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Action Family
Action Family is an episode of "The Cinemax Comedy Experiment" anthology series written by and starring Chris Elliott as a Private Investigator named Chris Elliot who is juggling work and home life. The show's overarching theme is that it is in fact two shows in one, and has sudden dramatic tonal shifts that affect everything from the way the characters act to the type of cameras used. His home and family life are a parody of a late 1970s/early 1980s saccharine multicamera sitcom shot on cheap 3 walled sets with an audience that often loudly comments on the action. When he goes to work as a hard boiled PI, the show switches tones entirely to dark, gritty, and violent, the camera switches to film stock, and the audience laughter vanishes. Regardless of which tone the show is taking at the moment, the action and dialogue is all completely absurd, and everything that happens is heightened for comedic effect or to service a joke or gag. Though there is a thin murder mystery plot, it ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chris Elliott
Christopher Nash Elliott (born May 31, 1960) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He appeared in comedic sketches on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' (1982–1988), created and starred in the comedy series '' Get a Life'' (1990–1992) on Fox, and wrote and starred in the film ''Cabin Boy'' (1994). His writing has won four consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards. His other television appearances include recurring roles on ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' (2003–2005) and ''How I Met Your Mother'' (2009–2014), starring as Chris Monsanto in Adult Swim's '' Eagleheart'' (2011–2014) and starring as Roland Schitt in ''Schitt's Creek'' (2015–2020). He also appeared in the films ''Groundhog Day'' (1993), ''There's Something About Mary'' (1998), ''Snow Day'' (2000) and '' Scary Movie 2'' (2001). Early life Elliott was born in New York City, and is the youngest of five children of Lee (née Peppers), a model and TV director, and Bob Elliott, who was part of the successful comedy tea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sandy Frank
Sandy Frank (born Sundel Francous; July 11, 1929) is an American television producer, distributor, and marketer of TV shows to US networks. Early life and career Frank grew up in Mount Kisco, New York. He started his career as a sales executive for Paramount Pictures, subsequently moving on to Guild Films, and NBC television. Later, he was Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales with the television division of the Wrather Corporation, which produced and distributed the ''Lassie'' and '' Lone Ranger'' TV programs. In 1964, he opened Sandy Frank Program Sales Inc. as his first company. His first distribution successes were '' You Asked For It'' and ''Lassie'', for which he had acquired the rights from the Wrather Corp. Sandy Frank Entertainment Among the programs Frank's company produced or distributed were '' Name That Tune'' (1984–1985), '' Face the Music'' (1980–1981), ''The New Treasure Hunt'' (1973–1977), '' The Bobby Vinton Show'' (1975–1978), '' The Bill Cosby Sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matt Wickline
Matthew John Wickline (born April 28th, 1962) is an American television writer, producer, director, and actor known for being a longtime member of the writing staff for ''Late Night With David Letterman''. He wrote ''In Living Color'', where he created the hit character Homey D. Clown, portrayed by Damon Wayans. He went on to write for ''Martin'', ''The Jamie Foxx Show'', and co-create ''The Hughleys'' and ''Frank TV''. Throughout his career, Wickline was nominated for 11 Emmys and won four. Early life Matt Wickline grew up in Willowick, Ohio as one of four brothers and the son to William and Elva Wickline. William was the President of the US division of the television antenna company Kathrein. Matt Wickline attended Eastlake North High School and Ohio University. Career After college, he interned at ''Late Night with David Letterman'' and started submitting jokes to David Letterman at the suggestion of his boss. When several of the show's writers left in 1983 to write for ''The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gary Weis
Gary Weis (c. 1943) is an American filmmaker. He is known for creating multiple short films that aired on ''Saturday Night Live'' in the late 1970s. He co-produced and provided visual effects for the documentary '' Jimi Hendrix'' (1973); he co-directed the Beatlemania spoof ''All You Need Is Cash'' (1978) with the film's star, Eric Idle; he directed the comedy film '' Diary of a Young Comic'' (1979) starring Richard Lewis, as well as '' 80 Blocks from Tiffany's'' (1979), a documentary about gangs in the South Bronx. He also directed several music videos in the 1980s, including the video for Paul Simon's single "You Can Call Me Al" and for George Harrison's version of the song "Got My Mind Set on You". Career Weis worked as a cameraman for the 1970 Rolling Stones tour documentary ''Gimme Shelter'' that culminated with footage of the infamous Altamont Free Concert. Weis told the Los Angeles Times that it was "the most frightening workday I've ever had," although he had left ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cinemax
Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent network Home Box Office (HBO) and initially focusing on recent and classic films upon its launch on August 1, 1980, programming featured on Cinemax currently consists primarily of recent and older theatrically released motion pictures, and original action series, as well as documentaries and special behind-the-scenes featurettes. Cinemax—which, in conjunction with HBO, was among the first two American pay television services to offer complementary multiplexed channels in August 1991—operates eight 24-hour, linear multiplex channels; a traditional subscription video on demand platform (Cinemax On Demand); and formerly a TV Everywhere streaming platform for Cinemax's linear television subscribers (Cinemax Go). On digital platf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cinemax Comedy Experiment
