Mike Barnes

@mikebarnes4.bsky.social

Life and Death at The Hollywood Reporter

#RIP Dick Button. He completed the first triple jump in competition, then was an outstanding, forthright figure skating analyst for ABC. “Dick made the words ‘lutz’ and ‘salchow’ part of everyday vocabulary,” said fellow Olympic champ Brian Boitano. bit.ly/4aBjAeV @debwilker.bsky.social

Dick Button, Icon of Olympic Figure Skating, Dies at 95

The two-time gold medalist and Emmy-winning commentator transformed the sport into a ratings powerhouse.

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#RIP Anita Bryant. The singer/orange juice pitchwoman railed against gay rights in the '70s & got canceled. “I got involved only because [gays] were asking for special privileges that violated the state law of Florida, not to mention God’s law,” she said. www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-n...

Anita Bryant, Singer and Crusader Against Gay Rights, Dies at 84

She has hits with songs like "Paper Roses" and served as a spokesperson for Florida orange juice before her career came crashing down.

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#RIP Linda Lavin. She marched in support of the Equal Rights Amendment and often delivered speeches in her ‘Alice’ waitress uniform “so she would speak for me,” she said. Women thanked her for showing them “that if Alice can do it, I can do it.” www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/l...

Linda Lavin, Busy Broadway Actress and Star of TV’s ‘Alice,’ Dies at 87

The Tony winner starred in Neil Simon's 'Last of the Red Hot Lovers' and 'Broadway Bound' and was a tireless advocate for women's rights: "I had a commitment."

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#RIP The Amazing Kreskin. He was not a fortune teller, oh no; he was an entertainer, a mentalist and a Carson show regular who called himself “a scientist, a researcher in the field of suggestion and ‘extrasensory’ perceptions. I perform what I discover.” www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/a...

The Amazing Kreskin, Master of Mind Games, Dies at 89

The world's most famous mentalist was a regular on Carson and applied "the power of positive thinking."

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The 1980s-1990s Big East basketball conference used to have: Lou Carnesecca John Thompson Jim Boeheim Rick Pitino Rollie Massimino Jim Calhoun P.J. Carlesimo Rick Barnes It was the best college basketball conference of them all. #RIP Lou Carnesecca at age 99.

#RIP Marshall Brickman. Woody Allen’s co-writer on ‘Annie Hall’ played the banjo — that got him a big ‘Deliverance’ check — and invented the “Carnac Saver” for ‘The Tonight Show.’ (One example: “May your Perrier water be secretly bottled in Tijuana.”) www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...

Marshall Brickman, Oscar-Winning Screenwriter on ‘Annie Hall,’ Dies at 85

A former 'Tonight Show' head writer and "Dueling Banjos" performer, he and Woody Allen also partnered on 'Sleeper' and two other films.

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#RIP Helen Gallagher. Before ‘Ryan’s Hope,’ she danced on Broadway. “I was not an Agnes de Mille dancer,” she said. “But with Jerry Robbins, I was able to catch what he wanted, which was the hyper, jitterbugging energy of what was going on in the streets.” www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/h...

Helen Gallagher, ‘Ryan’s Hope’ Stalwart and Broadway Triple Threat, Dies at 98

The singer, dancer and actress won Tonys for her turns in 'Pal Joey' and 'No, No, Nanette' and starred in 'Mame,' 'Sweet Charity' and 'The Pajama Game.'

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#RIP Earl Holliman. He beat out Elvis to play Katharine Hepburn’s girl-crazy kid brother in 'The Rainmaker' and was great with Angie Dickinson in ‘Police Woman.’ Quite a story here about how he was adopted in the Louisiana backwoods when he was a week old. www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/e...

Earl Holliman, Actor on ‘Police Woman,’ Dies at 96

He starred on the first 'Twilight Zone' and appeared on the big screen in 'The Rainmaker,' 'Giant' and 'The Sons of Katie Elder.'

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#RIP the great Jim Abrahams. The biggest struggle [on ‘Airplane!’] was to cast straight actors as opposed to comedians,” he said. “At first, Paramount was resistant to that idea. They didn’t quite understand why we wanted to do something like that.” www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...

Jim Abrahams, ‘Airplane!,’ ‘Naked Gun’ and ‘Hot Shots!’ Master of Mirth, Dies at 80

He and boyhood friends Jerry and David Zucker got their start with 'The Kentucky Fried Movie,' and they also were behind 'Top Secret!' and 'Ruthless People.'

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#RIP Chuck Woolery. The onetime frontman for The Avant-Garde (“Naturally Stoned”) and husband of Jo Ann Pflug lost his job as ‘Wheel of Fortune’ host in a bitter salary dispute with Merv Griffin (he never forgave him) but rebounded with ‘Love Connection.’ www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/c...

Chuck Woolery, Host of ‘Wheel of Fortune’ and ‘Love Connection,’ Dies at 83

He also did some acting and was a singer in a band that had a Top 40 hit, "Naturally Stoned," in 1968.

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