Entertainment
‘Little House on the Prairie’s Brutal 2-Part Episode Completely Rewrites the Series
When you think of Little House on the Prairie, your mind probably goes to the opening sequence where the Ingalls girls run down the grassy hill chasing their dog, Jack. It’s the kind of cozy, all-American nostalgia Netflix is betting on, too, since its upcoming adaptation has already been renewed for Season 2 ahead of its Season 1 premiere on July 9. But well before that new version arrives, it’s worth remembering that not every episode of Little House on the Prairie is particularly uplifting.
Some feature harsh and unthinkable moments that can make the blood boil and the heart sink. One such episode comes from the series’ sixth season, a two-parter titled “May We Make Them Proud.” Longtime fans might recognize this one immediately, but for the uninitiated, prepare for the show’s most horrific deaths — and it’s not even close.
“May We Make Them Proud” Offers the Most Horrific Deaths in the Series
What starts as a heartwarming episode about raising money for the local blind school — run by Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson) and her husband Adam Kendall (Linwood Boomer, yes, the guy who made Malcolm in the Middle) — complete with some fun and lighthearted character moments, quickly turns into the evening from hell. After a full day of raising money and enjoying the company of those around Walnut Grove, Mary, Adam, Hester-Sue (Ketty Lester), and Alice Garvey (Hersha Parady) spend some time relaxing at the dinner table. But unbeknownst to them, earlier that day, Matthew Labyorteaux‘s Albert Ingalls and another local boy had been sneakily smoking a pipe in the basement, and it soon caught fire. It wasn’t long before the blind school began to burn down, and while that’s a tragedy on its own, it’s much worse when Mary realizes she left her baby.
Hoping to save Mary and the baby, Alice Garvey sends Mary outside and heads back in for the child, only to get distracted by saving another. As heroic as her actions were, this resulted in Alice being trapped in an upper room with no escape, as she and the baby were burned alive. Mary, Adam, Hester-Sue, and the children can do nothing but hear her scream. This is one moment where Mary and Adam are likely thankful to be unable to see, though we, the audience, are exposed to some of Alice’s final moments as she tries helplessly to break through the window. The whole thing is incredibly hard to watch and is arguably one of the more gruesome deaths on the show, leaving the outcome up to the imagination. You wouldn’t find this in the real Ingalls story.
This 1 Hour of ‘Little House on the Prairie’ Is the Perfect, Cozy Winter Watch
It doesn’t get more cozy than this Midwestern holiday hour.
Because of the tragedy, Mary is left grief-stricken and for weeks says nothing but sits quietly humming a lullaby to herself. This hits especially hard when we recall that this is now the second baby boy that Mary and Adam have lost. The first was lost via miscarriage in the Season 5 episode, “The Sound of Children,” so this baby’s death is a particular blow to the Kendall family. Though Mary Ingalls didn’t get married or have children in real life, Little House aimed to give her a happier ending, though “May We Make Them Proud, Part 1” rips much of that away from her. For quite some time, Mary can’t even acknowledge that she lost a child, that is, until Albert gifts her a music box that plays the same lullaby, snapping her out of it and revealing that Albert believes himself responsible for the fire.
Despite the Tragedy, This ‘Little House’ Episode Ends With Hope
The first hour of “May We Make Them Proud” is depressing. Aside from Mary’s resulting condition, Jonathan Garvey (Merlin Olsen) takes his grief out on his son, Andy (Patrick Labyorteaux), and actively blames God for the disaster. It seems as if this horror will forever mark the lives of the Kendall and Garvey families. But, thankfully, the two-parter doesn’t end on such a sour note. Thanks to the efforts of Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon), Jonathan and Albert can come to terms with what happened. In fact, the former even exclaims to the latter that the fire was nobody’s fault. Having been forgiven, Albert returns home to his father, just like the prodigal son.
This two-parter touches on the hardships of frontier living and thrives when waxing philosophical about the nature of why bad things happen. Jonathan’s struggle with his faith and ultimately finding it again (which feels akin to episodes like “The Lord Is My Shepherd”) is a powerful motivator for the man in his final batch of episodes. It wouldn’t be long before Jonathan and Andy were written out of the show completely, moving to Sleepy Eye to find new work and start over. Merlin Olsen would go on to lead his own series, Father Murphy, with the help of Michael Landon, though it would only last two seasons. In any case, “May We Make Them Proud” remains a powerful two hours of Little House on the Prairie, forcing our characters to reconcile such tragedy with the true adage that life does indeed go on, even when it’s hard.
