The comedian and Full House star was found dead Sunday in his Orlando, Florida hotel room, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.
“Earlier today, deputies were called to the Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes for a call about an unresponsive man in a hotel room,” the sheriff’s office tweeted. “The man was identified as Robert Saget & pronounced deceased on scene. Detectives found no signs of foul play or drug use in this case.”
Saget, who just began his I Don’t Do Negative Tour, had been traveling across the country.
On Saturday night, he did a show at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall in Jacksonville, Florida, and early Sunday morning tweeted: “Loved tonight’s show @PV_ConcertHall in Jacksonville. Appreciative audience. Thanks again to @RealTimWilkins for opening. I had no idea I did a 2 hr set tonight. I’m happily addicted again to this sh**. Check http://BobSaget.com for my dates in 2022.”
Saget is survived by his wife, Kelly Rizzo, and three children.
The latest offering from Disney/Pixar, Turning Red, will follow its predecessors Luca, and Soul, by debuting directly on Disney+.
The trailer for Turning Red have been playing in theaters — oddly, ahead of the very different, adult-themed action film The King’s Man, which was produced by Disney-owned 20th Century Studios. However, it seems uncertainty about the COVID-19 Omicron variant has ultimately led execs to decide the movie won’t have a theatrical bow after all.
Turning Red centers on a little girl named Mei — indeed, the preview has fun with *NSYNC‘s “It’s Gonna Be Me” — who turns into a magical, giant red panda when she gets flustered.
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
The tributes continue for one of the greatest actors of all time, Academy Award winner Sidney Poitier, who passed way Friday at age 94.
Harry Belafonte was one of his best friends: They knew each other as teenagers, and their trailblazing careers paralleled each other. Both Poitier and Belafonte were active in the civil rights movement in the 60s, and often marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his fight against racism, segregation and discrimination. Belafonte and Poitier also starred together in two films Sidney directed: Buck and the Preacher in 1972, and 1974’s Uptown Saturday Night.
“For over 80 years, Sidney and I laughed, cried and made as much mischief as we could,” Belafonte said in a statement. “He was truly my brother and partner in trying to make this world a little better. He certainly made mine a whole lot better.”
In other news, Rick Ross appears Sunday night in The Equalizer. In the “Bout That Life” episode, the Richer Than I’ve Ever Been MC portrays rapper Gregory “Dilemma” Blickman, who’s pleaded guilty to murder. His wife hires Robyn McCall, played by Queen Latifah, to prove he’s innocent.
“Look out for my cameo w/ the Icon @queenlatifah on the @theequalizercbs episode Airs Jan. 9th on CBS,” Ross commented with an Instagram photo of him in a scene with Latifah.
Finally, Deadline reports that this week, Tyler Perry announced that all actors, as well as crew members who interact with them, at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta must be fully vaccinated. The creator of the Madea franchise got vaccinated in January 2021, and has publicly promoted vaccinations. On January 28, he hosted the BET special, COVID-19 Vaccine and the Black Community.
(SPOILERS) The third season of Amazon Prime’s Emmy-nominated hit The Boys finally has a release date: June 3.
The revelation was made after the first footage of the anticipated new season was revealed on the Amazon Prime Video web series Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman, an in-universe “news program” brought to you by the show’s Vought News Network.
Based on Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson‘s very graphic graphic novel series of the same name, The Boys series centers on an Avengers-like group of superheroes known as The Seven. But unlike their Marvel counterparts, most of them are anything but heroic. Opposing them are The Boys: Karl Urban as Billy Butcher and Jack Quaid as Hughie, and their pals, all of whom have various scores to settle with the not-so-super super people.
The new footage doesn’t reveal too much: It shows Erin Moriarity‘s Annie/Starlight and Homelander smiling for the paparazzi. Fans know neither want to be there after the events of the last two seasons.
As the camera closes on Homelander’s face and the flashes strobe, his smile is increasingly pained. After all, season 2 closed with the sociopath losing custody of his son, and the death of his new love — a superhero called Stormfront — after The Boys publicly exposed her as being a real-life back-in-the-day Nazi.
(SPOILERS FOR “SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME”) Cutting-edge tech company MARZ crafted eye-popping visual effects for shows like the Emmy-winning WandaVision and Watchmen, and for big-screen projects including Marvel’s Eternals and the recent blockbuster Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The company’s name is an acronym for its stock in trade: Monsters, Aliens, Robots and Zombies. And while its wizards have brought those to life, it’s their expertise in more subtle effects that has won them acclaim.
The best effects are the ones we don’t notice. One of the company’s specialties is digital de-aging: doing with pixels things of which a plastic surgeon could only dream.
The company’s Partner and Chief Operating Officer Matt Panousis tells ABC Audio there’s a “huge demand” for their services. “[Y]ou have so many actors and actresses in their primes right now that want to maintain…their careers in their primes,” he says.
He adds, “it opens up the possibility for actors to play roles that are not representative of their true ages.”
Effects artist and company co-president Lon Molnar enthuses, “From a storytelling point of view, I mean, this is exciting for audiences to be able to see, you know, a younger Michael Douglas [in the MCU] or younger — I don’t want to give anything away — but in Spider-Man just being able to see, you know, younger actors or the way they were perceived 20 years ago.”
MARZ worked extensively on shaping Paul Bettany‘s Vision in WandaVision. So how do they feel about Bettany being nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe?
“I think it’s amazing, and we’re really pleased,” Molnar says, “…but at the end of the day, it all comes down to…Paul’s performance, and all we are doing is enhancing that performance.”
Hollywood is mourning the passing of the legendary Sidney Poitier, who died Friday. He was 94.
Poitier became the first Black man to win an Academy Award for best actor, in 1964 for his role in Lilies of the Field. He is also remembered for starring in A Raisin in the Sun, To Sir, with Love, In the Heat of the Night, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and many more classic films.
Tyler Perry, Whoopi Goldberg, Viola Davis and Debbie Allen are among the stars paying tribute to a true icon.
Tyler Perry: “The grace and class that this man has shown throughout his entire life, the example he set for me, not only as a Black man but as a human being will never be forgotten. There is no man in this business who has been more of a North Star for me than Sidney Poitier.”
“I’ll never forget inviting him and Cicely [Tyson] to fly to South Africa with me. Selfishly, I wanted to hold them both captive for the hours-long trip as I literally sat at their feet and listened to their wisdom and experiences. It was life changing…Thank you for being willing to share YOU to make us all better.”
Whoopi Goldberg: “To Sir… with Love Sir Sidney Poitier R.I.P. He showed us how to reach for the stars.”
Viola Davis: “This is a big one. No words can describe how your work radically shifted my life. The dignity, normalcy, strength, excellence and sheer electricity you brought to your roles showed us that we, as Black folks, mattered!!!”
Debbie Allen: “Your last sunset with us is the dawn of many generations rising in the path of light you blazed. We will always hold you in our hearts and forever speak your name.”
Sidney Poitier, the Oscar-winning actor who brought a quiet dignity to his characters on screen and helped break down the color barrier in Hollywood, has died at age 94.
Poitier’s death was confirmed by two Bahamian ministers. Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper told ABC News he was “conflicted with great sadness and a sense of celebration when I learned of the passing of Sir Sidney Poitier.”
“Sadness that he would no longer be here to tell him how much he means to us, but celebration that he did so much to show the world that those from the humblest beginnings can change the world and that we gave him his flowers while he was with us,” he said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell also told ABC News, “We’ve lost a great Bahamian and I’ve lost a personal friend.”
Poitier became the first Black man to win an Academy Award for best actor in 1964 for his role in Lilies of the Field. He was perhaps best known for his role as a Black doctor engaged to a white woman in 1967’s groundbreaking film Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, in which he starred opposite Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.
That same year, Poitier portrayed his most successful character, Philadelphia detective Virgil Tibbs, working alongside a racist white Southern police chief, played by Rod Steiger, in the crime drama In the Heat of the Night. It was a role Poitier would reprise in two sequels. His third film in 1967, To Sir, with Love, in which he played an inner-city teacher, helped take him to the top of the box office that year.
Born in Miami February 20, 1927, while his Bahamian parents were on vacation there, Poitier spent most of his childhood in the Bahamas. As a teen, he was sent to live with one of his brothers in Miami, and at age 16, moved on his own to New York City. After working a series of menial jobs and a brief stint in the Army, he finally landed a spot at the American Negro Theatre in Harlem.
Poitier made his film debut in 1950 in No Way Out, playing a doctor treating a white bigot. His breakthrough role came in 1955 playing a student in an inner-city school in Blackboard Jungle. By 1958, he had earned his first Academy Award nomination, starring in the crime drama The Defiant Ones with Tony Curtis.
Other memorable Poitier film roles included the musical Porgy and Bess, the film adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun, and A Patch of Blue.
Starting in the 1970s, Poitier directed a number of films, including Uptown Saturday Night and Let’s Do It Again, with Bill Cosby. In 1980, he directed the hit comedy Stir Crazy, starring Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder.
After retiring from acting in 1997, Poitier served as the non-resident Bahamian ambassador to Japan until 2007.
In 2002, 38 years after receiving his best actor Oscar, Poitier was given an honorary Academy Award for his “remarkable accomplishments as an artist and as a human being.” In 2009, President Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian honor.
Poitier is survived by six daughters, four of whom he had with first wife Juanita Hardy. He is also survived by his current wife, Joanna Shimkus, the mother of two of his daughters, including actress Sydney Tamiia Poitier.
Monday’s planned red carpet premiere for the fifth latest installment of the Scream franchise has been scrapped, according to Variety. The film’s stars, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette, along with their supporting cast, were expected to attend the event in Los Angeles. Media screenings, as well as the wide theatrical release of the horror flick, will still proceed on the big screen as planned. Scream opens nationwide January 14…
Filming on the Paramount+ drama Star Trek: Picard has been shut down since Monday, according to sources who tell The Hollywood Reporter that more than 50 members of the large production tested positive for COVID-19. The insiders say filming should resume early next week, if not sooner, though details remain in limbo. Picard was renewed for a third season in September, with seasons two and three being filmed back-to-back in a bid to control costs and accommodate production schedules, according to THR. Star Trek: Picard stars Patrick Stewart, Alison Pill, Isa Briones, Evan Evagora, Michelle Hurd, Santiago Cabrera, Jeri Ryan, Orla Brady, John de Lancie, Annie Wersching and Brent Spiner…
Deadline reports the Super Bowl is still on for February 13, according to Los Angeles County’s public health director and the chair of its Board of Supervisors. “It will be challenging if the surge continues into February”, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, but the department is “working closely with both the NFL and SoFi Stadium” to see that the appropriate safety precautions are in place to keep the community safe. Adds Ferrer, “My hope is that by the time we get to February, we’re on the downside of seeing this massive amount of community transmission.” She went on to note that, unlike the Grammy Awards and similar events that have postponed their ceremonies, the Super Bowl is held outdoors…
(NOTE LANGUAGE) The first extended trailer for Ozark‘s fourth and final season dropped on Thursday, and things don’t seem to be going well for Jason Bateman‘s Marty, who warns his former protégé Ruth, played by Julia Garner: “Don’t get yourself killed. Her response: “Like you f****** care.” The exchange comes as Ruth partners up with Darlene, played by Lisa Emery, on a drug enterprise that doesn’t sit well with the Navarro cartel, headed by kingpin Omar and nephew Javi, played respectively by Felix Solis and Alfonso Herrera. Omar also has a warning for Marty to end the clip: “Your greatest threat will always come from the inside.” The first seven episodes of Ozark season four premiere January 21 on Netflix, with the final seven due later this year… (Trailer contains uncensored profanity.)
James Corden, host of CBS’ The Late Late Show, announced on Thursday that he’s tested positive for COVID-19, making him the third late-night host this week to contract the virus.
“I just tested positive for covid 19. I’m fully vaccinated, boosted and because of this am fortunate enough to say I feel completely fine,” Corden wrote on Instagram. “The show will be off the air for the next few days. Stay safe everyone. All my love, James x.”
Repeats of The Late Late Show will air this week and next as Corden recovers, with new episodes set to return on Jan. 18, a source close to the show tells Variety.
The announcement comes two days after Seth Meyers, host of NBC’s Late Night, tweeted on Tuesday that he’d tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him to cancel this week’s shows. Also, earlier this week, Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon revealed that he had tested positive over the Christmas break.
COVID-19 has also struck daytime TV hosts, with Today’s Hoda Kotb and The View’s Whoopi Goldberg both revealing this week that they had the virus.
You can now add Shark to the long list of titles held by Kevin Hart when the actor, investor, and entrepreneur joins as a guest Shark on Friday night’s episode of ABC’s Shark Tank.
The moment is one that Hart says is “amazing” and praises Sharks Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O’Leary, and Lori Greiner for what they’ve built.
“You’re looking at some of the most influential people in business today, and they not only have made successes for themselves throughout their career, you’re looking at a television show that’s been around for 13 seasons,” he says.
In addition to working alongside some very successful people, Hart says that he didn’t just appear on the show to benefit himself, but to help others as well.
“If I can reach back and give opportunities to others, to people of my community, to the younger generation that is coming up that should be our future leaders of tomorrow and our future groundbreakers of today and tomorrow, why not?” he asks. “I’m not in the business of just doing it for me. You know, I think that’s the role that we all play when we get to sit in these chairs is the role of opportunity for not just ourselves, but others.”
Speaking of helping others, the True Story star shares that the best piece of business advice he’s ever gotten was “never try to be the smartest person in the room,” adding, “You’re really good when you understand that it takes the talent of others to make you better in the vision that you have become a reality.”
Even though Hart is head of several companies, when it comes to home life, his wife, Eniko, runs the show.
“I can’t say I’m the boss at all. She runs that household, that’s her domain,” he explains.
