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The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, Gerald M. Gay column: Remote Controlled : Future FX series has a couple of Tucson tiesSep 06, 2009 (The Arizona Daily Star - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A new FX television series, set to debut next spring, has roots that reach all the way to Tucson. The drama "Lawman" follows U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, a hard-as-nails enforcer, as he takes on assignments that bring him back to his old stomping grounds in rural Kentucky. Timothy Olyphant, who played Sheriff Seth Bullock in the HBO series "Deadwood," stars as Givens. The series is based on a character created by author Elmore Leonard, who will also serve as the show's executive producer. Now the connections: Olyphant's dad, Bevan Olyphant, teaches at the Honors College at the University of Arizona. And Elmore Leonard's son, Chris Leonard, lives here, too. He's best known for opening the now-defunct Cajun restaurant, Nonie on East Grant Road. Food Network asks for tape of Gus Balon's owner A longtime Tucson diner has been given a chance to appear on the Food Network. Kelli Fling, owner of Gus Balon's, 6027 E. 22nd St., said she was contacted by the cable channel about a month ago and was asked to submit a videotape "to see what kind of personality I have and all that good stuff." Fling said the network tracked her down after reading about her cinnamon rolls, said to be some of the best around in one of the "Roadfood" guides by Jane and Michael Stern. The Food Network wouldn't say which show she was being considered for, but, "my girlfriends all think it'll be 'Throwdown With Bobby Flay,' " Fling said. Of course, Gus Balon's could just as easily end up on a series like Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives," so we'll have to wait and see. Gus Balon's opened in 1965. Fling is Balon's granddaughter. Well-known Mrs. to co-host Mrs. America Pageant here Coordinators for this year's Mrs. America Pageant, to be held Tuesday at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, have recruited a couple of friendly television faces to host the event. Florence Henderson, who will never escape being known as Carol Brady from "The Brady Bunch," and Alan Thicke, who played father Jason Seaver on the ABC sitcom "Growing Pains" in the 1980s and '90s, have been tapped to emcee the show. According to the Mrs. America Web site, the two were chosen at "a time when people around the world are looking to the good and familiar for comfort and reassurance." Of course, you will see that comfort only if you watch the pageant in person or in recaps online, after the fact, at Mrsamerica.tv. This year's event will not be televised. on Starnet See Mrs. America entrants at www.azstarnet.com/slideshows Contact reporter Gerald M. Gay at 573-4137 or [email protected] To see more of The Arizona Daily Star, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.azstarnet.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |