Robert De Niro took the stage at the Kennedy Center on Sunday and, looking out at the balcony box where honoree Billy Crystal was sitting, told him of his career, “I had no idea you had done so much. And you’ve done it all in such a relatively short amount of time. You’re only 75. That means you’re just about six years away from being the perfect age to be elected president.”
The joke got some of the biggest audience cheers of the night — and a laugh from President Joe Biden, 81, embarking on a re-election campaign where his chronological advantage is, based on polls, top of mind to voters and the source of some doubts.
It was also one of a few references to age throughout Sunday evening’s Kennedy Center Honors which, in addition to Crystal, honored opera singer Renée Fleming, hip hop star and actress Queen Latifah,...
The joke got some of the biggest audience cheers of the night — and a laugh from President Joe Biden, 81, embarking on a re-election campaign where his chronological advantage is, based on polls, top of mind to voters and the source of some doubts.
It was also one of a few references to age throughout Sunday evening’s Kennedy Center Honors which, in addition to Crystal, honored opera singer Renée Fleming, hip hop star and actress Queen Latifah,...
- 12/4/2023
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
If I was a producer, I too would have changed the title of my movie from The Creature from Galaxy 27 to Night of the Blood Beast (1958); of course, Roger Corman being that producer means there’s a good chance that the dollar is stretched a little thinner even as the talent is recognized. And this one doesn’t disappoint; Night of the Blood Beast is similar to many of the other Cold War paranoia thrillers of the day in all ways but one: as far as I can tell, this is the first sci-fi film to deal with male impregnation. Take that, O’Bannon and Cronenberg.
Released by American International Pictures (home of Corman and his co-producer brother Gene) in December, Night went out on a double bill with She Gods of Shark Reef, stretching that buck even further. And of course it worked, making back its bones through drive-ins...
Released by American International Pictures (home of Corman and his co-producer brother Gene) in December, Night went out on a double bill with She Gods of Shark Reef, stretching that buck even further. And of course it worked, making back its bones through drive-ins...
- 1/23/2021
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
This Friday will see the release of a horror film called “Flatliners,” a movie title that should be instantly familiar to anyone who spent the ’90s trawling the shelves of their local video store in search of something — anything — to watch that weekend. Perhaps best remembered as the crusty VHS that was always sandwiched between “The Fisher King” and “Fried Green Tomatoes,” the original “Flatliners” was an asinine but atmospheric psychological horror thing that starred Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon, Oliver Platt, and Billy Baldwin as foolhardy med students who start experimenting with life after death. Nothing goes wrong and they all live happily ever after.
Now, perhaps motivated by the fact that the mere act of making a movie in 2017 feels like an experiment with life after death, Hollywood is about to unleash a remake starring Ellen Page, Diego Luna, Nina Dobrev, James Norton, and Kiersey Clemons. Directed by Niels Arden Oplev,...
Now, perhaps motivated by the fact that the mere act of making a movie in 2017 feels like an experiment with life after death, Hollywood is about to unleash a remake starring Ellen Page, Diego Luna, Nina Dobrev, James Norton, and Kiersey Clemons. Directed by Niels Arden Oplev,...
- 9/26/2017
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Alex Rocco, a veteran character actor most famous for starring in Hollywood classic "The Godfather," has died. He was 79.
Rocco's daughter, Jennifer Rocco, revealed the actor's passing in a series of Facebook posts, writing that her father passed away on July 18 after a long, private battle with cancer. Jennifer Rocco thanked his fans for their support, writing, "I know he is watching over us."
Alex Rocco's prolific career spanned decades, but the actor became synonymous with "The Godfather," the 1972 Oscar-winning film in which he played casino owner Moe Greene. In a 2012 interview with The A.V. Club, Rocco said that that role was "without a doubt, my biggest ticket anywhere. I mean that literally."
Rocco parlayed that fame into a lengthy, eclectic resume in both film and television. He starred most recently on Starz series "Magic City," "Episodes," and "Maron," and also appeared on shows including "The Simpsons," "The Facts of Life,...
Rocco's daughter, Jennifer Rocco, revealed the actor's passing in a series of Facebook posts, writing that her father passed away on July 18 after a long, private battle with cancer. Jennifer Rocco thanked his fans for their support, writing, "I know he is watching over us."
