THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 29, 1996 TAG: 9607270057
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Bonko, Goes Hollywood
LENGTH: 127 lines
WHO SAID WHAT during the semi-annual Television Critics Association press tour?
Here are the quotable notables:
Helen Hunt of ``Mad About You,'' and the summertime blockbuster ``Twister,'' on leaving the NBC show to do more movies: ``I'll only stop doing the series when I feel that the show is not good any longer, and that I'm not proud to be part of it. That should be in 17 years or so. We're sticklers about quality.''
Angela Lansbury, winner of the television critics' lifetime achievement award, on the slow death of ``Murder She Wrote'' as a weekly CBS series: ``That was the result of some very bad judgment by the network. A huge chunk of America and the world took Jessica Fletcher to its heart. But CBS didn't. The network never realized what a treasure it had.'' (Jessica will be back in two TV movies in 1997).
Barry Corbin, formerly of ``Northern Exposure,'' starring in a new series (``The Big Easy'') starting on USA in August: ``When you go into a series, you don't think about the money, fame and glamour it might bring. You ask yourself if you can stand playing the same character for five or seven years. Most of the times the answer is no.''
David Letterman of CBS' ``The Late Show,'' who will produce a series (``The High Life'') for Home Box Office: ``I have two vivid impressions of the night in 1975 I started as a stand-up comic at The Comedy Store. The spotlight was hot and bright and intense. And I'll never forget the audience's uninterrupted silence.''
Christine Elise, who left the cast of mega-hit ``ER'' for a Fox show (``L.A. Firefighters'') with an uncertain future: ``It may prove to be a foolish move.''
Mike Judge, creator of ``Beavis and Butt-head'' on MTV and a new animated series (``King of the Hill'') for Fox: ``I was miserable and depressed when I had a 9-to-5 job. I have a degree in physics and had an engineering job for 18 months. After three weeks, I knew I wanted to get out and into comedy.''
Larry Hagman, who underwent a liver transplant last August, on the character he will play in the CBS ``Dallas'' reunion: ``Ol' J.R. Ewing will still be the meanest s.o.b. in Texas and will still do sinful things. But he will not smoke or drink.''
Cokie Roberts of ABC News, guessing who Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole will choose as his running mate: ``It'll probably be some boring white guy.''
Famous filmmaker Steven Spielberg, whose company is producing the ``High Incident'' cop show for ABC, on why he no longer rides with the police to do research: ``Some of the people who were getting arrested recognized me. Before they were clamped into handcuffs, they asked for my autograph. It was a distraction.''
Leonard Nimoy of A&E's ``Ancient Mysteries'' on why he became a director: ``When I was doing `Star Trek,' I had to come at 5 o'clock in the morning for three hours of makeup that changed me into Spock. The director came in at 9 and started work right away. That was my idea of a terrific day.''
Miss America, Shawntel Smith, on the vote last year by NBC viewers to keep the swimsuit competition: ``I agree with the vote. I say keep the swimsuits. It's tradition. It shows that Miss America is physically fit. Modest swimsuits do not compromise my beliefs or values.'' (NBC will carry the pageant live on Sept. 14).
Gerald McRaney, who stars on CBS in an uplifting drama called ``Promised Land'': ``This show will stick a pin in the big bubble of cynicism.''
Jeff Foxworthy, an advocate of redneck humor who moves his sitcom from ABC to NBC this fall: ``There's a part of me that's offended by people who think a typical Southerner is somebody who runs around in overalls looking for UFOs. When they hear a Southern accent, some people start subtracting IQ points.''
Bob Costas, nighttime host of the Olympics on NBC, watched by an estimated 4.3 billion people worldwide: ``If you're not nervous before you go on the air, then you should be in another business. You're not human. Before a big event, I want to feel the adrenaline going, a tingle of anticipation.''
Bill Cosby, who is reportedly being paid $1 million an episode by CBS to star in ``Cosby,'' on why he was reluctant to meet the TV press: ``I didn't want to come here and be asked why CBS is giving me more money than anybody has ever seen before. Or be asked who do I think I am for charging that kind of money when my last two shows were failures.''
Brian Dennehy, TV pitchman soon to star in ``Undue Influence,'' a CBS movie: ``In Hollywood films today, the stars get $20 million, and the rest of the actors are expected to work for peanuts. Thank God for television, where we get a reasonable return for our talent. Thank God for television commercials.''
Robert Duvall, who plays a notorious Nazi henchman on TNT in ``The Man Who Captured Eichman'': ``When the camera rolls, I play this man of heinous proportions as accurately and realistically as possible. I try to get under his skin, have the part seep into my bones. But when I go home at night, I forget him. It's a job. I get good money to play make-believe.''
Naomi Judd, who goes from being an interviewee to interviewer in a series of Family Channel specials: ``I've had interviewers ask me everything from my bra size to my daughter Wynonna's shoe size. I'm working on a list of pretty unique questions myself.''
Grant Show, soon to appear in the Fox movie ``Pretty Poison,'' on playing Jake on ``Melrose Place'': ``It's not challenging material. I don't feel stretched as an actor doing him. He started out as this Fonzie kind of a character. I've tried to change him into being more like me. Jake's the only character on `Melrose Place' who's normal.''
Rob Schneider, formerly of ``Saturday Night Live,'' and now the star of the new NBC sitcom, ``Men Behaving Badly'': ``Guys are basically selfish and slovenly and would let themselves go if women let them. I'm like that. This series will show guys getting away with as much as they can.''
Larry King of CNN's ``Larry King Live'' on his interviewing technique: ``I'm a damned good interviewer who never says to himself, `I am going to nail this guest to the wall.' Nor do I ever say, `Boy, I'm going to praise this guest sky-high.' I have my own style. And I've made an awful lot of news with that style.''
Chris Carter, creator of ``The X-Files,'' on Fox's decision to move his show from Friday night to Sunday night at 9: ``It's hard for people to change their viewing habits. I realize that it's school the next day for most kids. But in this case, I think parents should break their rules and let the kids stay up and watch.''
British actor Malcolm McDowell on doing a sitcom (``Pearl'' on CBS co-starring Rhea Perlman) for the first time: ``I'm a bit fearful of having to churn one of these things out every four or five days. It's new territory for me - a bit like going into a madhouse.''
The TCA tour is wall-to-wall talk. ILLUSTRATION: NBC
Helen Hunt with co-star Paul Reiser of "Mad About You": "We're
sticklers about quality."
David Letterman recalls the humbling experience of his first try as
a stand-up comic.
Cokie Roberts makes an educated guess about the upcoming candidates.
Larry Hagman will re-create his infamous Dallas character, this time
alcohol-free. by CNB