Friday, December 19, 2025
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Stephen Colbert’s Great Interview with Billy Joel: “I told Elton John to put out less albums”

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Stephen Colbert had a great interview with Billy Joel last night. Billy named his top 5 songs– “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” was number 1. Colbert sings a medley of Billy Joel songs in two minutes. And Billy is just as charming as ever. I loved his anecdote about Paul McCartney scaring his daughter Alexa when she was a little girl.

Colbert asked Billy why he hasn’t made a new album since 1993. He said, “Elton John says you should put out more albums.” Billy replied: “I told him to put out less albums!”

Good work! Long live Billy!

and Billy performed “Miami 2017”

Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issue: Diverse, Pregnant, and A Pair of Siblings!

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Vanity Fair’s new Hollywood issue– diverse, pregnant, and siblings! Another Annie Leibovitz instant classic, with a very pregnant Oscar winner Natalie Portman, winner Lupita Nyong’o, five-time nominee Amy Adams, and two-time nominee Emma Stone on the front panel.

Then comes new star Ruth Negga, plus knockout sister Elle Fanning, Dakota Fanning, Dakota Johnson, Greta Gerwig, Aja Naomi King, and Janelle Monáe.

Check out the video of the shoot at VanityFair.com !

vanity fair

Three of the Best MTM Episodes: “Veal Prince Orloff,” “Lou’s First Date,” and “Lou’s Birthday Party”

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Seven seasons of the Mary Tyler Moore Show– and they’re just about all A episodes. So much to choose from. But these are three of my favorites. Lou’s Birthday Party, Veal Prince Orloff, and Lou’s First Date. In the latter, Lou gets set up with a 90 year old by accident. She doesn’t watch the news because she doesn’t have a TV. What do you for entertainment? she’s asked. “I have a fireplace.”

The best show ever, and don’t think that Mary wasn’t responsible for that as much as the writers, producers, directors and the cast. And once you watch these, you’ll be up all night watching them. Mary Tyler Moore Show is like a box of chocolates.

By the way, in “Veal Prince Orloff,” that is Henry Winkler pre-Fonzi.

Lou’s Birthday Party:

Veal Prince Orloff aka The Dinner Party

Lou’s First Date

Mary Tyler Moore Remembered by Her Cast Members: “She was America’s Sweetheart” Says Cloris Leachman

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Twitter and Facebook are full of memorials and toasts to the great and beloved Mary Tyler Moore. Some people have yet to weigh in including Valerie Harper and Betty White, but that may be because they are grieving in private. (Can you imagine people still do that?)

Rose Marie, who’s 93, played Sally Rogers on “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” She gave an interview to Scott Feinberg, and said she was in touch with Mary regularly until four or five months ago.

When I ran into Ed Asner during Golden Globe week, I’d asked if he’d heard anything new about Mary. He said from what he’d been told, she was in bed and in decline, but that was all.

Indeed, not much had been heard from or about Mary recently which was a bad sign. She and husband Robert Levine had moved to Greenwich, Connecticut to be near doctors and the very good hospital there. They’d long ago given up their farm in Millbrook, upstate New York, and an apartment in the city.

Mary’s casts, particularly from her own show, had longevity in real life. Carl Reiner is 93, Dick van Dyke is 91, Betty White is 95. The only member of the “MTM” cast who passed before Mary was Ted Knight. Everyone else is still alive and kicking.

What you may not remember: the first year of the “MTM” show, Mary was nominated for an Emmy Award but didn’t win. Valerie Harper and Ed Asner each won Best Supporting honors. They took out an ad in the trades that read: “Without her, it would just be called The Show.”

From Twitter today:

Cloris Leachman: The picture that we all have of Mary, that’s how she was—sweet, kind, so tender, so delicate. She was America’s sweetheart. We loved you.

Ed Asner: A great lady I loved and owe so much to has left us. I will miss her. I will never be able to repay her for the blessings that she gave me.

Dick van Dyke: There are no words. She was THE BEST! We always said that we changed each other’s lives for the better. I…

Mary Tyler Moore Has Died At Age 80 After a Long Illness– Beloved Actress

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mtmMary Tyler Moore has died at age 80. According to TMZ, she’d been moved to a Connecticut hospital. Everyone loves Mary, this column especially. Condolences to her family.

The beloved MTM hasn’t really been seen in five years, since she won her SAG Life Achievement Award. She’s suffered from diabetes and a bunch of illnesses. Mary turned 80 last month. Her last TV appearance was an “MTM” reunion on “Hot in Cleveland” in 2013 in which she didn’t say much, but glowed listening to her old friends.

