Category: Entertainment

It would probably be more accurate to say “new music is killing new music,” but …

“The 200 most popular new tracks now regularly account for less than 5 percent of total streams. That rate was twice as high just three years ago. Old songs now represent 70 percent of the U.S. music market. Even worse: The new-music market is actually shrinking.”

“The declining TV audience for the Grammy show underscores this shift. In 2021, viewership for the ceremony collapsed 53 percent from the previous year—from 18.7 million to 8.8 million. It was the least-watched Grammy broadcast of all time. A decade ago, 40 million people watched the Grammy Awards.”

With many of the public figures that we note the passing of, our reaction is “Why did they die so soon?” We may even experience denial or disbelief, and have to read the report at several sources before we consider it credible. Guys like Norm Macdonald and Bob Saget just seemed like they had a lot more laughs left in them, and they even looked too young to die. Even fuckin’ Screech, although we were through with him, seemed to have decades of mileage left on his tires.

That’s not true of Louie. In fact, I thought the opposite when I read the headlines: “How the hell did that guy ever live to be 68?” If you compare him to male celebrities of a comparable generation and body heft, his longevity was downright miraculous. John Candy was just a bit older than Louis, and Chris Farley was a decade younger, but they left us long ago. That said, don’t get me wrong. I loved the guy, as did so many others. He seemed like a kind and gentle soul, and I certainly didn’t want him to die.

I was just surprised that it took so long.

Other inappropriate remarks:

• If the Grim Reaper just had to claim two obese, 70ish guys this week, I guess I was willing to accept Mr. Loaf as one of them, but Louis Anderson would not have been among my choices.
• It is surely a demonstration of the power of cancer, that it could get this guy before he died of heart disease, lung disease or diabetes.

Mr. Loaf was 74. Mr. Loaf’s main collaborator, songwriter/producer Jim Steinman, just died a few months ago.

The first Bat out of Hell album is one of the top-selling albums in history (14 million or more)

I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That), from Bat II, reached #1 on the singles chart in 28 countries.

Mr. Loaf’s real name was Marvin Aday, but he changed it because he wanted to make it on his own rather than riding on the coattails of his brother, One, the famous vitamin magnate.

By the way, there is no truth to the rumor that Mr. Loaf left behind instructions that he should be stuffed and mounted, like Trigger the Wonder Horse. And I should know. I started the rumor.

That reminds me of the grief and shock I felt after that one episode of Roy Rogers where Trigger the Wonder Horse stomped Bullet the Wonder Dog to death.

Apparently there is a lot of jealousy in the wonder beast community.

“I am absolutely thrilled that Daniel Radcliffe will be portraying me in the film. I have no doubt whatsoever that this is the role future generations will remember him for.”

Dwayne Hickman has passed away at 87

Dobie Gillis was my favorite show back in the day, and one of my projects in the early COVID months was to binge-watch all four seasons of Dobie. The show gave us two things to remember. The first is one of the most memorable and beloved characters in TV history, the dumb but lovable Maynard G. Krebs, a clueless beatnik played by a pre-Gilligan Bob Denver – and played very well, indeed, with just the right combination of slapstick, pathos and clever wordplay. The second legacy of “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” was the women who played those many loves. You must certainly remember Tuesday Weld if you are of the age, because she was spectacularly sexy and appeared in many episodes as the unattainable Thalia Menninger. You may not remember some of the honest-to-god real actresses who spent part of their youth being pursued by Dobie and inevitably dumping him, like Ellen Burstyn and Sally Kellerman.

It must have been a complete surprise. He was on the first 2022 date of an extended tour. You might say his act killed!

You know that Bob played a typical TV dad in a wholesome TV show. You may not realize that other comics consider him one of the funniest stand-ups and the absolute filthiest.

He was a legitimate film scholar, and his directorial career got off to a tremendous start, but the combination of his arrogance and some career flops eventually consigned him to a kind of Hollywood oblivion where he was respected for his former achievements, but not frequently sought for collaboration.

One of the oddest elements of his life was his relationship with playmate-turned-actress Dorothy Stratten and her much younger sister, Louise. His affair with the married, 20-year-old Dorothy contributed to her demise at the hands of her jealous estranged husband, then his affair with Louise resulted in their wedding when he was 49, she 20.

Even Solomon in all his glory was not so arrayed.

As often happens with entertainment figures, the Hollywood Reporter did a great obit

Heather Graham, she ain’t

Parker is 56, Graham 51

She almost made it to 100.

What more is there to say beyond noting that she was one of the most-loved performers in the world, whose sassy appeal cut across all generations.

2021 was a bad year for the MTM show. In addition to Sue Ann Nivens, this year also took Phyllis, Mr. Grant and Murray.

“Seldom has Hollywood built someone up and then thrown him aside more quickly than Klinton Spilsbury. This is a tough town, but he got a kind of instant dose of just how cruel it can be. Must’ve been incredibly difficult. If I’d been in his shoes, I might’ve stopped acting, too.”

There is really nobody to compare Spilsbury to. George Lazenby, like Spilsbury, got only one shot at an iconic lead role in a big-budget film. But Lazenby merely screwed up his chance at international superstardom. He was a successful actor before and after his turn as 007. Spilsbury, in contrast, was completely unknown when he was cast – and never worked again. To make matters worse, his voice never appeared in the film at all. The filmmakers were so disappointed with his line readings that they hired James Keach to dub the entire role.

The only kinda-sorta comparable person I can think of is Kurt Thomas, the gymnast who tried to become an actor. He got the lead in Gymkata, then faded back into the athletic world. But two significant things make him different from Spilsbury:

(1) he was an athlete trying to act and failing. Spilsbury was an actor trying to act and failing.

(2) Gymkata was not a high-profile film, and Thomas’s role was not one that was coveted by all of Hollywood.

Springsteen sells his masters and catalog for $550M.

Dylan got $325M, Paul Simon $250M.

Spider-Man: No Way Home scores the second-best domestic opening in cinematic history with a $260 million domestic haul.

(Endgame, in the #1 spot, is perched unassailably high on the chart.)

Other key facts:

• It is the best December opening in history.
• Ol’ Spidey nearly tripled the previous pandemic-era record for an opening weekend, which was held by Venom: Let There Be Carnage with a mere $90M.

NYC is in the midst of a massive wave of COVID, reportedly including some cast members. The show went on, but with a skeleton crew, no audience, and no musical guest. It was basically just Paul Rudd, Tom Hanks, Michael Che, Tina Fey and Kenan Thompson for the entire show. (Hanks and Fey welcomed Rudd to the Five-Timers Club.) Che referenced the fact that the actual cast members in attendance were 100% black.

Weekend Update consisted of the Che and Fey show, with the two anchors sitting on folding chairs, sans desk. The other three people mentioned above acted as a makeshift audience.

It was fortunate that they had quite a few taped segments to pad out some time, and they filled out the rest of the show with vintage clips.

The New York Post reported

A set insider has revealed that “four actors” have tested positive for coronavirus — and “three others” have called out because they are now “fearful” about coming to NBC Studios at 30 Rockefeller Center, where the weekly sketch show is filmed in Midtown.

The best screenplays that movie studios passed on throughout the year.

Not surprising. I don’t believe he’s ever seen a woman naked past her 25th birthday.

You probably know him as a Monkee, but he was a pretty fair songwriter. His “Different Drum” helped rocket Linda Ronstadt to fame.

Mickey Dolenz, the last living Monkee, Tweeted for all of us:

Stephen Sondheim, master of musical theater, dead at 91