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It's important to remember that few of the actors on "Star Trek," especially in the early days, were familiar with the universe of "Star Trek." While the trappings and themes of Trek are a deeply embedded part of popular culture in the early 21st century, back in the 1960s, "Star Trek" was merely a middling, mid-budget sci-fi network show. As such, when guest stars signed on to play an alien or a creature, they likely needed the premise of "Star Trek" explained to them by a director or a screenwriter. This is the 23rd century, war is over, and humanity is traveling the stars in military-twinged vessels devoted to study and diplomacy. That man, Bill, plays a starship captain named Kirk who leads by instinct. You play a [insert character description here]. These are basic motivations that an actor would need to hear in order to fall into the "Star Trek" ethos before cameras began rolling.

Shannon Wilcox, a character actor who appeared in 1984’s “Songwriter” alongside Willie Nelson and in five episodes of “Dallas,” died Sept. 2 in Los Angeles. She was 80.

Wilcox’s death was confirmed by her talent agent Peter Young.

Wilcox worked on such films as 1982’s “Six Weeks” with Dudley Moore and 1991’s “Frankie and Johnny” opposite Al Pacino. She also played the mother of Elisabeth Shue’s Ali Mills in John G. Avildsen’s “The Karate Kid” and appeared in other notable films throughout her career, including “Se7en,” “Runaway Bride,” “Raising Helen,” “The Princess Diaries” and its 2004 sequel, “The Border,” “Legal Eagles,” “For the Boys,””Exit to Eden,” “Dear God” and “The Other Sister.”

Wilcox made her onscreen debut on the action series “Starsky and Hutch” in 1976. She later guested on several series from the late ’70s to ’80s, including the short-lived sitcom “Sirota’s Court,” “Dog and Cat,” “Hawaii Five-o,” “Hart to Hart,...

Shannon Wilcox, a character actress who appeared alongside Willie Nelson in Songwriter, with Dudley Moore in Six Weeks and opposite Al Pacino in Frankie and Johnny, has died. She was 80.

Wilcox died Sept. 2 in Los Angeles, her daughter, actress-director Kelli Williams — she played attorney Lindsay Dole on The Practice — told The Hollywood Reporter.

A life member of The Actors Studio, Wilcox also portrayed the mother of Elisabeth Shue’s Ali Mills in John G. Avildsen’s The Karate Kid (1994) and worked in many other notable films, among them Tony Richardson’s The Border (1982), Ivan Reitman’s Legal Eagles (1986), Mark Rydell’s For the Boys (1991) and David Fincher’s Seven (1995).

Wilcox was the resigned ex-wife of Nelson’s Doc Jenkins in Alan Rudolph’s Songwriter (1984) and the wife of a California politician (Moore) caught up with a woman (Mary Tyler Moore) and her sickly child (Katherine Healy) in Tony Bill’s...

Netflix’s “Nyad” tells the remarkable true story of swimmer Diana Nyad and her quest to swim from Cuba to Florida while in her sixties. Annette Bening stars in the titular role while Jodie Foster turns in a key supporting performance as Nyad’s coach, Bonnie Stoll. “Nyad,” which is out in US theaters on Oct. 20 before heading to Netflix on November 2, could well earn Bening a fifth Oscar nomination for her title role as the impressive swimmer. But, before that, let’s take a look back at Bening’s four Oscar races to date.

Bening first found herself on the academy’s radar in 1991 for her role in “The Grifters,” Stephen Frears‘ crime thriller about a conman (John Cusack) who finds himself torn between his mother (Anjelica Huston) and girlfriend (Bening), both of whom are con-artists themselves. Bening had something of a rocky road on the way to the...

Ever wondered what it would be like if Michelle Pfeiffer was hunting down Hannibal Lecter, or if Eddie Murphy was the one appearing after you said “Candyman” five times in the mirror? Well, buckle up, horror fans, because we're about to take a wild ride through the casting crypt of what could have been! In the mysterious world of horror movie casting, the “almost-weres” are as thrilling as the final screams.

Join us as we unearth 10 iconic horror roles that were almost played by unexpected actors. From legendary stars to surprising near-misses, this listicle is a scream-worthy peek behind the casting curtain. Grab your popcorn and dim the lights; the terror of alternate casting awaits!

Silence of the Lambs (1991) Orion | Frankie & Johnny (1991) Paramount Michelle Pfeiffer as Clarice Starling – The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Michelle Pfeiffer, known for her elegance and poise, was director Jonathan Demme's first choice for Clarice Starling.

Donna Douglas played Elly May Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies, which aired on CBS from 1962 to 1971. Her co-stars were Buddy Ebsen (Jed Clampett), Irene Ryan (Granny), and Max Baer Jr. (Jethro Bodine). They played the Clampetts, who struck oil on their property in the Ozarks. The family took their newfound riches and moved to Beverly Hills, California, where their hillbilly lifestyle clashed with the city folks. Since the Emmy-nominated sitcom’s cancellation, all Beverly Hillbilllies cast members have died except one (Baer Jr.). So, what was Donna Douglas’ net worth at her death?

