Stars Will Light Up Abc Music Awards
It’s not the Grammys, but you can’t tell by the stars set to perform during ABC’s “American Music Awards” at 8.
Teen sensation Brandy, Garth Brooks, Mariah Carey, LL Cool J, Reba McEntire, Smashing Pumpkins, Shania Twain and Luther Vandross will sing.
Lionel Richie and Neil Diamond are scheduled to make special appearances.
Richie will preview a new single, “Don’t Want to Lose You.”
I must say, however, that you actually can tell this isn’t the Grammys, because the Grammys would do better than Sinbad and Jeff Foxworthy as hosts.
My apologies to fans of either comedian, but superstars they’re not.
Let’s hope the clowns on the podium don’t cloud the telecast, which originates from the Shrine Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles.
Country legend Tammy Wynette will receive a special Award of Merit, recognizing three decades of achievement.
Kenny Rogers, Martina McBride and Wynette’s longtime singing partner, George Jones, will offer a tribute.
Balloting by a sampling of 17,000 fans determines the winners.
This year’s show includes two new categories: Favorite Soundtrack and Overall Favorite Artist.
Highlights
“My Cousin Vinny” (1992), FOX at 8: Joe Pesci is perfectly cast as an inexperienced Brooklyn lawyer who arrives in Alabama to defend his cousin (Ralph Macchio) and his friend (Mitchell Whitfield) on a murder charge.
Marisa Tomei won an Oscar for her performance as Pesci’s girlfriend.
“Cagney & Lacey: True Convictions” (1995), CBS at 9: The venerable crime-fighters (Sharon Gless, Tyne Daly) are assigned to a case that could lead to the first conviction under a new capital punishment law.
At the same time, Christine (Gless) offers comfort to the father (Michael Moriarty) of a young suicide victim.
Best is the dialogue between Mary Beth (Daly) and her husband Harv (John Karlen), who passionately opposes the death penalty.
“Your hands are clean and your heart is pure,” he tells her. “But the people you’re working for are political jackals.”
“The American Experience,” KSPS at 9: The movie many say is Hollywood’s greatest was almost never released. “The Battle Over ‘Citizen Kane”’ shows how publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, transparently portrayed in Orson Welles’ searing masterpiece, twisted arms to keep the movie out of theaters.
“Sister Act” (1992), NBC at 9: Whoopi Goldberg is a blast as a lounge singer on the run after witnessing a murder. Hiding out in a convent and posing as a nun, she finds a new life - and a life for a sinking urban parish. It’s predictable as hell but it’s an altogether heavenly film. Kathy Najimy co-stars.
Talk Time
“Tonight,” NBC at 11:35 (check local listings): Actor Ted Danson and singer Patty Loveless.
“Late Show With David Letterman,” CBS at 11:35 (check local listings): Fitness guru Richard Simmons, Christine Lahti (“Chicago Hope”) and singer Nanci Griffith.
“Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” NBC at 12:35 a.m. (check local listings): Singer Garth Brooks and comedian Kevin Brennan. Repeat.
xxxx CABLE CALLS “The Song of Bernadette” (1943), AMC at 5 and 9:45: Jennifer Jones won an Oscar for her portrayal of a young French girl who causes a stir when she claims to have seen a vision of the Virgin Mary. “The Pink Panther” (1964), FAM at 11: There are so many reasons to revisit this daffy comedy starring Peter Sellers, David Niven, Robert Wagner, Claudia Cardinale and Capucine. Sellers produces laugh after laugh as bumbling Inspector Clouseau. New York Times Syndicate