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Entertainment
10 Years Ago, This 3-Part Gothic Horror Masterpiece Surprised Fans With an Unexpected Series Finale
With the seeming exception of The Simpsons, no TV series lasts forever. Some end unexpectedly, being cancelled due to low viewership or for no sense whatsoever, often ending on cliffhangers that go forever unresolved, like Mork & Mindy and Quantum Leap. Others are able to end on their own terms, with viewers aware of the series’ finale well ahead of airing, either sticking the landing (M*A*S*H), botching it royally (How I Met Your Mother), or wrapping up divisively (Seinfeld). Rarely do you see a series that ends on its own terms, with viewers being completely unaware that what they’re watching is, in fact, not a season finale but a series finale. In that rarefied air is the three-season horror masterpiece Penny Dreadful, which came to an end at the hands of its creator in 2016.
What Is ‘Penny Dreadful’ About?
Penny Dreadful aired for three seasons on Showtime, first premiering on May 11, 2014. The name is derived from “penny dreadfuls,” cheap 19th-century magazines with stories and illustrations both sensational and gruesome. The lurid magazines were popular in England, and the series borrows heavily from the Gothic fiction of the time. Penny Dreadful could be likened to Once Upon a Time, except instead of beloved fairy tale characters like Snow White and Prince Charming, the show features a who’s-who of characters from 19th century Gothic horror fiction, the likes of which include Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney), Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Shelley’s iconic duo of Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) and his Creature (Rory Kinnear). There’s also Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett), a werewolf, whose real name, Ethan Lawrence Talbot, is a nod to the tortured protagonist of 1941’s The Wolf Man. An entire cast of classic characters, each given new life – sometimes literally – with engaging stories that both honored and challenged their rich history.
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But the series lives and dies by lead character Vanessa Ives, whose tragic arc, played out through a consistently powerful, scene-stealing portrayal from Eva Green, serves as the anchor for Penny Dreadful as a whole. Vanessa is introduced as an enigmatic medium, a woman of deep faith at odds with her own evil nature. Over the course of Penny Dreadful, Vanessa is possessed by the Devil himself, hunted by the evil Evelyn Poole (Helen McCrory) and her coven, and forced to embrace her own past as a witch.
Vanessa finds herself desired by both Lucifer and Dracula, each of whom seeks to use the powerful darkness within her, which she’s been fighting to suppress in spite of the prophecy that heralds her as the “Mother of Evil.” Finally, in Season 3’s “Ebb Tide,” exhausted from the constant battle within and without, Vanessa is coerced by Dracula into embracing who she really is, becoming the very being she was prophesied to be and sending the world into the darkness on the edge of the apocalypse.
‘Penny Dreadful’ Season 3 Ended on a Shocking Note for Fans
However, being the “Mother of Evil” isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be, and it all comes to a head in the Season 3 finale, “The Blessed Dark.” As a battle rages between Dracula and his “children” and Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton) and his allies, Ethan slips away to find Vanessa in Dracula’s lair. It’s a truly heartrending moment for the two star-crossed lovers, as Vanessa, who has come to accept that she will only ever find peace and redemption, and stop the impending end of the world, implores Ethan to kill her; Ethan does so, freeing her to find peace and the faith she once held so strongly, as a final act of love.
The blackness is lifted, and Dracula, sensing her death, flees. Following her funeral, the Creature (Rory Kinnear) kneels, alone, at her grave, reciting a poem. Then a title card that simply reads “The End” comes on screen, bringing completion to the season — and, as it turns out, a completion to the series as a whole. Penny Dreadful, which for three seasons held a consistency of quality with a healthy balance of horror and drama, truly did live and die by Vanessa Ives, as creator/showrunner John Logan explained in a statement that was sent out after the series ending:
“I created Penny Dreadful to tell the story of a woman grappling with her faith, and with the demons inside her. For me, the character of Vanessa Ives is the heart of this series. From the beginning, I imagined her story would unfold over a three-season arc, ending with Vanessa finally – and triumphantly – finding peace as she returns to her faith.”