Donna Douglas beat 500 other actors for her role in ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’? Publicity photo of Donna Douglas as Elly May Clampett from ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’ | Bettmann via Getty Images

Donna Douglas was born and raised in Louisiana, where she won Miss Baton Rouge and Miss New Orleans in 1957.

The beauty queen moved to New York City to pursue a career in showbiz.

(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)

The Movie: "Frankie and Johnny"

Where You Can Stream It: Starz

The Pitch: From the director behind "Pretty Woman," "Frankie and Johnny" reunites Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer eight years after co-starring in 1983's "Scarface." The romantic comedy could not be more different than Brian De Palma's gangster epic. It is a sweet portrait of ordinary people who find love in a lonely world. Johnny (Pacino) is a divorcee recently released from a Pennsylvania prison on a forgery charge. He becomes a short-order cook at Apollo Cafe in New York, where he meets a quiet waitress named Frankie (Pfeiffer). Frankie has been hurt by her past abusive relationships and wants nothing to do with romance. But Johnny falls hard for...

Following the leak on social media of cell phone video and photos of a naked Jesse Williams, star of Broadway’s Take Me Out, the venue has installed an infrared camera system facing the audience that will be monitored in real time by the venue’s security team, a spokesperson for the show tells Deadline.

The cell phone video, shot from the audience and then posted on social media the day of the Tony Award announcements, infuriated the Second Stage Theater, Actors’ Equity and Williams’ co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson. “Taking naked pictures of anyone without their consent is highly objectionable and can have severe legal consequences,” Second Stage said in a statement last night. “Posting it on the internet is a gross and unacceptable violation of trust between the actor and audience forged in the theater community.”

The theater company said it is “actively pursuing takedown requests and ask that...

Few television series boast an ensemble as rich as HBO’s “The Gilded Age,” at least in terms of Tony Awards. Julian Fellowes’ new period drama, which takes place in 1882 New York during a period of American industrialization and affluence, was shot predominantly in New York City. It draws on the wealth of theatre performers available due to the pandemic. The result is a cast of Broadway luminaries whose accolades total in the dozens, or 64 nominations and 23 wins, to be exact.

At the center of the action are a pair of two-time Tony winners — Christine Baranski and Cynthia Nixon — who play sisters Agnes van Rhijn and Ada Brook. These doyennes of old, moneyed New York try to bar the door to the new wealth elbowing their way into high society. Baranski won her first Tony for her performance in Tom Stoppard’s “The Real Thing,” which featured Nixon as Baranski’s daughter.

Steve Restivo, an actor and former co-owner of Vitello’s Restaurant in Studio City, Calif., died on Nov. 5 at West Hills Hospital after a year-long battle with lung cancer and complications from Covid-19, his son Roy confirmed. He was 81.

Restivo was an actor for over 50 years. He was known for frequent roles as one of Garry Marshall’s acting troupe alongside Hector Elizondo and Larry Miller, appearing in films including “Nothing in Common” (1986), “Beaches” (1988), “Pretty Woman” (1990), “Frankie and Johnny” (1991), “Exit to Eden” (1994), “The Other Sister” (1999), “The Princess Diaries” (2001), “Raising Helen” (2004) and “The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement” (2004). He also guest-starred in television shows such as “Quincy M.E.,” “Cover Up,” “Remington Steele,” “Nowhere Man” and “The New Adam-12.”

He and his brother Joe Restivo had owned Vitello’s for nearly 30 years before the murder of Bonny Lee Bakley, the wife of Emmy-winning actor Robert Blake, outside the restaurant in 2001. Blake was...

Steve Restivo, an actor seen in Pretty Woman, The Princess Diaries and more, who also formerly co-owned Vitello’s Restaurant in Studio City, CA, died at West Hills Hospital on November 5, after a year-long battle with lung cancer and complications from Covid-19. He was 81.

Confirming Restivo’s passing to Deadline was his son Roy, a former 20-year senior television executive at NBCUniversal.

Restivo enjoyed a screen career of more than 50 years, finding frequent roles alongside the likes of Hector Elizondo and Larry Miller in the films of Garry Marshall, including Beaches (1988), Nothing in Common (1986), Pretty Woman (1990), Frankie and Johnny (1991), Exit to Eden (1994), The Other Sister (1999), The Princess Diaries (2001), Raising Helen (2004) and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004).

The actor also appeared in films including The Skateboard Kid 2, Inner Sanctum II, Hard Bounty and Sammy-Gate, finding guest-starring roles on the TV side in Quincy M.E., Cover Up, Remington Steele, The New Adam-12 and Nowhere Man.

