September 18, 2019
Arsenio Hall announced his new Netflix standup comedy special, Smart & Classy, on his social media channels Tuesday. I'm tuning in! Smart & Classy premieres Oct. 29.
"There's nothing more important than laughter," Hall says in his video. He also dubs the sound of flatulence after he announces the title Smart & Classy.
Hall, a stand-up comedian and talk show host, hosted The Arsenio Hall Show from 1989-1994. The talk show was credited for influencing President Bill Clinton's election, as he reached a young audience playing the saxophone with Hall's band. A revival of his talk show lasted one season from 2013-2014.
During the '80s Hall was friends with Eddie Murphy and appeared in the film Coming to America. Hall returns as Prince Akeem's (Murphy) companion Semmi for the forthcoming sequel Coming 2 America, also for Netflix.
Hall won the 2013 season of Celebrity Apprentice and has also appeared as a guest co-host on The View and Access Hollywood Live.
A Netflix press release says Hall will touch on subjects such as performing stand-up in the current political climate, his role in Coming to America, his time on Celebrity Apprentice and drugs in Smart & Classy.
'Jeopardy!' host Alex Trebek to undergo second round of chemotherapy
Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek announced on Good Morning America Tuesday that he has to undergo a second round of chemotherapy to deal with his stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
Trebek's announcement comes after the 79-year-old said in August that he had finished chemotherapy and was on the mend. He had also started production on Season 36 of Jeopardy!
"I was doing so well and my numbers went down to the equivalent of a normal human being who does not have pancreatic cancer," he said to ABC News' T.J. Holmes on GMA about how he initially thought he was done with chemotherapy.
"I lost about 12 pounds in a week and my numbers went sky high, much higher than they were when I was first diagnosed. So the doctors have decided that I have to undergo chemo again and that's what I'm doing."
Trebek also discussed how this ordeal has caused him pain, fatigue and depression. "Cancer is mysterious in more ways than one," Trebek said before mentioning how the thought of dying does not frighten him.
"I'm 79-years-old. I've had one hell of a good life and I've enjoyed it. The thought of passing on doesn't frighten me, it doesn't. Other things do, the affect it will have on my loved ones yes that bothers me, it makes me sad. But the thought of myself moving on, hey folks, it comes with the territory."
Trebek first announced his cancer diagnosis in March.
NBCUniversal announces Peacock streaming service with 'Saved by the Bell' reboot
NBCUniversal announced on Tuesday that its planned streaming service has been dubbed Peacock and will launch in April 2020 with 15,000 hours of content.
The platform will be ad-supported with subscription options also available to consumers. Pricing details will be announced at a later date.
Peacock, named after NBC's logo, will contain a mix of original programs, reboots of classic shows, fan-favorite series, films from Universal Pictures, content from DreamWorks Animation and Telmundo, news, sports, reality programming and late night talk shows.
NBCUniversal is planning reboots of Saved by the Bell, starring original cast members Mario Lopez and Elizabeth Berkley, who are also producing; sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica and a Punky Brewster sequel series with original star Soleil Moon Frye.
Other original shows will include an adaptation of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, Dr. Death based on the podcast of the same name starring Jamie Dornan, Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater; comedy Rutherford Falls starring Ed Helms; pilot Straight Talk starring Jada Pinkett Smith; late night series The Amber Ruffin Show and a Saturday Night Live docuseries titled Who Wrote That.
Peacock will be the exclusive streaming home of The Office starting in 2021 after it leaves Netflix. Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock, Bates Motel, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Cheers, Frasier, Everybody Loves Raymond, Downton Abbey, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Married...With Children, Saturday Night Live, The Real Housewives, Top Chef, Will & Grace and many more make up the classic television offerings.
The film catalogue will include franchises Fast & Furious, Bourne and Back to the Future along with Bridesmaids, American Pie, Meet the Parents, E.T., Jaws, Mamma Mia, Shrek, The Breakfast Club, Do the Right Thing, Field of Drams and more.
The second Psych film, titled Psych 2: Lassie Come Home, will also appear on Peacock.
"The name Peacock pays homage to the quality content that audiences have come to expect from NBCUniversal - whether it's culture-defining dramas form innovative creators like Sam Esmail, laugh-out-loud comedies from legends like Lorne Michaels and Mike Schur, blockbusters from Universal Pictures, or buzzy unscripted programming from the people who do it best at Bravo and E!," chairman of direct-to-consumer and digital enterprises Bonnie Hammer said in a statement.
"Peacock will be the go-to place for both the timely and timeless -- from can't miss Olympic moments and the 2020 election, to classic fan favorites like The Office," she continued.
