BRBTV birthdays this week

In BRBTV birthdays this Fourth of July week ...

- Signy Coleman, our Celeste DiNapoli of "Santa Barbara," who also did an 1987 episode of "Dallas," is an Independence Day baby, turning 46 today.
- Rosemary Forsyth, the original Sophia Capwell (and Dominic) of "SB," turns 63 on Thursday, July 6.
- Grant Goodeve, who was Chris Deegan on "Dynasty," also has a birthday on July 6, turning 54.
- Kimberly Foster, who portrayed Michelle Stevens on "Dallas," is our third July 6 birthday, turning 45.

Happy birthday to all!

Spotted: A very young James Best!

... Right this very second, on "The Twilight Zone" Fourth of July weekend marathon on Sci-Fi ... He's just a young'un for sure! James Best playing a character named Billy-Ben -- a character caught between the ghost of his old love and his very new wife -- in the 1963 episode "Jess-Belle." It is the third of three "Twilight Zone" episodes Best did in his younger days. In this one, he's a mere 37 but looking about young 20s, with a tall thin frame and sleek, clean-shaven face. Wowzers!

Happy Independence Day!

John Ashton in "Gone, Baby, Gone"

Now, here's one we don't hear from too often: John Ashton, who was wheelin' and dealin' oil cartel member Willie Joe Garr on "Dallas," will star in the film "Gone, Baby, Gone" next year. The movie, written by, directed by and starring Ben Affleck (and starring his bro, Casey Affleck), also has Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris and Cheryl Ladd's niece Chelsea Ladd attached. (Chelsea's dad, Alan Ladd Jr., son of the great Alan Ladd, is one of the film's producers.)

One of the film's plotline's from its IMDb page: "Dorchester, one of the toughest neighborhoods in all of Boston, is no place for the weak or innocent. It's a territory defined by hard heads and even harder luck, its streets littered with broken families, hearts, dreams. When one of its own, a 4-year-old girl, goes missing, private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro don't want the case. But after pleas from the child's aunt, they open an investigation that will ultimately risk everything -- their relationship, their sanity and even their lives -- to find a little girl-lost."

The movie, which is listed as currently filming, is based on Dennis Lehane's novel of the same title.

Before he starred in those first couple seasons of "Dallas," Ashton did some fun classic TV, such as "Wonder Woman," "Police Woman," "M*A*S*H" and "Starsky and Hutch." He's also appeared in films such as "Beverly Hills Cop I" and "II." Keep up with his work at his official website, http://www.johnashton.com.

Adrian Paul: "Highlander" and more

Adrian Paul, known to us as Bliss' love interest Kolya (Nikolai) Rostov on "The Colbys," has some new projects in the works. Notably, he's reprising his starring role in a new film in the "Highlander" franchise, "Highlander: The Source," due out this year. He's also executive-producing that film. Paul kept a diary on the set, and you can read it at http://www.adrianpaul.net/current/thesource.shtml.

The second 2006 project for Paul is the movie "Seance," in which he plays a character named Spence. The film's plotline from the IMDb: "In an attempt to rid their dorm of a troublesome little girl ghost a group of college students inadvertently bring back the little girl's killer." Keep track of the film's progress at http://www.snowfallfilms.com.

And the latest project on Paul's plate is the movie "Nine Miles Down," in which he has the starring role. From the film's official website: "The philosophical thriller 'Nine Miles Down' is a spine-chilling journey into the psyche of a man struggling to escape his tortured past. In the remote desert of the Australian Outback, a sandstorm batters a deserted drilling station. Thomas ("Mac") MacLeash, a security patrolman, battles through the high winds to find out why all contact with the station has been lost. Originally built for gas exploration, and then abandoned, the site had recently been taken over by a multi-national research team intent on drilling deeper into the earth’s crust than ever before." The film is due in 2007. To learn more, visit the film's official website, http://www.ninemilesdown.com.

To keep track of Paul's projects, check out his quite extensive news page at:
http://www.adrianpaul.net/index_flash.html

Stephen Nichols returns to "Days"

SoapNet.com is reporting that Stephen Nichols is returning to the role he's the most famous for -- Steve "Patch" Johnson -- on NBC's daytime soap "Days of Our Lives." Mary Beth Evans, his costar as Kayla, will be returning with him this month, the soap network says. Nichols, of course, is known to us as Dr. Skyler Gates from the latter years of "Santa Barbara."

