Entertainment category, Page 263
Petri Hawkins Byrd deliberates on life after ‘Judge Judy’
Judith Sheindlin has been the sole judge, jury and verbal executioner for the last quarter century on her behemoth TV court show, “Judge Judy.” Her trusted bailiff, Petri Hawkins Byrd, has stood by her side during approximately 12,500 cases, and remembers an instance when he thought she got it wrong....
Bad Bunny is Spotify’s most-streamed artist of 2020
The year’s most played artist on Spotify? Globally speaking: Bad Bunny. The Puerto Rican superstar is the music platform’s most-streamed artist of the year with 8.3 billion streams globally. The Latin Grammy winner and hitmaker , who released a new album last week, leads a top five list that also...
TV Q&A: Where has WTAE’s Janelle Hall been?
Q: We have noticed Janelle Hall missing from the evening news for a few weeks. Is she OK? — Diane via email Rob: She is now. Hall posted to her Facebook page on Monday that she and her husband were diagnosed with covid-19 four weeks ago. She described the first...
TV Talk: AT&T SportsNet returns to Verizon’s FiOS TV
AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh and Verizon have reached a deal to return the regional sports network to the FiOS TV lineup, effective immediately. AT&T SportsNet, home to Penguins and Pirates games, went dark on Verizon systems on Sept. 30 following a retransmission spat over a new contract. A joint release issued...
Westmoreland Ballet films ‘Nutcracker’ at iconic area locations
The Westmoreland Ballet Company takes “The Nutcracker” off the stage and into the community with a new video production of the beloved holiday classic. Filmed at indoor and outdoor locations around the county, the video will debut online at 7 p.m. Friday. It also will stream at 7 p.m. Saturday...
TV Talk: McCandless native takes off in ‘The Flight Attendant’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. McCandless native Griffin Matthews didn’t know a career in the arts was a possibility until one day during 11th grade at North Allegheny Senior High School. “I was sitting next to a guy in jazz...
Dave Prowse, actor who played Darth Vader, dies at 85
LONDON — Dave Prowse, the British weightlifter-turned-actor who was the body, though not the voice, of arch-villain Darth Vader in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, has died. He was 85. Prowse died Saturday after a short illness, his agent Thomas Bowington said Sunday. Born in Bristol, southwest England, in 1935,...
Champion Ken Jennings will be first interim ‘Jeopardy!’ host
NEW YORK — “Jeopardy!” record-holder Ken Jennings will be the first in a series of interim hosts replacing Alex Trebek when the show resumes production next Monday. Producers announced Monday that Jennings, who won 74 games in a row and claimed the show’s “Greatest of All Time” title in a...
Winners announced for Pittsburgh’s Gingerbread House Display and Competition, can vote for People’s Choice
Barbara Rothermel received a text message from her daughter Monica Gesk when she heard the City of Pittsburgh’s Gingerbread House Display and Competition was returning this year despite the pandemic. “She told me she had the perfect idea,” said Rothermel of Peters. “She said ‘Mom, we have to make the...
Jerry Seinfeld digs into 45 years of his jokes for new book
LOS ANGELES — Forget the high-performance sports cars, the luxury Rolls-Royces and all those other classic automobiles in which Jerry Seinfeld ushers his fellow comics to the diner on television’s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.” The most valuable things Seinfeld owns are the thousands of pieces of paper — yellow,...
Cher in Pakistan to help ‘world’s loneliest elephant’
ISLAMABAD — Iconic singer and actress Cher is in Pakistan to celebrate the departure of Kaavan, dubbed the “world’s loneliest elephant,” who will soon leave a Pakistani zoo for better conditions after years of lobbying by animal rights groups and activists. Because of security concerns, Cher’s schedule was not made...
Where to watch your holiday favorites
Original local holiday TV specials have been in short supply in recent years but with so many traditions canceled this year due to covid, there’s a welcome new gift under the Christmas TV programming tree: Pittsburgh CLO’s “A Musical Christmas Carol” starring Richard Thomas will air on WQED-TV at 7:30...
