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    Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Theo Huxtable on ‘The Cosby Show,’ Dead at 54 After Drowning

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    Mr. Warner, who played the only son of Bill Cosby’s character on the beloved 1980s sitcom, drowned in Costa Rica.Malcolm-Jamal Warner, the actor who rose to fame as a teenager playing Theo Huxtable on “The Cosby Show” in the mid-1980s, died in Costa Rica on Sunday. He was 54.Mr. Warner apparently drowned while swimming at a beach on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica near Limón, according to the country’s Judicial Investigation Department. The authorities said in a statement that Mr. Warner had apparently been swept away by a strong current, and that bystanders had tried to rescue him. The area is popular with surfers.“The Cosby Show,” which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1992, was a must-see-TV cultural touchstone whose final episode was covered as front-page news in The New York Times. That article began: “Theo Huxtable graduated from N.Y.U. yesterday, albeit on videotape, and like a lot of graduations it was a bittersweet occasion.”Mr. Warner, who was 21 at the time, had played the role of the Huxtables’ middle child and only son since he was 13. The show’s portrayal of an upper-middle-class Black family — Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad played a doctor and a lawyer raising children in a Brooklyn townhouse — was celebrated as an overdue corrective against harmful stereotypes on television.“It’s sad, in a way,” Mr. Warner said when its run ended. “Our extended family is breaking up. And I can be nostalgic to an extent. But the show for me has always been a steppingstone in my career. It’s too early in my career to be nostalgic.”Mr. Warner, left, as Theo Huxtable on a 1987 episode of “The Cosby Show.”NBCUniversal, via Getty ImagesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Television

      Kenneth Colley, 87, ‘Star Wars’ Actor With a Commanding Presence, Dies

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      A fixture onscreen and onstage, he became a fan favorite as Darth Vader’s ally, Admiral Piett, in “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi.”Kenneth Colley, the British character actor whose stone-cold portrayal of Adm. Firmus Piett, Darth Vader’s trusted officer, in the Star Wars film “The Empire Strikes Back” turned him into a fan favorite and earned him a call back for “Return of the Jedi,” died on June 30 in Ashford, England. He was 87.His agent, Julian Owen, said in a statement that he died in a hospital from complications of pneumonia after contracting Covid-19.Mr. Colley became a memorable screen presence for international audiences who could recognize his dour, stony face even if they didn’t know his name. A versatile supporting actor, he was often tapped to play stern detectives, military men and, on multiple occasions, Adolf Hitler, and had been active for nearly two decades onstage and onscreen before his appearance in “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980).In a 2014 interview, he recalled that when he walked into an office to meet Irvin Kershner, the director of “The Empire Strikes Back,” Mr. Kershner told him he was looking for “someone that would frighten Adolf Hitler.” Mr. Colley, with his gaunt face and steely eyes, fit the bill. Admiral Piett is appointed top commander of the Imperial fleet after his superior is killed by Darth Vader (whose physical presence is played by David Prowse) for his poor judgment. Mr. Colley often said that he saw Admiral Piett as a shrewd operator who followed orders for the sake of survival in Darth Vader’s world. In his interpretation of the character, he reinforced the severity and tension felt in the camp as the Rebel alliance evades capture.The film grossed more than $200 million in its original release, according to the site Box Office Mojo, with Admiral Piett emerging as an unexpected crowd pleaser.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Television

      Sandra Oh Knows What’s Great About Middle Age

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      During the Los Angeles fires in January, the actor Sandra Oh, like many of her neighbors, had to make a decision: What would she pack in her car if she had to evacuate? Her first thoughts were about her journals. “There’s a lot of them,” she told me when we spoke last month onstage at the Tribeca Festival, “and I thought: I can’t take them all! Do I take the first ones? Do I take the past 10 years? It just makes you think, What are the things that are very, very important to you?”Oh has kept diaries since she was a young girl growing up as the daughter of Korean immigrants in Canada. She wrote about her big feelings as a little kid, the discrimination she faced when she landed in Hollywood in her early 20s, the ups and downs of her 10 years playing Dr. Cristina Yang on “Grey’s Anatomy” and her thoughts around her more recent roles, like the intelligence agent Eve Polastri in “Killing Eve.” The diaries, she once wrote, are a place where she is “putting together all the clues of my life.”That life has been a trailblazing one. None of the characters Oh is most famous for were originally written for an Asian actor, including her upcoming stint as Olivia in Shakespeare in the Park’s “Twelfth Night, ” which opens in August in New York City. Now in her 50s, she is reflecting on what it took to get where she is and how she’s still growing in this “ rich middle” of her life.It is rare to be able to see a person processing the events in her life even as they are still happening. So it was wonderful when, onstage at Tribeca, Oh read from her diaries for the first time publicly. Then we spoke again, this time not in front of an audience.Listen to the Conversation With Sandra OhThe actress discusses discrimination in Hollywood, what she’s learned about herself in her 50s and her iconic role on “Grey’s Anatomy.”Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | iHeart | NYT Audio AppWe’re going to be reading from some of your journals. I want to start with an excerpt from a momentous day in your career: your last day on “Grey’s Anatomy,” which you were on for 10 seasons. Ten seasons. It was amazing.April 25th, 2014. Yesterday was my very last day of work on Grey’s Anatomy. It was joyous. I waited for my call time. I felt excited and jumpy to get to work. I had my hug from Laura and my first-last makeup from Norm. Desiree and I danced to Michael Jackson in the trailer. It was fun. I passed everything out and wrote some more cards. Grabbed a lousy lunch at the screening. Took lots of pictures. Lots of hugs. Then after lunch they surprised me with the ceremony-thingy for me. Tony and Joan — cake sheet and cider. Very lousy and cheap and wonderful.I’m interested in you saying that it was joyous. This was the end of the biggest thing in your career. Why were you so happy? I’m still figuring out what that decade of my life was. Not everyone gets to know that they’re leaving a show. I was in a very, very fortuitous position, and I took advantage of it fully, meaning that I wanted to leave well. And I think that for me, one of the proudest things that I have in my life is how I left the show. I was as conscious as possible with all the crew members and actually even with the public. It was basically to help people say goodbye as I was saying goodbye. More

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      Taye Diggs Can’t Resist a Good Rom-Com

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      “There is the element of love, which can be so serious and so complicated, but when you add the dynamic of humor, it makes it so much more real and exciting and fun to watch.”Taye Diggs got his big break when he played the landlord Benny in the original Broadway cast of “Rent,” back in 1996, and he credits the stage for creating, as he put it, “who I am and why I am who I am.” Problem is, live performance had been taking a back seat in his life.“Once one is lucky enough to cross over to film and TV, it’s easy to get kind of stuck and become an audience member when it comes to theater, and then fear starts to set in,” Diggs said. “I found myself in the audience wondering how these actors onstage memorized all their lines. That’s when I started to get scared.”Not scared enough to turn down the opportunity to step into “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” though — Diggs is currently in rehearsals for the show, in which he’ll play the scheming, wealthy Duke of Monroth starting Tuesday and through Sept. 28.Diggs’s presence on New York stages has been sporadic in the decades since “Rent.” One reason is that he has been living in Los Angeles; the other is why he’s in California.His screen career took off a couple of years after “Rent,” when he helped Angela Bassett track down her mojo in his film debut, “How Stella Got Her Groove Back.” This led to lead roles in the beloved rom-coms “Brown Sugar” and “The Best Man.” Diggs has also been a steady presence on television, with lengthy runs on “Private Practice” and “All American.”But now he’s putting his summer to good use by returning to Broadway, his first appearance there since a stint in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” in 2015. It helped that he’s a fan of “Moulin Rouge,” having seen the show, he said, about 10 times. And the Duke is a juicy character.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Theater

      ‘A Chorus Line’ and ‘Chicago’ at 50: Who Won?