Alex Rocco's prolific career spanned decades, but the actor became synonymous with "The Godfather," the 1972 Oscar-winning film in which he played casino owner Moe Greene. In a 2012 interview with The A.V. Club, Rocco said that that role was "without a doubt, my biggest ticket anywhere. I mean that literally."
Rocco parlayed that fame into a lengthy, eclectic resume in both film and television. He starred most recently on Starz series "Magic City," "Episodes," and "Maron," and also appeared on shows including "The Simpsons," "The Facts of Life,...
- 7/20/2015
- by Katie Roberts
- Moviefone
Melissa Rivers thinks “it would have been nice” if the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had decided to include her mother, Joan Rivers, in Sunday’s Oscars In Memoriam tribute. TheWrap, along with other viewers, noticed that the late comedian was not included in the segment, despite directing Billy Crystal in 1978 film “The Rabbit Test,” as well as several big screen roles. She was also a fixture at the Oscars with her pre-show coverage, largely of the show’s fashions. Also Read: Grammys: Joan Rivers Wins for Best Spoken Word Album at Pre-Show Ceremony Still, Melissa didn’t express any outrage in.
- 2/24/2015
- by Greg Gilman
- The Wrap
Welcome to a special Oscars edition of Outrage Watch, where we break down all the things folks are peeved about from last night's big show. Top story? Let the Patricia Arquette backlash begin. Did you catch the Best Supporting Actress winner's acceptance speech? Meryl Streep loved it! American was on her side, mostly. And then...she went backstage. “The truth is, even though we sort of feel like we have equal rights in America, right under the surface, there are huge issues that are applied that really do affect women," said the Best Supporting Actress winner to the assembled press corps. "And it’s time for all the women in America and all the men that love women, and all the gay people, and all the people of color that we’ve all fought for to fight for us now.” Hmm...maybe she just got caught up in the moment?...
- 2/23/2015
- by Chris Eggertsen
- Hitfix
Every year, the Oscars' In Memoriam segment proves to be one of the most poignant and emotional moments of the entire year. At this year’s ceremony, the Academy added a nice, simple touch of animating the late stars’ names and pictures with a beautiful watercolor effect.
Of course, this doesn’t matter much for Joan Rivers who was completely forgotten in the segment this year.
Photos: Stars We've Lost In Recent Years
That's right, the comedian and actress whose career spanned half of a century couldn’t be honored with a three-second photo. To be fair, the GRAMMYs didn’t include her in their In Memoriam either, despite actually winning a Grammy award this year.
Sure, most of her work has been on television, but she has scores of film credits under her belt, and she even directed the feature film Rabbit Test in 1978, not to mention the massive number of writing credits.
Photos: Oscars...
Of course, this doesn’t matter much for Joan Rivers who was completely forgotten in the segment this year.
Photos: Stars We've Lost In Recent Years
That's right, the comedian and actress whose career spanned half of a century couldn’t be honored with a three-second photo. To be fair, the GRAMMYs didn’t include her in their In Memoriam either, despite actually winning a Grammy award this year.
Sure, most of her work has been on television, but she has scores of film credits under her belt, and she even directed the feature film Rabbit Test in 1978, not to mention the massive number of writing credits.
Photos: Oscars...
- 2/23/2015
- Entertainment Tonight
Hollywood greats were honored in the Oscars' annual "In Memoriam" reel, but one person's photo was noticeably absent: Joan Rivers. Rivers - who died in September at the age of 81 after she stopped breathing during a throat procedure - was also not included in the recent Grammys memorial. Many know her for her antics on E!'s Fashion Police and the sharp humor in her 2010 documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work. But Rivers, per IMDb, boasts 38 acting credits to her name in a career that spans 63 years. She had roles in everything from Spaceballs to Iron Man 3 and...
- 2/23/2015
- by Jeff Nelson, @nelson_jeff
- PEOPLE.com
It’s an unfortunate, yet seemingly inevitable, Oscars occurrence: Every year, without fail, someone is left out of the “In Memoriam” sequence.
