A Full Deck of Tributes

Join us on Multiverse Tonight as we welcome some exciting new faces to the Starfleet Academy! We’ve got Carice Brooks, Bella Shepard, George Hawkins, Holly Hunter, and Paul Giamatti joining the ranks. Plus, we chat about the latest Star Wars film helmed by Sean Levy with Jonathan Troper on screenwriting duties. And if you're a Watchmen fan, you won't want to miss the news about J. Michael Straczynski's upcoming animated adaptation. All that and a quirky nod to Ryan Reynolds' Wolverine-themed gin, along with heartfelt tributes to icons like Benji Gregory and Shelley Duvall.

In a surprising turn of events, DC Comics’ Arkham Asylum spin-off series has hit the brakes, but we're here to unpack what that means for fans. We also pay homage to the late artist Michael Zooli and celebrate Lamoraine Morris joining the live-action Spider-Noir series with Nicolas Cage. Ryan Reynolds keeps the fun going with Wolverine-inspired Aviation Gin bottles, and we bring you the latest updates on Shrek 5 and former Bob's Burgers voice actor Jay Johnson's legal woes.

Lastly, we’ve got some big updates from the entertainment industry, including the announcement of Minions 3 and a game-changing deal involving Shari Redstone and Paramount Global. We cover Penguin Random House acquiring Boom Studios and the financial fallout for Redbox's parent company. Plus, we remember the incredible journeys of Shelley Duvall and Richard Simmons, explore the inspiring life of Dr. Ruth Westheimer, and pay tribute to the late Shannon Doherty. This episode is packed with the latest news and heartfelt stories you won't want to miss!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Tonight. Who's new at Starfleet Academy? Ryan Reynolds has a gin for Wolvie, sequels galore, and we remember Benji Gregory, shelley Duvall, dr Ruth, richard Simmons, shannon Doherty and James B Psyking. All that and more in this edition of Multiverse tonight.

Speaker 2: 0:17

Comic books, sci-fi, fantasy and more. If you're looking for a roundup of geeky news, you're in the right place. This is Multiverse Tonight, and here's your host, thomas.

Speaker 1: 0:54

Townley. Well, hello everyone, and welcome to episode 219 of Multiverse Tonight. I am, of course, your host, thomas Townley, and it's a hot day, isn't it? Am, of course, your host, thomas Townley, and it's a hot day, isn't it? As I'm speaking right now, it's the November, it's July 15th and it's 102 degrees outside not counting the, you know heat index but, you know, looking to be cooling off there this week.

Speaker 1: 1:24

There's not really much to talk about at the top of the show here. Of course, you know there's all political stuff, but we don't do political stuff here, this is just geek talk. We're going to try to keep the politics of it. Anyway, we have a lot of obituaries to cover and some news as well. So let's start in with the Star Trek news. Carice Brooks, bella Shepard and George Hawkins are set to enroll in Starfleet Academy, joining Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti, in the latest chapter of the Star Trek universe.

Speaker 1: 2:07

Production is set to begin later this summer on Paramount Plus' Star Trek Starfleet Academy from Alex Kurtzman's Strange Secret Hideout, roddenberry Entertainment and CBS Studios. The upcoming series will follow the adventures of a new class of Starfleet cadets as they come of age in one of the most legendary places in the galaxy. Brooks Shepard, hawkins will play cadets joining Hunter as the captain and chancellor of Starfleet Academy and Giamatti as the season's villain. And with that we go on to the Star Trek news, the Star Wars news. Yeah, there's not a lot of news up front because of course everyone's waiting for Comic-Con to do the big news. So we got what we got Anyway. Roger Roger.

Speaker 1: 2:51

Star Wars news begins a few weeks before his work on Deadpool and Wolverine arriving in theaters. One of director Sean Levy's next blockbusters has gotten a massive update. On Wednesday, reports confirmed that screenwriter Jonathan Troper will pen the script for Levy's currently untitled Star Wars movie. Troper has worked with Levy multiple times over the years, including 2014's this Is when I Leave you and 2022's the Atom Project. The news of Troper's involvement in the film was first reported by the Insider. Outside of his work with Levy, troper has showrunrun apple tvc and created the television shows banshee and warrior. Levy's star wars film does not currently have a release date as the director has prioritized his work on deadpool and wolverine and the final season of stranger's thing, stranger things and of course there's. That also means that there's no plot details yet. As the director previously revealed, the finished product of his movie will uniquely reflect his storytelling style and connection to the franchise, so I guess your mileage may vary.

Speaker 1: 3:56

Now let's go on to the DC Comics News, and we begin DC Comics News with fan favorite comic and TV writer J Michael Straczynski providing the screenplay for Warner Brothers Animation's forthcoming adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibson's comic book classic Watchmen. The two-part animated movie aims to be the most direct adaptation to date, and you can ignore the motion comic that they did for the DVD release in 2009. Addressing the movie's just released trailer on social media, the Babylon 5 creator warned fans not to watch out for any of his signature touches, as he did his best to basically translate the comics into a format that worked for animation Per Straczynski. He actually insisted on an adapted by credit for the movie, rather than the standard written by Now. There's no word whether Moore and Gibbons will get on-screen credit. While Watchmen sequels brought to the small screen in 2019, moore asked that his name be left off of it. Straczynski said on social media quote I can now talk about it as the news is breaking. I adapted Watchmen for Warner's animation. By adapted, I mean strictly configuring the structure to work in a movie. I saw no need to write more material or change what works in the book. It's pure more. Now Straczynski has already written more material featuring these characters. He wrote three of the Before Watchmen miniseries that were released back in 2012.

