This is the news for September 24 from Nan Dibble and Helpers' Network
Hotline for fans of Beauty and the Beast. To contact me by e-mail, post to
ndibble@fuse.net. To stop (or to begin) receiving updates as e-mail, notify
me at the above e-mail address. To reach me by phone (evenings/weekends),
call (513) 961-4813.The website is at http://home.fuse.net/helpnet.
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First, let me AGAIN apologize for the multiple updates last week. I don't
know how it happened, but I'll try very hard to prevent its happening
again. Perhaps I need to get a fresh version or update of my e-mailer,
Eudora, which kept claiming it hadn't sent the update when it HAD.multiple
times. I'll be more cautious hereafter and check to see if I've received my
test copy before sending again, if I again start getting strange error
messages.. Or perhaps I need to slice the distribution into three parts
instead of two, so as not to overload the system. Anyway, I'm sorry to have
inconvenienced any of you with full mailboxes, and I'm trying my best to
figure out the problem to prevent its reoccurring.
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I'm happy to have an update from Helper/Correspondent Darlene Sullivan,
who's in the final stages of moving to warmer climes, so it may be awhile
before we hear from here again.

Darlene says:

From the Hollywood Reporter --

Heath Ledger, leading man in the 1998  Ron Koslow/Shawn Cassidy ill-fated
series "Roar," has been named "Australian Star of the Year" for his success
in "The Patriot."

Richard Roundtree (in B&B, played Cleon Manning, Elliot Burch's
investigator), seen this summer in the remake of his classic movie,
"Shaft," has joined the cast of "Corky Bonono" co-starring Peter Falk and
Chris Kattan. Roundtree plays a senior FBI agent to whom Kattan is
assigned. Kattan, the son of a Mafia leader, Falk, is forced to infiltrate
the FBI to discover what they have on his father.

Roundtree is now shooting an independent film, "Hawaiian Gardens" and has a
recurring role in the Showtime series "Soul Food." His latest release is
the feature film "Anti-Trust."

Thanks, Darlene, and bon voyage.
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A correspondent who didn't give her "whole" name relayed this information
concerning condolences for Beah Richards (Narcissa):

The correspondent says:

Linda Moore of Band of Angels was able to obtain the following information
and I'm passing it along.

Greetings,

I was able to get an address where you can send your condolences on the
passing of Beah Richards. This is the response I got to an inquiry to the
"Vicksburg Post":
=============
Thank you for your inquiry.

In Vicksburg, Ms. Richards resided with a niece, Sherry Fisher.

Her address is 392 Fisher Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS 39180.

We will post information about a *memorial service on our Web site
http://www.vicksburgpost.com
when the information is available to us.

Charlie Mitchell
The Vicksburg Post

*the memorial service is to take place in the next couple of weeks, I believe.

Nan again. I usually refrain from relaying unconfirmed information from
anonymous correspondents, but inasmuch as the newspaper's website is
specified, I assume anyone wanting to send condolences can double-check the
information for him/herself.

Ms. Richards' role as Narcissa wasn't the one for which she got the most
recognition in the form of awards, but Narcissa saved the tunnels from
being wholly dominated by Father's rationalism and preserved the validity
of the magical and unknowable.which is the central core of Vincent's being.
So it's important that Narcissa was in the tunnels. Like Elizabeth, the
muralist, her presence was felt in many more episodes than she appeared in.
So although the role wasn't her most celebrated one, no character she
brought to life through her art could have been more crucial to the
whole.or more beloved.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Concerning the B&B videos from Columbia House, I received two comments. Kay
Anderson had sent them a post briefly describing the history/availability
of the videos, from Republic, through Davis-Panzer, to the present, and got
this reply:

From: video [mailto:video@columbiahouse.com] Sent: Thursday, September 21,
2000 7:47 AM
To: Margaret Anderson
Subject: Re: Tapes of Beauty and the Beast (KMM1275080C0KM)

Thank you for your e-mail message.

Currently, there are 22 volumes in the Beauty and The Beast Columbia House
TV GREATS series.

Historically, we release a number of episodes in any new series, review
consumer reaction, and based on how positive the response, make the
determination whether or not to release more episodes.  In effect, the
collector market determines how many episodes are in fact released.

We must obtain the appropriate rights to offer a series as well as each
individual episode included in the series.  Also when determining the
number of volumes to offer, we must also be able to locate good quality
master copies of the original episodes.

If we may be of further service, please let us know.


Sincerely,
Daria Montgomery
Customer Service
___________________
It would seem prudent to note this e-mail address and, if you're interested
in getting mint copies of videos beyond first season, drop them a post and
tell them so. I'm not suggesting an e-mail campaign, just encouraging
Columbia House to extend their offerings beyond the current 22 episodes of
first season, plus the two-fers that were issued originally by Republic.

And on the same topic, Helper Carolyn Huntington adds this:

"I talked to Columbia House today on the phone and they said right now all
they have is Season 1 videos but that they might be getting new ones i.e.
Season 2. If they do, they will let me know. I have bought most of Season 1
from them so I know they will follow through."

Thanks, Kay and Carolyn, for your initiatives.and for sharing them with the
rest of us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Helper Judy Adams notes that latenight last Thursday (Sept 21), Linda
Hamilton hosting of Saturday Night Live was repeated Comedy Central at 3:00
AM eastern, and the episode with host Demi Moore with that BatB skit with
Vincent, Catherine, Vincent's cousin, and Demi Moore will be rerun at 4:00
AM eastern.

Thursday, September 21, 2000, EASTERN time zone, Comedy Central

2:00am  #91f  Linda Hamilton / Mariah Carey

3:00am  #88e  Demi Moore / Johnny Clegg & Savuka [This is the one with the
BatB skit.]

You may want to make note of the episode numbers so that when they're rerun
yet again, you'll be able to know which ones they are. I thank Judy for the
information.
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Judy also calls to our attention two other sightings:

(1) On Monday, September 25, Bruce Abbott will be on a rerun episode of
Diagnosis Murder, on the PAX cable channel at 10 p (EDT)

Diagnosis Murder
Murder With Mirrors
60 minutes- (CC), In Stereo

When a popular illusionist (Bruce Abbott) dies during his magic act, Dr.
Sloan believes he was murdered and suspects his former partner (Emma Samms)
of the crime. With Scott Baio and Victoria Rowell.

(2) A repeat, latenight LAST Tuesday, September 19, of the Earth 2 episode
featuring Roy Dotrice as the "father" of an underground community. Imagine
that!

Earth 2
After the Thaw
60 minutes- (CC), In Stereo
starring Debrah Farentino, Roy Dotrice

Devon (Debrah Farentino) discovers that an evil spirit has inhabited one of
her fellow colonists after the body of a long-dead Terrian is uncovered.
With Roy Dotrice.

Tue  Sep 19  02:00PM eastern   SCIFI channel
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The Sightings, from Helper/Correspondent Maxine Mayer, are brief:

Sat, 9/23/00:
1pm-TNT-"Twisted Desire"-Isabella Hofmann (Erica Salvin, "Temptation")

Wed, 9/27/00:
8pm-SHO-"Hendrix"-Dorian Harewood (Jason Walker, "Terrible Savior")
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If it's news and has to do with Beauty and the Beast, please think of the
Hotline and relay. We're all in this together, keeping the dream of Beauty
and the Beast alive however we can. Beast wishes, be well, and goodbye.


ndibble@fuse.net
http://home.fuse.net/helpnet