Entertainment Briefs for August 12, 2010
Johnson: 'Survivor' at times miserable
MIAMI - With NFL training camps in full swing, "Survivor" survivor Jimmy Johnson offers a timely comparison on doing the CBS reality show in Nicaragua: He says it was tougher than three-a-days.
The former coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins and Miami Hurricanes spent more than a month this summer with "Survivor" as one of 20 castaways. The season premiere will air Sept. 15.
Speaking by phone from his home in the Florida Keys, Johnson calls the experience a "great adventure, but it was at times miserable."
For one thing, the ex-coach known for his coiffure went without hair spray or a comb. It was just as well he didn't have a mirror, either.
Rashad to take lead in Arena debut
WASHINGTON - Phylicia Rashad will open Arena Stage's new Mead Center for American Theater this fall in Washington, starring in one of the inaugural productions.
Rashad stars in the premiere of "Every Tongue Confess" from playwright Marcus Gardley. It will run Nov. 9 through Jan. 2. Rashad is best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the TV series "The Cosby Show."
Also, E. Faye Butler will star as Aunt Eller in Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!" It will run from Oct. 22 to Dec. 26.
The initial casting was announced Tuesday.
This year marks the inaugural reopening of Arena Stage after its extensive renovations since 2008. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will be honorary chairs of the season.
Celebrating rock hall with Elvis
CLEVELAND - The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame plans to celebrate its 15th birthday with a look back at the year rock's king turned 21.
An exhibit of photos taken of Elvis Presley in 1956 by Alfred Wertheimer will open Sept. 13 at the hall.
The hall said Tuesday that the pictures offer a record of a defining period for rock and roll's most enduring figure. They show Presley in public and in private as he started to break through nationally.
The rock hall says visitors also will see a new display of nearly 30 Presley artifacts on loan from the Graceland Archives.
They include a shirt and belt the singer wore for 1970 rehearsals, and a Memphis, Tenn., proclamation for a 1961 Elvis Presley Day.
Emerson, O'Quinn pursue TV project
NEW YORK - Michael Emerson confirms he and former fellow "Lost" star Terry O'Quinn are shopping around for ideas for a TV show.
Emerson says they both want something more lighthearted than "Lost." He hopes the show can acknowledge their "age and frailty." Emerson says he envisions a show where, if their characters get hit in the face, they "don't get up for a month."
The 55-year-old Emerson and 58-year-old O'Quinn are both up for best supporting actor Emmy Awards.
Emerson says he is aware a segment from the "Lost" final season DVD was leaked recently. Even though he stars in it, however, Emerson says he still hasn't seen it.
The actor, who played Ben Linus in the ABC show that ended in May, says he does not really get the "whole I-have-to-see-it-before-the-rest-of-the-world mania."