Tom Snyder Dies

America has lost one of its great interviewing talents...and, no, I’m not talking about Larry King.

Tom Snyder, best known as host of the Tomorrow show, which ran on NBC after Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show in the years prior to David Letterman, died yesterday, the result of complications from leukemia.

Snyder hosted Tomorrow from 1973 until 1982, when Late Night With David Letterman took over the 12:30 to 1:30AM slot. After a few gigs that kept him in the spotlight but off of national television, Snyder was hired by CNBC in 1993 for a talk show, followed in 1995 by CBS’s Late, Late Show With Tom Snyder, which aired following The Late Show With David Letterman. Snyder worked for CBS until 1999, when he ended his show...this time by his own choice.

During his impressive career, Snyder’s highlights included the last televised interview with John Lennon and an exclusive talk with mass murderer Charles Manson. Snyder was best known for his conversational style that put guests at ease...although often catching them off guard as well by zipping a hard-hitting question their way.

The late, great Tom Snyder was 71 years old. He’ll be missed.

Drew Carey: Come On Down!

The price will be right for Drew Carey, as he’s been named as Bob Barker’s replacement for the popular daytime game show.

Carey made the announcement on Monday’s episode of The Late Show with David Letterman, and stated “I realize what a big responsibility this is. It's the longest-running game show in American television and I plan to keep it that way.”

Carey, who is 49, becomes only the third host of The Price Is Right since it debuted in November of 1956. It was originally hosted by Bill Cullen, and aired on NBC. The show eventually moved to ABC, where it ran until 1965. After several years off the air, it found a new home at CBS under the name “The New Price Is Right” in 1972. The “New” in the title was dropped at the end of the first season. Until now, Barker was the only host of the CBS version, aside from some nighttime syndicated versions that were hosted by Dennis James, Tom Kennedy and Doug Davidson.

In addition to his hit series, The Drew Carey Show, Carey has been host of the improv program Whose Line Is It Anyway, and will be seen as the host of another game show, The Power Of 10, when it airs next month on CBS.

Sopranos Snag 15 Emmy Nominations

The Sopranos may have cut to black for the final time a few weeks back, but we’re going to see most of the cast together at least one more time...at the upcoming Emmy Awards in September.

HBO’s critically acclaimed mobster drama got 15 Emmy nods when the nominations were announced earlier this morning – more than any other series. Included are nominations for Best Drama Series; Best Actor (James Gandolfini); Best Actress (Edie Falco); Best Supporting Actor (Michael Imperioli); and two nods in the Best Supporting Actress category, one for Aida Turturro and one for Lorraine Bracco.

Joining The Sopranos in the Best Drama category are: Boston Legal, Grey’s Anatomy, Heroes, and House. For Best Comedy Series, the nominees are 30 Rock, Entourage, The Office, Two and a Half Men, and Ugly Betty.

For a complete list of the nominees, click here.

The 59th Primetime Emmy Awards will air on FOX, Sunday night, September 16th.

We're Just Wild About Harry

If you think people are growing tired of young Harry Potter, you’d be wrong.

The latest theatrical adventure, Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix, smashed box office records for a Wednesday opening, as it conjured up an impressive $44.8 million on its first day of release. That beats the old record of $40.4 million, set back in 2005 by Spider-Man 2.

While the movie version of the fifth book brings in the cash, Potter-mania will reach its peak next Saturday, the 21st, when the final book in the series – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – is released worldwide.

Us Muggles can hardly wait!

Spielberg Speaks

It’s rare that DVD Empire comes out and recommends a television show (after all, we are in the home video business), but tonight Turner Classic Movies is airing a documentary we fully support setting the DVDs aside to watch.

It’s Spielberg On Spielberg, a first-person look by Steven Spielberg himself on his career and the films he has made. From his early days with the made-for-TV Duel and the blockbuster Jaws, to his more recent work like Munich (and perhaps even a few words about Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods), Spielberg covers it all...or as much as he can in this program’s seemingly all-too-short 90-minute run time.

DVD fans are all too aware that Steven never does audio commentary tracks for his releases, so Spielberg On Spielberg is the rare treat – an opportunity to hear the world’s greatest director talk about his work.

So butter up some popcorn, sit back and enjoy!