Nichols has done some other notable soap work: He was the sinister Stefan Cassadine on ABC's "General Hospital" and its offshoot "Port Charles." He played a paramedic on a couple episodes of "Dallas" in the early '80s, and he was a flight attendant in the pilot of "Dynasty" in 1981. (Now, if he woulda made a "Dukes of Hazzard" appearance, we're thinking that woulda made him our first-ever BRBTV quadruple shot!)

Just one BRBTV birthday this week ...

Pamela Bellwood, whom we saw flip that lightswitch on "Dynasty" more times than we care to count, turned 55 yesterday, June 26. Happy birthday to our own Claudia!

By the way, as you're out browsing, check out a little more on Aaron Spelling, who just died on Friday, and his life:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/television/brief_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002728212
http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/26/aaronspelling.appreciation.ap/index.html
http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,19363,00.html?fdnews

Ally Walker stars in new HBO drama

Ally Walker, who played Andrea Bedford on "Santa Barbara," has a new drama series on her plate for this fall. HBO has signed on to the drama pilot of "SexLife," the Hollywood Reporter says. Walker will play Katie in the TV series, which is described as a "racy drama about three couples with intimacy issues," the report says. Cynthia Mort, who penned the pilot, is executive-producing with Gavin Polone. The number of episodes HBO will pick up is yet to be determined.

Walker's recent work includes episodes of f/X's "The Shield" and NBC's "ER" this year, and she was the "Profiler" in the late 1990s on NBC. (The latter series also featured her "SB" costar A Martinez.)

BRBTV News Blog Blip: Remember to catch "Desolation Canyon" this Saturday on the Hallmark Channel, where you'll see our own Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing of "Dallas") and the aforementioned A Martinez! Check out the February 10 post of the BRBTV News Blog for photos and more details!

Aaron Spelling dies

"Dynasty" powerhouse producer Aaron Spelling has died, following a stroke earlier this week. You can read more details at E! Online.

"Dallas" filming update

The City of Dallas has been lobbying to bring the filming of the new big-screen "Dallas" adaptation to their fair town, waging a "Shoot J.R. in Dallas" PR campaign. Well, perhaps their efforts have paid off, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

"Prison Break," Fox's daring drama that has been garnering a lot of attention lately (and which BRBTV affectionately calls "Prison Boys") is moving its shooting from Chicago to Dallas, now that its convict characters have broken out of the prison its first season was centered on, a prison that Joliet Correctional Center in Chicago had provided the backdrop for. In a story in the Hollywood Reporter, Janis Burklund, director of the Dallas Film Commission, talks about not just this new "Prison Break" shooting but also some other Dallas shooting news: It looks like the big-screen version of "Dallas" will shoot up to four weeks in the city, with the rest of the shoot taking place in Louisiana.

"I would have liked to have gotten the whole film," Burklund was quoted as saying, "but given that the large studio films are so intent on incentives, I'm actually fairly happy, because initially we were only going to get four or five days of it. We got a significant bump up, so I feel good about that."

She adds: "We've been fighting a battle of getting state incentives in place to combat what Louisiana and New Mexico and some of the others are doing. Hopefully this will help in our battle to get our legislators to understand what we need."

Read the whole story about BRBTV's fave prison boys, and the Dallas shooting, at http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/columns/on_location_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002691161.

Check out James Best in "Hot Tamale"

It looks like a lot of fun: James Best plays Grandpa in a new film, "Hot Tamale," which just premiered this month at the Boston and Winnipeg film festivals and which comes out on DVD soon.

Check out the official website: http://www.hottamalethemovie.com. You can see Best in the cast clips, read his acting bio and see him in the photo gallery. The movie's cast also includes Jason Priestly, Carmen Elektra and Randy Spelling (yes, son of "Dynasty" producer Aaron, brother of Tori).

A bit from the movie's synopsis: "A small sleepy town in Wyoming is just no place for a young man with dreams of playing the timbale drums in a salsa band. Seizing his destiny, Harlan (Randy Spelling) packs up his car, bids the Midwest adios, and heads west to the Mecca of showbiz wannabes everywhere: Los Angeles."

The film is directed and written by soap hunk Michael Damian, with some help from his wife, Janeen Damian, who just happens to be Best's daughter. Janeen, by the way, starred as Mary Lou in the "Dukes" episode "A Baby for the Dukes." She's had an interesting career, from Solid Gold dancer to stunt double!

BRBTV birthdays this week

BRBTV birthdays this week:

- Leigh McCloskey, who is a BRBTV triple shot as Mitch Cooper on "Dallas" and both Zack Kelton and Ethan Asher on "Santa Barbara," turns 51 today, June 21.
- Paula Irvine, who played the second Lilly Light Blake on "SB," was born the same year as BRB and turns 38 tomorrow, June 22.
- Ted Shackelford, who was Gary Ewing on "Dallas" and its spinoff, "Knots Landing," turns 60 on Friday, June 23.

BRBTV News Blog Blip: "Dynasty" producer Aaron Spelling has suffered a stroke, "Entertainment Tonight" and various other news agencies are reporting. The 83-year-old Spelling has reportedly been in ill health since an oral cancer diagnosis in 2001.

Spotted: John James

Playing a character named Jeff, ironically, our own Jeff of "Dynasty" has a role on ABC's "All My Children," sharing scenes with Susan Lucci and the like. His character, Jeff Martin, is the adoptive brother of Tad Martin and (secret) father of Josh Madden by Erica Kane. James has done other daytime soap work, playing Rick Decker on CBS' "As the World Turns" a couple years back, as well as the third Junior Bergman on CBS' "Search for Tomorrow" way back when, before "Dynasty."

BRBTV News Blog Blip: "Dynasty" has dropped from the SoapNet schedule. But don't worry, "Dallas" fans -- J.R. and crew are still airing.

Next "Dukes" movie gets underway

The rumors have been running rampant on the Internet for the past several weeks, but now the story is turning a bit more official. Another "Dukes of Hazzard" movie is on its way, and it will be a "prequel" movie to last year's movie, with a mostly new cast.

Jonathan Bennett, who even had a role on John Schneider's latest show "Smallville," has been cast as Bo Duke. He's done a smattering of other TV appearances, including the WB / CW's "Veronica Mars." His counterpart, Luke Duke, will be Randy Wayne, who's had a recurring role on ABC's new "Sons & Daughters." They're both 25, nice and young enough for this take on the cousins when they first come to Hazzard County and get busted for moonshinin'. Their cousin Daisy will be played by April Scott, who's done some modeling (particularly on SoapNet's "SoapTalk").

BRBTV will try to tactfully remain quiet about the casting of the beautiful Sherilyn Fenn as Lulu Hogg. (We always loved Lulu, and we always loved Fenn as the irrepressible Audrey in "Twin Peaks" -- but holy cow, talk about universes colliding!) Willie Nelson will return as Uncle Jesse. Christopher McDonald will take over the role of Boss Hogg. He's done a whole lotta TV, and Kryptonian fans will know him as the voice of Jor-El in the "Justice League" and "Superman" animated series. Adam Shulman, who (appropriately enough) looks to be a newbie in the biz, will play Enos.

With Robert Berlinger at the helm and a script by Shane Morris, the film is currently titled "The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning" and scheduled for 2007 release.

See My Lee!

BRBTV wants to offer a special thanks to Donnie and Fran over at the Lanier National Speedway in Braselton, Ga., for inviting BRB over last weekend to sign copies of "Them Dukes! Them Dukes!" during their special first-ever "Dukes of Hazzard" night at the track. And this time around in our occasional "See My Lee" feature we're showing you Donnie's General Lee.

Now, you can't see 'em very well, but those are stars-and-bars centerpieces on the wheel covers. Coolness. (It was dark outside when we got this shot, around midnight after the track closed.)

Donnie lives in Loganville now, but at the time when "The Dukes" originally filmed in Georgia in 1978, he was living in Conyers, one of the show's filming sites. He says he could hear some of the car chases and crazy stunts going on up and down the road.

