RIP SHERMAN HEMSLEY

Sherman Hemsley passed away yesterday at the age of 74. Hemsley ws famous for his portrayal of drycleaner George Jefferson first on "All in the Family" from 1973 to 1975  and then on its spin-off "The Jeffersons" which ran from 1975 to 1985.

From 1986 to 1991, he starred on the NBC sitcom, "AMEN" as the less than scrupulous deacon Ernest Frye. And he was a voice on the show, "Dinosaurs."

In later years Mr. Hemsley made appearances on shows like "Sister, Sister," "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," and "House of Payne."

I loved Sherman Hemsley. From his dancing to his strut, he gave an air of confidence as George Jefferson that people loved. Especially for a man that was so short in stature. His physical comedy was just as great as his verbal sparring with Carroll O'Connor or Isabel Sanford.

A great article on Hemsley's life and career can be found here.

The Professor

Random Thoughts on WWE's RAW 1000

RAW 1000 is in the history books and it was a great show in my opinion.

It was good to see DX in its entirety. Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, and X-PAC looked great.

It was great to see Lita back in the ring. When she did the twist of fate I thought about the Hardy Boyz. Lita can still deliver an awesome moonsault.

APA was great to see in the ring again along with all of the legends like Sid, Vader, DDP etc.

The Rock announcing that he will face the WWE champ at Royal Rumble is a big deal. Whoever it is, that match will be big and have major ramifications on Wrestlemania 29.

The Rock doing his schtick on Daniel Bryan showed that Daniel Bryan is a true main event star.

CM PUNK and Rock had a major moment.

CENA vs. PUNK was good but they've done better. Big Show interfering was a given but Rock coming down to make the save was great. Made me want to see Rock vs. Big Show.

The surprise of CM PUNK giving ROCK the clothesline when he was going to deliver the People's Elbow and then the "Go To Sleep" was the moment of the night.




Is this the CM PUNK that we will see in the WWE soon?


It looks like CM PUNK, Cena, Big Show, and Rock will be in the WWE title picture for a long time to come. As a fan I'm looking forward to it.

The Professor

AUSTIN ARIES IS THE NEW TNA WORLD CHAMPION

AUSTIN ARIES

Last night at TNA's  Destination X Pay-Per-View, Austin Aries won the World Heavyweight Championship from Bobby Roode. This was a shocking development. Many wrestling fans thought (including myself) that Bobby Roode would retain the title and lose it in October to James Storm at "Bound For Glory".

It will be interesting to see how long Aries will be champion. But it is a good sign that shows that major wrestling promotions like WWE and TNA are using wrestlers like Aries, CM PUNK, Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) and Samoa Joe as the future of the wrestling industry.

I must admit I was wrong when I wrote an article (you can read it here) saying that Austin Aries was in a no-win situation at Destination X. It seems that TNA shocked and surprised its audience which I think is a wonderful thing. It's something that WWE has not done in a while with their champions or title matches.

TNA has built Austin Aries well and he is a star that they can build for the future. Similar to Ric Flair in skill and charisma, he is a man who can play good guy or bad guy against anyone no matter what size they are. I'll be watching Impact this week to see the new World Champion.

The Professor

RIP ERNEST BORGNINE

Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine died last night at the age of 95. Borgnine was an Oscar Winner for his role in "Marty" in 1955. Borgnine was also honored with a SAG award in 2010.

Borgnine began playing bad guys in movies like "From Here To Eternity" playing Sgt. "Fatso"  Judson who beats Frank Sinatra's character to death.

In 1955 he played Marty a lovesick butcher in the bronx who finds love with a wallflower named Clara(Betsy Blair). Borgnine won the Oscar for Best Actor and his career would never be the same.

He would go on to play many different characters with good hearts in "The Poseidon Adventure" and "Escape From New York".

His most beloved character besides "Marty" was Lt. Commander Quentin McHale in "McHale's Navy" which ran on ABC from 1962-1966.

During his career, Mr. Borgnine appeared in over 200 movies and TV shows during his 70 years in the business. He was a true star. For a true in-depth article, please read this piece at CBS NEWS.

If you like this blog then feel free to comment on Twitter @SEMScorpio.

The Professor

RIP ANDY GRIFFITH

Andy Griffith

On July 3rd Andy Griffith passed away. America lost one of its greatest performers. Griffith was known for his comedy album, "What it was, was football" in the 1950's. By 1955 he had starred on Broadway in "No Time for Sargeants" and in 1957 he was  a  drifter turned TV star in the movie, "A Face In The Crowd".

But in 1960, he started a show that would define his career, "The Andy Griffith Show". Playing Sheriff Andy Taylor in the fictional town of Mayberry, Griffith played the nice quiet sheriff in a town of crazy characters. With his son Opie (Ron Howard), Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier), and Deputy Barney Fife (Don Knotts) Andy always had his hands full.

After the Andy Griffith show ended in 1968,  Griffith starred in a few movies that went against his squeaky clean image.

In 1987 he returned to TV as Ben Matlock, a crusty defense attorney in Atlanta. The show ran until 1996.

If you really want to read an in-depth article on Andy Griffith, please read this article in the NY TIMES.

Thank you Mr. Griffith for your many contributions to TV and Hollywood. You will be missed.

The Professor