LOS ANGELES -- A friend of Georgia Engel, the actress who was part of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," says she has died at age 70.
John Quilty, who was also her executor, said Engel died Friday in Princeton, New Jersey. The cause of death wasn't known because she was a Christian Scientist and didn't see doctors, Quilty said Monday.
Engel was best known for her role as charmingly innocent, small-voiced Georgette on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."
Engel also had recurring roles on "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Hot in Cleveland." She received two Emmy nominations for Moore's show and three for "Everybody Loves Raymond."
Last year, she appeared on an episode of the Netflix series "One Day at a Time."
She also appeared on stage in plays including Broadway's "The Drowsy Chaperone."
Laura Ingraham of Fox News and rapper Nipsey Hussle. (Getty Images)
April 16 at 5:15 AM
In “FDT,” his hit song with rapper YG, Nipsey Hussle made his feelings clear about Donald Trump. In the music video for one of the most popular protest anthems of 2016, Hussle walked down the streets of Crenshaw in South Los Angeles with throngs of friends, fans and neighbors flashing expletive-laden signs disparaging the then-Republican candidate.
One day after a memorial service for the 33-year-old rap star and community activist who was shot to death in that same part of south L.A., Fox News host Laura Ingraham zeroed in on that song to offer her own laughter-filled analysis of his legacy last week. Referring to Hussle ironically as “this dear artist,” she showed a clip of the “FDT” video and focused on the song’s chorus, which disparages Trump with an expletive — “a very creative refrain,” she noted.
“So, the chorus it goes on and on. Is that related to the lowest unemployment ever basically for African Americans?” she asked on Friday.
Here's Laura Ingraham mocking a murder victim, just hours after he was laid to rest, because he opposed Trump 3 years ago. (Also, the man rapping in that video is YG, a person who is not Nipsey Hussle.) For shame.pic.twitter.com/02iBYdr5wo
Now, Snoop Dogg, T.I., The Game and other notable hip-hop and R&B artists are calling on Fox to fire Ingraham for her “disrespect” of the slain rapper. The artists shared clips of the Hussle segment on their Instagram accounts, drawing millions of views and mounting support for their campaign against Ingraham, who faces yet another public pushback for comments made on-air.
Los Angeles-based rapper The Game helped started the move with an Instagram post on Sunday, warning Fox News to either dismiss Ingraham, whom he referred to with offensive word for women, “or you will lose millions of viewers one person at a time until it drastically effects your ratings.”
“We are NO LONGER laying quiet while you continuously disrespect our brother, culture African Americans as a whole,” The Game wrote on Sunday. As of early Tuesday, his video has been viewed nearly 3 million times. “I will use my platform & call on my peers to do the same. Nips passing nor his legacy is to be taken lightly as there will be consequences for any disrespect now or in the future as long as I have a voice!!!”
His post got the attention of Snoop Dogg, who spoke at Hussle’s memorial service.
“I’m in,” Snoop Dogg replied.
On Sunday, T.I. joined the chorus with his own Instagram post, writing that the segment featuring Ingraham and Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo was “Disgusting,” and calling them “vile despicable, poor excuses for people.” The clip he shared has nearly 1.5 million views.
“My expectations have already decreased so much for mankind in the past couple weeks that this hardly surprised me . . . especially from @foxnews,” T.I. wrote. He added, “Neither of you WILL EVER know or experience the level of love, appreciation and respect that Nip has . . . EVEN IN DEATH!!! So let that sizzle in ya lil hateful, demonic spirits.”
R&B artist Tank had a different idea in mind for getting back at Ingraham, sharing a petition for Fox to fire her. As of early Tuesday morning, the petition on iPetitions has more than 33,000 signatures.
“Disrespecting the deceased is not news!” Tank wrote. “It’s just disrespect!”
Fox News did not return a request for comment on Monday. Ingraham didn’t acknowledge the blowback to the Hussle segment on her Monday night show.
