Legendary guitarist and co-founder of Van Halen, Eddie Van Halen has died after a long battle with throat cancer .

It was said that in the last 72 hours Eddie’s ongoing health battle went massively downhill — doctors discovered his throat cancer had moved to his brain as well as other organs.

Eddie has been battling cancer for well over a decade. Our sources say he’s been in and out of the hospital over the past year — including last November for intestinal issues and recently underwent a round of chemo. Though he was a heavy smoker for years, he believes he developed throat cancer from a metal guitar pick he used to frequently hold in his mouth more than 20 years ago. Nevertheless, he continued to attend concerts and rehearse music with his son, Wolfgang, who became Van Halen’s bassist in 2006.

Eddie formed the classic rock group in Pasadena in 1972 with his brother, Alec, on drums, Michael Anthony on bass and David Lee Roth singing. Eddie served as the main songwriter on their self-titled debut album in 1978 which launched the group into rock superstardom in the ’80s. Van Halen was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, and Eddie is widely considered one the greatest guitar players of all time.

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Filed Under: Music, Music Headlines Tagged With: battle, cancer, cofounder, died, eddie, guitarist, ...

Fran Drescher talks about “Happily Divorced” and her Cancer Schmancer Movement

Fran Drescher is known best for creating and starring in the TV series’ “The Nanny” and “Happily Divorced”.  Fran is also a cancer survivor and currently founder of the Cancer Schmancer Movement, as well as it program Trash Cancer.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Fran about her new season of “Happily Divorced” and about her work to fight Cancer.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us what we can expect season three of “Happily Divorced”? Guest stars?
Fran Drescher: We premiere on November 28th. We had a cliffhanger with the last twelve episodes and this picks up where it left off with a new arc for our main character. This season we have amazing guest stars. Joan Collins has a reoccurring role playing herself. Molly Shannon is going to play Peter’s sister. Cindy Lauper will play Renee Taylor’s daughter. Ralph Macchio is back as the man who in love with me. We are introducing some new characters as well. We have a neighbor moving in next door. It is going to be a fantastic season.

MG: John Michael Higgins and you are just fantastic on the show; you guys have great comedic chemistry.
FD: He is so great. I am so thrilled and blessed to have him as my leading man.

MG: “Happily Divorced” has been going for a few seasons now, how was it been not only starring but also writing and producing?
FD: My job is very similar to what it was on “The Nanny”. I created that series as well with my partner Peter Jacobson. I wear a lot of hats but I really enjoy the whole aspect of putting together a series. I find it very exciting and stimulating. It can be exhausting. It can be challenging. But I think I would be bored if I didn’t tap into all of my strengths. I would feel a little bit stuck. This keeps me very stimulated, both creatively and intellectually.

MG: What do you enjoy most about working with TV Land?
FD: They are a good group. They are a small network, so there is not a lot of bureaucracy. It is a really a collective art form. We love all the people that we have to deal with. I feel like we are in a really good place. They have people that are really into situational comedy, in the old school sense of the word, and that is my brand of comedy. So it is a really good fit.

MG: How do you compare your experience with “Happily Divored” from your other shows like “The Nanny”?
FD: I think we have a lot of great writers that came from “The Nanny”. Due to that we have some great laugh-out-loud comedy. I think that this character deals with the woman that is closer in age to me, who finding herself single in her mid-years. It has a very significant social message, which is “Love is love, it is not conditional and everyone has a right to an authentic life.” I think at this stage in my life it is nice for me to produce things that not only make you laugh but then have some kind of resonance.

MG: Tell us about your work with your Cancer Schmancer Movement?
FD: It is the organization that I founded and have continued to be president and visionary for. It came out of my New York Times bestseller “Cancer Schmancer”, which came out of my own cancer survival – which I am twelve years well! Over the years, I began to formulate a feeling that the emphasis for trying to find a cure for cancer is really kind of like closing the barn door after the horses escape. The better way to “cure cancer” is to not get it in the first place. How is that for a cure? What the Cancer Schmancer Movement also does is educate the public on how to transpond from being a patient to a medical consumer. We urge you to learn the early warning whispers of the cancers that may affect you and also know the tests that are available.

MG: Tell us about your campaign to Trash Cancer?
FD: It is our new program through Cancer Schamancer to educate Americans on how to detox their home, which turns out to be the most toxic place that we spend the most time in. Since 90% of cancer is environmental, we should begin with what we bring into our home through purchasing power. That we have control over. We can effectively reduce our chance for cancer by making healthier choices on what we put in, on and around us.

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Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: cancer, divorced, drescher, fran, happily, movement, ...

Stand Up to Cancer and “The Amazing Spider-Man” T-Shirt Giveaway [ENDED]

THANK YOU FOR ENTERING, THE CONTEST HAS ENDED. WINNERS HAVE BEEN CHOSEN AND NOTIFIED VIA EMAIL. PLEASE CHECK BACK EVERY WEEK FOR NEW GIVEAWAYS!

“BE AMAZING, STAND UP TO CANCER!”

 STAND UP TO CANCER  AND COLUMBIA PICTURES’ NEW FILM “THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN™” COLLABORATE ON A SPECIAL CO-BRANDED T-SHIRT LINE 

Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) is proud to collaborate with the upcoming Columbia Pictures film, The Amazing Spider-Man™, for a line of special co-branded t-shirts.  Launched May 18th, and just in time for the movie’s summer debut on July 3rd, these exclusive new designs feature both the iconic The Amazing Spider-Man artwork and hero messaging encouraging everyone to take action against the disease.  The co-branded t-shirts also feature Stand Up To Cancer’s signature upward arrows logo with slogans such as, “Be Amazing, Stand Up To Cancer.” The full line of tees, in youth’s, men’s and women’s sizes, will be available for purchase online at store.standup2cancer.org/shop with proceeds benefiting SU2C.

Media Mikes is excited to offer our readers a chance to one of these amazing shirts that support a wonderful cause. We will be giving away one each of the shirts above.  If you would like to win one of these great prizes below, all you have to do is “LIKE” our Facebook page and then post “SU2C/Spider-Man” and also be sure to “LIKE” this post on  SU2C’s Facebook page or tweet with #SU2C.  If you do not use Facebook leave us a comment below. This giveaway will be open until Friday June 22st at Noon, Eastern Time and is only open to residents of the United States. Only one entry per person, per household; all other entries will be considered invalid. Once the giveaway ends, Media Mikes will randomly pick out winners and alert the winners via email.

About Stand Up To Cancer

Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C)—a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization—raises funds to accelerate the pace of groundbreaking translational research that can get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives. SU2C facilitates collaboration among the best and the brightest in the cancer research community. The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and a Scientific Advisory Committee led by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., conduct rigorous, competitive review processes through which SU2C’s grantees are selected. By galvanizing the entertainment industry, SU2C generates awareness and builds grassroots support for this new approach to ending cancer.

Members of the SU2C Executive Leadership Council include Katie Couric; the Entertainment Industry Foundation, represented by Board of Directors Chairperson Sherry Lansing (Founder of the Sherry Lansing Foundation), CEO Lisa Paulsen and Senior Vice President Kathleen Lobb; Rusty Robertson and Sue Schwartz of the Robertson Schwartz Agency; Pam Williams, partner at Laura Ziskin Productions; and nonprofit executive Ellen Ziffren. The late Laura Ziskin, a legendary film producer who executive produced the 2008 and 2010 SU2C telecasts, was also a co-founder of Stand Up To Cancer.

About The Amazing Spider-Man™

One of the world’s most popular characters is back on the big screen as a new chapter in the Spider-Man legacy is revealed in The Amazing Spider-Man™.  Focusing on an untold story that tells a different side of the Peter Parker story, the new film stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, with Martin Sheen and Sally Field.  The film is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay written by James Vanderbilt and Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves from a story by James Vanderbilt, based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.  Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, and Matt Tolmach are producing the film in association with Marvel Entertainment for Columbia Pictures, which will open in theaters everywhere in 3D on July 3, 2012.  The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field).  Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today.  Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets.  As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner.  As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

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Filed Under: Giveaways Tagged With: amazing, cancer, giveaway, spiderman, stand, tshirt, ...

Stand Up to Cancer and Lucasfilm Kick Off The Holiday Season by Using the Force for Good

STAND UP TO CANCER AND LUCASFILM KICK OFF

THE HOLIDAY SEASON BY USING THE FORCE FOR GOOD

New All-Star Behind-the-Scenes Star Wars™ Video Tribute Featuring

Outtakes Debuts

Iconic Darth Vader Design Joins Exclusive Line of

SU2C Star Wars T-Shirts Available at SU2C.org

LOS ANGELES, CA, NOVEMBER 28, 2011— Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) and Lucasfilm will continue their collaboration this holiday season when they release never-before-seen outtakes from the highly popular star-studded video clip that urges fans to Use the Force for Good.  The campaign continues to raise funds for groundbreaking cancer research that will get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives.  Just in time for holiday shopping and due to popular demand, SU2C and Lucasfilm have added a fourth design incorporating the iconic image of Darth Vader to their line of co-branded tees, which feature Star Wars™ artwork alongside SU2C’s signature upward arrows and slogans such as “Blast Cancer” and “Use the Force for Good.” This new exclusive Darth Vader t-shirt bears the slogan “Do Not Underestimate the Power of SU2C,” and will be available for purchase in late November.  The full line of  tees is available for purchase at store.standup2cancer.org/shop with proceeds benefiting SU2C.

In addition, a new behind-the-scenes look at the Star Wars video tribute featuring celebrity Star Wars enthusiasts and SU2C Ambassadors— Aziz Ansari, Zach Galifianakis, Bill Hader, Ed Helms, Ken Jeong, Jaime King, Seth Rogen, Andy Samberg and Emma Stone—who were joined by Star Wars alum Samuel L. Jackson, can currently be viewed on the Star Wars YouTube channel, youtube.com/starwars, alongside the original video tribute.  This new behind-the-scenes video not only captures funny outtakes from the all-star cast, it highlights candid moments where the cast members express why they participated in the original Star Wars video tribute. With approximately 800,000 hits on YouTube so far, the original Star Wars video tribute encourages fans to Use the Force for Good and join Lucasfilm in donating to Stand Up To Cancer.

“To build a grassroots movement of people determined to end this disease, cancer and references to it have to become part of the pop culture zeitgeist,” said Sue Schwartz, SU2C co-founder and partner at Robertson Schwartz Agency. “Lucasfilm’s willingness to highlight the fight against cancer with an icon like Star Wars is a huge boon to our efforts.  Everyone at Stand Up To Cancer is eternally grateful to Lucasfilm and our celebrity ambassadors for ‘Using the Force for Good.’ We look forward to continuing this campaign through the end of the year to raise funds for life-saving cancer research.”

About Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray

Relive the unforgettable moments and experience the spectacular adventure of STAR WARS The Complete Saga in a way only Blu-ray can deliver. This incredible collection unites all six Episodes together for the first time in stunning high definition with the purest digital sound in the galaxy. With over 40 hours of thrilling special features, including all-new content created exclusively for this release, you can journey deeper into the Star Wars universe and discover more than ever before. This month, feel the Force of STAR WARS The Complete Saga on Blu-ray!

About Stand Up To Cancer

Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C)—a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization—raises funds to accelerate the pace of groundbreaking translational research that can get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives. SU2C facilitates collaboration among the best and the brightest in the cancer research community. The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and a Scientific Advisory Committee led by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., conduct rigorous, competitive review processes through which SU2C’s grantees are selected. By galvanizing the entertainment industry, SU2C generates awareness and builds grassroots support for this new approach to ending cancer.

Lucasfilm, STAR WARS™ and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd.  All rights reserved.  All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.

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Filed Under: Film Headlines Tagged With: cancer, force, good, holiday, kick, lucasfilm, ...
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