The long-delayed 74th Tony Awards was held on Sunday, September 26 in a two-part telecast staged at the Winter Garden theater. Six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald hosted a ceremony on Paramount that included the awarding of all but three of the Tonys. “Hamilton” star Leslie Odom, Jr. then emceed a celebration of Broadway on CBS that included the top three prizes: Best Musical, Best Play and Best Play Revival.

Nominations were announced back on October 15, 2020. Of the 18 eligible productions from the shortened 2019-2020 Broadway season, 15 reaped bids across 25 competitive categories.

The musical “Jagged Little Pill,” a stage adaptation of Alanis Morissette’s 1995 album of the same name, leads with 15 nominations including Best Musical and for six of its cast. “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” is right behind with 14 nominations. That adaptation of the 2001 Baz Luhrmann film, scored the only Musical Actor nomination of the season for Aaron Tveit. In order to win,...

Broadway has just reopened after shuttering on March 13, 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. To mark the return of the rialto, the 74th annual Tonys were handed out on Sunday, September 26 at the Winter Garden theater. This two-part ceremony, which will be hosted by six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald on Paramount and “Hamilton” star Leslie Odom, Jr. on CBS, comes almost one year after nominations were announced on October 15, 2020.

Two new musicals – “Jagged Little Pill” and “Moulin Rouge!” — lead the Tony Awards nominations with 15 and 14 bids respectively including Best Musical. A third tuner, “Tina – The Tina Turner Musical,” reaped a dozen bids as did the new drama “Slave Play.” While the nominees were decided by 48 theater professionals, the winners were voted on by 831 members of the Broadway community.

Below, the 2020 Tony Awards winners list in all 25 competitive categories.

See Broadway insiders dishing the 2020 Tony Awards nominations in our theater forum

Musicals...

Elvis is still the King. Kruse Gws Auctions, the entertainment memorabilia auction house specializing in celebrities, sold a key piece of his career at a Saturday auction for more than a million dollars.

The Elvis Presley Eyelet Jumpsuit and Cape from his 1972 Madison Square Garden performances in New York has sold for $1,012,500, with the auction house reporting it as a world record price, albeit without noting any details on what record it beat.

The ensemble, designed by Bill Belew, became one of the most-photographed and iconic costumes of Elvis’s career. The show where he wore it was his first live performance at Madison Square Garden. The eyelet jumpsuit and cape has been in a private collection for more than 30 years prior to it going to auction.

Other Elvis memorabilia also was a hit at the weekend auctions. Highlights include an Elvis Presley Jar of Hair with extensive documentation, sold...

After a 15 months delay, the 74th annual Tony Awards honoring the best of Broadway will be held September 26 on CBS and Paramount . And there a lot of familiar faces expected at the ceremony at the Winter Garden Theatre including six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald, who is nominated for the revival of “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune”; Jane Alexander, who won her first Tony Award 52 years ago for “The Great White Hope” and contends for “Grand Horizons”; and 90-year-old Lois Smith, who made her Broadway debut nearly 70 years ago, is up for “The Inheritance.”

The Tony Awards first ceremony, held April 6 1947 at the Grand Ballroom of the famed Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City, was a vastly different affair. Awards were handed out in only eight categories. Producer, director and Tony founder Brock Pemberton was the host of the evening which was broadcast on Wor and Mutual Network radio stations.

Two-time Oscar nominated Italian cinematographer Dante Spinotti will receive this year’s Pardo Alla Carriera Achievement Award at August’s 74th Locarno Film Festival. Locarno will also host screenings of two of Spinotti’s standout films resulting from his long-time partnership with director Michael Mann: Oscar-nominated “The Insider” and classic heist thriller “Heat.” Spinotti will receive the prize in a ceremony at the Piazza Grande on Aug. 12, and hold an audience-led conversation the following day.

Spinotti’s prolific and consistent output has crossed genres and cinematic trends for four decades. His feature debut work was in Sergio Citti’s “Il minestrone” in 1981, but he was quickly off to Hollywood where he made an impact with the diversity and quality of his efforts, working on films like Sam Raimi’s Western “The Quick and the Dead,” Garry Marshall’s rom-com “Frankie and Johnny” starring Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer, and...

a series by Christopher James looking at the 'Gay Best Friend' trope

Even before officially coming out, Nathan Lane (left) wasn't afraid to play gay in "Frankie and Johnny," pictured here with Kate Nelligan and Al Pacino.Especially in the early days, the inauthenticity of the “Gay Best Friend” trope came from straight actors mincing about to sell the part. The role is able to gain a whole lot of authenticity when a queer person is either writing or acting the part. In the case of Frankie and Johnny, both the writer and performer of the 'gay best friend' were gay, though both were not out. Theater legend (and out gay playwright) Terence McNally adapted his Off-Broadway play Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune into a movie in 1991. He was able to get A-List talent to take the titular roles for film, with Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino headlining.

