Mike Barnes

Dick Button, Icon of Olympic Figure Skating, Dies at 95 The two-time gold medalist and Emmy-winning commentator transformed the sport into a ratings powerhouse.

#RIP Dick Button. He completed the first triple jump in competition, then was an outstanding, forthright figure skating analyst for ABC. “Dick made the words ‘lutz’ and ‘salchow’ part of everyday vocabulary,” said fellow Olympic champ Brian Boitano. bit.ly/4aBjAeV @debwilker.bsky.social

Anita Bryant, Singer and Crusader Against Gay Rights, Dies at 84 She has hits with songs like "Paper Roses" and served as a spokesperson for Florida orange juice before her career came crashing down.

#RIP Anita Bryant. The singer/orange juice pitchwoman railed against gay rights in the '70s & got canceled. “I got involved only because [gays] were asking for special privileges that violated the state law of Florida, not to mention God’s law,” she said. www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-n...

Linda Lavin, Busy Broadway Actress and Star of TV’s ‘Alice,’ Dies at 87 The Tony winner starred in Neil Simon's 'Last of the Red Hot Lovers' and 'Broadway Bound' and was a tireless advocate for women's rights: "I had a commitment."

#RIP Linda Lavin. She marched in support of the Equal Rights Amendment and often delivered speeches in her ‘Alice’ waitress uniform “so she would speak for me,” she said. Women thanked her for showing them “that if Alice can do it, I can do it.” www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/l...

‘Up in Smoke,’ ‘Pride of the Yankees,’ ‘Beverly Hills Cop,’ ‘No Country for Old Men,’ ‘The Social Network’ Inducted Into National Film Registry Also selected for preservation this year: ‘Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,’ ‘Dirty Dancing,’ ‘Mi Familia,’ ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,’ ‘The Miracle Worker,’ ‘Common Threads’ and ‘My Own Private Id...

Here's your annual film history lesson courtesy of the Library of Congress: www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...

The Amazing Kreskin, Master of Mind Games, Dies at 89 The world's most famous mentalist was a regular on Carson and applied "the power of positive thinking."

#RIP The Amazing Kreskin. He was not a fortune teller, oh no; he was an entertainer, a mentalist and a Carson show regular who called himself “a scientist, a researcher in the field of suggestion and ‘extrasensory’ perceptions. I perform what I discover.” www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/a...

#RIP Thom Christopher. In true soap opera fashion, he played not one but two characters on ‘One Life to Live.’ Also appeared on Broadway and was the half-man, half-bird Hawk opposite Gil Gerard and the great Felix Silla on ‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.’ www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/t...

Marvin Laird, Broadway and Film Composer and Musical Director for Bernadette Peters, Dies at 85 His credits in Hollywood included ‘Hello, Dolly!,’ ‘New York, New York,' ‘Maude,’ ‘Dynasty’ and ‘The Love Boat.’

www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general...

Untitled Kent Melton Documentary A documentary celebrating the life and work of legendary animation sculptor Kent Melton.

A Kickstarter campaign at www.kickstarter.com/projects/mar... has been launched for a documentary about Kent Melton, the great ‘Aladdin,’ ‘Lion King’ and ‘Coraline’ character sculptor who died in February. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...

The 1980s-1990s Big East basketball conference used to have:

Lou Carnesecca
John Thompson
Jim Boeheim
Rick Pitino
Rollie Massimino
Jim Calhoun
P.J. Carlesimo
Rick Barnes

It was the best college basketball conference of them all.

#RIP Lou Carnesecca at age 99.

Marshall Brickman, Oscar-Winning Screenwriter on ‘Annie Hall,’ Dies at 85 A former 'Tonight Show' head writer and "Dueling Banjos" performer, he and Woody Allen also partnered on 'Sleeper' and two other films.

#RIP Marshall Brickman. Woody Allen’s co-writer on ‘Annie Hall’ played the banjo — that got him a big ‘Deliverance’ check — and invented the “Carnac Saver” for ‘The Tonight Show.’ (One example: “May your Perrier water be secretly bottled in Tijuana.”) www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...

Helen Gallagher, ‘Ryan’s Hope’ Stalwart and Broadway Triple Threat, Dies at 98 The singer, dancer and actress won Tonys for her turns in 'Pal Joey' and 'No, No, Nanette' and starred in 'Mame,' 'Sweet Charity' and 'The Pajama Game.'

#RIP Helen Gallagher. Before ‘Ryan’s Hope,’ she danced on Broadway. “I was not an Agnes de Mille dancer,” she said. “But with Jerry Robbins, I was able to catch what he wanted, which was the hyper, jitterbugging energy of what was going on in the streets.” www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/h...

Earl Holliman, Actor on ‘Police Woman,’ Dies at 96 He starred on the first 'Twilight Zone' and appeared on the big screen in 'The Rainmaker,' 'Giant' and 'The Sons of Katie Elder.'

#RIP Earl Holliman. He beat out Elvis to play Katharine Hepburn’s girl-crazy kid brother in 'The Rainmaker' and was great with Angie Dickinson in ‘Police Woman.’ Quite a story here about how he was adopted in the Louisiana backwoods when he was a week old. www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/e...

Jim Abrahams, ‘Airplane!,’ ‘Naked Gun’ and ‘Hot Shots!’ Master of Mirth, Dies at 80 He and boyhood friends Jerry and David Zucker got their start with 'The Kentucky Fried Movie,' and they also were behind 'Top Secret!' and 'Ruthless People.'

#RIP the great Jim Abrahams. The biggest struggle [on ‘Airplane!’] was to cast straight actors as opposed to comedians,” he said. “At first, Paramount was resistant to that idea. They didn’t quite understand why we wanted to do something like that.” www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...

Chuck Woolery, Host of ‘Wheel of Fortune’ and ‘Love Connection,’ Dies at 83 He also did some acting and was a singer in a band that had a Top 40 hit, "Naturally Stoned," in 1968.

#RIP Chuck Woolery. The onetime frontman for The Avant-Garde (“Naturally Stoned”) and husband of Jo Ann Pflug lost his job as ‘Wheel of Fortune’ host in a bitter salary dispute with Merv Griffin (he never forgave him) but rebounded with ‘Love Connection.’ www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/c...