Sidewalks Entertainment
Encyclopedia
Sidewalks Entertainment (1988–present) is a long-running, weekly American
television series that is a combination of a talk show
, magazine show and variety show
featuring celebrity interviews, music, artistic and novelty acts, and rising performers. The 30-minute program is primarily produced in the San Francisco Bay Area
with segments from other parts of the country, including Los Angeles
and New York
.
Richard R. Lee
is the creator and executive producer
, as well as lead editor
and webmaster
of SidewalksTV.com. On-air personalities Cindy Rhodes and Rafael Siegel are also co-producers.
During the first six years, the show was known as Sidewalks. The producers decided to add Entertainment to the program's title, so viewers would understand it was an entertainment show and not a show related to public works or about concrete walkways. On websites and television grids, the program is listed as Sidewalks Entertainment, although hosts, guests and on-air graphics may still refer to the program as Sidewalks.
As of April 14, 2007, the show has produced 256 regular editions, along with a number of special episodes and temporary shows.
The initial draft was to feature street performers
, who are also known as sidewalk performers (hence the show's title). Cameras would follow and showcase the street performers in San Francisco or at the studio where Sidewalks was produced. Shortly before production began, the street performer segment was dropped due to time and a lack of interest from some of the money-starved talents. Only a handful of street performers eventually appeared on the series.
The early years of Sidewalks became a TV showcase for unknown aspiring musicians and artists. Talents appeared with at least one full-length performance, followed by a short interview. For some of the talents, the show produced exclusive music videos of the acts. The Sidewalks clips became one of the trademark
s of the production for guests and viewers (after airing on an episode, the videos went on to become demonstration reels for the guests and also appeared on some international
television programs).
In 1990, the show expanded its format and experimented with national music videos. Along with musical clips from popular artists such as Mariah Carey
, Jessica Simpson
, and Destiny's Child
, well-known musical stars, ranging from Fred Schneider
of The B-52's
to then-newcomer Mary J. Blige
, became guests. Around 1992, the show journeyed into more celebrity interviews, which now included actors from TV and films. The regional show became part of the national media tour, where celebrities would come on a TV show to pitch or promote their projects. The Sidewalks host would conduct interviews either in-person or from a satellite tour.
Some of the national guests who have appeared on the show:
Sidewalks also took its production remotely to showcase a variety of events and conventions. Events such as KMEL
radio's Summer Jam event, the nationwide Lollapalooza
concert tour, Walt Disney
's Aladdin ice show, The National Association of Recording Merchandisers
(NARM), The Renaissance Pleasure Faire, the comic and fantasy convention WonderCon
, behind-the-scenes at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
and movie premieres were featured. The Bay Area Music Awards (Bammies) (later renamed as the California Music Awards) became one of the show's major annual events.
In 2003, the show's production went bi-coastal, thanks to returning on-air personality of Siegel, who conducted celebrity interviews on the East Coast
. He had a number of prominent interviews with such stars as Wyclef Jean
, Heather Headley
, and Gang Starr
.
The show's 17th season is currently hosted by Cindy Rhodes, Rafael Siegel and Richard R. Lee
, with correspondents Natalie Manuel and Eve Galazin.
Host/producer Rhodes has been the longest mainstay to the program since 1993. She has interviewed a majority of the celebrity interviews and is producing the satellite media tours segments. Host/producer Siegel, who originally started with the stage name Rafael Hernandez, joined the show in 1994 as viewer-turned production crew member-turned host. Siegel returned to the show in 2003 as an East Coast correspondent. In 2005, he moved back to the West Coast where Sidewalks is taped and joined the current hosting team.
The first set of nine shows during season one was hosted by Robert Guarino, Rosie Sorenson and Mel Menefee. The older Menefee became the show's on-screen gimmick
between 1988 through 1994. The Mel Menefee character was an on-going feature as the producers used Menefee's zaniness to form comedic situations, while the other personalities were hosting the episodes. When the show returned after a year hiatus, Menefee was joined by other personalities, most notably Denise Yvonne (now using the name Dee Jones). Other personalities that appeared for a number of seasons were Marci Camacho, Sibyl Motley, Jennifer Parnoff, and Veronica Ornelas.
