Fans Can't Help Falling For What CMT Offers During Anniversary Week Of Elvis' Death
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Published: August 15, 2008
Saturday is Elvis Presley's death day. Let's make a batch of fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches and dust off the DVD of "Clambake," a movie so bad that it's fun.
The Big E plays a singing playboy millionaire scientist who moonlights as a ski instructor and speedboat racer. We all remember him in different ways. Call me irreverent. I prefer the kitschy.
CMT, devoted to all things country, has been commemorating all week with tributes and reports from Memphis, where fans are gathering to mark the anniversary of his Aug. 16, 1977, death at age 42 of heart disease and drug abuse.
A new special, "Elvis: Viva Las Vegas," that debuted on Monday, will encore at 8 p.m. Saturday on CMT, followed by one of Elvis's best films, "Jailhouse Rock." The "Viva" special features rare footage of Elvis performing in Vegas and interviews with his family and friends, as well as performances of his music by current recording stars:
Toby Keith and Joe Perry perform "Mystery Train," Faith Hill sings "Peace in the Valley," Chris Isaak and Brandi Carlile combine on "Love Me Tender," Chris Daughtry does "Suspicious Minds," and Celine Dion croons "Can't Help Falling in Love."
GOING COUNTRY: The first season of "Gone Country" slipped by without notice. But the second season, debuting at 8 tonight on CMT, deserves attention because of its bizzaro lineup of noncountry celebrities.
Those trying for an RCA recording contract include actress Sean Young, Michael Jackson sibling Jermaine; Chris Kirkpatrick of 'N Sync; "American Idol" also-ran Mikalah Gordon; TV hunk Lorenzo Lamas; Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach; and "Fame's" Irene Cara.
Just watching Young is enough to hook me. She showed promise in "Blade Runner" and "No Way Out" only to turn into a wacko case. Back in the late 1980s, she started to fall from grace after nasty stalking accusations by actor James Woods.
Then there were stories about her running around in a cat suit unsuccessfully lobbying for a role in "Batman Returns." She was tossed out of Hollywood parties and fired from movies. She checked into rehab earlier this year after a drunken outburst at the Directors Guild of America Awards, where she was removed for heckling.
During the July press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif., for TV critics, she said the drunken night at the awards ceremony was the culmination of years "of feeling social anxiety about some of the stuff I went through in my career that I always felt was sort of unfair."
She said her social anxiety turned into social hostility, but she doesn't want to deal with it anymore.
"I feel better. I do yoga three times a week," she said.
She added her interest in acting has "waned a lot because I just feel like I don't get the attention I deserve in terms of getting better parts, and I'm much more interested in raising my kids."
Hailing from Kentucky, she says she has an affinity for country music.
WHOOPS! MY BAD: I owe John Tesh an apology. It was announcer Al Trautwig who was delivering the overly dramatic and nauseatingly verbose introduction to NBC's coverage of women's gymnastics. He sounds so much like Tesh that it's scary. Tesh would actually be better.
LOGAN'S RUN: Actor Chris "Mr. Big" Noth's last episode as Detective Mike Logan on "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" airs at 9 p.m. Sunday on USA.
Noth played the character during the first five seasons of "Law & Order" (1990-95). He resumed the role a couple of years ago for "Criminal Intent." His final episode involves a 16-year-old murder case that leads to his demise.
TUNE IN TONIGHT
Monk, 9 p.m., USA
Monk faces yet another phobia-challenging predicament by getting stuck underwater while investigating a death on a submarine.
Outsider's Inn, 9 p.m., CMT
Just stick with CMT all weekend. This new goofball reality series has three celebrity outsiders, Maureen McCormick, Carnie Wilson and Bobby Brown, coming together to run an inn in Tennessee.
