cancer

The sad news just keeps on coming: comedian and impressionist Fred Travalena passed away yesterday, losing a battle with cancer at the age of 66. For those of you who have no idea who I'm talking about (and, believe me, those numbers are legion), Travalena was big on the talk show and game show circuit in the '70s, doing impressions of everyone from Robert De Niro to George Burns to Jimmy Carter.

As a nerdly kid who rarely left the house after school, however, Travalena is best known to me as a panelist during the latter years of my favorite game show, Match Game. After the jump is the only MG-related clip I could find with Travalena, where he does an impression of De Niro on the short-lived Match Game Hollywood Squares Hour in the early '80s. (Warning: you need to turn the volume up to hear it).

Ricky Gervais of The Office and Extras fame is going to design a man purse -- but it's for a good cause.

The U.K.'s Prostrate Cancer Charity (part of the Charity Aids Foundation) asked television stars and other celebrities to design a man's handbag for The Manbag Company. Each unique design will be auctioned off to fight prostate cancer.

Of course, Gervais is a funny man and a cool, self-effacing celeb. But, it'll be interesting to see if even he can make something as inherently uncool as a man purse into swag a guy will want to spend money on -- cancer be damned.

(S05E11) "Tom, would you be able to join us for one of our little fire thingies?" - Needles, after discovering Tommy and Janet having sex in a car in front of the 62 house

We're half-way through season five now and we've reached a point that's going to polarize a lot of fans of this show. Creatively, last night's episode of Rescue Me introduced two things that both have the potential to really turn off certain fans, depending, of course, on what they like about the show and more importantly, what they expect from Rescue Me in future episodes.

(S02E10) As I watched this episode, I was pondering, can you put the toothpaste back in the tube? What about taking a bite from the apple from the tree of knowledge, if you want to get Old Testament about it? Walter White has issues with what he's done, how he's rationalized his doing them and now, seemingly, wants a fresh start. But as another saying goes, be careful what you wish for.

For viewers who haven't yet watched the episode, from here on I'm talking spoilers, so be forewarned.

(S05E02) Everyone, meet Lucas. Lucas, meet everyone.

Let's get to know this young man, shall we? He's in his mid-30's and a private detective. He doesn't think he's a good private dick, but in reality he really is and there's a possibility he just puts on a show of being inept. He can be an ass at times, as seen during his introductory moment to the Princeton-Plainsboro staff, and he can also be a bit too honest. In truth, he is very similar to one Dr. Gregory House, who has hired Lucas to check-up on Wilson after his best friend decided to shun him.

There is one difference between House and Lucas...Lucas is likable. That, and he seems to look at the world in a more positive manner than House does. And yet, that cranky old bastard likes Lucas for some reason. Is House going soft? Is he starting to realize the error of his ways? Is the world coming to an end? Am I asking too many questions? For answers to this and a recap of this week's episode jump ahead.

Christina Applegate, star of ABC's Samantha Who?, is battling breast cancer. According to a statement released by her rep, the cancer was detected early and is not life-threatening. "Christina is following the recommended treatment of her doctors and will have a full recovery," Ame Van Iden said.

The news comes just weeks after Applegate earned an Emmy nomination for her work as an amnesiac trying to undo her past misdeeds on Samantha Who?. In addition to continuing to work on her series, Applegate is also scheduled to appear on the Stand Up To Cancer telethon on September 5th. The telethon, which will be simultaneously aired on CBS, NBC and ABC, will also feature Meryl Streep, Sally Field and Jennifer Aniston, among others.

Since the cancer was detected early through a doctor-ordered MRI and Applegate is continuing her work schedule, hopefully the cancer will be easily beat. Here's to a full and speedy recovery.

(S02E04) If there's one thing about Army Wives that bothers me, it's that life is rarely this tidy. With a few exceptions, this episode was about as neat and organized as Frank Sherwood's sock drawer. If you know that character, you know what I mean.

The really good part of the show dealt not with the wives, but with the husbands. Michael Holden, usually the Rock of Gibraltar, finally was shown to be in pain.

It was fitting that Michael wouldn't make it easy for Claudia Joy to find out what was bothering him. A general doesn't show his soft underbelly, not even to his wife.

The twist of having George's sister, Leah, appear was a good development. It was unexpected that the sister of the guy who bombed the Hump Bar would approach the Holdens, but it worked because it gave Claudia Joy a chance to counsel Michael.

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(S02E03) Army Wives is the kind of show that's not afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve, metaphorically speaking. That's what this episode was in essence. The writers weren't afraid to deal with some core themes like faith, courage, fear and bravery.

Time has passed since Amanda's death, but life is not returning to normal for the Holdens. Until Claudia Joy is able to begin to heal, Michael and Emmalin will be suffering, a point driven home in this episode by the messenger. In the guise of guest star Bill Cobbs, he's not real.

At least not real in human form; he's imaginary and only Claudia Joy can see and speak with him. This is very much a dramatic device to help her see that life goes on.
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Emmy and Grammy award winner Harry Connick, Jr. will star in the Lifetime original movie called Living Proof. The movie, currently being filmed in Connick's hometown of New Orleans, is produced by Renee Zellweger, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron who all worked on Chicago together. The film is about Dr. Dennis Slamon, the UCLA doctor who developed a drug for breast cancer. Living Proof tells the true story of this doctor's struggle to keep the drug trials going and save the lives of thousands of women.

Harry Connick, Jr. is joined by Amanda Bynes (Hairspray), Angie Harmon (Women's Murder Club), Swoosie Kurtz (Pushing Daisies), Bernadette Peters (Boston Legal), Jennifer Coolidge (American Pie), Regina King (Ray), Tammy Blanchard (Life with Judy Garland: Me and my Shadows), John Benjamin Hickey (Flags of Our Fathers), Paula Cale (Providence) and Trudie Styler (Empire).

The film will air in October as Lifetime's centerpiece for the network's annual awareness campaign Stop Breast Cancer for Life.

Let me start this story by saying that I'm really hoping and praying that Patrick Swayze staves off the cancer that's trying to kill him and lives for many more years. The powers that be at A&E Network are hoping and praying, too. A&E has given the greenlight to The Beast, a cop drama that will star Patrick Swayze. Co-starring with Patrick in the 13 one-hour episodes is actor (and former Calvin Klein underwear model) Travis Fimmel. According the the doctors caring for Patrick, he is well enough to do the shows and, presumably, continue with the series if it's a success.

The premise for The Beast isn't a typical law and order type. It's like Training Day meets Internal Affairs, only without Denzel Washington and Richard Gere, respectively. Patrick plays an FBI agent who does things his own unique way. He's very good at his job, but rubs people the wrong way. He's asked to train a younger agent, Fimmel, at the same time that Swayze's being dogged by a secret internal affairs team.

Patrick has said this role was a long time coming for him. "I have searched for quite a long time to find a character that is this muti-layered, unpredictable and downright entertaining as well as a project this current and cutting-edged."

If you watched the network morning shows this morning, you've seen the shocking sight of the Big Three evening news anchors -- Brian Williams, Katie Couric, and Charlie Gibson -- appearing on each show ... together! Gasp! How can that happen? Don't the networks have contract clauses and armies of lawyers to prevent these things from happening?

Well, I guess the lawyers tend to stay home when a good cause is involved. The anchors went on the news shows this morning to announce a cross-network telethon called Stand Up for Cancer Stand Up To Cancer, which will air on NBC, CBS, and ABC on September 5. The one-hour show will have musical performances and testimonials from all three anchors about the need for furthering cancer research (remember Couric's husband and sister both died from various forms of the disease). Money raised by the telethon will go to a number of organizations and research groups.

Good Morning America co-host Robin Roberts will return to the ABC show on Monday.

Roberts underwent surgery last week after discovering she had breast cancer. The surgery went well and Roberts is now awaiting test results to figure out what her next step should be. ABC spokesperson Bridgett Maney says that Roberts is feeling great and is looking forward to getting back to work.

Roberts will be returning at an interesting time, as the newest Nielsen numbers indicate that the ratings for the 18-49 demographic are down 10% for all morning shows (GMA, Today, and The Early Show) compared to the same time last year. Meanwhile, the cable news morning shows have seen increased ratings.

Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! creator Merv Griffin is being treated for prostate cancer.

Griffin is hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. The cancer was discovered last month during a routine doctor's visit. According to his son Tony, Griffin is getting "great care." His doctors wanted to treat the cancer in a controlled setting, which is why Griffin has been hospitalized, and Griffin remains optimistic. Griffin went through prostate cancer once before.

Griffin has another game show coming up, Let's Play Crosswords. The show will premiere in syndication this fall across the country.

I think the Dutch have us beat when it comes to crazy ideas for reality shows. A couple years ago, they produced a one-off reality series about a woman who wanted some sperm and nothing more, and now they've come up with Big Donor Show, which features a dying woman who will pick one contestant to receive her kidney.

All ethical issues aside, some questions remain, such as whether or not Lisa's (the donor) organs can be transplanted at all, given that she has cancer (specifically: a brain tumor). Also, the donation would probably have to be made before she died, because once she's dead, her wish to have any organ donated to a specific person is no longer valid.

J.J. Abrams is in talks with HBO to direct and executive produce a new medical drama that looks at the toll cancer takes from the patients point of view. This would be the first project that Abrams undertakes with the new mega-contract he signed with Warner Bros. back during the summer. Abrams' own production company, Bad Robot, is part of the contract he signed.

The drama, based on the book The Anatomy of Hope, will be written in part by Tom Schulman -- the same guy who wrote Dead Poets Society and won the Oscar for it.

Seems like Abrams has his hands full lately. I doubt very much he'll have much time to devote to Lost if he's busy directing this new show, executive producing What About Brian, and getting things ready for the eleventh Star Trek movie. This guy is in demand.

[via Hollywood Reporter]