Born on this day!! Bluegrass singer Bobby Osborne of the Osborne Brothers is 89. Actor Ellen Burstyn is 88. Country singer Gary Morris is 72. Singer Tom Waits is 71. Actor Priscilla Barnes (“Three’s Company”) is 63. Announcer Edd Hall (“The Tonight Show With Jay Leno”) is 62. Bassist Tim Butler of Psychedelic Furs is 62. Actor Patrick Fabian (“Better Call Saul”) is 56. Actor Jeffrey Wright (“Westworld”) is 55. Actor C. Thomas Howell is 54. Actor Kimberly Hebert Gregory (“Kevin (Probably) Saves The World”) is 48. Rapper Kon Artis of D12 is 46. Singer Nicole Appleton of All Saints is 45. Singer Frankie J (Kumbia Kings) is 44. Country singer Sunny Sweeney is 44. Actor Shiri Appleby (“UnREAL,” “Roswell”) is 42. Singer Sara Bareilles is 41. Actor Jennifer Carpenter (“Limitless,” “Dexter”) is 41. Actor Jack Huston (“Boardwalk Empire”) is 38. Singer Aaron Carter is 33.
THIS DAY IN GENIUS HISTORY
1787 – Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
1917 – The U.S. declared war on Austria-Hungary in World War I.
1941 – The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
1972 – America’s final moon mission, Apollo 17, blasted off from Cape Canaveral.
1975 – Indonesia invaded East Timor, leading to a 25-year occupation.
1988 – A 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit Armenia, killing 25,000.
2001 – Taliban forces fled from Kandahar, their last stronghold in Afghanistan.
2002 – Iraq formally declared to the UN that it had no weapons of mass destruction.
2004 – Hamid Karzai was sworn in as Afghanistan’s first popularly elected president.
Today Is: International Civil Aviation Day, National Cotton Candy Day, National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
TODAY ON TV!
Primetime TV (All Times Eastern)
CBS – 8:00 – The Neighborhood / 8:30 – Bob Hearts Abishola / 9:00 – All Rise / 10:00 – Bull
NBC – 8:00 – The Voice / 10:00 – Nurses
ABC – 8:00 – Monday Night Football
FOX – 8:00 – I Can See Your Voice / 9:00 – Cosmos
CW – 8:00 – Whose Line / 8:30 – Whose Line / 9:00 – Penn and Teller Fool Us
TV Talk Shows
Jimmy Kimmel: Miley Cyrus
Jimmy Fallon: Dolly Parton, Andrew Rannells, José Feliciano
Stephen Colbert: Meryl Streep, Chris Stapleton
Seth Meyers: Nick Kroll, Jeremy O. Harris, Sam Hunt, Kaz Rodriguez
James Corden: Matthew McConaughey, Shawn Mendes
Lilly Singh: Jillian Bell, Utkarsh Ambudkar (R 11/26/19)
Conan: Heather Graham
Watch What Happens Live: Rachel Hargrove, Shane Coopersmith
The View: Sen. Joe Manchin
The Talk: Rachel Brosnahan
Live with Kelly and Ryan: Christine Baranski
Ellen DeGeneres: Kate Mara
Wendy Williams: Devyn Simone, Makho Ndlovu
The Real: Jason Derulo
Kelly Clarkson: Serena Williams, Merle Dandridge, Noelle Lambert, Aja King
Tamron Hall: Vivica A. Fox, Jackée Harry, Marcus Lemonis
Drew Barrymore: Jimmy Fallon, Molly Yeh, Norah O’Donnell
WHAT ARE YOU TALKIN’ ABOUT? Here are today’s PPM-Friendly Topics!
QUESTION: Are the big studios DUMPING THE THEATER BUSINESS?? Warner Bros. announces plans to stream all releases in 2021, and AMC is PISSED!!!!
QUESTION: Are you ready to take a VACCINE?? Americans say they wanna see FAUCI take it first, not the former presidents or Hollywood stars!!!!!!!!!!!
QUESTION: Is THIS why people are so upset?? Michael Rappaport comes up on an open FLEA MARKET in L.A., just as the mayor shuts down outdoor dining!!
QUESTION: Thinking of buying someone a FLOWBEE as a Christmas gift?? TOO LATE!!! They’re COMPLETELY SOLD OUT.. It’s the CLOONEY EFFECT!!!!
QUESTION: Is it a NAVIGATION SYSTEM FOR SANTA CLAUS?? A FOURTH monolith has appeared on the Isle of Wight, after Romania, Cali and Utah!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tim Allen Meets The Tool Man
A new trailer for Last Man Standing shows Tim Allen’s character, Mike Baxter, meeting Tim Taylor, the role he played on the sitcom Home Improvement. The ninth and final season of Last Man Standing is set to premiere on FOX on Jan. 3. A 30-second preview released Friday shows Taylor — dressed in his signature Binford T-shirt and tool belt — shaking hands with Baxter in the kitchen of Baxter’s home. “Tim Taylor. They call me ‘the Tool Man,'” Taylor introduces himself, with his trademark primate-like laugh. “That’s a little annoying,” Baxter tells him. In another scene, Baxter is seen sporting a substantial beard. “I could play Santa Claus,” he says as he strokes his facial hair. Home Improvement initially aired on ABC 1991-99. See the video HERE.
*****Tim hasn’t aged at ALL!!!
******It’s weird when you have to bring in your younger self to pump the ratings!!
Prince Harry Mistaken For Christmas Tree Salesman
Prince Harry found himself being pressed into service the other day by an excited 5-year-old boy who wanted help finding the perfect tree, the Daily Mail reported. Harry and Megan Markle had stopped at the pop-up stand to buy holiday decorations for their estate. This Christmas will be first for the couple in California since they distanced themselves from the royal family nearly a year ago. The mix-up took place Tuesday at Big Wave Dave’s Christmas Trees & Pumpkin Patch, which set up in tents outside a Macy’s in Santa Barbara, not far from Harry and Meghan’s home in Montecito. They had arranged to have the place all to themselves, but the boy and his parents hadn’t quite wrapped up their shopping. A real Christmas tree salesman, James Almaguer, witnessed the case of mistaken identity. “There was one family in there and their stoked little son ran through trees up to Harry and asked if he worked here not knowing who that is,” Almaguer tweeted. Then, the couple went about their business, buying a tree and leaving a good impression. “They seem like very nice people honestly,” Almaguer said. “Meghan sounds very kind and Harry sounded and acted like a chill lad honestly.”
********The little boy who dared speak to Harry has not been seen since!!
*****They’re just like everyone else.. we all arrange to have the Christmas tree lot all to ourselves, right??
*****Oprah asked if she could go with them, and they said, “Not this time…”
*****Megan’s father was hiding behind a spruce tree!!!
Squiggy Passes
Actor David L. Lander, best known as greaser “Squiggy” on the 1970s and 80s American sitcom “Laverne & Shirley,” died Friday from complications of multiple sclerosis, his family said. Lander was 73. Lander performed as the squeaky-voiced sidekick to Michael McKean’s “Lenny” in a routine developed by the two actors when they were students at Carnegie University in Pittsburgh. Lander, a character actor, also played the memorable radio sportscaster in the 1992 baseball movie A League of Their Own, uttering the memorable line, “I have seen enough to know I have seen too much.” Born June 22, 1947 in Brooklyn, Lander attended New York’s High School for the Performing Arts. After college, he and McKean moved to Los Angeles, joining the comedy ensemble, The Credibility Gap, Variety reported. Lander died Friday at around at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, TMZ reported.
