Celebrity

James Sikking, Star Of ‘Hill Street Blues’ And ‘Doogie Howser, MD,’ Dies At 90

Published

1 month ago

2024-07-15

James Sikking | Hollywood Reporter Image

James Sikking, who played a harsh police officer on “Hill Street Blues” and the main character’s kindhearted father on “Doogie Howser, M.D.,” died at 90.

Sikking died of dementia complications, according to his spokeswoman, Cynthia Snyder, who released a statement Sunday evening.

Born the youngest of five children in Los Angeles on March 5, 1934, his early acting career included an uncredited performance in Roger Corman’s “Five Guns West” and a cameo appearance in an episode of “Perry Mason.” He also appeared in a slew of iconic 1970s television shows, including the action-packed “Mission: Impossible,” “M.A.S.H.,” “The F.B.I.,” “The Rockford Files,” “Hawaii Five-O,” and “Charlie’s Angels,” as well as “Eight is Enough” and “Little House on the Prairie.”

James Sikking, Star Of ‘Hill Street Blues’ And ‘Doogie Howser, MD,’ Dies At 90

In 1981, “Hill Street Blues” made its premiere as a novel spin on the classic police procedural. Sikking played Lieutenant Howard Hunter, a clean-cut Vietnam War veteran who led the Metropolitan Police Department’s Emergency Action Team in an unnamed city.

The famous show was a drama, but Sikking’s strict personality and eccentricities were frequently employed to hilarious effect. Sikking modeled his performance after a drill instructor he had at basic training when military service interrupted his studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, from which he graduated in 1959.

“The drill instructor looked like he had steel for hair, and his uniform had so much starch in it, you knew it would sit in the corner when he took it off in the barracks,” he told The Fresno Bee in 2014, as part of a series of interviews honoring the debut of the box set.

When it debuted on the heels of a Hollywood dual strike, the NBC show had dismal ratings and little attention. However, the struggling network kept it on the air. “Up popped this word ‘demographic,'” Sikking told the Star Tribune in 2014. “We were reaching out to folks with a specific education and income level. “They called it the ‘Esquire audience.'”

The show continued until 1987. However, it was unclear whether Sikking would make it that far. A December 1983 episode concluded with his character considering death. The cliffhanger prompted comparisons to the “Who shot J.R.?” mystery from “Dallas” not long ago — but it was immediately answered when TV supplements unintentionally printed a teaser description revealing Hunter’s survival.

“I remember when Howard attempted suicide. My brother called and inquired, ‘You still got a job?’ “I said, ‘Yeah,’ and he said, ‘Oh good,’ before hanging up,” Sikking told The Fresno Bee.

Sikking received an Emmy nomination for outstanding supporting actor in a drama in 1984. The style and format of “Hill Street Blues” were unfamiliar to Sikking and many in the audience, from the dirty look of the set to the various storylines that frequently kept performers working in the background even when they didn’t have lines in the scene.

“It was a lot of hard work, but everyone enjoyed it, and it shows. When you have people participating in the production, manufacturing, or whatever you want to call it, who are truly into it and enjoy doing it, you’re going to get a wonderful product,” he told Parade.com back in 2014. “We always had three different stories running through (each episode), which means you had to listen and you had to pay attention because everything was important.”

Aside from “Hill Street Blues,” Sikking portrayed Captain Styles in 1984’s “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.” He wasn’t excited about the position but was enticed by the prospect of spending only one day on set.

“It was not my cup of tea.” I was not interested in the outer space business. Back then, I had an arrogant attitude. I wanted to perform in a real theater. I wanted to develop real shows, not ones based on people’s imaginations of what outer space might be like,” Sikking told startrek.com in 2014. “So I had a silly prejudice against it, which is bizarre because I’ve probably and happily signed more this, that or the other thing of ‘Star Trek’ than I have anything of all the other work I’ve done.”

Following the conclusion of “Hill Street Blues,” he appeared in approximately 100 episodes of “Dougie Howser, M.D.,” reuniting with Steven Bochco, who co-created both “Hill Street Blues” and the sitcom starring Neil Patrick Harris.

He married Florine Caplan, and they had two children and four grandkids.

James Sikking, Star Of ‘Hill Street Blues’ And ‘Doogie Howser, MD,’ Dies At 90

Sikking had all but retired when the “Hill Street Blues” box set was released. He had fewer but notable parts after the millennium, guest-starring on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and appearing in the rom-com films “Fever Pitch” and “Made of Honor.” His final appearances were as a guest star on a 2012 episode of “The Closer” and in the film “Just an American.”

