Gilligan's Island - The Complete 3rd Season coming to DVD

Gilligan's Island - The Complete Third Season (1966) will be released on DVD on July 26, 2005. This is the last edition of the 3 season series. I have the other two seasons and am ready to complete the collection with this one. The quality is excellent and you've never seen Gilligan's Island so clear. The first season is in b/w and the other two are in glorious color. I recommend it to all G.I. fans.
Cast: Bob Denver - Gilligan, Alan Hale Jr. - Skipper/Capt. Jonas Grumby, Jim Backus - Thurston Howell III, Natalie Schafer - Mrs. Howell, Tina Louise - Ginger Grant, Russell Johnson - Professor Roy Hinkley, Dawn Wells - Mary Ann Summers

Gilligan's Island: Season 3 on Amazon.

Update: Since making this post I have purchased the 3rd Season DVD. As expected, the quality is as great as the first two seasons. I recommend all three sets for Gilligan's Island fans like myself.

Paul Shaffer To Host Benefit for Mike Smith (Dave Clark 5)

Paul Shaffer, musical director for "The Late Show With David Letterman," will host two benefit-tribute concerts for Mike Smith, former lead singer and keyboard player for the Dave Clark Five, who suffers from spinal cord injuries after an accident at his home in Spain in 2003. You may not know his name but you probably know his voice if you're a fan of 60's rock. Mike Smith, with the Dave Clark Five, had a number of hits including Glad All Over, Bits and Pieces, Can't You See That She's Mine, Because and Catch Us If You Can.

The concert will feature performances by The Zombies, Peter and Gordon, Billy J. Kramer, original Moody Blues lead singer Denny Laine and Beatles cover band The Fab Faux.

"A Tribute to Mike Smith" will be held Aug. 2 at B.B. King Blues Club and Grill in New York. The first show will be broadcast live on XM Satellite Radio. All proceeds will benefit Smith, who is paralyzed below the rib cage and has very limited use of his upper body, it was announced Sunday.

A 10-day eBay auction to benefit Smith begins July 31 and will include items such as an autographed drumhead signed by Ringo Starr, Monty Python memorabilia and VIP tickets to a Brian Wilson concert.

More info: http://www.tciartists.com/mikesmithbenefit

Pink Floyd in a one-off Reunion

It was great to see Pink Floyd reunited for the recent Live 8 concert, after nearly a quarter century apart. I was disappointed though that Roger Waters didn't get to do more of the vocals. Then again, his singing at Live 8 wasn't at it's best for some reason. Dave Gilmour, on the other hand, sang in top form. Members of Pink Floyd, minus Waters, have recorded and toured together in the past, but I didn't follow their post-Waters career as I felt Roger Waters was an essential member of the band. It just wasn't the same without him.

The briefly reunited Pink Floyd have dismissed an offer of $150m to tour the US.

Ringo Says He'll Never Tour With Paul McCartney

In an interview with Access Hollywood, Ringo Starr says that he and former Beatles band mate Paul McCartney will "never" go on tour together.

The former Beatles bandmates have not toured together since the 1960s and Ringo insists that this is not going to change. He told US show Access Hollywood: “I haven’t toured with Paul since ’65." [Actually I believe it's '66]

“We’re never going to do it. We are not going to tour together. I go with my band. He goes with his.”

Asked whether retirement looms in the near future, Starr also said not to count on it.

"The blessing of being a musician is you can go until you drop," he said. "As long as I can hold those damn sticks, I'll be fine. I might be playing the blues, but I'll be fine," he said, laughing.

Ringo turns 65 tomorrow, July 7th. For info on his Beatles predecessor, Pete Best, see my May 11th entry below.