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Veteran TV and film actor, Jason Wingreen, has passed away at the age of 95. The Hollywood Reporter confirms Wingreen died on December 25, 2016, at his Los Angeles home. The actor voiced the character of Boba Fett in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, although he was not credited for the role. Wingreen might be most recognized for his role as Archie’s bartender, Harry Snowden, on the CBS sitcom All in the Family. He continued in the role on the spin-off, Archie Bunker’s Place, until CBS cancelled it after four seasons. Between 1987 and 1991, Wingreen also had a...

I'm watching the TZ marathon on SyFy. The current episode, "A Most Unusual Camera" is from 1960 and looks like it was shot on videotape. Did they do that back then? Looks like a cheesy soap opera.

Marjorie Lord, best known for playing Kathy “Clancy” Williams opposite Danny Thomas on the 1950s and 60s sitcom Make Room For Daddy and later the revival Make Room For Granddaddy died November 28 from natural causes, the LA Times reported. She was 97. Lord made the jump to television in the 1950s and would join Make Room For Daddy, later renamed The Danny Thomas Show, during the show’s fourth season, in 1957. She played the second wife of Danny Thomas’ character, staying with the show until it was canceled in 1964. She returned along with the rest of the cast...

Nicholas Smith, the actor who played store manager Mr Rumbold in the BBC sitcom Are You Being Served?, has died aged 81. He had been the last surviving member of the original cast. "It is with great sadness we can confirm that our client passed away yesterday," his agents at Michelle Braidman Associates said. "He was a lovely man and a terrific actor. He will be much missed by all who knew him."

Some folks in the Twitterverse apparently don’t know their musical history. Angry Twitter users took to the social media platform in the days leading up to NBC’s broadcast of “The Wiz Live!” to decry what they considered racist casting. The Thursday-night live production featured an all-black cast led by Queen Latifah, David Alan Grier, Ne-Yo and newcomer Shanice Williams. That is in keeping with the history of the stage musical, which has always featured a black cast, as well as the 1978 film starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. However, many Twitter users vented about the casting nonetheless. I just...

Robert Loggia, durable and versatile star of movies and TV shows including Brian De Palma’s 1986 “Scarface” and “Big,” died Friday in Los Angeles, his widow Audrey confirmed to Variety. He was 85. He was nominated for a Supporting Actor Academy Award for “Jagged Edge” in 1986 for his portrayal of a private detective. Among the films he appeared in were “An Officer and a Gentleman,” “Prizzi’s Honor,” “Problem Child” and “Big,” in which performed a memorable duet on a giant piano with Tom Hanks. He was nominated for an Emmy in 1989 for his portrayal of FBI agent Nick...

White House holiday television special Christmas in Washington has been cancelled after 33 years After more than three decades, the annual television special Christmas in Washington has come to an end. TNT severed its ties with the special's producer last year, and a new network was never found, therefore the White House tradition is coming to an end. The special, which first started in 1982, was attended by the first family and attended by a variety of musical acts. At the end of the performance, the president and his family would come onstage and join in a singalong with all...

Alternate history series 'The Man in the High Castle' set in world where Allies lost World War II Amazon has pulled ads for its series The Man in the High Castle plastered throughout the New York City subway system that featured symbols from Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, Variety reports. The new series, based on Philip K. Dick's 1962 novel of the same name, is an alternate history that imagines a world where the Allies lost World War II. The American coasts are controlled by Nazi and Japanese puppet regimes, while a free section remains in the Rocky Mountains.

(MAYBE MILD SPOILER ALERTS IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN SEASON #5 YET) In Rush Limbaugh's book, The Way Things Ought to Be, he outlined a number of "Undeniable Truths of Life." One of them, #6, was "The world is governed by the aggressive use of force." (After Boko Haram, I think you could add, "And not by stupid hashtags from the First Linebacker.") There is no better cultural phenomenon that proves this better than the AMC series "The Walking Dead," and no more specific illustration of this than season 5 and the beginning of season 6. In Season 5, Rick Grimes,...

Donald J. Trump, like any good reality TV protagonist, does not inspire neutral opinions. He is a savior or a disaster; a bigot or a patriot; a truth-teller or a buffoon; a commanding front-runner or a bubble on the verge of bursting. On one point, at least, there is something like political pundit consensus: that Mr. Trump’s abrasive, celebrity-driven, Don Ricklesian candidacy is unprecedented. And it is unprecedented, if your television-watching is limited to C-Span and CNN. But if you’ve watched reality TV over the past decade or two, you’ve seen it plenty. You’ve seen it in Richard Hatch and...