Speaker 1: 5:36

After years of being in the works, dc's Arkham Asylum spin-off series has reportedly been put on ice. On Friday, reports indicated that the current iteration of the Arkham Asylum project is not moving forward. The series, which had been in the works in some version since the series had been given an order in July of 2020, was originally designed to be a spin-off of Matt Reeves' the Batman series of films focused on the Gotham Police Department. In 2022, it was confirmed that the project had evolved into focusing on Arkham Asylum and with some people being brought in as showrunners and head writers, and subsequently it was teased that it would be set in Gunn and Saffron's forthcoming DC Universe. However, that is just not to be. According to reports, there is still a chance that the project in San Arkham could be developed for a later date if it was a spin-off of the Batman or part of the new DCU. The Batman. Already as a spin-off series, the Penguin sets a debut later this year, as well as a sequel in the works, which will make its debut in the fall of 2026.

Speaker 1: 6:46

Michael Zooli, a beloved artist known for his work on titles like the Sandman, the Puma Blues and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, has passed away at the age of 71. Born on December 20, 1952, zooli had a decade-spanning career as an artist and illustrator, both on mainstream comics and cult-favorite works such as the Puma Blues. He will be missed. And now let's go on to the Marvel Comics News. And Marvel Comics News begins with actor-comedian Lamoraine Morris, who has been tapped to be a series regular opposite Nicolas Cage in Spider-Noir, the upcoming MGM Plus and Prime Video live-action series based on the Marvel comic Spider-Man Noir On the Sony Pictures TV-produced series, which has been renamed from its original title Noir to highlight its Spider-Man universe lineage, noir will play the character Robbie Robertson.

Speaker 1: 7:57

Spider-noir, from exec producers Oren Uzell and Steve Lightfoot, tells the story of an aging and down-to-his-luck private investigator, played by Cage, in 1930s New York, who is forced to grapple with his past life as the city's one and only superhero Morris'. Robbie Robertson is driven, hardworking and won't take no for an answer. A dead-kid journalist trying to make it with the odds stacked against him. As a black professional in 1930s New York, he takes on riskier stories that no one else would touch. In order to get the gay attention and the paycheck, he is willing to do whatever is necessary for his career. Harry Bradbeer is set to direct and executive produce the first two episodes of the series, which is a little lightfoot developed with the team behind Spiderman Into the Spireverse Phil Lord, christopher Miller and Amy Pascal, who will also serve as executive producers. Spire Noir will debut domestically on MGM plus his linear channel, and then globally on prime video in more than 240 countries and territories. So watch this space.

Speaker 1: 9:03

It's been a few weeks since Ryan Reynolds a vision gin reveal a first look at their Deadpool-branded bottles rolling out for Father's Day. Now it's Wolverine's turn. The Canadian mutant has taken over his own set of bottles, which are available in stores now for a limited time. According to the distillery, the bottles are only available to buy in Florida, california, texas, new York and Oregon, and they'll run you about $25. The extra limited nature, aviation says, is basically just Reynolds' way of sliding Hugh Jackman and Wolverine one last time. Here's how Aviation explains it. Quote Encased in a solid black glass, in a sleek black glass, and accentuated with yellow custom-striped stamps and metallic details, the limited-edition bottle is filled with the same perfectly crisp, smooth aviation American gin consumers know and love Serving as the ultimate collector's item. Deadpool and Wolverine fanatics alike can now stock their bar cart with this dynamic duo. Anyway, let's go on to the geek news, and Geek News begins with sequels.

Speaker 1: 10:30

Shrek 5 is officially go with Universal and DreamWorks Animation announcing that the storied franchise will return on July 1st 2026, with stars Mike Myers, eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz returning. 25 years after the original Shrek hit the theaters. The feature, as long been in development, will rise 16 years after the previous entry, shrek Forever After, which was in 2010 and earned $752.6 million globally. Walt Dorn will direct, after working as a writer on the second and third films, as they have the story on the fourth film, minions the Rise of Groove. Co-director Brad Abelson will co-direct with Shrek Forever After producer Gina Shea and Illumination CEO Chris Melandri producing. So there's your first. Was there a need for Shrek 5? Do you think there's more story to tell? Is it going to be Shrek having to deal with teenage kids? I don't know. I guess we'll find out In other news.

Speaker 1: 11:36

Former Bob's Burgers voice actor, jay Johnson today pleaded guilty to a federal charge stemming from his participation in the January 6th attack on the US Capitol. He has been charged with civil disorder, a felony. Johnson, 55, could say a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison, but sentencing guidelines suggest a more lenient sentence of eight to 14 months in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for October 7th. Johnson's other credits include Anchorman, men in Black 2, and Better Call Saul.

