Today, a look down memory lane at the Beatles.
A stroll down the walk of fame with Tina Turner.
And a look at TV news then and now with Walter Cronkite.
Star system has always been out of hand in news.
And that's the way it is.
Coming up on entertainment tonight for Friday, August 29th, 1986.
Hello everyone.
I'm Tess.
And I'm Mary Hart.
August 29th is a special day in rock and roll history.
In 1966, exactly 20 years ago today, the Beatles appeared in San Francisco's Candlestick Park
for what was to be their final public concert.
Today, their classic Twist and Shout is back on the pop music charts.
Here's how they performed it nearly 23 years ago for a Swedish television show.
Later on in today's show, we'll show you the Beatles performing the entire song.
Beatles records are still selling well.
The originals, of course, are collector's items.
And so are other various items of Beatles memorabilia, which with things from other
rock groups, went on the auction block in London.
Need a guitar owned by a Rolling Stone?
A pound note suit worn by who member Pete Townsend?
Or the first four singles put out by the Beatles Apple Records?
These and many other rock items were on the auction block at Christie's in London today.
It could have been yours if you had plenty of pounds of your own.
The big money was spent on Beatles items.
John Lennon's drawings fetched nearly $7,000.
A George Harrison album cover, which was never issued, went for almost $1,000.
And a copy of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's marriage certificate was grabbed up for almost $4,500.
Steve Rudier of the Hard Rock Cafe and Auction Pro says even he gets carried away.
Today, it was a Bill Haley guitar he didn't even want.
I was just raising my hand out of reflex.
And when I pulled out, I was really glad that I didn't have to go home with that show to
my company.
They would have been very angry.
The real stars of the auction included the record that the Beatles took to their first
audition.
Deca Records turned them down back in 1962.
But a fan today gave them a vote of confidence by buying that disc for almost $4,000.
And a home movie taken by a Beatles press officer and seen here on American television
for the first time went for more than $36,000.
It shows the Fab Four at play during their 1965 world tour.
The man who bought it left immediately, refusing to give his name.
Today's auction is proof that older really is better.
Tens of thousands were spent on Beatles items.
Yet, Boy George's coveralls only brought $360 and Prince's jacket a mere $950.
Although millions now probably claim they attended that final Beatles concert at Candlestick
Park, incredibly only 25,000 people were actually there.
It seemed like almost that many folks were on the scene in Hollywood yesterday to greet
Tina Turner.
Lisa Gibbons was in the middle of it all.
Yes, it's time for the awarding of another star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
They've given out 1,830 of these and it gets to be pretty routine in this town, except
when a really big star is being honored.
And you can always tell if it's a biggie based upon how much hoopla surrounds the ceremony.
Who are you here to see today?
Tina!
Everybody start howling and yelling and jumping to get a closer look.
Alright Tina!
Down, down, a little further, a little further.
It's terrible.
There's no respect.
You just have to get here real early and get a spot.
We just love this sort of thing.
Here is a woman who has it all and knows how to use it.
Tina Turner!
It took a long time to get to Hollywood.
I had no idea what it would be like today.
I didn't anticipate so many people.
It's like a real live concert, isn't it?
So how does the center of all this hoopla feel about it?
I can't tell you what it feels like.
I don't have the words yet.
I'll tell you later.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Lisa Gibbons, Entertainment Tonight.
For those who manage to attain it, stardom in music is often a fleeting thing.
The Beatles and Tina Turner have held on.
Gloria Loring has been a singer for decades, acted in Soaps for years.
But it took a combination of both for her to get a big hit.
Bobby Columby and Gloria Loring discussed singing and Soaps.
You want to just come out and say it?
Don't you want me to do the movie?
You know, you're starting to live in another world.
Gloria Loring has been an actress on Days of Our Lives for six and a half years.
But she's been singing professionally for 20 years.
Her goal was to make a hit record, then get an album deal with a record label.
She thought she had the ticket with Friends and Lovers, a duet with Carl Anderson that
was worked into the show content on Days of Our Lives.
What would you think if I told you I've always wanted to hold you?
Everything was just working perfectly.
Phones ring off the wall.
1,500 pieces of mail a month.
Just it went crazy.
People said, tell me where to send the money.
I want this record, Friends and Lovers.
Where do we go?
We've got 10 million viewers.
I'm figuring even if you say one out of 10 people wants the record, that's a million
records.
Some record company has got to understand this.
I got turned down.
You name it.
You name the company.
I got turned down by them.
Why do you think all those record companies passed on you at the beginning?
Because first of all, daytime is anathema to them, is the dregs of unhipness.
They obviously make a lot of money, so they make a lot of good decisions.
But I think occasionally they pass up some opportunities, like the one I presented.
They really didn't listen to the record on its merits.
Finally, someone did listen.
And from the single, she struck an album deal with Atlantic Records.
Friends and Lovers is the number five pop song in the country, putting Loring in the
company of such other female vocalists with top 40 hits as Madonna, Tina Turner, and Annie
Lennox of the Eurythmics.