The Friday segment also featured Ingraham and Arroyo laughing at how Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, flubbed the rapper’s name at his memorial, calling him Nipsey Russell, the comedian whose name Hussle adapted growing up. They showed a clip of Russell on the television show “Match Game” and chuckled over some highlights of the comedian’s career.
“I have to say, after that, I love Nipsey Russell,” said Arroyo, enunciating the last name to make it clear he was not referring to Hussle. “Nipsey Hussle, eh, may he rest in peace.”
The online push over Ingraham’s Hussle segment marks the third time in the last 14 months that the Fox News personality has faced a public pressure campaign. In February 2018, she responded to a video from NBA stars LeBron James and Kevin Durant, in which James said that Trump doesn’t “give a f--- about the people,” by telling them to “shut up and dribble,” sparking condemnation from athletes and critics alike. The next month, she said that Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg “whines” about his college applications being rejected, which started a swift boycott from advertisers. (Ingraham apologized the following day.)
“FDT” came out of nowhere in 2016 to become a surprise summer hit for YG and Hussle (real name Ermias Joseph Asghedom). The Los Angeles Times called it “the most prophetic, wrathful and unifying protest song of 2016.” YG told Rolling Stone that the song’s release even resulted in the Secret Service calling his record label to censor some incendiary lines directed toward Trump. YG said some lines with Trump’s name were eventually pulled out, but that the edited parts maintained the same message.To date, the song’s music video has more than 22 million views on YouTube.
Hussle’s disagreements with Trump and his policies were genuine, he said in a 2016 interview with Billboard. He saw the large number of Mexican fans at his shows and wanted to show them he had their backs, he said.
“Honestly, that was one of the things that really turned me off to Trump, aside from me having an assertion that he was just a privileged rich dude that got an out-of-touch view of the world,” Hussle said. “That made me [feel] like dude is definitely out of his mind and our country sounding crazy for even taking him as a legitimate candidate. It says something about the American people if he do actually get elected.”
John Quilty, her friend and executor told The New York Times that Engel died Friday in Princeton, New Jersey. The cause was undetermined, Quilty told the Times, because Engel, a Christian Scientist, did not consult doctors.
Engel had a decades-long career as a television and stage actress. She was best known for her role on the 1970s sitcom "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," for which she was nominated for two Emmy awards. She also received three Emmy nominations for her guest role as Pat McDougall on "Everybody Loves Raymond."
Engel was the daughter of a US Coast Guard admiral, and growing up she moved many times across the US. After graduating college, she packed her bags for New York, where she landed her first role on stage in an Off-Broadway musical, and later on as Minnie Fay in the Broadway production of "Hello, Dolly!" according to Turner Classic Movies.
She landed a guest role on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," but soon captured the hearts of both the audience and her fellow cast members and continued to appear on the show as the girlfriend -- and later wife -- of TV newsman Ted Baxter, played by Ted Knight.
When that show ended in 1977, she appeared in a few more short-lived sitcoms and made appearances in movies like "Dr. Dolittle 2" and "The Sweetest Thing" before landing the role in "Everybody Loves Raymond."
Last night marked the beginning of the end for HBO’s flagship series, global mega hit Game Of Thrones. HBO was in a similar position 12 years ago when another blockbuster drama series, The Sopranos, came to an end. Like was the case back then, questions are being raised about HBO’s future and how the network will survive the loss of its biggest series. In an interview with Deadline, Bob Greenblatt, the recently appointed Chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment and Direct-to-Consumer, who oversees HBO as well as the upcoming WarnerMedia digital platform and Turner, and HBO President of programming Casey Bloys address those questions. Greenblatt also discusses the possibility for more Game Of Thrones universe series beyond the prequel starring Naomi Watts, which was ordered to pilot.
There have been mixed signals on how much the volume of programming at HBO will grow after expanding 50% to 150 hours in 2019. While HBO brass have indicated that the portfolio would likely not increase significantly beyond that, executives for new owner AT&T have talked about a “bigger and broader” HBO, hinting at a major slate ramp-up to rival current streaming leader Netflix. Bloys and Greenblatt share the latest on the volume increase plans and address the future of Cinemax, which has a new programming head, Len Amato, who is taking over for departing Kary Antholis.
