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Chuckles Creator Bites the Dust
Writer David Lloyd passed away last week at the age of 75. He might not be a household name but he should be - he filled so many homes with joy for so many years. After starting out on "The Tonight Show" and "The Dick Cavett Show" in the '60s and '70s, Lloyd became a writer on the best TV show in history "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." And, he wrote the very best episode of that show (and maybe the best episode of TV ever) "Chuckles Bites the Dust," chronicling the death and memorial service of the WJM-TV kids show clown. We were sad to hear of his passing but were glad that he did not meet his demise dressed as a giant peanut crushed by an elephant. We hope that someone laughed at his funeral (it would have been fitting and we think he would have liked it). And most of all we extend this wish to him, "A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants."
Read about all his accomplishments here.
Singers Who Should Quit
You can unplug your ears now. Ashlee Simpson has left the building. The lip-synching diva who was ousted from "Melrose Place" has decided to focus on being a mom to her son, Bronx (Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz is the dad). Good news for pro-parenting fans - and even better news for music fans.
Unlike that of her big sister, Jessica, Ashlee Simpson's music career has been fraught with credibility problems. Between the mindless dribble of her MTV reality series, "The Ashlee Simpson Show," her "SNL" lip-synching meltdown, and her 2005 Orange Bowl debacle (she was roundly booed by 72,000 angry football fans), it's been a long farewell.
Simpson is part of a breed of modern-day divas who don't know when to walk away despite all of the clues. These are singers who withstand punishing reviews, bruising crowd defections,and embarrassing career mishaps only to keep coming back for more.
Thank you, Ashlee, for finally staying down. May these other singers follow you to the mat.
Retro Minute: November 17, 1968
Joe Namath/Shirley Temple TV smackdown. What movie idol turns 43? Shawn's wakin' up the memories...
Enough With the Self-Congratulatory Music Awards Shows
Last week, Taylor Swift rewrote the Country Music Awards history books when she beat out Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, George Strait, and Keith Urban (all of whom had hired Swift as their opening act) for Entertainer of the Year. And in another historic win, Hootie & the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker took home a Best New Artist award - following in the footsteps of fellow African-American country singer Charley Pride.
Billed as "Country Music's Biggest Night," the first CMAs were handed out in 1967 and have since grown to become the standard bearer for the best in country music. Members of the Country Music Association - a Nashville mafia of industry heavyweights - vote for the winners. Like most award shows, the CMAs are the result of a bunch of insiders congratulating one another. That's cool with me. Everyone needs to feel good about themselves, even platinum-selling country artists.
But here's the problem: there are just too many music award shows these days. Once upon a time, we'd wait excitedly for the Grammy Awards to roll around every year. No one complained. No one was jonesing for another nominee fix.
So while country's elite gather to deservedly backslap one another, here are a few of the more useless awards shows in recent memory. Two have thankfully disappeared, only one more to go.
Celebrities Who Fly the Friendly Skies
News broke last week that Gisele Bundchen is mastering another runway - the airport kind. The supermodel is studying to get her helicopter pilot's license. She's passed her written test and is scheduled to take her practical exam in the coming weeks. So she's trying to cram in enough flying hours before her little bundle of joy arrives (she's currently eight months pregnant). Seems the baby bump gets in the way of the rudder, which makes controlling the aircraft a bit difficult, but Gisele is determined to complete her studies.
The former Victoria Secret angel is not the first celebrity to earn her wings. Check out these other stars who have a license to fly the friendly skies.
