In its day, “Dallas” (search) was a magnificent and magnetic series that drew millions every Friday night. No matter how silly, this steamy soap took command for most of its 13-season run, serving as a pioneer of serialized dramas in prime time. (And need we remind you how 77 percent of all people watching TV […]
Dan Rather to Step Down as CBS Anchor
Veteran newsman Dan Rather (search) announced Tuesday that he would step down as anchor of “CBS Evening News” in March, the 24th anniversary of his taking over the job from Walter Cronkite. The move comes just months after Rather, 73, was taken to task for going to air with a controversial “60 Minutes II” story […]
Actor John D. Barrymore Dies at 72
Actor John D. Barrymore (search), the father of Drew Barrymore, died Monday, the actress said. He was 72. “He was a cool cat. Please smile when you think of him,” Drew Barrymore said in a statement issued by her publicist. No information was released about the cause of death or where in Los Angeles he […]
Radio Host Calls Rice an ‘Aunt Jemima’
A radio talk show host drew criticism Thursday after calling Condoleezza Rice (search) an “Aunt Jemima” and saying she isn’t competent to be secretary of state. John Sylvester (search), the program director and morning personality on WTDY-AM in Madison, said in a phone interview Thursday that he used the term on Wednesday’s show to describe […]
Yushchenko Poisoning Sparks Criminal Probe
Ukrainian prosecutors Sunday reopened their investigation into allegations Viktor Yushchenko (search) was poisoned after doctors treating the opposition leader confirmed he had been slipped the toxic chemical dioxin (search). Yushchenko returned home to campaign for this month’s presidential runoff vote. He said he did not want the poisoning issue to overshadow the Dec. 26 election, […]
Swing Era Bandleader Artie Shaw Dies at 94
Artie Shaw (search), the clarinetist and bandleader whose recording of “Begin the Beguine” epitomized the Big Band era, died Thursday at his home. He was 94. Shaw had long suffered from adult onset diabetes and likely died of complications of the disease, said Larry Rose, his personal assistant since 1993. “He just reached a point […]
Interfaith Couples Celebrate ‘Chrismukkah’
A remote barn in Livingston, Mont., serves as the worksite for a harmonious holiday quest. Ron and Michelle Gompertz, an interfaith couple, launched the greeting card company Chrismukkah.com this year for other couples like themselves whose families celebrate both Christmas (search) and Hanukkah (search). There are an estimated 1.7 million married couples nationwide with a […]
‘Law & Order’ Star Jerry Orbach Dies
Actor Jerry Orbach (search), who played a world-weary cop on TV’s “Law & Order” and put Baby in the corner in “Dirty Dancing,” has died of prostate cancer at 69, a representative of the show said Wednesday. Orbach died Tuesday night in Manhattan after several weeks of treatment, Audrey Davis of the public relations agency […]
Powerball Winner’s Wife Wishes He’d Torn Up Ticket
The world’s first glimpse of Jack Whittaker (search), winner of the richest undivided lottery jackpot in U.S. history, was of a boisterous, happy-go-lucky guy in a big cowboy hat who loved his family, work and God and promised to share his good fortune with the church and the poor. Two years later, the picture the […]
Workers Strike at Seven Atlantic City Casinos
About 10,000 casino hotel workers from more than half the city’s 12 casinos went on strike Friday, even though negotiators had reached a tentative agreement with three of the casinos. Members of Local 54 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees union chanted and carried picket signs outside seven casinos after going on strike at […]