Steve Allen
Thorsten Schütte’s film is a sharply edited and energetic celebration of Zappa through his public persona, allowing us to witness his shifting relationship with audiences. Utilizing potent TV interviews and many forgotten performances from his 30-year career, we are immersed into the musician’s world while experiencing two distinct facets of his complex character. At once Zappa was both a charismatic composer who reveled in the joy of performing and, in the next moment, a fiercely intelligent and brutally honest interviewee whose convictions only got stronger as his career ascended.
In a triumphant career that lasted forty years Erroll Garner pushed the playability of the piano to its limits, developed an international reputation, and made an indelible mark on the jazz world. And yet, his story has never been told. Until now. The film explores Erroll's childhood in Pittsburgh; his meteoric rise in popularity while playing on 52nd street, New York's famed jazz epicenter; the origins of his most famous album (Concert By The Sea) and his most famous composition (Misty); his singular, virtuosic piano style; and his dynamic personality, both on and off the stage.
The story of Tasmanian-born actor Errol Flynn whose short & flamboyant life, full of scandals, adventures, loves and excess was largely played out in front of the camera - either making movies or filling the newsreels and gossip magazines. Tragically he was dead from the effects of drugs and alcohol by the time he was only 50 & the myths live on. But there is another side of Flynn that is less well known - his ambitions to be a serious writer and newspaper correspondent, his documentary films and his interest in the Spanish Civil War and Castro's Cuba
Elvis fans, thank your lucky stars. This jam-packed collection of pulse-raising performances from TV, movies, concerts and special events showcases the King delivering blistering renditions of 30 No. 1 hits. An outstanding introduction to the magic of Elvis Presley! This collection of 30 wonderful performances by the King of Rock 'n' Roll showcasing 21 of his #1 US and UK hits and 9 other classics. Culled from his TV guest appearances, movies, and concert films and television specials -- from 1956, the year his star ascended, to the 1970s when he reached the pinnacle of his career -- this is Elvis at his best. Highlights include Elvis singing "Don't Be Cruel" for his first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and his performance of "Stuck on You" for "Welcome Home, Elvis," a TV variety special hosted by Frank Sinatra.
Elvis fans, thank your lucky stars. This jam-packed collection of pulse-raising performances from TV, movies, concerts and special events showcases the King delivering blistering renditions of 15 No. 1 hits. Highlights include Elvis singing "Don't Be Cruel" for his first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and his performance of "Stuck on You" for "Welcome Home, Elvis," a TV variety special hosted by Frank Sinatra.
A documentary about the life of Errol Flynn, with recollections from friends and family.
"The Television Years" examines the events that took place in the years between 1956 and 1960, in which Elvis Presley excited a whole nation as the "King of Rock and Roll" in the big television shows of the time. One highlight of this time periode was Elvis' 1960 combeback hosted by Frank Sinatra, which marked his first appearance on televison after his two-year stay in the army.
In 1948, Lenny Bruce was just another comic who couldn't get arrested. By 1961, all that would change.
Witness the last days of the Beat poet whose works would capture the very essence of the 1960 counter-cultural movement in an informative documentary featuring Allan Ginsburg's final television interview as well as remarkable deathbed footage shot by underground cinema icon Jonas Mekas.
A documentary made for the PBS program American Masters about the comedy team Nichols and May.
A documentary about James Dean. People who knew him or had worked with him reminisce.
A Hollywood studio executive is being sent death threats by a writer whose script he rejected - but which one?
Modern comedians share their thoughts about Laurel and Hardy. Also includes archival footage of contemporary comedians. Hosted by Dom DeLuise.
Rodney Dangerfield wants the hottest up-and-coming comedians for his new HBO special, but as always, he gets no respect.
Dr. Friedman states, "There is not a single person in the world who can make this pencil." He explains that the creation of even a simple object - like the "lead" pencil - requires the knowledge of many people, lumberjacks, steel manufacturers, miners, etc. These people may not speak the same language, they may not know or like one another, yet the market enables them to combine knowledge and effort to produce wealth.
The story of Jerry Lee Lewis, arguably the greatest and certainly one of the wildest musicians of the 1950s. His arrogance, remarkable talent, and unconventional lifestyle often brought him into conflict with others in the industry, and even earned him the scorn and condemnation of the public.
Acclaimed director John Landis (Animal House, The Blues Brothers) presents this madcap send-up of late night TV, low-budget sci-fi films and canned-laughter-filled sitcoms packed with off-the-wall sketches that will have you in stitches. Centered around a television station which features a 1950s-style sci-fi movie interspersed with a series of wild commercials, wacky shorts and weird specials, this lampoon of contemporary life and pop culture skewers some of the silliest spectacles ever created in the name of entertainment. A truly outrageous look at the best of the worst that television has to offer.
