Entertainment

Howard Hesseman, best known as disc jockey Dr. Johnny Fever on the CBS series WKRP in Cincinnati, died Saturday of “complications from colon surgery,” his manager, Robbie Kass, confirmed in statement to ABC News. He was 81. A member of the San Francisco improv group The Committee and a real-life DJ back in the 1960s, Hesseman played out-of-work actor-turned-history teacher Charlie Moore for four seasons on the ABC comedy Head of the Class. He also portrayed architect Sam Royer, who married Bonnie Franklin‘s character Ann Romano on ninth and final season of CBS’ One Day at a Time, and recurred on Boston Legal and That 70’s Show. His numerous other TV credits include The Rockford Files, Laverne and Shirley, Fresh off the Boat, Chicago Med, Mike & Molly, CSI, House and Crossing Jordan. He also hosted on Saturday Night Live several times. On film, he appeared in Shampoo, The Sunshine Boys and Silent Movie, among others…

Paramount Plus has unveiled the official trailer for its highly anticipated sci-fi series Halo.  The clip, set to a cover of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight,” features American Gods‘ Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief, the game series’ unstoppable super soldier, in action. Co-produced by Steven Spielberg and his Amblin Television company, Halo also stars Designated Survivor‘s Natascha McElhone, Spider-Man: Homecoming‘s Bokeem Woodbine, The Witcher‘s Natasha Culzac, Reef Break‘s Yerin Ha, and Penny Dreadful‘s Danny Sapani, among others. Halo premieres March 24…

Fox’s The Masked Singer revealed the three groups of singers from the singing competition’s upcoming seventh season — introduced as, “The Good, The Bad, and The Cuddly” — in the show’s new trailer. Among them are a fairy, a meerkat, a green ogre, a frog prince, a furry astronaut and a mosquito, among others. The Masked Singer, hosted by Nick Cannon and along with a panel of industry professionals — Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger, Ken Jeong and Robin Thicke — returns March 9…

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Spider-Man: No Way Home topped the weekend box office for the sixth time in its seven-week run. The film, with no new major releases to challenge it, delivered an estimated $11 million stateside tally to $735.9 million. The overseas audience boosted No Way Home past the $1 billion mark; its cumulative global box office is now $1.74 billion.

Scream finished in second place, scaring up just under $7.4 million in its third week of release. It has racked up a total of $62.1 million, here in the States, surpassing the $38.2 million its predecessor, 2011’s Scream 4, made during its entire domestic run. Internationally, the film has collected a total of $44.1 million, bringing its current worldwide total to $106.2 million.

Settling into third place was Sing 2 with an estimated $4.8 million. Its six-week total now stands at $134.5 million stateside and $133.4 million overseas, making for a global total of $267.9 million — the highest-grossing animated movie of the pandemic era by far.

The romantic drama Redeeming Love landed in fourth place, pulling in just shy of $1.9 million in its second week of release. Its two-week domestic tally currently stands at $6.5 million, to go along with $41,433 overseas.

Rounding out the top five was The King’s Man with an estimated $1.8 million. Its box office total here in the States sits at $34 million, but is enjoying its biggest success overseas, where it has racked up a whopping $80.4 million. The movie’s worldwide tally is currently at $114.4 million.

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It seems congratulations are in order for Nick Cannon — again — because he appears to be expecting a baby with quarterback Johnny Manziel‘s ex Bre Tiesi.

On Sunday, pictures obtained by TMZ seem to show Cannon, 41, and Tiesi, 30, hosting what appeared to be a gender reveal baby shower in Malibu, Calif. The two were seen gathered with an intimate group of friends and surrounded by pink and blue balloons. The talk show host was also photographed cradling Tiesi’s baby bump as she rocked a form-fitting white strapless dress and heels. 

As for the sex of the baby, party poppers sprayed out blue confetti revealing it’s a boy.

If things are as they seem, this will be the eighth child for The Masked Singer host. He currently shares 10-year-old twins Monroe and Moroccan with his ex-wife, Mariah Carey; son Golden, four, and one-year-old daughter Powerful Queen with Brittany Bell; Twins Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir, who were born in June, with Abby De La Rosa. Zen, his son with model Alyssa Scott, died at five-months-old, he announced in December. 

This will be the first child for Tiesi, who recently finalized her divorce from Manziel. 

“I’m having these kids on purpose. I don’t have no accident,” Cannon admitted on his radio show last year. “Trust me, there’s a lot of people that I could’ve gotten pregnant that I didn’t. The ones that got pregnant are the ones that were supposed to get pregnant.”

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The latest seres in the Power franchise, Power Book IV: Force, debuts Sunday, February 6 starring Joseph Sikora. In this spinoff, Sikora, who portrays Tommy Egan, has left New York City with hopes of taking over Chicago.

Executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson has teamed with Jeremih and Lil Durk for the theme song, “Power Powder Respect.”

Jeremih is proud of the fact that he was involved in producing the track. “What I really look more forward to with that with the intro, is that people don’t know that I actually made the beat. It’s my first production placement,” he tells ABC Audio. 

The Grammy nominee adds that he sent Fiddy several tracks, and was pleasantly surprised with the one he selected for the theme. “I couldn’t ask for nothing better. Even hearing it back and seeing the additional plays he made with it, adding on Lil Durk, just turned it into a real power play,” the “Down On Me” singer continues.

Jackson says he emphasized to Jeremih that the song has to reflect the series.

“Because it’s the theme, you don’t have to be Jeremih. You can do [or] say things that…relate to the show instead of just being what we would say next or what we would do next as artists,” Jackson says.

Since Power Book IV: Force is set in Chicago, 50 says it was key to have Windy City natives Jeremih and Lil Durk on the song.

“I had to make it feel like Chicago. So, you know, in order to do that, you know, I got Lil Durk involved and got Jeremih to bring me some tunes,” Jackson says.

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This weekend’s Saturday Night Live, hosted by Willem Dafoe, with musical guest Katy Perry, also featured a surprise appearance from former NFL player Peyton Manning, whose “Weekend Update” commentary on Saturday’s playoffs and Tom Brady‘s rumored retirement ended with him gushing over Netflix’s Emily in Paris.

The Spider-Man: No Way Home star Dafoe used his opening monologue to joke about his “expressive face,” which he “can’t control.”

“Maybe that’s why people come up to me and say, ‘You know what role you’d be perfect for? The Joker,’” he continued. “Always nice to hear that you’ve got the vibe of a sociopath,” the host joked.

Manning confessed to “Update” co-anchor Colin Jost that he, “had an hour to kill before the first game, so just for fun, I put on the first episode of Emily in Paris season two, and I watched the entire season straight through.”

“This show has everything: romance, adventure, sensuality, culture, a fresh take on feminism…a culinary tapestry so rich, I could only describe it as ‘food porn,’” he continued.

Regarding Brady’s possible retirement, Manning replied that it was “probably just speculation,” but if it were him he, “probably would retire, too, if it gave me more time to watch Emily in Paris.”

Responding to Jost’s shock at him blowing off football for the show, Manning explained, “Sure, watching football was the safe thing to do. That’s what everyone expected me to do, but if I’ve learned anything from Emily, it’s to follow my passions and always be true to myself.”

The episode also marked Jost’s co-anchor Michael Che‘s 155th appearance behind the “Update” desk, breaking Seth Meyers‘ record, surpassed by Jost in October. Che is also the first African-American “Weekend Update” anchor.

SNL returns February 26 with host John Mulaney and musical guest LCD Soundsystem.

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ABC News will broadcast two primetime specials to celebrate Black History Month in February.

As part of the Soul of a Nation series, Halle Berry, Tessa Thompson, Debbie Allen, and more will be featured in Screen Queens Rising airing Thursday, February 3 at 8 p.m. The special will explore how Black actresses are making progress in Hollywood.

One hour later, X/onerated – The Murder of Malcolm X and 55 Years to Justice, will present the first interview with Muhammad Abdul Aziz, who was wrongfully convicted of Malcolm X’s assassination in 1965

Also for Black History Month, Good Morning America will feature a series about Black financial literacy. World News Tonight with David Muir will pay tribute to Black veterans, healthcare workers, teachers, and politicians within its “America Strong” segments. Nightline will take an intimate look at the first police academy at a historically Black college and university, and This Week with George Stephanopoulos will examine the impact of changes to voting rights legislation across the country.

