Fridays (TV Series)
''Fridays'' was a late-night live comedy show that aired on ABC on Friday nights from April 11, 1980, to April 23, 1982. Overview The program was ABC's attempt to duplicate the success of NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'', which, at the time, was in its fifth and final season featuring the original "Not Ready for Primetime" cast, along with several writers (and ''SNL'' band leader at the time, Paul Shaffer) who had been promoted to feature player status, as well as newcomer Harry Shearer. Like ''SNL'', ''Fridays'' featured popular musical guests and, beginning in the second season, celebrity guest hosts, some of whom had appeared on ''SNL'' before and after ''Fridays'' aired, such as Andy Kaufman, Billy Crystal, William Shatner, Mark Hamill, and George Carlin. (Carlin, who had hosted the very first ''SNL'' in 1975, was also ''Fridays'' first official "guest host" in 1981.) The show featured many recurring characters and sketches, short films, and a parody news segment called ''Fri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mark Blankfield
Mark Blankfield (born May 8, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known as a regular cast member of the television variety series '' Fridays''. Other work includes roles in '' Jekyll and Hyde...Together Again'', ''The Incredible Shrinking Woman'', '' Robin Hood: Men in Tights'', '' Dracula: Dead and Loving It'', and '' The Jerk, Too'', a TV-movie sequel to ''The Jerk''. Blankfield has also made appearances in television series such as ''Taxi'', ''Night Court'', ''The Nutt House'', ''The Jamie Foxx Show'', ''Saved by the Bell'', ''Sledge Hammer!'', ''Crusade'', ''Double Rush'', and ''Arrested Development The term "arrested development" has had multiple meanings for over 200 years. In the field of medicine, the term "arrested development" was first used, ''circa'' 1835–1836, to mean a stoppage of physical development; the term continues to be use ...''. Recurring Characters on ''Fridays'' *Pastor Babbitt, a highly conservative, yet very hypocritical televangel ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mark Hamill
Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards for his performances in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), and ''The Last Jedi'' (2017). His other film appearances include ''Corvette Summer'' (1978) and ''The Big Red One'' (1980). Hamill has also appeared on stage in several theater productions, primarily during the 1980s. He is a prolific voice actor who has portrayed characters in numerous animated television series, films and video games. Hamill is known for his long-standing role as the Joker in various DC Comics projects, commencing with '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1994). He has also voiced the Hobgoblin in ''Spider-Man'' (1994–1998), Fire Lord Ozai in ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (2005–2008), and Skips in ''Regular Show'' (2010– ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Father Guido Sarducci
Father Guido Sarducci is a fictional character created by American comedian Don Novello. Sarducci is a chain-smoking priest with tinted glasses, who works in the United States as gossip columnist and rock critic for the Holy See, Vatican newspaper ''L'Osservatore Romano'' (sometimes mentioned as ''The Vatican Enquirer'', a take-off of the ''National Enquirer'' Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid). Description Novello created the character in 1973, after he purchased the outfit (consisting of big floppy black hat, white clerical collar, and a long, red-trimmed black coat with cape) for $7.50 at a Society of Saint Vincent de Paul#St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store, St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store. The character was featured in 1970s cartoons by the Underground comix, underground cartoonists Dave Sheridan (cartoonist), Dave Sheridan and Fred Schrier, appearing in person in the early 1970s on ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' and later in the 1975 ''Smothers Brothers'' TV show. His most ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Don Novello
Donald Andrew Novello (born January 1, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, singer, writer, film director and producer. He is best known for his work on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1978 to 1980, and again from 1985 to 1986, often as the character Father Guido Sarducci. He appeared as Sarducci in many subsequent television shows, including '' Married... with Children'', ''Blossom'', ''It's Garry Shandling's Show'', ''Unhappily Ever After'', ''Square Pegs'', and ''The Colbert Report'', and in the 1980 documentary film ''Gilda Live''. He is also the voice of Vincenzo "Vinny" Santorini in the franchise of '' Atlantis: The Lost Empire''. Early life Novello was born in Ashtabula, Ohio, the son of Eleanor Eileen (née Finnerty), a nurse, and Augustine Joseph Novello, a physician. He is of Italian and Irish descent. The family moved to Lorain, Ohio, when Don was a young boy. In 1961, he graduated from Lorain High School. He subsequently enrolled at the University of Dayton and g ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Altered States
''Altered States'' is a 1980 American science fiction body horror film directed by Ken Russell and based on the novel of the same name by playwright and screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky. The film was adapted from Chayefsky's 1978 novel and is his final screenplay. The novel and the film are based in part on John C. Lilly's sensory deprivation research conducted in isolation tanks, under the influence of psychoactive drugs like mescaline, ketamine and LSD. It marked the film debuts of William Hurt and Drew Barrymore. Chayefsky withdrew from the project after disputes with Russell and took his name off the credits, substituting "Sidney Aaron," his actual first and middle names. The film score was composed by John Corigliano (with Christopher Keene conducting). The film was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Sound. Plot Edward Jessup, a Columbia University psychopathologist, is studying schizophrenia, and begins to think that "our other states o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Moral Majority