Sikking continued to host charitable activities. He frequently participated in celebrity golf tournaments and once attended the ribbon-cutting for a health center in an Iowa hamlet of only 7,200 inhabitants. “Actually, I came to get something from you—air I can’t see,” Sikking told the 100-person crowd. “Where we come from, if it isn’t brown, we don’t know how to breathe it,” The Associated Press reported in 1982.

“I’d probably do anything if it got me motivated. Acting is a license to conduct one’s investigation. “Being an actor is a great ego trip,” he told startrek.com in 2014. “I must say that, in the past few years in which I haven’t worked, the obscurity has been quite attractive.”

“The condiment of my life is good fortune,” he concluded.

SOURCE – (AP)

Celebrity

Andrew Tate Placed Under House Arrest As New Human Trafficking Allegations Emerge Involving Minors

Published

16 hours ago

2024-08-23

Kiara Grace

Andrew Tate Human Trafficking Trial to Proceed in Romania

BUCHAREST, Romania — A court in Romania’s capital on Thursday placed polarising online influencer Andrew Tate under house arrest for 30 days as prosecutors investigate a broad new case involving claims of human trafficking and sex with a minor.

The Bucharest Tribunal’s judgment came a day after prosecutors detained six persons, including Tate, 37, and his brother Tristan Tate, 36, during masked police raids on four homes in Bucharest and surrounding Ilfov county. Prosecutors urged the court to put the brothers in jail for 30 days. Tristan has been placed under judicial supervision, which usually entails geographical limits and occasional reporting to the police.

Mateea Petrescu, the brothers’ spokesperson, responded to the decision by saying the judge denied prosecutors’ request due to the brothers’ “exemplary behaviour” while previously under preventative arrest in a separate case. The brothers firmly deny all of the allegations against them and “remain steadfast in proving their innocence.”

Andrew Tate Placed Under House Arrest As New Human Trafficking Allegations Emerge Involving Minors

The Tate brothers, both former kickboxers and dual British-American nationals, are currently awaiting trial in Romania in a separate human trafficking case alongside two Romanian women. Last year, Romanian prosecutors formally accused all four.

In the current case, Romania’s anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, announced that it is looking into charges of human trafficking, including minor trafficking, sexual intercourse with a minor, formation of an organized criminal gang, money laundering, and influencing statements. The alleged crimes occurred between 2014 and 2024.

DIICOT stated that the defendants utilized the coercive “loverboy” tactic to abuse 34 vulnerable victims who were compelled to make pornographic materials for a charge online and that the defendants took more than $2.8 million (2.5 million euros) of the proceeds.

DIICOT alleges that an unnamed foreign guy sexually exploited a 17-year-old foreigner and pocketed the $1.5 million (1.3 million euros) earned from the illicit activities. The same male “repeatedly had sexual relations and acts” with a 15-year-old, the agency said.

Outside the court, after the judge imposed his home arrest order, Andrew informed reporters that many of the claimed victims in the current case have testified in the Tate brothers’ defense. “This is a set-up, it’s absolutely disgusting, fair play to that judge who saw through the bullshit and let us free,” he went on.

Andrew, who has 9.9 million followers on the social networking site X, is well-known for voicing misogynistic views online. He has frequently stated that authorities have no evidence against him and that there is a political conspiracy to suppress him. He has already been banned from several social media platforms due to his misogynistic ideas and hate speech.

“During the entire criminal process, the investigated persons benefit from the procedural rights and guarantees provided by the Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as the presumption of innocence,” according to DIICOT.

During Wednesday’s police operations, which included searching the Tate brothers’ vast property near Bucharest, investigators seized 16 luxury vehicles, a motorbike, laptops, thousands of euros in cash, fancy watches and data storage devices.

The latest case against the Tate family adds to their long list of legal difficulties.

Andrew Tate Placed Under House Arrest As New Human Trafficking Allegations Emerge Involving Minors

Following their arrest in December 2022, the Tate brothers were kept in police custody for three months before being sent to home arrest. They were then restricted to Bucharest municipality, the neighboring Ilfov county, and then to Romania.

In April, the Bucharest Tribunal determined that the prosecutors’ case file against them met the legal conditions and that a trial could commence, but no date was established.

Last month, a court overruled an earlier ruling that permitted the Tate brothers to leave Romania while awaiting trial. The previous court ruled on July 5 that they might leave the country if they remained part of the 27-member European Union. The decision was finalized.

In March, the Tate brothers appeared in a separate case at the Bucharest Court of Appeal after British authorities filed arrest warrants for claims of sexual violence in a 2012-2015 case in the United Kingdom. The appeals court granted the British request to extradite the Tates to the United Kingdom, but only after the legal proceedings in Romania were completed.

