There was a time when Nichelle Nichols was thinking of leaving Star Trek for Broadway, but a conversation with Martin Luther King Jr got her to change her mind.
The actress shared the story with MeTV about their chance meeting. The great civil rights leader was a big fan of the show and she told him she was going to leave Outer Space for the great white way. He said to her, “You mean leave Star Trek?” When she told him that she had to, he told her, “You cannot. Do you know what you have done and the honor you bring this role? And people who see you believe you.” Then he added, “You can’t leave. There are too many of us out here who are effected, children are growing up with you.” She explained to him that she could always come back, and he said to her, “It won’t be the same.” After a little bit of arguing back and forth, with one look he got his way. She never regretted taking his advice. And we never regretted her taking his advice.
If you don’t the history of why it was so important for her to stay on the show. She is the one of first African-American woman to play a character that was not a servant. She inspired many people and by playing the part she helped to open doors for many of today’s actors.
It was small conversation for man, and one giant leap for mankind.
Before Thomas Lennon was a Lieutenant on Reno 911!, he was studying to be a plumber in Aisle Six. How cute was the 22 year old in that 1992 student film?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOnk86IQWM4
Tonight at 9p on CBS, it is time to say goodbye to Two and a Half Men. Jon Cryer has been there since day one, and I recently spoke to him, at the Warner Bros. TCA Event honoring the show’s creator Chuck Lorre, about his time on the show. In the 12 years since the show started, both Jon Cryer and Alan Harper have been through a lot. While things have not been that good for the latter, Cryer talked about the good things that happened to him since he made a little wish.
Before he started working on Two and a Half Men, Cryer never had a show go to a second season. So I wanted to know what it was like when he heard the show got picked up for season two. He said, “A massive relief!†Then he shared a story, “We shot the pilot and it happened to fall on my birthday, April 16th. They brought out a massive sheet cake and I jokingly said when I blew out the candles, ‘I wish in 10 years we are all still here.†Then he added, “I was mostly right.â€
Just like that change of casting was a surprise, he has this to say about the show, “I never knew where this was going to go and it surprised me. It was a wonderful surprise the whole way.” Talking about surprises, did you know there was a time they were thinking of making Alan Harper gay because his character screwed up all of the heterosexual relationships? As we know that didn’t happen. Even though that didn’t happen, they did give Alan a heart attack and a nervous breakdown instead.
Sounds like a lot of emotional pain for his character to go through, but what about all the physical torture that they put Alan through. Has he ever been hurt? He said, “No I haven’t been hurt. We’ve lit my crotch on fire, I fell off the roof, I did that stuff.†So how did he escape ever being injured? He says that they have a fantastic stunt coordinator, Eddie Braun. Why does he do his own stunts? He explained, “I do it because a lot of the time, part of the comedy, is you have to see that it’s that guy (that’s getting hurt).†Then he added, “Every now and again there’s stuff that’s just too crazy (for me to do).â€
Cryer made a crazy revelation midway through the show’s run. Two and a Half men has been 12 years of his life, which is a lot for anybody, and people go through changes in that amount of time. He shared with us a moment during the 6th or 7th season, “Charlie (Sheen), Chuck (Lorre), Lee (Aransohn) and I were all standing around having a conference about some issue with the show that week. And I looked at all of us, and said, ‘All of us were married to different people when we started this show.’†Then he added, “We went through a lot of living during the course of this thing.â€
So after giving this show a dozen years of his life, what is he going to miss and what won’t he? He is going to miss coming to work with all of these “lovely people†that includes the actors and the crew. What he’s not going to miss, is being comedically nude so often.
While Alan was nude or his tighty whities a lot through the show’s run, there was one outfit he wore this season that I had to know more about. One of the great things that happened for us longtime of fans of Jon Cryer was to see him dressed as Duckie again. I needed to know what that was like for him. He said, “That was terrifying.†The reason why he felt that way, was to him, “There is nothing sadder than an old desiccated version of a teenager.†So what convinced him to do it, “We put it on and it was a very iffy moment. We took a bunch of Polaroids and we decided we can get away with this.†Get away with it they did and so much more. I think he looked the same and as when he played the loveable character back in 1986, if not better.
While I have that to take away from the show (among many other laughs and memories), what is one of his biggest takeaways from he got from being on one of the longest running sitcoms to ever air on television. One of things he wanted from his Hollywood career is that someday the guards would know him when he drove onto the lot. They got know him and yet they still gave him crap when he forgot his pass.
While he might’ve forgotten to bring his pass a few times, we will never forget what he brought to Two and a Half Men as Alan Harper.
Thank you for all of the laughs throughout the years, Jon Cryer. Not only just for Alan Harper, but also for your many many many other roles. You are part of Hollywood history and it has been nice to see how you have become a staple on it.
While we are saying goodbye to Alan Harper tonight, we will soon be saying hello to his next memorable character.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1dZVjc99dc
For the first time this century, The Odd Couple is back on TV and you don’t want to miss its debut at 8:30p tonight on CBS. This incarnation stars two very funny TV stars, Matthew Perry as Oscar Madison and Thomas Lennon as Felix, and both of them were born to plays these roles.
If you don’t know the premise of the show that aired in the’70s, Oscar is divorced sportscaster who is a complete slob. Felix, his college roommate, who has just been dumped by his wife, is the neatest neat freak you will ever meet. After Felix’s wife throws him to the curb, he moves in with Oscar. Now these two very different men have to try to make it work as they live together. Things that are much easier said than done.
There are some parts of the remake that are very much like the Walter Matthau/Jack Lemmon and Jack Klugman/Tony Randall versions, and then there are parts that are modernized for today. Instead of working as a sports writer for a newspaper, Oscar now has a radio show he does from his apartment. Talking about the apartment, this one is so much more beautiful than the one from the original TV version. I would love to live in their place.
Now, when it comes to how this show is like the classic play, movie and television shows, it is the humor. I laughed just as hard with the update and I did with the 1.0 and 2.0. Perry is perfect as the messy grouch and he captures Oscar’s essence. When it comes to Lennon, if you close your eyes, you would swear he was Randall reincarnated. He even has his sinuses, down to the honk. Or whatever you want to call that sound he makes.
The Odd Couple is the type of show that people who like the original one can enjoy, and it also a sitcom that newbies can enjoy as much as the fans. The reason why it still works today as it did then is that the concept is timeless. Opposites will always attract and friends will always be there when you need them.
