The 21st of August 1986 and this is entertainment tonight.
For Frank Sinatra it's 10 grand a minute.
For the ex Mrs. Rock Hudson it's tell it like it was time.
And for some others it's good morning, hello again and goodbye.
For Merv Griffin it's a wrap after 23 years of talk.
For Joan London it's baby books and breakfast television.
And for Shelley Hack it's back to prime time with Jack and Mike.
Music
Hello again everybody I'm Mary Hart.
And I'm John Tesh.
These are changing times on the television talk show circuit. Joan Rivers, Oprah Winfrey, Dick Cavett, David Brenner and Jimmy Breslin are getting ready to host new shows.
Joining Johnny Carson, Phil Donahue and David Letterman in the eternal quest for guests.
While this host of hosts looks to the future, a veteran of the talk show war said goodbye.
Dick Shoemaker reports.
From the Celebrity Theatre in the heart of Hollywood, it's the Merv Griffin Show.
The last Merv Griffin Show taped yesterday in Hollywood.
And the occasion drew a crowd of reporters who wanted to know why the talk show host called it quits after 23 years.
It's been in my mind for about a year and I think it is time.
I canceled myself, despite what you read nobody canceled me, they couldn't because I own the show and the distribution of it.
We asked celebrities who've been on the show what makes Griffin different from other talk show hosts.
He is so giving, he's out to make his guests look great.
He asks you questions that were not the run-of-the-mill questions.
Merv is, especially you don't feel, you could talk about anything with Merv and he probably makes you, you know.
Merv is an extraordinary figure in American television. I hope I get to be on his last show.
But there were no guests on the last show, just Merv Griffin himself sitting in the studio seats looking back at taped highlights of 23 years on the air.
I have known her a long time.
There was a memorable interview with Richard Friar.
I'm really going to kill him.
Chatting with Sophia Loren.
You know that I'm in love with you.
I suspected it. But how do we tell Carlo?
We don't.
Oh.
And trying acupuncture with Don Rickles.
I'm so glad we got here on Star Trek.
Either that or we're two coal miners and we lost our lamp.
This is the first time on this last show I've ever said this.
We will not be right back after this message.
That's all folks.
Merv Griffin and his orchestra.
Griffin is hardly walking off into retirement. With the game shows Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, he's one of the richest and most successful television producers in Hollywood.
Dick Shoemaker, Entertainment Tonight.
Since the days of Dave Garroway and J. Fred Muggs, Americans have grown used to sharing their breakfast with television.
A fellow host of one of the morning news shows has written a book called Good Morning I'm Joan London.
She and Scott Osborne had a chat.
Good morning everybody. I'm Dave Hartman.
And I'm Joan London.
Joan London has competed in the network's sunrise ratings race for seven years.
Now she's paused to join the ranks of TV personalities who broadcast and tell.
As I started to write my book, I really basically made a decision.
Am I going to write a book that really talks about all the problems of this business and I'm going to really go in there and boy this is my chance to get revenge?
Or am I going to do a book which takes them back behind the set and lets them watch the business from that point of view?
She chose the latter course, chronicling her rise from bright-eyed newcomer to seasoned veteran.
I came from a family that was the doctors' family in town, very protected, nobody ever said anything bad.
Everyone said you were wonderful and I had no preparation for the criticism and I took it all to heart and it was hard.
I don't think it's called really developing a hard skin because I can't say I have a hard skin or that I never read the press.
Well, only you read the press and it bugs you, but you learn how to deal with it.
London also dealt with her second banana status this month.
She'll share equal billing with David Hartman on Good Morning America.
So is she satisfied with her own place on the GMA couch?
I do intend to, as long as all goes well, to stay.
There will be a day though that I do want to move on to greener pastures, mainly anything other than before nine in the morning.
Scott Osborne, Entertainment Tonight.
There's good news for Good Morning America today from A.C. Nielsen.
Last week it tied the Today Show after trailing in the ratings for some time.
Both programs had an average rating of 4.3.
The CBS Morning News was well back in third place with a rating of 2.5.
Back in the spotlight, Ben Verene has returned to a familiar role.
Al Owens reports on last night's Hollywood opening.
Join us, leave your cheese to sour.
Join us, come and waste an hour or two.
Ben Verene, who created the role of Pippin and won a Tony for it, is back in character.
And this time he's also the director.
