On this day in comedy on August 10, 2011 Lopez Tonight was cancelled from TBS.
Premiering on November 9, 2009, this George Lopez hosted late night talk show appeared to be nestled in for a long run when Lopez announced its abrupt cancellation on air. That in itself was historic as was the fact Lopez was the first Mexican-American to even host a late night talk show. The critics found Lopez’s voice grating and his humor not to their liking, but his target audience didn’t read or care about what ‘the critics’ said and rewarded the show with solid ratings for its time slot. So his demographics seemed assured and his approach was a fresh departure from the norm (yet still using the format of monologue, sketches, interviews and musical performance) with guests not usually seen on other such talk shows.
There had only been a moment of concern when rival late nighter, Conan O’Brien moved over to the cable station when his program on NBC was jeopardized by another rival, Jay Leno (with a combined $44 million payout for O’Brien and his staff). Thus, that situation seemed as though it was resolved amiably with accommodating time slots (O’Brien reluctantly took over Lopez’s time slot of 11:00pm at Lopez’s urging and Lopez Tonight then aired an hour later), but amiable was just a word journalists were using at the time. Behind the scenes, Lopez Tonight was in trouble and once Lopez gave his audience the bad news the show had a mere 24 hours before its final episode.
Changing to a later time slot spelled lower ratings. Lopez’s audience had things to do the next day so staying up that extra hour for a few laughs VS getting fired for nodding off at the job was an easy decision to make and most chose to get some shut eye and keep their checks rolling in. TBS and advertisers noticed the decline and after three quarters, pulled the plug. Even though Conan O’Brien made a public acknowledgement of how much his success was based on the generosity of George Lopez, the die was cast and the party was over. Lopez Tonight was now just a part of late night television history. It was an exciting moment that caught lightning in a bottle and just as quickly sparked out with the help of its creator. Within two weeks the time slot was taken over by reruns of the sitcom, The Office and the Lopez Tonight website was taken down.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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On this day in comedy on August 10, 2007 Rush Hour 3 was released by new Line Cinema.
This third installment of the pairing of Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan as Detective Carter and inspector Lee is set in Paris and Los Angeles. When Lee’s boss is shot during a press conference undermining the Triads it’s fast paced action from there. The two law enforcers find themselves dealing with further assassination attempts, martial arts run-ins, dilemmas with relatives, racist transporters, seductive spies, a cavity search (ouch), hot intimacy, Roman Polanski, talk of decapitation, kidnapping of adults, male sword fighting with steel swords, death by spinning wheel, back shooting, dual face punching and interracial dancing to Edwin Starr.
This film is surrounded by interesting facts. It was not screened in Chinese theaters because there’s a 20 film quota per year from imported foreign films. Herman Cain was scheduled to play Chris Tucker’s father, but it was dropped for unspoken reasons. The critics lambasted it for being uninspired and called for the franchise to be ended. Some however, like Roger Ebert looked at the bright side. He said it wasn’t good, but it wasn’t bad either and face it – if you’re watching Rush Hour 3 you probably didn’t have anything better to do anyway.
Directed by Brett Ratner from a Jeff Nathanson screenplay, Rush Hour 3 was produced on a budget of $140 million. It grossed $49,100,158 in its first three days for a North American gross of $140,125,968 and a worldwide gross of $258,022,233.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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On this day in comedy on August 9, 2008 Comedian and Actor, Bernie Mac (Bernard McCullough) died in Chicago, Illinois from complications of pneumonia.
Bernie Mac was one of the most beloved comedians of his generation. Born on the South Side of Chicago on October 5, 1957, his journey to inevitable stardom took longer than most. Prior to becoming a comedian, he worked odd jobs: moving furniture and being an agent for UPS. Influenced by The Three Stooges, Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor, Mac began his own career at Chicago’s Cotton Club. Following a win of the Miller Lite Comedy Competition and a bold, gutsy performance on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam where he told a hostile audience, “I ain’t scared of you muthaf**kas”, Mac became da man with fans and colleagues alike.
From there the phone rang. He opened for Redd Foxx, Dionne Warwick and Natalie Cole. He was featured in small roles in sometimes equally small films (as well as classics such as Friday), but stole every scene he was in until it was undeniable his talent deserved greater recognition. HBO gave him the show Midnight Mac. He was featured in the star-studded Ocean’s Eleven and starred in Mr. 3000. After the Original Kings of Comedy Tour (he shared the stage with Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer and D. L. Hughley) where he proclaimed that TV was too scared to have a Bernie Mac show he got The Bernie Mac Show on Fox.
