The Early Show is an American breakfast television show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program aired live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday in the Eastern time zone; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones aired the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. The Saturday edition aired live from 7 to 9 a.m. (as seen on WCBS-TV in New York) Eastern Time as well, but a number of affiliates aired it later on tape-delay. The Early Show featured news pieces, weather, celebrity interviews and light entertainment. In some markets, the Saturday version may not air. Having premiered on November 1, 1999, it was the youngest of the major networks' morning shows, although CBS has made several attempts to program in the morning slot since 1954. The show aired as a division of CBS News.

The Early Show, like many of its predecessors, traditionally ran last in the ratings to its rivals, NBC's Today and ABC's Good Morning America. Much like NBC's The Today Show and The Tonight Show, the title The Early Show was analogous to that of CBS's late-night talk show, The Late Show.

On November 15, 2011, CBS announced that a new morning show would premiere in the same time slot as The Early Show on January 9, 2012. CBS News chairman Jeff Fager and CBS News president David Rhodes stated that the new show would "redefine the morning television landscape." On December 1, it was announced that the new show would be titled CBS This Morning, and that The Early Show ended its twelve-year run on January 6, 2012, to make way for the program.^[1] Charlie Rose, Gayle King, and Erica Hill were named anchors of the new program.

[edit] History

[edit] Before The Early Show

[edit] The 1950s

CBS has made several attempts at morning shows since 1954. First came The Morning Show (1954–1956), originally hosted by Walter Cronkite and very similar to The Today Show in fashion (it, too, ran for two hours from 7-9 a.m. ET until being reduced to one hour to accommodate the premiere of Captain Kangaroo in 1955). Additional hosts over the years included Jack Paar, John Henry Faulk, and Dick Van Dyke.

Next came Good Morning! with Will Rogers, Jr., which lasted 14 months before being replaced from April–December 1957 by The Morning Show, a variety program hosted by Jimmy Dean. The program aired from 7–7:45 a.m. ET followed by a 15-minute news broadcast until 8 a.m. with Stuart Novins under the CBS Morning News title, preceding Captain Kangaroo.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] The 1960s

CBS would not make any serious attempt to program against Today for eight years. On September 2, 1963, The CBS Morning News debuted, similar to its evening counterpart in the way that it was also a hard newscast featuring various hosts and correspondents from CBS News over the years. It started out as a half-hour broadcast anchored by Mike Wallace and airing Monday through Friday at 10:00 a.m. ET. Coincidentally, it replaced a CBS daytime magazine program called Calendar, which was hosted by Wallace's future 60 Minutes colleague Harry Reasoner. In August 1965, upon discovering that they could make more money airing reruns of I Love Lucy in the 10:00 a.m. slot, CBS moved the broadcast start time to 7:05 a.m. (although most affiliates carried it via tape delay at 7:30 a.m.). Wallace only lasted a year with the change in hours and eventually tired of the grind, leaving to cover Richard Nixon's comeback for CBS News. Wallace suggested Los Angeles newsman Joseph Benti as his replacement.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] The 1970s

It was during Joseph Benti's run (through August 28, 1970) that the program became the first regularly scheduled one-hour newscast ever on network television on March 31, 1969. Until 1981, it would precede Captain Kangaroo on the CBS morning schedule from 7:00-8:00 a.m. ET. The new hour format now featured John Hart reading the news from Washington and CBS News Moscow correspondent Hughes Rudd as an occasional contributor. After Hart replaced Benti as the main anchor in New York, the Washington anchor desk was assumed by Bernard Kalb until 1972, and by Nelson Benton for a year afterwards.^{[citation needed]}

On August 6, 1973, after Hart left for NBC, in an effort to emulate The Today Show, Rudd was teamed up with former Washington Post reporter Sally Quinn. Unfortunately for CBS, within days the hugely publicized pairing of what was dubbed by the press "the beauty and the grouch" (referring to Quinn and Rudd respectively) turned out to be a disaster.^{[citation needed]} Quinn was gone after six months, leaving after the February 1, 1974 telecast. A much more experienced correspondent, Bruce Morton, later took over the Washington desk, remaining there until 1977. During that period, the newscast had evolved into a well-crafted package delivered in a straightforward manner, much like Cronkite's evening newscast. Despite the anchor turnover through the years, the broadcast had set a consistent tone which emphasized news and ideas over celebrity gossip or self-help tips. The anchor desk was subsequently shared by the team of Lesley Stahl and Richard Threlkeld, while Morton and Rudd returned to both feature reporting and commentary respectively.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] The 1980s

[edit] The Morning era

On Sunday, January 28, 1979, CBS revamped the program, premiering Morning, which was titled in accordance to the day of the week (Monday Morning, Tuesday Morning, etc.). The weekday Morning series competed with Good Morning America and The Today Show. Charles Kuralt hosted Sundays while Bob Schieffer hosted the rest of the week; Kuralt took over the daily show as well in the fall of 1980. The program featured long pieces from CBS News bureaus, and many viewed it as a highbrow, classy newscast in the best CBS tradition.^{[citation needed]} Despite critical acclaim, the show remained dead last in the ratings, and CBS was under more pressure from affiliates to present a more viable morning competitor. So on September 28, 1981, Morning dropped the days of the week from its title (except for Sunday Morning), and was extended to 90 minutes and added Diane Sawyer as co-host; in the process, Captain Kangaroo was reduced to a half-hour daily and pushed to an earlier time period (7:00 a.m.).^{[citation needed]}

[edit] The CBS Morning News

On January 18, 1982, again at the expense of Captain Kangaroo, Morning was lengthened to the same two-hour format that Today and GMA were utilizing. Along the way it reassumed the title of The CBS Morning News. An understandably exhausted Kuralt was relieved of his duties on the weekday broadcasts in March 1982, at a time when a restructuring on the Evening News forced his popular On the Road segments to be gradually phased out. By this time management decided that morning news programming should be more competitive and hired Bill Kurtis, who was then anchoring WBBM-TV's highly rated evening newscasts in Chicago, as Sawyer's co-host.^{[citation needed]} The Sunday edition of Morning with Kuralt as host was kept; it remains on the air as of 2011 under its original title, CBS News Sunday Morning, now hosted by Charles Osgood.

By the fall of 1982, Captain Kangaroo had disappeared from the daily schedule and the new team of Kurtis and Sawyer were anchoring three hours of news in the morning, as they were also seen on the CBS Early Morning News an hour earlier.^{[citation needed]}

Their teamwork helped boost the show's ratings, albeit briefly; George Merlis, a former GMA producer hired to revamp the broadcast, is also credited by most network insiders with nearly doubling viewership numbers by March 1983. The numbers continued to climb during the summer; during one week in August 1983 it passed The Today Show for the second place spot behind GMA, and was in closing distance behind the latter program for the #1 spot before it dropped back to third place again. After Merlis was relieved from his duties for his trouble, Sawyer, tired of the morning grind, left in the fall of 1984 to become the first female correspondent on 60 Minutes.^{[citation needed]}

CBS News correspondents Jane Wallace and Meredith Vieira briefly alternated as interim co-host in an on-air try-out that lasted several months, but both were passed over for the permanent spot. Instead, CBS settled for former Miss America and NFL Today co-host Phyllis George, who was given a three-year contract following a mere two-week trial run. There was little chemistry between George and Kurtis onscreen and the show fared poorly.^{[citation needed]} The low point of her very brief tenure came on May 14, 1985 during George's interview with false rape accuser Cathleen Crowell Webb and the man whom she had falsely accused, Gary Dotson. In an effort to get the two to make amends to each other, George made a simple suggestion: "How about a hug?" Both Webb and Dotson graciously refused. That infamous interview alienated audiences and was blasted by critics, helping to put an unpleasant close to George's television career at that point. A very unhappy Bill Kurtis subsequently departed from the show and resigned from CBS News in July, returning to Chicago and his old anchor spot at WBBM-TV. Once again Bob Schieffer served as a brief replacement. Phyllis George eventually left CBS for good that fall.^{[citation needed]}

Maria Shriver, who had joined CBS as a West Coast feature reporter in 1983, and Forrest Sawyer, new to the network, were named co-anchors of The CBS Morning News August 30, 1985. After a respectable year but still placed third in the ratings, Shriver and Sawyer made their last appearance on the show August 1, 1986, after CBS announced that the Morning News timeslot would leave control of the news division and be supervised by a newly created unit in the CBS Broadcast Group.^[2] Prodded by network affiliates, CBS decided that an entertainment format might work better against Good Morning America and Today, and planning began for a new show that would come to be called The Morning Program.^[3] Bruce Morton and Faith Daniels became the first in a string of substitutes to host Morning News until it left the air.^[4]

"The CBS Morning News was simply shot dead," wrote Jonathan Alter in Newsweek. "Underappreciated coanchors Forrest Sawyer and Maria Shriver left the air with a classy farewell after the network's announcement that the perennially lagging show would be canceled by the end of the year."^[5]

"Throughout the industry there is shock and derision for the way CBS has handled Morning News, so long its problem child," Tom Shales reported in The Washington Post. "Competitors are saying the Morning News fiasco is a symptom of a new disarray in CBS News, and some question whether current CBS News executives will all be able to ride out the storm."^[6]

[edit] The Morning Program

On January 12, 1987, The Morning Program made its debut^[7] hosted by actress Mariette Hartley and Rolland Smith, former longtime anchor at WCBS-TV in New York City. Radio personality Mark McEwen handled the weather, while Bob Saget did comedy bits. The show ran for 90 minutes behind a briefly expanded 90-minute CBS Early Morning News, which had dropped "Early" from its title. However, The Morning Program, with its awkward mix of news, entertainment, and comedy, became the joke of the industry, receiving scathing reviews.^[8][9] At one point, it generated the lowest ratings CBS had seen in the morning slot in five years. The format was aborted and the time slot returned to the news division after a ten-and-a-half-month run. Hartley and Smith were dumped, while Saget left to star on the ABC sitcom, Full House. A longtime producer summed up this version of the program upon its demise by saying, "...everyone thought we had the lowest ratings you could have in the morning. The Morning Program proved us wrong".^[9]

[edit] CBS This Morning

On November 30, 1987; The Morning Program was replaced by CBS This Morning. It lasted for 12 years, staying in third place for its entire run. However, it was far more competitive than its predecessors had ever been. It ended on October 29, 1999 and was replaced by The Early Show.

[edit] Gumbel, Clayson, McEwen and Chen (1999-2002)

The Early Show began on November 1, 1999 (around the time Viacom purchased CBS) when CBS executives successfully lured former Today Show host Bryant Gumbel to head up the broadcast, teamed with newcomer Jane Clayson. Unlike with This Morning, CBS asked its affiliates to carry the whole two-hour show in its entirety. Julie Chen read the news, while Mark McEwen, the sole holdover from This Morning, did the weather. Initial ratings were not encouraging, and were actually lower than those of This Morning.^[10] Gumbel left in 2002,^[11] and shortly thereafter Clayson and McEwen were replaced. Clayson may be best known for her awkward confrontation with Early Show food and style contributor Martha Stewart during this period, described below.

[edit] Smith, Storm, Chen, Syler, and Price (October 2002-December 2006)

The new team consisted of Chen, former Biography and CBS This Morning host Harry Smith, former NBC Sports commentator Hannah Storm, Rene Syler (a news anchor from KTVT, the CBS station in Dallas), and weatherman Dave Price, who was pried away from New York Fox affiliate WNYW and also was at WCBS-TV for some time after joining The Early Show. To keep affiliates happy, CBS went back to the local/national hybrid format.^[12] The show also had a number of "correspondents" who do short segments on specific issues; Martha Stewart, Martha Quinn, Bobby Flay, and Bob Vila, among others, have been featured in this role. Susan Koeppen (2004-–) is the consumer correspondent.

As previously mentioned, Stewart's participation garnered headlines on June 25, 2002, due to her obsessively chopping vegetables for a salad while refusing to answer Clayson's questions regarding her stock fraud scandal – Stewart stopped contributing to the program after the appearance, which was immortalized in an NBC TV-movie of Stewart's life a few months later.

On October 30, 2006, The Early Show received a revamp, featuring new graphics (with a new blue and orange color scheme instead of blue and yellow) and music similar to those used on the CBS Evening News (which were also used starting in early October on Up to the Minute and the CBS Morning News). On December 4, 2006, it was announced that Rene Syler would leave the show by the end of the month (her last show was December 22).

[edit] Smith, Storm, Chen, Mitchell and Price (December 2006-December 2007)

On December 7, 2007, CBS News named Russ Mitchell the news anchor. On November 28, 2007, it was announced that Hannah Storm was leaving her co-anchor chair; her last day was December 7, 2007.

[edit] Smith, Rodriguez, Chen, Mitchell, and Price (January 2008-January 2010)

On December 5, 2007, CBS announced that Maggie Rodriguez would succeed Storm as co-anchor. On January 7, 2008, The Early Show debuted a new set. During the month of December, The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric shared its studio/set with The Early Show. In addition, the show abandoned the aforementioned local/national hybrid format and replaced it with a national format, similar to its network competitors. The ratings for the series dropped with the institution of these changes. However, the gap between The Early Show and second-place GMA has remained virtually consistent as all three morning shows have seen similar ratings erosion.^[13]

On April 16, The Early Show scored a coup with the broadcast of British pop music sensation Susan Boyle singing live for an American TV audience. Not surprisingly, The Early Show enjoyed a relatively successful May sweeps, racking up a 5 percent increase in year-to-year total viewers and remaining flat in the 25-to-54-year-old demographic, at a time when both NBC's Today Show and ABC's Good Morning America were shedding viewers to the tune of 3 and 4 percent respectively.^[14][15]

Howard Kurtz's WaPo profile of CBS Early Show co-host Maggie Rodriguez says her addition to the program accounts for "an uptick in the ratings, lifting spirits at the broadcast." In recent months, Rodriguez has landed some high-profile interviews with the Caylee Anthony grandparents, Levi Johnston, and disgraced former Miami priest, Alberto Cutié. The scandal beat might not be her favorite, but Rodriguez understands that it's often what her audience gets excited about: "If I were to program a show for my viewing pleasure, I would make it all news", said Rodriguez. "But we're programming for all of America. We have to include Jon and Kate [Gosselin] — regardless of whether I personally care, they're on the cover of every magazine. You can't be so highbrow that you only cover hard news. I'm not a journalistic snob."

In addition to her morning show duties, the Miami transplant had also regularly been filling in as an anchor for CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.^[16]

On January 13, 2010, CBS announced that news anchor Russ Mitchell would exit The Early Show at the end of the week, leaving a gap in the lineup for the perennially third-place CBS morning show. He became the national correspondent for CBS and would continue to be the anchor of the Sunday edition of the CBS Evening News.

[edit] Smith, Rodriguez, Chen, Hill and Price (January 2010-December 2010)

During this period, Harry Smith and Maggie Rodriguez anchored with weather forecasts presented by Dave Price, additional features by Julie Chen and news updates by Erica Hill.

The Early Show began broadcasting in high definition on April 26, 2010, becoming the last morning network news/talk program to do so. The Evening News control room was to be used, as construction was under way for The Early Show's new control room at the General Motors Building.^[17] New graphics were now overlaid to accommodate added screen space, and were also used throughout other CBS News programs.

[edit] Wragge, Hill, Glor, and Castro (January 2011-September 2011)

Erica Hill and Chris Wragge (who previously anchored the Saturday edition) anchored the weekday Early Show beginning January 3, 2011. Marysol Castro became the show's new weather anchor, replacing Dave Price. Julie Chen remained a part of the team, presenting additional features with Jeff Glor as news anchor, replacing Erica Hill. Chen was the only member to stay with the program since its inception before leaving the full time anchor position to host The Talk in late 2010. She remained with the early news program as a Special Contributing Anchor.

