actor

In January, I mentioned that SciFi would, most likely, be developing a Flash Gordon series. Well, they've found their Flash Gordon, and twenty-two episodes have been ordered, so keep your eyes peeled for the show this July. Flash Gordon, which began as a comic strip in the '30s, has been adapted into just about every medium save for wax cylinder recordings. SciFi's plans are to create a show that's lighter in tone than its other series, such as Battlestar Galactica, but not quite as campy as previous incarnations.

CinemaBlend writes that Christopher Showerman, who has previously appeared in movies such as the made-for-video George of the Jungle 2 and Frankenbabe, is being considered to play Flash in the new series.

You know how Lewis Black appears on The Daily Show once a week to talk about news stories that have "slipped through the cracks?" Well, consider this one of those "slipped through the cracks" stories that I thought was just too cool not to mention. I trust some of you haven't heard this story, but if you have, then take this time to go do something else. Make yourself a muffin, have a cup of tea. Be good to yourself.

(S01E01) Ed Begley, Jr. loves the environment. In fact, his love for Mother Earth often overshadows his acting career, and after watching HGTV's sneak preview of the new reality series Living with Ed, you get the feeling he's just fine with that.

The new series, which slips into its regular timeslot of Sundays at 10pm starting January 7, follows Ed and his wife Rachelle, who suffers her husbands tenacity with light sarcasm and good humor. She sums up her predicament quite well when she says, "I married into a lifestyle."

The "lifestyle" is one in which her husband cooks on a solar grill, hoses "smog dust" off the solar panels on his roof, times her while she's in the shower, and drives an electric car to the Academy Awards. Rachelle is not always happy with Ed valuing environment over aesthetics, complaining that he always picks out the ugliest environmentally-friendly things he can find. Whether Begley's lifestyle is overkill or not, I can't help but admire a man who actually practices what he preaches.

Man, no sooner do I finish typing up a post about the passing of animation composer Shirley Walker when I find out via Cartoon Brew that another person from the world of animated entertainment has passed away. This time it's Sid Raymond, an actor who appeared in both television and radio and was the voice of both Baby Huey and Katnip for Famous Studios. Raymond also appeared in a series of commercials for Schlitz Beer in the 1960s as a goofy bartender. Over his career, Raymond appeared in over 400 TV shows, though he never gained the popularity held by those he acted alongside, such as Paul Newman and Ernie Kovacs.

Mark Evanier writes about the actor, and includes a video of an old Baby Huey cartoon. I've also placed the video after the jump, for those of you who remember baby Huey and those of you who want to know who the heck that is.

The picture on the left shows Sid Raymond (in headphones) and cartoon historian Jerry Beck.

Comedian, actor and former Daily Show correspondent Rob Corddry has a hilarious article on the Suicide Girls Web site about his lifelong battle with being unable to keep his pants dry. I hope this is the first of many funny articles from Corddry, because I need something to read while waiting for my clothes to dry as I sit naked alone in my apartment. To save money, I have only one set of clothes that I wash every day. Anyway, if you're interested in this slice of Corddry's psyche, you can read it here. Also, he likes Lost and John C. Reilly plays heavily into his tale of pee woe.

Corddry's new comedy The Winner is slated to air on FOX sometime next year, his pants permitting.

If for some reason you find yourself at the Northwestern University Homecoming Parade in Chicago this Friday, keep an eye out for Stephen Colbert, who will be leading the parade. The Chicago Sun-Times spoke with Colbert about his college years, a time during which he describes himself as a poet and a jerk, not to mention pretentious. Yeah, well, everyone's pretentious in college, that's why we don't allow college students to mingle with the outside world. Not surprisingly, Colbert was in theater, along with David Schwimmer (note the picture on the right).

What might be surprising is that he aspired to be a dramatic actor, a story not unheard of among comedians. Jon Lovitz also set out to be a dramatic actor, but fell into comedy much like Colbert did. Reading the article, I remembered something Lovitz once said in an interview about a mentor who told him the key to comedic acting was to say absurd things but act as if what you're saying is completely sane. Watching the Colbert Report, it's pretty clear Stephen understands this as well.

