Here's the Scoop...
Stephen Colbert hosted a Daily Show reunion on The Late Show Tuesday that brought back together Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Samantha Bee, Ed Helms and Rob Corddry. I've never watched any of these shows, but I am aware of these very funny, talented folks. John Oliver was great on NBC's 'Community'.
"This arrangement we have right now is exactly something we would have made fun of on The Daily Show - because it looks like a morning show right now," Colbert joked as the former castmates gathered around together to tell stories from their time on the satirical news program.
Colbert who started on The Daily Show in 1997 before moving onto The Colbert Report and now The Late Show, also shared clips from the group's early field pieces that included Corddry dressing up in a leotard to investigate the Spider-Man craze, Helms getting a mole removed, Oliver tripping and breaking his nose news during a Civil War reenactment and Bee learning about gay penguins.
"I would spend days with the worst homophobes, and sometimes the worst people you could possibly imagine, and you have to get them to engage in this big sketch that you've done," Bee said of how she was afraid of physical confrontation during filming of the field pieces.
"You've taken three airplanes to get there, and you need them to give you some content, and you have to be nice to them all day," the Full Frontal host continued.
At one point, Stewart, while admiring his former castmates joked, "Why has age ravaged me? "You were the ones out in the field. I'm in a studio surrounded by craft services, yet in a Benjamin Button scenario, I'm at the beginning of the movie, and you all seem fine. I find this very peculiar."
The reunion also included Stewart making a large Italian sub for current Daily Show host Trevor Noah, Colbert and Stewart discussing the recent firing of FBI director James Comey and a comedy sketch that looked back at Colbert's last days working on The Daily Show.
Be Well,
Steve
Comments? Questions? Nooz?
Email Steve
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Richard Simmons sues National Enquirer over sex-change story
Richard Simmons is taking the company behind The National Enquirer and Radar Online to court over a series of stories that claim the fitness guru is undergoing a sex-change.
"This case is about a particularly egregious and hurtful campaign of defamations and privacy invasions, falsely asserting that Mr. Simmons is transitioning from a male to a female, including 'shocking sex surgery,' breast implants, hormone treatments and consultations on medical castration," the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against American Media Inc. on Monday states.
Simmons' lawsuit also calls the stories "offensive" as the 68-year-old "fully supports individual autonomy and the essential human dignity of every person to make his or her own personal choices regarding sexual identity."
"The National Enquirer and Radar Online have cheaply and crassly commercialized and sensationalized an issue that ought to be treated with respect and sensitivity," it continues.
In a statement to NBC News, American Media Inc. stated that they will defend themselves "vigorously" noting, "We stand by our reporting about him, all of which was based on solid sourcing and material evidence."
In response, Simmons' manager Michael Catalano added, "People have a right to privacy, and just because someone is a public figure doesn't mean their right to privacy is gone."
The lawsuit also labels Simmons' former associate Mauro Oliveira has having pitched the ideas for the stories to The National Enquirer while he blackmailed his former employer. "While pitching around these ideas, Mr. Oliveira was simultaneously blackmailing Mr. Simmons, sending him emails and threatening to destroy his reputation with damaging press coverage unless Mr. Simmons paid Mr. Oliveira to stop," the complaint says.
According to Simmons, Oliveira had previously sold several stories to the publication about the reason behind his absence from the public eye since February 2014.
Simmons in April shared with his fans on Facebook an update on his health and well-being assuring fans that he was healthy despite his recent medical issues and his absence from the public eye. That same month, he was hospitalized for three days to treat "severe indigestion" before returning home.
2018 Grammy Awards ceremony to take place at NYC's Madison Square Garden
The 2018 Grammy Awards ceremony is to take place Jan. 28 at Madison Square Garden in New York, The Recording Academy announced Tuesday.
The gala honoring excellence across all genres of music will be broadcast on CBS.
"While we're best known for Music's Biggest Night, we serve the music community year-round, and a large part of that community is alive and thriving in New York City and on the East Coast," Recording Academy President/Chief Executive Officer Neil Portnow said in a statement. "As a native New Yorker and lifelong supporter of the city's vibrant arts scene, I couldn't be more excited to return in 2018 and celebrate 60 years of honoring the best of the best in recorded sound in the world-class venue that is Madison Square Garden."
Madison Square Garden last played host to the Grammy Awards in 2003. The ceremony has taken place in Los Angeles at Staples Center for the past 14 years.