On March 2011, The Early Show debuted a redesigned set. The new set included a new anchor desk backdrop, a new reporter area, and a blue color scheme.

On September 2, 2011, it was announced that Marysol Castro would be leaving her post as weather anchor effective immediately.^[18]

[edit] Wragge, Hill and Glor (September 2011-January 2012)

Since Marysol Castro's departure, the hosts had cut directly to local CBS affiliates for forecasts (with a voiceover national outlook for stations without newscasts), making CBS the only one of the three major broadcast morning shows without national forecasts.^[19]

Beginning in 2011, the program had focused on hard news in contrast to the other breakfast television shows that show a mix of hard news, lighter news, and infotainment. Coverage consisted of national and international news, including occasional town halls with political leaders and in-depth coverage of major events.^[20]

Cancellation and final broadcast</br> On November 15, 2011, CBS News announced The Early Show would be canceled and replaced by CBS This Morning, beginning Monday, January 9, 2012.^[21] Erica Hill remains, alongside Charlie Rose and Gayle King. Chris Wragge was named the 6 pm weeknight news co-anchor for WCBS-TV, CBS' New York City flagship affiliate.^[22] Glor remains on CBS This Morning as a special correspondent, and will also be the Sunday evening CBS Evening News telecast anchor, effective January 15, 2012.

The final edition of The Early Show aired on Saturday, January 7, 2012 (as The Saturday Early Show and was hosted from the set of the CBS Evening News) at CBS Broadcast Center. The final Saturday Early Show was hosted by Rebecca Jarvis, John Miller, news anchor Betty Nguyen and weather anchor Lonnie Quinn. Quinn was the final weather anchor to serve for The Early Show. The weekend team (sans Miller, who was a substitute anchor) remains for the Saturday editions known as CBS This Morning: Saturday as of January 14, 2012.

[edit] On-air staff

[edit] Anchors

• Bryant Gumbel, anchor (1999–2002)
• Jane Clayson, anchor (1999–2002)
• Julie Chen, anchor (2002–2010)
• Harry Smith, anchor (2002–2010)
• Hannah Storm, anchor (2002–2007)
• Rene Syler, anchor (2002–2006)
• Maggie Rodriguez, anchor (2008–2010)
• Chris Wragge, anchor (2011–2012)
• Erica Hill, anchor (2010–2012)

[edit] News anchors

• Julie Chen, news anchor (1999–2007)
• Russ Mitchell, news anchor (2007–2010)
• Erica Hill, news anchor (2010–2011)
• Jeff Glor, news anchor (2011–2012)

[edit] Weather anchors

• Mark McEwen, weather anchor (1999–2002)
• Dave Price, weather anchor (2002–2010)
• Marysol Castro, weather anchor (2011)

[edit] Saturday edition

The Saturday edition of The Early Show premiered on September 13, 1997 as CBS News Saturday Morning. As of 2008, The Saturday Early Show no longer carried a separate name from the weekday edition, and was introduced simply as The Early Show. The program was broadcast live beginning at 7:00 a.m. ET/6:00 a.m. CT on Saturday mornings from the GM Building on Fifth Avenue in New York City, across the street from Central Park. It aired at various times through the country on most CBS stations. However, depending on the time zone it did or did not air (some CBS affiliates skipped the Saturday morning edition for local newscasts, and some pushed up the timeslot of the Saturday morning children's program block after the newscast if it ended before 9:00 a.m. in order to make up for it).

The format allowed for news and weather cut-ins; not all affiliates provided local coverage. Viewers at stations that did not provide coverage saw informal conversation among the anchors during the news cut-ins and a series of graphics showing the weather in various cities during the weather cut-ins. Ira Joe Fisher and, initially, Lonnie Quinn, would read some of the forecast aloud while chatting with people in the audience outside the building. The graphics ran with bed music and no voice-over.

Until the weekday shake-up at the end of 2010, it was anchored by Chris Wragge of WCBS and Erica Hill.^[23] Beginning January 8, 2011 Russ Mitchell returned to co-anchor with Rebecca Jarvis while WCBS' chief weathercaster Lonnie Quinn continued as weather anchor and CBS Morning News anchor Betty Nguyen served as news anchor and coanchored one Saturday a month.

Anchors for the program have included Russ Mitchell (1997–2007, 2011), Susan Molinari (1997–1998), Dawn Stensland (1998–1999), Thalia Assuras (1999–2002), Gretchen Carlson (2002–2005), Tracy Smith (2005–2007), Maggie Rodriguez (2007–2008), Jeff Glor (2007), Chris Wragge, (2007–2010) Erica Hill (2008–2010) and weather anchor Ira Joe Fisher (1999–2006)

Unlike its competitors The Today Show and Good Morning America, The Early Show did not carry a Sunday edition, nor were there any plans for one in the near future, due to the continued success of CBS News Sunday Morning, which has a distinctly different format with long form journalism reports and in-depth interview segments.