A documentary recounting the personal and professional lives of the Three Stooges, including rare footage and interviews with family members.
Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows teach viewers computer terminology, basic functionality and the many common uses of home computers.
A New Jersey trucker creates a hit TV show with help from his girlfriend in the ratings business.
The laughs are nonstop as a gang of ambitious young comics strives to make it in the exciting world of stand-up comedy at the famous comedy club in L.A., The Funny Farm. These budding comedy stars are as crazy offstage as they are on: Miguel, America s funniest illegal alien ; Miles, who can t decide if he s a black comic or a comic who happens to be black; Bruce, whose manic act borders on insanity; and Peter, the intense political satirist. The Funny Farm is a hilarious and insightful look into those who live the lives of comedians. Starring comedy superstar Howie Mandel (Walk Like a Man, Deal or No Deal, America s Got Talent), game show legend Jack Carter (The Hollywood Squares, Match Game) and the great Eileen Brennan (Private Benjamin).
An exploration of the relationship between Beat Generation writers Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady, and Cassady's wife, Carolyn.
New Tinseltown gossip columnist Dina Moran helps faded movie star Georgia O'Hanlon dig up dirt on amoral characters.
The American Film Institute gives its eighth Lifetime Achievment Award to James (Jimmy) Stewart in a ceremony hosted by his long-time friend Henry Fonda.
With an uncanny ability to mimic just about any dialect he heard and accompany it with a hilariously appropriate facial expression, classic nightclub comedian Myron Cohen built his career on the art of effective storytelling. Filmed in Warwick, R.I., and hosted by fellow comedian Steve Allen, this installment of HBO's "On Location" series captures Cohen in his element, spinning yarns that are sure to make you laugh.
Members of a town's Jewish community decide to substitute for their Christian friends and neighbors so they can enjoy Christmas. The good folk humorously attempt jobs they have never done before.
Comedy - Lucille Ball and "I Love Lucy" co-star Vivian Vance reunite in this TV special, in which homemaker Lucy Whittaker (Ball) calls up President Carter to complain about a local political issue -- and to her astonishment, he agrees to come dine at her house. Now Lucy has her hands full as family, friends and Secret Service agents invade her home in preparation for the big dinner summit. Ed McMahon, Mary Jane Croft and Steve Allen co-star. - Lucille Ball, Vivian Vance, Gale Gordon
Meeting of Minds is a television series, created by Steve Allen, which aired on PBS from 1977 to 1981. The show featured guests who played significant roles in world history. Guests would interact with each other and host Steve Allen, discussing philosophy, religion, history, science, and many other topics. It was conceptually quite similar to the Canadian television series Witness to Yesterday, created by Arthur Voronka, which preceded Meeting Of Minds to the air by three years. Steve Allen actually appeared on a 1976 episode of Witness to Yesterday as George Gershwin, one year before Meeting Of Minds premiered. As nearly as was possible, the actual words of the historical figures were used. The show was fully scripted, yet the scripts were carefully crafted to give the appearance of spontaneous discussion among historic figures. Guests included: Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette, Florence Nightingale, Thomas Paine, Francis Bacon, Thomas Jefferson, Voltaire, Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, Daniel O'Connell, Catherine II, and Oliver Cromwell. Typically, each episode would be split into two parts, broadcast separately, with most or all of the guests introduced over the course of the first part, and the discussions continuing into the second part. A total of 24 episodes were produced.
Lewis and Clark, aka The Sunshine Boys, were famous comedians during the vaudeville era, but off-stage they couldn't stand each other and haven't spoken in over 20 years of retirement. Willy Clark's nephew is the producer of a TV variety show that wants to feature a reunion of this classic duo. It is up to him to try to get the Sunshine Boys back together again.
One of several television specials starring actress and singer Mitzi Gaynor. This special includes guests Jack Albertson and Michael Landon. Songs performed include: “I’ve Got the Music in Me,” Gaynor and Landon performing “Life is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me),” Gaynor performing “Oh My My,” “Keep On Trucking,” and “Got to Get You Into My Life,” Gaynor and Albertson performing “When the Girl in My Arms is You” and “Four or Five Times,” Gaynor with a version of “Did You Happen to See the Most Beautiful Girl in the World” and “Always,” Albertson singing “Mandy,” Gaynor and Landon with “Delightful, Delicious, Delovely,” joined by Albertson for “We Got Us,” a dance number, and finally Gaynor singing “You Are the Sunshine of My Life.”
