THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 2, 1995 TAG: 9508310069
SECTION: TELEVISION WEEK PAGE: 01 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY BONKO, TELEVISION COLUMNIST
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
DO I HAVE TO TELL you what the Labor Day weekend means to a certified couch potato? It means the best excuse in the world for never leaving your La-Z-Boy except for more chips and dip.
It means the 21 1/2 hour ``Stars Across America!'' Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon.
Can the first day of school be far behind?
The telethon begins Sunday at 9 p.m. on WAVY with this goal: Raise more money than last year, when the figure reached $47.1 million.
The 30th annual telethon originates from Los Angeles, and because it does, Lewis will be able to include a roster of network TV stars (Jerry Seinfeld, Brett Butler, Angela Lansbury, to name a few) on the telethon. Comedy Central on Sept. 8 and 10 salutes Lewis with a King of Comedy marathon that includes his only appearance on ``Saturday Night Live.''
This weekend, and the week to come, are darn near unmatched in what they offer to viewers who like popular music, and like it live.
On Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Home Box Office beams out ``The Concert for the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame'' from the Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, where the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame is about to open.
This is scheduled to be a six-hour telecast.
Among those listed to appear are Little Richard - think of the Kinks, Snoop Doggy Dogg and Little Richard all on the same stage - who wasn't bashful about his place in music history when he met with members of the Television Critics Association in Los Angeles recently.
``Elvis ain't here no more. Bill Haley ain't here no more. I'm still here, and I'm history alive, the originator, emancipator and the architect,'' he said. Little Richard said the HBO concert will be ``a once in a lifetime'' thing.
And just five days after all that shakin' on the lake in Cleveland, MTV will check in with ``The 1995 MTV Video Music Awards,'' hosted by the man who has elevated ranting to an art form, Dennis Miller.
The Thursday telecast begins at 8 p.m. from the Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan with Michael Jackson - isn't he everywhere these days? - joining R.E.M., Bon Jovi, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Hootie and the Blowfish on stage, and a huge stage it is.
Jackson and sister Janet are up for best video of the year in ``Scream.'' The presenters include Madonna, Whitney Houston and Ricki Lake.
Isn't this too much?
Jerry Lewis' telethon is the mother of all holiday TV marathons, but not the only one. Even The Family Channel is getting into the act this year with a 10-hour ``Fathers, Sons and Brothers'' grind starting Sunday at noon. TV know-it-all Joyce Brothers will guide cable viewers through the showings of ``Make Room for Daddy'' and ``My Three Sons.''
E! Entertainment's Labor Day marathon has been rounded up under the title ``Working in Hollywood.'' The channel starts at 8 a.m. to reel off behind-the-scenes reports on 13 TV shows including ``Home Improvement,'' ``Baywatch'' and ``Star Trek: Voyager.'' It rolls on until 5 a.m. The ultimate trip for a TV junkie.
The Sci-Fi Channel on Monday at 9 a.m. begins a ``Twilight Zone'' love fest that runs until 3 a.m. A&E on Saturday strips in a ``Biography'' marathon starting at 8 a.m. with stories of the famous from A to Z, as in Attila ``Scourge of God,'' to moviedom's Darryl F. Zanuck. The 26 hours of ``Biography A to Z'' ends Sunday at 10 p.m. On Monday, ``Biography'' is back in its 8 p.m. time slot with Dean Martin's bio, ``Everybody Loves Somebody,'' beginning ``Great Entertainers Week.''
After all that, can there be possibly any more good stuff to keep viewers indoors and away from the beaches this weekend? You bet.
Lifetime on Monday at 8 p.m. puts on ``Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story,'' which is about the demons that haunted a gifted NBC reporter and anchor who died in an automobile accident when she was 36. Sela Ward of ``Sisters'' plays Savitch. At 10, Showtime will have a documentary, ``Intimate Portrait,'' about Savitch, with Linda Ellerbee among Savitch's former co-workers who take part. . . E! lays out the upcoming fall season in a neat little package Sunday at 9 p.m. in ``E!'s Complete Guide to Fall TV '95'' hosted by Jon Cryer, who will be in a new Fox sitcom called ``Partners.''. . . PBS on Monday at 10 p.m. airs ``Richard Wright: Black Boy,'' which is about the first African-American author to achieve international recognition as a writer of note. The anger and alienation of growing up black in America early in this century are reflected throughout Wright's writings. . . . Jane Powell, a star created by the MGM movie machine, talks about the good old days (some bad days, too) of Hollywood Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. on ``Reel Memories'' with Robert Osborne. It's on Turner Classic Movies. Powell was a 14-carat movie star who refused to believe the fact. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Jerry Lee Lewis and Bruce Springsteen...
Photo
Lou Diamond Phillips, left, and Judge Reinhold star in ``The Wharf
Rat,'' Sunday night at 8 on Showtime.
by CNB