[via CC Insider]

You can catch the premiere of Mr. T's new reality series I Pity the Fool on TV Land October 11 at 10 pm, but Yahoo has the first episode available for viewing right now. In the first episode, "Motivation," Mr. T uses some of his tough, no-nonsense wisdom to get a family-owned car dealership to run like a well-oiled machine. I have to say, I found it rather entertaining. Even after all these years Mr. T's simplistic, tough guy approach and infectious charisma is a blast to watch. Just sit back and let the insanity entertain you. I may be purchasing my first car soon, and I'm pretty sure if Mr. T were selling it to me, I would buy it. And yes, he actually does say "jibba jabba" at one point.

[via Pop Candy]

Somebody forgot to poke me with a sharp stick and remind me about Spike Feresten's late night show, TalkShow with Spike Feresten is currently airing Saturday evenings on FOX. Criminy, I've been looking forward to this show since April, and Joel even interviewed the man recently, for the love of God. Seriously, where was my head at? Okay, don't answer that, I know exactly where my head was. Anyway, College Humor recently interviewed Feresten, and the interview contains a lot of stuff we already know: he wrote the Seinfeld "Soup Nazi" episode, he penned a script for The Simpsons, he was a writer for Letterman, etc. What I didn't know, however, is that he and some writers from The Simpsons were asked to do a script rewrite of the movie Jury Duty. The rewritten script was then thrown out by Pauly Shore. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around that one.

[Thanks to Katie S. for the tip.]

(S05E01) This episode of Monk reflects back to this episode from last season where Monk figured out how an astronaut managed to kill a woman, despite being in deep space at the time of the alleged suicide. The case was such a home run that Hollywood has decided to make a movie about it, and famous actor David Rushkin (Stanley Tucci) has been chosen to play Monk.

Rushkin decides to follow Monk around as he helps investigators figure out how the same man could be involved in two crimes that seem to have no connection to one another: the murder of a woman in her apartment, and the murder of another man at a jewelry store. Monk becomes extremely awkward around the actor, and tries not to let his obsessive compulsive nature show through too much. So much of this show is dependent on Monk's subtle mannerisms, but he exaggerates them to an absurd degree as he tries to impress the actor who's playing him. He all but dances around the crime scene, and even shakes Rushkin's hand without cleaning his own hands clean with a sanitary wipe. He does almost lose it when he gets glitter on his suit, though.

The position of "abbot" the leadership role of the (in)famous Friars Club has remained vacant for two years following the death of former abbot Alan King. That changed recently when Jerry Lewis was named the new abbot of the Friars Club at a recent "roast," the 80 year old comedian's third time in the hot seat after being roasted in 1971 and 1986. Comedian and Law and Order actor Richard Belzer served as roast master for the ceremony. I did a quick search but didn't see anything about this particular roast appearing on Comedy Central, though I think it would be fun to see. I always prefer the older, venerable comedians over the young ones.

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has an interesting article on the hit FOX series House, including interviews with actor Robert Sean Leonard (who plays Dr. Wilson, both friend and foil to the incorrigible Dr. House) and Katie Jacobs, the show's executive producer. Despite his character growing on fans, Leonard claims he wants to keep his role small so he has free time to spend with his wife. Ah, that's sweet. We also get some insight into Hugh Laurie, who plays the titular role. Apparently Laurie is very self-critical when it comes to his American accent. Personally, I think he does it flawlessly, which is more than I can say for Michael Caine.

Oh yeah, and a reminder to House fans that the first part of a two-part episode airs this evening.

Last year Karrine Steffans, a woman who has appeared in several rap videos and starred opposite Vin Diesel in A Man Apart, released a book where she revealed her intimate  moments with famous people such as Diesel, Usher, and Shaquille O'Neal. Despite the outward appearance of these stud muffins, Steffans claims that the only man who could really rock her world was Bill Maher. Now, in my infinite cruelty, I would like all of you to stop for a moment and savor the image I just planted in your brain of Maher making hot, nasty love. That's right, you hate me. Steffans also states, "He made me a better person. I never expected fidelity and commitment from Bill Maher." I guess we learn new things everyday, huh? Even those things we really didn't want to know in the first place.

[via Best Week Ever]