Peacock is the latest new streaming service set to debut following platforms from Apple with Apple TV+ on Nov. 1, Disney's Disney+ on Nov. 12 and WarnerMedia's HBO Max in Spring 2020.
LOOSE LIPS:
"I take it seriously because when I was younger, I wanted to change everything about myself. I didn't love who I was. And the reason I didn't love who I was is because I was told I wasn't lovable by the media, by [people at] school, by not seeing myself in beauty ads, by not seeing myself in television ... by lack of representation. My self-hatred got so bad that I was fantasizing about being other people. But you can't live your life trying to be somebody else. What's the point?"
--Lizzo, on why the confidence she exudes in her performances is so important to her and how she's become the representation she needed growing up, in her cover story for ELLE' Women in Music issue
??? Guess Who ???
Which singer and actress is releasing her first new single in 10 years?
'SNL' fires Shane Gillis due to 'offensive, hurtful and unacceptable' comments
Saturday Night Live fired Shane Gillis Monday after videos surfaced in which he used gay and racial slurs, and made other disparaging comments.
An SNL representative issued a statement to CNN on behalf of creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels, announcing the dismissal of Gillis, one of the show's recent hires. The statement apologizes for not uncovering the videos during its vetting process.
"After talking with Shane Gillis, we have decided that he will not be joining SNL," the representative said. "We want SNL to have a variety of voices and points of view within the show and we hired Shane on the strength of his talent as a comedian and his impressive audition for SNL. We were not aware of his prior remarks that have surfaced over the past few days. The language he used is offensive, hurtful and unacceptable. We are sorry that we did not see these clips earlier and that our vetting process was not up to our standard."
Gillis wrote a statement on Twitter discussing his dismissal and thanking the show for the opportunity.
"I'm a comedian who was funny enough to get SNL. That can't be taken away," he wrote. "Of course I wanted an opportunity to prove myself at SNL, but I understand it would be too much of a distraction. I respect the decision they made. I'm honestly grateful for the opportunity."
He previously responded to his comments in the video on Thursday, writing that he is "a comedian who pushes boundaries."
"If you go through my 10 years of comedy, most of it bad, you're going to find a lot of bad misses," he wrote. "I'm happy to apologize to anyone who's actually offended by anything I've said."
Al Roker to undergo hip replacement surgery
Today weather anchor Al Roker will undergo hip replacement surgery.
Roker, 65, confirmed Tuesday on Today that he will have hip resurfacing surgery Wednesday after experiencing pain and osteoarthritis.
"I started feeling this twinge in my hip - and then my back was acting up," Roker said. "It seems like my hip went fairly quickly."
"All of a sudden, in the last three months, my left hip has been deteriorating," he added on the show.
Roker said his pain is tolerable but needs to be addressed.
"It's not like I'm crying at night, but, you know, it hurts," he told his co-hosts.
Roker expects to return to Today by the end of the month. His sister, Alisa Smith, is also having both of her hips replaced.
Roker celebrated his 24th wedding anniversary with his wife, Deborah Roberts, Monday ahead of his surgery. He marked the occasion by sharing wedding photos on Instagram.
"And 24 years ago today, @debrobertsabc changed my life forever and I am forever grateful. #happyanniversary to the most wonderful #mom #friend #wife #partner," Roker captioned the post.
Roker previously underwent back surgery in 2005 and knee surgery in 2016.
??? Guess Who ???
Which singer and actress is releasing her first new single in 10 years?
Mandy Moore is back with new music.
The 35-year-old singer and actress shared a single and music video Monday for her song "When I Wasn't Watching."
The video shows stylized shots of Moore singing and floating in a pool in a red dress. Moore sings about losing herself and reflecting on what kind of person she's become.
"I think everyone's had the experience of feeling lost and not quite understanding how you've found yourself at a certain point in your life," Moore said in a statement. "And I think the key is not to judge yourself for that."
"I'm a big believer in the idea that what you've journeyed through is ultimately going to factor into the person you become, and how you'll greet whatever big challenge you face next," she added.
"When I Wasn't Watching" marks Moore's first new original single in 10 years. She released a cover of the Little Feat song "Willin'" in 2017 for the This is Us soundtrack.
Moore told The New York Times in February that her ex-husband, Ryan Adams, was emotionally abusive during their marriage and negatively impacted her music career.
"His controlling behavior essentially did block my ability to make new connections in the industry during a very pivotal and potentially lucrative time -- my entire mid-to-late 20s," she said of Adams.
Moore released her debut studio album, So Real, at age 15 in 1999. Her most recent album, Amanda Leigh, debuted in May 2009.
Moore plays Rebecca Pearson on the NBC series This is Us, which returns for a fourth season Sept. 24. Moore's co-star Milo Ventimiglia teased the season in August, saying the world expands.
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