"Madison Square Garden is extremely honored to host the 60th anniversary of the Grammy Awards when they return to The Garden for the third time in their history," added James L. Dolan, executive chairman of the Madison Square Garden Company. "MSG has been the site of many of the most legendary and enduring moments in music history -- and we think the 2018 Grammys will be a perfect addition to that great legacy. We are thankful to Mayor de Blasio and all of those who worked so hard to make this return possible."
LOOSE LIPS:
"I feel lucky I started working at 15 - it's been almost 10 years. I feel like a geezer!"
--Karlie Kloss, on her modeling career, to InStyle
??? Guess Who ???
Which 'Downton Abbey' castmember will star in the Broadway revival of 'Time and the Conways'?
Sarah Michelle Gellar says she struggled with postpartum depression
Sarah Michelle Gellar struggled with postpartum depression following the birth of her first child.
The 40-year-old actress said in an Instagram post Tuesday that she sought help for the condition after delivering daughter Charlotte with husband Freddie Prinze, Jr., in 2012.
"Having kids is wonderful, and life changing, and rarely what you're prepared for. I love my children more than anything in the world. But like a lot of women, I too struggled with postpartum depression after my first baby was born," Gellar wrote.
"I got help, and made it through, and every day since has been the best gift I could ever have asked for. To those of you going through this know that you're not alone and that it really does get better," she added.
Gellar and Prinze, who married in 2002, also share 4-year-old son Rocky. The actress discussed the pressures and challenges of being a working mom in an interview with People in April 2016.
"I feel like home and work balance is an ever evolving process. Most importantly, wherever I am, I know I need to give 100 percent of myself," she said.
"When I am at home, I need to put the phone down and be focused, and when I am at work, that deserves my undivided attention," the star added. "I also need to acknowledge that I am only human, and at times I am spread too thin and need to give myself a moment of down time."
Gellar is known for playing the title character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and has since starred on Ringer and The Crazy Ones. She said in a Build interview in April that she doesn't think Buffy would work well as a revival.
Abby Lee Miller of 'Dance Moms' sentenced to prison in fraud case
Reality star Abby Lee Miller is headed to prison for bankruptcy fraud.
Deadline reported the former Dance Moms star was sentenced Tuesday to one year and one day in prison after being indicted in October 2015 on 20 counts of fraud, including concealment of bankruptcy assets and false bankruptcy declarations.
Miller's prison stint will be followed by two years of supervised release, federal judge Joy Flowers Conti ruled in a Pittsburgh courtroom. The star will also have to pay a fine of $40,000 and $120,000 judgement for a currency reporting violation charge from June.
Miller was facing up to 30 months in prison after pleading guilty in June to bankruptcy fraud. Sources told People the star will "realistically" serve 10 months of her sentence and be released to a halfway house.
"Throughout this case, Ms. Miller has taken both the allegations and the proceedings very seriously," her attorney, Robert Ridge, said in June. "This has been a challenging time for Ms. Miller. She appreciates the words of encouragement and support from around the world."
Miller quit Dance Moms in March after six seasons with the Lifetime series, saying she was "disrespected and used" by producers. She later claimed after having gastric sleeve surgery that producers kept her overweight during her time on the show.
??? Guess Who ???
Which 'Downton Abbey' castmember will star in the Broadway revival of 'Time and the Conways'?
Elizabeth McGovern is to star in Time and the Conways when the play returns to Broadway this fall for the first time since its premiere in 1938.
The Roundabout Theatre Company said additional casting and the design team will be announced soon.
The revival of J.B. Priestley's drama will be directed by Rebecca Taichman, a current, Tony nominee who made her Broadway debut this season with Indecent.
Time and the Conways is scheduled to begin preview performances on September 14, with an official opening night planned for October 10. The production is a limited engagement, set to play through November 26 at the American Airlines Theatre.
Best known for her work on TV's Downton Abbey, McGovern made her Roundabout debut playing Ophelia in the 1992 production of Hamlet.
"In 1919 Britain, Mrs. Conway is full of optimism during her daughter's lavish, 21st birthday celebration," press notes explain. "The Great War is over, wealth is in the air, and the family's dreams bubble over like champagne. Jump 19 years into the future, though, and the Conways' lives have transformed unimaginably. This time-traveling play by J.B. Priestley takes place at the crossroads of today and tomorrow -- challenging our notions of choice, chance and destiny."