Mystic and exotic.
Verene first took Pippin to Broadway 14 years ago.
And the celebrities who helped welcome him back to the production agree it still holds up very well.
It's a classic, it's a perennial.
Ben adds that certain extra pizzazz that it would be hard pressed to do without.
I mean you think of song and dance, you think of Ben, it goes hand in hand.
And he was wonderful and the show was wonderful.
So it was really great to see that again.
War, war is finer than spring.
On its own it's become a classic.
I'm grateful for the recognition that it's given me.
But I think Pippin has a life of its own.
The gates are turning open.
Out of our home and world.
Verene and his production of Pippin will tour the country through the end of the year.
Alawin's Entertainment Tonight.
Next, a former angel sprouts new wings, but can Shelley hack it?
And ahead, blasts from the past and present from Nina Blackwood and The Rock Report.
Shelley hacked the one-time Charlie's Angel is flying high these days,
getting ready for the debut of her new ABC series Jack and Mike.
As Mike Liederman reports, it's an hour-long romantic drama about a career-minded married couple.
Tell me you're coming home tonight.
Late.
I get to leave early in the morning.
I'll tell you what, Monday I'll take the night off.
It's a date.
Pretty sure yourself, aren't you?
To check my appointment book.
Yeah, and I'll put you down a pencil.
I saw in the first script a modern woman who really loves her job and really loves her husband
and is trying to balance the two and both of them make both of them full for her.
And I see all my friends having the same dilemma, having the same problems.
It's not easy balancing a job you love and a husband you love very much.
She loves them both.
Hack, who holds a degree in history from Smith College, plays a high-powered newspaper columnist
married to a successful restaurateur played by Tom Mason.
Are you ready for a taste of treat?
All right, here we go.
Not everybody's the connoisseur you are.
You're saying I don't know soup?
I'm saying I don't cook very often and when I do I think he's encouraging me.
Then you might cook more often.
It's really beginning to work.
I like him, he likes me in terms of acting together.
We work together well, we have good chemistry, and that's what the show is going to build on.
It also builds on the whole idea of having, portraying a modern career woman who is trying to make it in business,
you know, just like me, trying to have a job.
Nobody's having sex anymore, nobody has time.
We've got a new national average, zero times a week.
I don't have to do a series.
I'm doing fine doing television movies and I start to produce my own, which is what I eventually want to do.
But I read this and I liked it so much for all the reasons that I've told you that I signed on the dotted line for five years,
which is a big chunk of your life.
And you don't sign on the dotted line for five years unless it's something you really want to do or you're very foolish.
British actress Hermione Baddeley, best known to American TV viewers as the wisecracking housekeeper on Maude,
died Tuesday in Los Angeles.
She was 77.
Mrs. Nagata?
You really should do something about them steps.
I nearly broke me bloody bum.
Ever body, Hermione Baddeley made herself right at home with Maude, though they didn't quite see things eye to eye.
Mrs. Nagata, in this house, there is no such thing as woman's work or man's work.
There is no discrimination between the sexes.
That's what tonight's party is all about.
Oh blimey, another Vanessa Redgrave.
In 1959, an Oscar nomination.
Oh hello, dears. I hope I haven't disturbed you.
Don't try and be discreet, but I had to come. It was cold outside.
Hello, Anne.
What an afternoon I've had. Voice production, my goodness.
Some of those girls, I don't know why I ever went in for this sort of thing. I don't really.
Don't put your daughter on the stage, Mrs. Worthington.
A stage actress from age six, a veteran of classic British films and lavish American productions,
Hermione Baddeley brought character to the screen.
It must be like the way.
Most of all, she had a style and a wit which will be missed.
Hermione Baddeley, dead at 77.
Will Rock Hudson's ex spill the beans? Will Frank Sinatra sing for his supper?
Why aren't the slums of New York good enough for Steven Spielberg?
The answers to these pressing questions from Barbara Hauer in today's New York Entertainment Report.
And it starts with a familiar name. Barbara?
Mary, it's Bill Cosby time again.
The man with the hit TV show and bestseller about fatherhood is now coming to the rescue with the ultimate how-to book,
Comic Relief for Growing Older.
Perhaps less eagerly awaited will be a book due this spring by Phyllis Gates,
who for three years in the 1950s was Mrs. Rock Hudson.