Michelle Pfeiffer has been dazzling audiences as one of Hollywood’s most recognizable leading ladies for decades. Throughout her illustrious career, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has expressed its adoration for the actress by nominating her eight times at the Golden Globes, including her winning performance in 1990 for “The Fabulous Baker Boys.” Her latest bid is for “French Exit,” a surreal comedy from Sony Pictures Classics that could land Pfeiffer her second Globe and first win in more than three decades.

Pfeiffer faces off against Maria Bakalova (“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”), Kate Hudson (“Music”), Rosamund Pike (“I Care a Lot”) and Anya Taylor-Joy (“Emma”) for Best Film Comedy/Musical Actress. None of Pfeiffer’s competitors come close to matching the veteran’s eight nominations to date. Pike had two prior bids for “Gone Girl” (2014) and “A Private War” (2018). Hudson was nominated once before (and won) 20 years ago for “Almost Famous.” Bakalova...

“Seriously?” asked the celebrated, thrice-Oscar-nominated actress of an overstepping journalist.

It was April 2018 and Michelle Pfeiffer was sitting on the stage of the Beacon Theatre beside director Brian De Palma and actor Al Pacino, her collaborators on the controversial gangster classic Scarface. And to the apt mystification of actress and onlookers alike, the moderator of the event, Jesse Kornbluth, wanted to know what Pfeiffer weighed in 1983.

Pfeiffer had reunited with De Palma and Pacino at that year’s Tribeca Film Festival for the 35th anniversary of the movie that propelled her to multi-million-dollar-paycheck, magazine-covering movie stardom. Pfeiffer was so intent on scoring the supporting role of Elvira Hancock—the abrasive, indolent, fashion-forward wife of Pacino’s vicious drug kingpin Tony Montana—that the then-little-known actress paid her own airfare from New York to Los Angeles to audition. The actress, who the year prior had tackled her first lead role in...

Let’s take a closer look at the three nominees for Best Play Revival: “Betrayal,” “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune” and “A Solider’s Play.” Our exclusive odds give the edge to “A Soldier’s Play,” but this only remains to be one of the closest races at this year’s virtual awards. Remember, only those Tony voters who saw all three nominees can vote in this category. Tony watchers theorize that this new rule helped “The Boys in the Band” win this race last year despite being the first production of the season to have opened.

The first nominee is the third Broadway revival of Harold Pinter’s 1978 award-winning play, “Betrayal.” The story chronicles a seven-year affair in reverse chronological order. The original Broadway edition earned Tony nominations for star Blythe Danner and director Peter Hall.

This edition came to town after a successful run in...

The label of a character actor tends to be interpreted as general audiences calling someone “that guy” in a movie. Stanley Tucci seems slightly above that description, bringing memorable and popular performances to the mainstream. From the purple-haired host Caesar Flickerman to Nigel, the lovable confidant of Miranda Priestly that gets stabbed in the back, there’s really nothing he can’t do. As Tusker, a man living with Alzheimer’s in Harry Macqueen’s “Supernova,” the actor’s actor may have found his strongest awards vehicle yet.

With Bleecker Street submitting Tucci for best supporting actor for the Academy Awards, he will compete in a category that has been very friendly to the character actors and overdue veterans. Mark Rylance (“Bridge of Spies”), J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash”), Christopher Plummer (“Beginners”) and Alan Arkin (“Little Miss Sunshine”) are the most prominent examples from the last 20 years. Despite just one Oscar nomination...

Hours after the nominations for the 2020 Tony Awards were finally unveiled on October 15, I sat down with another Broadway buff, David Buchanan, to dish all the surprises and snubs. We also predict how this year’s races will play out. We are still waiting on a confirmed date for this year’s ceremony. Watch the full video above.

As I note, “there are famous A-Lister names but they also celebrate these hardworking theater actors who aren’t necessarily household names, who are nevertheless doing incredible work.” We were both pleased to see the likes of Paul Hilton (“The Inheritance”) and “Slave Play” standouts like Ato Blankson-Wood and James Cusati-Moyer. I was particularly overjoyed to that Cora Vander Broek, the unsung hero of “Linda Vista,” reaped a bid. I note that her final line in the play marked “one of the few times this season where I experienced an entire audience...

With the announcement of the Tony Awards nominations on October 15, we now know the shows and performers in contention but we still don’t know when the winners will be announced. The Tonys had been set for June 7 at Radio City Music Hall but were postponed in March after the Covid-19 pandemic shuttered Broadway. We do know that the ceremony will be virtual, much like the recent Emmy Awards.

The 41-members of the Tony nominating committee honored 15 of the 18 eligible productions across 25 competitive categories.

