Colbert one step closer to presidential run
Stephen Colbert isn’t running for president — at least not yet.
During Thursday night’s episode of “The Colbert Report,” Mr. Colbert legally transferred his super PAC to his friend and Comedy Central cohort Jon Stewart.
Dropping by from “The Daily Show,” Mr. Stewart happily signed the documents and accepted the post, which was ceremonially observed by the two holding hands and bodily transferring the political action committee powers.
According to the Associated Press, the move potentially paves the way for Mr. Colbert to enter the Republican presidential primary in South Carolina, his home state. Campaigning politicians are prohibited from simultaneously running super PACs.
But Mr. Colbert only hinted at such a decision, which he had grandly hyped ahead of Thursday’s show. In flirting candidate style, he announced that he is forming an “exploratory committee to lay the groundwork for my possible candidacy for the president of the United States of South Carolina.”
Patriotically colored balloons were released in the studio while a graphic screamed, “I’m Doing It!”
In 2007, Mr. Colbert attempted to enter the South Carolina primary but was stymied by filing fees. The super PAC could very well eliminate any such financial concerns. Mr. Colbert hasn’t publicly revealed the amount raised from viewer contributions by the PAC, but Thursday he repeatedly hinted it was a shockingly large amount.
A Public Policy Polling survey released Tuesday found that Mr. Colbert is polling ahead of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. in South Carolina. According to the survey, Mr. Colbert has 5 percent of the vote and Mr. Huntsman has 4 percent.
Upon reading those results Wednesday on “The Report,” Mr. Colbert said: “This just got real.”
Susan Lucci to host show on real-life crimes of passion
All My Children” veteran Susan Lucci is returning to the world of soap operas. But this time, the stories will be real.
Miss Lucci will host and narrate “Deadly Affairs,” a new prime-time series airing on Investigation Discovery. The show will explore true stories of romance gone wrong and the crimes of passion that resulted, the network announced Thursday.
“They are deceptive love relationships, love triangles and betrayal that have deadly consequences,” Miss Lucci said. “And they end in tragedy.
“Every day you hear these stories and you think, ’Oh, my goodness.’ Then they disappear. You don’t know what happened next, and you don’t know why they happened. I’m hoping that, in exploring them, we’ll shed some light on human nature.”
Miss Lucci won lasting fame as the devious, often-wed Erica Kane throughout the run of the daytime drama “All My Children,” which aired from 1970 until ABC canceled it in September.
“As Erica, I got punished for my wrong deeds,” Miss Lucci noted. “I wound up in jail several times, even in a blood-stained ball gown. But with ’Deadly Affairs,’ these are not characters on a soap opera. This is real life.”
Filming of the 10-episode season is expected to begin in March, with its premiere slated for the fall, Investigation Discovery said.
Miss Lucci also has guest shots on the Lifetime drama “Army Wives” and TV Land’s sitcom “Hot in Cleveland.” But she has closed the book on Erica Kane after 41 years.
“I miss Erica tremendously,” she said. “That’s the same thing I hear from people I meet.”
’Idol’ runner-up Archuleta to star on Philippine TV show
“American Idol” runner-up David Archuleta said he’s “excited” about working on a Philippine TV series.
The singer’s Filipino co-stars, Jasmine Curtis-Smith and Eula Caballero, welcomed him with flower garlands at Manila’s airport Friday, and fans and journalists jostled to take pictures as he emerged from the airport gate.
Mr. Archuleta, 20, said in a video blog before leaving the U.S. that he has taken acting lessons to prepare. “I’m excited about it,” he said. “This is a new experience for me.”
TV5 Vice President Perci Intalan said “it’s a dream come true” for the network to have Mr. Archuleta in a Filipino show.
He’ll be shooting the drama series over the next few weeks. More details on the show and Mr. Archuleta’s role were not available.
Mr. Archuleta competed on the 2007-2008 season of “American Idol” and has released three albums.
He announced last month he would take a break from music to serve two years as a Mormon missionary. The location of his mission has not been disclosed.
’ER’ producer John Wells gets star on Hollywood walk
George Clooney paid tribute to veteran “ER” and “West Wing” writer-producer John Wells, who was honored Thursday with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Mr. Clooney, who spent five seasons on “ER” before becoming a big-screen A-lister, said Mr. Wells, 55, had made the career of many actors and actresses, as well as TV crew.
“When ’ER’ sold for a record-breaking fee, it was [Mr. Wells] that gave bonuses to every crew member. Every single crew member on our show got a check between $25,000 and $100,000,” Mr. Clooney said.
“It’s his character that kept a young [assistant director] on our show who was suffering from terminal cancer on the payroll, long past the time he was able to do his job.”
Mr. Wells, who is a six-time Emmy winner, four as a producer of “The West Wing,” received the 2,457th star in a small ceremony on the Walk of Fame, which draws millions of tourists along the sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard.
“West Wing” star Allison Janney said he had a “unique, almost savantlike ability to know where the story is, the heart of it, how to twist it and shape it and keep it pulsing over years and years and hundreds of episodes.”
Mr. Wells added: “This is a star I’m proud to have my name on, but it represents the hundreds of us doing this work for over 2½ decades.”
• Compiled from Web and wire service reports.
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