It seemed nothing could slow down Mac’s ascent. Enter sarcoidosis. The debilitating disease which attacked his lungs and other vital organs left him in remission in 2005. It was just enough time for him to finish Soul Men (with Samuel L. Jackson), Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Old Dogs (with John Travolta and Robin Williams). All were released after his death in 2008.
Mac was number 72 on Comedy Central’s list of the 100 greatest standups of all time. One year before passing he spoke of retirement from stand up to concentrate on producing and films. Bernie Mac felt he’d missed too much in life and wanted to spend more time with family and friends. We know how he felt. We’re missing much in our lives with the absence of Bernie Mac.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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On this day in comedy on August 8, 1986 She’s Gotta Have It was released by Island Pictures.
This first film written and directed by Spike Lee, starred Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond Hicks and John Canada Terrell. Ernest Dickerson was the cinematographer and S. Epatha Merkerson appeared as a doctor.
The film is about the sexual exploits of a freak in Brooklyn. She has 3 boyfriends who possess three distinctly different personalities. While Jamie (Hicks) is a nice guy and Greer is vain pretty boy, Mars (Spike Lee) is a goof-off, but a funny one. Nola (Johns) is running it like a man and that’s the way she likes it. Too bad for the guys, who each want her for himself and only him.
Shot in 12 days on a budget of $175,000 and grossing $7,137,502, She’s Gotta Have It was heralded by The New York Times as ushering in the independent film movement of the 1980s. It was also a departure from the Blaxploitation images of blacks in major motion pictures; economically and socially. The characters in this Lee maiden voyage are buppies not pimps, hos and hustlers.
She’s Gotta Have It won Spike Lee multiple awards. At the 1986 Cannes Film Festival – “Award of the Youth” Foreign Film, Spike Lee won. At the 1986 Los Angeles Film Critics Awards – “New Generation Award”, Spike Lee won and he also won Best First Feature at the 1987 Independent Spirit Awards.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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On this day in comedy on August 7, 1839 Comedian, Actor, Singer, Songwriter, Sam Lucas (born Samuel Mildmay Lucas or Samuel Lucas Milady) was born in Washington Court House, Ohio!
Sam Lucas began his career as a black-faced minstrel in 1858. His parents were freed former slaves and young Sam took advantage of his enviable position during the Civil War and gained employment where there was pay and not the fate his Southern counterparts experienced on plantations. Lucas worked as a barber while practicing guitar and vocals.
The diligence paid off. Sam Lucas was a minstrel pioneer. As a composer he was one of the first black men to fuse established white songs with African-American rooted musical devices. He would sing his subversive tunes on stages and riverboats and as minstrelsy grew so did the stature of Sam Lucas. He became a celebrity not only for his music, but also for his comedic portrayals of the characters he sang about; sad, pitiful, downtrodden personalities, but ones with hope. Black people the way white people wanted to see them back then, minus the hope part.
Sam Lucas is recognized as the first black man to play Uncle Tom in Uncle Tom’s Cabin on stage and in film. The latter was his last work. Due to his comedy versatility as well as musically and dramatically, Lucas came to be known as the “Grand Old Man of the Negro Stage.” From 1871-1879 he traveled throughout the country with various minstrel troupes including a tour in Havana, Cuba. Once he left minstrelsy Lucas performed in vaudeville.
Musical dramas and comedies were fine, but blackface paid the bills and after a play or two Lucas was back to smearing on burnt cork. At least he worked with the best. In 1876 he toured with Sprague’s Georgia Minstrels. His fellow performers were black faced legends Billy Kersands and James Bland. This was authentic black minstrelsy. Most of the time whites played black roles. For instance, Lucas signature role as Uncle Tom had traditionally been played by Caucasian actors in blackface. Lucas’ casting in 1878 changed all that. Unfortunately, the production was a flop.
Lucas went back to blackface. He also composed; lyrics and songs more militant than those of most black writers of the time. He wrote of remembering freedom and the joyful memory of the day he was set free. During this period Lucas grew tired of minstrelsy. The 1890 production of Sam T. Jack’s The Creole Show gave him that opportunity. It was an all-black production; one where he met and married his wife. They traveled together on stages in variety houses and vaudeville. He distanced himself from minstrelsy even further in 1898 when he did Bob Cole’s A Trip to Coontown. It was the first black production to use black writers, director and producers. It truly was all-black and devoid of minstrelsy.