Greenblatt also provides an update on the pending layoffs in the wake of WarnerMedia’s acquisition by AT&T and how he will navigate any competition for premium projects between HBO and the streaming platform. Bloys discusses possible new installments of Nic Pizzolatto’s True Detective and Marti Noxon’s Sharp Objects and gives an update whether Silicon Valley may be coming to an end. Additionally, Greenblatt who executive produced HBO’s Six Feet Under, talks about the chances of doing a reboot.
DEADLINE: Game Of Thrones is coming to an end; now what? What does HBO’s future look like without its signature series?
BLOYS: If you think about what has aired between the last season of Game of Thrones and the current season, we have Westworld, Succession, Sharp Objects, The Deuce, My Brilliant Friend, The Night Of, Leftovers, Barry, Veep, High Maintenance, John Oliver, Bill Maher, not to mention the docs, Hard Knocks,The Shop, and that’s going to continue going forward. I’m not going to sit here and say, oh, it’s no big deal. Game of Thrones is a very big show for us, but we’re not just the network of Game of Thrones. There’s a lot of really high quality, really great shows that we do, and that’s going to continue. If you look at the schedule with Euphoria and Watchmen and The Nevers, and His Dark Materials. We have more than we’ve ever had in the works. I will personally be sad to see Game of Thrones go. As a fan, I love it, but as usual, HBO will survive and we will go on.
GREENBLATT: I’ll also add that networks often go through these periods when signature shows go away, and people speculate on what the future is. And there’s always something that comes along that you didn’t expect. I don’t think anybody would say that they thought The Sopranos would turn into that, or that Game of Thrones would turn into what it did. So I think you just have to keep your focus on being in business with the best people you can, putting all the effort into making these shows great, and the next big phenomenon will come when you least expect it. In the meantime, there’s that whole list that Casey just went through of things that are all extraordinary in their own right.
DEADLINE: HBO has the Game of Thrones prequel pilot, with several other prequels in development. Bob, after examining the programming strategy with Casey, are you considering putting at least one other Game Of Thrones series on the fast track sooner and possibly getting multiple GOT shows on the air?
GREENBLATT: It’s a double-edged sword. The answer is yes, we’re having conversations about how do we smartly continue the Game of Thrones universe, but we have to be really thoughtful about not killing the golden goose and not putting on shows that aren’t up to that quality level, and how many is too many. We’re having all those conversations. I don’t know yet what will come of all this material, but I think they’ve been smartly developing things that were really good ideas in this universe, and George Martin is involved. There’s a prequel in production, but just a pilot so that we can see if it has all the goods and is it worthy of going forward. We’re just trying to be really thoughtful about how to expand this universe if it makes sense, and not, like I said, kill the golden goose.
DEADLINE: A lot has been said about increasing the volume of HBO programming. Now that Bob has had time to settle in and there have been more conversations, do you have an expansion plan firmed up for the next couple of years?
BLOYS: We’re at 150 hours. I think in 2019 it could stay there, it could go up. Part of it is determined by the shows have to be good. We’re trying to do good shows, not necessarily hit a number, and I think a little bit of determining that number will be shows that we think are worthy, and can we deliver to a creator the experience that people have come to expect working at HBO? We don’t want to lose that. We don’t want the volume to get too high that people feel like they’re lost in the shuffle. So far I think 2019 is feeling good, so a little bit for us will be trial and error.
GREENBLATT: I think we’ll stay at this level, where the plan is, and see how things come in. It could grow a little bit more, but again, we want to be very thoughtful about that and not just pick up series right and left just because that’s what our business now demands.
DEADLINE: Have the two of you had creative conversations yet? Bob, you come from a development background, have you pitched any show ideas to Casey?