*******The undertaker did NOT give him the Squiggy hairdo, did he???
*******He just knocked on Laverne’s door in heaven, and she said, “Not YOU!!!”
Matthew Perry Gives Out “Friends” T-Shirts
Matthew Perry announced Friday on Instagram that he’s releasing a limited-edition “Friends” apparel collection to benefit COVID-19 relief. “What is this, a limited edition t-shirt for charity? For two weeks only, I’m releasing an apparel collection!” Perry wrote. “Proceeds will support the World Health Organization’s COVID 19 relief efforts. Link in bio. Banana not included.” The T-shirt features his character, Chandler Bing, as a cartoon dancing awkwardly in a suit. Perry is also celebrating some other exciting news: he recently got engaged. He revealed to People magazine that he recently proposed to his girlfriend, literary manager Molly Hurwitz. “I decided to get engaged,” Perry said. “Luckily, I happened to be dating the greatest woman on the face of the planet at this time.” Hurwitz, 29, and Perry have been dating since 2018 and on Valentine’s Day, she shared a special message about him. “Second year being my valentine, but his first as an Instagram influencer,” she wrote on her private Instagram account, per the outlet. “HVD to my favorite.”
*********This sounds like a football marriage: she’s waiting for him to kick off!! Then she gets the “Friends” money!!
*******We gave our COVID Relief money to the IRS!! It didn’t even make a dent!!
Wendy Williams Biopic Coming
Lifetime’s new Wendy Williams biopic, “Wendy Williams: The Movie,” released its first trailer Thursday. It documents Williams’ rise from radio host to daytime TV talk show host, as well as her struggles with cocaine (her now-famous Halloween collapse even makes the cut) and marital struggles with now-ex-husband Kevin Hunter. She is executive producing the movie, which may lead fans to assume the dramatic or unflattering parts of Williams’ life would be left out, but that doesn’t appear to be the case, as the trailer even touches upon Hunter’s affair with mistress Sharina Hudson, who welcomed a daughter with Hunter weeks before Williams filed for divorce. “I haven’t seen anything, including what you’re about to see, [like this before],” Williams said before debuting the trailer. “Wendy Williams: The Movie” premieres Jan. 30th.
********At least she did the smart thing, and got a young, skinny actress to play the lead!!
*******Wendy doesn’t care how she’s portrayed, as long as you watch!! Remember: in the media, attention = love!!!
*****She comes off like a trailer park Kardashian!!
One Of The Queen’s Dogs Died
Queen Elizabeth’s beloved pet corgi, Vulcan, has died. The corgi-dachshund mix passed away at Windsor Castle, where the Queen and Prince Philip have been staying during the coronavirus pandemic, TMZ reports. Vulcan was one of her four dogs that appeared with her in a set of portraits shot for her 90th birthday by famed photog Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair. The Queen loves her pups so much that they’ve been assigned their own footmen and have their own à la carte menus. “I didn’t expect to be cooking for the Queen’s dogs, when I started working at Buckingham Palace. I thought I was going to be cooking for kings, queens and presidents. I did eventually, but one of the first jobs I had was cooking for the corgis — the Royal Corgis — making fresh food every day. [The corgis had] their own menu,” Darren McGrady, who worked as a chef at Buckingham Palace for 15 years, said in June.
********She looked at Phillip, Charles and Andrew and said, “Why couldn’t it have been one of YOU???”
******The dog will receive a full state burial!! Trump said, “I’ll go!! I have nothing better to do!!”
******Even in dog years, the corgi was younger than her!!
Ripping The Tabloids (Throughout the week, we’ll give you the stories from that weeks tabs!)
**Please Credit Publication!
Olivia’s Hot For Harry-(National Enquirer)
Suddenly single Olivia Wilde is just wild about Harry Styles-her handsome young co-star in the upcoming film “Don’t Worry Darling,” insiders dishes. Sources snitched that working with the former One Direction hottie, 26, has lit a fire under 36-year-old Olivia that’s long been missing-and since she’s officially called it quits with former “Saturday Night Live” funnyman Jason Sudeikis after nine years, anything is possible! “She’s totally crushing on Harry,” tattled a tipster. “She raves he’s so sexy and loves his sizzling screen presence.” The “House” actress has been in L.A. this fall directing Harry in the thriller, and the insider dished, “Olivia is so excited about mentoring him as an actor and is even more thrilled about getting to know him better on a personal level. She has it in her head that she can make Harry into Hollywood’s No. 1 leading man with this movie, and Harry is buying into the hype.” Insiders claimed the actors’ chummy friendship may even have played a part in Olivia and Jason’s shocking split. “Jason didn’t get why Olivia was swooning over this kid,” a source said. “Olivia’s breakup with Jason happened for a lot of reasons, but this sure didn’t help!”