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      Just two musicals open on Broadway during the summer of 1975. “Chicago,” in June, is received warily, like a stranger at the door. It’s “a very sleek show,” writes Walter Kerr in The New York Times. “It just seems to be the wrong one.” But “A Chorus Line,” in July, elicits unthrottled raves. “The conservative word” for it, writes Kerr’s colleague Clive Barnes, “might be tremendous, or perhaps terrific.”Yet the musicals have more in common than their initial reception reveals. Both shows are about performers: “Chicago” featuring 1920s vaudevillians with a sideline in murder; “A Chorus Line,” contemporary Broadway dancers. Both are masterminded by director-choreographers of acknowledged (and self-acknowledged) brilliance: “Chicago” by Bob Fosse; “A Chorus Line” by Michael Bennett. Both are seen, regardless of reviews, as exemplars of style-meets-content storytelling in a period of confusing change in musical theater. And both shows remain touchstones today, albeit of very different things.Donna McKechnie (center, in red) and the cast of the original Broadway production of “A Chorus Line.”Indeed, their differences now seem more salient than their similarities, and fate has been funny with their reputations. For 50 years, “A Chorus Line” and “Chicago” have tussled for primacy like Jacob and Esau, at least in the eyes and ears of Broadway fans. Which show is “the wrong one” now?To answer that, you might look uncharitably at their faults. “A Chorus Line” is shaggy and gooped up with psychobabble. “Chicago” is mechanical, a big hammer pounding one nail. But both are so well crafted for performance that those faults fade in any good production. For me, having seen each many times, the highlights are more telling.Jerry Orbach and the cast of the 1977-78 national tour of “Chicago.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Movies

      Christopher Reeve to David Corenswet: The Actors Who Played Superman

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      Kal-El, Man of Steel, Last Son of Krypton: Superman has many names, and also many faces when it comes to live-action takes on the hero. With the release of “Superman,” David Corenswet joins the society of actors who have played arguably the most famous of all superheroes. But Superman, more so than a lot of his superpowered peers, often serves more as a symbol than a fully drawn character. Below is a rundown of some of the most prominent depictions of Superman in the last few decades and what these actors brought to their embodiments of the Man of Tomorrow.Superman I-IV (1978-87)The ArchetypeChristopher Reeve set the standard for Superman onscreen with his portrayal in the movie series from 1978-87.Alamy/Warner Bros., via HBOChristopher Reeve set the standard for a live-action Superman, creating a pop culture phenomenon on the big screen. Now the trend for those taking on the role is to find new angles on the hero, to modernize or subvert the character. Much of that can be attributed to Reeve’s portrayal, which was that of a quintessential comic book savior.His Superman is confident, upstanding and authoritative, and between his powers and his unimpeachable sense of justice, he’s downright unstoppable — as when he reverses the Earth’s rotation to go back in time to save a life. Whether he’s posed with his arms crossed in judgment of a foe or standing fists on waist and arms akimbo at the end of a battle, there’s a machismo power in his bearing. And his disarming smile and self-assured voice, which occasionally offers calm but firm scoldings to wrongdoers, paint him as a hero of the people. These early Superman movies were less about developing the character and more about reinforcing fans’ love for the original figure.Lois & Clark:The New Adventures of Superman (1993-97)Rom-Com SupermanDean Cain brought an aw-shucks quality to the character.Lorimer Productions, via Everett CollectionWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Television

      Emmy Nominees 2025: See the Complete List

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      The 77th Emmy Awards ceremony is planned for Sept. 14. See all the nominees below.Nominees for the 2025 Emmy Awards were announced by Harvey Guillén (“What We Do in the Shadows”) and Brenda Song (“Running Point”) on Tuesday morning.In the drama categories, “The White Lotus,” “Severance” and “The Last of Us” picked up the most nominations — with “Severance” earning 27, the most of any show this year.In the comedy categories, “The Studio,” “Hacks” and “The Bear” came out on top. For limited series, “The Penguin” got 24 nominations and “Adolescence” earned 13.The Emmys ceremony will take place on Sept. 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. It will be broadcast on CBS and streamed on Paramount+.Here is the full list of nominees.Best Drama“Andor” (Disney+)Read our critic’s notebook“The Diplomat” (Netflix)Read our reviewWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Television