BLOYS: Bob has had a lot of experience, and just taking him through the schedules has been really helpful in terms of, he’s worked with almost everybody and knows who is really good and. It’s always helpful to talk to someone who has done this and understands programming. So yes, we’re talked through schedules out through the next three years.
GREENBLATT: There’s a couple of specific things that I wanted to bring into the company, and we’re working on some things that could be exciting, which I don’t mean to be coy about, but there’s a couple of things early on that I’ve been talking about. I went to Casey and said, hey, here’s something that I think could be potentially great for us, think about it. The last thing I want to do is start forcing things into the system, but there’s been a couple of things that we’ve thought are really exciting ideas, and maybe we can get them in house, and so we’re working on those things, and that’s what is exciting about me coming here.
I’m thrilled to walk into a place where it doesn’t have to be reinvented. NBC was a different experience for me. It was a complete reinvention of that company on so many levels; the cupboards were bare, and we started over. This is like walking into a place that’s in incredible shape. So I just get to not only revel in that, but it’s like, oh, there’s a good idea, I’ve heard about this, let’s talk about this, and it’s really fun to be with all these incredible people whom I’ve respected for a number of years anyway.
DEADLINE: Bob, you oversee both HBO and WarnerMedia’s upcoming streaming platform. Will there be any overlap between the two in terms of programming? Do you have to serve as a traffic cop directing premium content to the two outlets? How will decide know which one is an HBO project and which one has to go to the streaming platform?
GREENBLATT: That’s a good question. I think what we’re trying to do, and I don’t think it’s just traffic cop that would describe it, because I’m really happy to have Casey and (Chief Creative Officer Turner and WarnerMedia Direct-to-Consumer) Kevin Reilly also talking a lot about this very thing and having a meeting of the minds.
The HBO stuff is going to stay what it is and what you know that it is, and to some degree, it’s in a certain kind of demo, and we know what that is. The streaming platform is going to hopefully extend and expand beyond what HBO does. So there’s going to be certainly some series that might look like, oh, that could be an HBO show but I think will be separate and have its own identity. But there’s other genres that HBO doesn’t really cover much in terms of children’s programming and family programming and animation, and reality programming, and things that we will supplement what HBO does with. I think we’re in the early stages of figuring out how to do that, and with everybody’s input, and I don’t want to just have a whole bunch of new series on the platform that look like they could be HBO shows. That would be duplicative, and there’s a lot more that we can and should do to round out a platform that just reaches the entire demo from kids to adults, and young YA stuff, lots of things that are not going to ever be HBO’s main focus.
DEADLINE: A couple of programming questions. True Detective is coming off a well received third installment starring Mahershala Ali. Any talks about a fourth installment?
BLOYS: No. Nic is thinking if he’s got an idea, and we’ll wait to see. With the third season, he showed us scripts that were great, and that’s why we decided to do it. So we’ll take a wait-and-see approach, see what he’s thinking.
DEADLINE: But he hasn’t indicated yet that he has an idea?
BLOYS: No. I haven’t seen anything. I think he’s noodling ideas, but he hasn’t come to us with anything.
DEADLINE: Casey, you said last summer that there are no plans for Sharp Objects to get a second installment but Marti Noxon recently made comments that she and author Gillian Flynn have an idea for a second season. Are you having conversations for more episodes?
BLOYS: They haven’t come to us with anything, and my suspicion is one season was right for that show. I can’t imagine getting everybody back. The hard thing about these things that are one season is trying to get everybody back together, but also, it feels like the one season was the right thing for that show. It was the right ending, so I think that’s probably where it will stay.
DEADLINE: Any update on Silicon Valley‘s upcoming sixth season being its last?
BLOYS: They are in the writers’ room now. We usually leave it to them to talk with the writers and see if they come to us and say, oh my God, we got two seasons’ worth. We’ll talk about that. They haven’t come back. They’re still talking, and we’ll see.
DEADLINE: Are you planning any changes for Cinemax’s programming strategy. Will its original fare remain popcorn, action series, mostly coproductions?