Though Barry Diller has threatened to flee the country or rebel if Donald Trump becomes president, he’s not packing his bags just yet. Diller is entirely unconvinced that Trump, whom he calls a mean, “self-promoting huckster,” will ever make to the White House. The Donald, Barry said, has nothing to offer the voters and no communication strategy, he told Bloomberg. All he has proven to the country is that he’s a “nasty, mean person” who struck a note with similarly-minded people and whose only talent is making noise to make a buck. “I don’t think it’s got anything to do...

What happens if you are a candidate for governor and you lose badly? Not just a mere bad loss but one of historically bad proportions following an absolutely horrible campaign marked by the cowardice of shying from previously well known positions. Well, if you are a liberal it could mean you can score a TV show based on the aftermath of your loss. Such is the case with Wendy Davis. The "Abortion Barbie" of Texas who mostly avoided that for which she was best known is the inspiration a "Dramedy" show based on life after going down to complete defeat after refusing...

Comedian Jay Leno doesn't think Donald Trump will last in the GOP presidential race, and predicts he'll exit when his poll numbers drop. “You know he will,” Leno said Wednesday of the GOP front-runner on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "You know he’s going to drop out. As soon as he drops in the polls, he’s gone.” Leno admitted he appreciated the comedy material in the 2016 race, citing former Gov. Martin O’Malley (D-Md.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) as two White House hopefuls he finds amusing. “My favorite guy right now is a guy I talked about last night, Martin O’Malley,”...

Miley Cyrus may have hosted the SNL Season 41 premiere, but the show was all about applauding Hillary Clinton—and not just when she appeared. Live From New York…it’s a Hillary Clinton campaign ad. On Saturday night, Studio 8H was briefly remodeled into a pop-up Ready For Hillary campaign headquarters for the 41st season premiere of Saturday Night Live. The guest of honor herself even showed up for a heavily teased set, one that was tailor-made to lampoon the two biggest critiques of her persona—that her presidential ambition can at times read as deranged entitlement and desperation, and that she lacks...

Throughout this surprising Summer of Trump, Americans at his raucous rallies have volunteered that The Donald is the strong, competent, blunt-talking leader America needs. How do they know? "I watch 'The Apprentice,'" said more than one. It used to be that a career in public service was the experience folks looked for in sizing up a president. But with politicians increasingly viewed as detached from the reality of the people they're elected to serve, could the new road to the White House actually run through reality TV? You may be a little skeptical about whether managing Gary Busey and Dennis...

In about 90 minutes, Donald Trump will be devastating SeeBS idiot Stephen Colbert. Normally the little weasel's "Late Show" is must-not-watch-teevee but tonight's offering ought to be great as Mr. Trump plays 3-dimensional chess against a leftist peanut brain. Colbert is still mewing and puking from Ted Cruz's jujitsu moves on him last night. Senator Cruz brought a gun to a knife fight but all Colbert had was a spork. This thread ought to be as good of a place as any for FReepers to comment on the unraveling of an unfunny, unintelligent, unhinged leftist by a true zen master,...

You know that grunt-like scream that Miss Piggy makes when she’s really made and frustrated? That’s pretty much what the American Family Association offshoot One Million Moms is doing right now as they boycott ABC’s The Muppets TV show premiering this Tuesday at 8pm Eastern. The organization touts a mission statement saying that they are trying to “stop the exploitation of our children, especially by the entertainment media” and “stand against the immorality, violence, vulgarity and profanity the entertainment media is throwing at your children.” Or more succinctly put, “We want our children to have the best chance possible of...

During his opening monologue at the 2015 Emmy Awards Sunday on FOX, host Andy Samberg suggested Republican frontrunner Donald Trump might be racist. The former Saturday Night Live cast member delivered a series of one liners about industry diversity, sexism, ageism, and politics, including jokes about Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). “Donald Trump, of course is running for president, to the delight of uncles everywhere. I’ve got to say, sure, Donald Trump seems racist—What else?” Samberg’s Bernie Sanders joke was more mild. The comedian said the Vermont socialist “always looks like his flight was delayed.” “The guy’s a mess,”...

Would-be groom says he is waiting for her responseA Sudanese man is offering 100 camels to marry a young Jordanian announcer at the Saudi-owned TV channel Middle East Broadcasting Company (MBC). Abu Al Tayeb Othman said he has saved money to buy a few camels and breed them at home over the past 10 years to fulfill his dream and marry Ula Faris, one of the prettiest female newscasters in regional TV channels. The Saudi 'Sada' newspaper said Othman visited its offices in the Gulf Kingdom this week and asked for publishing his offer to marry the announcer. “He...

Happy 49th Birthday, Star Trek 49 years ago today, “Star Trek” premiered on NBC with its first episode “The Man Trap” at 8:30PM on September 8, 1966. Following two pilot episodes, the series — created by Gene Roddenberry — would go on to run for three seasons, spur thirteen feature films and change the face of television forever.