You’ll Shoot Your Eyes Out: Fans of “A Christmas Story” celebrate the 25th anniversary of the holiday movie

From the Associated Press, by way of Yahoo! News:

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.ap.org-christmas-story-fans-celebrate-films-25th-year-ap

TV Viewership Hits All-Time Highs

As reported by Television Week:

http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/tvbizwire/2008/11/tv_viewership_hits_alltime_hig.php

From Media Life Magazine: The reality craze is over for broadcast TV

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Television_44/Reality_craze_is_over_for_broadcast_TV.asp

Unhappy People Watch More TV

From LiveScience.com, by way of Yahoo! News:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20081115/sc_livescience/unhappypeoplewatchlotsmoretv/print;_ylt=ArfedCSbx8ElX9L8U3gFyBOzvtEF

Wally Cleaver Makes the Louvre

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2008/11/tony-dow.html

TV’s All-Time Top 20 Punching Bags

From Mike Stivic to Al Bundy, from Ted Baxter to George Costanza. See how many you agree with:

http://www.bullz-eye.com/television/features/2008/tv_punching_bags.htm

Producer, Philanthropist and Minorities Advocate Loreen Arbus to Serve as Honorary Chair for the Cerebal Palsy International Research Foundation “Power Heroes” Gala

First Annual Event Salutes African-Americans Dedicated to Serving the African-American Community and Will Launch New Research Iniatitive

October 16, 2008 (Beverly Hills, CA)  – Loreen Arbus, TV pioneer, philanthropist, minorities advocate, author, and daughter of Isabelle and Leonard H. Goldenson, Co-Founders of Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation (CPIRF) (formerly known as United Cerebral Palsy Research and Educational Foundation (UCPREF)), will be Honorary Chair of the First Annual Power Heroes Gala on Wednesday, December 3, 2008 at The Four Seasons Hotel, Los Angeles. The evening will highlight African American role models who are committed to educating, mentoring, and empowering those in need in the African American community.  Proceeds from the event will launch CPIRF’s new research initiative to prevent and treat cerebral palsy in the African American population.

 

Power Hero honorees of the evening will include: John Amos, Emmy nominated and NAACP Image Award winning actor; power couple Angela Bassett, Emmy & Academy Award nominated, Golden Globe winning actress and husband, Courtney B. Vance, two-time Tony Award nominated actor both of whom are authors and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors for the United States; Valerie Erwin, President of the Ray Charles Foundation; Paula Madison, Executive Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer, NBC Universal, and Areva Martin, Esq., Managing Partner Martin & Martin LLP, President and Co-Founder of the Special Needs Network, Inc.

 

Honorary Chairs include: Charles Floyd Johnson producer, writer, director; Anne Johnson Red Cross volunteer extraordinaire; Taryn Rose, orthopedic surgeon, entrepreneur and luxury shoe designer; Shelley E. Reid, philanthropist, Senior Vice-President Fox Television Studios.

 

A partial list of Dinner Committee members who support CPIRF’S cutting edge advances include:  Mark Canton, Don Cheadle, Susan and David Gersh, First Lady of Nevada, Dawn Gibbons, Louis Gossett, Jr., Julius Irving, LaTanya and Samuel L. Jackson, Barbara Lazaroff, Barbara, Lockhart, Nancy Moonves, Joanna and Sidney Poitier, Arleen Sorkin and Christopher Lloyd, Blair Underwood, Keisha and Forest Whitaker, Terrie Williams, Tonya and David Winfield, Pauletta and Denzel Washington, Alfre Woodard and Roderick Spencer.

 

CPIRF’s goal is to raise awareness about the nature and cause of racial disparities in the prevalence of Cerebral Palsy and related developmental disorders. Recently published surveillance studies by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta indicate the prevalence of cerebral palsy and other disabilities is highest among African-American children.  The reasons for this are unknown, making research a necessity.

 

For tickets or additional information regarding the CPIRF Power Heroes Gala, please  contact Pam Sakow at (323) 525-1275 or email pam@sakowevents.com. Individual tickets are available for $350 on up to $1000, with tables and sponsorships ranging from $7,500 to $150,000. For more information about CPIRF please visit www.cpirf.org or contact Mindy Aisen, CEO, Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation maisen@cpirf.org.

There’s always a TV connection

Rep. Rahm Emaneul (D-Ill.), recently selected as chief of staff to President-elect Barack Obama, was reportedly the inspiration for Josh Lyman, the deputy chief of staff character played by Bradley Whitford on TV’s The West Wing.… while his brother, Ari, an L.A. talent agent, is reportedly the inspiration behind Ari Gold, the character played by Emmy winner Jeremy Piven in HBO’s Entourage.

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/07/MN6C13VKH5.DTL&hw=rahm+emanuel&sn=001&sc=1000

For Election Day: Parade’s Presidential Culture Quiz

In case you missed it, here’s a pop quiz on presidents (real and fictional) that Bill O’Reilly did for Parade Magazine a few months back. O’Reilly’s politics aside, it’s still a fun quiz!

http://www.parade.com/export/sites/default/quiz/bill-oreilly-presidential-culture/index.html

For Election Day: Top 10 Most Unusual Occupations for a TV Character

Today being Election Day, I thought I’d share another one of the ”Top 10″ lists related to classic television that I used to do for The Ronn Owens Program and The Tony Trupiano Show. Be sure to check out No. 1… and of course, if you’d like to add to this list, by all means you’re invited to do so. In the meantime, enjoy!

Top 10 Most Unusual Occupations for a TV Character
(occupations other than cop, lawyer, private eye or doctor)
10. Letter Turner (Vanna White, Wheel of Fortune)
9. Shoe salesman (Al Bundy, Married . . . with Children)
8. College football coach (Hayden Fox, Coach)
7. Radio talk show host (tie) (Frasier Crane, Frasier; Janey Munroe, Talk to Me; Larry Alder, Hello, Larry) 6. Manager of a public television station (Steven Keaton, Family Ties)
5. Secret agent (Maxwell Smart, Get Smart)
3. (tie) Propane salesman (Hank Hill, King of the Hill; Nuclear power plant worker (Homer Simpson, The Simpsons)
2. Mortician (Herman Munster, The Munsters)
1. President of the United States (tie) (David Palmer, 24; Mackenzie Allen, Commander in Chief; Josiah Bartlett, The West Wing; Samuel Tresch, Mr. President; George W. Bush, That’s My Bush and Li’l Bush)
Ed Robertson
Co-Host, TV CONFIDENTIAL
Every other Tuesday at 10:30pm ET, 7:30pm PT
Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
www.tvconfidential.net
blog.tvconfidential.net
Also available as a podcast via iTunes