See the complete list of 2020 Tony Awards nominees

The musical “Jagged Little Pill,” a stage adaptation of Alanis Morissette’s 1995 album of the same name, leads with 15 nominations including Best Musical and for six of its cast. “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” is right behind with 14 nominations. That adaptation of the 2001 Baz Luhrmann film, scored the only Musical Actor nomination of the season for Aaron Tveit. In order to win the trophy,...

The Tony Awards nominations were announced on Thursday, October 15 by Tony winner James Monroe Iglehart (“Aladdin”). The reveal of the roster of contenders was carried on the Tonys YouTube channel. While the nominations for the 74th annual Tony Awards were determined by 41 theater professionals, winners will be decided by 784 members of the Broadway community.

Only 18 shows were eligible for consideration by the nominating committee. On the play side, there are 10 original works and four revivals in the running. Over on the musical side, four new tuners are in contention; no musical revivals qualified. The cutoff date for eligibility was February 19, 2020. As both the Bob Dylan tuner “Girl From the North Country” and a new revival of “West Side Story” opened after that, don’t look for them on the list of nominations below.

Broadway has remained closed since March 13 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Tony Awards had been set...

Tony Awards nominations are always tricky to predict, but this year’s shortlist of Broadway’s best and brightest proves even more challenging to wrangle thanks to the coronavirus-shortened season, eligibility confusion, changed numbers of slots per category, and even questions about whether the two-person Actor in a Musical category will get nixed. Despite these unique hurdles, conventional Tony wisdom will still help to foresee some unexpected nominations. Below, see a list of just a handful of potential upsets that could shock theatre fans when the shortlists are announced.

A “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune” surge

The Tony nominating committee often favors spring productions, leaving a lot of summer and fall works underrepresented in the nominations. Though this season got unfortunately shortchanged due to Covid-19, some of those shows from the very start of the season now have a chance at recognition, like the beautiful revival of...

The 2020 Tony Awards may represent a shortened Broadway season, but there is a wealth of contenders to consider for the play categories. Fall and winter on the rialto was full of non-musical dramas, which will make for plenty of tense races at this year’s ceremony. Nominations will be announced October 15 with a virtual ceremony sometime later this fall. To help you predict which productions and performers might come out on top this year, take a read of the potential nominees for the play categories below.

See 2020 Tony Awards: Every eligible contender from the shortened 2019-2020 Broadway season

Best Play

There are 10 eligible dramas from the 2019-2020 season, which should give us five nomination slots. The two biggest conversation starters of the fall were “The Inheritance” by Matthew Lopez and “Slave Play” by Jeremy O. Harris. Both should easily land a spot. I’m also betting that Adam Rapp grabs...

If you’re confused as to who is actually able to compete for the newly announced virtual Tony Awards this fall, you’re not alone. The Tony Awards Administration Committee announced a new cut off date of February 19, 2020. That means that the 2019-2020 Broadway season was cut incredibly short.

Musical races are most heavily affected by the shortened season. “West Side Story” will have to wait until next year to compete as it opened after the February 19th eligibility cutoff date. Other scheduled revivals of “Caroline, or Change” and “Company” were postponed due to the Broadway shutdown. As such there will be no Revival of a Musical category this year. Other categories, like Best Musical and Director of a Musical, will likely see their number of nominees reduced to three due to a limited number of contenders.

Luckily, there are plenty of plays in contention since many of these non-musical outings premiere in the fall.

The Tony Awards Administration Committee met on Thursday for the third and final time to discuss eligibility of the 74th Annual Tony Awards. They discussed all of the plays and musicals that would be considered for the 2019-2020 cycle and placements for three productions.

The following 18 productions are eligible for the 2020 Tony Awards (in opening night order):

“Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune”

“Moulin Rouge! The Musical”

“Sea Wall/A Life”

“Betrayal”

“The Height of the Storm”

“The Great Society”

“Slave Play”

“Linda Vista”

“The Rose Tattoo”

“The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical”

“The Sound Inside”

“Tina – The Tina Turner Musical”

“The Inheritance”

“A Christmas Carol”

“Jagged Little Pill”

“My Name is Lucy Barton”

“A Soldier’s Play”

“Grand Horizons”

See 2020 Tony Awards: The show will go on virtually this fall

The American Theatre Wing’s 74th Annual Tony Awards will take place virtually this year,...

Eighteen Broadway productions will be eligible for this year’s Tony Awards competition, an awards committee confirmed Friday. The figure is significantly lower than last year’s pre-pandemic 34 eligible shows.

The number was confirmed, along with several routine nominee determinations, in yesterday’s final meeting of the the Tony Awards Administration Committee to decide eligibility for the recently announced all-digital 74th annual Tony Awards.

A date and platform have not been announced.

Among the decisions announced today, David Alan Grier will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play category for his performance in the large ensemble cast of A Soldier’s Play.