Sidewalks also gives college students their first on-air experience. Eboni Warnking, Shereelynn Manlangit, Monica Calzada, Oakland Raiderettes cheerleader Michelle Marquez, and Nadine Toren have been some of the intern
s.
got a chance to create and produce his first television show at Televents, a local El Cerrito
, California
cable
station, after he helped and worked on various studio productions. That TV show became Sidewalks, which went before the cameras in May and debuted its first episode on September 1, 1988.
The production schedule of Sidewalks has been irregular (due to TV station and equipment availability), although the show has never left the air since 1988. Sidewalks produced nine shows during season one. Almost a year later, the production returned for several more years at the retitled cable company Bay Cablevision (later purchased by various cable companies including AT&T
and Comcast
).
In 1994, Lee brought the production to KCRT-TV
, a non-commercial Richmond, California
TV station, where Lee was already working at for a couple of years. Throughout the decade
run, the TV show was an intermittent co-production between Lee and the station until 2004.
The show is now solely produced by Sidewalks Entertainment, Inc., a California corporation
developed by Rhodes and Lee, to further the production.
In 2005, the team produced a new one-hour test pilot, which sports among things a new logo and theme music. In the pilot, the segments were interviews with American Idol
's LaToya London
, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy's Carson Kressley
, young actress AnnaSophia Robb
, the pop music group From The Desk of Sally, a Kelly Clarkson
video, and a feature about finding a talent agent. The pilot is designed to showcase the new production to commercial stations and TV networks.
While the team is developing the new version, the producers and hosts are continuing their long-running Sidewalks Entertainment and Sidewalks: Video Nite
series with brand new episodes. Parts of the test pilot were recycled into two episodes ("American Idols" and "Talent Agents") of Sidewalks Entertainments 16th season.
series to handle the load of clips. Sidewalks: Video Nite
was born. Currently, Sidewalks: Video Nite is a regular series on KCRT-TV and some selected episodes are aired in other markets.
Originally appearing as a small, couple page website on Geocities
and Xoom
, the site featured basic information about the TV show and its staff. As time passed, the site moved onto other servers, presented on-line articles and displayed video clips. From the beginning until fall 2006, the site used exclusively Real
video clips as its choice of web streaming
. The latest clips are now encoded in Flash
video for better platform delivery.
The main spotlight of the website is celebrity interviews. Since 2003, majority of the show’s interviews have been presented on the site. Generally, the website displays the complete interview with a celebrity, whereas the TV show may exhibit an edited or shorter version of the same interview due to dated content or time allotment. Many of the interviews have debuted on the website days or weeks before it appeared on an episode of Sidewalks.
The website has also been presenting its own interviews and special segments taped by the Sidewalks production crew or, occasionally, an outside supplier. The crew has been recording multiple segments of an interview that can be used as separate web content. Some of the exclusive web presentations include interviews with rapper David Banner
and R&B singer Raz-B
; movie coverage of films “Catch A Fire
” and “The Pursuit of Happiness
;” behind-the-scenes interviews at The California Music Awards and sci-fi/comic convention WonderCon
; and special features such as the audio mixing of movies, special health segments, and KBLX
radio station’s Kevin Brown Anniversary Party.
In the summer of 2006, Lee and production member Justin Langston launched the program’s blog, Sidewalks On The Corner. The blog features articles and music and movie reviews.