Despite a number of storylines left unresolved – Dracula’s fate, the abrupt ending of Dr. Jekyll’s (Shazad Latif) arc before ever exploring his alter-ego Lord Hyde, and the underutilization of Catriona Hartdegen (Perdita Weeks) – it’s hard to argue with Logan’s rationale. Many series, including the aforementioned Once Upon a Time, have tried, and failed, to carry on for another season or two after key characters have left, and a season without Vanessa would have been empty, existing only to sate the wishes of those who wanted closure. Masterpieces only remain masterpieces if they conclude before tarnishing their reputation, and Logan did what he needed to do to keep the legacy of Penny Dreadful untarnished, even if it came as a surprise to literally everyone.
Entertainment
Demi Lovato, Keke Palmer Recall Feeling ‘Exploited’ By Older Men
Keke Palmer and Demi Lovato recently recalled feeling “exploited” by older men during a vulnerable conversation. Both Disney stars have opened up about past relationships, and on a new episode of “Baby, This is Keke Palmer,” the iconic actresses said they were more alike than they realized.
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Keke Palmer And Demi Lovato Question Why They Were Dating Older Men As Teenagers
Palmer and Lovato opened up about their child star days and detailed past relationships with older men. “I’m fifteen, why was my boyfriend 20?” Palmer said to which Lovato replied, “Why was my boyfriend 30?”
Palmer was visibly stunned by Lovato’s admission, shouting, “Girl, d-mn.” She added, “I’m not smiling at that but that is real. We were trying to find outlets, though, and just a way to process this.”
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Keke Palmer And Demi Lovato Recall Feeling ‘Exploited’ By Previous Partners

Elsewhere during the conversation, Palmer added, “The moment when you realize and you get [to] the age of a lot of people that were around you and doing stuff it’s almost a mental break that can happen because you realize, ‘You were taking advantage. Oh, I was being exploited.’”
Palmer theorized that part of the reason she may have been in a relationship with an older man was that her job made her feel more mature than she was.
“That was very difficult for me because at 15 I’m thinking like, ‘My boyfriend’s older because I’m doing an older job. And I’m doing a bunch of things and this is the way that it is,’” the “True Jackson VP” actor added. “And it seemed normal in my mind.”
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Keke Palmer Opened Up About Her Age Gap Relationship In 2024

This isn’t the first time Palmer has discussed her past age gap relationship. In a 2024 interview with PEOPLE, the “Nope” actress said that she was trying to “balance” being young with feeling more mature for her age.
“If I thought it was inappropriate, then I wouldn’t have done it. Obviously, I shouldn’t have been 15 dating no 20-year-old,” she said.
Palmer said working a “full-time job” gave her a sense of independence she wasn’t used to. However, that wasn’t an excuse for the relationship she was in, she said.
“But he knew there was a lot of stuff that there’s no d-mn way for me to understand at damn 15.”
While speaking with Lovato, Palmer referenced Hilary Duff’s similar experience, which she sang about in her 2025 single “Mature.”
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“She’s me, I’m her in a different font / Just a few years younger, a new haircut,” Duff sang in the pop song. “She looks … Like all of your girls but blonder / A little like me, just younger / Bet she loves when she hears you say, ‘You’re so mature for your age, babe.’”
“Yeah, because it’s like ‘oh sh-t’ we all had the same d-mn life.’ You know what I mean, where people kept telling us, ‘You’re so mature for your age,’” Palmer shared.
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Social Media Users React To Palmer And Lovato’s Admission
Social media users reacted to Palmer and Lovato’s conversation, and many voiced their displeasure with the pair’s experiences.
“Why do grown men like teenagers,” someone wrote. “This happens a lot so many men should be in jailllll,” another wrote.
“It’s sad when we come to the realization,” a third user posted, while a fourth said, “It’s so sad looking back.”
“Oh no that’s concerning. That’s predatory actually. I feel like you need to be 20 and above to date someone in their 20s, 30s and older,” another user wrote.
Palmer Opened Up About Living With Her Future Partner

According to The Blast, Palmer also recently discussed boundaries she’d have in future relationships.
“One thing I need you to know is I never want to live together. I like my alone time,” Palmer said. “That’s real. I’m speaking as The Keke. I just feel like Whoopi Goldberg said it best once. She was like, ‘I don’t want nobody in my house.’ And I feel that. I’m serious — married, even.”
Palmer went on to say that she’d love for her future husband to be around the corner or even in the guest home. “You can be in the guest house, we can be on the same land, but I’m over there, and he’s over there. At best, separate rooms,” she said.
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“But think about how fun it would be to be like, ‘I’m going over to my man’s house.’ Over there, hi husband!” she joked. “It keeps it fun and exciting. I want to go sit on his couch.”
