Monkees go on tour with multimedia act
The Monkees will be monkeying around again this summer, as the surviving three members of the group undertake a more extensive tour following last fall’s dozen sold-out shows.
Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork will begin the new tour, dubbed “A Midsummer’s Night With the Monkees,” on July 15 in Port Chester, N.Y. It will continue through Aug. 18 in Portland.
A statement issued Monday said the new tour largely will follow the template of last fall’s multimedia shows incorporating footage from “The Monkees” TV series, their 1968 experimental film “Head,” screen tests and other visuals. It also gave a prominent role to the group’s third album, “Headquarters,” the first for which Dolenz, Nesmith, Tork and singer Davy Jones, who died last year, had creative control over the music.
Bergen’s father will be subject of film
Actress Candice Bergen is producing a film about her late father, famed ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.
The big-screen project will tell the story of Bergen’s dad and his ventriloquist’s dummy that became an unlikely celebrity. The movie will be based on Candice Bergen’s 1984 memoir, “Knock Wood.” “Murphy Brown” star Bergen said her father was overshadowed by the 3-foot-long wood character named Charlie McCarthy, who got the best lines while the reserved Edgar Bergen played straight man.
Charlie “was truly Bergen’s alter ego and, perhaps more interestingly, he was America’s alter ego,” producer Pam Widener said. “At a time when manners and standards ruled the airwaves, Charlie said the unsayable and got away with it.”
Edgar Bergen died in 1978 at the age of 75, after beginning a farewell series of performances in Las Vegas. Charlie found a home at the Smithsonian Institution.
Allen picks France as backdrop again
Woody Allen is returning to France for his next film and bringing Colin Firth and Emma Stone along as its stars. Producers Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum announced Tuesday that Allen is set to start shooting his untitled new comedy this summer.
This is the writer-director’s second time filming in France and his eighth film set in Europe.
Allen’s latest movie, “Blue Jasmine,” is to be released in July. It stars Cate Blanchett and Alec Baldwin.
The birthday bunch
Country singer Sonny James is 84. Singer Judy Collins is 74. Singer Rita Coolidge is 68. Actor Dann Florek is 62. Singer-songwriter Ray Parker Jr. is 59. Country singer Tim McGraw is 46. Movie director Wes Anderson is 44. Actress Julie Benz is 41.