Since May 2006, SidewalksTV.com has also been releasing selected clips on other digital platforms, such as YouTube
and MySpace
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television series that is a combination of a talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
, magazine show and variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
featuring celebrity interviews, music, artistic and novelty acts, and rising performers. The 30-minute program is primarily produced in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
with segments from other parts of the country, including Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Richard R. Lee
Richard R. Lee
Richard R. Lee is a television producer, director and on-air personality.Lee is mostly known for creating, editing and producing Sidewalks Entertainment, his first television series that he started in 1988...
is the creator and executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
, as well as lead editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
and webmaster
Webmaster
A webmaster , also called a web architect, web developer, site author, or website administrator is a person responsible for maintaining one or many websites...
of SidewalksTV.com. On-air personalities Cindy Rhodes and Rafael Siegel are also co-producers.
During the first six years, the show was known as Sidewalks. The producers decided to add Entertainment to the program's title, so viewers would understand it was an entertainment show and not a show related to public works or about concrete walkways. On websites and television grids, the program is listed as Sidewalks Entertainment, although hosts, guests and on-air graphics may still refer to the program as Sidewalks.
As of April 14, 2007, the show has produced 256 regular editions, along with a number of special episodes and temporary shows.
Guests and Segments
The current version of Sidewalks is primarily a celebrity-based interview and music show, but the original concept was somewhat different.The initial draft was to feature street performers
Busking
Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...
, who are also known as sidewalk performers (hence the show's title). Cameras would follow and showcase the street performers in San Francisco or at the studio where Sidewalks was produced. Shortly before production began, the street performer segment was dropped due to time and a lack of interest from some of the money-starved talents. Only a handful of street performers eventually appeared on the series.
The early years of Sidewalks became a TV showcase for unknown aspiring musicians and artists. Talents appeared with at least one full-length performance, followed by a short interview. For some of the talents, the show produced exclusive music videos of the acts. The Sidewalks clips became one of the trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
s of the production for guests and viewers (after airing on an episode, the videos went on to become demonstration reels for the guests and also appeared on some international
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
television programs).
In 1990, the show expanded its format and experimented with national music videos. Along with musical clips from popular artists such as Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
, Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Ann Simpson is an American recording artist, actress, television personality, and fashion designer whose rise to fame began in 1999. Since that time, Simpson has achieved many recording milestones, starred in several television shows, movies, and commercials, launched a line of hair and...
, and Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child was an American R&B girl group whose final line-up comprised lead singer Beyoncé Knowles alongside Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Formed in 1997 in Houston, Texas, Destiny's Child members began their musical endeavors in their pre-teens under the name Girl's Tyme...
, well-known musical stars, ranging from Fred Schneider
Fred Schneider
Frederick William "Fred" Schneider III is an American rock singer, best known as the frontman of the rock band The B-52's, of which he is a founding member. Schneider is well-known for his sprechgesang which he developed from reciting poetry over guitars.-Early life:Schneider was born in Newark,...
of The B-52's
The B-52's
The B-52's are an American rock band, formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976. The original line-up consisted of Fred Schneider , Kate Pierson , Cindy Wilson , Ricky Wilson , and Keith Strickland . Following Ricky Wilson's death in 1985 Strickland switched to guitar...
to then-newcomer Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
, became guests. Around 1992, the show journeyed into more celebrity interviews, which now included actors from TV and films. The regional show became part of the national media tour, where celebrities would come on a TV show to pitch or promote their projects. The Sidewalks host would conduct interviews either in-person or from a satellite tour.
Some of the national guests who have appeared on the show:
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.
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.
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, Kenny LogginsKenny LogginsDuring the next decade, Loggins recorded so many successful songs for film soundtracks that he was referred to as, King of the Movie Soundtrack.He began with "I'm Alright" , "Mr. Night", and "Lead the Way" from Caddyshack...
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, country performers Sara EvansSara EvansSara Lynn Evans is an American country singer and songwriter.Evans was one of the few traditional-styled singers to emerge from Nashville in the late 1990s, according to Allmusic. Since emerging in the late 1990s, Evans has made five No. 1 Country hits and Gold and Platinum-certified albums by...
