O.J. Simpson is dead at 76 / Tom Hiddleston is returning as The Night Manager / Hulu to highlight Latino cuisine with Talking Sabor
O.J. Simpson is dead at 76 / Tom Hiddleston is returning as The Night Manager / Hulu to highlight Latino cuisine with Talking Sabor
PLUS: Bridgerton's Season 3 trailer focuses on Penelope's glow-up.
O.J. Simpson dies: Football superstar, actor, sports broadcaster and accused double murderer was 76
Simpson's death, on Wednesday in Las Vegas from cancer, was announced by his family on his Twitter/X account, from which he last posted a video from two months ago today. A Las Vegas TV station reported in February that Simpson was undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, prompting Simpson to deny on Feb. 9 that he had entered hospice care. Simpson died two months shy of the 30th anniversary of the June 12, 1994 double murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman that resulted in his arrest, the "Trial of the Century," his acquittal and ostracization. "On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer," read his family's statement. "He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace." Simpson lived one of the most scrutinized lives in American history. In 2016, Simpson was the subject of the nearly eight-hour Oscar- and Emmy-winning ESPN documentary O.J.: Made in America from director Ezra Edelman. That same year, Simpson was portrayed by Cuba Gooding, Jr. in FX's Emmy-winning The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story. Simpson's arrest on June 17, 1994 after a surreal slow-speed police chase riveted the nation and caused NBC to disrupt its coverage of Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The chase was also the subject of a 2010 ESPN 30 for 30 documentary, titled June 17th, 1994. O.J. Simpson first emerged as a national celebrity as a running back on the USC Trojans college football team in the 1967 season, becoming a media darling with TV appearances with Bob Hope, Ed Sullivan, Joey Bishop, Mike Douglas and Merv Griffin. In 1968, Simpson won the Heisman Trophy. After he was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1969, Simpson became a TV pitchman in a number of commercials, most famously for Hertz rental car. He was a presenter at the 1975 Oscars, appeared with Sonny and Cher on their variety show in 1974, played a character named “Killer” on The Flip Wilson Show in 1974, guest-starred as himself opposite Lucille Ball on Here's Lucy in 1973 and hosted SNL in 1978. Simpson also became an actor, most famously in The Naked Gun movie trilogy and with guest-starring roles on shows and miniseries including Medical Center, Roots, Cade's County and In the Heat of the Night. Simpson also starred as a running back-turned-coach on HBO's 1984-1991 comedy series 1st & Ten and TV movies including CBS' A Killing Affair (opposite Elizabeth Montgomery) in 1977 and two Goldie and the Boxer movies for NBC in 1979 and 1981. Months before his arrest in 1994, Simpson had completed filming on the pilot for NBC action series Frogmen. In retirement, Simpson stayed in the football world by working as a sports commentator for ABC's Monday Night Football and The NFL on NBC. In 1997, Simpson lost a civil trial brought on by Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman's families. In 2007, Simpson was arrested after he and a group of men broke into a Las Vegas hotel room of some sports memorabilia dealers and took a bunch of collectibles. In 2017, Simpson was released and became a fixture on Twitter/X. "Over the years, the story of O.J. Simpson generated a tide of tell-all books, movies, studies and debate over questions of justice, race relations and celebrity in a nation that adores its heroes, especially those cast in rags-to-riches stereotypes, but has never been comfortable with its deeper contradictions," writes The New York Times' Robert D. McFadden. The Washington Post's Rick Maese, Glenn Frankel and Matt Schudel write that Simpson's arrest in 1994 "was a stunning downfall for a man who had risen from a San Francisco slum to become one of the greatest running backs in football history, an actor in more than 20 Hollywood movies, a corporate pitchman — sprinting through airports for Hertz Rent-a-Car in his most memorable television commercials — and a TV sports commentator. He had good looks, a warm smile and a poised manner that made him a popular sports media personality long after his playing days had ended. The double-murder charges shattered his high-achieving and amiable reputation."
ALSO:
Tom Hiddleston is returning as The Night Manager with a two-season order on Amazon and BBC
"One year ago we told you that a second season of John le Carré adaptation The Night Manager was quietly being developed under the codename Steelworks," reports Deadline's Max Goldbart and Baz Bamigboye. "Now, Deadline can reveal that the BBC and new co-pro partner Amazon have gone big on a supercharged two-season order of the thriller, with Tom Hiddleston returning to lead, Hugh Laurie coming back as EP and with a new director in I Hate Suzie’s Georgi Banks-Davies. A third season has also been greenlit. David Farr returns as writer and Stephen Garrett is showrunner. The Night Manager Season 2 will begin filming later this year and will pick up with Hiddleston’s Jonathan Pine eight years after the explosive finale of Season 1, going beyond the original book, which was written by the celebrated British writer in 1993. Additional plot details are being kept under wraps and there is not yet confirmation as to whether EP Laurie’s Richard Roper, who was last seen in the back of a paddy wagon driven by arms buyers who were not best pleased with him, will return to star. Hiddleston will also EP and will discuss in more depth on tonight’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
Amazon CEO: Prime Video advertising is "off to a strong start"
“Streaming TV advertising is growing quickly and off to a strong start,” CEO Andy Jassy wrote in his annual letter to shareholders of Amazon Prime Video adding ads in January.
BET renews Ms. Pat Settles It, sets premiere date for The Ms. Pat Show Season 4
Patricia "Ms. Pat" Williams's courtroom show has been picked up for a second season, while her sitcom will return to BET+ on May 23.
Hulu to highlight Latino cuisine with Aarón Sánchez's Talking Sabor
Premiering April 24, Talking Sabor follows the celebrity chef as he visits 16 Latino-owned restaurants in Los Angeles, New York, Houston and Miami.
Hallmark TV movie star Ryan Paevey announces he's taking an acting break
“Sadly no word of a (Hallmark) film,” Paevey, the star of more than a dozen Hallmark films, tweeted Tuesday. “I may take 2024 off from filming, unless the project is with friends. The last 8 months of life in this industry have left a pretty bitter taste in my mouth, and I need some time away from a world so full of fake friends and empty promises. I’m weary…”
Apple TV+ unveils the trailer for Dark Matter
The adaptation of Blake Crouch's bestselling sci-fi novel — which is not related to Syfy's 2015-2017 Dark Matter series — gets the TV treatment in the Apple series starring Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Connelly and Alice Braga. Dark Matter premieres May 8 with two episodes, followed by a weekly rollout for the remaining seven episodes.
Bridgerton's Season 3 trailer focuses on Penelope's glow-up
Nicola Coughlan's character has better dresses and a nicer hairstyle in the official trailer for Season 3, which premieres on Netflix with Part 1 on May 16.