Also, both Elizabeth Strout and Rona Munro will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Play category for their work as co-authors on My Name is Lucy Barton, and Laura Linney will be considered eligible in the Best...

The Hollywood community continues to be upended by the coronavirus pandemic, with more people contracting Covid-19 as the days pass. While many have recovered, some have died from complications of the illness. These are the names of those we’ve lost.

Terrence McNally, a four-time Tony Award-winning playwright, died on March 24 at the age of 81 of complications from the coronavirus. His works included “Master Class,” “Love! Valour! Compassion!” and “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune,” which later became a film with Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino.

Italian actress Lucia Bosè, who starred in such films as Michelangelo Antonioni’s “Story of a Love Affair” (1950) and Juan Antonio Bardem’s “Death of a Cyclist” (1955), died on March 23 of pneumonia after contracting Covid-19, according to the Guardian. She was 89.

Read original story Celebrities Who Have Died From the Coronavirus (Photos) At TheWrap...

Six-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald added to her trophy case on Friday night, picking up a win at the inaugural Antonyo Awards, a celebration of Black theater artists.

“Let’s celebrate with each other,” McDonald said, accepting her award for best actor in a play on Broadway before the virtual audience of theatergoers. “We have much to be proud of in our community, so let’s hold each other up and move forward.”

Presented by the Broadway Black organization, the Antonyo Awards ceremony stepped into a Tony-less year to exalt the best of Black theater, virtually. “The Antonyo Awards seek to fill the gap between Black talent and public acknowledgement,” executive producer Drew Shade said during the show. “Not in competition but in the spirit of community and celebration, we uplift Black theater artists because our lives matter and our art matters.”

The award ceremony — which gave out expected prizes,...

Audra McDonald, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical and its star Adrienne Warren, Lachanze, Aziza Barnes’ play Blks and the Off Broadway revival of Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf were among the big winners at tonight’s inaugural Antonyo Awards for black theater artists on Broadway and Off Broadway.

McDonald took the award for Best Actor in a Play on Broadway for her performance in the Broadway revival of Terrence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune directed by Arin Arbus. Warren, who plays Tina Turner in Tina, was named Best Actor in a Musical on Broadway.

Blks was named Best Play, and Tina took Best Musical.

Created by Broadway Black, a multimedia organization that includes a website and podcast, the Antonyos’ Juneteenth inaugural ceremony included such presenters and performers as McDonald, Tituss Burgess, Alex Newell, Jordan E. Cooper,...

The New York theatre community is normally all abuzz in June. The Tony Awards provide excitement at the start of the month, warm weather brings in major tourist dollars, and New Yorkers collect their rainbow studded Playbills to celebrate Pride. But the coronavirus had different plans for June of 2020: Broadway is shuttered, the Tonys are indefinitely postponed, and new safety measures have cancelled Pride events worldwide. So thank the theatre gods for the tonic that is the American Masters documentary “Terrence McNally: Every Act of Life.”

Terrence McNally sadly passed away in March due to complications from Covid-19, so it is only fitting that the life story of this pioneer playwright should roar loudly during Pride month. The film was completed before his death, with a premiere at the Tribeca Film festival in 2018. The documentary now reaches a wider audience with a celebratory Pride airing on Sunday June 14th,...

Exclusive: MGM will turn the iconic stage musical Fiddler On The Roof into a feature film adaptation that will be directed by the red hot director Thomas Kail, who’ll produce with Dan Jinks and Aaron Harnick. Steven Levenson will write it, based on the musical that opened on Broadway in 1964 and won nine Tony Awards.

The musical features music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and book by Joseph Stein, and the original was directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins. Its Tony haul included Best Musical, Best Book and Best Score of a Musical, Best Director and Best Choreographer and it played more than 3000 performances. The production has been revived on Broadway multiple times and continues to be performed around the globe. The musical was turned into a 1971 Norman Jewison-directed film by United Artists with Topol playing Tevye. The film won three Oscars out of eight nominations.

From portraying a mob don and an AIDS-stricken attorney to a comic strip villain and a Nazi hunter, Al Pacino has done it all. In honor of his long and distinguished career (and his 80th birthday), we offer up this retrospect that showcases his expansive diversity.

N.Y.P.D (1968) • A then 28-year-old Pacino made his TV debut on this ABC police procedural plan the victim of a shooting.

Me, Natalie (1971) • Pacino had a small role in this film starring Patty Duke about a girl who struggles with her appearance.

The Panic in Needle Park (1971) • Pacino played a small-town crook leading a woman down a path of heroin addiction. His work in this film caught the eye of director Francis Ford Coppola

The Godfather (1971) • And then came “The Godfather” and his first Academy Award nomination. Need we say more?

Serpico (1973) • Pacino earned his second Oscar nomination playing New York City policeman Frank Serpico,...