Cinemax Comedy Experiment is an anthology series broadcast on Cinemax throughout the mid-to-late 1980s. Every episode was written and directed by a different standup comedian. The series was known for giving full creative freedom to those comedians for their episodes, with Cinemax executives giving few to any notes against anything presented outside of remaining within the time slot. The series came out of a time in the history of cable television when comedy programs were considered premium content due to the high grosses of comedy films at the box office. The program was also an attempt on Cinemax's part to compete with the rising popularity of video stores which affected the network's subscription base and retention. Individuals who created "Experiments" include Harry Shearer, Chris Elliott, and Gilbert Gottfried; occasionally, non-standups were invited to contribute to the show, such as Garry Trudeau and Elizabeth Swados, who rewrote their off-Broadway show ''Rap Master Ron ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Private Investigator
A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators often work for attorneys in civil and criminal cases. History In 1833, Eugène François Vidocq, a French soldier, criminal, and privateer, founded the first known private detective agency, "Le Bureau des Renseignements Universels pour le commerce et l'Industrie" ("The Office of Universal Information For Commerce and Industry") and hired ex-convicts. Much of what private investigators did in the early days was to act as the police in matters for which their clients felt the police were not equipped or willing to do. Official law enforcement tried many times to shut it down. In 1842, police arrested him in suspicion of unlawful imprisonment and taking money on false pretences after he had solved an embezzlement case. Vidocq later suspect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Partridge Family
''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom starring Shirley Jones and featuring David Cassidy. Jones plays a widowed mother, and Cassidy plays the oldest of her five children, in a family who embarks on a music career. It ran from September 25, 1970, until August 24, 1974, on the ABC network as part of a Friday-night lineup, and had subsequent runs in syndication. The family was loosely based on the real-life musical family the Cowsills, a popular band in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Premise In the pilot episode, a group of musical siblings in the fictitious city of San Pueblo, California (said to be "40 miles from Napa County" in episode 24, "A Partridge By Any Other Name") convinces their widowed mother, bank teller Shirley Partridge, to help them out by singing as they record a pop song in their garage. Through the efforts of precocious 10-year-old Danny they find a manager, Reuben Kincaid, who helps make the song a Top 40 hit. After more persuading, Shirley a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of '' Late Night with David Letterman'' on NBC and ending with the May 20, 2015 broadcast of '' Late Show with David Letterman'' on CBS. In total, Letterman hosted 6,080 episodes of ''Late Night'' and ''Late Show'', surpassing his friend and mentor Johnny Carson as the longest-serving late night talk show host in American television history. In 1996, Letterman was ranked 45th on ''TV Guide''s 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.Miller, Gregory E.; Schneider, Michael (December 31, 2015). "2015 by the Numbers", ''TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program TV listings, listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine, TV Guide Mag ...''. p. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Night With David Letterman
''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated, and Carson Productions. Letterman had previously hosted his own morning talk show on NBC from June to October 1980. The show's house band, The World's Most Dangerous Band, was led by music director Paul Shaffer. In 1993, Letterman announced that he would leave NBC to host the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' on CBS, and the final episode of ''Late Night'' aired on June 25, 1993. Since then, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers have each reformatted the series. In 2013, this series and ''Late Show with David Letterman'' were ranked No. 41 on TV Guide's 60 Best Series of All Time. During its run, the show was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series 11 time ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Elliott (comedian)
Robert Brackett Elliott (March 26, 1923 – February 2, 2016) was an American comedian and actor, one-half of the comedy duo of Bob and Ray. He was the father of comedian/actor Chris Elliott and grandfather of actress and comedians Abby Elliott and Bridey Elliott. He is most remembered for the character of radio reporter Wally Ballou. Life and career Elliott was born in Winchester, Massachusetts, the son of Gail Marguarite (née Brackett), a needleworker, and Fred Russell Elliott, who worked in insurance. Bob Elliott served In the U.S. Army in Northern Europe in WWII. On radio, he appeared in programs with his long-time partner Ray Goulding. These were in different series and time slots over decades, beginning in the late 1940s at Boston's WHDH radio on the show ''Matinee with Bob and Ray''. On television, Elliott and Goulding hosted ''Bob and Ray'' from 1951 to 1953. He appeared on a number of other television programs, including ''Happy Days''; ''Newhart''; and ''Bob & R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the leader of the Democratic Party, he won a record four presidential elections and became a central figure in world events during the first half of the 20th century. Roosevelt directed the federal government during most of the Great Depression, implementing his New Deal domestic agenda in response to the worst economic crisis in U.S. history. He built the New Deal Coalition, which defined modern liberalism in the United States throughout the middle third of the 20th century. His third and fourth terms were dominated by World War II, which ended in victory shortly after he died in office. Born into the prominent Roosevelt family in Hyde Park, New York, he graduated from both Groton School and Harvard College, and attended Columbia Law S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
