News Round-up: Roberts, Light, Sloan, Handcuffed

Golden-Throated Announcer Introduced Soap Operas
In the early 1970s, Ken Roberts signed on with the PBS children's show THE ELECTRIC COMPANY and is best remembered for announcing a sketch called "Love of Chair," a play on LOVE OF LIFE Supported by quivering organ music, Mr. Roberts melodramatically described the pantomime movements of a boy and his only chair.

As a farcical line that paid homage to his soap opera days, he intoned a cliffhanger question at the end of every skit: "What about Naomi? . . . And what about Naomi?"

Judith Light carves out space for life on the stage
About 10 years ago, Judith Light stood at a crossroads in her career. A famous fixture on television for more than two decades, Light - who now plays the wickedly acerbic matriarch Claire Mead on ABC’s UGLY BETTY - had ceased pushing herself outside her comfort zone by the late '90s, she says, relying instead on TV pilots and movies of the week. But she was jolted out of her complacency by her longtime manager and close friend, Herb Hamsher, after she declined a part in a play that she claimed wasn’t the right fit. He disagreed and accused her of running scared from a challenge.

Sloan and Reynolds to hit the Cape May Stage
Tina Sloan (Lillian, GUIDING LIGHT) will perform a one-woman show Aug. 17, and Emmy winner James Reynolds (Abe, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) will play a dozen characters in a one-nighter Sept. 6.

This Week's Gold Standard, Confrontations
Grayons McCouch, Hunter Tylo and Michael Muhney made Tommy Garett's list in the L.A. Canyon News.

Breaking News: Actress, Crystal Chappell, handcuffed
Blogger mindschmootz writes: "On Friday, Emmy-winning daytime actress, Crystal Chappell was visibly restrained in Springfield, IL. Luckily, the event was caught on tape. Let’s take a look."


"What you just witnessed was a professional lead straining against the invisible suppression of network standards and practices. The actress put up a noticeably internal struggle, but then succumbed to the pressure. The video is all the evidence required."