In other news, LisaRaye McCoy reveals she suffered an “identity crisis” following her breakout role as a stripper in the 1998 film, The Players Club, starring Ice Cube, who was also the writer and director. “I felt like I had to have the long hair and look like my character, Diamond, in order to be recognized,” she told Page Six. 

“Players Club put me on the map… it made me a bonafide sex symbol, and when you are a sex symbol people think that you’re sexy all the time, and that stigma follows you,” she added. LisaRaye currently stars in A House Divided on ALLBLK.

Finally, Variety reports that Showtime has canceled Black Monday after three seasons. Don Cheadle and Regina Hall starred in the series about Wall Street traders in the 1980s.

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Sean Penn is already famous for speaking his mind, and he’s apparently done so again, while promoting his new film Flag Day. 

“I am in the club that believes that men in American culture have become wildly feminized,” the actor and activist, 61, told the UK-based publication The i.

Admitting he’s “frustrated with the world,” Penn explained, “I don’t think that being a brute or having insensitivity or disrespect for women is anything to do with masculinity, or ever did. But I don’t think that [in order] to be fair to women, we should become them.”

While some in Hollywood might backpedal in a subsequent chance to speak to the media, the Licorice Pizza supporting player attempted to explain his comments by telling the UK’s The Independent, “There are a lot of, I think, cowardly genes that lead to people surrendering their jeans and putting on a skirt.”

He added, “I have these very strong women in my life who do not take masculinity as a sign of oppression toward them.”

The comments left the multiple Oscar nominee’s 30-year-old daughter Dylan, his co-star in Flag Day, “quiet, staring into space,” the interviewer noted.

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Bob Saget‘s daughter Lara remembered her late dad in a tribute she shared on social media.

In a letter addressed to “anyone afraid to love” she posted Thursday on Instagram, Lara wrote that “unconditional love is the greatest of gifts.”

“My dad loved with everything he had. He had so many reasons to be scared to love,” she said. “Instead of being scared, he loved more. I am beyond grateful to receive and to give that love. Love completely and be kind. Of all the lessons he taught me, these feel the biggest.”

The heartwarming message was shared alongside a photo of Lara on a set as a kid, with her face pressed up against her dad’s as she grabs his shirt.

Lara is one of three daughters Saget shared with ex-wife Sherri Kramer; she has an older sister, Aubrey, and a younger sister, Jennifer.

Kelly Rizzo, the Full House alum’s widow, responded in the comments section of Lara’s post by writing, “I love you forever, Lara.”

Rizzo opened up about Saget’s death on January 9 at the age of 65, in a recent interview with Good Morning America. Rizzo said the comedian had “the biggest heart.”

“He just wanted to spread love and laughter, and he did it so amazingly, and I’m just so proud of him because he truly brought people together,” she told GMA.

Rizzo, who married Saget in 2018 after three years of dating, added: “He was just so wonderful, and I was just so honored to be his wife and to be able to be a part of it and bring him any bit of happiness that I could because he deserved it so much.”

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Having weathered slights like “Fatgirl” after filming 1997’s Batman and Robin, Alicia Silverstone isn’t taking it anymore. 

The Clueless actress took to TikTok — with the help of GAYLE‘s “abcdfu” and her own middle finger — to express just what she thought of the caption of a candid photo of her that had been posted online. 

The picture she displayed was taken as she walked in the grass wearing a blue summer dress, and was described as, “Alicia Silverstone Candid Fat Photo.” 

Between her smile and her middle digit, Alicia showed precisely how much she cared for — and about — the label. She also noted, “Damn. I think I look good,” followed with a crying laughing emoji and a shrugging emoji.

To The Guardian in 2020, Silverstone recalled how the weight shaming on Batman and Robin, in which she played Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, was so hurtful she “stopped loving acting for a very long time.”

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Deadline is reporting Jason Momoa could be the next in line to battle Vin Diesel‘s Dom Toretto and his “family” in the tenth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise. 

The trade notes the newly-single Dune star is joining the cast of the action pic, which opens May 19, 2023. F9‘s Justin Lin will be back to direct the 10th installment, though plot details are still under wraps.

The most recent installment of the Fast and Furious series made more than $726 million worldwide, earning the fifth spot on the chart of 2021’s highest grossing films.

Meanwhile, Momoa’s second stand-alone superhero movie, Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom, opens December 22 of this year.

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