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Kardashians' appeal explained by E! president - Yahoo! News

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - E! President Suzanne Kolb owes much of her network's success this year to an extremely divisive family.

Hours of Kardashian-centered programming -- especially Kim Kardashian's start of a notoriously short marriage -- fueled ratings for the network that Kolb took over the network in July after serving as president of marketing, news and online for both E! and Style.

Kolb talked to us about the Kardashians, why people watch their shows, E!'s plans to introduce a one-hour dramedy and the network's place in the NBC Universal corporate family since Comcast acquired the company in January.

You've probably seen as much research as anyone into why the Kardashians are so popular with so many viewers. Can you explain why people watch their shows?

via news.yahoo.com

Chaz Bono, fiancee call off engagement - Yahoo! News

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Transgender celebrity activist Chaz Bono and his fiancee Jennifer Elia have broken off their engagement and separated after six years of dating, the former "Dancing with the Stars" contestant said on Monday.

Bono, 42, is the only child of singer Cher and her late ex-husband Sonny Bono. He completed a female-to-male sex change in 2010, and asked Elia to marry him during an episode of an OWN network documentary about him, "Being Chaz."

That television special followed "Becoming Chaz," which documented Bono's transition from woman to man. Throughout his transition, Chaz and Elia had remained in their relationship.

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'New Hollywood' producer Bert Schneider dies at 78 - Yahoo! News

LOS ANGELES (AP) — "Five Easy Pieces" producer Bert Schneider, credited for inspiring a "New Hollywood" band of independent filmmakers, has died in Los Angeles at 78.

Daughter Audrey Simon tells the Los Angeles Times that Schneider died on Monday of natural causes.

Schneider produced 11 movies from 1969 to 1981, including "Easy Rider," ''Five Easy Pieces" and "The Last Picture Show." Those movies about rootlessness and discontent became symbols of a new era that helped filmmakers break out of the studio system.

Schneider also produced the Oscar-winning 1974 anti-Vietnam War documentary "Hearts and Minds."

Schneider created the Monkees pop band with producer-director Bob Rafelson.

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Actress' lawsuit puts focus on age as job barrier - Yahoo! News

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A million-dollar lawsuit by an actress who claims her job prospects were damaged when she was outed online as a 40-year-old has run smack into conventional wisdom: If Sandra Bullock, 47, and Helen Mirren, 66, are getting steady work, bias against older actresses surely must have vanished.

Film stars Meryl Streep, Halle Berry and Glenn Close are also members of the 40-plus and employed club. On TV, the majority of the "Desperate Housewives" female leads are nearing 50, while Emmy Award-winning Julianna Margulies of "The Good Wife" is 44.

But industry insiders and unions say star power obscures the ageism gap between high-profile performers and working stiffs — a unique aspect of Hollywood's division of the haves and have-nots.

via news.yahoo.com