SO SHINES A GOOD DEED IN A WEARY WORLD:  Gene Wilder celebrates his 80th birthday today. Between his work with Mel Brooks (The Producers, Blazing Saddles, and Young Frankenstein, the last of which he conceived of and co-wrote), his four with Richard Pryor, and his wonderfully bitchy performance as Willy Wonka which yields new joys every time I rewatch it, my goodness are we in his debt. (I've been told I need to see The Frisco Kid.)

The former Jerome Silberstein has basically been retired from acting for the past twenty years. As he has told several interviewers in recent years, "I don't like show business. I like show! I just don't like the business."

related: Ten Retired Film Stars Who Deserve A Comeback. Also, a Brooks-Wilder anecdote I feel compelled to add, below the fold:

IN THE ORIGINAL DRAFT, TURNS OUT LANEY WAS DEAD THE WHOLE TIME:  M. Night Shymalan is claiming that he did an uncredited rewrite on 90s teen comedy classic She's All That.

WHOSE MANAGER WANTS TO SPEND MONEY?  In order to compete for the Emmys, you have to officially enter, and the ballots are now open, and some interesting folks who decided submitting was worth their time:

• Tim Gunn is now co-submitted with Heidi Klum as "hosts" of Project Runway.  (Odd because the 4 "hosts" of The Taste opted for separate eligibility.)
•  The Thick of It is apparently Emmy eligible this year, which could throw some surprises into the mix.  (As is Orphan Black, which could shake up the lead actress in a drama race.)
• Matthew Morrison continues to pretend that he is a "lead" on Glee.
• Somewhat surprisingly, Last Resort was submitted as a "drama series," not a mini-series, which places Andre Braugher in a much tougher field (though Michael Douglas seems a veritable lock for Behind the Candelabra).
• Kaley Cuoco drops back to supporting actress.
• Damon and Douglas are both running in lead for Behind the Candelabra.
• Sutton Foster is submitted as a lead for Bunheads, though no one else was submitted, even if ABC Family has multiple Pretty Little Liars on the list.  (Other hourlongs running as comedies?  Hart of Dixie and The Carrie Diaries)
• Interestingly, everyone from Smash is submitted, but all in the supporting categories. In contrast, Game of Thrones offers limited choices, all supporting--Coster-Waldau, Dinklage, Harrington, Clarke, Dormer, Fairley, Headey.  (Ciaran Hinds and Diana Riggs are guests.)
• Some ridiculous ones--Katie Cassidy, lead actress in a drama for Arrow, Tracy Spiradakos, lead actress in a drama for Revolution, Matthew Moy, supporting actor in a comedy for Two Broke Girls, Austin Basis, outstanding supporting actor for Beauty and the Beast.  Sadly, no one from Gossip Girl even bothered submitting.
• For writing--Arrested Development opted to submit only the finale, Community submitted the comic book, puppet, and body switch episodes, HIMYM submitted Robin Sparkles and the time travel episode, Game of Thrones submitted only "Rains of Castamere," Newsroom submitted only the pilot.

I'm sure there's more if you dig--have fun!

I HEAR HIT LIST HAS AN AMAZING A CAPELLA NUMBER IN THE SHOW:The Tony Awards, hosted for the third consecutive year by ALOTT5MA Fave NPH, return to Radio City tonight after two years in exile on the Upper West Side.  Debate how Kinky Boots, Matilda, and Pippin will split the spoils (my guess--Kinky gets score, making Cyndi Lauper just an Oscar short of EGOT, and actor for Billy Porter, Matilda gets book and Best Musical, while Pippin runs the table, getting Featured Actor, Featured Actress, Actress, Director, and Revival, plus a bunch of tech stuff), and whether Tom Hanks' starpower and the warm reception of Lucky Guy are enough to beat back the rapturous reviews (but limited box office success and long-ago closing) of Virginia Woolf.  Talk amongst yourselves here--show starts at 8.

IF THEY HAD ONLY GIVEN US "REMBERT EXPLAINS THE 80S," DAYENU:  Grantland turns two years old today, and in celebration many are passing around this June 8, 2011 Atlantic article which explained why Grantland was "doomed". (In particular, Nicholas Jackson wrongly assumed that Bill Simmons would try to force the site's elite writers to write like him, as opposed to giving a place for a fantastic staff to be themselves.)

NO IT ISN'T. IT'S JUST CONTRADICTION:   So Lucy received the "Monty Python Award" from her teachers as fourth grade concluded, as a testament to her consistent sense of humor, etc. (Go figure.) And now I have to figure out how to introduce her to the Pythons, since I (perhaps surprisingly) have never been fully immersed. My first efforts last night were Argument Clinic (yielding giggles), Ministry of Silly Walks (chuckles), and the Lumberjack Song, which led to cackling and multiple requests to play it again, find other versions, etc. So where do I go from here?

BET ON GATOROID:  The WSJ gathers several of the nation's top zoologists and experts in animal physiology to determine which land animal would win the 1.5 mile Belmont Stakes if all of them could enter.