RelatedOscars 2015: Best and Worst Moments
This year’s offensive exclusion appears to be the late, great Joan Rivers, whose absence from the montage sent the Twitterverse into an immediate tizzy — and rightfully so.
For the record, Rivers appeared in many films during her incredible career in Hollywood, including Muppets Take Manhattan (pictured), Serial Mom, Iron Man 3, Spaceballs, The Smurfs and her own documentary A Piece of Work. She also directed the 1978 comedy Rabbit Test, which starred Billy Crystal and Doris Roberts.
RelatedOscars 2015: Best and Worst Moments
This year’s offensive exclusion appears to be the late, great Joan Rivers, whose absence from the montage sent the Twitterverse into an immediate tizzy — and rightfully so.
For the record, Rivers appeared in many films during her incredible career in Hollywood, including Muppets Take Manhattan (pictured), Serial Mom, Iron Man 3, Spaceballs, The Smurfs and her own documentary A Piece of Work. She also directed the 1978 comedy Rabbit Test, which starred Billy Crystal and Doris Roberts.
- 2/23/2015
- TVLine.com
She was wild, outspoken, feminist, and upset a lot of people. Comedy legend Joan Rivers passed away last week. The news hits especially hard in the wake of Robin Williams and Elaine Stritch’s passing. We’re remembering the foul-mouthed fashionista by looking back at her directorial debut, Rabbit Test. In his first starring role, Billy Crystal played the world’s first pregnant man. Yep. Rivers makes a cameo appearance as a nurse. Michael Keaton also made his film debut in Rabbit Test, and Rivers’ daughter Melissa pops up, too. Hubby Edgar Rosenberg produced the movie. As The Playlist points out, the film was shot on video (and transferred to film stock), so there’s a real scrappy feel to the whole production. And it’s not too hard to imagine...
Read More...
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- 9/8/2014
- by Alison Nastasi
- Movies.com
In the overall arc of Joan Rivers’s career, her 1978 film Rabbit Test, the one and only feature she ever directed, is now generally considered a minor setback. At the time of the film’s release, Rivers was already a well-known celebrity and familiar face; she was featured prominently in the posters as well as the trailer (even though she appears only briefly in the film, as a nurse who drops a colon in a hospital corridor). But the film flopped and was critically reviled. In later years, Rivers rarely mentioned the movie, the story of the world’s first pregnant man, though there is a funny 1986 clip of her razzing Siskel and Ebert about their pans of it; that was almost a decade after the film’s release, so its failure must have still stung, at least a little bit. It’s currently unavailable on DVD and almost never screened.
- 9/5/2014
- by Bilge Ebiri
- Vulture
Joan Rivers, the raucous, acid-tongued comedian who crashed the male-dominated realm of late-night talk shows and turned Hollywood red carpets into danger zones for badly dressed celebrities, died Thursday. She was 81.
Rivers died at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, surrounded by family and close friends, daughter Melissa Rivers said. She was hospitalized Aug. 28 after going into cardiac arrest in a doctor's office following a routine procedure. The New York state health department is investigating the circumstances.
"My mother's greatest joy in life was to make people laugh," Melissa Rivers said. "Although that is difficult to do right now, I know her final wish would be that we return to laughing soon."
Under the immobile, plastic surgery-crafted veneer that became Joan Rivers' unapologetic trademark as she aged, her wit remained as vibrantly raw and unruly as when she first broke her way into a comedy world belonging largely to men.
Rivers died at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, surrounded by family and close friends, daughter Melissa Rivers said. She was hospitalized Aug. 28 after going into cardiac arrest in a doctor's office following a routine procedure. The New York state health department is investigating the circumstances.
"My mother's greatest joy in life was to make people laugh," Melissa Rivers said. "Although that is difficult to do right now, I know her final wish would be that we return to laughing soon."
Under the immobile, plastic surgery-crafted veneer that became Joan Rivers' unapologetic trademark as she aged, her wit remained as vibrantly raw and unruly as when she first broke her way into a comedy world belonging largely to men.