Entertainment
Hillary Clinton Doesn’t Object to This Jeffrey Epstein Claim
When Hillary Clinton appeared before the House Oversight Committee in a closed deposition, she denied having any connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. There was one alleged statement from the late billionaire, however, she didn’t take offense to — and it made everyone in the room laugh.
“Mr. Epstein is commenting and he quotes, ‘Hey, Hillary Clinton is much prettier in person,’” Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert said in a video of Clinton’s Thursday, February 26, deposition.
“I’m not going to object to that,” Clinton, 78, replied, shrugging her shoulders in a sheepish manner as the room laughed in response.
A legal representative of Clinton’s can be heard asking the congresswoman off camera, “Can we see the documents? We don’t think the document says that.” He then turned to Clinton and said, “Not that you’re not pretty.”
The interaction between the pair provided a moment of levity in an otherwise tense proceeding, with Clinton responding, “I’ll take it if I can get it.”
Despite making a few jokes while facing the committee in Chappaqua, New York, for six hours last week, Clinton maintained she did not have a relationship with Epstein after she and her husband, former president Bill Clinton’s names were found in some of the Epstein’s files.
The former first lady told the panel she had “no idea” about Epstein’s sex trafficking crimes prior to his arrest. Hillary also claimed she barely knew the man and never visited any of his properties.
Hillary noted that Epstein’s crimes are not a one-off and the victims should be the subject of everyone’s focus.
“If you are new to this issue, let me tell you: Jeffrey Epstein was a heinous individual, but he’s far from alone,” she said in her opening statement to the committee via The Independent. “This is not a one-off tabloid sensation or a political scandal. It’s a global scourge with an unimaginable human toll.”
In July 2019, Epstein was arrested on federal charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy to traffic minors. (He also pleaded guilty in 2008 of soliciting prostitution from a minor — a lesser charge as part of his “sweetheart” plea deal.) He pleaded not guilty to the charges but before the case could go to trial, Epstein died in a New York City jail at the age of 66. His death was later ruled a suicide.
While Epstein is no longer alive to speak about his alleged crimes, he is still continuing to make headlines thanks to the Justice Department’s long-awaited release of his Epstein Files as part of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
In recent months, several high-powered figures — including celebrities, politicians and royals —have been named in the documents.
Bill, 79, and Hillary both met separately with the House Oversight Committee to deny their alleged connection to the late criminal.
“First, I had no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing,” Bill wrote in a statement via X on Friday, February 27, ahead of his closed deposition. “No matter how many photos you show me, I have two things that at the end of the day matter more than your interpretation of those 20-year-old photos: I know what I saw, and more importantly, what I didn’t see. I know what I did, and more importantly, what I didn’t do. I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong.”
He added that the committee might not like his answers, but he’s going to speak his truth. “That might be unsatisfying. But I’m not going to say something I’m not sure of,” Bill said. “Since I am under oath, I will not falsely state that I am looking forward to your questions. But I am ready to answer them to the best of my abilities, consistent with the facts as I know them.”
If you or someone you know is a human trafficking victim, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
Entertainment
Hailey Bieber Says Baby Jack Was a Surprise
SHE MD Podcast
Hailey Bieber‘s proof you should “Never Say Never” when it comes to pregnancy … because she was pretty sure she wasn’t going to be carrying a baby for awhile — until she became pregnant with Jack!
The model and beauty mogul revealed Jack wasn’t a planned pregnancy on the “SHE M.D.” podcast — cohosted by Dr. Thais Aliabadi and women’s advocate Mary Alice Haney — because she had a septum in her uterus.
For the uninitiated … a uterine septum is a membrane which divides the uterus into two separate and distinct parts — and causes a higher risk of miscarriages, infertility and preterm labor.
Bieber says Dr. Aliabadi told her not to get pregnant while they worked on a treatment plan for the septum … and yet, shortly after that convo, Hailey says she got knocked up.
Dr. Aliabadi admits she wasn’t thrilled for Hailey at first because she was worried about her health … but, everything ultimately worked out fine — and Jack was born in August 2024.
The two Bieber’s have shared photos and videos of Jack over the years … and Justin Bieber even mentions Jack on the album “Swag II.”
Jack may not have been planned … but, that’s clearly fine with his parents!
