BET to present prime-time tribute to James Earl Jones on Thursday
BET
The legendary actor James Earl Jones will be honored by BET in a prime-time special on Thursday evening, just three days after he passed away at 93 years old.
BET News & ET Present James Earl Jones: Life and Legacy, a collaboration between the network and Entertainment Tonight, will air Thursday at 8 p.m. ET and will rerun Sunday at 12 p.m. ET.
The special will stream on BET+ starting Friday.
“The tribute special will feature archival footage and never-before-seen interviews with the award-winning actor James Earl Jones at various stages of his illustrious and pioneering career,” the producers say.
They continue, “Highlighting his profound impact on both Broadway and Hollywood, [the tribute] will reflect on some of the defining moments of his life and include new interviews with colleagues and friends who have been part of his remarkable career.”
“ET was on the set of many of [Jones’] most significant projects and captured moments of the star’s extraordinary journey. The BET News & ET news special will also highlight his memorable performances, including his powerful voice work as Darth Vader in Star Wars and Mufasa in The Lion King,” they add.
The 76th Emmy Awards, which aired Sunday night on ABC, had quite a few memorable moments — but perhaps none as memorable as the acceptance speech centered around a dead dog.
While accepting the Emmy for Outstanding Scripted Variety Series for Last Week Tonight, John Oliver thanked the usual people and then shifted gears, paying tribute to his family’s “fantastic” dog, who’d recently passed away. She was at our wedding and she got us through the pandemic. She was with us for two pregnancies,” he said. At that point, the “playoff” music started, indicating that Oliver should wrap it up, but he wasn’t having it.
“Perfect choice of music,” he noted. He then continued, “I feel like Sarah McLachlan right now. She was an amazing dog.” The music continued, to which Oliver shouted, “F*** you! This isn’t just for her. This is for all the dogs! All dogs, you are all very good girls. You are very good boys. You all deserve a treat. Play me off now!”
Some other memorable moments:
—Murphy Brown star Candice Bergen, a presenter, took a shot at J.D. Vance by recalling that during the show’s heyday, then-Vice President Dan Quayle attacked her character for having a baby and raising it as a single mother. “Oh, how far we’ve come,” she said sarcastically. “Today, a Republican candidate for vice president would never attack a woman for having kids. So as they say, my work here is done.” She then added, “Meow.”
–One of the many TV reunion segments during the evening brought together Ron Howard and Henry Winkler to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Happy Days. Speaking from a replica of the show’s hangout, Arnold’s, Howard complained that they didn’t have any theme music introducing them. After some encouragement, Winkler adopted his “Fonz” persona from the show, went over to the jukebox and wrapped it with his fist, causing the Happy Days theme to start up.
–Will Smith accepted the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for Slow Horses. No, not THAT Will Smith, as the British showrunner acknowledged. Taking the podium, he said, “First of all, relax. Despite my name, I come in peace.”
—The Bear’sLiza Colón-Zayas became the first Latina to win the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, and she recognized that moment by saying, “To all the Latinas who are looking at me? Keep believing. And vote. Vote for your rights.”
—John Leguizamo did a lengthy monologue about diversity in Hollywood, noting that he didn’t see a lot of Latinx representation on TV and movies growing up. “Everybody played us but us,” he noted. Then, he praised the diversity of this year’s nominees, saying it made him “almost happy and certainly less angry.”
–Along those same lines, presenter Diego Luna announced the nominees for Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series in Spanish, directly addressing the “more than 50 million Spanish speakers in this country.”
— A number of actors from The West Wing, including Martin Sheen, Allison Janney, Dulé Hilland Richard Schiff, reunited to present the Emmy for Best Drama Series and joked about modern politics. Schiff noted that today, interesting storylines could be “plucked right off the news — storylines that writers would have deemed a bit far-fetched, if not utterly ridiculous, 25 years ago.”
–Baby Reindeer‘s Richard Gadd had a message for the entertainment industry. At the podium to accept the Emmy for Best Limited or Anthology Series, he said, “If Baby Reindeer has proved anything, it’s that there’s no set formula to this — that you don’t need big stars, proven IP, long-running series, catch-all storytelling to have a hit. The only constant across any success in television is good storytelling that speaks to our times. So take risks, push boundaries, explore the uncomfortable. Dare to fail in order to achieve.”
On Monday, the Television Academy announced the list of presenters for this year’s 76th Emmy Awards.
Among the presenters will be many of this year’s nominees, including Only Murders in the Building trio Selena Gomez, Martin Short, and Steve Martin, as well as their fellow nominees Kristen Wiig, Jean Smart, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Nava Mau, Jane Lynch, Matt Bomer, Lily Gladstone and Christine Baranski.
Also among the dozens of presenters announced are Oscar winners Kathy Bates, Viola Davis and Ron Howard, as well as Oscar nominee Colin Farrell, former Emmy winners Niecy Nash-Betts, Steven Yeun, and Candice Bergen, and country music legend and actress Reba McEntire.
The 76th annual telecast, hosted by Eugene and Dan Levy, will broadcast live on ABC on Sunday, Sept. 15 from the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE in downtown Los Angeles. It will also stream on Hulu from Sept. 16 through Sept. 22.
Ahead of the release of its creepy new serial killer series Grotesquerie, FX is conducting a symphony — of screams — and it wants you to participate.
The network had already popped up booths in New York, Nashville and Los Angeles, which let horror fans have their screams recorded, and now it’s opening up the creepy collection process to social media.
The network’s “call-to-scream” campaign can be found on Instagram and TikTok with #SymphonyOfScreams and #GrotesquerieFX, where you can get the chance to join in.
The harvested howls will be compiled into “a horrific work of art” composed by producer Blake Slatkin.
Starring Niecy Nash-Betts and Courtney B. Vance, Ryan Murphy‘s 10-episode Grotesquerie premieres Sept. 25 at 10 p.m. ET on FX and streams next day on Hulu.