With readers turning to their home viewing options more than ever, this daily feature provides one new movie each day worth checking out on a major streaming platform.

Barely released in 1982 and all but unseen for over three decades, Kathleen Collins’ “Losing Ground” was a rare instance where the matter of a middle-aged black woman intellectual’s interior life is generously examined — and illustrated in rich symbolistic terms. It brings to life the dreams and disappointments of talented, educated black women who in the shadow of patriarchy. It’s a challenging and unpredictable movie that deserves the enthusiastic reception that met its rediscovery five years ago.

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Philosophy professor Sara Rogers (Seret Scott) and her bohemian artist husband Victor (Bill Gunn) rent a summer...

Terrence McNally, the revered playwright behind such Broadway shows as Master Class and Frankie and Johnny at the Clair de Lune who also wrote the books for Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Full Monty and others, is being remembered by friends, colleagues and fans today. The four-time Tony winner, who last year received the Tonys’ Special Award for Lifetime Acheivement, died Tuesday of complications from the coronavirus. He was 81.

Among those posting tributes online today are Hamilton‘s Lin-Manuel Miranda, who called McNally “a giant in our world who straddled plays and musicals deftly,” My Big Fat Greek Wedding‘s Nia Vardalos, who wrote, “I read your plays while growing up and yours are the words on which I floated to my dreams,” and Patrick Wilson, who starred in McNally’s The Full Monty on Broadway.

More from DeadlinePlaywright Terrence McNally Dies Of Complications Due To CoronavirusNew York Mayor...

The world of entertainment has lost a legend. Tony Award-winning playwright and screenwriter, Terrence McNally, passed away after suffering from complications due to Coronavirus, E! News has learned. He was also a lung cancer survivor who lived with chronic pulmonary disease. According to documents shared with E! News, McNally died at the Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Sarasota, Florida on Tuesday. He was 81 years old. The four-time Tony Award winner was best known for his work: Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Master Class, Ragtime, Love! Valour! Compassion! and so many others. In light of McNally's death, many Hollywood stars have taken to social media...

Acclaimed playwright Terrence McNally has died of complications due to coronavirus. The author of Master Class, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune and Love! Valour! Compassion!, among many other major works, was a lung cancer survivor with chronic pulmonary disease, and died Tuesday at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Sarasota, Fl. He was 81.

McNally’s death was confirmed by his spokesperson Matt Polk. The Tony Award-winning playwright is survived by his husband, Broadway producer Tom Kirdahy.

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One of the greatest American playwrights of his generation, McNally was a four-time Tony Award winner, recipient of the 2019 Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, and 1994 Pulitzer Prize nominee.

Welcome to the most wide open Tony Awards season in recent memory. Recent Broadway seasons have produced surefire winners like “Hamilton,” “The Band’s Visit,” or “Hadestown” that robbed awards season of some suspense. But the 2020 Tony race for Best Musical does not appear to include such a juggernaut, and there are plenty of new tuners with a viable path to victory. Now is the time to jump into our predictions center and make your early, gutsy Tony nomination picks.

SEEWho Needs a Tony to Reach Egot?

This season features a slew of jukebox musicals which use pre-existing song catalogs. “Moulin Rouge!” has proved the most popular so far, letting Karen Olivo and Aaron Tveit belt their faces off to pop hits on the most lush scenic design of the season. “Tina – The Tina Turner Musical” tells the real life story of the queen of rock n’ roll with a star making turn from Adrienne Warren,...

Bob Cobert, the Grammy- and Emmy-nominated composer of television’s “Dark Shadows” and “The Winds of War,” died of pneumonia Feb. 19, in Palm Desert, Calif. He was 95.

Cobert’s themes for the 1960s Gothic horror soap “Dark Shadows” – “great spook music,” he once called it – were his most popular compositions, and “Quentin’s Theme” (for the character played by David Selby) became a top 10 hit in 1969 as recorded by the Charles Randolph Grean Sound, earning a Grammy nomination as Best Instrumental Theme.

The “Dark Shadows” score, the first daytime soap to generate a best-selling soundtrack album, cemented Cobert’s partnership with the series’ creator-producer Dan Curtis, who continued to employ Cobert on nearly all of his television and film projects for the next four decades.

They did four features and more than two dozen television films together. Their largest-scale project was “The Winds of War,” the 18-hour 1983 miniseries based on...

One of the biggest surprises on Oscar nominations morning came with the very first category announcement, when Kathy Bates‘s name was read in Best Supporting Actress for “Richard Jewell.” Where does Clint Eastwood‘s true life drama fall within the rest of her filmography? Tour through our photo gallery of Bates’s 15 greatest films, ranked worst to best.