She’s lived quietly in Connecticut with her husband, Dr. Robert Levine, since moving out of Manhattan and giving up her farm in Millbrook, New York. Her ex husband, Grant Tinker, who produced her famous TV show and ruled her TV empire in the 70s and 80s, passed away last year as well.

Despite her perky presence on the screen, Mary had a lot of tragedy in her life. Her only child, Richie, died in 1980 after playing with a sawed off shotgun. Two years earlier, Mary’s sister committed suicide in 1978 at age 21.

Of course, Mary’s career includes mostly great moments– her own show, “The Dick van Dyke Show,” plus an Oscar nomination for “Ordinary People.” She appeared on Broadway seven times in the 1980s, garnering several nominations. In 1980, she won a special award from the Tonys. Earlier in her career she was in the never-opened first Broadway production of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

During the 80s and 90s Mary and Robert lived in New York, on Fifth Avenue, in a grand and spacious apartment that became famous for falcons that landed on the precipices. The apartment was big enough that it had a dining room table that could seat 20, Mary told me, when I was over there one day for an interview. She said she wasn’t sure she knew 20 people whom she could invite! I’ll never forget that.

She was the classiest lady, Mary Tyler Moore.  We were lucky to know her.

Alec Baldwin’s Memoir Will Be Published in April by His Longstanding Foe, Rupert Murdoch

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neverthelessAlec Baldwin was just announced as host of “Saturday Night Live” next month. It’s not like Alec hasn’t been on “SNL” in a while– he’s been killing it playing Donald Trump the way David Frye used to imitate Richard Nixon on “Laugh In.” Sheer genius.

But Baldwin’s hosting of the show is a walk up to publicity for his memoir, called “Nevertheless,” coming on April 4th. And guess who’s publishing that book? Why, Rupert Murdoch’s HarperCollins, cousin of Alec’s two favorite media outlets, Fox News and The New York Post.

The publicity campaign for “Nevertheless” should be interesting. The book covers Alec’s showbiz career from his debut on NBC’s soap “The Doctors” in 1983 to his hit run on “30 Rock.” But it’s likely it also covers this past year, his Trump imitation, his long interest in politics as a Democrat and possibly his notorious feud with the Post and Page Six.

For years — decades, it feels like– Page Six dubbed Baldwin “The Bloviator.” He fought with the paper and their paparazzi on dozens of subjects, many of which landed on the front page. The Post surely won’t ignore the Baldwin book, but then again, they’re also likely to use anything he’s written against him. Prepare for war, Rupert Murdoch style!

Controversial Director Roman Polanski Forced to Resign as President of French Oscars After Women’s Groups Complain

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Oscar winning director Roman Polanski’s 1977 rape saga continues to haunt him– now even in his home country of France.

This past week, Polanski was forced to resign as president of the French Oscars, the Cesar Awards, after women’s group’s objected. The head of the Cesars really just makes a welcoming speech. But 62,000 people signed a change.org petition against Polanski after the country’s minister for family, women, and children’s rights also spoke out against his appointment.

The new anger toward Polanski may stem from this weekend’s women’s marches all over the, world, even in Paris. But I’m told the source of this new bad feeling may come from the November suicide of famed British photographer David Hamilton.

Hamilton, who was 83 and lived in Paris most of his life, was famous for his photos of very young girls and women. When Polanski was arrested in 1977, he said the pictures he took of a then 13 year old were meant to emulate Hamilton’s work. The two men were indeed great friends.

This past October, Hamilton was accused by a radio presenter and celebrity named Flavie Flement of raping her when she was 13– some 30 years ago. In November other women joined Flement with similar accusations against Hamilton. The result was a huge scandal in France similar to that of Bill Cosby here. On November 25, Hamilton killed himself.

Unlike Polanski– who has suffered from the one incident in 1977– Hamilton’s life was marked by book bannings and investigations. His photos were considered by some as child pornography, and he was often protested.

Sources in Paris say that Polanski may be blamed by his association with Hamilton, whose own controversies are freshly in the headlines.

Hollywood Has Not Forgiven Mel Gibson: Plenty of People Will Never Work with Him Again

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Mel Gibson’s Oscar nods today for “Hacksaw Ridge” are instigating a lot of pieces titled “Hollywood forgives Mel Gibson.”

Not so fast.

An anti-Semite, racist, and Holocaust denier, Gibson is absolutely not forgiven in Hollywood. Believe me. I’ve checked. I thought well, maybe they’re right. Maybe Mel’s back. Then I asked around during the Golden Globes.

According to my sources, nothing has changed. Gibson, for example, is persona non grata still at WME Agency aka William Morris Endeavor. The agency’s chief Ari Emanuel vowed never to work with Gibson again. Sources tell me he has not changed his mind.

Many other studio chiefs and agents, as well as actors, will have nothing to do with Gibson. At the Golden Globes dinner in the Beverly Hilton, Gibson and his much younger babymama were kept out of the way of the main stars on the floor.

“Hacksaw Ridge” was independently produced, and released through Lions Gate. Gibson’s next movie, “The Professor and the Madman,” is directed by Farhad Safinia, who worked on Gibson’s “Apocalypto,” It’s produced through Gibson’s Icon Productions. Another project with still no details is “Berserker” with his “Braveheart” collaborator Randall Wallace. Again, it will be indie.

What you won’t be seeing is Mel in romantic comedies with the likes of Jennifer Lawrence or Jessica Chastain. I doubt you’ll even see him with Julia Roberts. Gibson’s baggage is still with him, and it’s not going away.

By the way, “Hacksaw Ridge” made $65 million in the US. If it hadn’t been for foreign sales of $92 million, “Hacksaw” would have been a total loser.

Paris Jackson Says She Was Sexually Assaulted at 14– -Where Were Here Guardians?

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Paris Jackson says she was sexually assaulted at age 14 in a new interview with Rolling Stone. Michael Jackson’s daughter tells the magazine a few other surprising things, but this should be the most alarming. She was 14 in 2012, the same year she helped stop the “kidnapping” of her guardian, grandmother Katherine Jackson, by her uncles and aunts.

Paris was living with her grandmother and brothers in a gated community. That this terrible thing happened to her speaks volumes about how neglectful the adult supervision was for Michael Jackson’s kids three years after the superstar’s death. A year later Paris would attempt suicide. She says she tried this three times until she was sent to a school in Utah that saved her life.

She recalls: “I don’t wanna give too many details. But it was not a good experience at all, and it was really hard for me, and, at the time, I didn’t tell anybody.”

Paris has always seemed like a great, precocious, lively girl ever since she stepped forward and spoke at her father’s funeral in 2009. Until her final suicide attempt and removal to Utah she’d built up a million followers on Twitter. She seemed older than her years. Once she went to Utah, she dropped all social media. When she returned, a new more self confident Paris appeared.

She says: “I was crazy. I was actually crazy. I was going through a lot of, like, teen angst. And I was also dealing with my depression and my anxiety without any help.”

Thank goodness she was able to triumph through this pain. Paris also tells Rolling Stone she’s convinced Michael Jackson was “murdered.” She also insists that Michael was her biological father. That last part doesn’t matter one way or another. Jackson was clearly the father of his children and nothing else matters.

“I consider myself black,” she says, adding later that her dad “would look me in the eyes and he’d point his finger at me and he’d be like, ‘You’re black. Be proud of your roots.’ And I’d be like, ‘OK, he’s my dad, why would he lie to me?’ So I just believe what he told me. ‘Cause, to my knowledge, he’s never lied to me.

What seemed rather sad in the interview is that Paris (and this is likely true for her siblings) doesn’t seem to acknowledge any adult influence in her life. She’s living with her boyfriend in the recording studio at Hayvenhurst, a house still owned by her father’s estate but not really habitable. Unlike brother Prince, she’s skipped college entirely. Her Rolling Stone cover seems like the opening salvo in a quest for fame without substance, a la her neighbors the Kardashians. She already has all the money she’ll ever need. Let’s hope she finds happiness and gets what she wants. She deserves it.

Meryl Streep Scores 20th Oscar Nomination, But Amy Adams, Annette Bening Are Shut Out

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The Oscar nominations were hardest in the Best Actress category this morning. Annette Bening and Amy Adams, who’d been on everyone’s lists and did tremendous work in “20th Century Women” and “Arrival” respectively, were shut out.

It seems like their spots went to Ruth Negga for “Loving,” and Meryl Streep, for “Florence Foster Jenkins.”

For Streep, this is her record breaking, historic 20th Oscar nomination. She started in 1979 with a nod for Best Supporting Actress in “The Deer Hunter.” The next year she won Best Supporting Actress for “Kramer vs. Kramer.”  She won the Oscar in 1983 for Best Actress in “Sophie’s Choice.” What followed was 12 more nominations with no wins. Finally she won again in 2012 for “Iron Lady” playing Margaret Thatcher.

Streep’s artistic triumphs cannot be denied. It’s pretty hard to be a living legend, but she handles it with grace and humor, and an occasional martini. What’s really admirable about her is that she sees herself, rightly, as guiding light and a moral compass for Hollywood. Her speech at the Golden Globes was stunning and perfectly put. I expect we’ll see and hear a lot more of her activism in the years — or maybe months– to come.