James Franciscus was a very handsome actor and tennis enthusiast who died far too young.
Today would have been his 89th birthday.
He was best known for his roles in such feature films as Beneath the Planet of the Apes, The Amazing Dobermans and Great White and in four television series, Mr. Novak, The Naked City, The Investigators, and Longstreet.
Franciscus was also a Yale grad and was one of the best celebrity tennis players of the 1970s when the sport was at the peak of its popularity.
Sadly, he was just 57 when he died 1991 from emphysema. He left behind four children. ]
Very sad to hear that actress Cindy Williams has died at the age of 75.
She was still active doing a one-woman show and TV interviews and it just seems too soon to lose this television icon who starred alongside Penny Marshall on the classic Laverne & Shirley sitcom in the mid-1970s through the early 1980s.
They were never nominated for Emmys which seems insane in retrospect because this was the best female comedy team in TV history next to Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance. They were magic together.
Williams died in Los Angeles on Wednesday after a brief illness, her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said in a statement: “The passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed,” the statement said. “Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved. We have always been, and will remain, SO proud of her for many things…her lifelong mission to rescue animals, her prolific artistry, her faith, and most of all, her ability to make the world laugh! May that laughter continue in everyone, because she would want that. Thank you for loving our Mom, she loved you too.”
NBC News correspondent Harry Smith sits down with Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sally Field and Rita Moreno to discuss their new film, “80 for Brady.” The women chat about working together for the first time, finding joy in their work, and their communal love of Tom Brady.
Hard to believe it’s been more than 14 years since Adam burst onto the scene on American Idol and finished as the most successful runner-up in the show’s history (sorry Clay Aiken and Katherine McPhee!).
I’ll always appreciate the fact that Adam came out publicly as a gay man after the show ended in a Rolling Stone cover story. What a powerful statement to the world and to young kids out there who watched the show.
We all know what’s happened to Adam since then. The solo albums For Your Entertainment, Trespassing, and The Original High, a Grammy nomination for the single Whataya Want from Me, and more than 3 million albums and 5 million singles sold worldwide. He released Velvet in 2020 along with Live Around the World with Queen. His next album, High Drama, is slated for release on February 24, 2023. It is a genre-spanning collection of reimagined cover songs that he flips to embrace his own sensibilities. He recently released the single Holding Out for a Hero that is part of the forthcoming album.
When Trespassing premiered at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, Adam became the first openly gay artist to top the album charts. Elton John and Barry Manilow were not out when they premiered at number one.
And, of course, Adam has juggled his solo career with a very successful collaboration with rock band Queen as lead vocalist for Queen + Adam Lambert since 2011, culminating in a successful worldwide tour that began in 2014 and is still going strong. Lambert and Queen were the first rock band to open the Oscars with an “explosive” performance of two classic Queen songs in 2019 that earned a standing ovation.
But Adam’s power as a solo performer was never more apparent than in December 2018 when he performed a stupendous version of Believe for Cher at the Kennedy Center Honors that was one for the ages (see video below). I was thrilled when he released it as a single in late 2019.
Can’t wait to see what Adam has in store for us next. When you have such talent and vision and drive, anything is possible.
Wishing a very happy 63rd birthday to the great Olympic diving legend Greg Louganis!
Greg was featured in an issue of People Magazine a few years ago wearing the same speedo he wore in the 80s and as you can see, he has remained in great shape!
He overcame great obstacles in his life to reach the top of his sport and remains an inspirational figure for so many. Greg won two gold medals in 1988, two in 1984 and a silver medal in 1976 while still in high school. He is simply the best there’s ever been.
Greg’s story means so much to me because I was coming out in a big way in the mid-90s and it was then that he also came out and wrote a deeply-felt memoir called Breaking the Surface in which he revealed that he had just found out that he was HIV positive when he won his third and fourth gold medals at the 1988 Olympics. He assumed he would not live much longer after that triumph.
Thankfully there were breakthrough medications introduced in the mid-90s and Greg has survived and thrived.
Although he did not come out publicly as a gay man until 1994, Greg was rumored to be gay and that hurt his commercial endorsement opportunities. But in recent years he seems to be getting more his due – especially since the airing of the Emmy-nominated documentary Greg Louganis: Back On Board.
In 2016, Louganis along with fellow Olympic legends Edwin Moses and Janet Evans received the long overdue honor of being placed on boxes of Wheaties breakfast cereal. The next year, he became the first openly gay man to ride as grand marshal of the Rose Parade in Pasadena.
Calling it the biggest victory of his career, Novak Djokovic has won his 10th Australian Open title and 22nd grand slam crown, tying him with Rafael Nadal at the top of the men’s all-time list. Djokovic, the reigning Wimbledon champion, also regained the world number one ranking after his 6-3, 7-6, 7-6 win over Stefan Tsistipas of Greece.
“I want to say this has been one of the most challenging tournaments I’ve ever played in my life, considering the circumstances. Not playing last year; coming back this year,” Djokovic said after the match, wearing a zip-up white jacket with a “22” on his chest. “And I want to thank all the people that made me feel welcome, made me feel comfortable, to be in Melbourne, to be in Australia.”
And a moment later, he uttered a statement that is truly significant, given all the 35-year-old from Serbia has done on a tennis court: “This probably is the, I would say, biggest victory of my life.”
He has appeared in several television programs and films including Game of Thrones, The Umbrella Academy, Merlin, Doctor Who, Casualty, Tormented and Black Sails.
The handsome and very well-built actor is well-aware of his big gay fan base and welcomes it.
“I think gay fans are better than any kind of fan, than any demographic,” he said in 2010. “A gay fan base is probably one of the most loyal, you don’t shut it away and I embrace it. I have so many gay mates, so many, if they wanna look at me in this and read about me and do whatever they wanna do then perfect, great.”
When asked how he feels being hit on by guys, he said: “When it comes to guys, I don’t really think about it, if it happens it happens. I am a bit of a flirt though. I do flirt with guys just for a laugh and its fun, it’s just like chatting”
Bowen Yang was on Late Night With Seth Meyers last night and talks about being a huge fan of Alex Wagner, his podcast, Las Culturistas, and pulling double duty as George Santos in Weekend Update and the cold open on Saturday Night Live. In the second video, he shares how important his role in the Wicked film is to him, discusses why he loves Peacock so much and talks about having a hard time finding an iced coffee in London.
Have not been able to watch as much of the Australian Open this year as I usually do because of my schedule but I have caught a few matches played by this American dreamboat named Tommy Paul.
He’s ranked 35th in the world and made it all the way to the semifinals of tennis’ first grand slam event of the year. He lost to 9-time Aussie champion Novak Djokovic in straight sets but it is still a breakthrough tournament and will propel the 25-year-old into the top 20 for the first time (he will be #19 on Monday in the ATP rankings).
Tommy was a star as a junior player winning the 2015 French Open boys’ singles title by defeating fellow American Taylor Fritz in the final in three sets. He won his maiden ATP title at the 2021 Stockholm Open. He has recorded wins over such champions as Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and current world number one Carlos Alcaraz.
Four-time Grammy winner Sam Smith is nominated for another award this year for “Unholy,” their No. 1 hit with Kim Petras. Smith tells CBS Mornings’Anthony Mason about embracing sexual liberation on their new album, “Gloria,” feeling settled at 30, and their love of cheese toasties.
Twitter
Facebook
James Franciscus was a very handsome actor and tennis enthusiast who died far too young.
]
Wishing a happy 41st birthday to Adam Lambert!
