Day: July 12, 2011

Earlier today, Margaret Cho kicked off a 72-hour “pay what you want” sale of her Grammy-nominated album, Cho Dependent, that includes two unreleased songs of hers, with 20 percent of the proceeds donated to Immediate Justice, a charity devoted to empowering young women and gay people of color. The 72-hour window began at noon July 12, 2011. As it’s pay what you want, the person who pays/donates the most will earn a role as an extra in Cho’s music video for “Asian Adjacent,” to be filmed in L.A. on July 24. You’ll meet Cho and Grant Lee Phillips in addition to appearing in the video. Note: This reward does not include travel/lodging. The number-two donor will receive a prize package that includes a Cho Dependent tote bag, CHO HO tank top, album poster featuring photos with the musicians and a personalized/autographed copy of the album. If Cho can get 500 people to pitch in, everyone also will receive the brand-new song, “Sexting,” by Sherry Vine featuring Cho. Of course, this video snippet also explains it if you want a taste. Roll it!...

Sherwood Schwartz, who created not only two of the biggest TV sitcoms of a generation but also two of the most famous TV theme songs in both Gilligan’s Island and The Brady Bunch, died in his sleep early this morning. Schwartz was 94. Here he is pictured getting kisses from Florence Henderson (Mrs. Brady) and Dawn Wells (Mary Ann) upon receiving his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Born Nov. 24, 1916, in Passaic, N.J., Schwartz got his start in show business writing jokes for Bob Hope’s radio show in the late 1930s. He served in the Army during World War II, and upon his return, worked for the Ozzie and Harriet radio show, then later The Red Skelton Show and My Favorite Martian. You can hear Schwartz talk about his life and career in this 11-part interview conducted in 1997 for the Archive of American Television, which I’ve posted after the...