GREENBLATT: I think, not having gotten around to everything yet, but I think Cinemax is going to stay what it has been. It’s a service that’s really well distributed, and I think some of the shows that have come out of there have been really great and have a distinct personality from HBO proper. I think it’s just going to continue the way it has been; Casey, I don’t know if you want to add anything.
BLOYS: No big changes. We have programming through the next year or two, and I think it’s too soon to say whether there’s going to be any big changes in its direction, but for now, we’re going to continue to do the international coproductions, the pulpy action kind of programming that’s done so well for the network.
DEADLINE: Any update on layoffs? Bob, you noted after taking the job that they likely will be in hundreds overall for the company.
GREENBLATT: I’m happy to speak to that because I know people are still curious about it, and somebody has been saying, oh, it’s death by a thousand cuts, which I just laugh about because I don’t think there’s a thousand anything going out the door. Disney and Fox is a completely different animal from what we’re doing, and I understand why those massive layoffs are happening over there.
We’re bringing these companies together to some degree, and mostly in shared administrative functions in terms of efficiency. I don’t want to blend the brands or dilute any of that. No. Additionally we’re adding the streaming service, which to some degree the companies will be working together as we build that. So there will be some consolidations behind the scenes, not in the brands or the programming, but I think to some degree that will be offset by people we’re adding into the streaming service.
You’re not going to wake up one day and see hundreds of pink slips in any department. It will be just a thoughtful process, it’s going to take several months, if not the rest of the year, and I don’t think there will be any dramatic headlines.
DEADLINE: Any plans for a Six Feet Under reboot or at least a movie like Deadwood? Bob?
GREENBLATT: By the way, I’d love it. I just put up two of the key art posters in my office in the Santa Monica HBO office building, and I’m so proud of that show. I don’t think that’s a show that will probably come back as many people have gone off to other things, but I love working at this company having had that wonderful experience. It cemented in me as a younger executive, how a company should be run and how a talent relationship should happen. It was the most satisfying experience I’ve probably ever had in this business, certainly as a producer. I tried to emulate it at Showtime, I continue to try to emulate it in all the places that I’ve been, and I’m thrilled to be back here at this place.
DEADLINE: And finally, the biggest question, who will sit on the Iron Throne?
(laughter)
BLOYS: Oh, let me tell you…
GREENBLATT: I think Casey Bloys is sitting on the throne.
UPCOMING PROGRAMMING
DRAMA SERIES Euphoria (June 16) Succession (2019) Watchmen (2019) His Dark Materials (2019) The Deuce (final season in 2019) The New Pope (2020) Westworld (2020) My Brilliant Friend (2020)
LIMITED SERIES Big Little Lies (June 9) Years and Years (2019) Summer of 2014 (2019) The Outsider (2020) I Know This Much Is True (2020) The Undoing (2020)
COMEDY SERIES Los Espookys (June) The Righteous Gemstones (2019) Ballers (2019) Divorce (2019) Room 104 (2019) A Black Lady Sketch Show (2019) Mrs. Fletcher (2019) Silicon Valley (2019) Curb Your Enthusiasm (2020) Insecure (2020) Run (2020) Barry (2020) High Maintenance (2020)
MINISERIES Catherine the Great (2019) The Plot Against America (2020)
FILMS Share (2019)
DOCUSERIES I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (2020)
TBD Perry Mason The Nevers Gorilla and the Bird Mare of Easttown Contraband (fka Demimonde) The Time Traveler’s Wife Lovecraft Country
PILOT COMMITMENTS Untitled Jane Goldman and George R.R. Martin GOT Prequel Avenue 5
BOSTON (AP) — Actress Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, are pleading not guilty to charges they took part in the sweeping college admissions bribery scam, according to court documents filed Monday.
The couple is accused of paying $500,000 in bribes to get their daughters admitted to the University of Southern California as crew recruits, even though neither is a rower.