Artistically the turn of the century was good for Lucas. He worked under the direction of famed ragtime composer, Ernest Hogan from 1905-06. In 1907 he worked again for Bob Cole when the team of Cole & Johnson staged the musical comedy, The Shoe Fly Regiment. Once that ended Lucas jumped into another one: The Red Moon playing the part of – a barber. He was a member of the theatrical club, The Frogs and starred in films. One of his movies was the never finished Lime Kiln Field Day in 1913. (It was preserved by the Library of Congress in 2014). In 1914 he revived his role as Uncle Tom with decidedly better results for the film version. The stumbling block was Lucas’ health. He’d suffered liver disease for many years and then he contracted pneumonia while filming and died soon afterwards on January 5, 1916.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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On this day in comedy on August 6, 1993 The Meteor Man was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
This super hero comedy was written, directed by and stars Robert Townsend as the title character, who gains his powers after a meteor crashes into him and puts him in the hospital. Townsend starts off as a peaceful school teaching living in a gang infested neighborhood in Washington, DC, but one night he’s had enough. He tries to stop some thugs from attacking an old lady only to find himself turning tail and running for his own life. That’s when the meteor gets him; when he emerges from hiding in a dumpster. Townsend heals miraculously and leaves the hospital with a variety of super powers, such as flight, strength and the ability to gain a book’s knowledge by his mere touch and talk to animals.
The Meteor Man cleans up his hood, but there’s a downside to his abilities – they wear off. Soon he’s just another victim of the gangs again, but this time they know his secret identity and he’s a marked man. Fortunately for him the local bum also got a chunk of the meteor and when the moment is right the bum spills it into the street and this sets up the climactic battle between the neighborhood gang lord and The Meteor Man. Of course The Meteor Man wins, but not before inspiring the community to fight its own battles just before he loses his limited powers for the last time.
The Meteor Man is populated with comedians, rappers, singers and actual actors. It co-stars Marla Gibbs, Eddie Griffin, James Earl Jones, Sinbad, Robert Guillaume, Don Cheadle, Big Daddy Kane, Naughty by Nature, Cypress Hill, Nancy Wilson, Luther Vandross, John Witherspoon, Roy Fegan, Frank Gorshin, Biz Markie, Faizon Love, Tiny Lister, Wallace Shawn, Another Bad Creation and Bill Cosby as the bum.
The film spawned 6 comic books from Marvel Comics and grossed $8,016,708 domestically from a $30 million budget.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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Kevin Hart took time out of his busy schedule recently to make one boy’s dream a reality, and ET was there for the big reveal.
Jacob, an 11-year-old cancer patient living in Las Vegas, was diagnosed with leukemia in October 2015. Since then, much of Jacob’s days have been spent indoors, which gave Hart an idea.
“Jacob has been dealing with leukemia and he spends a lot of time in his bedroom, so I said, ‘Why not go to this boy’s house and revamp, renovate and change his bedroom in one of the most massive ways possible?'” Hart told ET.
Inspired by Jacob’s interest in muscle cars, Hart linked up with BrittiCares and Rally Health to give Jacob’s room a race-car makeover complete with sports car wall figures and drawers made to look like tool chests.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when Jacob tearfully thanked everyone after the epic unveiling.
“Thank you so much for all of this,” Jacob said. “I just can’t put it in words.”
BrittiCares, with the help of Kevin Hart and Rally Health, are helping to increase the quality of life for children suffering from cancer.
“Ultimately, it’s not about me,” Hart said. “It’s about the children, about the people who are in need. That’s all this is.”
Hart’s stand-up movie, Kevin Hart: What Now?, opens Oct. 14.
Source: Entertainment Tonight
At the pretrial hearing today, the Montgomery County D.A.’s office introduced a motion to have 13 of those women as witnesses in the criminal case against Cosby. While over 50 women have come forward in the last few years to accuse Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting them, this case in the Keystone State is the lone criminal case against the actor. However, Cosby is facing a number of defamation and other civil cases in states like California and Massachusetts, where the statute of limitations have expired. D.A. Kevin Steele referred to investigating the claims against Cosby by other women a “herculean task” in court today.
Herculean or not, the judge made clear Tuesday that he wants to see the PA criminal case started as soon as possible. “This case now 252 days from filing of criminal complaints,” said Judge Steven O’Neill to the courtroom today. “There is a right to a speedy trial,” he added, telling the attorneys on both sides to be “expeditious” with proposing evidence and discovery in the matter. However, O’Neill declined to give a trial date today. “We’re not going to call this case for trial,” the judge said. “I don’t see that there is any unreasonable delay.” That may hit a road bump as one of Cosby’s main lawyers Brian McMonagle has indicated to the court he might not be able to participate until next June.