Moral Majority was an American political organization associated with the Christian right and Republican Party. It was founded in 1979 by Baptist minister Jerry Falwell Sr. and associates, and dissolved in the late 1980s. It played a key role in the mobilization of conservative Christians as a political force and particularly in Republican presidential victories throughout the 1980s. ''Oxford Dictionaries'' defines the term as a "right-wing movement in the US formed in the 1970s." History Before establishment The origins of the Moral Majority can be traced to 1976 when Baptist minister Jerry Falwell Sr. embarked on a series of "I Love America" rallies across the country to raise awareness of social issues important to him.Liebman, Robert and Robert Wuthnow (1983) ''The New Christian Right'', p. 58. New York: Aldine Publishing Company. These rallies were an extension of Falwell's decision to go against the traditional Baptist principle of separating religion and politics, a c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Popeye (1980 Film)
''Popeye'' is a 1980 American musical comedy film directed by Robert Altman and produced by Paramount Pictures and Walt Disney Productions. It is based on E. C. Segar's comics character of the same name. The script was written by Jules Feiffer, and it featured Robin Williams as Popeye the Sailor Man and Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl. Its story follows Popeye's adventures as he arrives in the town of Sweethaven. The film premiered on December 6, 1980 in Los Angeles, California and opened in the rest of the United States the following week. It grossed $6.3 million in its opening weekend, and $49.8 million worldwide, against a budget of $20 million. It received mixed reviews from critics when it was first released, but has received improved reviews over time. Plot Popeye, a strong sailor, arrives at the small coastal town of Sweethaven while searching for his missing father. He rents a room at the Oyl family's boarding house where the Oyls plan to have their daughter Olive become ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Pan-Arabism, Arab unity and History of the State of Palestine, statehood over the territory of former Mandatory Palestine, in opposition to the Israel, State of Israel. In 1993, alongside the Oslo I Accord, the PLO's aspiration for Arab statehood was revised to be specifically for the Palestinian territories under an Israeli-occupied territories, Israeli occupation since the Six-Day War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War. It is headquartered in the city of Al-Bireh in the West Bank, and is recognized as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people by over 100 countries that it has diplomatic relations with.Madiha Rashid Al-Madfai, ''Jordan, the United States and the Middle East Peace Process, 1974–1991'', Cambri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' is a 1977 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François Truffaut. It tells the story of Roy Neary, an Everyman, everyday blue-collar worker in Indiana, whose life changes after an encounter with a UFO. ''Close Encounters'' was a long-cherished project for Spielberg. In late 1973, he developed a deal with Columbia Pictures for a science-fiction film. Though Spielberg received sole credit for the script, he was assisted by Paul Schrader, John Hill (screenwriter), John Hill, David Giler, Hal Barwood, Matthew Robbins (screenwriter), Matthew Robbins, and Jerry Belson, all of whom contributed to the screenplay in varying degrees. The title is derived from Ufology, Ufologist J. Allen Hynek's classification of close encounters with extraterrestrials, in which the third kind denotes human observations of extraterrestrials or "anim ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 54 feature films with Hope as star, including a series of seven '' Road to ...'' musical comedy films with Bing Crosby as Hope's top-billed partner. In addition to hosting the Academy Awards show 19 times, more than any other host, Hope appeared in many stage productions and television roles and wrote 14 books. The song "Thanks for the Memory" was his signature tune. Hope was born in the Eltham district of southeast London, he arrived in the United States with his family at the age of four, and grew up near Cleveland, Ohio. After a brief career as a boxer in the late 1910s, Hope began his career in show business in the early 1920s, initially as a comedian and dancer on the vaudeville circuit, before acting on Broadway. Hope began appeari ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a leader in record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses from 1926 to 1977. He made over 70 feature films and recorded more than 1,600 songs. His early career coincided with recording innovations that allowed him to develop an intimate singing style that influenced many male singers who followed, such as Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Dean Martin, Dick Haymes, Elvis Presley, and John Lennon. ''Yank'' magazine said that he was "the person who had done the most for the morale of overseas servicemen" during World War II. In 1948, American polls declared him the "most admired man alive", ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII. In 1948, ''Music Digest'' estimated that his recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jean Doumanian
Jean Doumanian ( Karabas; born July 28, 1936) is an American stage, television and film producer. She briefly produced ''Saturday Night Live'', between November 1980 and March 1981. Early life Doumanian was born Jean (or Jeannine) Karabas, the youngest of three children born to Greek Americans, Greek immigrant parents and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Chicago. Her father was a restaurateur. She attended the University of Illinois but dropped out as a junior to marry John Doumanian, a promoter for Capitol Records. While out with her husband who was scouting new talent in the clubs of Chicago, she met stand-up comedian Woody Allen who was sharing a billing with Capitol singer Nancy Wilson (jazz singer), Nancy Wilson. A friendship developed after Allen's manager, Jack Rollins (producer), Jack Rollins, asked the couple to show Allen around Chicago and her husband became Allen's road manager. Career The Doumanians divorced and John Doumanian moved to California. She moved to New Yo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |