Daily Commentary – September 29, 2011 – Will the Conrad Murray/MJ Manslaughter Trial be another Case of Hollywood Justice?

• How will cameras in the courtroom affect the outcome?

Daily Commentary – September 29, 2011: Download

Daily Commentary – Monday, September 12, 2011 – Monkey Monday Morning Movie Trivia

• Monkey Monday Morning Movie Trivia

Daily Commentary – Monday, September 12, 2011: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Is Kelsey “Fraiser” Grammer Considering a Run for Political Office in New York State?

Fraiser for NYC Mayor … maybe.

According to the New York Post, Kelsey Grammer of ‘Cheers’ and ‘Fraiser’ fame is considering a run for political office in the Empire state. Grammer is truly an anomaly when it comes to Hollywood actors. Not only is he a Republican, he is an anti-tax, small-government GOP’er and an activist. Small government Republican, that’s more than I can say for many presently in the Republican party.

The “Frasier” star — a longtime conservative Republican — now says he plans to run for office, perhaps right here in New York, when he gives up acting.

“I have had a great career and extraordinary opportunities,” he told The Post. “But I look at my political aspirations as that last piece of my life — where I hope to do something good for people and pay back a little.”

The leap from actor to politician isn’t that great, the actor believes. Both, he says, require a “narcissistic personality” to succeed.

Good luck to Kelsey Grammer in his political endeavors if he wishes to jump into the arena. After all, if uber-lib Alec Baldwin can imply that he is going to run for NYC mayor … why not Fraiser?

Justice for Caylee … Will There be a Casey Anthony Movie? Hollywood Says Not So Fast … Backlash Would be Severe

One of the sad realities of the juries insane “not guilty” verdict in the murder trial of Casey Anthony in the death of her two year old daughter was not only that it provided “NO JUSTICE” for Caylee Anthony, but also that it opened the flood gates for tot mom to profit from this travesty of justice.

The second the surprise verdict came down of “not guilty” and that Casey Anthony would be released in mere days for time served on the lesser charges of lying to police, many speculated that Casey Anthony could turn this crime into a cash cow. Why not, it’s not like she is employable, or really has worked in the past except for her fictitious jobs she told others. So would she make money off the death of Caylee in books, movies or interviews? However, Hollywood is saying … hold the phone, NOT SO FAST.

But the public outrage over Anthony’s acquittal on murder charges is making some in the industry rethink the wisdom of adapting her story to the screen.

“Anyone who pursued a movie based on these events, especially right now, will face some immediate backlash,” said Matthew Belloni, news director for The Hollywood Reporter.

“The nerve is so raw on this and so many people are so outraged by the verdict that anything that is seen as an attempt to exploit this, especially if the family is involved, will be seen as a negative by most of the people who followed the trial,” Belloni told CNN.

Read more

Peter Falk of ‘Columbo’ Fame Dies at the Age of 83

There is sad news in the world of TV celebrity, Peter Falk has died at the age of 83. The Emmy award winning actor best known for TV detective show Columbo has passed away at his home in Beverly Hills, CA. Actor-director John Cassavetes referred to him as the man “everybody falls in love with.” Isn’t that the truth. Who did not love the plodding character of Columbo solving crimes in a most unconventional manner? Falk is survived by his wife of 34 years, actress Shera Falk, and two daughters from a previous marriage.

Rest in Peace

Peter Falk, the Emmy-winning stage, screen and TV actor, best known to world audiences as the always-underestimated police detective in the long-running telepic series “Columbo,” died Thursday at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 83.
It was announced that he was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease in December 2007.

Falk won five Emmys, four for portraying Columbo, and was twice Oscar nommed for supporting roles.

Read more on the life and times of Peter Falk at Variety. Even more at Entertainment Weekly.

Falk did not decide on an acting career until he was almost 30. Born in Manhattan, he was rasied in Ossining, N.Y. After serving in the merchant marine for 18 months as a cook in the days following WWII, he studied at Hamilton College, finished his B.A. in political science at the New School for Social Research in 1951 and his M.A. in public administration at Syracuse U.

After being rejected by the CIA, he worked for the state of Connecticut and began acting in community theater. Encouraged by his acting teacher, he quit his job and moved to New York to study under Jack Landau and Sanford Meisner, making his Off Broadway debut in 1956 in Moliere’s “Don Juan” and hitting Broadway in “St. Joan” when it transferred from Off Broadway in 1957.

Next came the role of the bartender in the hit revival of Eugene O’Neill’s “The Iceman Cometh” and roles in “Diary of a Scoundrel,” “The Lady’s Not for Burning,” “Purple Dust,” “Bonds of Interest” and “Comic Strip.”

What made Peter Falk so loved and admired … he was like no other typical actor. That disheveled look and trench coat … how I miss that show. Who could forget Columbo’s famous line, “Just one more thing …”