      ‘The Studio’ Ties Emmys Record for Most Comedy Nominations in a Season

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      Past winners like “Hacks” and “The Bear” lost some ground this year, making Apple TV+’s Hollywood satire starring Seth Rogen the one to beat.Season 1 of Apple TV+’s star-studded Hollywood satire “The Studio,” starring Seth Rogen as the beleaguered head of a fictional movie studio, became the comedy to beat on Tuesday for the 77th Emmy Awards, receiving 23 nominations.The nominations tie it with Season 2 of “The Bear” for the most-nominated season of a comedy series ever heading into the final voting round, which begins on Aug. 18. The award ceremony is scheduled for Sept. 14.Created by Rogen with his longtime creative partner, Evan Goldberg (along with Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory and Frida Perez), “The Studio” seemed, in many ways, perfectly engineered to succeed. For a comedy, it is exceptionally ambitious and well made — beautifully shot and elaborately choreographed, with most scenes filmed as extended single takes, or “oners” in the insider parlance of the show.The show is also, as befits a series from the comedians behind “Superbad,” “Pineapple Express” and “Sausage Party,” very funny, taking aim at the pettiness of executive strivers, the boundless self-regard of celebrities and the industry threats posed by Big Tech and Wall Street. Rogen’s character must fight to preserve his artistic integrity amid the often humiliating demands of his corporate overlords.“It knows its business well enough to be blisteringly entertaining,” The New York Times’s chief TV critic, James Poniewozik, wrote in his review of the series in March, adding: “When ‘The Studio’ is funny, it is funnier than most anything on TV now.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘Severance’ and ‘The White Lotus’ Dominate the Emmy Acting Nominations

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      The buzzy series are the early favorites in the drama category.TV buzz doesn’t always translate into Emmy nominations. But it did this year for “Severance” and “The White Lotus,” which have amassed rabid fandoms that gather online and in real life to dissect and celebrate the dramas.The second season of “Severance,” the mind-bending sci-fi workplace thriller on Apple TV+, earned 27 nominations on Tuesday morning, the most of any show this year. Nine of those went to its cast, including Adam Scott and Britt Lower for best lead actor and actress in a drama.Supporting nods went to Patricia Arquette, Zach Cherry, Tramell Tillman and John Turturro. Guest acting nominations went to Jane Alexander, Gwendoline Christie and Merritt Wever.Season 3 of “The White Lotus,” the darkly comic HBO drama that skewers self-absorbed luxury travelers, earned 23 nominations, including eight for its cast, which is mostly refreshed with each new season. This year, Carrie Coon, Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Parker Posey, Sam Rockwell, Natasha Rothwell and Aimee Lou Wood received supporting acting nominations. Scott Glenn was nominated for best guest actor in a drama.“Severance” and “The White Lotus” were both nominated for best drama. The other contenders are: “Andor,” “The Diplomat,” “The Last of Us,” “Paradise,” “The Pitt” and “Slow Horses.”Originally considered a limited series, “The White Lotus” cleaned up in that category at the 2022 Emmys, winning 10 awards, more than any other show, including best limited series. The show moved to the drama category for its second season.“Severance” and “The White Lotus” were not eligible for Emmys in 2024, and in previous years, they were mostly thwarted in the drama category by the former juggernaut “Succession.” With that series over and last year’s record-breaking drama “Shogun” out of contention this time around, there’s a good chance “Severance” and “The White Lotus” will be duking it out for the night’s biggest haul.The 77th Primetime Emmy Awards will be held on Sept. 14 in Los Angeles. CBS will broadcast the ceremony. More