Speaker 1: 12:11

Universal Pictures will release Illuminations Minions 3 on Wednesday, june 30th 2027. The news comes in the wake of Despicable Me 4 clearing $255 million at the global box office following its July 3rd opening stateside. Minions 3 will be written by Brian Lynch and directed by Academy Award-winning nominee Pierre Coffin, the filmmaker behind the first three Despicable Me's and the first Minions film. Coffin has also provided the voice for the Minions since their film debut in 2010. The film will be produced by Illumination's founder and CEO, chris Melendry, and by Bill Ryan. Altogether, the Despicable Me and Minions franchise has made a global box office close to $5 billion. Illumination's library altogether accounts for $10 billion at the global box office. The animation production studio has an exclusive financing and distribution partnership with Universal Pictures.

Speaker 1: 13:10

In a landmark deal that will shake up the entertainment landscape, shari Redstone has agreed to sell control of Paramount Global to a consortium led by Skydance, the production team helmed by David Ellison and Gary Cardinal's Redbird Capital. The sale, assuming it is approved by regulators and completed, and assuming a better bid does not emerge, would see Skydance acquire Redstone's majority stake in national amusements, which, in turn, would secure control of Paramount, the owner of Paramount Film and TV Studios, paramount+, cbs and cable channels like Nickelodeon, mtv and Comedy Central. The consummation of the deal is the culmination of months of will-they-or-won't-they speculation, with the Skydance consortium beginning talks late last year only to see multiple rounds of negotiations fall apart when Redstone rejected the deal in place at the 11th hour. The two sides, however, continue talking, leading to a new agreement that secured Redstone's approval. Once the deal closes, the plan is for Paramount to acquire Skydance, which, in turn, will install its own leadership team at the entertainment company. Elson will be CEO, with former NBC Universal CEO Jeff Schell running the company day-to-day as president, day-to-day as president.

Speaker 1: 14:24

Skydance had to sweeten its deal offer in hopes of ensuring more value for non-voting Paramount shareholders, who had complained that initial deal offers had guaranteed Redstone a premium but would have diluted them, giving them the short end of the stick. According to the companies, the Skydance consortium will invest $2.4 billion to acquire National Amusements for cash and $4.5 billion for the stock-cash merger consideration to be paid for publicly traded Class A shares and Class B shares, as well as $1.5 billion of primary capital to be added to Paramount's balance sheet. The deal not only buys out Redstone's stake, but also allows both Class A and Class B shareholders to cash out at $23 per share and $15 per share respectively. Skydance says, when it's all said and done, it expects to own 70% of the outstanding shares. The all-stock deal to merge Skydance with Paramount will value Ellison Studio at $4.75 billion.

Speaker 1: 15:21

Penguin Random House is set to acquire comic book and graphic novel publisher Boom Studios. The publishing house announced Wednesday that Random House Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, has agreed to the deal for Boom Studios, which was founded in 2005 by Ross Ritchie and Andrew Cosby. The deal is expected to close later this summer. The terms have not been disclosed. As part of the transaction, disney is selling its minority stake in Boom Studios, a 20th Century Fox acquired in 2017. Boom Studios will continue its editorial and publishing independence and will report to Random House World's president, scott Shannon, while Random House World's VP Publisher, keith Clayton, and Random House Publishing Group Executive VP of Business Strategy, bill Takes, will manage the new imprint. Also part of the Random House World's portfolio of imprints are Del Rey, inkloor and RH World's licensing program. Boom Studios may have marked up with its original comic titles like Keanu Reeves' Berserker, something is Killing the Children and Lumberjanes, and also found its success publishing licensed comics based on Power Rangers, dune, garfield and Dark Crystal. Boom Studios will maintain its LA offices and continue to publish through four distinct lines Boom Studios, boombox, kaboom and Arcania. Dune Diamond Comic Distributors will continue to distribute Boom Studios titles to the direct market, with Simon and Schuster handling the bookstore trade.

Speaker 1: 16:50

Boom Studios has been involved in the film and television adaptations of its work since the company's inception. The current media division will remain the same under the New Deal, with Stephen Christie continuing to lead the production company team and has made and, and so you know that's kind of interesting. Currently in production for Boom Studios is Butterfly, a live-action, prime Video Spies series starring Daniel Dae Kim and Rihanna Hardesty, berserker and Something is Killing Children also remain in development on Netflix. Additionally, ryan Coogler, who is producing Universal's adaptation of Boom's title A Vicious Circle, which counts the comic screenwriter co-creator, madsen Tomlinson, as screenwriter. And if you're someone who used to go down to the Dollar General or McDonald's and get a DVD from the old Redbox, well, time's up, redbox parent Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment has shifted its bankruptcy filing from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7, meaning it will liquidate its business. Meaning it will liquidate its business.