He plans to have another "Dukes of Hazzard" night at the speedway next year, by the way. Keep an eye on the website.

"Dallas" TV movies on CMT schedule

Our cable buddy CMT, which managed to birth a whole new generation of "Dukes of Hazzard" fans by bringing the show back to the airwaves last year, will air the "Dallas" TV movies this month.

Call it the midnight movies: "Dallas: The Early Years," the recast TV miniseries that told the story of the beginning of the Ewing-Barnes feud and how Jock and Digger both vied for Miss Ellie's hand, runs at midnight on Wednesday, June 21. The two high-action movies that utilized the regular "Dallas" cast will also air: "Dallas: J.R. Returns" airs at midnight on Tuesday, June 20 and "Dallas: War of the Ewings" at midnight on Thursday, June 22.

Mark Arnold in "Shimmer"

Mark Arnold, who took over the "Santa Barbara" role of Joe Perkins from Dane Witherspoon, is no stranger to the soap world. He's also starred in "The Guiding Light," "The Edge of Night" and "One Life to Live." More recently, he's played Jack on ABC's "Desperate Housewives." This year, though, he's working on the film "Shimmer."

Written and directed by Andrew Robinson (no, not that Andrew Robinson), the film centers on an 18-year-old kid, played by Robinson, who learns something from his mother's past. Arnold plays Neil McKenzie in the movie. An excerpt from the IMDb's plotline: "Eighteen-year-old Steven Borman is at a crossroads in his life. With no real future in sight, he's forced to work his mother's antique shop. A struggling single mother, Angela Borman has been the subject of town gossip since becoming pregnant with Steven at age 16. Together, Steven and Angela just try to make it through the day without killing each other. Their lives are turned upside down when a former friend, Eric Mackenzie, returns home to Shimmer after almost 20 years. But all is not well in the quiet little town. Steven is inexplicably drawn to Eric, and during a night of drinking he and his friends break into Eric's home and uncover a photograph linking Eric to his mother and a past he's never known."

BRBTV birthdays this week ...

- Jenilee Harrison, the slightly ditzy Jamie Ewing on "Dallas," turned 46 yesterday, June 12.
- Waylon Jennings, our "Dukes of Hazzard" balladeer, was born on June 15, 1937 and died on February 13, 2002.
- Eileen Davidson, the last Kelly Capwell on "Santa Barbara," turns 47 on Thursday, June 15.
- Joan Van Ark, Lucy's mom Valene Ewing on "Dallas" and its spinoff "Knots Landing," turns 63 on Friday, June 16.
- Nedra Volz, our bright and feisty Miz Tisdale on "Dukes," was born on June 18, 1908 and died on January 20, 2003.

Lou Beatty Jr. appears in two 2006 films

Lou Beatty Jr. is known to us "Dynasty" fans as Rudy Richards in the 1988-89 episodes. That was one of his first roles, and he's kept up pretty solid work since then. The latest are the movies "Driftwood" and "Welcome to Paradise," scheduled for release this year.

"Driftwood," where Beatty plays a character named Doc Roberts, is written and directed by horror maven Tim Sullivan. The plot line from the IMDb: "Riddled with guilt over the loss of his rock star older brother, 16-year-old David Forrester (Ricky Ullman) becomes obsessed with death, leading his misguided parents to send him to Driftwood, an 'Attitude Adjustment Camp for Troubled Youths' run by the sadistic Captain Doug Kennedy (Diamond Dallas Page) and his brutal young henchman, Yates (Talan Torriero). Once there, David becomes haunted by the spirit of Jonathan (Connor Ross), a former inmate who met a mysterious end; a mystery whose resolution could very well be David's only way out." You can learn more about the film at http://www.horrorchannel.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4399.

Beatty's other current project is "Welcome to Paradise," written and directed by Brent Huff. BRBTV was delighted to see William Shockley sharing the writing credits -- he was the amazing, can't-help-but-be-hunky Hank Lawson on CBS' "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman." Shockley even posted his own official plot line for the film to the IMDb message board: "'Welcome to Paradise' is a family film about a female minister (Crystal Bernard) whose faith and conviction in God leads her to the small town of Paradise, Texas, where she finds a community in need of direction, a church congregation searching for inspiration, and the one man (William Shockley) who just might be the love of her life." Sounds cool. Beatty plays Trevor Goodman in the film.

