LOVE IT
• President Obama thanked Japan for giving the world emojis during Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to the White House.
Britney Spears lent her music-video costumes for the wedding of two men who met at her concert.
• Chipotle released its guacamole recipe to the public. Among the formerly top-secret ingredients: jalapeño, red onion and cilantro.
• Kristen Wiig went on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon dressed as Khaleesi from Game of Thrones–and did her entire interview (loosely) in character.
VERBATIM
‘I bought a new Aston Martin and wanted the whole freeway to myself to test-drive and … oops.’
KIRSTIE ALLEY, actor, jokingly claiming responsibility for Bridgegate after a news headline implicated a “Christie Ally”
THE DIGITS
$191.3 MILLION
Amount Avengers: Age of Ultron made at the box office during its opening weekend, making it one of the biggest U.S. debuts in history–second only to that of the first Avengers film, which logged $207.4 million in May 2012
LET THERE BE LIGHT
As part of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s exhibition “Northern Lights: Scandinavian Design,” the Danish designer Poul Henningsen’s 1957 tiered PH Artichoke lamp will shed its light on museumgoers. The exhibition traces Northern European design from 1900 to the present Minecraft era.
QUICK TALK
James Marsden
You’ve never seen a dysfunctional bromance quite like the one in The D Train (out May 8). In it, 41-year-old Marsden plays a struggling actor lured to his 20-year high school reunion by a classmate (Jack Black) who is still desperate to be cool.
–NOLAN FEENEY
Did you go to your last high school reunion?
I was working! It would still be fun to go back and look at how everyone’s changed, but there’s this anxiety that comes with it too. You actually just get pulled back into high school with that same hierarchy.
Where did you fall in that hierarchy?
I made the cool kids laugh, so I was able to hang out with them. But I still had the bad style and the bad haircuts.
Your character’s claim to fame is a Banana Boat ad. Did you do any embarrassing commercials back in the day?
I went to a lot of commercial auditions when I first moved to L.A., but I never booked anything. My more embarrassing stuff is the guest spot I did on Saved by the Bell: The New Class or when I was in Oklahoma doing Sunday-newspaper modeling for a local clothing store. Those were pretty priceless.
Has the Internet found photos yet?
I think they’re lost in history, but my grandmother may have them in some album. I’d love to see those–there were some real gems.
“ON MY RADAR
• Game of Thrones
“You’re going to laugh: I just watched my first episode.”
MASTERWORKS
The Art Institute of Chicago recently announced the largest gift in its history, comprising 42 contemporary artworks. The collection includes three works by Jasper Johns (including Alphabet, 1959), one of the 20th century’s most influential artists. Johns, who will turn 85 on May 15, is known for his reclamation of familiar icons like the American flag as well as numbers and letters.
ROUNDUP
Longest Laughers
The Griffins are officially among the most durable TV families. Family Guy (featuring baby Stewie and dog Brian, below) recently celebrated its 250th episode on air, placing it within striking distance of becoming the longest-running sitcom of all time. Here’s how its competition stacks up.
[The following text appears within a chart. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual chart.]
THE DANNY THOMAS SHOW
The show, starring a popular nightclub comic, began its life as Make Room for Daddy in 1953; Thomas returned in the short-lived ’70s series Make Room for Granddaddy.
344 EPISODES
THE ADVENTURES OF OZZIE AND HARRIET
This series set the template for pre-Simpsons families on TV, with real-life married couple Ozzie and Harriet Nelson and their sons Ricky and David acting out Eisenhower-era home life.
435 EPISODES
MY THREE SONS
Double Indemnity star Fred MacMurray went for comedy as a single dad in this 12-season TV staple, which moved from ABC to CBS, and from black-and-white to color, during its 1960–72 run.
380 EPISODES
THE SIMPSONS
When its current season ends, the Springfield saga will near the 600-episode mark, one it’s guaranteed to pass. It just got renewed for two more years.
574 EPISODES
CHEERS
The Boston barfly comedy lasted 11 seasons; spin-off Frasier, which moved the action to Seattle, fell just short with 264 episodes.
275 EPISODES
LEAVE IT
• A well-known North Carolina roller coaster recently got stuck midride three separate times in one week.
• The world’s most expensive ice cream–topped with Italian truffles and rare ambrosial Iranian saffron–costs $817 per scoop. It’s available at Scoopi Café in Dubai.
• America’s oldest hippopotamus, Bertie, died at age 58 at the Denver Zoo.
• Jamie Foxx’s rendition of the national anthem at the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight was slammed on social media as one of the worst ever.
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