Entertainment
Sen. Thom Tillis Rips Kristi Noem, Compares ICE Killings To Dog She Killed
Sen. Tillis To Kristi Noem
ICE Killings Are Like Dog You Killed
Published
Fireworks on Capitol Hill … Sen. Thom Tillis ripped into DHS Secretary Kristi Noem during a congressional hearing … comparing American citizens killed by immigration agents to a dog she killed.
Check out the video … the Republican Senator from North Carolina says Noem has shown terrible leadership and decision-making as Trump‘s DHS Secretary.
AP
Tillis says the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by ICE and Border Patrol remind him of a passage from Noem’s book … where she recalls killing a dog she brought on a hunting trip.
Noem said the 14-month-old dog, Cricket, was misbehaving … so she led the dog to a gravel pit and shot her.
X/@DHSgov
Sen. Tillis told her straight up … “Those are bad decisions made in the heat of the moment. Not unlike what happened up in Minneapolis. We’re an exceptional nation, and one of the reasons we’re exceptional is we expect exceptional leadership. And you’ve demonstrated anything but that.”
Entertainment
HBO Max Officially Combining With This Divisive Streamer Could Change 2 Things for Subscribers
Three’s Company — The Collider TV Quiz
Can you identify the show from a trio of its stars? John Ritter, Suzanne Somers, and Joyce DeWitt hope you can.
If the Paramount/Warner Bros. Discovery merger clears the final regulatory hurdles, this could mean significant changes for HBO Max subscribers in how they access the service. According to Paramount president David Ellison, integrating HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single direct-to-consumer service will give both companies access to the scale they need in an increasingly consolidated streaming marketplace.
For viewers, the real story isn’t the corporate maneuvering — it’s what happens when the apps on their home screen start to change. A unified service has the potential to reshape the everyday user experience while also raising bigger questions about whether HBO’s carefully protected brand identity can truly remain untouched inside a much larger ecosystem.
Your App and Library Could Get Bigger and More Bundled
The first and most tangible change would likely show up in the interface itself. Ellison has repeatedly emphasized plans to bring the two platforms together, but executives have been notably light on specifics about whether that means a full technical merger or a hub-style experience where brands live side by side.
Either way, the direction is clear: the combined service is being positioned as a scale play. Paramount leadership has pointed to the sheer volume of content across both companies — spanning blockbuster franchises, prestige dramas, network television, and sports — as the primary competitive advantage. For subscribers, that likely translates into a broader content library accessible through a more unified experience.
Consumer-wise, the shift could mean one bill, one app, and a new price structure. That kind of consolidation has become the default playbook across the streaming industry, where mergers and bundle experiments typically lead to recalibrated tiers and packaging. While no pricing changes have been announced, history suggests that price hikes, bundle tiers, and ad-plan shifts are typically what follow when platforms bulk up this aggressively.
There are also quieter but meaningful implications for how the service actually feels to use. A merged platform often brings algorithmic tweaks, navigation changes, and different content-surfacing priorities. Paramount executives have already highlighted the technical upside they expect from combining the services, which suggests the recommendation engine and overall UI could evolve alongside the expanded catalog.
Importantly, none of this appears imminent. The deal itself still faces regulatory review in the U.S. and Europe, and Paramount has indicated the broader transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026. Details about the streaming integration are likely to come closer to 2027, meaning subscribers shouldn’t expect their apps to suddenly transform overnight.
HBO’s Independence Is Being Promised — Not Guaranteed
If the first potential change is about how subscribers use the service, the second is more philosophical: What happens to HBO’s identity once it’s folded into a much larger streaming machine? Ellison has been emphatic on this point. He has repeatedly said that HBO will continue to “operate with independence” and that the premium brand should be allowed to keep doing what it does best. He has also publicly praised HBO and HBO Max content chief Casey Bloys, as well as the network’s recent creative momentum, as HBO’s reputation has always rested on a very specific programming strategy. Subscribers are paying for a curated sense of prestige, careful development cycles, and a quality bar that historically sits above the broader streaming field.
It is uncertain if creative insulation in practice would equate to structural independence on the page. Viewers will monitor theatrical windows for signs of tightening budgets, changes in release strategies, and any potential need to support a larger algorithm-driven ecosystem. Any change, no matter how small, to theatrical window timeframes or episode roll-out timing could be viewed over time as a philosophical change.
For the time being, Paramount has communicated to calm any anxieties. Paramount executives have positioned the newly merged company as a distribution extension, not as a creative transformation; this is evident in that the leadership of HBO will remain intact following the merger. That said, in the streaming era, brand identity is as much influenced by platforms as by assurances from Company Senior Leadership.
