Category Archives: Television

Nick Nolte on learning to work sober

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Nick Nolte, who turns 80 today, warned me of the dangers that lurked in Los Angeles. The Iowa-born actor had an explosive impact playing rebellious fighter Tom Jordache in the hit 1976 TV miniseries ‘Rich … Continue reading

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Why Robert MacNeill stopped getting angry about poor English

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Canadian newsman Robert MacNeill, who turns 90 today, shared my fascination with how English was used on radio and television. In 1986, the urbane and articulate co-anchor of the news programme ‘The MacNeill-Lehrer Report’  on … Continue reading

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Martin Shaw hasn’t always been a TV copper

By Ray Bennett Martin Shaw, who turns 75 today, is known best for playing TV coppers in “The Professionals” and “Inspector George Gently” but he also has had a long stage career in roles from Stanley Kowalski to Lord Goring … Continue reading

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Recalling Peter Cook and his effortless comedy

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Peter Cook, who died 25 years ago today aged 57, was the funniest person I ever saw and ever met. He was naturally, effortlessly funny but he was never ‘on’ in the way some comedians … Continue reading

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Why Erin Gray loved being in ‘Buck Rogers’ on TV

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Happy 70th birthday to Erin Gray – co-star in Ricky Schroder’s long-running Eighties sitcom ‘Silver Spoons’ and many other TV roles including Col. Wilma Deering in ‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century’ … still busy today, … Continue reading

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TV REVIEW: The Coen Bros’ ‘The Ballad of Buster Scruggs’

By Ray Bennett LONDON – The Coen Brothers have taken Netflix for a ride with their anthology production ‘The Ballad of Buster Scruggs’. It’s a western ‘Tales of the Unexpected’ in which they have dusted off some mostly hoary old … Continue reading

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KFMF: Krakow salutes one of its own: Abel Korzeniowski

By Ray Bennett Krakow – Composer Abel Korzeniowski, who left Poland to find success scoring films in Hollywood, was given the key to the city of his birth and standing ovations following a concert of his music at the ICE … Continue reading

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When life meant happy days for Erin Moran

By Ray Bennett LONDON – “There is a lot of pressure. You’ve got to be thin. You’ve got to look pretty. You’ve got to look good. There’s a lot of competition, There’s too much to worry about.” That was “Happy … Continue reading

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Oscars envelope snafu boosts ‘Moonlight’ box office

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Worldwide headlines about the Oscar fiasco over mixed-up envelopes that saw “Moonlight” triumph over “La La Land” as best picture has been a big help to the low-budget picture’s international theatrical release. I’m happy to … Continue reading

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How Alan Thicke turned failure into success

By Ray Bennett Canadian writer and performer Alan Thicke, who died on Tuesday aged 69, was one of the good guys. He found lasting fame on the Eighties sitcom “Growing Pains” but he was multi-faceted and he had to overcome … Continue reading

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