Alex Trebek recorded powerful Thanksgiving message for ‘Jeopardy!’ ahead of his death
Beloved “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek offered an uplifting vision for the future of the world in a video he taped shortly before his death to be aired as part of the game show’s Thanksgiving episode. “You know, in spite of what America and the rest of the world is experiencing...
TV Talk: Filmed-in-Pittsburgh ‘Happiest Season’ debuts; Kaley Cuoco impresses in ‘The Flight Attendant’Video
Many movie theaters are still closed but several filmed-in-Pittsburgh, intended-for-theaters films make their way to smaller screens over the next month, beginning with this week’s debut of Christmas romantic comedy “Happiest Season,” now streaming on Hulu. “Happiest Season” pushes its Pittsburgh setting from its first frames — a pastel painting...
Soured: Pittsburgh pickle balloon popped when it was being installed for the holiday seasonVideo
2020 continues to deflate. A giant pickle ornament that was supposed to be the perfect backdrop for a selfie in Downtown Pittsburgh was canned before its planned debut Friday, according to the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. The ornament was being tested Wednesday for a final time when installers heard a loud...
The pandemic is changing Hollywood, maybe forever
NEW YORK — “No New ‘Movies’ Till Influenza Ends” blared a New York Times headline on Oct. 10, 1918, while the deadly second wave of the Spanish Flu was unfolding. A century later, during another pandemic, movies — quotes no longer necessary — are again facing a critical juncture. But...
Penguin snaps up Simon & Schuster, creating mega publisher
BERLIN — German media giant Bertelsmann said Wednesday that its Penguin Random House division is buying rival Simon & Schuster, in a mega deal that will likely reshape the U.S. publishing industry. Penguin Random House, already the number one American publisher, will buy the New York-based firm, whose authors include...
First piece in Penn-Trafford gallery commemorates masked Class of 2020
When art teacher Brenda Christeleit attended Greater Latrobe High School, she and other students had a chance to appreciate the district’s Art Conservation Trust. Established in 1991, the trust is a unique art collection, in that its 200 paintings are chosen by students. Today, Christeleit teaches in the Penn-Trafford School...
Museum Store Sunday offers deals on unique, curated merchandise
The weekend after Thanksgiving offers an array of shopping opportunities, from Black Friday to Small Business Saturday to Museum Store Sunday. On Nov. 29, about 1,600 museum stores across all 50 states and 24 countries will participate in this year’s edition of the special event, showcasing collections of items that...
TV Q&A: How can Verizon customers watch Penguins games this winter?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: How are Verizon customers supposed to watch Penguins games when their season starts? — Sandy via email Rob: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh has been unavailable to...
The Weeknd criticizes Grammys over nominations snub
LOS ANGELES — The Weeknd angrily slammed the Grammy Awards, calling them “corrupt” after the pop star walked away with zero nominations despite having multiple hits this year. The three-time Grammy winner criticized the Recording Academy on Tuesday after he was severely snubbed despite having one of the year’s biggest...
Obama memoir sells a record 1.7 million copies in first week
Former President Barack Obama’s “A Promised Land” sold more than 1.7 million copies in North America in its first week, roughly equal to the combined first week sales of memoirs by his two immediate predecessors and among the highest ever for a nonfiction book. Crown announced Tuesday that it had...
Beyoncé leads Grammy Award nominations with 9
NEW YORK — Beyoncé is bringing her black parade to the Grammys: The pop star’s anthem about Black pride scored multiple nominations Tuesday, making her the leading contender with nine. Beyoncé picked up song and record of the year bids with “Black Parade,” which she released on Juneteenth, the holiday...
Trevor Noah to host 2021 Grammy Awards
“The Daily Show” host and comedian Trevor Noah has been tapped to host the 2021 Grammy Awards. The Recording Academy made the announcement hours before the nominees for the upcoming show are revealed. It would mark Noah’s first time hosting the Grammys, which will be held Jan. 31. Earlier this...
Elton John, TikTok team up to educate about AIDS epidemic
The Elton John AIDS Foundation and TikTok are teaming up to raise awareness about the disease through a campaign and live event for World AIDS Day. John’s foundation and the social networking service announced their collaboration Tuesday for a live show on Dec. 1. The event will air on John’s...
