What's the occasion to toast Masterpiece Theatre? Does George wear 90 well? Who turned out for the all-star salute to Martin Luther King Jr.?
Our Muppets still mighty at 30. Entertainment Tonight measures milestones on Monday, January 20th, 1986. Miss it and you'll be sorry.
Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.
Hello everyone, I'm Rob Weller. And I'm Mary Hart. Bruce Springsteen stages a surprise concert last night in New Jersey. We have exclusive tape.
Catherine Hepburn makes a surprise appearance in New York and Yoko Ono gets a surprise, an unwelcome visitor in New York.
But first, would you believe the Muppets have turned 30 with no signs of slowing down? Dixie Watley reports.
Hey listen, I have a mission to fly, but when I get back maybe I can buy you a root beer.
Well I'd love it. We could play the jukebox and we could have a ride.
Kermit and the Muppets have been cutting a rug for more than 30 years. It all began in local television back in the 50s.
Five. Hmm. Hey what are you doing? Oh I'm taking a course in visual thinking.
As someone who doesn't really like to look back, would rather be looking ahead, was it difficult for you to go back over so many of the old things?
When I look at that stuff now, I just think, I just cringe because it's so terrible.
And yet at the same time it's interesting because it is how we got started.
The 30th anniversary special done in the manner of a film society tribute recalls the big breaks of the early years, including appearances on the Ed Sullivan show.
He was very sweet and seldom knew anything about what we were doing or why we were doing it. But he liked it.
The youngsters have been sending in loads of mail asking me why we plan to have the Muppets back on our show.
Well I don't know exactly, so here they are now, the Muppets.
While the Muppet name is now almost synonymous with that of a certain fraud, such was not always the case.
For many years Ralph the dog was the main character. He did the Jimmy Dean show for about three years and that was like 20 years ago.
17 to 20 years ago, I think. But for a while he was the big star and nobody wanted to hear about this fraud.
Mr. Tracy, prepare the standard rich and famous contract for Kermit the Frog and company.
The last 30 years have made Kermit just that. He and his consort Miss Piggy are one of America's favorite couples.
If that plane leaves the ground and you're not on it, you'll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.
While retrospectives often signify the end of an era, that's not the case with the Muppets.
I love the Muppet characters, you know, the Kermit, Piggy and Fozzie and Gonzo and all of those are, they're really a wonderful little group.
And I think we'll probably continue to do them as long as the audience wants them.
Let's go on with the show! Let's go on with the show!
What a cast! The Muppets, a celebration of 30 years, airs tomorrow night on CBS.
ABC has axed Lady Blue from its Saturday night lineup.
The female cop show has been a consistent finisher in the bottom five of the weekly Nielsen ratings.
In its place goes Fortune Dane starring Carl Weathers, who gained fame as Apollo Creed in the Rocky films.
ABC has renewed the Colbys. That announcement was made in New Orleans over the weekend at the National Association of Television Program Executives Convention.
For more news on that meeting, here's Lisa Gibbons.
New Orleans, city of riverboat gamblers, bourbon street jazz and old French charm, played host this weekend to a convention of television executives,
whose job it is to decide just what shows you'll be watching this fall.
And they have a lot to choose from. This year there are close to 300 new programs up for sale,
including 53 music variety shows, 44 sports programs, 37 children's shows, 25 dramas, 24 sitcoms and 21 game shows.
With so many programs competing for so little air time, the sellers will do almost anything to get the buyer's attention.
A police escorted motorcade delivered Flash Gordon and Mam Drake the Magician into the crowded convention hall
to capture Ming the Merciless, all to promote Defenders of the Earth, a new cartoon show.
Luramar Tele Pictures hired an entire marching band, complete with costumed Mardi Gras revelers,
to entertain prospective buyers at a gala dinner party.
On the convention floor, buyers could mingle with Linda Gray, David Selby and of course, Dr. Ruth.
Or have their pictures taken with Tim Conway, Sid Caesar, the cast of Silver Spoons and even female wrestlers.
Although the carnival atmosphere can rival the New Orleans Mardi Gras, this is anything but a party.
Tomorrow, the hype and high stakes decision making.
In New Orleans, Lisa Gibbons, Entertainment Tonight.
Last Thursday's episode of the Cosby Show scored a 38.5 Nielsen rating and a 55 share,
making it the highest rated episode of any regularly scheduled TV series since the Who Shot JR episode of Dallas in November of 1980.
That show scored a 53.3 rating and a 76 share.
Last night, PBS presented the conclusion of Bleak House on Masterpiece Theatre.
PBS doesn't sink or swim on the ratings, but if it did, there likely would not be programs such as Bleak House
and Masterpiece Theatre wouldn't be celebrating its 15th anniversary. Paula Childs reports.
Today is a day to drink and dance.
They are one of Britain's most popular exports, the stars of Masterpiece Theatre.
And on this, the 15th anniversary of the critically acclaimed PBS series, they came to Boston to celebrate.
It's kind of crazy. I mean, only in America. It's wonderful. It's mad.
Produced by WGBH in Boston and hosted by Alastair Cooke,
Masterpiece Theatre has been called an American institution.
