Molly Shannon takes the right approach to being patted down by the TSA: treat it like you're at the spa and take advantage of your sensory affliction that causes you to have pleasurable sensations in your head. No big deal.
Mother Jones recently posted a roundup of National Rifle Association ads through history, depicting the lobby group's descent into madness, but our eyes caught one particular pit stop on the road to crazy—this pro-gun 1993 TV commercial titled "Laughing Criminal," featuring a speaking role by future SNL star Molly Shannon.
What subject can years of SNL's female players agree is funny? The Real Housewives franchise! Andy Cohen moderates the reunion show that kicked off last night's two-hour retrospective called The Women of SNL. Tina Fey as Danielle Staub, inside!
Tonight's the night! Betty White is hosting SNL and, as expected, she's killing it. An instant classic from the episode? White—along with Ana Gasteyer and Molly Shannon—in a hilarious "Delicious Dish" sketch about her famous "muffin." Video inside.
• Blackstone Group co-founder Steve Schwarzman and his wife Christine have put their East Hampton home on the market. The 2.1-acre property, which the couple purchased for $2.3 million in 1996, is listed for $7.2 million. The couple will hardly be homeless if and when they sell it. The Schwarzmans are finishing up construction work on the much larger estate in Water Mill they agreed to buy in 2005 for $34 million. [WSJ, BHS]
• Developer Bruce Ratner has sold his 4,500-square-foot home in Montauk to art dealer David Zwirner for $10 million. He's reportedly looking for a "less pricey" estate in Quogue. [NYP]
• Actress Molly Shannon has sold her apartment at 66 Ninth Avenue for $2.61 million. The three-bedroom pad, which Shannon bought for $1.6 million in 2003, had been listed most recently for $2.85 million. [Real Deal]
Marc Jacobs standing on the sidewalk outside the Mercer Hotel ... David Duchovny jogging across the street ... Molly Shannon and Nigella Lawson outside ABC studios ... Naomi Watts walking in the West Village with bag from the Container Store ... Salma Hayek and daughter Valentina arriving at their hotel ... Penn Badgley shooting a scene on the Gossip Girl set in Brooklyn ... Katie Holmes carrying Suri out of their East 13th Street apartment building ... Ethan Hawke crossing the street ... Paula Deen and her husband Michael arriving at their hotel ... Beck outside the Letterman show ... Madonna and Alex Rodriguez leaving Yom Kippur services at the Kabbalah Center ... Sarah McLachlan leaving her hotel in Midtown ... and Daniel Radcliffe talking to fans outside the Broadhurst Theater.
In honor of Saturday Night Live alum Molly Shannon, whose poorly-received sitcom Kath & Kim premieres tonight on NBC, we thought it was time to pay tribute to the women who've made the biggest mark on SNL over the years. Whether it's Tina Fey, whose profile has surged since her Sarah Palin guest appearances, or an underrated player like Jan Hooks who shines in late-night SNL reruns, we have a soft spot for the women who've succeeded despite being greatly outnumbered in SNL's heavily male cast and writing room.Sadly, our list cut off at eight, so the valuable, deadpan Jane Curtain and the acidic Nora Dunn were among the SNL casualties. Other alumnae — like Sarah Silverman and Janeane Garofalo — have had career success despite their ignoble stints on the variety show, and were therefore left out. Enjoy the clip above, then make a passionate case for the ignored Julia Sweeney down below. [SNL]
Going for the Bronze: Though NBC's Olympic coverage provided the network with television's most watched event anywhere, ever, in the history of the universe, that massive audience hasn't translated into major spikes of interest for NBC's fall shows like Kath & Kim and My Own Worst Enemy. The network spent 65% of its promo time on returning shows (like Lipstick Jungle Lipstick Jungle Lipstick Jungle) but failed to perk awareness for anything but the 80's retread Knight Rider. Still, before NBC shoehorns Michael Phelps into Selma Blair's thong, they've got this bit of recent history to add perspective: the Athens Olympics were used to tout quickly flushed shows like Joey and LAX. Perhaps Kath & Kim will stand on its own merits — that is, as long as they didn't advertise it during the rebellion-inducing beach volleyball marathon. [Variety]
When Molly Shannon was four years old, she was in a terrible car accident in her home town of Shaker Heights that took the lives of her mother, her little sister, and her cousin. That left her dad James Shannon, who survived the crash with a crushed leg, to raise Molly and her older sister Mary. Stopping by The View today to chat about upcoming projects (she'll be starring in the U.S. version of Australian sitcom hit Kath and Kim), Shannon veered onto the subject of her dad.