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, and Christian music stars Sandi PattySandi PattySandra Faye "Sandi" Patty is an American Christian music singer. For many years she was known as Sandi Patti. She has been dubbed "The Voice" by critics, because of her wide range and flexibility.-Early life:...
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, and Point of GracePoint of GracePoint of Grace is an all-female Contemporary Christian music group. The trio consists of Shelley Breen, Denise Jones, and Leigh Cappillino. The group started out as a quartet in 1991, with original members Breen and Jones, as well as Terry Jones and Heather Payne...
.
- Sports stars: Wayne GretzkyWayne GretzkyWayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
, Jeff GordonJeff GordonJeffery Michael "Jeff" Gordon is a professional NASCAR driver. He is the driver of the #24 Drive to End Hunger/DuPont/Pepsi Chevrolet Impala. He is a four-time Sprint Cup Series champion and a three-time Daytona 500 winner. He is third on the all-time wins list, with 85 career wins, and has the...
, Mia HammMia HammMariel Margaret "Mia" Hamm is a retired American soccer player. Hamm played many years as a forward for the United States women's national soccer team and was a founding member of the Washington Freedom. Hamm has scored more international goals in her career than any other player, male or female,...
, Brandi ChastainBrandi ChastainBrandi Denise Chastain is a professional American soccer defender and midfielder who plays for the team California Storm of Women's Premier Soccer League and is a former member of the United States women's national soccer team....
, Bonnie BlairBonnie BlairBonnie Kathleen Blair is a retired American speedskater. She is one of the top skaters of her time, and one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history. Blair competed for the United States in four Olympics, and in her Olympic career won five gold medals and one bronze medal.-Career:Blair...
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.
- TV hosts: Meredith VieiraMeredith VieiraMeredith Louise Vieira is an American journalist, television personality, and game show host. She is best known for her roles as the original moderator of the ABC talk program The View and co-host of the long-running NBC News morning news program, Today...
, Elisabeth HasselbeckElisabeth HasselbeckElisabeth Hasselbeck is an American television talk show host and television personality. She was a contestant on Survivor: The Australian Outback and is a current co-host on the daytime talk show The View .-Early life:...
and Joy BeharJoy BeharJosephina Victoria "Joy" Behar is an American comedian, writer, actress, and a co-host of the talk show The View. Behar has a commentary program, entitled The Joy Behar Show, on CNN's sister network, HLN...
(from ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's The View), Stephanie MillerStephanie MillerStephanie Catherine Miller is an American comedienne and host of The Stephanie Miller Show, a progressive talk radio program produced in Los Angeles and syndicated nationally by Dial Global. Talkers magazine ranked her as the 24th most important radio talk show host in America for 2010.-Early...
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and Marie OsmondMarie OsmondOlive Marie Osmond is an American singer, actress, doll designer, and a member of the show business family The Osmonds. Although she was never part of her family's singing group, she gained success as a solo country music artist in the 1970s and 1980s...
.
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.
Sidewalks also took its production remotely to showcase a variety of events and conventions. Events such as KMEL
KMEL
KMEL is an Urban Contemporary-formatted radio station located in San Francisco, California, and owned by Clear Channel Communications....
radio's Summer Jam event, the nationwide Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...
concert tour, Walt Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
's Aladdin ice show, The National Association of Recording Merchandisers
National Association of Recording Merchandisers
The National Association of Recording Merchandisers is a United States not-for-profit trade association based in Marlton, New Jersey that serves music retailing businesses in lobbying and trade promotion...
(NARM), The Renaissance Pleasure Faire, the comic and fantasy convention WonderCon
WonderCon
WonderCon is an annual comic book, science fiction, and motion picture convention, held in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1987.The convention was conceived by retailer John Barrett and originally held in the Oakland Convention Center, where it remained until 2003, when it moved to San...
, behind-the-scenes at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is an American circus company. The company was started when the circus created by James Anthony Bailey and P. T. Barnum was merged with the Ringling Brothers Circus. The Ringling brothers purchased the Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1907, but ran the circuses...
and movie premieres were featured. The Bay Area Music Awards (Bammies) (later renamed as the California Music Awards) became one of the show's major annual events.
In 2003, the show's production went bi-coastal, thanks to returning on-air personality of Siegel, who conducted celebrity interviews on the East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
. He had a number of prominent interviews with such stars as Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean is a Haitian musician, record producer, and politician. At age nine, Jean moved to the United States with his family and has spent much of his life in the country...
, Heather Headley
Heather Headley
Heather Headley is a Trinidadian-American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She has won one Tony Award and one Grammy Award.-Personal life:...
, and Gang Starr
Gang Starr
Gang Starr was an influential East Coast hip hop duo that consisted of the late MC Guru and DJ/producer DJ Premier. Their style combined elements of New York jazz and hip hop.-Background:...
.
Hosts and Correspondents
The on-air personalities for Sidewalks have been a talented mix of newcomers, many of whom are getting their first opportunities in front of a camera.The show's 17th season is currently hosted by Cindy Rhodes, Rafael Siegel and Richard R. Lee
Richard R. Lee
Richard R. Lee is a television producer, director and on-air personality.Lee is mostly known for creating, editing and producing Sidewalks Entertainment, his first television series that he started in 1988...
, with correspondents Natalie Manuel and Eve Galazin.
Host/producer Rhodes has been the longest mainstay to the program since 1993. She has interviewed a majority of the celebrity interviews and is producing the satellite media tours segments. Host/producer Siegel, who originally started with the stage name Rafael Hernandez, joined the show in 1994 as viewer-turned production crew member-turned host. Siegel returned to the show in 2003 as an East Coast correspondent. In 2005, he moved back to the West Coast where Sidewalks is taped and joined the current hosting team.
The first set of nine shows during season one was hosted by Robert Guarino, Rosie Sorenson and Mel Menefee. The older Menefee became the show's on-screen gimmick
Gimmick
In marketing language, a gimmick is a unique or quirky special feature that makes something "stand out" from its contemporaries. However, the special feature is typically thought to be of little relevance or use. Thus, a gimmick is a special feature for the sake of having a special feature...
between 1988 through 1994. The Mel Menefee character was an on-going feature as the producers used Menefee's zaniness to form comedic situations, while the other personalities were hosting the episodes. When the show returned after a year hiatus, Menefee was joined by other personalities, most notably Denise Yvonne (now using the name Dee Jones). Other personalities that appeared for a number of seasons were Marci Camacho, Sibyl Motley, Jennifer Parnoff, and Veronica Ornelas.
Sidewalks also gives college students their first on-air experience. Eboni Warnking, Shereelynn Manlangit, Monica Calzada, Oakland Raiderettes cheerleader Michelle Marquez, and Nadine Toren have been some of the intern
Intern
Internship is a system of onthejob training for white-collar jobs, similar to an apprenticeship. Interns are usually college or university students, but they can also be high school students or post graduate adults seeking skills for a new career. They may also be as young as middle school or in...
s.
Production History
In early 1988, San Francisco Bay Area resident Richard R. LeeRichard R. Lee
Richard R. Lee is a television producer, director and on-air personality.Lee is mostly known for creating, editing and producing Sidewalks Entertainment, his first television series that he started in 1988...
got a chance to create and produce his first television show at Televents, a local El Cerrito
El Cerrito, Contra Costa County, California
-Transportation:The city's primary transportation infrastructure consists of the El Cerrito Plaza and El Cerrito del Norte BART stations along with several local bus lines, operated by AC Transit, providing access to the surrounding area and the nearby cities of Albany, Berkeley and Richmond...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
cable
Cable
A cable is two or more wires running side by side and bonded, twisted or braided together to form a single assembly. In mechanics cables, otherwise known as wire ropes, are used for lifting, hauling and towing or conveying force through tension. In electrical engineering cables are used to carry...
station, after he helped and worked on various studio productions. That TV show became Sidewalks, which went before the cameras in May and debuted its first episode on September 1, 1988.