[edit] On-air staff

[edit] Anchors

• Russ Mitchell, weekend anchor (1997-2007, 2011–2012)
• Susan Molinari, weekend anchor (1997–1998)
• Dawn Stensland, weekend anchor (1998–1999)
• Thalia Assuras, weekend anchor (1999–2002)
• Gretchen Carlson, weekend anchor (2002–2005)
• Tracy Smith, weekend anchor (2005–2007)
• Maggie Rodriguez, weekend anchor (2007–2008)
• Jeff Glor, weekend anchor (2007)
• Chris Wragge, weekend anchor (2007, 2008–2010)
• Kelly Wallace, weekend anchor (2008)
• Erica Hill, weekend anchor (2008-2010)
• Rebecca Jarvis, weekend anchor (2011–2012)

[edit] News Anchors

• Various, weekend news anchors (2008–2009, 2010)
• Jeff Glor, weekend news anchor (2009-2010)
• Rebecca Jarvis, weekend news anchor (2010)
• Betty Nguyen, weekend news anchor (2010, 2011–2012)

[edit] Weather anchors

• Ira Joe Fisher, weekend weather anchor (1999–2006)
• Lonnie Quinn weekend weather anchor (2006–2012)

[edit] Ratings

CBS has been the perennial third-place finisher in the morning race since 1976, placing second only a few times in the past 30 years. CBS beat Good Morning America for second place the weeks of January 17, 1977 and December 28, 1998. The Today Show was in first place both times. However, CBS outrated The Today Show for second spot over a few weeks in 1984 when Jane Pauley was on maternity leave. At that time, Good Morning America was ranked #1.^[24]

In September 2007, CBS sought to change the third-place position of The Early Show by hiring Shelly Ross, former executive producer of GMA from 1999–2004. Significant changes were made to the program as Ross asserted her influence. For instance, the network no longer allows the frequent local station breaks that were previously allowed during the former broadcast as of January 7, 2008.^[25] CBS reportedly viewed the removal of those breaks as vital to creating a national profile for the program.

However, some CBS affiliates continued to air the full program on another co-owned sister station and continue to air their local morning news; WWL-TV in New Orleans has never aired the Early Show or any of its previous versions, broadcasting all local newscasts instead, currently from 5 am to 9 am. The Early Show now airs in New Orleans on MyNetworkTV sister station WUPL, paired with The Daily Buzz. Cincinnati's WKRC-TV airs the full show on the CBS station with an hour of all-local news on their CW subchannel. Salt Lake City's KUTV (which was formerly owned by the network until 2007) continued to preempt the program's first hour despite the network's insistence. Tulsa's KOTV aired the full two hours starting at 8:00 AM and moved its last hour of their morning show to its CW sister station. WFMY in Greensboro, North Carolina also airs the broadcast from 8:00-10:00am to air an extra hour of local news from 7:00-8:00am.

Industry insiders considered Shelley Ross' influence to be a serious threat to bring the profile of the show up to make the program a true competitor to NBC's Today and ABC's Good Morning America. After six months, Ross was fired from the position, after frequent feuds with staff, particularly Smith and Chen, who reportedly informed management that either Ross would have to go or they would.^[26]

Despite the change in staff in 2011, the program remained mired in third place, averaging around 2–2.5 million average viewers per week.^[27] The program also faced pressure from management to take advantage of CBS News redefining itself more as a hard news organization after the end of the Katie Couric era, asking the program's staff to take advantage of stories presented on 60 Minutes and the CBS Evening News and expand on those stories in the morning time slot rather than following the lead as defined by Today and GMA to the letter.^[28]

[edit] Theme music

The debut theme for The Early Show was a typical opener for an American morning news program. When the show reformatted with new hosts and set they used an instrumental version of Sting's 1999 hit, "Brand New Day" until late October 2006, when it was replaced by the CBS Evening News theme from James Horner. On January 7, 2008, CBS made an attempt to relaunch the show with new hosts and set plus an updated theme music that of the James Horner's composition. The theme was modified for a number of times since the reformat took launch. On June 27, 2011, CBS began using a slower-tempoed version of the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley theme for The Early Show. This theme was formerly used on the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather between 1987 and 1991.

[edit] International broadcasts

In Australia, The Early Show aired on Network Ten weekday mornings from 4.00am under the title "The CBS Early Show", with Fridays edition being held over to the following Monday. A national weather map of Australia was inserted during local affiliate cut-aways for weather. No local news was inserted, however. America's top 3 breakfast television programs air in Australia almost simultaneously, with NBC Today airing on the Seven Network at 4.00am and Good Morning America on the Nine Network airing from 3.30 am. Unlike the above, The Early Show was not condensed or edited. It was, however, pre-empted in most regional areas for paid and religious programming.

[edit] Awards

In 2010, The Early Show was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for "Outstanding TV Journalism Segment" for the segment "Reverend's Revelation: Minister Speaks Out About Being Transgender" during the 21st GLAAD Media Awards.^[29]

[edit] See also

• CBS News
• CBS Morning News
• CBS This Morning
• CBS News Sunday Morning
• Today
• Good Morning America
• The Daily Buzz
• Breakfast television

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Early Show

• The Early Show website
• The Saturday Early Show website
• The Early Show at the Internet Movie Database
• The Early Show at the Internet Movie Database (The CBS Morning News)
• The Early Show at the Internet Movie Database (Morning)
• The Early Show at the Internet Movie Database (The Morning Program)
• The Early Show at the Internet Movie Database (CBS This Morning)

Emma Watson
Watson at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Struck by Lightning
Born	Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson[1] (1990-04-15) 15 April 1990 (age 22) Paris, France
Occupation	Actress, model
Years active	2001–present
Website
www.emmawatson.com

Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson (born 15 April 1990) is an English actress and model.

