Television

Caesar, flanked by cast performers Imogene Coca and Carl Reiner, listens to a singer in a skit from the TV comedy series Your Show of Shows, in 1952.

Sid Caesar, Who Got Laughs Without Politics Or Putdowns, Dies At 91

8:00pm February 12, 2014

by Susan Stamberg

The comedian was one of early network TV's biggest stars, and he didn't do smut or smarmy remarks. Caesar did skits: grown-up, gentle comedy for the whole family. He died Wednesday morning at his home in Beverly Hills.

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Have A Lot Of Free Time? Watch All Of NBC's Olympic Coverage

1:28pm February 11, 2014

by Eric Deggans

NBC says its coverage of the Winter Olympics has drawn more than 100 million viewers over its first weekend. That indicates lots of interest in the games, which will fill 1,539 hours of coverage across NBC's broadcast network, cable channels and online. We have some suggestions for watching the Sochi Olympics — from the regular network broadcast to cable to the Internet.

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For Top-Flight Animators, The Gag Is An Art All Its Own

12:05pm February 08, 2014

by Elizabeth Blair

In the animated world, just about anything goes: Toys talk, mice are chefs, and pandas do kung fu. In animation, the sky's the limit. In this encore broadcast, we learn about the hundreds of people working on big studio features who spend their days figuring out how to manufacture this silliness from the ground up. (This story originally aired on All Things Considered on Nov. 27, 2013.)

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1 Show Left For Jay Leno's 'Tonight Show'

7:59am February 06, 2014

by Eric Deggans

After 22 years, Jay Leno will host his last Tonight Show Thursday night. The 63-year-old comedian is leaving at the top of the ratings. Thirty-nine-year-old Jimmy Fallon will takeover as host on Feb. 17.

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"The term 'vegan leather' makes me think that you peeled a carrot and took the skin and made a jacket out of it," says Tim Gunn, pictured above at the Under the Gunn finale fashion show.

Arts

Tim Gunn: On And Off The Runway, 'Life Is A Big Collaboration'

5:19pm February 05, 2014

"Make it work," the fashion guru tells designers on Project Runway. But life hasn't always "worked" for Gunn. He talks with Terry Gross about being bullied, being gay in the '60s and '70s, and how his mother thinks he should "dress more like Mitt Romney."

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'The Tonight Show' And The Business Of Late Night

2:54pm February 05, 2014

After hosting The Tonight Show for two decades, Jay Leno will pass the torch to Jimmy Fallon in February. NPR's Kelly McEvers tals with Matt Belloni, executive editor for The Hollywood Reporter, about the business of late-night talk shows.

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Borgen's heroine is Birgitte Nyborg, superbly played by Sidse Babett Knudsen. Pilou Asbaek plays Don Draper-ish spin doctor Kasper Juul.

Arts

'Borgen' Is Denmark's 'West Wing' (But Even Better)

11:10am February 05, 2014

by John Powers

Critic John Powers says that Borgen, a Danish TV series about a woman who unexpectedly becomes Denmark's prime minister is "irresistibly bingeable." The third and final season has just been released on DVD.

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Seun Summers (left) and Idris Brewster have been best friends since before they were kindergartners. They're both college sophomores today, and their parents say each is thriving in his respective school. (Seun is at York College, part of The City Univers

Education

'American Promise' Probes Race Issues In NYC Private School

7:42am February 04, 2014

by Karen Grigsby Bates

The PBS documentary traces the progress of two African-American students through one of New York City's most elite private schools. Questions arise about the trade-off of a superior education and the psychological and cultural trauma each boy experiences at times.

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Arts

Comedian's Career Is Central To 'Quality Balls'

12:00am February 02, 2014

Legendary comedian David Steinberg is the subject of a new Showtime documentary called Quality Balls. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Steinberg, whose controversial routine was responsible for the cancellation of the Smothers Brothers' TV show in the 1960s.

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Books
Arts

What Wakes B.J. Novak Up In The Middle Of The Night?

7:58am January 31, 2014

by Lynn Neary

B.J. Novak is a triple threat. He got his start in show business as a standup comedian which led to a job on the hit comedy series The Office. Novak had a regular part on the show but he was also one of the writers. Now he has put his writing talent to work on a book of stories: One More Thing.

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