Today’s hearing also saw Cosby’s lawyers introduce a slew of motions including one to suppress a telephone call of over a decade ago between the comedian and the mother of the his alleged victim Constand over the alleged assault. Cosby’s side say the call from Canada was illegally taped under Pennsylvania law even though actor was actually in California when he spoke to Constand’s mother. The senior Constand “was perfectly permitted to record phone call in Canada,” O’Neill said after listening to argument from both sides in his courtroom.
Facing criminal charges in the state for the sexual assault of Constand in 2004, Cosby has been unsuccessful in his various attempts to get the case by the Montgomery County D.A. office tossed out, halted or reassessed. On July 7, the last time Cosby was in the suburban Philadelphia courthouse, Judge O’Neill ruled to deny the habeas corpus in the case of Cosby’s alleged drugging and rape of the then-Temple University employee. On August 12, the state judge quashed another legal maneuver by Cosby’s team to stop the matter from going to trial later this year.
Newly elected Montgomery County D.A. Kevin Steele kept a campaign promise and laid the criminal charges against Cosby right at the end of 2015 to beat the state’s 12-year statute of limitations for such crimes. Cosby was arraigned December 30 and released on $1 million bail without entering a plea.
When the then D.A. declined to press criminal charges back in 2005, Constand and Cosby came to a settlement in 2006 in a civil case — a settlement Cosby opened a case in federal court on February 1 against Constand, her mother, her former attorneys and the parent company of the National Enquirer over claims that they broke the confidentiality agreement around the 2006 deal.
After numerous motions, counter-claims and potential discovery in that matter,Cosby voluntarily dismissed the action without prejudice on July 28. Ostensibly the motivation was to focus on the criminal case – with the new lawyers he had brought onboard.
Source: Deadline-Max Marin contributed to this report.
Chris Rock gave Kanye a lot of praise for his show at Madison Square Garden in New York City last night [September 5].
The comedian was filmed in a short video on Instagram going crazy over Kanye’s Saint Pablo tour. “I’ve never seen, in the history of rap, in the history of concerts. I’ve seen Michael Jackson here,” he said while praising the show. Rock is a huge Kanye West fan and even called his “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” album one of the greatest of all time a few years back.
Last night’s Saint Pablo stop was attended by a bevy of celebrities including Vic Mensa, Jonah Hill, and J.R. Smith. Hill and Mensa were seen in a mosh pit together by a fan who shot a video of them and posted it to Twitter. He is set to give a second show at MSG on Tuesday.
Source: Vlad TV, Instagram
On this day in comedy on August 5, 1976 What’s Happening!! premiered on ABC!
Originally slated as a summer series, the sitcom received good ratings and returned in November of ’76 as a regular series. It was based on the Eric Monte film, Cooley High.
What’s Happening!! was produced by Saul Turtletaub, Bernie Orenstein and Bud Yorkin following his split from partner, Norman Lear. The cast consisted of acting veteran, Mabel King (Mama), comedy powerhouse, Shirley Hemphill (Shirley), renowned pop-locker, Fred “Rerun” Berry (Rerun) and thespians, Ernest Thomas (Raj), Haywood Nelson (Dwayne) and Danielle Spencer (Dee).
The sitcom revolved around 3 teenage friends and their light-hearted antics in Watts. Never getting too heavy on social commentary, most of the problems were universally adolescent: getting girls, after school jobs and how to keep up their grades. Raj, an aspiring writer still lives with his divorced mother and wise cracking sister. His two best buddies (one overweight, the other over-shy) meet him regularly at the local café for shakes and fries and the only shots heard are back-firing buckets. Fat jokes are swapped between Rerun and Shirley, catch phrases and signatures laughs are doled out and there was always the treat that Dee would tell Mama. So it’s all good in the hood.
What’s Happening!! boasted a cavalcade of talent. Besides the principle cast, Thalmus Rasulala, Lee Chamberlin, Debbi Morgan and Greg Morris were recurring characters. The Doobie Brothers, Chip Fields, Theodore Wilson, Wolfman Jack and Tim Reid made guest starring appearances.
What’s Happening!! aired its last episode on April 28, 1979. It was only in the top 10 its second season, but still managed to inspire the spin-off, What’s Happening Now!!, which ran from 1985-1988 and featured most of the original cast and a young Martin Lawrence.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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