Speaker 1: 18:03

The company filed for bankruptcy protection on June 29, sagging under a weight of nearly $1 billion in debt and a tall stack of unpaid bills. During bankruptcy court proceedings, it secured a debtor-in-possession loan of $8 million designed to help it resume paying workers after nearly a month of no paychecks and restore their medical benefits. However, hbs Investment Partners, which had been one of the company's backers and arranged for financing for the DIP loan, said it could not extend any additional financial resources. Duly notified, chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment made a motion to shift the case from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7, and US Bank bankruptcy judge Thomas M Horan gave his approval. Richard Puchulski, a lawyer for Chicken Soup, told Horan in a hearing that the situation was heartbreaking and that a team of lawyers and execs had worked day and night to find a solution. At one point, they had hoped to raise funds by selling certain assets and to be able to keep a core group of employees working. Ultimately, however, the conclusion was reached that the employees would need to be let go and all 24,000 Redbox kiosks would be shut down.

Speaker 1: 19:20

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, which spun off from the namesake self-help book publisher in 2017, grew via a series of acquisitions, buying properties like the streaming service Crackle, and film distributors like Screen Media and 1091 Pictures, its biggest M&A deal, the $375 acquisition of Redbox in 2022, proved its downfall for Murad financial and strategic reasons. Redbox was 22 years old Now. The interesting part about this is none of the Redboxes I've passed. I have one in my workplace that I pass by every day to and from work. It hasn't been shut down yet. So I wonder what happens to and from work. It hasn't been shut down yet, so I wonder what happens. I wonder what happens if you rent a DVD from there, take it home and it shuts down. Do you keep the DVD? I don't know, maybe they're still on so they can get those DVDs back, and once all the DVDs are back in, it'll shut down for good. Who knows More sad news Benji Gregory, who is best known for his acting work as a child star on the TV sitcom ALF, was found dead on June 13th.

Speaker 1: 20:37

Gregory played Brian Tanner on 101 episodes of ALF, which aired from 1986 to 1990. The Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed the death. Tmz said he was found in a car at a Chase Bank parking lot in Peoria. Arizona. Service dog Hans was also found dead in the vehicle. The actor's sister, rebecca, told TMZ that her brother suffered from depression, bipolar disorder and a sleep disorder that often kept him awake for days. She suggests donations in her brother's name to either the Actors' Equity Foundation or the ASPCA. Benji Gregory left entertainment in 2003 and enlisted in the US Navy, later becoming an aerographer's mate, and in 2005 received an honorable discharge from the Navy. He was 46 years old.

Speaker 1: 21:26

Shelley Duvall, the saucer-eyed, rail-thin actress who starred in seven films directed by her mentor, robert Altman, and the void-the-axe-wielding Jack Nicholson in Stanley Kubrick's the Shining, died this past Thursday. She was 75 years old. Duvall died in her sleep of complications from diabetes at her home in Blanco, texas, according to a spokesperson telling the Hollywood Reporter, dan Gilroy, her life partner since 1989, said in a statement my dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us Too much suffering lately. Now she's free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley. Unquote. November 2016,. A disheveled Duvall appeared in an episode of the syndicated talk show Dr Phil and revealed that she suffers from mental illness. Duvall has a thriving career, has a versatile, one-of-a-kind actress and head of her own production company, think Entertainment, which created star-studded innovative children's programming for cable TV that net her two Emmy Award nominations.

Speaker 1: 22:30

Shelley Alexis Duvall was born in Fort Worth on July 7, 1949, the oldest of four children and the only daughter to Bob, a cattle rancher turned attorney, and her mother, bobby, a realtor, who brought the family to Houston. When she was five, she attended South Texas Junior College where she studied to be a research scientist and was interested in nutrition. At a party she threw for her fiance, artist Bernard Sampson, she met actors of Altman's crew while they were in town filming Brewster McLeod. They brought her to meet the director and producer, lou Adler, and they offered the gawky 20-year-old, with an overbite, a role in the movie. Duvall, who had never traveled outside of Texas, turned them down at first but then agreed to take the screen test.

Speaker 1: 23:12

A decade later, duvall sang and starred opposite Robin Williams as the iconic comic strip character Olive Oil, the strong-willed damsel in distress, in Altman's live-action adaptation of Popeye. In between, the childlike star collaborated with Altman as a mail-order bride in McCabe and Mrs Miller, as the woman who has a Mississippi romance with bank robber Keith Carradine in Thieves Like Us at Groupie LA. Joan, found in hot pants and platform shoes in Nashville. As the wife of President Grover Cleveland in Buffalo Bill and the Indians or Sitting Bull's History Lesson. And as Malia Lamo, a fantasizing attendant at a Palm Springs health spa for the elderly in Three Women.

Speaker 1: 23:53

Asked by the New York Times in 1977 why she chose to keep working with Altman, she said he offers me damn good roles. None of them have been alike. He has a great confidence in me and a trust and respect for me and he doesn't put any restrictions on me or intimidate me, and I love him. I remember the first advice he ever gave me Don't take yourself seriously. Sometimes I find myself self-centered and then all of a sudden that bit of advice will pop into my head and I'll laugh.