Reese’s New Pup Honors a Legend-(Globe)
Yappy days are here again for Reese Witherspoon. The “Big Little Lies” star, whose beloved dog Pepper passed away of cancer recently, returned to her ole Southern roots when picking a proper name for a brand-new puppy. Introducing Minnie Pearl. Welcome to the family little one,” the 44-year-old actress shares on social media. “All she needs is a little price tag hanging from her ear,” barks an online fan. Raised in Nashville, the Louisiana-born actress naturally named the French bulldog after the legendary “Hee Haw” star-famous for always wearing a straw hat with a $1.98 price tag. Born Sarah Colley, Minnie made folks howl on TV and the Grand Ole Opry for over 50 years before passing away in 1996 at 83.
Derek’s Return: Secrets From the Grey’s Set-(Us Weekly)
For the cast and crew of Grey’s Anatomy, having Patrick Dempsey back on set for a recent episode was a McDream. “[Everyone] enjoyed the time with him,” a source says. “There was a lot of catching up.” Dempsey’s beloved character, Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd, was tragically killed off the series in 2015. Though there were reports at the time that his exit was ugly, the 54-year-old actor seemingly put rumors to rest with his unexpected return to the long running medical drama earlier this month. “He was extremely professional, friendly and funny,” says the source, noting that Dempsey’s chemistry with Ellen Pompeo (his former on-screen love interest) was definitely still there. “Grey’s is a big family,” adds the source. “Patrick may have left it for a bit, but as families do they come back together.”
Lily’s Wedding Dilemma-(Star)
In 2017, Lily Collins forgave her famous father for virtually abandoning her when he split from her mom, Jill Tavelman-via fax!- in 1994. “Although it may seem like it’s too late, it’s not,” she wrote in an open letter to the Genesis frontman. Now engaged to Charlie McDowell, the Emily in Paris actress, 31, is finding those words put to the test. In recent weeks, Phil, 69, has made more and more lurid headlines-from his poor hygiene to his sex life-as his battle with his third ex-wife, Orianne Cevey, over his $40 million Miami house heats up. “Lily is sorry he has to go through this,” a friend says. “But she never trusted Orianne and feels he’s paying the price.” He may pay an even dearer one as the scandal casts a pall over her wedding plans. “Lily wanted her dad to give her away,” adds the pal. “Now she’s not so sure.”
Say What?!-(Life & Style)
“I used to think, ‘I feel so marvelous after pilates-I’m so bendy and fit’……What they don’t tell you is you’re really doing no exercise at all.”-Hugh Grant, who claims the practice made him fat and now focuses on playing tennis.
“I’m obsessed with sandwiches. A turkey sandwich with mustard and rye and sprouts and onion and sometimes a little avocado….”-Kelly Rowland, on her current pregnancy cravings.
“Once we finally got an airdate, two weeks before that airdate they wanted to change the title of the show to Complications.”-Ellen Pompeo, on the early struggles of Grey’s Anatomy.
“Everyone knows I’ve been obsessed with Jennifer Aniston for 20 years. I love her.”-Kaley Cuoco, on modeling her career after the Friends alum.
“We’re in this phase where we get drunk and shock each other with stories of what we did in high school that the other didn’t know.”-Elle Fanning, on growing closer to sister Dakota as they get older.
Babies-(People)
LANCO bandmates, Chandler Baldwin, 28, and drummer Tripp Howell, 31, are both expecting their first children with respective wives, Natalie, 30, and Alli, 31. “It’s been nice to have close friends to navigate all this with,” Baldwin says.
Loser of the Week-(In Touch)
Prince Charles
This season of The Crown not only focuses on the royal’s mistreatment of wife Princess Diana-but he’s also portrayed as a bad fisherman!