Entertainment
Claudia Oshry Calls Out RHONY Newbie Hailey Glassman Online
Podcaster Claudia Oshry isn’t impressed with one of the newest cast members of The Real Housewives of New York City.
“I have some, like, tea. I don’t know if tea is the right word for this,” Oshry, 31, shared via TikTok on Monday, March 2. “Of course I know my girl Erika Hammond — great casting. And then I saw the name Hailey Glassman. I could not put my finger on why her name sounded so familiar to me, so I went over to her Instagram.”
Bravo recently confirmed Sai De Silva, Erin Lichy, Jessel Taank and “friend of the cast” Carole Radziwill would be joining Glassman, 39, Hammond, 34 and Daisy Toye for season 16.
After looking at her DM messages, Oshry claimed that Glassman has been “a troll of mine, like, a deep internet troll since 2017.”
“Omg your voice is so annoying,” the first alleged message Oshry claims to have received from Glassman read. “Like Janice from Friends.”
The harsh alleged messages only continued when Glassman commented on the podcast host’s weight.
“Skinny minnie, now. Looks great but you gotta own you’re on wegovy,” Glassman allegedly wrote. “You’re an influencer and you really should be honest on your platform about it. When you need any skin tightening since you def lost enough to need it, I’ll set you up with a great plastic surgeon in NYC.”
Later on in her TikTok, Oshry started to question if Bravo’s newest star may actually be a fan of hers after all.
“But I think she’s also a huge fan because she also has ‘mazel tov’ when I announced I was pregnant,” she shared. “My biggest hater and my biggest supporter.”
Oshry then shared a purported message from Glassman when she allegedly wished her a Happy Mother’s Day.
“I don’t know what barrel Bravo was scraping the bottom of when they cast this person,” Oshry shared, “but it’s giving Monica from Salt Lake City.”
Monica Garcia appeared on season 4 of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City and was accused of being part of a troll Instagram account called Reality Von Tease.
After seeing Oshry’s video on Instagram, Garcia, 42, commented, “Hey now! What did I ever do to you?? 😂.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Bravo for comment.
According to Instagram, Glassman — who was previously linked to Jon Gosselin — is a public relations professional based out of New York City and Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
Bravo previously confirmed that season 16 begins filming this week, with past seasons available to stream anytime on Peacock.
Entertainment
Katherine Short’s Death Certificate Reveals New Details
New details have emerged in the wake of Katherine Hartley Short’s tragic death, which has officially been ruled a suicide.
Katherine, the only daughter of actor Martin Short, was cremated on Friday, February 27, after she died at her California home on Monday, February 23, according to her death certificate. She was 42.
The certificate listed her occupation as a social work therapist, noting that she obtained her master’s degree. (Katherine also had a part-time job at the Amae Health clinic.) She worked in the mental health field for 10 years and never married.
Katherine was found dead inside of her Hollywood Hills residence after Los Angeles Police Department officers and Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters rushed to the scene.
Law enforcement sources previously told TMZ that she was discovered “behind a locked door and with a note nearby.” Katherine was located by a friend who did a welfare check after she hadn’t been heard from for a day.
The friend who called 911 said they were at Katherine’s home in the Hollywood Hills but unable to enter a bedroom at the residence, as heard in dispatch audio obtained by the outlet.

The LAPD confirmed to Us Weekly that officers responded to a radio call of a possible suicide attempt on Monday, February 23, at 6:43 p.m. The LAPD said responding officers found a deceased female upon arrival..
Martin, 75, adopted Katherine with his late wife, Nancy Dolman. The couple also shared adopted sons Oliver, 39, and Henry, 36. Martin and Dolman tied the knot in 1989 and remained married until her death. (Nancy died at 58 in August 2010 after battling ovarian cancer.)
“It is with profound grief that we confirm the passing of Katherine Hartley Short. The Short family is devastated by this loss and asks for privacy at this time,” the actor’s rep told Us in a statement. “Katherine was beloved by all and will be remembered for the light and joy she brought into the world.”
One of Katherine’s neighbors exclusively told Us that she gave “no indication of struggle” before her death. “Katherine was a private person but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t friendly. She was quite outgoing,” the neighbor fondly recalled.
