TV and cinema sex kitten Valerie Perrine dead at 82
She had been unwell for some time, so it wasn’t a surprise to hear that Valerie Perrine has passed away at age 82. It’s still sad to hear.
Perrine’s life story is wild and is best captured through this paragraph in a 2023 THR profile on Perrine:
Perrine insists she wants no pity and regrets nothing about her Technicolor life: not one affair (she’s been romantically linked to everyone from Jeff Bridges to Elliott Gould to Dodi Fayed); not one hit of acid (she’s taken LSD more than 400 times, by her estimation); not one career move (well, she probably should have said yes to 1981’s Body Heat and no to 1980’s Can’t Stop the Music, the Village People-starring megaflop she says killed her career, but you can’t win them all).
Perrine started her career as a topless Vegas showgirl, setting her on a career where, through the 70s and 80s she was cast in a number of sexually-charged roles. Even in her role in 1978’s Superman movie, she was cast as a temptress working for villain Lex Luthor before finding redemption rescuing the hero in the final act of the film (but not before stealing a kiss from him).
She’s best known to Australians as one of the faces welcoming in the new year every year. Channel Nine, for decades now, starts every new year with a broadcast of Can’t Stop The Music.
Perrine has a spot in US TV history as the first performer to appear intentionally nude on US network TV. This was in a PBS TV movie from 1973 called Steambath.
She had been dealing with Parkinsons for over a decade, struggling with mobility and the ability to eat and speak. As her obit in The Guardian today notes, actor Michael Caine once referred to her as “the nicest human being I’ve ever worked with.”
There’s a GoFundMe set up to help pay for her final wish, which is to be buried in Forrest Lawn Memorial Park.
News Desk
Tubi has announced its newest YA romance will be set in the world of esports. Is this the sign esports is now mainstream? Read: Variety
Disney+ Marvel show Wonder Man has been renewed for a second season. Read: THR
Mahershala Ali will star opposite Mark Ruffalo in season 2 of HBO’s Task. Read: Deadline
A group of Voice of America journalists are suing Trump administration official Kari Lake, alleging that she is promoting pro-Trump propaganda on air and has violated Federal law and First Ammendment principles. Read: NPR
Braindead drama series CIA has been given a second season at CBS. Read: THR
What an interesting media moment we have found ourselves in. Scott MacFarlane, a high-ish profile reporter who recently left CBS News, has just announced his new professional home. He hasn’t jumped ship to a traditional outlet like a Bloomberg, NBC News, MS NOW, etc. Rather he has just joined digital news outlet MeidasTouch Network (it’s mostly a video podcast network with YouTube as a primary channel). Read: Deadline
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will end with its second season. That’s a very short run for a Star Trek series – I believe that aside from the animated companion show to Discovery, Short Treks, this is the shortest run a Star Trek series has ever had. Maybe Paramount should just give Trek fans a show they actually want, like Star Trek: Legacy. Read: THR
Blurb of the day
There’s a charming, bordering on insightful, write-up at Variety of a session at Series Mania in France with Steven Moffat and Sue Vertue talking about their new UK drama (dramedy?) Number 10.
Moffat, who is known for Press Gang, Coupling, Sherlock, and Doctor Who (among other shows), always walks a line between comedy and drama, so I thought this insight was worth sharing:
“Real life is funny – drama is a lie. If you are saying goodbye to a love of your life, you can’t wait for her to leave because you have to pee. These Sherlock stories? If you read the original, it’s funny. Holmes is a funny guy, making impossible deductions and Watson still managing to be astonished by it. It’s glorious stuff. ‘A Scandal in Belgravia’ is one of my favorite things and it’s non-stop gags. You can’t be too funny, too sexy or too pretty. Always go for funny.”
Always go for funny!
Trailer Park
The fifth and final season of Hacks debuts on HBO Max April 9.
Dutton Ranch debuts on Paramount+ May 15. It’s more of a straight Yellowstone spin-off than Marshalls. It stars Yellowstone’s Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser reprising their roles as Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler, alongside Ed Harris and Annette Bening.
A Gorilla Story: Told By David Attenborough debuts on Netflix April 17.
CoComelon Lane is back for season 7 on Netflix April 20.
Sins of Kujo debuts on Netflix April 2.
From thugs to yakuza, Taiza Kujo wields the law to defend society's worst. Fellow lawyer, Karasuma doubts his ethics but joins him in facing the abyss.