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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.
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.
Worst Celebrity Reality TV Trainwrecks
The reality TV world took a double hit last week when news broke that two of Hollywood's more unconventional stars were getting their own shows. First came word that David Hasselhoff was in talks to do a series with his two daughters. Then Kirstie Allie announced that she'll have her own docudrama chronicling her progress on a new weight loss program (while she produces a movie and raises two girls of her own).
We admit the shows from the Hoff and the "Fat Actress" star are right up our alley. We're rubber neckers - if there's an accident on the highway, we slow down. And there's nothing worth straining to see more than a good old celebrity reality TV trainwreck. Be careful and enjoy the read.
TV Shows for College Credit
We took what some would consider the easy route when it came to picking our college classes. We studied communications, and a lot of the time we got to sit in lecture halls and analyze classic movies that were interesting to a student of the craft of filmmaking, but were not necessarily entertaining.
Now we hear that Harvard University is offering a class based on TV's "The Wire." And, frankly, we feel like we got gypped. If we could've earned a degree, from HARVARD no less, by watching prime-time TV shows, we would've been a lot more motivated to study.
Here's how Harvard sociology professor William J. Wilson justifies giving class credit for the cop drama: "'The Wire' has done more to enhance our understanding of the systemic urban inequality that constrains the lives of the poor than any published study." Really? Do you know the life lessons we've learned from "The Brady Bunch" or "Family Ties"? No one gave us a Bachelor's degree for our intensive studies of those shows.
So we're thinking that we'll open our own university and offer degrees to future pop culture fanatics in law, history, culinary arts and more. But we're going to do it the Harvard way - one TV show at a time. Here are some examples of our core curriculum.
Retro Minute: November 11, 1969
Barbara Eden plays Jeannie and Jeannie II. What movie stars a singing Clint Eastwood? Shawn's wakin' up the memories...