More than a decade before her death, Katherine filed to change her name to “Katherine Elizabeth Hartley” due to the nature of her career in October 2012. “My father is a public figure. I am a psychiatric social worker,” Katherine explained in court documents obtained by Us.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
Entertainment
“Scrubs” creator told Donald Faison he 'totally blew' his audition: 'He's the best at keeping it real'
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“I may have actually said, ‘You s— the bed,'” Bill Lawrence clarified.
Entertainment
John Wayne Said This Scene Is the Best Performance of His Entire Career
It’s safe to say that the Western genre would not have developed into one of the most popular categories of film if it weren’t for the extraordinary career of John Wayne. While it was not the first Western ever made, the 1939 classic Stagecoach fulfilled everything cinephiles could want from the genre, and kicked off a notoriously illustrious partnership between Wayne and director John Ford. Although Wayne’s work with Ford was arguably the highlight of both of their filmographies, Wayne worked with many great filmmakers, and began to make darker and more reflective films in the last decade of his career. In addition to finally earning him the Academy Award for Best Actor that he had long been denied, Wayne’s performance in True Grit contains what he believes is the best acting of his career.
‘True Grit’ Has One of John Wayne’s Greatest Performances
True Grit is based on the novel of the same name by Charles Portis, which also inspired a 2010 remake by Joel and Ethan Coen that starred Jeff Bridges. Wayne stars as the aging U.S. Major Marshall Rooster Cogburn, whose cantankerous behavior and constant drinking have caused many of his peers to think that he is past his prime. However, a violent insurrection forces Cogburn to jump back into the line of fire. In Yell County, Arkansas, the farmer Frank Ross (John Pickard) is murdered by the outlaw Tom Chaney (Jeff Corey), whom he had once employed as a hired hand. Although the Texas Ranger La Boeuf (Glen Campbell) is determined to hunt Chaney down and bring him to justice under the law, Ross’ young daughter Mattie (Kim Darby) decides to hire Cogburn to help track down her father’s killer.
While he had starred in countless Westerns by the time of the film’s release, Wayne was uniquely cast in True Grit as an aging protagonist who was past his prime. Cogburn did not have the excitable energy of Sheriff John T. Chance in Rio Bravo, nor did he have the incisive rage of Major Ethan Edwards in The Searchers. Rather, Cogburn is a character who is no longer respected and uses his new mission to help Mattie as a means of solidifying his reputation. In many ways, this felt like a self-reflective performance on Wayne’s part. While the 1960s saw the emergence of new Western stars like Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef, Wayne proved in True Grit that he hadn’t lost a step with the genre that had paved the way for his career.
Collider Acrostic — The Collider Movie Quiz!
Can you answer these movie questions, wherein each correct response begins with a successive letter of the word “Collider”?
Although the film strays radically from the original source material, True Grit’s depiction of Cogburn made use of Wayne’s inherent strengths as an actor. It’s often unspoken how comedically adept Wayne was, as he starred in many romantic comedies throughout his career. While True Grit is first and foremost a drama, Wayne was able to add a touch of humor to the adventure throughout the film, specifically in his interaction with La Boeuf. Cogburn’s cantankerous, somewhat nontraditional approach to following the law ends up rubbing the stuffy and proper Texas ranger the wrong way. It was also a great depiction of Wayne as a reluctant hero. Although he initially views his mission to avenge Mattie’s parents as merely one that is financially beneficial, Cogburn begins to believe in the merits of his assignment, and forms an attachment with his young employer.
John Wayne Showed His Range in This ‘True Grit’ Scene
Although the film certainly allowed him to chew the scenery, Wayne showed his range as a dramatic actor during a moving monologue in True Grit. When Cogburn and Mattie are waiting for the film’s villains to discover them, the aging U.S. Marshall reveals that he had once been married, and that his wife had left him at an unaccepted moment. Although he reflects on the sadness of not being able to have a family, Cogburn insists that he’d rather lose his wife than sacrifice his independence. It’s a rare moment of intimacy from a character who is uneasy about expressing his emotions. While director Henry Hathaway deserves credit for setting up the scene, it’s Wayne’s subtle performance that makes True Grit one of his greatest films ever.
While he had appeared in no shortage of memorable Western shootouts, Wayne cited the True Grit monologue scene as the greatest moment of acting in his entire career. He called the part of Cogburn his “first decent part in twenty years,” as it gave him his “first chance to play a character role instead of John Wayne.” By leaning away from his inherent idiosyncrasies and investing in the character’s backstory, Wayne felt that Hathaway had made True Grit into “a fantasy, and yet he kept it an honest Western.” Wayne revealed that Cogburn was “not like what I’ve done before,” and that the opportunity to show his range excited him.