And no wonder, it's won 22 Emmys in the last decade and a half.
I think the success is due entirely to the astonishing pool of fine actors and actresses that they have in Britain.
They have 10,000.
The stars of Masterpiece Theatre have a lot to celebrate.
They've helped to bring to American audiences over 1,000 hours of some of the finest television drama ever produced.
Of course, it's the best of English television. It isn't that Zivar Television is like that all the time.
They've just bought the best of it. And then it's very like middle of the road kind of television.
It's very easy. It's accessible.
It's dependable. I mean, some is good, some is not so good, some is very good.
But for 52 weeks of the year, I think it's pretty remarkable.
Despite its huge success, the award-winning program isn't resting on its laurels.
The producers are already planning an even more ambitious schedule for the future.
In Boston, Paula Childs, Entertainment Tonight.
A New York newspaper reports today that Farrah Fawcett is expecting her second child with Ryan O'Neill.
If so, this could be a banner year for O'Neill. He'll be a grandfather also.
His daughter Tatum O'Neill is expecting a child with tennis star John McEnroe.
And Nicole Strauss, wife of actor Peter Strauss, gave birth Friday to a seven-pound, one-ounce son, Tristan.
Coming up next, why were so many celebrities in past California this weekend?
And ahead, George Burns. Turning 90 is a tough act to follow, but he's ready.
On May 25th, Hands Across America organizers hold a press conference
where hands across America organizers hope to link six to ten million people in a human chain coast to coast.
The goal? To raise money for America's homeless and hungry.
On Super Bowl Sunday, a music video promoting Hands Across America will debut as part of NBC's pregame show.
Dale Harimoto was on hand as the Hands Project took its first step forward.
About 100 celebrities joined hands with 1,000 citizens of Taft, California to take part in a video for the event.
This is not about politicians. This is not about voting a man in. This is not about any determined sickness. This is about feeding our people.
It's for everyone to get involved. It's not just celebrities raising money.
I mean, it's for everyone in the United States to hold hands and raise money so we can help the people that are hungry.
The spot filmed in Taft features a song written for the event and a line of people holding hands, stretching for more than a mile.
On May 25th, many of them plan to be part of the human chain.
I'm actually going to the desert. I'm going to take the most remote spot in the whole place and get out there.
I'm going to try and take as many celebrities with me as I can so that we can try and attract people to an otherwise unattractive area, I guess.
If you could pick the one spot that you'd like to be with your hands extended, where would you like to be?
Uh, with two of the prettiest girls in the world, one on either side of me, way out in the middle of the desert someplace, and I'm the only one with the water.
Dale Harimoto, Entertainment Tonight.
Tomorrow night, live on CBS, 51 teenage girls will compete for the title of 1986 Miss Teen USA.
Peter Quinn-Hackes has a behind-the-scenes report from Florida.
I've seen your pictures, your name in lights and colors.
This is her big debut on network TV.
The fourth Miss Teen USA pageant decides who's the fairest of them all.
Unlike that other pageant, there's no talent competition, just a quick interview and the rest is how you look.
But that's not to say they don't have to perform, and that's the subject of daily, day-long rehearsals.
They go, oh, I can't dance, I've never danced before, and we just say, you will.
They've got help, of course, from the solid gold dancers, Fabian and other bandstand heroes, plus the Commodores.
Gonna be alright, gonna be alright, tonight you know.
The stakes? Whoever stands up there the winner on Tuesday night walks away with a cool 70 grand cash.
Personal appearances and other prizes will double that, but most of these high schoolers say they'd spend it on school.
Just as it should be, say hosts Michael Young and Morgan Brittany.
I was the most unattractive teenager in the world, and I'm looking at these young girls, 15 to 17.
They've got their act together, they've got a focus in life already. I'm excited about that.
The pageant airs tomorrow on CBS in Daytona Beach, Florida, Peter Quinn Hackes Entertainment tonight.
Each year, the Council of Fashion Designers of America makes it a point not only to honor those who design fashions, but those who wear them well.
Last night, as Dixie Watley reports, the honors ran the gamut from TV's hottest trend to a Hollywood legend.
I have a skirt, which I can wear to funerals if I must.
Katherine Hepburn's unique sense of style has influenced decades of designers, and last night earned her a lifetime achievement award.
While the fashion world may be impressed with her wardrobe, she has never taken it all that seriously.
I think it shows that we're all in a pretty serious spot here, when the original bag lady gets a prize for the way she dresses.
Miami Vice was honored for persuading the American male that pastel was not a sissy subject, and that action wear was your best Italian jacket over yesterday's t-shirt.
Now Miami Vice seems to be facing two pressures. Not only do they have to keep their ratings at the top of the heat, they have to keep their fashions there as well.
Part of the problem of mass manufacturing of wardrobe and imitation of Miami Vice is that if we pick a lot of what's on the market today, we'd be imitating ourselves.
So our search is very difficult right now to find new fashion design for the coming episodes and for next year.
Given that and the fact that if you keep anything long enough, it'll come back in style, those who've had their socks knocked off by Miami Vice may do well to keep them standing by.
Dixie Watley, Entertainment Tonight.