Speaker 1: 24:20

Altman once noted that Duvall quote was able to swing all sides of the pendulum charming, silly, sophisticated, pathetic, even beautiful. She won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for playing Trang Millie For the film adaptation of Stephen King's the Shining. Duvall said she was put to the test during a 13-month shoot in England. In the horror classic she plays the besieged wife Wendy Torrance, who spends a harsh winter in the desolate Overlook Hotel with her rare husband who slowly goes mad and their young son Kubrick. Had her quote crying 12 hours a day for weeks on end. She said in a 1981 interview with People magazine I will never give that much again. If you want to get into pain and call it art, go ahead, but not with me. One report says she was forced to perform the iconic scene with the baseball bat an exhausting 127 times, memorably every time she showed up on screen.

Speaker 1: 25:16

Devall also portrayed a spacey rock journalist in Woody Allen's Annie Hall, appeared as Pansy in Funny Scenes with Michael Palin in Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits and played Steve Martin's supportive pal Dixie in Roxanne. She returned to acting in 2022 after two decades away with a role in the Forest Hills. Her resume would go on to include F Scott Fitzgerald's Bernice, bob's Re Hair for PBS, frankenweenie Changing Habits, home Fries, jane Campion's the Portrait of a Lady Suburban Commando and her last acting appearance for a while, Mana from Heaven. In 1981, duvall recorded Sweet Dreams, an album of music for children, and the year later Showtime bought her pitch for 26 episodes for the Peabody Award-winning Fairytale Theater, which she executive, produced, narrated and appeared on. Three years later, she created tall tales and legends, a one-hour anthology series for for showtime that featured adaptations of american folktales. On both shows, devol persuaded a-listers like robin williams, terry gar, eric idle, jeff bridges, mick chagger, liza millie and and Vanessa Redgrave to work for Scale. Both series were big sellers on home video. In 1907, she launched Think Entertainment, which specialized in family entertainment like Shelley Valls' Bedtime Stories and Mrs Piggly Wiggly, and she produced telefilms including ABC's Backfield in Motion starring Roseanne and Tom Arnold.

Speaker 1: 26:42

Duvall married Sampson during filming of Brewster McLeod, but they divorced after four years in 1974, soon after they arrived in LA. She later dated musician Paul Simon, who she met in New York around the time of Annie Hall, and they lived together in Central Park West until he left her for her friend Carrie Fisher. She said he broke the news to her as she was about to board the Concorde London to work on the Shining and she cried the entire flight. Duvall also lived with Stan Wilson, who played Oscar the barber in Popeye, before meeting singer-drummer Gilroy, a member of the pop group Breakfast Club, who had been Madonna's boyfriend. They fell for each other after starring in the 1999 Disney Channel movie Mother Goose, rock and Rhyme. Her survivors include her brothers Scott, stuart and Shane. Again, shelley Duvall was 75 years old.

Speaker 1: 27:35

Next, richard Simmons, the goofy clown prince of fitness who turned his passion for weight loss into riches and fame as a Hollywood celebrity, has passed away, also at the age of 76. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department told the Hollywood Reporter that personnel responded to a 911 call from Simmons' home on Belfast Drive and arrived there at 9.57 am on Saturday. The spokesperson added that an investigation is still being conducted. The star of his own syndicated TV exercise show in the 80s, the curly-haired Simmons, sold millions of aerobics sweat into the oldie videos and DVDs as peak Simmons, who sported two short shorts and sparkly tank top with Swarovski crystals during his workouts, flew around the country making motivational speeches and conducting fitness classes for rapt fans. In 1980, he published Richard Simmons' Never Say Diet book, a huge bestseller that had chapters like Coming to Grips with your Hips and how to Eat Out and Not Pig Out. Simmons went on to appear as himself on such series as Arrested Development, amazing Stories, chips, the Larry Sanders Show and General Hospital, and was a frequent guest foil on the Howard Stern Show and on David Lehrman's late-night talk shows. Later, he would voice the character of Coach Sammons on the 2010-2012 Disney Channel animated series Fish Hooks.

Speaker 1: 28:56

Simmons was born Milton Teagle Simmons in New Orleans on July 12, 1948. Growing up in the French Quarter, he sold pralines on the street. He was overweight as a kid and weighed nearly 270 pounds when he graduated high school. After spending some time in Europe, he said that he found an anonymous note on the windshield of his car in 1968 that read Dear Richard, fat people die young, please don't die. 1968,. It read Dear Richard, fat people die young, please don't die. Simmons vowed to get in shape and, at 5'7", got down to about 150 pounds. He headed west and brought his weight loss message to Beverly Hills, opening a combination exercise studio and restaurant in 1974. His clientele included the likes of Barbra Streisand, dustin Hoffman, charlotte Diana Ross and Paul Newman.

Speaker 1: 29:45

In November of 2016, simons shuttered the studio most recently called Slimmons. Five months earlier, simons was transported from his home to a hospital by ambulance after the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a 911 call. He said he was later dehydrated and told his fans not to worry about his health. The New York Daily News reported in March of 2016 that he was being held against his will at home, but Simmons, who hadn't been seen public for about two years, denied that on the Today Show, saying no one is holding me in my house as a hostage. In January, simmons said he didn't approve of a biopic of his life from the Whopper organization that Pauly Shore would star in. Quote. I've never given my permission for this movie. While we would love to have him involved, the filmmakers noted we respect his desire for privacy and plan to produce a movie that honors him, celebrates him and tells a dramatic story. We know he is deeply private and we would never want to invade that. However, he is an amazing person that changed millions of people's lives and the effect he had on the world needs to be recognized. On the eve of his death, simmons was on Facebook expressing his appreciation to fans for their birthday wishes. Thank you, I never got so many messages about my birthday in my life. I am sitting here writing emails, having a most beautiful rest on your Friday. Again, richard Simmons was 76 years old.