- 9/4/2014
- by Cineplex.com and contributors
- Cineplex
She drew ire with her razor-sharp wit, but she was a groundbreaking, controversial and outspoken comedienne, a true one of a kind. Joan Rivers has died at the age of 81.Though far better known for her comedy and TV work than any contribution to cinema (yes, despite providing the voice of Dot Matrix in Spaceballs), Rivers co-wrote and directed Rabbit Test in 1978, which helped give Billy Crystal his film break and was a considerable achievement for a female filmmaker in the boys’ club of 1970s Hollywood.Born in Brooklyn in 1933 to Russian immigrants Meyer and Beatrice Molinsky, Joan Alexander Molinsky attended Barnard College, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English literature. Yet it was her comedy that really caught attention, landed her regular guest appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, which in turn led to her status as the show’s frequent fill-in host, a...
- 9/4/2014
- EmpireOnline
New York City – There are legends, and then there is Joan Rivers. The comedian and show business survivor had a life journey as an influential star from the 1960s all the way to the end of her life. Joan Rivers died on September 4th, 2014, in New York City after suffering respiratory failure last weekend.
Joan Rivers, Forever Young
Photo credit: E! Entertainment Network
Joan Alexandra Molinsky was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from Barnard College. As she developed her comic act, her agent at the time – Tony Rivers – suggested a name change, so Joan took his last name as hers. She was fired by Rivers as a result. Her training in comedy included a seven-month stint at The Second City in Chicago, but she got her feet wet in the comedy clubs in New York City in the 1960s, which included fellow comedy performers like George Carlin,...
Joan Rivers, Forever Young
Photo credit: E! Entertainment Network
Joan Alexandra Molinsky was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from Barnard College. As she developed her comic act, her agent at the time – Tony Rivers – suggested a name change, so Joan took his last name as hers. She was fired by Rivers as a result. Her training in comedy included a seven-month stint at The Second City in Chicago, but she got her feet wet in the comedy clubs in New York City in the 1960s, which included fellow comedy performers like George Carlin,...
- 9/4/2014
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Could Joan Rivers have had the same career as Woody Allen? It might seem an odd question if you only know Rivers from her talk show omnipresence and her work on E!, but there was a time when she had a chance to break into film the same way some of her comic peers were, and I can't help but wonder what would have happened if "Rabbit Test" had worked. When she broke through as a comic in the mid-'60s, she already had a fully-formed comic voice. She was from New York, and there was an edge to her work from the very start. She had an attitude about aesthetic beauty, about celebrity, about women in culture. She was one of those comics who straddled an older tradition of comedy, based on careful joke structure and a sort of surface level engagement and a newer tradition, in which taboos...
- 9/4/2014
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
Comedy and television legend Joan Rivers has died at the age 81, according to an official statement from her daughter Melissa Rivers. “It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my mother, Joan Rivers. She passed peacefully at 1:17pm surrounded by family and close friends. My son and I would like to thank the doctors, nurses, and staff of Mount Sinai Hospital for the amazing care they provided for my mother. [Melissa's son] Cooper and I have found ourselves humbled by the outpouring of love, support, and prayers we have received from around the world. They have been heard and appreciated. My mother’s greatest joy in life was to make people laugh. Although that is difficult to do right now, I know her final wish would be that we return to laughing soon." The comedy and television legend went into cardiac arrest during minor surgery on her vocal cords on Aug.
- 9/4/2014
- by Katie Hasty
- Hitfix
Joan Rivers, a raucous and often-ubiquitous comedic presence on TV and nightclubs since the 1960s, has died. She was 81. "It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my mother, Joan Rivers," daughter Melissa said in a statement obtained by People. "She passed peacefully at 1:17 p.m. surrounded by family and close friends. My son and I would like to thank the doctors, nurses, and staff of Mount Sinai Hospital for the amazing care they provided for my mother. Cooper and I have found ourselves humbled by the outpouring of love, support, and prayers we have received from around the world.
- 9/4/2014
- by Stephen M. Silverman, @stephenmsilverm
- PEOPLE.com
Joan Rivers, who died Thursday at 81, causing genuine grief to fans and maybe some relief to the celebs she mocked so mercilessly, didn’t just break the glass ceiling for female comics. It’s a little-known fact that she also punched out a few panes for women directors. Although Rivers had a definite future as a dramatic actress (watch her touching turn in 1968’s Cheever-derived The Swimmer), her real movie legacy may be as a filmmaker. No kidding. In 1978, Rivers helmed and co-wrote Rabbit Test, an occasionally tasteless, but often very funny film, starring Billy Crystal as the world’s first pregnant man. Yes, Ah-nuld. Junior is a rip-off. See also: <A href="http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/...
