WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (Reuters) - Actor Andy Griffith, beloved as a small-town sheriff on the popular television program "The Andy Griffith Show," died of a heart attack, according to his death certificate. Griffith, 86, died on Tuesday at his home in coastal Manteo, North Carolina. According to his death certificate, …

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Alison Pill and Chris Messina, both of whom can be seen on Aaron Sorkin's "The Newsroom," star in "Denise," a short film that posted this week on the "Wigs" YouTube channel. The film, written by playwright-filmmaker Neil LaBute features Pill and Messina, who star as two actors who show up for a …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sometimes all it takes to solve a puzzle is a different way of looking at it. Former "Will & Grace" actor Eric McCormack is hoping audiences will do just that when he returns to television next week, not as a witty gay lawyer but as an eccentric professor with paranoid schizophrenia. "Perception", …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Tina Fey has proven her command of movies and TV as an actress, writer and director, but the multi-talented star is adding another feather to her performer's cap. She's now a rapper. The comedy actress, 42, best known for her role as hapless television writer Liz Lemon in "30 Rock" and for penning …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Big Brother" has found a way to distinguish itself from that pesky look-alike show "The Glass House." CBS, which is currently embroiled in a legal entanglement with ABC over the similarities between its own "Big Brother" and that network's "The Glass House," announced a format shake-up for its …

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Alec Baldwin's interest in running for mayor of New York City is "very real," says his younger brother, actor Billy Baldwin. The just-married elder Baldwin, in the headlines in recent weeks for run-ins with photographers stationed outside his Greenwich Village home, said last year that he was ruling …

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Bryan Singer's upcoming web series, "H+ The Digital Series," will debut August 8 on YouTube, Warner Bros. announced on Thursday. The show, in which humans are physically connected to the internet, is a collaboration between Singer, director of "The Usual Suspects," Dolphin Entertainment and Warner …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former Republican U.S. presidential candidate Hermain Cain, known for unconventional and conservative views, plans to launch his own TV-style network on the Web, Cain says in a video posted online at CainTV.com. CainTV is expected to hit the Internet on Wednesday, July 4, Independence Day holiday …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The news business may be in tumult in the digital age, but "The Newsroom" was doing just fine on Monday when cable TV network HBO renewed the high-profile TV drama for a second season. HBO also said it will bring back vampire drama "True Blood" for a sixth season next year. Both shows have been among …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - CNN's Anderson Cooper said in a public statement on Monday that he is gay, adding that while privacy is important for journalists, he did not want to give the impression he was hiding something and wanted to stand up against bullying. "The fact is, I'm gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn't …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Alec Baldwin, star of TV show "30 Rock," married his fiancée, Hilaria Thomas, on Saturday in New York City, then posted a picture showing off his new wedding ring on Twitter. Baldwin, 54, and yoga instructor Thomas, 28, announced their engagement back in April. The couple have been dating for …

(Reuters) - Actor Andy Griffith, whose portrayal of a small-town sheriff made "The Andy Griffith Show" one of television's most enduring programs, died on Tuesday at his North Carolina home at age 86. Griffith died at about 7 a.m. at his home on Roanoke Island, Dare County Sheriff J.D. Doughtie said. His wife of three decades, …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Erin Andrews is leaving ESPN and may join Fox Sports. The flaxen-haired television host's contract with ESPN expired this week and after some speculation about her future with the network, an ESPN spokesman confirmed her departure. "Erin Andrews is leaving ESPN. She did great work for us and …

(Reuters) - AMC Networks, which carries "Breaking Bad," "The Walking Dead," "Mad Men" and other popular television shows, was removed from Dish Network early Sunday after its contract with the satellite TV company expired without a new agreement. Dish, the second-largest satellite TV provider behind DirectTV, said it dropped …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - A&E; has renewed "Longmire" for a second season less than a month after its series premiere. The western-themed series, which stars Robert Taylor as Wyoming sheriff Walt Longmire and Katee Sackhoff as his deputy Vic Moretti, premiered Sunday, June 3 at 10 p.m. with a particularly strong 4.1 million …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Savannah Guthrie will replace Ann Curry as co-host of NBC's "Today" Show, NBC announced on Friday, a day after Curry made an emotional early exit from one of America's most high-profile television slots. Guthrie, 40, who previously served as co-host of the morning program's third hour, will join Matt …

(Reuters) - Dish Network Corp, the second-largest U.S. satellite TV company, said it will replace three AMC Networks channels from Saturday following a dispute over higher programming fees. Dish will replace AMC channels IFC, WE and AMC with HDNet, HDNet Movies and Style channels, leaving its 14 million subscribers blacked …

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - As film slates shrink and DVD sales decline, Hollywood talent agencies have increased their investment in digital and social ventures to make up for falling profits from shrinking star salaries. In the last two months alone, three major developments have accelerated the pace. To begin, the CAA-backed …

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Two Los Angeles City councilmen want to see the fees for location shoots waived for next year's TV pilot production season. The proposal - which took its first step with the passage of a fiscal impact request by a council committee Wednesday - couldn't come at better time for the TV industry, …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Alec Baldwin, star of TV show "30 Rock," married his fiancée, Hilaria Thomas, on Saturday in New York City, then posted a picture showing off his new wedding ring on Twitter. Baldwin, 54, and yoga instructor Thomas, 28, announced their engagement back in April. The couple have been dating for …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Charlie Sheen may have lost a man and a half, but the bad boy actor has rebounded from last year's television debacle with a record-setting audience for his new TV comedy. More than 5.4 million U.S. viewers watched the debut episode of "Anger Management" on FX on Thursday night according to audience …

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - CBS Corp is in settlement talks with cast members of the popular 1970's TV show "Happy Days" to end a legal dispute over revenues from the sitcom's merchandise, an agreement that could have broad ramifications for how TV actors are compensated. Representatives for the actors, who include Anson Williams, …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday let stand a lower court decision to throw out a federal agency's $550,000 indecency fine against CBS Corp for airing singer Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" during the 2004 Super Bowl broadcast. Jackson's right breast was briefly exposed to almost 90 million …