DukesFest: And the award for the nicest celebrity goes to ...

... Ms. Stella Parton, proving that you can have fame and still be a kind, down-to-earth person. Stella, a country-music star (and sister of Dolly) who played an officer of the law with ulterior motives in the first-season episode "Deputy Dukes," joked, "I grew up singing in church! I'm not really so bad as that officer." Indeed, she took special care and attention of fans around her autograph table near the Music City stage inside the Motorplex's Annex Building. And, even as she performed on this away-from-a-lot-of-the-action stage, she was gracious every moment. She had no problem stopping her performance to speak to someone who walked up to the stage, and she pulled a young boy from the audience, then later a young girl who was obviously a very smitten fan, to join her on-stage. She gave a good-ole down-home country cooing to "Dukes of Hazzard" inspiration and former moonshiner Jerry Rushing, who was taking a pause from his table to watch her perform. For all of this and more, BRBTV hereby bestows on Stella Parton the award of Most Congenial in Show for DukesFest.

Photo by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV

That rounds out our week of special CMT DukesFest 2006 coverage. We want to send warm wishes and thanks to the folks we saw there at the event, including all the folks we profiled here in the blog, plus "Dukes" fan Tony, who caught BRB in the stands for a second, Jon and Amber and Paul and Cheryl. Thanks to Lee owner Mike for talking with us after the show for a story for the Covington (Ga.) News. It's always so much fun to share the love of a show like this!

BRBTV News Blog Blip: Next up for BRB is Braselton, Georgia. If you're anywhere near it, or you can be, don't miss the "Dukes of Hazzard" Night at the Lanier National Speedway. James Best, fresh off this DukesFest gig, will be there, and they'll have a special cop chase of a Lee around the track and other fun stuff. BRB will be signing copies of "Them Dukes! Them Dukes!" Check their website, LanierSpeedway.com, for details. See ya there!

DukesFest: They sure came from far and wide!

They're calling it a crowd of 100,000 at this year's CMT DukesFest at the Music City Motorplex in Nashville. They're also calling it the largest crowd ever at these Tennessee state fairgrounds. Well, we already know it's the largest crowd ever for DukesFest, which has its roots in Sperryville, Va., with the first event in 2001. Each of the first three yearly gatherings had a few thousand people attending, and the event just grew and grew until last year's DukesFest, sponsored by CMT like this year's, drew between 30,000 and 40,000 at the Bristol Motor Speedway and Dragway in Bristol, Tenn.

In these couple-a shots, you can see the Sea of Lees lined up along the raceway. Another Lee was charging around the track, offering rides to attendees. At the bottom, Ben Jones does his hostly duties -- and a whole lot of performin' -- from the trackside stage.

Photos by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV

BRBTV birthdays this week:
- Gary Graham, who made a couple appearances on "The Dukes of Hazzard" and whom BRBTV just likes anyway, turned 46 on Monday, June 6.
- Colleen Camp, one of the Jenna Wades on "Dallas," turned 53 yesterday, June 7.
- Andrew Stevens, who was the slightly weasely Casey Denault on "Dallas," turns 51 this Saturday, June 10.

DukesFest: See My Lee!

This special DukesFest edition of our occasional "See My Lee!" feature is a nice one. It's not every day you get to meet a Lee that was actually used in the filming of "The Dukes of Hazzard."

John and Jaci Jablonski and Rick and Paula Jablonski, two brothers and their wives, all of Ohio, jointly own this lovely Lee. BRBTV got a chance to chat with Paula Jablonski about the car, which is one of the treasured 17 Lees recovered from Warner Bros. by Wayne Wooten and his Dodge Charger Registry of Grafton, Va., a few years after the show left the airwaves. Only the transmission has been replaced on this car; everything else is original, Jablonski said, even the tires.

Photo by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV

And this Lee makes the rounds, for sure.

“We’re here every year,” Jablonski said, “and then usually every weekend we’re somewhere with it.”

This Lee, a stunt car, was used in the episode “Goodbye, General Lee” (and possibly others, though "Goodbye, General Lee" is the one that's documented for it). It's done jumps and wheel stands and the like for Bo and Luke. Jablonski tastefully declines revealing the price she paid for it – or what it’s worth. But hey, in Hazzard County, everything's priceless ...

DukesFest: Autographs, autographs ...

... It was just autograph mania at the 2006 CMT DukesFest, for sure. The stars were moved inside this year to air-conditioned comfort for signing autographs. That was good for them, because it sure was nice and hot outside! The fire marshall had something to say about it, though, when so many "Dukes" fans packed into the lines that the buildings had to be closed off. Yikes.

At any rate, all of the "Dukes" stars -- the whole surviving cast assembling for this special year of the event -- were real troopers, signing as fast as they could to accommodate the most number of people. Here's a glimpse at Catherine Bach (who reapplied her lipstick to rousing cheers and wolf whistles from the male attendees nearby), James Best and Rick Hurst.

Photos by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV

DukesFest: Jerry Rushing

It seems only appropriate to begin the BRBTV News Blog's special weeklong coverage of the 2006 DukesFest with the man who started it all, Mr. Jerry Rushing of Monroe, North Carolina.

You see, when Waylon Jennings explained in those first few episodes of "The Dukes of Hazzard" in 1979 that the Dukes "had the whiskey craft," he really meant the Rushings. Following in the legacy of his father and grandfather, Jerry Elijah Rushing ran two million gallons of bootleg moonshine whiskey through the beautiful hills of North Carolina in his 1958 Chrysler 300-D, which he dubbed "Traveler," after General Robert E. Lee's horse.

BRBTV had the pleasure of chatting with Mr. Rushing at DukesFest this past weekend, where he was set up with his lovely wife Dean, Larry Wolfel of TravelerMovie.com, and the bold, white Traveler itself.

As Rushing signed our copy of his autobiography "The Real Duke of Hazzard," we asked what stands out in his mind about those early days of filming the show in Georgia, when he even guest-starred as used-car dealer Ace Parker in the episode, "Repo Men":

"I just thought it was kinda exciting, that they were making a TV show about my life." He added with a smile, "I was a bit of an outlaw back then."

Since then, of course, Rushing has known the redeeming love of Jesus Christ in his life, and his autobiography shares a lot about that. (You can find Rushing's book, by the way, at Amazon.com.)

Photos by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV

Next for Lane Davies: "Midsummer Night's Dream"

Lane Davies, our own original Mason Capwell of "Santa Barbara" and the brief Craig Gurney on "Dallas," will next take on "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for the Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival in Thosand Oaks, Calif.

The show, set in 1930s Athens, Ga., debuts on June 30 and continues on July 1-2, 7-9 and 14-16. All performances begin at 8 p.m. It's on the campus of California Lutheran University. Tickets, at $50-65, can be ordered by phone at (805) 493-3455. For more information, visit http://www.kingsmenshakespeare.org/festival/tickets.php. You can also learn more about the show, and all of Davies' activities, in the forum at his official website, www.lane-davies.com.

Learn a little more about "Legends"

Linda Evans and Joan Collins, together again ... in a manner of speaking! Ooooh, we like the sound of that, don't we, "Dynasty" fans? Well, thanks to fellow author Judith Moose for posting the word on "Dynasty" fan forums on the newly launched website for Evans' and Collins' live show "Legends," which begins in Toronto this September:
http://www.legendsthecomedy.com/

Click over and you'll hear the fun sound bytes and see the lovely images of these two fine actresses, who are playing a couple feuding characters reminiscent of their "Dynasty" days. The site also features some nice write-ups from national publications.

"Legends," which will also hit Philly, San Diego, Chicago and other U.S. spots, is a revival of the 1986 stage comedy that originally starred Carol Channing and Mary Martin (the mom of our "Dallas" icon Larry Hagman). The show "centers on two somewhat desperate and waning movie stars named Sylvia (played by Collins) and Leatrice (played by Evans)," according to the site. "Both actresses are courted by an unscrupulous young producer to star together in a Broadway show, despite the fact that they have hated each other for decades." Yummy!