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TV Tunes Online News Archive
James Garner hospitalized after minor stroke 05/15/08 James Garner, was hospitalized late last week after suffering a minor stroke but is doing well and should be going home shortly. The star of such TV shows as "Maverick" and "The Rockford Files" went to the hospital after becoming ill at home Friday. Garner, who turned 80 last month, rose to prominence in the 1950s as the star of "Maverick," playing a wry riverboat gambler who was quicker with a quip than a gun and, unlike his Western counterparts, was faster still to run from trouble than to face it. The show aired from 1957 to 1962 but Garner, who was nominated for an Emmy as Bret Maverick, left in 1960 to pursue a film career. Garner returned to television full-time in the mid-1970s, playing Jim Rockford, a modern-day private detective who, like his "Maverick" character, also was not afraid to run instead of fight. He won an Emmy for the role in 1977. Garner also reprised his Maverick role in the short-lived "Bret Maverick" series in the 1980s. More recently, he played Katey Sagal's father in the sitcom "8 Simple Rules ... For Dating My Teenage Daughter." Garner joined the cast in 2003 after John Ritter, who played Sagal's husband, died during the show's second season.
`CSI' star Gary Dourdan's Felony Drug Charge 05/09/08 Gary Dourdan, "CSI" co-star, has been charged with felony possession of heroin, cocaine and ecstasy stemming from his arrest last month. The 41-year-old actor was arrested after police found him asleep in his car in Palm Springs on April 28. He was allegedly parked on the wrong side of the street with the car's interior light on. Dourdan is scheduled to appear in court in Indio, about 130 miles east of Los Angeles, on May 28. Dourdan has played crime scene investigator Warrick Brown on CBS' "CSI" since 2000.
Cartoonist Ted Key, creator of `Hazel' comic, dies at 95 05/09/08 Cartoonist Ted Key, whose comic strip "Hazel" about a bossy maid went from magazine page to TV screen, has died. He was 95. He died Saturday at his home in the Philadelphia suburb of Tredyffrin Township after a 1 1/2-year battle with cancer. "Hazel" was a popular feature in The Saturday Evening Post from the time it debuted in 1943. It evolved into a prime-time series in 1961, also called "Hazel", that starred Shirley Booth and ran for four years on NBC and one year on CBS. Key also created the characters "Mr. Peabody and Sherman" for producer Jay Ward. The time-traveling dog/scientist and his boy made their TV debuts in 1959 in segments on the animated show "Rocky and His Friends." Key randomly picked the name for the maid and was flattered that it later became synonymous with maids.
'Hee Haw' comedian dies at 66 05/02/08 Jim Hager, one of the Hager Twins who satirized country life with cornball one-liners on TV's "Hee Haw," has died in Nashville. He was 66. Hager was at a coffee shop when he collapsed Thursday. Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he had been taken, gave no details on the cause of death. The twins, who were also guitarists and drummers, rose to national fame as original cast members of the TV show in 1969. With its mixture of music and country-flavored humor, the show was a huge hit. The fast-paced use of one-liners was inspired by the hugely successful "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" -- but with a rural twist. The Hagers had worked with country star Buck Owens and used his connection to join "Hee Haw" when Owens signed as the show's co-host with Roy Clark. The Hagers left the program in the mid-'80s and continued to perform shows together.
Donny and Marie Osmond on the Vegas Strip 04/25/08 Donny and Marie Osmond will perform in a variety show at the Flamingo Las Vegas hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip beginning in September. The brother-sister duo, who starred in the "Donny & Marie" variety show in 1976, will play Tuesday-Saturday shows for 26 weeks spread over eight months at the Flamingo Showroom in a 90-minute show beginning Sept. 9.
TV Tunes Online News Archive