Speaker 1: 31:05

Next, dr Ruth Westheimer, the diminutive guru of the American sexual revolution, whose straightforward, matter-of-fact way of discussing the facts of life led to an illustrious career as a radio talk show host, television personality, author and advice expert, has passed away at the age of 96.

Speaker 1: 31:23

Westheimer died at her home in New York City, according to her spokesman, who told the New York Times she escaped Nazi Germany in the 1930s and was profiled by the Hull Reporter in January of 2016 as one of the last survivors of the Holocaust, in the entertainment industry For more than three decades. When the subject turned to sex, dr Ruth, as she was known to her legion of fans, was the go-to person. People magazine included her on the 1998 list of the most intriguing people of the century and in Playboy's 55th anniversary issue in 2009, she landed the number 13 spot on the list of the most important people in sex from the past 55 years. Well into her 50s, when she debuted on the radio, westheimer seemed the least likely person to be offering graphic sex advice, but that only added to her appeal. She would gleefully initiate candid discussions about the penis condoms and how to derive the ultimate satisfaction when making love.

Speaker 1: 32:17

Quote.

Speaker 1: 32:18

Well, they don't tune in for a razzle at 4'7 and age 57. I'm not a sex symbol. I'm well trained. I do not talk around issues. I talk in the proper terminology. I'm a little gutsy. She told Los Angeles Times back in 1985.

Speaker 1: 32:33

In 1959, westheimer earned a master's degree in sociology from the New York New School for Social Research and then a doctorate in education from Columbia Teachers College in 1970. Between degrees she became an American citizen and took a job at Planned Parenthood. It was here that she had her first exposure to frank discussions about human sexuality. Westheimer was so intrigued, she decided to specialize in the subject. So intrigued, she decided to specialize in the subject. After earning her doctorate she began attending New York's Cornell University Medical College and studied under Dr Helen Singer Kaplan, a pioneer in sex therapy. She went on to participate in the program for five years as an adjunct associate professor and also she taught at Lehman College, brooklyn College, adelphi University, columbia University and West Point. In 1975, she opened her own practice.

Speaker 1: 33:24

The turning point for her career began in 1980. After giving a lecture to a group of New York broadcasters about the need for sex ed programming, she was approached by WNYN's community affairs manager, betty Elam. Elam offered her a 15-minute radio show that would air each Sunday after midnight. Betty Elam Elam offered her a 15-minute radio show that would air each Sunday after midnight. It was called Sexually Speaking and she was paid just $25 a show Pre-taped at 30 Rocks NBC Studios each Thursday. Sexually Speaking caught on as word spread about the quirky candidate and formative radio show host, calling herself Dr Ruth, who offered no-holds-barred advice on sex. The Wall Street Journal described her voice as a cross between Henry Kissinger and Minnie Mouse. Layers poured in from listeners seeking help. Within months, sexually Speaking went live and grew to an hour. Westheimer began taking calls on air, although with a seven-minute delay, and the phone lines were often jammed, with producer Susan Brown screening callers to determine which to send on to the doctor. In 1983, the program was drawing a quarter million listeners weekly and the following year it was syndicated across the United States.

Speaker 1: 34:29

As her radio star was rising, westheimer also became a fixture on television. In 1982, she made the first of 14 appearances on Late Night with David Letterman and the same year also visited the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. During the next two decades she became a talk show favorite, guesting on such shows as Joan Rivers' Can we Talk the Howard Stern Show Today, vicky the Arsenio Hall Show, tavis Smiley the Doctors, jimmy Kimmel Live, the Daily Show and Rachel Ray. Westheimer even occupied a box on multiple occasions on the new Hollywood Squares. Sexually Speaking, made the leap to television in 1983 on Lifetime as Good Sex. Then, from 1984 to 1987, westheimer hosted Dr Ruth Westheimer. This was followed by the all-new Dr Ruth Show in 1988, what's Up Dr Ruth in 1989, and Dr Ruth's Never Too Late in 1993. A documentary about her life Ask Dr Ruth's Never Too Late in 1993. A documentary about her life Ask Dr Ruth made its world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival From director Ryan White.

Speaker 1: 35:31

Born Corolla, ruth Siegel to Julius and Irma Siegel on June 4th 1928 in Frankfurt, germany. Westheimer grew up as the only child of a privileged Orthodox Jewish household. As this changed in 1939, fearful of the rising threat poised by the Nazis, westheimer's mother and grandmother sent the 10-year-old to Switzerland on a Kindertransport. It was the name given to the rescue mission believed to have saved some 10,000 Jewish children throughout World War II. Westheimer never saw any of her family again. She later learned that her parents had been sent to the Lodz ghetto and later killed at Auschwitz.