Watson rose to prominence playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film series. Watson was cast as Hermione at the age of nine, having previously acted only in school plays.^[2] From 2001 to 2011, she starred in all eight Harry Potter films alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint.^[3] Watson's work on the Harry Potter series has earned her several awards and more than £10 million.^[4] She made her modelling debut for Burberry's Autumn/Winter campaign in 2009.

In 2007, Watson announced her involvement in two productions: the television adaptation of the novel Ballet Shoes and an animated film, The Tale of Despereaux. Ballet Shoes was broadcast on 26 December 2007 to an audience of 5.2 million, and The Tale of Despereaux, based on the novel by Kate DiCamillo, was released in 2008 and grossed over US $86 million in worldwide sales.^[5][6]

[edit] Early life

Emma Watson was born in Paris to Jacqueline Luesby and Chris Watson, both British lawyers.^[7][8] Watson has one French grandmother,^[9] and lived in Paris until the age of five. Following her parents' divorce, she moved with her mother and younger brother to Oxfordshire.^[7]

From the age of six, Watson had wanted to become an actress,^[10] and for a number of years she trained at the Oxford branch of Stagecoach Theatre Arts, a part-time theatre school where she studied singing, dancing and acting.^[11] By the age of ten, she had performed in various Stagecoach productions and school plays, including Arthur: The Young Years and The Happy Prince,^[12] but she had never acted professionally before the Harry Potter series. "I had no idea of the scale of the film series," she stated in a 2007 interview with Parade; "If I had I would have been completely overwhelmed."^[13]

[edit] Career

[edit] Harry Potter

Handprints, footprints and wand prints of (from left to right) Watson, Radcliffe, Grint.

In 1999, casting began for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (released as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States), the film adaptation of British author J. K. Rowling's best-selling novel. Casting agents found Watson through her Oxford theatre teacher,^[10] and producers were impressed by her confidence. After eight auditions, producer David Heyman told Watson and fellow applicants Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint that they had been cast for the roles of the schoolfriends Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley respectively. Rowling supported Watson from her first screen test.^[10]

The release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 2001 was Watson's debut screen performance. The film broke records for opening-day sales and opening-weekend takings and was the highest-grossing film of 2001.^[14][15] Critics praised the performances of the three leads, often singling out Watson for particular acclaim; The Daily Telegraph called her performance "admirable",^[16] and IGN said she "stole the show".^[17] Watson was nominated for five awards for her performance in Philosopher's Stone, winning the Young Artist Award for Leading Young Actress.^[18]

A year later, Watson again starred as Hermione in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the second instalment of the series. Reviewers praised the lead actors' performances. The Los Angeles Times said Watson and her peers had matured between films,^[19] while The Times criticised director Chris Columbus for "under-employing" Watson's hugely popular character.^[20] Watson received an Otto Award from the German magazine Bravo for her performance.^[21]

Watson at the premiere of Goblet of Fire in November 2005

In 2004, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was released. Watson was appreciative of the more assertive role Hermione played, calling her character "charismatic" and "a fantastic role to play".^[22] Although critics panned Radcliffe's performance, labelling him "wooden", they praised Watson; The New York Times lauded her performance, saying "Luckily Mr. Radcliffe's blandness is offset by Ms. Watson's spiky impatience. Harry may show off his expanding wizardly skills ... but Hermione ... earns the loudest applause with a decidedly unmagical punch to Draco Malfoy's deserving nose."^[23] Although Prisoner of Azkaban remains the lowest-grossing Harry Potter film as of April 2009, Watson's personal performance won her two Otto Awards and the Child Performance of the Year award from Total Film.^[24][25][26]

With Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), both Watson and the Harry Potter film series reached new milestones. The film set records for a Harry Potter opening weekend, a non-May opening weekend in the US, and an opening weekend in the UK. Critics praised the increasing maturity of Watson and her teenage co-stars; the New York Times called her performance "touchingly earnest".^[27] For Watson, much of the humour of the film sprang from the tension among the three lead characters as they matured. She said, "I loved all the arguing. ... I think it's much more realistic that they would argue and that there would be problems."^[28] Nominated for three awards for Goblet of Fire, Watson won a bronze Otto Award.^[29][30][31] Later that year, Watson became the youngest person to appear on the cover of Teen Vogue,^[32] an appearance she reprised in August 2009.^[33] In 2006, Watson played Hermione in The Queen's Handbag, a special mini-episode of Harry Potter in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday.^[34]

Watson at the premiere of Half-Blood Prince in July 2009

The fifth film in the Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, was released in 2007. A huge financial success, the film set a record worldwide opening-weekend gross of $332.7 million.^[35] Watson won the inaugural National Movie Award for Best Female Performance.^[36] As the fame of the actress and the series continued, Watson and fellow Harry Potter co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint left imprints of their hands, feet and wands in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood on 9 July 2007.^[37]

