March 24, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Tumlin, left, and director Adam McKay, right in 2006/SGranitz/WireImage(ALABAMA) — Houstin Tumlin, who as a child starred as Walker Bobby, the older brother of Texas Ranger Bobby, Will Ferrell’s spoiled sons in Talledega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby, has died from suicide. 

ABC Audio has confirmed that Tumlin, 28, who later served in the U.S. Army 101st Airborne division, reportedly died in his Pelham, Alabama home from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Geoff Carmichael, who says he served with Tumlin, posted a smiling picture of the former actor in his military fatigues, noting, “SGT Houston Tumlin came to me as PVT Tumlin. He showed a lot of spirit, promise, positive energy and was (hands down) one of my best Soldiers in my company. Came ready to work.”

Carmichael added, “Please check on each other. Get help if you need it. We need you.”

Male veterans suffer a suicide rate some 18% percent higher than their civilian counterparts, reports the Veterans Administration.

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, or worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] for free confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even if it feels like it, you are not alone.

By Stephen Iervolino
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

March 24, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

James Dittiger/SYFY(NEW YORK) — SyFy’s quirky comedy Resident Alien, in which Firefly and Rogue One star Alan Tudyk plays an alien in disguise as a small-town doctor, was just renewed for a second season. 

However, as co-star Sara Tomko tells ABC Audio, the show’s creator, Chris Sheridan, broke the good news mid-prank, after calling the cast for a dire-sounding “emergency meeting.”

“He says something like, ‘OK, so here’s the problem, you know, it was wintertime in season one, which means we really need to be in summertime in season two,’ Tomko says, imitating Sheridan’s serious tone, “And so we’re not really sure, like when we should start shooting and we just have to find out if we got picked up, which we did, I found that out about an hour ago. So I guess we’re going to have to shoot…'”

“He kept this up for like four minutes,” Tomko laughs, until they realized he intentionally glossed over the good news, at which the cast started screaming with joy. 

“I think I said a bunch of F bombs at Chris, I was like, ‘You, mother-!'” Tomko laughs.

The news was “so exciting,” Tomko admits. “We were hopeful and we were feeling pretty positive about it, but…in this…pandemic, not really sure what the networks are wanting to do moving forward. So we’re just grateful that they chose us.”

For the actress, who plays nurse Asta Twelvetrees, trying to stay in character is nearly impossible with Tudyk around. She found that out while shooting the pilot, in which his disguised alien character, who calls himself Harry Vanderspeigle, performed an autopsy.

“[H]e’s like juggling intestines,” Tomko laughs of the actor’s ad-libbing. “It was so hard, so hard.”  

Resident Alien airs tonight at 10 p.m. on Syfy.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

By Stephen Iervolino
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

March 24, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Shannon Finney/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — After a heart-to-heart via Zoom with the leader of Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA), Jay Leno has apologized telling jokes over the years that used Asians as punchlines. 

According to Variety, Leno talked with Guy Aoki about some of the material over his decades-long career, even as recently as a quip he made on America’s Got Talent regarding Koreans eating dog meat. 

“At the time I did those jokes, I genuinely thought them to be harmless,” said Leno. “I was making fun of our enemy North Korea, and like most jokes, there was a ring of truth to them.”

The former Tonight Show host added, “At the time, there was a prevailing attitude that some group is always complaining about something, so don’t worry about it. Whenever we received a complaint, there would be two sides to the discussion: Either ‘We need to deal with this’ or ‘Screw ’em if they can’t take a joke.’ Too many times I sided with the latter even when in my heart I knew it was wrong.”

Leno said of his apology, “I do not consider this particular case to be another example of cancel culture but a legitimate wrong that was done on my part. MANAA has been very gracious in accepting my apology. I hope that the Asian American community will be able to accept it as well, and I hope I can live up to their expectations in the future.”

Variety notes that MANNA had considered a boycott of Leno’s Fox show You Bet Your Life, but that preceded the conversation and the apology, which Aoki reportedly accepted without further comment.

By Stephen Iervolino
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.