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☆ On This Saturday Night, Colin Jost’s Jokes Fell Flat
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Jason Zinoman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

People in the media have long worried about the impact of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on journalism. Colin Jost’s set this year does not belong in that pantheon. With long pauses between jokes, eyes darting side to side, he occasionally took a drink of water and at least once acknowledged the lack of laughter in the room. His jokes leaned on wordplay more than a specific or novel perspective. “Some incredible news organizations here,” began one of his pricklier jokes, finished by: “Also, some credible ones.”

Persons: Trevor Noah, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Conan O’Brien, Wanda Sykes, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Larry Wilmore, Michelle Wolf, Colin Jost’s, Michael Che, ” Organizations: White, ’

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The estate of George Carlin has filed a lawsuit against the media company behind a fake hourlong comedy special that purportedly uses artificial intelligence to recreate the late standup comic’s style and material. The named defendants are Dudesy and podcast hosts Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen. “None of the Defendants had permission to use Carlin’s likeness for the AI-generated ‘George Carlin Special,’ nor did they have a license to use any of the late comedian’s copyrighted materials,” the lawsuit says. The company, as it often does on similar projects, also released a podcast episode with Sasso and Kultgen introducing and commenting on the mock Carlin. “Yeah, that sounded exactly like George Carlin,” Sasso responds.

Persons: George Carlin, “ George Carlin, I'm, Carlin, Kelly Carlin, Jerold Hamza, Will Sasso, Chad Kultgen, Dudesy, Sasso, Kultgen, ” Sasso, Josh Schiller Organizations: ANGELES, YouTube Locations: Los Angeles

☆ George Carlin’s Estate Sues Podcasters Over A.I. Episode
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Christopher Kuo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The estate of the comedian George Carlin sued the makers of a podcast on Thursday after they claimed to use artificial intelligence to impersonate Carlin for a comedy special. The lawsuit was filed against Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen, hosts of the podcast “Dudesy,” saying that they infringed on the estate’s copyrights by training an A.I. algorithm on five decades of Carlin’s works for “George Carlin: I’m Glad I’m Dead,” which was posted on the podcast’s YouTube channel, where it remains. “It’s a fictional podcast character created by two human beings, Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen,” Del wrote in an email. “The YouTube video ‘I’m Glad I’m Dead’ was completely written by Chad Kultgen.”

Persons: George Carlin, Carlin, Will Sasso, Chad Kultgen, “ George Carlin, I’m, Danielle Del, Sasso, Dudesy, “, ” Del, ” Organizations: YouTube

Josh Shapiro has a new slogan for how he wants to run Pennsylvania — and it's not fit for kids' ears. “There’s children here, so we’ll just say ‘stuff.’”That was the G-rated version of the line he’s been delivering in recent months. His social media team also has used the phrase online in videos. One of Shapiro's fellow Pennsylvania Democrats, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, cussed routinely on social media while on his way to winning the Senate seat in 2022. Still, Fetterman — known for his blunt and irreverent talk — generally confined his profanities to his writings on social media when describing his disdain for, say, Pennsylvania's relatively low minimum wage.

Persons: Josh Shapiro, “ We’ve, Shapiro, ”, “, George Carlin ’, Manuel Bonder, Bonder, ” Bonder, Russ Diamond, It's, Sen, Kristin Phillips, Jerry Brown, Benjamin Bergen, Donald Trump —, —, Jennifer Mercieca, Mercieca couldn't, ” Mercieca, John Fetterman, cussed, Fetterman, Bergen, ” Bergen, “ It’s, ’ ” Bergen, Marc Levy Organizations: —, Pennsylvania, Johnstown YMCA, Democratic Party, White, Supreme, York, Twitter, California Gov, University of California, New York Times, Texas, Trump, Pennsylvania Democrats, U.S Locations: HARRISBURG, Pa, Johnstown, Milwaukee, U.S, Philadelphia, Lebanon, California, San Diego, Pennsylvania

☆ The 75 most impactful TV moments are debuts, farewells and historic firsts
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Scottie Andrew | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

These and more indelible moments appear on the Television Academy’s new list of the 75 most impactful moments in TV history, spanning introductions, endings and history-making events. MTV premieres with its first music video – “Video Killed the Radio Star,” 198113. “All in the Family” – viewers meet the working-class Bunker family, 197135. 8.” M*A*S*H” series finale, 198326. But these classic TV moments that stirred audiences when they first aired are still resonant and frequently referenced in contemporary culture.