‘True Grit’ Shows a Softer Side to John Wayne
Wayne’s True Grit monologue showed us a softer side of the actor we so rarely got to see during his legendary career. You get the sense as Cogburn opens up about his ex-wife that there is a heartbreaking wistfulness for the past, even if it’s a life that no longer suits him. This is particularly poignant when Mattie asks about his son. After telling her that his wife took him with her after the divorce, Cogburn looks down with a pause, shaking his head for a few seconds before stating matter-of-factly, “He never liked me anyway.” Wayne relies on a quiet understatedness here, a stark contrast to the swaggering, assertive cowboy persona that made him a Western icon.
To see Wayne portray a man in a state of vulnerability towards the end of his career only adds to the scene’s power. Cogburn is opening up, showing a side to Mattie she doesn’t normally get to see from the U.S. Marshall. It feels like a triumphant victory lap for Wayne, who is giving us one of the most intimate performances of his entire career, something that was often sorely lacking from his more traditional films.
‘True Grit’ Was the Summation of Wayne’s Career
Although it ended up inspiring the sequel Rooster Cogburn, True Grit was one of the last films of Wayne’s career. In that sense, it’s hard to not see Cogburn’s touching speech as a moment of reflection on Wayne’s part. Cogburn is reminiscing about what he missed out on as the result of his career, and Wayne was once again playing a Western gunslinger who is forced to show his heroism. This connection between the two makes the film even more powerful. Just as Cogburn decides to aid Mattie and prove himself worthy of wearing a badge, Wayne reaches unexpected emotional depths and delivers one of the most stirring performances of his career.
Although the Academy Awards frequently disregard great Westerns, Wayne’s performance in True Grit earned him his first and only Best Actor Oscar. Some actors earn major awards towards the end of their careers as “career prizes” for their entire body of work, but in the case of True Grit, Wayne won his award on merit alone.
Wayne Had a Shaky History at the Oscars
One of the reasons that the acclaim for True Grit was so satisfying was that Wayne’s work had consistently been overlooked by the Academy Award before he finally earned the Best Actor trophy. The Oscars have not historically been kind to “genre” movies, as the only western that had won Best Picture prior to the release of True Grit was Cimarron, which was released way back in 1931; the Oscars would show more willingness to accept the genre in subsequent years, as Unforgiven, Dances With Wolves, and No Country For Old Men also earned the Best Picture award. Nonetheless, True Grit wasn’t nominated in any other major categories, signifying once again that awards voters were rather close-minded. Wayne’s victory may have been the exception to the rule, rather than the initiation of a new trend.
Even though True Grit is a film that is cited as a western classic, many of Wayne’s best performances were overlooked by the Oscars. Wayne is best known for his collaborations with John Ford, who is the most decorated filmmaker in history thanks to his four victories in the Best Director category. Wayne appeared in Best Picture nominees directed by Ford, such as The Long Voyage Home, The Quiet Man, and Stagecoach, but did not get recognized for any of his performances. Prior to True Grit, he had been nominated for Best Actor in the war drama The Sands of Iowa Jima and received a Best Picture nomination for the historical epic The Alamo, which he both directed and produced. However, it is unfortunate to see that Wayne did not get any recognition for The Searchers, a classic cited by critics’ groups like the AFI and Sight & Sound as being one of the greatest films ever made. Wayne’s performance as a ruthless Marshall with a serious sense of bloodlust predated many iconic anti-hero characters, such as Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) in Taxi Driver, Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt and Edward Norton) in Fight Club, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) in American Psycho, and Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) in Joker.
Ironically, the remake of True Grit fared much better at the Academy Awards, as it earned ten nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director for the Coen Brothers (both of which it ended up losing to The King’s Speech). Among the nominees for the film was Jeff Bridges, who took on the role of Rooster Cogburn that Wayne had crafted in such a delicate way. Bridges did not win the award, but this is not entirely surprising, as he had won the previous year for his performance as an alcoholic country singer in the acclaimed music drama Crazy Heart. That being said, there is a legitimate argument to be made that Bridges should have earned the prize two years in a row; he managed to bring a lot of depth to his portrayal, as it did not feel like he was simply trying to do an impression of what Wayne had already done before.
True Grit
- Release Date
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June 11, 1969
- Runtime
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128 minutes
- Director
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Henry Hathaway
- Writers
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Charles Portis, Marguerite Roberts
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