Ramy is a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Lionel Boyce (The Bear) - Lionel appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) - Keke stops by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Kurt Braunohler (Bob's Burgers) and Brendan Scannell (Bonding/Heathers) - Kurt and Brendan are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Jodie Sweetin (Fuller House/Hollywood Darlings/Full House) - Jodie talks about Dateless to Dangerous: My Son's Secret Life on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Owen Wilson (Stick) - Owen talks about Stick on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Michelle Buteau (Survival of the Thickest/Bless the Harts/Enlisted) - Michelle guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Chris Perfetti (Abbott Elementary) - Chris talks about Abbott Elementary on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Jennie Garth (Mystery Girls/What I Like About You) - In a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with actress Jennie Garth, she shares her formula for fulfillment and how she created the “I Choose Me” movement on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Melanie Lynskey (Two and a Half Men/Togetherness) and Lauren Ambrose (The Return of Jezebel James) - Drew is chatting with Yellowjackets cast Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, Tawny Cypress and Lauren Ambrose about working as cast of women in their forties, supporting each other as working moms and the newest season of their thrilling show on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. Plus, they're playing a rousing round of confession session and Drew is trying to match their fun revealing facts to the right person.
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)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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