They were among 50 people charged last month in the scandal that has embroiled elite school across the country, including Stanford, Georgetown and Yale.
Loughlin, who played Aunt Becky on the sitcom "Full House," and Giannulli haven't publicly addressed the allegations against them.
Loughlin and Giannulli waived their right to appear for their arraignment in Boston federal court and plead not guilty to the two charges against them, their lawyers said in court documents. The judge granted their requests not to appear.
Thirty-three wealthy parents were charged in what authorities have called the biggest college admissions case ever prosecuted by the Justice Department. They are accused of paying admissions consultant Rick Singer to rig standardized test scores and bribe college coaches and other insiders to get their children into selective schools.
Authorities say Loughlin and Giannulli helped create fake athletic profiles for their daughters by sending Singer photos of their teens posing on rowing machines. After their older daughter was admitted to USC, authorities say Giannulli, whose Mossimo clothing had long been a Target brand until recently, sent Singer an email with the subject line "Trojan happiness," thanking him for his "efforts and end result!"
Their daughter, Olivia Jade Giannulli — a social media star who has a popular YouTube channel — was dropped from deals with cosmetics retailer Sephora and hair products company TRESemme after her parents' arrest.
Prosecutors added a money laundering conspiracy charge against Loughlin, Giannulli and more than a dozen other parents who are still fighting the case, increasing the pressure on them to plead guilty.
Several other parents who were indicted alongside Loughlin and Giannulli last week have also filed court documents entering not guilty pleas.
Each of the charges Loughlin and Giannulli face call for up to 20 years in prison, although first-time offenders would get only a small fraction of that if convicted.
Fellow actress Felicity Huffman, who starred in ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and 12 other parents announced last week that they have agreed to plead guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. Huffman is scheduled to appear in Boston on May 21 to enter her plea.
Prosecutors have said they will seek a prison sentence on the low end of four to 10 months for Huffman, who was charged with paying $15,000 to boost her daughter's SAT score.
On Friday, a former Florida prep school administrator pleaded guilty to taking entrance exams for students, or correcting their answers, as part of the scam. Prosecutors have said they will seek between 33 to 41 months in prison for Mark Riddell, a Harvard graduate oversaw college entrance exam preparation at IMG Academy.
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They also waived their right to appear in court for an arraignment on a money laundering charge, according to the signed documents.
Loughlin's not guilty plea to charges of conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering is her first substantive response in the case. Prosecutors say she and Giannulli paid $500,000 to a fake charity to get their two daughters accepted into the University of Southern California, falsely designating them as crew recruits.
The "Full House" actress is the highest-profile figure caught up in a scandal that has embroiled dozens of wealthy parents, college coaches and standardized test administrators. Prosecutors say some of the parents facilitated cheating on the SATs and ACTs on behalf of their children, and some parents bribed college coaches to smooth their children's path into college.
Loughlin's decision not to plead guilty in the case has already had significant legal repercussions.
The actress Felicity Huffman was among 13 parents who pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud last week. In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors said they will recommend incarceration at the "low end" of the sentencing range and will not bring further charges against her.
But those who did not plead guilty, including Loughlin and 15 other parents, were charged a day later with a count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Legal experts said this is part of the prosecution's "carrot and stick" approach intended to pressure defendants to plead guilty or face further charges.
The criminal complaint against Giannulli and Loughlin includes evidence from a cooperating witness, emails, bank records and a recorded phone call with each parent. Giannulli even sent Rick Singer, the mastermind of the scheme, an "action picture" of each of his daughters on ergometers, the rowing machines, according to the criminal complaint.
Loughlin and Giannulli appeared in federal court in Boston two weeks ago, but they had not publicly indicated how they plan to plea until now. Each of the two charges are punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The accusations have hampered the careers of Loughlin and her daughter Olivia Jade, a social media influencer. Loughlin was dropped by the Hallmark Channel and other brands in the wake of last month's charges, and Sephora also ended a makeup partnership with Olivia Jade.