By July 2007, Watson's work in the Harry Potter series was said to have earned her more than £10 million, and she acknowledged she would never have to work for money again.^[4] In March 2009, she was ranked 6th on the Forbes list of "Most Valuable Young Stars",^[38] and in February 2010, she was named as Hollywood's highest paid female star, having earned an estimated £19 million in 2009.^[39]

Despite the success of Order of the Phoenix, the future of the Harry Potter franchise became surrounded in doubt, as all three lead actors were hesitant to sign on to continue their roles for the final two episodes.^[40] Radcliffe eventually signed for the final films on 2 March 2007,^[40] but Watson was considerably more hesitant.^[41] She explained that the decision was significant, as the films represented a further four-year commitment to the role, but eventually conceded that she "could never let [the role of] Hermione go",^[42] signing for the role on 23 March 2007.^[43] In return for committing to the final films, Watson's pay was doubled to £2 million per film;^[44] she concluded that "in the end, the pluses outweighed the minuses".^[13] Principal photography for the sixth film began in late 2007, with Watson's part being filmed from 18 December to 17 May 2008.^[45][46]

Watson with Daniel Radcliffe (left) and Rupert Grint at the London premiere of Deathly Hallows – Part 2 in July 2011

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince premiered on 15 July 2009,^[47] having been delayed from November 2008.^[48] With the lead actors now in their late teens, critics were increasingly willing to review them on the same level as the rest of the film's all-star cast, which the Los Angeles Times described as "a comprehensive guide to contemporary UK acting".^[49] The Washington Post felt Watson to have given "[her] most charming performance to date",^[50] while The Daily Telegraph described the lead actors as "newly-liberated and energised, eager to give all they have to what's left of the series".^[51]

Watson's filming for the final instalment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, began on 18 February 2009^[52] and ended on 12 June 2010.^[53] For financial and scripting reasons, the original book has been divided into two films which were shot consecutively.^[54][55] Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 was released in November 2010 while the second film was released in July 2011.

[edit] Other acting work

Watson's first non-Potter role was the 2007 BBC film Ballet Shoes, an adaptation of the novel of the same title by Noel Streatfeild.^[56][57] The film's director Sandra Goldbacher commented that Watson was "perfect" for the starring role of aspiring actress Pauline Fossil: "She has a piercing, delicate aura that makes you want to gaze and gaze at her."^[58] Ballet Shoes was broadcast in the UK on Boxing Day 2007 to an audience of 5.7 million viewers, despite mixed reviews.^{[59][60][61][62][63]} Watson also lent her voice to the role of Princess Pea in the animated film The Tale of Despereaux, a children's comedy starring Matthew Broderick with Harry Potter co-star Robbie Coltrane (playing the character of Rubeus Hagrid) also starring in the film.^[64] The Tale of Despereaux was released in December 2008 and grossed $87 million worldwide.^[5] In December 2008, Watson stated she wanted to go to university after she completed the Potter series.^[65]

In May 2010, Watson was reported to be in talks to star in a film adaptation of The Perks of Being a Wallflower.^[66] Filming began in summer 2011.^[67] Also that month, she announced that she would appear in a music video for One Night Only after meeting lead singer George Craig at the 2010 Winter/Summer Burberry advertising campaign. The video, "Say You Don't Want It", was screened on Channel 4 on 26 June 2010 and released on 16 August.^[68] In her first post-Harry Potter film, Watson appeared in 2011's My Week with Marilyn as Lucy, a wardrobe assistant who has a few dates with the main character, Colin Clark.^[69][70] Watson has also expressed interest in being in a musical film.^[71]

[edit] Modelling

Watson at the U.S. premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 in November 2010

In 2008, the British press reported that Watson was to replace Keira Knightley as the face of the fashion house Chanel, but this was denied by both parties.^[72][73] In June 2009, following several months of rumours, Watson confirmed that she would be partnering with Burberry as the face of their Autumn/Winter 2009 campaign, for which she received an estimated six-figure fee.^[74][75][76] She also appeared in Burberry's 2010 Spring/Summer campaign alongside her brother Alex, musicians George Craig and Matt Gilmour, and model Max Hurd.^[77] In February 2011, Watson was awarded the Style Icon award from British Elle by Dame Vivienne Westwood.^[78][79] Watson continued her involvement in fashion advertising when she announced she had been chosen as the face of Lancôme in March 2011.^[80]

In September 2009, Watson announced her involvement with People Tree, a Fair Trade fashion brand.^[81] Watson worked as a creative advisor for People Tree to create a spring line of clothing, which was released in February 2010;^[81][82] the range featured styles inspired by southern France and London.^[82][83] The collection, described by The Times as "very clever" despite their "quiet hope that [she] would become tangled at the first hemp-woven hurdle",^[84] was widely publicised in magazines such as Teen Vogue,^[85] Cosmopolitan, and People. Watson, who was not paid for the collaboration,^[86] admitted that competition for the range was minimal,^[84] but argued that "Fashion is a great way to empower people and give them skills; rather than give cash to charity you can help people by buying the clothes they make and supporting things they take pride in";^[87] adding, "I think young people like me are becoming increasingly aware of the humanitarian issues surrounding fast fashion and want to make good choices but there aren't many options out there."^[84] Watson continued her involvement with People Tree, resulting in the release of a 2010 Autumn/Winter collection.^[88]

