Entertainment category, Page 238
Timothée Chalamet to play Willy Wonka in origin story
NEW YORK — Timothée Chalamet will play Willy Wonka in a musical based on the early life of Roald Dahl’s eccentric chocolatier. Warner Bros. and the Roald Dahl Story Co. announced Monday that the 25-year-old Chalamet will star in “Wonka.” The studio said the film will “focus on a young...
‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ to return to full in-studio audience in June
Stephen Colbert is getting his crowd back. The “Late Show” host will welcome back a full audience to the Ed Sullivan Theater for the June 14 show, his first in-person audience since March 16, 2020, CBS announced Monday. “Over the last 437 days, my staff and crew (and family!) have...
Pittsburgh native Gabby Barrett wins 3 Billboard Music AwardsVideo
Breakthrough country singer and Munhall native Gabby Barrett took home three awards Sunday at the Billboard Music Awards, including top female country artist and top country song for the hit “I Hope.” The song’s remix featuring Charlie Puth won top collaboration at the ceremony at the Microsoft Theater in Los...
Pittsburgh author Damon Young wins 2020 Thurber Prize for American Humor
Two years after the release of his book “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker,” the accolades keep coming for Damon Young. The Pittsburgh author has won the 2020 Thurber Prize for American Humor. The Thurber Prize is a coveted national award named for writer and humorist James Thurber that...
Plum artist’s work will be featured at ESAL gallery space in Murrysville library
Clare Mears Stefanini began painting when she was in college at the University of North Carolina’s Wilmington campus. She eventually decided to major in art, and a group of her pieces will be on display throughout June in Murrysville. Stefanini joined the East Suburban Artists League this past winter, and...
Chuck E. Cheese and the band launch 1st-ever tourVideo
You didn’t think you could keep Chuck E. Cheese stuck up on that stage forever, did you? While the pandemic shuttered many businesses — the kid-friendly pizza shop being one of them — the oversized rodent entertainer kept himself busy, according to a spokeswoman for his company. “We know our...
TV Talk: Stacy Smith prepares to sign off from KDKA-TV on his terms
For KDKA-TV news anchor Stacy Smith, the decision to retire was less about his age, 72, than about hitting a milestone. Now in his 50th year as a full-time broadcaster, Smith reached his five-decade goal. “I really feel like I could go on another five or 10 years,” Smith said...
Colonial reenactor brings new life to Bushy Run Battlefield museumVideo
A Pittsburgh man with a lifetime passion for history has taken a job at a pivotal battlefield in the region’s colonial history. “My hope is that people will come back to the Bushy Run. We want people to experience this, to come into this building (museum) who had never been...
Renowned preservationist remembered at Fort Ligonier ceremonyVideo
A historic restorationist who labored for decades creating historic reproductions at Fort Ligonier was remembered Saturday as a man who contributed to the good of his community. Charles A. Fagan III, a Fort Ligonier trustee emeritus, described his friend, the late Bradford E. “Brad” Mooney, 76, of Worthington, as a...
Actor Danny Masterson must stand trial on 3 rape charges
LOS ANGELES — After three days of dramatic and often emotional testimony from three women who said “That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson raped them nearly 20 years ago, a judge on Friday found that he must stand trial. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo ordered Masterson...
David Zurawik: ‘This Is Us’ is network TV’s greatest family drama, and I am already suffering separation anxiety about it
I have been feeling separation anxiety for weeks, and it is only getting worse. Season five of NBC’s “This Is Us’ ends Tuesday. And the network has also officially announced that the greatest family drama in the history of network TV will conclude after season six next year. That was...
Billie Eilish bringing world tour to Pittsburgh in 2022Video
Billie Eilish is bringing her Happier Than Ever, The World Tour to Pittsburgh next year. Eilish, the multiple Grammy Award winner, will play PPG Paints Arena on Feb. 8, 2022. It will be her first time performing in Pittsburgh. In 2020, Eilish won the Grammy for record of the year...
‘Hocus Pocus’ sequel to put a spell on Disney+ next year
They’ll put another spell on you, come 2022. The long-awaited “Hocus Pocus 2” will hit Disney+ in 2022, with Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy reprising their roles as the Sanderson sisters, according to a press release Thursday. The sequel to the 1993 Halloween cult classic will center...