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At 17,. The orphan relocated to Palestine and became a member of the organized underground Jewish military organization. She acted as a lookout and was trained as a sniper. Westheimer says she never shot at anyone, but the legend surrounding the story has grown through the years and Snopescom even devoted a page to it. In the entry, westheimer was quoted as saying when I was in my routine training for the Israeli army as a teenager, they discovered, completely by chance, that I was a lethal sniper. I could hit the target smack in the center further away than anyone could believe. Not just that, even though I was tiny and not much of an athlete, I was incredibly accurate at throwing hand grenades too. Even today, I can load a Sten automatic rifle in a single minute, blindfolded. On her 20th birthday, westheimer was hit by shrapnel during an attack in Jerusalem and unable to walk for several months.

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In 1949, westheimer began teaching Yemeni children. There she met David, an Israeli soldier. They married the following year and moved to Paris, where Westheimer studied psychology at the Sorbonne and taught kindergarten. The couple divorced in 1955. In 1956, with restitution money received from West Germany, westheimer and her new boyfriend, dan, left for New York, able to secure a scholarship to study at the New School and settled in the Washington Heights area of Manhattan.

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She became pregnant with her daughter in 1957, and she and Dan married, later divorced and she raised the baby alone until 1961, where she met Manfred Westheimer, who they immediately knew they would marry at the end of the year, and they did exactly that. They were together until Fred's death in 1997. Fred adopted Miriam. Son Joel joined the family in 1964. And Miriam, son Joel, joined the family in 1964. Westheimer popped up playing herself on series such as Moonlighting, the Last Resort, quantum Leap, ally McBeal and Melrose Place, and in the features Forever, lulu and Inside Deep Throat.

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Honda, pepsi, clairol and Entenmann's used Dr Pitch to pitch their products and with the publication of Dr Ruth's Guide to Good Sex in 1983, she started a decades-long career as an author, writing three dozen books, including Dr Ruth's Guide for Married Lovers, sex for Dummies, grandma and Wiggles. Her latest book was Myths on Love, published back in 2014. In the 1980s, she began writing a monthly advice column for Playgirl and the CISNCAD newspaper column Ask Dr Ruth. The layer ran for more than three decades, with Westheimer continuing to answer the sexual questions of her fans well into her 80s. In fact, as an octogenarian, she created a website, a YouTube channel, a Twitter account to address the sexual concerns of the social media generation. In addition to her children, her survivors include her four grandchildren Again, dr Ruth, little old. Dr Ruth was 96 years old.

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Our next subject is Shannon Doherty, who starred on Beverly Hills 90210 and Charmed before exiting both series amid conflicts with coworkers, lost her long battle with cancer at the age of 53. Doherty died this past Saturday and was the first diagnosed with breast cancer back in March of 2015. After treatment and several surgeries, she announced in April of 2017 that she was in remission. In February of 2020, she tearfully revealed on Good Morning America that the cancer had come back and then in June of 2023, that the cancer had spread to her brain. Her publicist, leslie Sloan, said in a statement to People it's with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannon Doherty On Saturday, july 13th. She lost her battle with cancer after many years of fighting the disease. The devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was surrounded by her loved ones, as well as her dog Bowie. The family asked for their privacy at this time so they can grieve in peace.

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After holding down regular roles on the NBC shows Little House on the Prairie and Our House, and starring in the critically acclaimed Heathers Doherty in 1990, was hired to play Brenda Walsh on Beverly Hills 90210. Her character and twin brother Brandon moved with their dad from Minnesota to Southern California where they tried to fit in at West Beverly High. Doherty, however, was dismissed from the show after the fourth season concluded in May of 1994, amid reported clashes with co-stars and producers. She did not do herself any favors when, halfway through shooting the season finale, she cut her hair, which made continuity on the episode difficult. Doherty would star with Ben Affleck and Jason Lee in Kevin Smith's Mallrats in 1995, then return to primetime when she was cast as Prue Holywell, the oldest of the three sister witches played by Alyssa Milano and Heather Holly Marie Combs on the WB series Charmed. Doherty and Milano were said not to get along, and then Prue was killed by a demon assassin in the season 3 finale in May of 2001. Rose McGowan would then replace her in the cast.

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Doherty wrote about it in her 2010 book Badass a hard-earned guide to living life with style and the right attitude. Quote Diplomacy wasn't my forte back then and I was too vocal about things that really could have been left alone. Who cared if I thought an episode was stupid? Who cared what I thought about the script. It was my job to do my best. With what? Was in front of me Unquote.

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90210 went on for six more seasons without her, and Charmed lasted under five, while Doherty found herself a focus of the tabloid media On the cover of People in 1983, she was described as a hard-partying, check-bouncing girl who may be going too far. Born Shannon Marie Doherty in April 12th of 1971 in Memphis, tennessee, her mother, rosa, owned a beauty parlor in a farm. Tom was a financial advisor who was in bad health for years before he died in 2010 at the age of 66. Doherty worked on Pepsi commercials when she was 10 and then appeared in 1981 on a two-part episode of the Merlin Olsen star vehicle, father Murphy. Doherty was then hired to portray Jenny Wilder, adopted by Laura and Amonzo after her father dies, on the final season of Little House on the Prairie. She also played Jenny in three subsequent telefilms.