I mean, I don't know if I'm a trendsetter.
I don't have Tina Turner hair.
I got nice earrings.
I don't wear a boy toy on my belt.
I don't have my hair shaved this close to Annie Lennox.
I'm not sure where I'll fall in.
But I've been around 20 years, and I'll be around 20 more.
We could be both to each other.
Coming up next, Walter Cronkite.
Just the way it was isn't the way it is.
The way it is and the way it was are two different stories in the world of TV news.
Barbara Howard talked with the dean of TV journalists, former CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite,
and he's the major item in today's New York Entertainment Report.
Barbara?
John, Labor Day weekend's off to a good start here.
The weather's cool, and New York is filled with tourists taking in Broadway shows and
catching up on the summer movies.
But there's no holiday hiatus over at the networks where the war continues for the number
one spot in television news.
In an interview with me at his vacation home in Martha's Vineyard, no less an authority
than Walter Cronkite expressed great concern about this ongoing battle for the highest
ratings.
I think that the whole ratings battle is psychologically bad for the team.
It'd be terrible if we just selected what is the best newscaster on the basis of who
is the most popular newscaster.
And that's what's wrong with ratings.
That's why they skew the whole concept of what news is.
Is there too much emphasis on how they look and who wears what and who shows up where?
Is it too much of that?
Well, I think so.
I think the star system has always been out of hand in news.
I don't think it belonged there from the very beginning.
But it's inevitable.
It's absolutely inevitable.
That's what the anchor person is there for.
You could do the program with a different anchor person every night, and it might improve
the broadcast actually to do it that way.
But the anchor person is the familiarity quotient.
But don't the high salaries paid to anchorman and to reporters then have to be justified
by high ratings, and doesn't that tend to make the newscasts a little softer so they'll
be more popular?
Does the circle get vicious in there?
Well, you said it, but I think yes.
I think there's a vicious cycle involved in that.
There's no question about it.
They're trying to reverse it.
There's these recent cuts in salaries across the board and on all the networks, I think,
reflect an effort by the management to bring the whole wage scale back to something more
pragmatic, more realistic.
How would you fare with this wonderful, avuncular face if you were in the competition today?
I don't think I'd make it.
I think if I'd come along the line today, as I was 30 years ago, I doubt very seriously
I would have made it as an anchor person on television at all.
It's not for me to dispute the king of anchorman, but I did.
And the rest of a very personal conversation with Walter Cronkite will air on this weekend's
edition of Entertainment This Week.
Mary?
Thanks, Barbara.
So we've heard what Walter Cronkite thinks of national television news, but just how
do viewers themselves feel about their local news?
The Radio and Television News Directors Association decided to find out, and Dick Shoemaker has
the story.
The press has been quick to criticize the quality of local television news shows for
too much emphasis on fancy sets, high-tech graphics, and TV news stars instead of concentrating
on serious reporting.
But today at the Radio and TV News Directors Conference in Salt Lake City, the Television
Information Office released a nationwide poll commissioned by them that says most viewers
love local TV news shows.
In terms of content, Dick, it was clear that the people liked the content in local news
and want more of it.
The Roper poll asked some 2,000 viewers to rank adjectives that best describe local TV
reporters.
The five positives came out on top, one, two, three, four, five, then a big gap, and the
five negatives were on the bottom.
Mulholland says the poll shows viewers want more of what they see today on local TV news.
Dick Shoemaker, Entertainment Tonight.
Coming up, a review of Farrah Fawcett's new movie, a rundown of the most popular home
videos.
And a flashback to the 60s as the Beatles once again twist and shout that and more when
we return.
Check your local listings for the correct time this weekend as Entertainment This Week
features Sherman Hemsley, Tanya Tucker, Simply Red, and more of Barbara Hauer's conversation
with Walter Cronkite, this weekend on Entertainment This Week.
What are the most popular movies on home video?
Who gives the best workout, provides the most action, and the biggest laughs?
Eric Burns says the people who sell and rent out the tapes for our home VCRs got together,
took a vote, stuffed the envelope, and the winners are...
Usually when I sit in this chair, it's to offer my opinion about home videos.
But today, some more important opinions.
According to a vote by the Video Software Dealers Association, here are the most popular
cassettes of the past 12 months.
Most popular drama?
Witness.
Most popular musical?
Amadeus.
Action Adventure, Rambo First Blood Part 2.
Science fiction?
Cocoon.
Horror?
A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Children's movie?
Pinocchio.
Sports movie?
Deep Throat.
Classic?
Gone with the Wind.
Sports?
WrestleMania.
Comedy?
Beverly Hills Cop, which was also voted the most popular of all current videos, regardless
of category.
Jane Fonda's new workout was the most popular cassette made especially for home video, as
well as the most popular instructional cassette.
And there you have it, the Video Software Dealers equivalent of the Academy Awards.
You didn't even have to sit through any acceptance speeches.
Eric Burns, Entertainment Tonight.