- 9/4/2014
- Village Voice
Character actor Henry Polic II has died at the age of 68, after a long bout with cancer. Polic made his TV debut in 1975, playing the Sheriff of Nottingham in Mel Brooks’ Robin Hood sitcom, When Things Were Rotten. After that show was canceled, Polic played a reformed Dracula on the live-action Saturday morning series Monster Squad. Polic was in Marty Feldman’s The Last Remake Of Beau Geste (1977), Joan Rivers’ Rabbit Test (1978), Scavenger Hunt (1979), and Oh God! Book II (1981). He was a frequent guest star on series TV. He also did a great deal ...
- 8/12/2013
- avclub.com
Veteran TV actor Henry Polic, who played Jerry Silver on ABC’s Webster and voiced Dr. Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow on Batman: The Animated Series, has died. He was 68. The longtime character actor, game show personality and host, and stage and TV thesp had fought a long battle with cancer, per his agent Brad Lemack. His first TV credit as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Mel Brooks’ 1975 comedy When Things Were Rotten was another of his career highlights; Polic also earned fame for his appearances on game shows Super Password, The $25,000 Pyramid, and The $100,000 Pyramid and hosted ABC’s Celebrity Double Talk in 1986. Polic played Dracula on the 1976 series Monster Squad and guest starred on shows including Alice, Mork & Mindy, Eight is Enough, Murder She Wrote, Sheena, and Saved By the Bell. His film credits include The Last Remake of Beau Geste, All You Need, Bring Him Home, The Trial of Old Drum,...
- 8/12/2013
- by THE DEADLINE TEAM
- Deadline TV
Hope you're still enjoying the bundle of joy that is Logo's Wednesday night Bewitched block. Obviously Elizabeth Montgomery and Agnes Moorehead are treasures, but never overlook the deeply funny, unendingly wicked, quite obviously gay Paul Lynde. He never publicly came out, but the fact is, his penchant for racy punchlines and hammy crudity was relatable specifically to gay viewers the world over. He is irreplaceable. Here are ten elite-level facts that all great Paul Lynde fans should cherish.
1. We love him in Bye, Bye Birdie, but don't forget his even funnier cameo in Son of Flubber.
In just a few short lines, he establishes that he's funnier than Fred MacMurray ever was.
2. He graduated as part of one of Northwestern's most esteemed drama classes with Cloris Leachman and Patricia Neal
Lynde, a vaunted stage actor at Northwestern, graduated in 1944 along with his peers Patricia Neal (the Oscar-winner for Hud), Charlotte Rae...
1. We love him in Bye, Bye Birdie, but don't forget his even funnier cameo in Son of Flubber.
In just a few short lines, he establishes that he's funnier than Fred MacMurray ever was.
2. He graduated as part of one of Northwestern's most esteemed drama classes with Cloris Leachman and Patricia Neal
Lynde, a vaunted stage actor at Northwestern, graduated in 1944 along with his peers Patricia Neal (the Oscar-winner for Hud), Charlotte Rae...
- 11/15/2012
- by virtel
- The Backlot
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Joan Rivers "made the rounds" in New York during the '50s, appearing in a few off-off Broadway plays (including one where she played a lesbian opposite an equally unknown Barbra Streisand), surviving sleazy agents, tawdry clubs, and hostile audiences. A 1965 booking on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" led to her hosting one of the first syndicated talk shows on daytime TV, "That Show with Joan Rivers" in 1968. In the '70s Joan wrote the TV-movie The Girl Most Likely To (starring Stockard Channing) and then wrote and directed her first feature film Rabbit Test, casting Billy Crystal in the lead. In 1983 Joan became the permanent guest host on "The Tonight Show." Later, she headlined in Las Vegas, sold out Carnegie Hall, produced a Grammy nominated comedy album, and wrote two best-selling books. In 1989 the Tribune Corporation launched Joan in her own syndicated daytime talk show.
- 1/18/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
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