Comedic actor and chef Dom DeLuise, born Dominick DeLuise in New York on August 1, 1933, passed away in his sleep on Monday evening, May 4. Hospitalized in Los Angeles, California, the 75-year-old apparently succumbed to complications from kidney failure and/or respiratory problems he had suffered from for a long time.

In addition to writing two cookbooks — Eat This - It Will Make You Feel Better! in 1988 and Eat This Too! It’ll Also Make You Feel Good in 1997 — the popular character actor with a quirky sense of humor was well-known for his work in films. Some of his more high-profile roles were in several Mel Brooks movies, such as 1974’s Blazing Saddles, and in flicks starring Burt Reynolds, such as 1981’s The Cannonball Run.

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Celebrated actress Bea Arthur, born Bernice Frankel, a star of both television and stage, passed away from cancer early in the morning on Saturday, April 25, at her Los Angeles home. She was just weeks away from her 87th birthday on May 13.

The tall thespian known for her distinctive deep voice played two pivotal characters on long-running television comedies, for which she received two Best Actress Emmys and nine Emmy nominations, in addition to the two nods for Best Guest Comedy Actress for an episode of Malcolm in the Middle and Best Supporting Variety Actress for Laugh-In.

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It’s shaping up to be a stellar week for the AMC dramedy Breaking Bad.

Not only was the Emmy-winning Bryan Cranston-led series honored with a prestigious George Foster Peabody Award yesterday, but not too long after that announcement, its home network announced the show has been renewed for a third season projected to begin in 2010. The second piece of good news comes just four episodes into the show’s sophomore run.

Said AMC executive Joel Stillerma: “Breaking Bad is one of the most unique and layered dramas on television today. The Peabody win, the critical acclaim and strong audience growth for the second season reinforce that this is the kind of exceptional original storytelling AMC intends to deliver to audiences.”

Woot! Both awards couldn’t have happened to a better and more entertaining basic-cable program. Glad to see so many viewers are giving the series the love it’s due.

Breaking Bad airs Sundays on AMC at 10pm EST.

30 Rock! 30 Rock! 30 Rock!

Honestly — if you haven’t yet heard, Tina Fey’s masterful NBC sitcom 30 Rock is on an awards-show roll, and January 25th’s 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards was no different than all of the other ceremonies in recent memory.

The NBC sitcom positively swept the comedy television awards in all three categories: Best Actress, Best Actor, and Best Series. I don’t even have to specify the names of the first two winners because savvy viewers already know.

The biggest loser among the nominees? Ugly Betty, which dropped out of two categories all together. Last year, Vanessa Williams was up for Best Comedy Actress, alongside her co-star America Ferrera, and the series was also nominated for Best Comedy Series then.

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I’ve got bad news here, Kath & Kim fans. Just like the equally awful — no offense intended — NBC drama Knight Rider before it, the NBC sitcom Kath & Kim has suffered a sheering of sorts at the hands of network programming executives.

In the midst of all the Television Critics Association press tour madness last week, the Futon Critic learned that instead of making good on its 22-episode, full-season order for the Australian import back in November, NBC intends to decrease the comedy’s freshman season to just 17 episodes instead.

The reason is presumably the usual suspect, of course: unimpressive ratings, especially among those highly coveted adults aged 18 to 49. Consequently, as already posted, when the comedy ends its run, Amy Poehler’s new series will take over Kath & Kim’s post-My Name Is Earl time slot.

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This news truly sucks.

E! Online’s Kristin and tons of other TV industry insiders in the know all report pretty much the same dismal development: ABC is holding off on airing the final episodes of canceled gems Dirty Sexy Money, Eli Stone, and Pushing Daisies until the summer.

For those of us who remember the vastly boring wasteland the summer TV season used to be before basic cable swooped in and made it a legitimate occasion for new stuff, waiting isn’t such a big deal. But, for fans who wanted closure as soon as possible, it’s a whole ‘nother story I’m sure.