She'll tell all with the help of Hollywood writer Bob Thomas.
Unlikely to publish his account of how he turned things around over at NBC is Grant Tinker,
who will soon depart as that network's successful chairman.
Official word of his replacement will come next week and is expected to be Robert C. Wright.
NBC's new Mr. Wright is presently head of a subsidiary of General Electric,
the network's parent company which incidentally is also planning to launch NBC into the movie business.
Speaking of movies, New York is considered something like a giant studio back lot for many filmmakers.
But for his upcoming production titled Batteries Not Included,
Steven Spielberg has found that even the most run-down part of the city isn't run-down enough to suit him.
One of the film's locations called for a tenement house here on the Lower East Side of Manhattan,
and there are plenty of them.
In fact, one so perfect it has been duplicated brick by crumbling brick just three blocks away.
But this isn't just another case of Hollywood excess, or even a costly example of Spielberg's perfectionist style.
The movie starring Hume Cronum and Jessica Tandy requires the tenement to be destroyed,
and it's safer to demolish a building that's been constructed for that particular purpose.
It all makes good sense unless you live in a neighborhood where entire blocks collapse every day
without any help from the special effects department.
Hollywood, that's all I can say, it's Hollywood, you know.
And they say it's only we journalists who build things up and then tear them down.
Which brings us to that media favorite Frank Sinatra, who's got dollar signs in those blue eyes of his.
For a 90-minute performance over in Spain, he reportedly will receive just under $1 million.
Spiraling expenses are cited for the huge salary.
As Sinatra's concert promoter put it,
think of what the gasoline alone for his private jet is going to cost.
John?
Indeed, Barbara. Thank you.
Rock veterans continue to twist and shout their way back into the top 40.
That story and more from our new music reporter, Nina Blackwood, when we all get back.
Coming up tomorrow, Bill Bixby goes for the truth in his new series, True Confessions.
And behind the scenes and in the ring on Streets of Gold starring Klaus Maria Brandauer.
Travel arrangements made by Pan American World Airways,
which flies to more places in Europe than all other U.S. airlines combined.
Pan Am, you can't beat the experience.
New faces you say on entertainment tonight.
I don't understand why John's been here for four days now and today somebody new.
Yep, they got us coming out of the woodwork, aren't you Mary?
You may remember this lady from MTV.
She got her start as a rock and roll harpist from Ohio
and helped shape MTV as one of the five original video jockeys.
Today Nina Blackwood joins entertainment tonight with The Rock Report
and it's great to have you with us.
Thanks John and Mary.
Now when most of you think of pop music today,
you're thinking Wham, Madonna, Run DMC and New Shoes.
But don't write off the record makers and ground breakers of yesterday.
The Beatles for one are still a force to be reckoned with
both as a group and individually.
Paul is back on the charts with his top 40 hit, Press.
George Harrison has finished the music for Madonna and Sean Penn's new film,
Shanghai Surprise.
And to no one's surprise Ringo Starr is finally working on his first ever cable comedy special.
No music though, this time it's strictly for laughs.
And what about the Monkees?
American TV's answer to the Fab Four.
They're back on the road, back with a hit single
and they have five records on the album chart.
More by far than any other recording artist.
And the Monkees aren't the only pop group making believers out of their old fans.
The Beatles are still twisting and shouting thanks to two hit summer comedies.
And there's Mick Jagger pursuing ruthless people on his solo road
along with Paul McCartney, the Doobie Brothers' Michael McDonald alone and with Patti LaBelle,
Chicago's Peter Citerra and traffic's Steve Winwood.
On the road this summer Neil Diamond's still making beautiful noise,
Elton John on his yellow brick road,
and Creedence Clearwater Revival's John Fogarty is on the mark in center field.
Even 50's rock stars are starstruck again in the 80's.
Little Richard is anything but down and out in Beverly Hills.
And James Brown likes living in America thanks to Rocky Balboa.
And guess who's back again?
The pop star who perhaps best defined the word comeback two years ago
is the not so typical Tina Turner.
So everything old is new again.
But for Boy George everything new is trouble.
He's just learned he's been dropped as commercial spokesman for a Japanese brewery.
And the beer company is even contemplating a breach of contract suit as well.
There's nothing for the boy to do now but crying his beer, spokesperson or otherwise.
I'm Nina Blackwood with the Rock Report.