Persons: Martin Luther King Jr, Mister Rogers, Clemmons, Whitney, George Floyd’s, Lucy ”, Neil Armstrong, O.J, Simpson, Ford Bronco, Walter Cronkite, John F, Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr, Nixon, Barack Obama’s, Rodney King’s, Princess Diana’s, Queen Elizabeth II’s, Rodney King, William Shatner’s Captain Kirk, Nichelle Nichols, Uhura, Nichols, Ellen DeGeneres, “ Ellen ”, Sammy Davis , Jr, Archie, “, Lucy ” – Lucy Ricardo, Little Ricky, Lucille Ball, “ Maude ” – Bea Arthur’s Maude, Kelly Clarkson, – Kirk, Kunta Kinte, LeVar Burton, ”, Matt Zoller Seitz, Kunta, Levar Burton, George Carlin, Gordon, Walter White, Bart, Homer, Ted Turner, Sophia, Dorothy, Blanche, Rose, it’s, hallucinating, King Cole, White Walker, ” – Julia Child, boeuf, “ Julia ” –, Julia, “ Will, Grace ”, James Farley, Tony Soprano, Will Hart, It’s, Hawkeye, “ Newhart, Robert Hartley, Bob Newhart, –, “ Mary Tyler Moore, Mary, Ted Danson’s Sam, Bette Midler, Johnny Carson, weren't, Robb, Catelyn, Ed Sullivan, Elvis, “ Charlie Brown, – Linus, Charlie Brown, Carol Burnett, Lucy ” – Lucy, “ Dallas, Mary Tyler Moore, Mary can’t, Chuckles, “ Seinfeld, Jerry, Will Smith, Chris Rock, Harry Bemis, Kinte, Toby, Elmer Fudd, Siegfried, Bugs Bunny, Michael Jackson’s, Oprah ”, Oprah Winfrey, Robb Stark, Hooper, Big, Mr, offscreen, Bill, Frank, Justin Timberlake, Janet, Luke, Laura get, – Whitney Houston, “ Peter Pan ”, “ Walt, Disney Organizations: CNN, The, Television, “, Space Shuttle, NFL, Ford, Capitol, MTV, Radio Star, ABC, Getty, Variety, Oceanic Airlines, Democratic National, HBO, Super, “ Dallas, Beatles, US, Nazi, Pontiac Locations: Angeles, New York, Southern, Monica, “, Valhalla

WASHINGTON (AP) — Comedian Kevin Hart has been chosen to receive the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for lifetime achievement in American humor, capping a three-decade career that has seen him rise from the open mics of Philadelphia to become one of his generation's most successful performers. Hart, in a statement, noted that the launch of the Mark Twain Prize in 1998, with inaugural recipient Richard Pryor, basically coincided with the start of his comedic career. I am grateful to the Kennedy Center for recognizing my voice and impact on culture.”Hart will receive his prize at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts on March 24. Mark Twain recipients are honored with a night of testimonials and video tributes, often featuring previous award winners. Bill Cosby, the 2009 recipient, had his Mark Twain Prize rescinded in 2019 amid multiple allegations of sexual assault.

Persons: Kevin Hart, Kennedy, Mark Twain, Hart, Lil Kev, ” Hart, ”, Deborah F, Rutter, “, Kevin, Twain, Samuel Clemens, Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Whoopi Goldberg, Bob Newhart, Carol Burnett, Dave Chapelle, Bill Cosby Organizations: WASHINGTON, ” Kennedy, Kennedy Center, Kennedy Center for Performing Arts Locations: Philadelphia, America

☆ A ‘Crown Jewel of Comedy’: The Joan Rivers Card Catalog of Jokes Finds a Home
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Jason Zinoman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Joan Rivers died in 2014, ending one of the greatest careers in modern comedy, several groups were interested in acquiring her archives, which included a meticulously organized collection of 65,000 typewritten jokes. Her daughter, Melissa Rivers, recalled a conversation with a representative from the Smithsonian Institution who wanted the catalog of jokes but said it would not be on permanent display. Her mind instantly went to the final tracking shot of “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” in which the golden Ark of the Covenant is locked inside a crate and placed in a vast warehouse with hundreds of other crates. “I couldn’t do that because so much of who she was is in those files,” Melissa Rivers told me on a video call from Los Angeles. The fact that the jokes will be accessible is only one of the reasons for Melissa Rivers’s decision.

Persons: Joan Rivers, Melissa Rivers, Rivers, George Carlin, Carl Reiner, Melissa Rivers’s Organizations: Smithsonian Institution, “ Raiders, National Comedy Center Locations: Los Angeles, Jamestown, N.Y

Between '97 and '02, HBO released TV series like "Sex and the City," "The Wire," and "The Sopranos." Counterprogram, counterprogram, counterprogramFrom its very inception in the early 1970s, HBO executives came to believe that if HBO was to thrive in the long-run, it would have to focus on doing things differently than the big three commercial TV networks: ABC, CBS, and NBC. When HBO executives sent the first episode of "The Sopranos" to a focus group, it scored horribly. The screening was attended by the film's cast, HBO executives, and a collection of Russian dignitaries. Anybody could watch a new TV series from the comfort of their home, and the actors starring in new TV shows were rarely famous.

☆ Final farewell: From Sidney Poitier to Pope Emeritus Benedict a look back at the influential figures who died in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +55 min

Other world leaders who died in 2022 include former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who died in August. The final days of 2022 saw the loss of some exceptionally notable figures, including Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2022 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):___JANUARY___Dan Reeves, 77. A Cuban-born artist whose radiant color palette and geometric paintings were overlooked for decades before the art world took notice. A prolific character actor best known for playing villains and tough guys in “The Manchurian Candidate,” “Ocean’s Eleven” and other films.

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