Reel to Real

I'm looking forward to being a "fly on the wall" behind the scenes at TV Land's Sixth Annual Awards show which airs on Sunday, June 15.  

The folks at TV Land have outdone themselves this year, lining up honorees like Golden Girls Bea Arthur, Betty White and Rue McClanahan,; legendary producer Garry Marshall (Happy Days); and comic genius Jonathan Winters, among many other showbiz veterans that rank high in the pop culture pantheon. 

There won't be a dry eye in the house (we’re talkin' tears of laughter here) when writer/producer/director Marshall gets a tribute from sister Penny and Cindy Williams (Laverne and Shirley) and "The Fonz" himself, Henry Winkler. 

Incidentally, I plan to ask Henry what it's like to be immortalized in molten metal. (His famed Happy Days character will be unveiled in Milwaukee this summer, joining TV Land's other Landmarks, including the Mary Tyler Moore statue, which has become a treasured part of the Minneapolis cityscape). I'm just wonderin' if he'll borrow his leather jacket from the Smithsonian to wear for the occasion …. 

Winters, one of the funniest improvisational comedians that ever cut-up an audience, will receive the Pioneer Award from a man who's pretty hilarious himself, Robin Williams. You might remember that Williams, in his breakthrough TV role as Mork from Ork in Mork and Mindy, cast Winters (whom he considers his comedic mentor) in the show as his child! Oh, and if you're keeping a tally, Mork and Mindy was another creation from the febrile mind of Marshall. 

What goes around comes around… especially at TV Land. 

And speaking of laughter, that man of a thousand characterizations, Austin Powers -- sorry, Mike Myers -- is skedded to receive the Lucille Ball: Legacy of Laughter Award. We'll see what he has to say about his much-anticipated new summer movie, The Love Guru. Oh, behave! 

Also scheduled to be on hand as honorees or presenters are Roseanne, Steve Carrell, John Goodman, Rainn Wilson, Martin Mull, Batman Adam West and even Justin Timberlake who, we've heard, is bringin' sexy back! 

And that's just barely scratching the surface. Stay tuned!

--Tom_Johnson

June 3, 2008