[edit] Personal life

After moving to Oxford with her mother and brother, Watson attended The Dragon School until June 2003 and then moved to Headington School, also in Oxford.^[7] While on film sets, Watson and her peers were tutored for up to five hours a day.^[89] In June 2006, Watson took GCSE examinations in 10 subjects, achieving eight A* and two A grades.^[7][90]

After leaving school, Watson took a gap year^[91] to film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows beginning in February 2009,^[55] but said she "definitely want[ed] to go to university".^[65] The Providence Journal reported that Watson had confirmed that she had chosen Brown University, located in Providence, Rhode Island.^[92][93] In March 2011, after 18 months at the university, Watson announced that she was deferring her course for "a semester or two",^[94] to give her more time to participate in the advertising buildup for the release of the second Deathly Hallows film, and other projects.^[95] It has since been announced that Watson will be continuing her studies in autumn,^[96] reportedly on an exchange programme to Worcester College, Oxford, and that she will complete her final year at Brown University.^[97][98]

Watson supports the Wild Trout Trust.^{[99][100][101]}

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Awards

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Emma Watson

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Emma Watson

• Official website
• Emma Watson at the Internet Movie Database
• Guides: Harry Potter Actors at the BBC

Jordan Brady is an American director. He wrote and directed the feature film Dill Scallion, and directed the films Confessions of an American Girl, Waking Up in Reno and The Third Wheel.

Jordan Brady was also a stand-up comic in the 1980s. He was also one of the original members of Richmond's Comedy Underground, an improv group that was started in the early 80s and was the originator of the line, "Bow Chicka Bow Wow!".^[1] A marine style clean cut young man, his fresh and unique material ranged from impressions of G.I. Joe to re-enactments of entire porn film soundtracks.

His most recent film is the documentary on the art and occupational hazards of stand-up comedy entitled I Am Comic.^[2]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Jordan Brady at the Internet Movie Database
• Jordan Brady at AllRovi
• [1]
• Podcast interview Part I
• Podcast interview Part II

This article about a United States film director born in the 1960s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2009)

Greg Fitzsimmons (born April 5, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, television writer/producer and radio host.

[edit] Life and career

Fitzsimmons has performed his comedy on numerous programs such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Chelsea Lately and Comedy Central Presents.^[1] In 1996, Greg hosted the MTV game show Idiot Savants. He is also a regular commentator on Vh1's Best Week Ever and I Love The series. From 2003 to 2005, he was one of the writers and producers of The Ellen DeGeneres Show^[2] for which he won four Daytime Emmys. He went on to write for Louis C.K.'s sitcom Lucky Louie.^[3] He is a frequent guest on The Howard Stern Show on Sirius Satellite Radio, Howard 100, and hosts his own show on Howard 101, The Greg Fitzsimmons Show. He also is a frequent guest on The Adam Carolla Podcast. His father was New York City radio personality Bob Fitzsimmons.^[4] In 2010, Fitzsimmons appeared on John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show.

[edit] Fitzdog Podcast and other projects

Fitzsimmons hosts a weekly podcast which is available on iTunes. It often features the same guests as his radio show, as it is recorded just after his live show ends.

His newest book "Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons" was released on November 9, 2010.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official site
• Greg Fitzsimmons on Twitter
• Greg Fitzsimmons at the Internet Movie Database

News articles and interviews

• Interview from October 27 2006
• Interview from September 2005
• Interview from February 2007

Jimmy Douglass (also known as The Senator) is an American four-time Grammy winning recording engineer and record producer, whose prolific career has spanned more than four decades.

[edit] Career

In the early 1970′s at Atlantic Records studios in New York City, he started his studio career as a part-time tape duplicator while still attending high school. There he learned how to operate the studio’s custom made 16-channel console and observed, was trained by, as well as worked with some of the greatest engineers, producers and record moguls including Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin, Jerry Wexler and Ahmet Ertegun. For his first time behind the faders, he was encouraged by Wexler to engineer the session recording for a demo of a new band.^[1] He went on to work with great Atlantic Recording artists such as Aretha Franklin, Hall & Oates, Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, Foreigner, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC to name a few.

During the 1980′s, Douglass continued to hone his engineering skills while also taking on the role as producer. He engineered and produced established artists including The Rolling Stones, Slave, Odyssey, Roxy Music and Gang of Four.

Douglass started the first half of the 1990′s, working mainly on jingles and post-production. This style of work taught him the importance of working efficiently and capturing the vibe which would greatly benefit him in the years to come. In 1994, he began working with up and coming contemporary R&B/hip hop producer Timbaland and served as his main engineer for more than a decade. They would eventually collaborate on classic projects from artists such as Aaliyah, Missy Elliot, Ginuwine and Jay-Z.

Beginning the new millennium, Douglass continued engineering and mixing more Timbaland produced projects including Snoop Dogg, Bjork and Grammy winning albums for Justin Timberlake. Among the artists he also mixed are Rob Thomas, Sean Paul, Kanye West, Ludacris, Al Green, John Legend and Duran Duran.

Presently, he continues to display his versatility by remaining current while drawing from his years of experience. Douglass is best known for bringing unconventional techniques into the studio and encouraging artists to transcend genre restrictions. He is credited with bringing a raw edge to sound and specifically bringing a heavy funk bass sound into rock music. His hard work and immense talent has carved a place for him among some of the most respected engineers and mixers in the world.

[edit] References