Mary, Nina it is great to have you with us.
It's nice to be here.
In fact I think this next story might have belonged in your report,
but I'll go on with it as it is.
Music and movie producer Quincy Jones and actress Peggy Lipton
will be getting a divorce after 14 years of marriage.
Jones told Daily Variety's Armie Archer it's an amicable split.
The couple have two children.
Check your local listings this weekend for the correct time
as Entertainment This Week presents a special hour with Paul McCartney.
A candid conversation with Barbara Hauer about his music,
the years with the Beatles and his recollections of John Lennon.
The memories I tend to have are silly little things.
There's no big things like you'd expect to have.
You expect to have wonderful big inspiring memories.
There are always silly little moments where he'd kind of lower his granny glasses
and sort of say, it's only me.
You know, if we're arguing or something, it's only me.
And just those little moments I'd say maybe you touch each other's souls.
Music
Celebrating birthdays today, Jackie DeShannon is 42.
Clarence Williams III, 47.
Kenny Rogers, 48.
Will Chamberlain is 50.
Britain's Princess Margaret, 56.
And sportscaster Chris Schenkel is 63.
Music
The jewel of the Nile continues its reign atop Billboard's top video cassette rentals.
It's a reign that most likely won't be disturbed by most of the new video releases
previewed by Eric Burns.
Did you ever feel that things just weren't going for you the way you wanted them to
and that even if your luck did get better, it would immediately go sour again?
Well, here's the way a character in the movie Trouble in Mind puts it.
When their ship comes in, it's going to be a dock strike.
For the most part, though, Trouble in Mind is about Chris Christopherson's love
for Laurie Singer, and it's a mess.
I'd like to welcome television viewers from all around the world to Westminster Abbey in London.
We're here for, of course, the wedding of the year in Britain.
Prince Andrew's love for Sarah Ferguson led to the wedding of the year in Britain,
and two different versions of the wedding are out on cassette this week.
Early evening, yes, about to put down
Offbeat, starring Judge Reinhold and Meg Tilley, is about a librarian masquerading as a cop
who enters a dance competition, a so-so movie.
And speaking of so-so movies, three older ones, all with well-known stars, are new to the video stores.
A Fine Madness with Sean Connery and Joanne Woodward, Rage, starring George C. Scott,
and The Terminal Man, starring George Segal.
And several other movies make their video debuts this week with Spanish subtitles.
They include Ten, Arthur, and Risky Business.
Diviértense ustedes.
Did I screw up? Jack, did I do something wrong? No.
Oh, yes, you did. You took part in Quicksilver, perhaps the week's most undistinguished new release.
The best bet? Well, this week, there are four of them.
And you're yellow.
Four James Cagney movies. They are Public Enemy, Thirteen Room Adalenne, White Heat, and What Price Glory.
Such a way with a line Cagney had. Can't you just hear him saying,
When their ship comes in, it's gonna be a dock strike.
Next week, more cassettes come in. We'll unload them for you and tell you about them.
Eric Burns, Entertainment Tonight.
In today's People Postscripts, Sigourney Weaver was too ill to go on stage Tuesday night,
so the opening performance of A Streetcar Named Desire was canceled at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts.
Weaver recovered, and last night's show went on as scheduled.
We have this story to report at our deadline today.
Forrest Tucker, star of TV's F-Troop, suffered chest pains and collapsed today
as he was being honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
And finally, newlyweds Tony Danza and his wife Tracy will make it three.
The couple is expecting the baby next spring.
Which means now there will be three people to decide who's the boss.
I didn't say that. Clever. Yeah, but that's a ways off.
And of course, we'll be following the Forrest Tucker story and update that tomorrow.
Also tomorrow, Bill Bixby gets a start on his new series, True Confessions,
and we'll be going behind the scenes on Streets of Gold, a new film starring Klaus Maria Brandauer.
Veteran rocker Steve Winwood, with a little help from Chaka Khan, hit a new high today
as his single, Higher Love, climbed to number one on the pop charts.
Have a good day, everybody. See you tomorrow.
MUSIC
Tomorrow at 4 on Hour Magazine, Facts of Life stars Mindy Cohen and Kim Fields
talks about growing up on TV, plus presidential daughter Patti Davis.
Visit to El Paso, Texas and much more.
Now stay tuned for The Cosby Show next, here on Channel 10.
MUSIC