STUPID NEWS
Dog Finds Owner At Walmart
A dog that went missing from her owner’s Alabama back yard turned up three weeks later when the canine wandered into a Walmart store and found her owner working at a checkout lane. Danielle Robinette, a customer service associate at the Walmart store in Dothan, said she was baffled when a black-and-white dog wandered into the store. “I was like, ‘What in the world is happening?'” Robinette told The Washington Post. “I’m a huge animal lover, so I just followed her, and she ran up to register No. 6.” The cashier at register No. 6, June Rountree, was able to solve the mystery — the canine was her missing dog, Abby. Rountree said Abby had vanished from her back yard three weeks earlier, leaving her collar behind. She said she and her husband had been searching for the dog, but were unable to find any sign of their missing pet.
********She must wear very strong perfume if that dog tracked her all the way into the Walmart!!
******The dog then shoplifted a bag of rawhide chews!!
*******She’s not an emotional support dog… she’s a passive-aggressive co-dependent!!!!
Oldest Christmas Card
The world’s first commercially printed Christmas card, originally marketed in 1843, is being sold through a Boston-based book dealer for $25,000. The card, created by Henry Cole, John Calcott Horsley and Joseph Cundall in the same year that Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol was first published, shows a large family — including a young girl — gathered around a table drinking glasses of wine. The card proved controversial at the time, with members of Britain’s temperance movement decrying the depiction of alcohol consumption by the young girl. Justin Schiller, president of Battledore Ltd., the New York antiquities dealership that currently owns the card, said the card was so controversial when it was released that it was three years before another Christmas card was commercially printed. About 1,000 copies of the card were originally produced, and around 30 are known to still exist. The one being sold through Boston-based book dealer Marvin Getman as one of “the finest known copies” still in circulation. See the pic HERE.
********They mailed it in 1843, and the postal service just delivered it!!
*******The caption says, “We’d have a Coca Cola, but it hasn’t been invented yet!!”
*******The kid is drinking wine?? How weird?? These days she’d be smoking pot!!!
Unusual Lottery Draw
The South African Lottery Commission said an internal investigation confirmed no fraud occurred in a drawing that came up with the numbers 5-6-7-8-9-10. The South African Lottery Commission said a probe was opened into Tuesday night’s PowerBall drawing, which featured the numbers 5-6-7-8-9 and the PowerBall 10. The lottery commission said the investigation was launched after “public scrutiny” of Tuesday night’s lottery result. “This occurrence, while uncommon, is not impossible,” the National Lotteries Commission said. The commission said no evidence of fraud was detected by the preliminary investigation. “We use a system called, random number generator, where the numbers are generated randomly. The system is used worldwide, it is audited and verified,” Busisiwe Msizi, a representative for lottery operator Ithuba, told JacarandaFM. The number sequence drawn Tuesday night resulted in 20 top prize winners. They will each receive a prize of about $370,000.
*****Holy crap!! That’s our iPhone password!!
*****Weirdly, the winner was someone named “Joe Biden!!” No fraud, though!!
TOPIC: Have you ever given lottery tickets as Christmas gifts?? Any winners??
Fastest Wheelchair
A British man who was diagnosed with motor neuron disease in 2013 broke a Guinness World Record when he took his prototype electric wheelchair to a top speed of 66.826 mph. Jason Liversidge, who has only 5% body mobility after being diagnosed with the progressive disease in 2013, said he teamed up three years ago with engineer Graham Sykes, electric-vehicle specialist Ian Goodman and Rod Heald from the British design and engineering firm Heald to create an electric wheelchair designed for speed. “My wife, Liz, thinks I’m slightly barmy for doing it, although she’s 100% behind me,” Liversidge said. He took the prototype wheelchair for a spin at the Elvington airfield in Yorkshire, England, with the U.K. Timing Association measuring his speed. Liversidge’s first two runs on the track saw him reach top speeds of 51.3 and 52.7 mph, and he increased the battery voltage for the third run and reached a speed of 66.826 mph.