See 28 most surprising Oscar nominees: We goofed by not predicting Kathy Bates, Cynthia Erivo, ‘Klaus’ and more

Prior to her movie career, Bates was a highly respected stage actress. But when her acclaimed theater roles were adapted into film, she was never apart of the transfer. She did get to join the cast of the play “Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean” when director Robert Altman filmed the play, but in other cases she missed out. Bates saw three of her stage characters adapted to the screen...

One of the biggest surprises on Oscar nominations morning came with the very first category announcement, when Kathy Bates‘s name was read in Best Supporting Actress for “Richard Jewell.” Where does Clint Eastwood‘s true life drama fall within the rest of her filmography? Tour through our photo gallery of Bates’s 15 greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Prior to her movie career, Bates was a highly respected stage actress. But when her acclaimed theater roles were adapted into film, she was never apart of the transfer. She did get to join the cast of the play “Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean” when director Robert Altman filmed the play, but in other cases she missed out. Bates saw three of her stage characters adapted to the screen but she was a part of neither: “Crimes of the Heart” (replaced by Diane Keaton), “night Mother...

The Tony Awards Administration Committee met for the first time during the 2019-2020 Broadway season to discuss eligibility of six productions for the 2020 American Theatre Wing’s 74th Annual Tony Awards.

The six discussed shows were: “Betrayal,” “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune,” “The Great Society,” “The Height of the Storm,” “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” and “Sea Wall/A Life.” The Tony Awards Administration Committee will meet a total of four times throughout the season.

The following determinations were made:

Aaron Tveit and Karen Olivo will be considered eligible for Lead Actor/Actress in a Musical for their respective performances in “Moulin Rouge! The Musical”

Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Cox, and Zawe Ashton will be considered eligible for Lead Actor/Actress in a Play for their respective performances in “Betrayal.”

Jonathan Pryce and Eileen Atkins will be considered eligible for Lead Actor/Actress in a Play for their respective...

This year Al Pacino may pick up his third career Emmy Award as Best Movie/Mini Actor for the HBO telefilm “Paterno.” He plays the title role of disgraced Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, whose successful 45-year career ended after his assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was revealed to have been a child molester. Pacino previously won the same prize for “Angels in America” in 2004 and “You Don’t Know Jack” in 2010, and he was nominated once more for “Phil Spector” in 2013. But of course, most of Pacino’s career has been in film and not television. In honor of his latest small-screen achievement, let’s take a look back at some of his best big-screen performances. Tour through our photo gallery above of Pacino’s 25 greatest films above, ranked from worst to best.

Pacino is an Academy Award winner for his cinematic work, but it took him 20 years and...

Jackie Chan is getting his golden moment. The popular international star is set to receive an honorary Oscar at this year's Governors Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Thursday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.Aside from the Rush Hour actor, other honorees will include veteran documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman, film editor Anne V. Coates and casting director Lynn Stalmaster. The awards will be handed out on Nov. 12 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland. "The Honorary Award was created for artists like Jackie Chan, Anne Coates, Lynn Stalmaster and Frederick Wiseman - true pioneers and legends in their crafts,...

On Tuesday July 19, Hollywood lost a giant in the world of comedy with the passing of beloved director/writer/producer/actor Gary Marshall at the age of 81. While most of the news outlets focused in on his considerable work in television (he practically owned Tuesday nights in the 1970’s with his “Happy Days” empire), this site would like to salute Mr. Marshall’s work on both sides of the camera.

After impressive writing credits on many of the classic sitcoms of the 1960’s, it was inevitable that the movie studios would tap him to contribute to several screenplays. The first was produced in 1968, a marriage comedy starring James Garner and Debbie Reynolds, How Sweet It Is. A youth-oriented romantic comedy starring Jacqueline Bisset, The Grasshopper, was released in 1970. TV triumphs quickly followed, so Marshall’s movie career was put on hold for more than a dozen years. 1982 was the year...

With the passing of Garry Marshall yesterday, Hollywood has lost one of its defining comedic voices. Though his acting credits in projects like Soapdish or Murphy Brown made him a recognizable figure right up to the end of his life, as a director, Marshall is probably best rewarded for his megahit Pretty Woman, best known... Frankie and Johnny Is Garry Marshall’s Most Underrated Film">Read more »...

With the passing of Garry Marshall yesterday, Hollywood has lost one of its defining comedic voices. Though his acting credits in projects like Soapdish or Murphy Brown made him a recognizable figure right up to the end of his life, as a director, Marshall is probably best rewarded for his megahit Pretty Woman, best known... Frankie and Johnny Is Garry Marshall’s Most Underrated Film">Read more »...

With the passing of Garry Marshall yesterday, Hollywood has lost one of its defining comedic voices. Though his acting credits in projects like Soapdish or Murphy Brown made him a recognizable figure right up to the end of his life, as a director, Marshall is probably best rewarded for his megahit Pretty Woman, best known... Frankie and Johnny Is Garry Marshall’s Most Underrated Film">Read more »...