Jim Rutenberg
Wednesday, Sept. 15
This is a given: There is nobody as in command of the old variety-show idiom as Marty Short. And he’s taken the next big step: Just as Rosie O’Donnell commandeered the spirits of Merv, Mike Douglas and Dinah Shore for her return-to-cuddly-showbiz talk show, Martin Short has commandeered the Read More
Wednesday, Aug. 25
A new ruling by the Federal Communications Commission that allows networks to own more than one television station in a big city could mean pay dirt for Barry Diller, who has for years talked about launching a new local broadcast channel.
He once called the idea City Vision, and it was Read More
Wednesday, August 18
Andy Richter, who has announced he will leave the sidekick position on Late Night With Conan O’Brien in May, is already zeroing in on his first project: a network sketch comedy show.
“What’s nice about sketch is, it gives you the opportunity to do lots and lots of things,” Mr. Richter Read More
Wednesday, August 11
From John Belushi in the 70′s to Eddie Murphy in the 80′s and Mike Myers in the 90′s, many young stars have traded the fame they gained on Saturday Night Live for big money at the box office. Now NBC is taking tough measures–in the form of a new Saturday Night Live Read More
When asked which directors he liked best, Orson Welles famously said, “I like the old masters … by which I mean John Ford, John Ford and John Ford.” The comment continued: “With Ford at his best, you get a sense of what the earth is made of–even if the script is by Mother Machree.” I Read More
Wednesday, July 28
Betty White, 77, is returning to prime time this fall, in a CBS sitcom called Ladies Man . So NYTV asked her if she had any theories on why the half-hour comedy genre is in such sorry shape.
If anyone should know, it’s Ms. White. She started doing TV in 1953 Read More
Wednesday, July 21
Television reporters received the following document, reproduced here verbatim, on July 13. Just call it the Gospel According to CBS Public Affairs:
“JESUS,” AN EPIC MINI-SERIES STARRING JEREMY SISTO, NOW IN PRODUCTION IN MOROCCO FOR BROADCAST IN MAY 2000 ON THE CBS TELEVISION NETWORK
Jacqueline Bisset, Jeroen Krabbe, Debra Messing, Read More
Wednesday, July 14
Is Conan O’Brien building a late-night empire à la David Letterman’s Worldwide Pants, now that he has his own development deal with NBC? It was not that long ago when Mr. O’Brien was working on 13-week contracts as NBC evaluated whether he was worthy of keeping the 12:35 A.M. slot. He has Read More
Wednesday, July 7
Barry Diller gave the order in the spring of ’98: no more fighting on The Jerry Springer Show ! Well, a couple of public outcries and media-fueled mass murders later, Mr. Diller has finally brought order to the program, which is owned by his Studios U.S.A.
Nothing good lasts forever.
Wednesday, June 23
Wayne Knight, who played Newman on Seinfeld , went on Late Night With Conan O’Brien the other night, flacking his starring role in the play Art at the Royale Theater on West 45th Street. He told Conan– jokingly , of course–that he was not bitter that the other Seinfeld cast members now Read More