********If he crashes that wheelchair at 66 mph, he won’t have to worry about his disease!! Just sayin’!!
********He must have fun at the Walmart!!!
STUFF THAT’S COOL AND VIRAL
VIDEO: CRAZY WOODPECKER!!!
A LIST FOR MONDAY
Parent-Approved Tips For Handling The ‘Santa Talk’ With Kids
Huffington Post
Emphasize the spirit of Santa
If there was one theme that rose above all others in the responses from HuffPost Parents readers, it was the importance of shifting the focus to the underlying spirit of Santa ― i.e., his love and generosity ― and the broader magic of the holiday season.
Like reader Amanda, whose 4-year-old has been asking some tough questions and recently told her mom that magic is not real.
“It damn near broke my heart, so I told her that I very fully believe in magic. … I’ve been reminding her often since then of the everyday magic that’s all around us.” Motherhood, for instance, is magic, Amanda said. “How our kitty cat snuggles and purrs is magic and how flowers grow. I told her that the feeling of Christmas is magic and that’s very real.”
Go the ‘Santa is only real for those who believe’ route
Several parents said they’ve told questioning kids that Santa is real for those who believe in him. And many make it clear that Santa only brings gifts to kids who believe in him. Personally, it’s unclear to me whether this truly convinces kids or simply makes them too nervous to keep pushing, but many parents said it is an effective way to keep them at least outwardly believing in Santa.
“If you believe, then it’s as real as you make it,” said HuffPost Parents reader Maria. That’s also her explanation for why Santa doesn’t bring gifts to adults, most of whom have stopped believing.
“One of my boys said Santa isn’t real. My answer was: ‘Santa is real if you believe, and if he isn’t real, he doesn’t come,’” said reader Sam. “Suddenly, he believed again!”
Welcome your nonbeliever in on the fun
“When our son finally said he knew we were Santa, we told him that we were excited to be able to include him in the fun,” said HuffPost Parents reader Terri. “We explained that the idea of Santa was real, even if Santa himself as a person wasn’t.” She told her son that Santa is really someone who gets gifts for others without seeking recognition — and her now-15-year-old delights in using money he earns from his chores to buy small presents for younger family members.
“When my older kids outgrew it, I told them that they could help me with it for their younger sister,” said reader Sabrina. “Santa is not a real person, but it’s the name we give to the spirit of giving and the spirit of creating joy for others.”
When her eldest started questioning Santa, reader Andrea explained that “being a grown-up stinks, so Santa is a make-believe game parents play with kids.” She then invited him to help out, and promised him a present if he didn’t spoil the surprise.
Or just never do the Santa thing in the first place
This ship has already sailed in my household, but several commenters noted that they simply never led their children to believe Santa was real.
HuffPost Parents reader Brea said she told her daughter that “Santa is a character, like Paw Patrol or Peppa,” she explained. “Gifts come from us, [and there is] plenty of Christmas magic without making Santa real.”
“We never did the Santa thing! We enjoy the movies, stories and tales,” echoed reader Karen. But her kiddo has always known that mom and dad are the “real” Santas in their home.
Trust them not to ruin it for others.
Several parents noted that their kids have really risen to the occasion when it comes to not spoiling the secret for others. They just told them explicitly not to ruin the fun for other children, and really emphasized their key role in keeping Christmas magic alive.
“My 7-year-old told me as we were writing letters to Santa this year that she knew I was the one who really got all the gifts, but she whispered it so her 4- year-old brother wouldn’t hear,” said reader Rita Louise. “I just winked at her and smiled.”
Rita Louise thinks kids don’t make it a big deal if their parents or caregivers don’t, and added that she loves to see her daughter pretend for her little brother’s sake. “It’s super sweet!”
“My 19-year-old son with autism still believes,” noted reader Jennifer Ann. “We let him have that because he loves it so much. His younger siblings who don’t believe love that he does, and they follow along.”
And if that’s not Christmas magic, I don’t know what is.
The preceding material was compiled and edited by Brandon Castillo. The Editor-In-Chief is Gary Bryan. The Radio Genius Show Prep Service is licensed for use on-air only by subscribing radio stations. Other means of redistribution is forbidden.
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