SOURCE | AP

Celebrity

Richard Simmons’ Cause Of Death Revealed

Published

2 days ago

2024-08-22

Kiara Grace

Richard Simmons’ brother has revealed the late fitness guru’s cause of death.

“Richard died accidentally as a result of consequences from recent falls, with heart disease also playing a role. Except for the prescription Richard was prescribed, the toxicology report was negative,” Simmons’ agent, Thomas Estey, told People, citing news Simmons’ brother got from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.

simmons

Richard Simmons’ Cause Of Death Revealed

When contacted by CNN, Estey referenced his remark to People.

“The Family wishes to thank everyone for their outpouring of love and support during this time of great loss,” according to his statement.

The full coroner’s report is not yet publicly available.

Richard, a prominent fitness figure and TV staple from the 1980s, died early Saturday morning, July 13. He celebrated his 76th birthday the day before. “We lost an Angel today–a true Angel,” Estey told CNN at the time.

Shortly after his death, claims circulated that Richard had fallen in his bathtub the night of his birthday but refused medical assistance at the request of his maid. He was discovered lifeless next to his bed the next morning.

His brother, Lenny Simmons, also paid tribute in a statement released to CNN last month.

Richard Simmons’ Cause Of Death Revealed

“I don’t want people to be sad for my brother. “I want people to remember him for the genuine joy and love he brought into their lives,” Lenny Simmons wrote. “He really cared about others. He called, wrote, and emailed hundreds of people over his career to assist. So do not be sad. “Celebrate his life.

He further stated that his brother was “very excited about all of the upcoming ventures he was working on.”

SOURCE | CNN

Celebrity

Andrew Tate under house Arrest in Romania after New Charges Surface

Published

2 days ago

2024-08-22

Salman Ahmad

Andrew Tate under house Arrest in Romania after New Charges Surface

A Romanian judge has placed controversial internet personality Andrew Tate under house arrest as prosecutors investigate fresh and serious claims, including sex with a minor and trafficking in underage individuals.

He and his brother, Tristan, appeared in court on Thursday afternoon. Tristan Tate was placed under special judicial supervision.

Prosecutors urged the judge to remand the brothers in custody for 30 days while they conducted a new investigation involving 35 alleged victims, including a 15-year-old lady.

DIICOT, Romania’s anti-organised crime agency, stated in a statement that six people had been held in total, including Romanians and foreigners.

Andrew Tate issued a scathing statement to the reporters outside, describing the case against him as a “stitch-up” and a fabrication.

“It’s a setup. It’s totally horrible. Thirty of those girls claim we did nothing wrong. Two are our children’s moms, and two have never been to Romania,” he explained.

When questioned repeatedly by the BBC about claims of sex with a 15-year-old girl and trafficking underage people, he walked away and refused to comment.

The Tate brothers had already been accused with human trafficking, with Andrew Tate also facing rape allegations, and are awaiting trial. They were released from house imprisonment a year ago and ordered not to leave Romania.

They have consistently denied any misconduct and the official charges they face.

These are new and different allegations.

According to the anti-organised crime agency, the accused groomed “vulnerable” persons before housing them in various locations and forcing them to generate pornographic content for online broadcast.

One of the foreign guys is accused of coercing a 17-year-old foreign citizen into “perform sexual acts” in order to produce internet video content. He is alleged to have kept the entire $1.5 million (£1.1 million) profit. The statement does not name him.

The same man is accused of having multiple sexual encounters with a girl who was 15 years old when they met.

After many hours of interrogation at the DIICOT headquarters, Andrew Tate told the BBC on Wednesday night that the latest claims were “pathetic” and that prosecutors were “desperate”. He stated that they had “made up a lot”.

He also claimed that he was accused of “lover-boying” the mother of his children, a practice employed by crooks to prey on victims’ vulnerabilities and then exploit them.

Andrew Tate, a renowned misogynist with a large internet following, has described the case against him on Twitter/X as a mainstream “conspiracy” to silence him.

In the new statement, prosecutors accuse the brothers of purchasing four luxury cars and registering them in the names of others in order to conceal the proceeds of what they describe as illegal behaviour.

It is claimed that the defendants earned around $2.8 million through sexual exploitation.

The detainees are also accused of attempting to intimidate the victims and witnesses.

During a 10-hour investigation of four residences on Wednesday, authorities recovered cash and other goods such as designer watches, laptop computers, hard drives, and papers. They also impounded 16 luxury vehicles.

The Andrew Tate, along with four Romanian citizens, were arrested late Wednesday night after being questioned.

To hold them for more than 24 hours, prosecutors had to bring them before a judge, and the brothers appeared in court hours later.

Source: BBC