When we return, the Color Purple author Alice Walker and a birthday salute to George Burns.
Coming up this week on Entertainment Tonight, tomorrow, Rodney Dangerfield. Can a funny man get respect with his new movie?
Wednesday, John Voight. Will Runaway Train put his career on the fast track?
Thursday, Kurt Russell. Back-to-back movies. What's next?
And Friday, Jim Belushi. He's fulfilling a comic legacy his way. All this week, all on Entertainment Tonight.
They rolled out the red carpet for the Color Purple this weekend as author Alice Walker proved you can go home again.
I want to thank a lot of different people, including my mother.
Alice Walker returned to her hometown of Eatonton, Georgia, population 5,000, for a reception and a special premiere of The Color Purple, a film based on her Pulitzer Prize-winning book.
You should be proud of this lady. We certainly are. And when you see the film, I hope that you will feel the love that we gave of ourselves for her and for you.
The story set in rural Georgia struck a chord with local residents.
I thought it was very realistic. It really showed how things were then.
I thought it was terrific. I looked so forward to seeing it, and I wasn't the least bit disappointed. I'm going to see it over and over again.
While Walker may have been moved by all the hometown hoopla, she was candid when asked about being a role model.
I don't really hope to inspire others. I think others will just be inspired by whatever inspired me, the universe.
A fan described as disturbed broke into Yoko Ono's apartment in the Dakota building in New York City and left a note with his name, address and photo.
29-year-old Omer Travers was arrested late last night and charged with burglary.
Police say Travers broke in by lowering himself from the roof to the fire escape outside Ono's apartment. Ono had no contact with Travers.
Last night, Bruce Springsteen made his first live appearance since last year's Born in the USA tour.
Springsteen and members of the E Street Band performed six songs during a surprise appearance at a New Jersey bar.
Here's exclusive Entertainment Tonight videotape.
The occasion was a benefit for workers facing layoffs at a 3M plant in Freehold, New Jersey.
Now, the 3M company, it's their money and it's their plant, but it's the 3M workers' jobs.
And I'm here tonight to just say that I think that after 25 years of service from a community, that there is a ditto to the 3M workers and to my hometown.
One, two, one, two, three, four!
I sit on this lap in the big old building, steers people through town. I'm tasked with my hair, you say something, look up and look around.
This is your hometown. This is your hometown.
The benefit raised $5,000.
Well, he's 90. George Burns, America's oldest comedian, celebrates his 90th birthday today.
I would rather be a failure in something I'm in love with than be successful in something that I hate.
I always loved show business.
Ms. Burns, I'm Dr. Brown.
Oh, how do you do?
I've just completed your husband's diagnosis and it turned out very favorably.
Well, look, I'm not interested in that. How is this help?
As George Burns says, he'll be in showbiz until he's the last one left, but on his 90th birthday, he's most certainly not alone.
Happy birthday, George, darling.
Happy birthday, George, and many, many, many more.
Happy birthday, George Burns. Are we going to write a book together?
George, happy birthday.
Darling George, may I wish you a happy, happy 90th birthday.
George, happy birthday. The only thing left is the presidency.
Happy birthday, Mr. Burns.
You know, like in Vaudeville, years ago, they didn't like your act, they'd cancel you.
And the manager would knock on your door and give you back your pictures. That meant you were canceled.
Well, when the guy knocks on my door, I'm not going to answer. I'm letting him keep the pictures.
Here's the ET Digest for Monday, the 20th of January.
On home video, King, starring Paul Winfield and Cicely Tyson. Hank Williams Jr., the Star-Spangled Country Party.
And Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, starring Mel Gibson and Tina Turner.
On newsstands, the premier issue of VCR, the home video monthly.
And celebrating birthdays today, Lorenzo Lamas is 28, Artie Johnson 52, Patricia Neal 60, and director Federico Fellini is 66.
Our scheduled report on the making of a movie called Never Too Young to Die, starring John Stamos, Vanity, and Gene Simmons, will air at a later date.
But you'll be able to watch Goldie Hawn and Rodney Dangerfield and the Colby Stephanie Beauchamp tomorrow on Entertainment Tonight.
Tonight on NBC, as America celebrates the first ever Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Stevie Wonder hosts a two-hour special honoring the slain civil rights leader.
The NBC special was taken from six hours of performance by some 30 stars in three cities.
The special will be hosted from Washington, D.C. by Stevie Wonder, with simultaneous live performances in New York.
Our being here today, performing and celebrating his birthday, reaffirms for all of us that his dream has not died, even though there's still a great deal left to be done.
And Atlanta.
When I find myself in times of trouble.
It should go way beyond entertainment, and it should move people, and it should touch them, and it should remind them not only of years past, but of their obligations, and now in the 1980s.
It's important to be here, and it's important that people feel a part of this.
And this is bringing the message of Martin Luther King to the American public in general.
And with God's help, we shall overcome.
Tonight, tonight, it's an all star celebration in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday.
Now stay tuned for America, you're too young to die.
Coming up next on WJAR-TV 10.
It's a great day.
We're going to celebrate.
Just because some cannot see.
But.
And we all know everything.
Happy birthday to you.