The production schedule of Sidewalks has been irregular (due to TV station and equipment availability), although the show has never left the air since 1988. Sidewalks produced nine shows during season one. Almost a year later, the production returned for several more years at the retitled cable company Bay Cablevision (later purchased by various cable companies including AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
and Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
).
In 1994, Lee brought the production to KCRT-TV
KCRT-TV
KCRT-TV is a local cable news cable TV station in Richmond, California. It mostly plays historic archives and historic documentary, news, as well as the long-running Sidewalks Entertainment...
, a non-commercial Richmond, California
Richmond, California
Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905. It is located in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a residential inner suburb of San Francisco, as well as the site of heavy industry, which has been...
TV station, where Lee was already working at for a couple of years. Throughout the decade
Decade
A decade is a period of 10 years. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek dekas which means ten. This etymology is sometime confused with the Latin decas and dies , which is not correct....
run, the TV show was an intermittent co-production between Lee and the station until 2004.
The show is now solely produced by Sidewalks Entertainment, Inc., a California corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
developed by Rhodes and Lee, to further the production.
Sidewalks: The Entertainment Project
The main producers / hosts and a new team are currently working on re-launching the original concept into a potential national broadcast TV series. They are calling the forthcoming version, Sidewalks: The Entertainment Project (a title that may change when the new show premieres).In 2005, the team produced a new one-hour test pilot, which sports among things a new logo and theme music. In the pilot, the segments were interviews with American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
's LaToya London
LaToya London
LaToya Renee London is an American R&B and soul singer and actress who was the fourth-place finalist on the third season of the reality/talent-search television series American Idol...
, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy's Carson Kressley
Carson Kressley
Carson Lee Kressley was the fashion expert on the American television program Queer Eye, where he was one of the show's "Fab Five" members. He is also the motivational host of the TV show How to Look Good Naked.-Biography:...
, young actress AnnaSophia Robb
AnnaSophia Robb
AnnaSophia Robb is an American film and television actress. She gained prominence in 2005 with starring roles in Because of Winn-Dixie and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and starred in Bridge to Terabithia , Race to Witch Mountain , and Soul Surfer .-Personal life:Robb was born in Denver,...
, the pop music group From The Desk of Sally, a Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.In 2003,...
video, and a feature about finding a talent agent. The pilot is designed to showcase the new production to commercial stations and TV networks.
While the team is developing the new version, the producers and hosts are continuing their long-running Sidewalks Entertainment and Sidewalks: Video Nite
Sidewalks: Video Nite
Sidewalks: Video Nite is an American television show featuring music videos. The show is a spin-off from Sidewalks Entertainment.Sidewalks: Video Nites music format is primarily POP and R&B...
series with brand new episodes. Parts of the test pilot were recycled into two episodes ("American Idols" and "Talent Agents") of Sidewalks Entertainments 16th season.
Spin-off Series: Sidewalks: Video Nite
Sidewalks receives music video clips from various record companies. In 1992, the show opened its fifth season with a set of music video editions. The initial reaction to the video shows didn't fared well with viewers, because the regular lineup of interviews, musical guests and artistic acts disappeared for a short time. Producer Lee decided to create a spin-offSpin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
series to handle the load of clips. Sidewalks: Video Nite
Sidewalks: Video Nite
Sidewalks: Video Nite is an American television show featuring music videos. The show is a spin-off from Sidewalks Entertainment.Sidewalks: Video Nites music format is primarily POP and R&B...
was born. Currently, Sidewalks: Video Nite is a regular series on KCRT-TV and some selected episodes are aired in other markets.