The reason for the delay is very simple, of course. Chalk it up to money, meaning ratings too low to have a large enough positive impact on the network’s bottom line. As Kristin points out, the shows that replaced the three series in their former time slots, including repeats of other series, have been bringing in much more Nielsen bacon — often twice as much or more.

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Last night, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association sponsored the television broadcast of the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards, and the comedy television winners follow.

Unsurprisingly, 30 Rock made good on its name and rocked the competition with a total of three wins in the usual categories of Best Comedy, Best Lead Actress (Tina Fey), and Best Lead Actor (Alec Baldwin). I think from now on I’ll reserve my surprise for when those three don’t come up victors when they’re nominated.

NOTE: Comedy TV winners are at the top in bold.

Best Television Series: Comedy or Musical

• 30 Rock (NBC)
• Californication (Showtime)
• Entourage (HBO)
• The Office (NBC)
• Weeds (Showtime)

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I laughed quite a bit while watching “Meet Brown Meadows,” the series premiere of Tyler Perry’s latest TBS sitcom Meet the Browns, and somewhat less during the follow-up episode “Meet London and the Competition.” I won’t deny that much of the plotting on both was predictable and not sophisticated in the sense of, say, 30 Rock or The Big Bang Theory. But, the show definitely seems to be a fun way to pass a half-hour or two … so far (more on the quantifier soon).

During the premiere episode “Meet Brown Meadows,” we find central character Leroy Brown preparing to transform his house into a retirement home called Brown Meadows, per his deceased father’s last wish. Brown’s renovation plans, which he’s dangerously carrying out himself, are interrupted, however, when a fire strikes another already established retirement home down the street.

Social worker Carmen Martinez drops by Brown’s home with news of the tragedy and quickly convinces the irritable but kindhearted owner to open his doors for “one or two” — but actually more like a dozen — of the displaced residents. Unfortunately, Robin Robinson, the snotty owner of the other residence, is none too pleased to learn she has a budding business rival nearby, so she immediately calls an inspector to sabotage Brown’s goal.

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As loyal Scrubs fans already know, last night the show made its eighth-season debut on its new home network ABC with the back-to-back episodes “My Jerks” and “My Last Words.”

On the first episode, the Sacred Heart gang meets new Chief of Medicine Dr. Taylor Maddox, played by competent Courteney Cox (sorry, all of you prepared to rag on her performance), who initially comes across as a sickeningly sunny and upbeat boss.

Never fear, though, because as the second episode makes clear, she has more than a few issues to help her fit in with the already quite quirky staff. A prime example is her tendency to care more about patients’ ability to pay up than the hospital’s ability to treat everyone who comes through the doors. Even The Janitor doesn’t phase her when he refuses to reveal his name (“The Janitor” reads his clip-on ID tag, ever so helpfully).

“My Jerks” also introduces us to Sacred Heart’s newest crop of extremely inept but memorable interns, including Aziz Ansari’s Ed, the one who has the power to instantly coin new phrases and convince everyone to follow along, and my personal favorite, Eliza Coupe’s super bitchy Denise, whose ultra negative, overly honest attitude and observations make it a teensy bit difficult for her to relate to patients … and most other human beings.

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Is anyone surprised to learn that a recent survey of movie theater owners and film buyers revealed the “Duh!” news that super-talented Will Smith is the top moneymaking movie star of 2008? I mean, c’mon — tell me something I couldn’t figure out while asleep!

In 2008 alone, the former Fresh Prince of both Bel-Air and lollipop hip-hop starred in two big-deal flicks: the reluctant superhero saga Hancock and the touching let’s-feel-good drama Seven Pounds.

The recently announced achievement makes Smith just the second black actor to rank first in the Quigley Publishing Co. poll, which — in case, like me, you’ve never even heard of it before, at least by name — has been around for an impressive 76 years. As a result, Smith follows in the venerable footsteps of legendary Sidney Poitier, who claimed the honor in 1968, forty years ago.

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