Andy Kaufman

Birth: Jan. 17, 1949
Death: May 16, 1984

Comedian, Actor. Started out in show business working in various comedy clubs in the Northeast in the early 1970s. He was discovered by agent-manager George Shapiro, who had picked up on his talent right away. He was then offered a spot on the inaugural broadcast of Saturday Night Live. Andy Kaufman brought the house down with a hilarious off-shoot of the "Mighty Mouse" song. His performance brought him much critical acclaim. He was then offered a spot on the new TV sitcom "Taxi," which initally balked, but later agreed for it would provide the springboard for which he and his partner Bob Zmuda could launch many comedic ventures. Among the things he (and Zmuda) did outside of "Taxi" were a television comedy show, appearences as lounge singer Tony Clifton, wrestling women and taking on the Southern Heavyweight Champion Jerry "The King" Lawler. Although many critics described these ventures as outlandish and erratic, they were also noted for their originality and even genius. In the Fall of 1983 Andy Kaufman, a non-smoker/drinker/drug user, was diagnosed with a rare and deadly form of lung cancer known as 'Large Cell Carcinoma'. With the cancer already in advanced stages, he began chemotherapy, consulted with a "Holy Man" and even flew to the Phillipines to get medical aid from a "Miracle Doctor". Unfortunately none of these methods worked, and his cancer was quite virulent and spread rapidly. He died at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in May 1984. In December 1999, a much-anticipated biographical movie "Man on the Moon", starring Jim Carrey was released nationwide. Carrey's performance of Andy Kaufman's life and times introduced a whole new generation to his works. (bio by: Soorus) more...

Cute Teens + Catchy Songs = Another Hit Disney TV Movie

“Camp Rock,” Disney’s latest made-for-television musical, drew as many viewers as last year’s “High School Musical 2,” but only if you add up the audience numbers from three broadcasts and an evening of Internet viewing.

The movie, starring the Jonas Brothers, was not expected to defeat last year’s “Musical,” but it still performed well for Disney, attracting an average of 8.9 million viewers on the Disney Channel Friday, 3.6 million on ABC Saturday, and 3.7 million on ABC Family Sunday. (That’s right ­ the two cable premieres topped the broadcast premiere ­ though, to be fair Saturday is the lowest-rated night of the week.)

Disney.com’s broadband channel recorded 950,000 visitors on Monday, the evening that “Camp Rock” debuted online. It all adds up to roughly 17.2 million viewers, the same number that “Musical” earned in August, although some of the “Camp Rock” fans probably watched it more than once.

In a news release Tuesday, ABC reported the total “reach” of “Camp Rock” ­ i.e., the total number of people who watched for six minutes, but may not have watched the whole movie ­ to be 21 million viewers.

The movie reached almost 5.8 million children between the ages of 6 and 11. Among 9- to 14-year-olds, it reached 6 million viewers. (Those figures include Canada, where 1.4 million viewers were exposed to the movie.)

As if on cue, The Hollywood Reporter said Tuesday that a follow-up to “Camp Rock” was in the works. “The network hopes to go into production on a sequel in late spring or summer 2009,” the trade publication reported. more...

Still remember this girl? Amber Hagerman

Amber Renee Hagerman, born in 1986 and killed only 10 years later, was a victim of a child abduction and murder. She had been riding her bike near the home of her grandparents in Arlington, Texas, when she was kidnapped.

A neighbor had witnessed the abduction, and called in a description of the suspect and the car he had been driving. Four days after the search began, Amber’s body was found by a man walking his dog. Her throat had been slit, and her lifeless body lay at the bottom of a creek bed.
No arrests were ever made, and her murderer’s whereabouts have never been discovered. On July 25, 2007, a man named Terapon Adhahn was under investigation, after being arrested in connection with the abduction of Zina Linnik, however, nothing ever came of it.

In October of 2000, the US House of Reps. adopted H.R. 605, which encouraged a nationwide use of the AMBER Plan. Finally in 2003, George Bush signed the AMBER Alert legislation, which made the program national. There are still many updates that need to be made, as it seems technology has not quite caught up with the Amber Alert System, which notifies citizens when a child has gone missing.

There is currently a Lifetime made-for-TV movie called Amber’s Story that was filmed in 2006. more...

George Carlin - Life is Worth Losing

George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) , one of the greatest stand-up comedians ever, has released his latest HBO special. If you are a fan of George Carlin like we are, please donate to his cause here: http://GeorgeCarlin.com Keywords: comedy, comedian, stand-up, acting, humor, satire, dry, hbo, special, life is worth losing, religions, world affairs, sarcasm, sarcastic, wars, president george gw bush, dick cheney, 9/11, 911, truth, movement, live audience, the beacon theater, theatre, new york city, high definition, hd, avi, aol, dolby surround, black shirt pants, tells it like it is. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this video is distributed without profit, to those who have expressed interest, for research or educational purposes.

If you watch thi, a interesting fact is Carlin gets a lot of his black humor from the insight of his bad Patrick Carlin, a national advertising manager for the New York Sun. Thats why he talk so much about about consuming, advertising, and Americans being sheeps. more...

Fans of Fear Factor Reality Show Remains Popular Only Among 2- to 11-year-olds

Fear Factor 1 - The most amazing home videos are here

As NBC burns off Fear Factor episodes this summer, the now-cancelled show has continued to slip in the ratings. However, the series remains popular with one group: kids.

The series has “continued strength among kids 2-11,” Media Life Magazine reports. “It’s the only demo where viewers are still tuning in in any significant numbers.” Last week, the show was “No. 1 among English-language broadcast networks in its timeslot with a 1.4 rating among 2-11s. It was the highest-rated show of the night in that demo.”

Not that many adults were watching; last week’s episode “finished third in its timeslot among 18-49s last week and didn’t make the top 10 among 8 p.m. shows,” according to the site.

That popularity among kids is due, Media Life suggests, to the series’ “repetitive nature,” the fact that “adults may simply have lost the desire to be grossed out,” and the diversity of other TV choices for adults at the same time.

Mike “The Miz” and Trishelle win reality all-stars Fear Factor

Fear Factor’s three episode reality all-stars competition ended last night, and Real World alumni Mike “The Miz” and Trishelle won the game.

Although they dominated the earlier challenges, they seemed doomed at the final challenge, primarily because Mike only managed to throw three balls to Trishelle (easy joke alert: balls flying at Trishelle’s head). But the other two teams weren’t able to match that, and together, they won $150,000. Mike’s MTV reality show retirement is really working well for him.

Apprentice candidates Tana and Craig and American Idol contestants Anthony and Carmen all made it to the end, but weren’t able to catch more than three balls and were eliminated. (Last week, Survivor’s Twila and Jonny Fairplay; reality TV’s most dysfunctional couple, The Amazing Race’s Jonathan and Victoria, went home the week before.)

When Anthony Federov was eliminated, he said in his exit interview, “I feel worse right now than when I did when I got eliminated from American Idol, I swear to god.” Hopefully that’s not because he’ll be apart from his new love Trishelle. more...