The Website
Along with Sidewalks Entertainment and Sidewalks: Video Nite, the program’s official website, SidewalksTV.com, has become its own entity. Creator and executive producer Lee has been the webmaster for the entire variation of the site.Originally appearing as a small, couple page website on Geocities
GeoCities
Yahoo! GeoCities is a web hosting service, currently available only in Japan.GeoCities was originally founded by David Bohnett and John Rezner in late 1994 as Beverly Hills Internet . In its original form, site users selected a "city" in which to place their web pages...
and Xoom
XOOM
Xoom was an early dot-com that used to primarily provide free unlimited space web hosting, similar to GeoCities.-History:Xoom was founded by Chris Kitze in September 1996 as a download website offering free clipart and a productivity suite including a word-processing application, centering around a...
, the site featured basic information about the TV show and its staff. As time passed, the site moved onto other servers, presented on-line articles and displayed video clips. From the beginning until fall 2006, the site used exclusively Real
RealVideo
RealVideo is a suite of proprietary video compression formats developed by RealNetworks – the specific format changes with the version. It was first released in 1997 and is at version 10. RealVideo is supported on many platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris, and several mobile...
video clips as its choice of web streaming
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
. The latest clips are now encoded in Flash
Adobe Flash Player
The Adobe Flash Player is software for viewing multimedia, Rich Internet Applications and streaming video and audio, on a computer web browser or on supported mobile devices. Flash Player runs SWF files that can be created by the Adobe Flash authoring tool, by Adobe Flex or by a number of other...
video for better platform delivery.
The main spotlight of the website is celebrity interviews. Since 2003, majority of the show’s interviews have been presented on the site. Generally, the website displays the complete interview with a celebrity, whereas the TV show may exhibit an edited or shorter version of the same interview due to dated content or time allotment. Many of the interviews have debuted on the website days or weeks before it appeared on an episode of Sidewalks.
The website has also been presenting its own interviews and special segments taped by the Sidewalks production crew or, occasionally, an outside supplier. The crew has been recording multiple segments of an interview that can be used as separate web content. Some of the exclusive web presentations include interviews with rapper David Banner
David Banner
Lavell Crump , better known by his stage name David Banner, is an American rapper, record producer and occasional actor. Banner was born in Jackson, Mississippi and graduated from Southern University. He started his music career as a member of the rap duo, Crooked Lettaz before going solo in 2000...
and R&B singer Raz-B
Raz-B
De'Mario Monte Thornton , better known as Raz-B, is an American singer and actor, most famous for being is a founding member of R&B boy band B2K.-Career:Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Raz B was a member of the group B2K as a teen...
; movie coverage of films “Catch A Fire
Catch a Fire (film)
Catch a Fire is a 2006 dramatic thriller about activists against apartheid in South Africa. The film was directed by Phillip Noyce, from a screenplay written by Shawn Slovo...
” and “The Pursuit of Happiness
The Pursuit of Happyness
Varèse Sarabande released the soundtrack on January 9, 2007, which included sixteen tracks.-Box office:The film debuted first at the North American box office, earning $27 million during its opening weekend and beating out heavily promoted films such as Eragon and Charlotte's Web...
;” behind-the-scenes interviews at The California Music Awards and sci-fi/comic convention WonderCon
WonderCon
WonderCon is an annual comic book, science fiction, and motion picture convention, held in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1987.The convention was conceived by retailer John Barrett and originally held in the Oakland Convention Center, where it remained until 2003, when it moved to San...
; and special features such as the audio mixing of movies, special health segments, and KBLX
KBLX
KBLX-FM is an Urban Adult Contemporary radio station that broadcasts from San Francisco. The station is licensed to Berkeley, California, and is owned by Inner City Broadcasting Corporation.-About KBLX:...
radio station’s Kevin Brown Anniversary Party.
In the summer of 2006, Lee and production member Justin Langston launched the program’s blog, Sidewalks On The Corner. The blog features articles and music and movie reviews.
Since May 2006, SidewalksTV.com has also been releasing selected clips on other digital platforms, such as YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
and MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
.