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In 1985, she was the eldest daughter Kathleen Kennedy on the CBS miniseries Robert Kennedy and His Times, appeared as Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt in Girls Just Want to have Fun and guest starred in another Landon show, highway to Heaven. In 1986-1988, she was on the series Our House, which starred her and Chris Witherspoon and two siblings who moved with their mother from Indiana to their grandfather's home in California after her dad dies. After Charmed, doherty appeared as herself in Smith's Jay and Silent, bob, strike Back and the Naked Gun 33 and a Third Final Insult, and starred in several telefilms and played the illegitimate daughter of a billionaire on short-lived Fox primetime soap North Shore. On reality shows, she competed on Dancing with the Stars hosted, breaking Up with Shannon Doherty and Scare Tactics, and starred on Shannon Says, which she planned her 2011 wedding to photographer Kurt Isewoski, and Off the Map with Shannon and Holly, where she re-teamed with Combs. Doherty filed for divorce from Isewoski in April of 2023. Earlier, she had brief marriages to professional poker player Rick Solomon and Ashley Hamilton, son of actor George Hamilton. She returned as Brenda for seven first season episodes of a 2008-2013 reboot and for 2019's BH90210, she'd play a version of herself.

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Doherty forged ahead on the latter after she was told that her cancer had returned and former castmate Luke Perry, who had died at the age of 52. Quote One of the reasons, along with Luke, that I did BH90210 and didn't really tell anybody that her cancer was back, because I thought people with stage 4 can work too. Like you know, our life doesn't end the minute we get that diagnosis. We still have some living to do. Shannon Doherty was 53 years old and finally tonight, james B Syking, the Stephen Bochco favorite, who portrayed the no-nonsense Lieutenant Howard Hunter on Hill Street Blues and the good hard Dr Dad on Doogie Howser and Dee, has passed away at the age of 90. Syking died this past Saturday as LA home from complications from dementia. According to his publicist, although best known for his TV work, psyche did have noble turns on the big screen as a mocking hitman in John Borman's Point Blank, as the stuffy Captain Stiles in Leonard Nimoy's Star and Mannix. Psy King was passed as the pipe-smoking hunter leader of the SWAT-like emergency action team on NBC's Hill Street Blues. Psy King appeared on 144 episodes across all seven seasons and received an Emmy nomination in 1984. Bochco would then turn to Psy King again for Doogie Hauser, where he played Vietnam veteran and turned family practitioner David Howser, husband of Belinda, montgomery's Catherine and dad of Doogie on all four seasons of the ABC show. He then portrayed a cop again for Bochco on Brooklyn South, which lasted one season on CBS.

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One of the five kids, james Berry, named for the Peter Pan author, psyking, was born in Los Angeles on March 5, 1934. His mother, sue, founded the Unity by the Sea Church in Santa Monica in gratitude after she recovered from a near-fatal automobile accident. His father, art, followed his wife into the ministry. Psyking attended El Segundo High School and, after military service, graduated from UCLA in 1959 with a theater degree. He then appeared on episodes of Perry Mason and of Simon Underwater in 1961, and later in films including the Carpetbaggers Von Ryan Express and In Like Flint. Psyking worked on a 1971 episode on NBC's Name of the Game, on which Bochco served as a story editor, and then guest star on the CBS show as a regular on NBC's Turnabout. Those three were written by Bochco too.

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Before embarking on Hill Street Blues, psyking played Jim Hobart, a surgeon with a drinking problem, on the ABC Soap General Hospital and was the distant father of Jim Carrey in the acclaimed 1992 Fox telefilm Doing Time on Maple Drive. Psyking's film resume also includes the New Centurions, the Magnificent Seven Ride, scorpio, capcorn One, the Electric Horseman, the Competition, ordinary People Outland, the Star Chamber, narrow Margin, final Approach, fever Pitch and Maid of Honor. His survivors include his second wife, florine, an author, whom he met at UCLA and married in September of 1962, and his children, emily and Andrew, and grandchildren. He has four of those. Again, james DeVy's psyche was 90 years old.

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And that brings us to the end of our show for today. Please be sure to check us out on social media. We're on Blue Sky and Twitter at Multiverse Tom Threads, facebook and Instagram at Multiverse Tonight, and if you've gotten some value out of the show and would like to pay it back, please head on over to MultiverseTonightcom where you can find Patreon and Ko-fi links, check out the show notes, visit our TeePublic store, leave some feedback and so much more, and if this is your first time listening, thank you very much, go ahead and hit that subscribe button. Share this with friends and family, others, people you hate, people you love whatever.

Speaker 1: 48:14

I'm not big. Special thanks to Shane Ivers for the local for the intro music and Lobo Loco for the outro theme music. Thanks for watching this edition of Multiverse Tonight. We'll be back in two weeks with more sci-fi and comic book news. Now, please exit the universe in an orderly fashion. Good night. Multiverse Tonight is a production of Half-Baked Genre Productions. Copyright 2024. All rights reserved. This podcast is part of the Pop Goes the Culture podcast network. Find out more about our other podcasts at popclosetheculturecom.