Peter Lawford hosts this documentary taking a look at the life and films of James Dean.
The outrageous, groundbreaking comic Lenny Bruce, whose iconoclastic material in a conservative era got him into tragic trouble, is profiled by a close friend, Fred Baker, who prefers to remember the laughs Lenny Bruce's memory evokes instead of the tears. By presenting Bruce's landmark skits on the Steve Allen Show, his failed TV pilot episode and a candid interview with Nat Hentoff, Bruce's genius and anguish show through the dramatic and tragic trajectory of his career from aspiring artist to hunted "lawbreaker".
An account of the rise and fall of a silent film comic, Billy Bright. The movie begins with his funeral, as he speaks from beyond the grave in a bitter tone about his fate, and takes us through his fame, as he ruins it with womanizing and drink, and his fall, as a lonely, bitter old man unable to reconcile his life's disappointments. The movie is based loosely on the life of Buster Keaton.
When the Great Northeast Blackout of 1965 hit, millions of people were left in the dark, including Waldo Zane, a New York executive in the process of stealing a fortune from his company, and two people whose paths he's destined to cross, Broadway actress Margaret Garrison and her husband, Peter.
An art apraiser plans to sell a fake Rembrandt to a Middle Eastern prince.
Pounded by the press for shooting a doctor, an ousted Los Angeles policeman (David Janssen) works his own case.
Jazz Pianist on the Creative Process & Self-Teaching. Here is the late, brilliantly original jazz pianist in intense conversation with his composer brother, Harry, on the nature of creativity in jazz. Occasionally, they stroll to the piano for a musical illustration (Evans play splendidly).
Unfinished remake of "My Favorite Wife", due to the firing of Marilyn Monroe from the film. She was eventually re-hired, but died in August, 1962. Film was never completed.
Sociology professor Steve MacInter is conducting a survey at Collins College about the mores and lifestyles of the young people. Some of the good citizens begin to find exception to his sociological survey when they find out it includes questions about sex. Reporter Betty Ducayne receives an anonymous tip that the good professor is engaging in corruption of youth and when Steve's past comes up to haunt him, all heck breaks loose.
With tough and savvy boss Victor Mature in charge, the Whirling Circus just keeps chugging along, but an unknown saboteur--who'll stop at nothing, including murder--is determined that the show must not go on. Director Joseph M. Newman's perils-under-the Big-Top drama, released in 1959, also stars Gilbert Roland, Rhonda Fleming, Red Buttons, Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, David Nelson, Kathryn Grant, Adele Mara, Howard McNear and Steve Allen.
The Steve Allen Show is an American variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, from September 1961 to December 1961 on ABC, and in first-run syndication from 1962 to 1964. The first three seasons aired on Sunday nights at 8:00pm Eastern Time, then on Mondays at 10:00pm Eastern in the 1959-60 season. After a season's absence, the series briefly returned on Wednesdays at 7:30pm Eastern. The syndicated version aired mostly in late nights. The program, between September 1957 and June 1960 became one of the first programs to be telecast in "compatible color" Kinescopes of the NBC version were later rerun on Comedy Central in the early 1990s, with new introductions by Allen.
Young Benny Goodman is taught clarinet by a music professor. He is advised to play whichever kind of music he likes best, but to make a living, Benny begins by joining the Ben Pollack traveling band.
TV goes Hollywood when Steve Allen visits Universal-International to prepare for his upcoming title role in "The Benny Goodman Story."
Tonight Starring Steve Allen is a talk show hosted by Steve Allen. It was the first version of what eventually became known as The Tonight Show. Tonight was the first late-night talk show, as well as the first late night television series of any time to achieve long-term success. Allen's run as host of the show lasted for two and a half seasons, beginning in fall 1954 and ending with Allen's dismissal in January 1957. During its run it originated from the Hudson Theatre in New York City.
A panel tries to determine a contestant's secret: something that is unusual, amazing, embarrassing, or humorous about that person.
I'll Get By is an updated remake of the 1940 20th Century-Fox musical Tin Pan Alley. William Lundigan and Dennis Day play William Spencer and Freddie Lee respectively, successful song publishers who make hits out of such numbers as "I Got a Gal in Kalamazoo", "Deep in the Heart of Texas", "You Make Me Feel So Young", "There Will Never Be Another You", and other favorites (the rights to all of these songs were conveniently held by 20th Century-Fox). The partnership has some hard times, especially during the feud between ASCAP and the radio networks, when only public-domain songs like "I Dream of Jeannie" were permitted to be broadcast.
Documentary discussing the casting and making of "Some Like It Hot", the film voted as the Best Comedy ever made by the American Film Institute.