Miscellaneous
- The first satellite tour that Sidewalks conducted featured an interview with actor Sean Patrick FlanerySean Patrick FlanerySean Patrick Flanery is an American actor known for such roles as Connor MacManus in The Boondock Saints, Greg Stillson in The Dead Zone and for portraying Indiana Jones in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, as well as Bobby Dagen in Saw 3D.He is currently known for his role as Sam Gibson on The...
, who was promoting The Young Indiana Jones ChroniclesThe Young Indiana Jones ChroniclesThe Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. The series explores the childhood and youth of the fictional character Indiana Jones and primarily stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Corey Carrier as the title character, with...
made-for-cable films.
- The first video clip encoded for the website was an interview with Dr. DreDr. DreAndre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...
at the Bay Area Music Awards (Bammies).
- The following guests have appeared on the Sidewalks TV series more than once: AnnaSophia RobbAnnaSophia RobbAnnaSophia Robb is an American film and television actress. She gained prominence in 2005 with starring roles in Because of Winn-Dixie and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and starred in Bridge to Terabithia , Race to Witch Mountain , and Soul Surfer .-Personal life:Robb was born in Denver,...
, Stacy LondonStacy LondonStacy London is an American fashion consultant and media personality known primarily for her role as co-host on What Not to Wear, a reality program that features makeovers. After graduating from Vassar College, London started her career as a fashion editor at Vogue and transitioned into being a...
, Richard HatchRichard Hatch (actor)Richard Hatch is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Captain Apollo in the original Battlestar Galactica television series, and also as Tom Zarek in the remake of Battlestar Galactica....
, TiaTia MowryTia Dashon Mowry-Hardrict is an American actress. She first gained fame for her teen role as Tia Landry on the ABC/WB sitcom Sister, Sister...
and Tamera MowryTamera MowryTamera Darvette Mowry-Housley is an American actress. She first gained fame for her teen role as Tamera Campbell on the ABC/WB sitcom Sister, Sister...
, Carson KressleyCarson KressleyCarson Lee Kressley was the fashion expert on the American television program Queer Eye, where he was one of the show's "Fab Five" members. He is also the motivational host of the TV show How to Look Good Naked.-Biography:...
, Melinda ClarkeMelinda ClarkeMelinda Patrice Clarke is an American actress who has primarily worked in television. Clarke is best known for playing Faith Taylor on the daytime drama Days of our Lives, the manipulative and cunning Julie Cooper-Nichol on The O.C., and the professional dominatrix Lady Heather on CSI...
, Dave KozDave KozDave Koz is an American smooth jazz saxophonist.- Life and career :Dave Koz was born on March 27, 1963 in Encino, California....
, Patti LaBellePatti LaBellePatricia Louise Holte-Edwards , better known under the stage name, Patti LaBelle, is a Grammy Award winning American singer, author and actress who has spent over 50 years in the music industry...
, Annie PottsAnnie PottsAnne Hampton "Annie" Potts is an American film and television actress. She is known for her roles in the 1980s popular films such as Ghostbusters , Pretty in Pink , Jumpin' Jack Flash , Who's Harry Crumb? and Ghostbusters II . Potts is also known as a voice-actress...
, and authors Sandra BrownSandra BrownSandra Lynn Brown is an American bestselling author of romantic novels and thriller suspense novels. Brown has also published works under the pen names of Rachel Ryan, Laura Jordan, and Erin St. Claire....
and Sidney SheldonSidney SheldonSidney Sheldon was an Academy Award-winning American writer. His TV works spanned a 20-year period during which he created The Patty Duke Show , I Dream of Jeannie and Hart to Hart , but he became most famous after he turned 50 and began writing best-selling novels such as Master of the Game ,...
.
External links
- Official Site of Sidewalks Entertainment TV Show
- Sidewalks Entertainment on KCRT-TVKCRT-TVKCRT-TV is a local cable news cable TV station in Richmond, California. It mostly plays historic archives and historic documentary, news, as well as the long-running Sidewalks Entertainment...