Pittsburgh Festival Opera goes outdoors, indoors, digital for new season
Pittsburgh Festival Opera’s upcoming schedule is based on three V’s — “to be visible, viable and victorious — even during a pandemic,” according to Artistic Director Marianne Cornetti. “Because we are still in a pandemic year, and not knowing how confident our audience would be in attending performances before July,...
Jason Mraz to perform at the ‘Rock, Reggae and Relief’ festival in Pittsburgh
Grammy-winning musician Jason Mraz is hitting the road on his “Look For The Good Live!” tour. Announced Friday, Pittsburgh is the final stop on the schedule which kicks off July 30 at Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater in Austin, Texas. He’ll perform Aug. 28 at the “Rock, Reggae and Relief” festival,...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: May 21-23
This is the first weekend under Pennsylvania’s new capacity limits for both indoor and outdoor events so it’s the perfect time to get out of the house. Here are a few ideas. Another Art Festival in Shadyside Shadyside - the Art Festival on Walnut Street with Craft Marketplace is 10...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County this weekend: May 21-23
Return of the ‘90s They say you’re not a true kid of the 1990s if you never heard someone say, “Get off the internet. I need to use the phone!” Hard to believe it’s more than 20 years since that era passed into history, but it’s coming back for a...
TV Talk: Broadcast networks plan game show-heavy summer schedulesVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers viewing tips for the coming summer season. With the exception of The CW — and to a lesser extent, Fox — it’s looking like a steady diet of unscripted programming on the broadcast channels this summer. CBS Although CBS still has season...
Oak Street in Irwin used for ‘Quadfather’ film shootVideo
Dominick Domasky of Greensburg is in the inspiration business. Whether it takes the form of books, motivational speaking or, on Thursday night, film-making in downtown Irwin, Domasky’s Motivation Champs company “shares inspiration, positivity and smiles 24/7, and helps other people do the same,” he said. One of Domasky’s clients is...
Celebrity guest and artist changes announced for Steel City Con in Monroeville
Organizers of Steel City Con, a pop culture convention at the Monroeville Convention Center, announced new celebrity guests and artists for its upcoming show. Hollywood legend William Shatner tops the list of more than 25 guests scheduled for June 11-13 at 209 Mall Plaza Blvd. The Emmy award-winning actor, writer...
TV Talk: Broadcast networks announce fall schedulesVideo
Stability is the strategy most broadcast networks are using for fall, adding just a few new shows and keeping their prime-time lineups largely intact. ABC Aside from “Big Sky” moving to 10 p.m. Thursday and “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” joining “Supermarket Sweep” on Sunday, ABC’s prime-time schedule will look largely...
5 memorable Charles Grodin movie performances
He was a Pittsburgher born and raised in Highland Park and a Peabody High School graduate. Though not as famous as fellow Peabody grad Gene Kelly, Charles Grodin also made many great movies. Pittsburghers knew Grodin was from the Steel City because he kept a touch of his Yinzer accent...
Leechburg paramedic for Allegheny Health Network featured in Marvel comic bookVideo
If you ask Gary Cockroft, he’s about as far from a superhero as you could get. “I’m really quiet. I don’t like the camera; I like to stay in the background,” said Cockroft, 64, a Leechburg resident and paramedic with A-K Pulser. Marvel Comics and the Allegheny Health Network, however,...
Pioneering comic Paul Mooney, a writer for Richard Pryor, dies at 79Video
NEW YORK — Paul Mooney, the boundary-pushing comedian who was Richard Pryor’s longtime writing partner and whose bold, incisive musings on racism and American life made him a revered figure in stand-up, has died. He was 79. Cassandra Williams, Mooney’s publicist, said he died Wednesday morning at his home in...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh native, ‘Pose’ star Billy Porter reveals he’s HIV-positiveVideo
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Pittsburgh native Billy Porter revealed he was diagnosed as HIV-positive in 2007. It’s one reason why his HIV-positive character, Pray Tell, on FX’s “Pose” meant so much to him. “I was able to say everything that I wanted to say through a surrogate,”...
