Category Archives: Television

Gregory Peck on finally landing his dream role: Abraham Lincoln

Posted on January 27, 2013 by admin

By Ray Bennett In 1982, Gregory Peck achieved a lifetime ambition to portray his idol Abraham Lincoln onscreen. It was a cameo appearance in the CBS miniseries “The Blue and the Gray”, which became the subject of a special issue … Continue reading →

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‘Dallas’ star Larry Hagman dies at 81

Posted on November 24, 2012 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Larry Hagman, who has died aged 81, was one of the great TV villains. He became a household name thanks to “Dallas” but when the show aired a short-run summer series in 1978, not many … Continue reading →

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Andy Griffith on why ‘No Time for Sergeants’ cheated

Posted on July 5, 2012 by admin

By Ray Bennett Andy Griffith didn’t do a great many interviews but I spent most of the afternoon of March 18, 1986 with him, just the two of us in an otherwise empty dining room at what I seem to … Continue reading →

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Martin Shaw’s ‘George Gently’ to air in US on public TV

Posted on August 5, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett British period TV police drama “George Gently” will air for the first time on US television on public television stations across the country early next year. It stars Martin Shaw from the cult 1970s action series “The … Continue reading →

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LOCARNO FILM REVIEW: Cedric Anger’s ‘The Counsel’

Posted on August 10, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett LOCARNO, Switzerland – French director Cedric Anger’s ambitious legal thriller “The Counsel” (L’Avocat) looks good and has a fine cast but his script covers familiar terrain and is so naïve that the whole thing becomes laughable. Told … Continue reading →

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‘How on earth can Barnaby be sexy?’, asks John Nettles

Posted on December 1, 2009 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – John Nettles, who has decided to leave his long-running hit show “Midsomer Murders”, is considerably more colourful than his screen role although that has made little difference to fans of the show in more than 230 territories around … Continue reading →

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McCartney, Coldplay winners at ASCAP London awards

Posted on October 15, 2009 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Paul McCartney was named songwriter of the year at the 29th annual ASCAP Awards in London on Wednesday night, as Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” won song of the year and Universal Music collected the publisher … Continue reading →

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When Mackenzie Phillips was fired from ‘One Day at a Time’

Posted on September 26, 2009 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Mackenzie Phillips has written a memoir titled “High On Arrival” in which she says that she had an incestuous relationship with her father, John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas. Family members have fallen … Continue reading →

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TV REVIEW: James Nesbitt in BBC Iraq drama, ‘Occupation’

Posted on June 16, 2009 by admin

  By Ray Bennett LONDON – James Nesbitt has come a long way since he first attracted notice in ITV’s “Cold Feet” in 1987 and he shows that he’s become a fine actor in “Occupation”, a three-part drama about British soldiers … Continue reading →

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Sean Bean is up to his old tricks in ‘Sharpe’s Peril’

Posted on November 2, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett Sean Bean admires Bernard Cornwell’s novels about the swashbuckling soldier he plays in the Sharpe films but he takes great delight in the slight change he made to the character.  “He’s supposed to be from London,” grins Bean. … Continue reading →

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