Brian Keith has shed Judge Milton C. Hardcastle's black robe for khaki, and the Brat Patrol
couldn't be happier.
Gene Wolfe has more on an upcoming Disney Sunday movie.
Veteran actor Brian Keith's latest effort is called the Brat Patrol.
Keith plays the commander of a marine base, plagued by a platoon of military brats.
I can't take my eyes off the Brat Patrol for one minute without risking national security.
In the best tradition of the boys who cry wolf, when these brats try to expose an illegal
sale of surveillance equipment, no one believes them.
They were sergeants, real good with kids.
I'm not.
I'm good with good kids.
The younger they are, the better.
They just, nobody's told them yet they're cute or anything.
They're just honest.
They haven't learned to, you know, to get tricky.
And that's so easy to deal with.
You just, they do it and you react to them.
You look like you're acting.
What's the meaning of this?
Dad!
I mean, General!
Sir!
Take cover!
We're under attack!
Hold!
Sir!
Kids can get run by their own people.
You know, a real idiot of a director can take what comes perfectly natural to a kid and
twist it around and tell them to nod and smile and do all kind of dumb crap and it's gonna
be bad on a kid.
Rat Patrol is scheduled to air this fall.
With the TV movies The Burning Bed and Murder in Texas, Farrah Fawcett successfully shed
her Charlie's Angels pin-up image.
She's now taken that harder edge onto the big screen with the adaptation of the hit
off-Broadway play Extremities.
Leonard Maltin is here with a review.
I've got a real problem in reviewing Extremities.
I was lucky enough to see William Mastro-Simon's original play in New York and it was electrifying.
Great theater, really thought-provoking.
So I came out of the movie feeling stunned.
How could such a dynamic play turn into such a tedious movie?
On the surface, nothing's been changed.
Farrah Fawcett plays a woman who is terrorized by a rapist who breaks into her house and
leads her in a deadly game of cat and mouse.
Not very pleasant, is it?
And it only gets worse.
Though there is a certain kind of death wish satisfaction in seeing Farrah turn the tables
on her intruder, James Russo.
But by the time her two roommates come home, the film completely falls apart.
You know, you'll accept things in a play that you won't in a movie.
The film has got to be real.
And yet it magnifies everything.
I think that's the problem here.
Extremities is a theater piece, not a movie.
Then there's Farrah Fawcett's performance, which is okay, I guess, but kind of monotonous.
There's no shading, no dynamics.
Well, if you never saw the play, maybe you'll feel differently.
But I thought Extremities was terrible, and I was really disappointed.
That's why I'm giving it a three.
I'm Leonard Maltin, Entertainment Tonight.
Rock singers turned actresses are new in movie theaters this weekend.
Madonna and husband Sean Penn team up for Shanghai Surprise, opening in limited release
today.
And Wendy O. Williams, the former lead singer and chainsaw virtuoso of the Plasmatic, stars
in Reform Schoolgirls.
Movie tracks surveyed ticket buyers on both coasts, but get their opinions of movies already
in release.
The results on a scale of zero to four, four being the best, are here as a guide for your
Labor Day weekend movie going.
and Barry Sullivan is 74.
In today's People Post scripts, Rick Nelson's former wife and their four children have filed
a wrongful death suit against three companies.
Charging negligence caused his plane to crash last New Year's Eve in Texas.
Nelson and members of his band were killed.
And George Burns, who is now 90 years old, has signed a new five-year contract with Caesar's
World to perform in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, and Atlantic City.
The man is taking over the world.
Hope.
Rob Weller and Lisa Gibbons will be here this weekend with Entertainment This Week.
Join them and see Sherman Hemsley, Tanya Tucker, Bobcat Goldthwait, Simply Red, and more.
And I don't believe it, but it's been 20 years since the Beatles' final public concert, but
their music endures.
Twist and Shout, their 1964 hit, is a hit all over again.
Here they are performing Twist and Shout for a television show, the Swedish Drop-In, shortly
before it became one of their biggest hits.
See you Monday.
Take care.
We'd like to carry on now with the song.
Before we do, we'd like to ask you if you'd join in with us.
Join in.
If you will, if you will, if you will, as we sing the song, just clap your hands, or
yes, or if you want to, stamp your feet on the floor, but just make a noise, okay?
You do that?
Yeah, yeah.
Okay then.
The song, Twist and Shout.
We're shaking up baby now, baby, Twist and Shout, Twist and Shout, come on, come on,
come on, come on, baby now, come on, baby, come on and work it on out, work it on out,
work it on out, you know you look so good, you know you got me going now, just like I
knew you would, just like I knew you would, just take it up baby now, Twist and Shout,
Twist and Shout, come on, come on, come on, come on, baby now, come on, baby, come on
and work it on out, work it on out, yeah, Twist and Shout, Twist and Shout, you know
you're doing so good.
Tomorrow night at 8, join us for exciting football action as the New England Patriots
take on the Green Bay Packers in preseason football.
That's tomorrow night at 8.
Now stay tuned as the LA Rams play the Denver Broncos here on WJAR Channel 10.