AP Entertainment Digest for Monday, Jan. 4, 2021
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MONDAY, Jan. 4
UPDATES with PEOPLE-TANYA ROBERTS, TV-JEOPARDY-TREBEK and PEOPLE-LARRY KING.
TV-MR. MAYOR — There’s a government office right there in the very title of Ted Danson’s new series, but the new NBC comedy “Mr. Mayor” is anything but political. By Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy. SENT: 700 words, photos.
PEOPLE-TANYA ROBERTS — Tanya Roberts, who captivated James Bond in “A View to a Kill” and had roles on “Charlie’s Angels” and “That ’70s Show,” has been hospitalized. Her publicist says Roberts, 65, fell on Dec. 24 and has been hospitalized ever since. Roberts was erroneously reported as dead earlier in the day Monday, but the actor’s publicist says that was based on a mistake by her longtime partner. SENT: 276 words, photo.
TV-JEOPARDY-TREBEK — “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek recorded a special plea to viewers to support COVID-19 victims at the beginning of the last week of shows he taped before his death in November of pancreatic cancer. His message aired on Monday’s edition of the popular television game. Trebek’s final episode is scheduled to air on Friday, and it will be accompanied by a tribute. By Media Writer David Bauder. SENT: 261 words, photo.
PEOPLE-LARRY KING — Broadcast legend Larry King, who has been suffering from COVID-19, has been moved out of the intensive care unit at a Los Angeles hospital and is no longer receiving supplemental oxygen. A spokesman for King’s production company reported the improved picture on Monday. King had been in the ICU since New Year’s Eve. SENT: 114 words, photo.
THE STREAM — This week’s new entertainment releases include not one album but a double from rising country superstar Morgan Wallen and a face-off between Ashanti and fellow R&B diva Keyshia Cole in the latest “Verzuz.” Award-winning journalist Mariana van Zeller’s series on black markets turns to the smuggling of tigers — and tiger parts — in the episode airing Wednesday on National Geographic channel. SENT: 943 words, photos.
LEBANON-OBIT-ELIAS RAHBANI — Family members say Elias Rahbani, a Lebanese composer and lyricist who wrote the music for some of the Arab world’s top performers — including Lebanon’s diva Fairouz — has died after battling COVID-19. He was 82. He was the younger brother of Mansour and Assi Rahbani, the Arab world’s iconic musical duo known as the Rahbani Brothers, who wrote music and plays for Fairouz and others. SENT: 299 words.
BBN-CUBS-TV-SCIAMBI — Jon “Boog” Sciambi is the new TV play-by-play announcer for the Chicago Cubs, replacing Len Kasper. Sciambi joins color analyst Jim Deshaies in the booth for Marquee Sports Network, which is jointly owned by the Cubs and Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sciambi has worked at ESPN in a variety of roles since taking a full-time position at the network in 2010. He will continue to do some work for ESPN. SENT: 186 words.
CELEB BIRTHDAYS — Celebrities having birthdays during the week of Jan. 10-16 include the singers Rod Stewart, Mary J. Blige and Pat Benatar. SENT: 1,055 words, photos.
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REVIEWS
FILM REVIEW-PIECES OF A WOMAN. By Film Writer Lindsey Bahr. Upcoming: 700 words by 6 p.m. Wednesday, film stills.
FILM REVIEW-THE DISSIDENT. By National Writer Jocelyn Noveck. Upcoming: 700 words by 6 p.m. Wednesday, film stills.
FILM REVIEW-HERSELF. By Film Writer Jake Coyle. Upcoming: 700 words by 6 p.m. Wednesday, film stills.
BOOK REVIEW-THE OTHER MOTHER by Matthew Dicks. Reviewed by Molly Sprayregen. UPCOMIMG Monday: