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155-638: Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series Moonlighting (1985–1989) and has appeared in over one hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero for his portrayal of John McClane in the Die Hard franchise (1988–2013). Willis's other credits include The Last Boy Scout (1991), Pulp Fiction (1994), 12 Monkeys (1995), The Fifth Element (1997), Armageddon (1998), The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable , The Whole Nine Yards (both 2000), Tears of

310-442: A Moonlighting parody, and was publicized as such widely enough that Riptide 's producers felt obliged to clarify that they liked Moonlighting and intended the episode as an homage. The episode was even titled "If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em". The series even spawned a porn parody entitled "Moonlusting" in 1987, directed by Henri Pachard and starring Taija Rae as Hattie Mays and Jerry Butler as David Madison, together running

465-563: A military family . Willis has donated Girl Scout cookies to the United States armed forces. In 2002, Willis's then 8-year-old daughter, Tallulah, suggested that he purchase Girl Scout cookies to send to troops. Willis purchased 12,000 boxes of cookies, and they were distributed to sailors aboard USS John F. Kennedy and other troops stationed throughout the Middle East at the time. In 2003, Willis visited Iraq as part of

620-463: A 32-story office tower would be built. Hotels, apartment buildings, and a Madison Square Garden would be built over the tracks west of Pennsylvania Station . North of the Javits Center, a "Television City" would be developed by Larry Silverstein in conjunction with NBC . One impediment to development was the lack of mass transit in the area, which is far from Penn Station, and none of

775-704: A Comedy Series for his work on Friends (in which he played the father of Ross Geller 's much-younger girlfriend). He was also nominated for a 2001 American Comedy Award (in the Funniest Male Guest Appearance in a TV Series category) for his work on Friends . Also in 2000, Willis played Jimmy "The Tulip" Tudeski in The Whole Nine Yards alongside Matthew Perry . Willis was originally cast as Terry Benedict in Ocean's Eleven (2001) but dropped out to work on recording an album. In

930-523: A German restaurant in the area known as Heil's Kitchen, after its proprietors. But the most common version traces it to the story of "Dutch Fred the Cop", a veteran policeman, who with his rookie partner, was watching a small riot on West 39th Street near Tenth Avenue. The rookie is supposed to have said, "This place is hell itself", to which Fred replied, "Hell's a mild climate. This is Hell's Kitchen." The 1929 book Manna-Hatin: The Story of New York states that

1085-418: A Las Vegas cocktail waitress who becomes an elite professional gambler. The two films were distributed by Lionsgate Entertainment . Willis reprised his most famous role, John McClane, for a fifth time, starring in A Good Day to Die Hard , which was released on February 14, 2013. In an interview, Willis said, "I have a warm spot in my heart for Die Hard ..... it's just the sheer novelty of being able to play

1240-432: A Republican. I hate the government, OK? I'm apolitical . Write that down. I'm not a Republican." Willis did not make any contributions or public endorsements in the 2008 presidential campaign . In several June 2007 interviews, he declared that he maintains some Republican ideologies. On August 17, 2006, Willis was named in a Los Angeles Times advertisement that condemned Hamas and Hezbollah and supported Israel in

1395-417: A bathtub with a television playing The Three Stooges , Addison says, "The Stooges? Are you nuts? The network'll never let you do that, lady!") Cold opens sometimes featured Shepherd and Willis (in character as Maddie Hayes and David Addison), other actors, viewers, or TV critics directly addressing the audience about the show's production itself. These cold opens were originally borne out of desperation as

1550-457: A bond issue that would have funded a 48th Street "people mover", the City first abandoned the rest of the 1969–70 master plan and then gave the neighborhood a special zoning district to restrict further redevelopment. Since then, limited new development has filled in the many empty lots and rejuvenated existing buildings. Later, in 1978, when the city could not afford the higher cost of constructing

1705-404: A cameo appearance as Steele in one episode. The show also acknowledged Hart to Hart as an influence: in the episode "It's a Wonderful Job", based on the film It's a Wonderful Life , Maddie's guardian angel showed her an alternate reality in which Jonathan and Jennifer Hart from the earlier series had taken over Blue Moon's lease. Although Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers did not appear in

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1860-561: A cameo with the former Planet Hollywood co-owners and 80s action stars Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film The Expendables . Willis played the role of CIA agent " Mr. Church ". It was the first time the three action stars had appeared on screen together. Although the scene featuring the three was short, it was one of the most highly anticipated scenes in the film. The trio filmed their scene in an empty church on October 24, 2009. Willis next starred in Red , an adaptation of

2015-497: A clip montage of previous Moonlighting episodes, then the episode ends with a message stating that "Blue Moon Investigations ceased operations on May 14, 1989. The Anselmo Case was never solved... and remains a mystery to this day." As the show had not produced enough episodes to gain a syndication contract, following its original run it was not widely seen until its DVD release, although it occasionally appeared on cable channels targeting women (including Lifetime and Bravo in

2170-579: A contract to become the international face of Belvedere SA 's Sobieski Vodka in exchange for 3.3% ownership in the company. In 2018, Willis became the brand ambassador of the Hungarian brand Hell Energy Drink . Willis's acting role models are Gary Cooper , Robert De Niro , Steve McQueen , and John Wayne . He is left-handed. He resides in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles with his family. On November 21, 1987, Willis married Demi Moore at

2325-587: A detective show." The tone of the series was left up to the production staff, resulting in Moonlighting becoming one of the first successful TV " dramedies "— dramatic-comedy, a style of television and movies in which there is an equal or nearly equal balance of humor and serious content. The show made use of fast-paced, overlapping dialogue between the two leads, harking back to classic screwball comedy films such as those of director Howard Hawks . These innovative qualities resulted in its being nominated, for

2480-494: A disorder typically caused by damage to the area of the brain that controls language expression and comprehension. The Golden Raspberry Awards retracted its Willis category, deeming it inappropriate to give a Razzie to someone whose performance was affected by a medical condition. At the time of his retirement, Willis had completed 11 films awaiting release. On February 16, 2023, Willis's family announced that he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia . According to Gregg Day,

2635-445: A drama about the investigation of the 1968 My Lai massacre . However, due to the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike , the film was canceled. Willis appeared on the 2008 Blues Traveler album North Hollywood Shootout , giving a spoken word performance over an instrumental blues rock jam on the track "Free Willis (Ruminations from Behind Uncle Bob's Machine Shop)". In early 2009, he appeared in an advertising campaign to publicize

2790-618: A half years of romantic tension. In commentaries on the third season DVD set, Caron disputed that the event led to the show's decline, but that a number of other factors led to the series' decline and eventual cancellation. In the fourth season, Willis and Shepherd had scant screen time together. Jay Daniel explained that: We had to do episodes where there was no Cybill. She was off having twins. Her scenes were shot early, early on and then you had to integrate them with scenes shot weeks later. You were locked into what those scenes were because of what had already been shot with Cybill. Bruce Willis

2945-554: A home to fledgling and working actors; it is the home of the Actors Studio training school and sits near Broadway theatres . Hell's Kitchen is part of Manhattan Community District 4 . It is patrolled by the 10th and Midtown North Precincts of the New York City Police Department . The area provides transport, medical, and warehouse-infrastructure support to the business district of Manhattan. It

3100-491: A limited run of Legacys, badged "Subaru Legacy Touring Bruce", in honor of Willis. Willis has appeared in five films with Samuel L. Jackson (National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 , Pulp Fiction , Die Hard with a Vengeance , Unbreakable , and Glass ) and both actors were slated to work together in Black Water Transit , before dropping out. Willis also worked with his eldest daughter, Rumer , in

3255-418: A mix of mystery, sharp dialogue, and sexual tension between its leads, introduced Willis to the world and brought Shepherd back into the spotlight after a nearly decade-long absence. The characters were introduced in a two-hour pilot episode . The show's storyline begins with the reversal of fortune of Maddie Hayes, a former model who finds herself bankrupt after her accountant steals all her liquid assets. She

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3410-514: A moderate slump, as he starred in flops such as The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) and Hudson Hawk (1991), although he did find box office success with The Last Boy Scout . He gained more success with Striking Distance (1993) but flopped again with Color of Night (1994): it was savaged by critics but did well in the home video market and became one of the Top 20 most-rented films in

3565-575: A motion picture production company called Cheyenne Enterprises . He left the company to be run solely by Rifkin in 2007 after Live Free or Die Hard . He also owns several small businesses in Hailey, Idaho , including The Mint Bar and The Liberty Theater and was one of the first promoters of Planet Hollywood , with actors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone . Willis and the other actors were paid for their appearances and endorsements through an employee stock ownership plan . In 2009, Willis signed

3720-418: A multiple murder there. He referred to a particularly infamous tenement at 39th Street and Tenth Avenue as "Hell's Kitchen" and said that the entire section was "probably the lowest and filthiest in the city." According to this version, 39th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues became known as Hell's Kitchen and the name was later expanded to the surrounding streets. Another version ascribes the name's origins to

3875-422: A narrow court behind 422 West 46th Street. From 1811 until it was officially de-mapped in 1857, the diminutive Bloomingdale Square was part of the city's intended future. It extended from 53rd to 57th Streets between Eighth and Ninth Avenues. It was eliminated after the establishment of Central Park, and the name shifted to the junction of Broadway, West End Avenue , and 106th Street, now Straus Park . In 1825,

4030-795: A neurologist at the Mayo Clinic 's Florida campus , the symptoms include difficulties with language and comprehension, and misinterpretation of instructions. In a statement, the family said that Willis's condition had progressed and that "challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease". They expressed hope that media attention on Willis would raise awareness about the disease. Willis owns houses in Los Angeles and Penns Grove, New Jersey . He also rents apartments at Trump Tower and in Riverside South, Manhattan . In 2000, Willis and his business partner Arnold Rifkin started

4185-549: A real-estate building boom on Eighth Avenue, including the Hearst Tower at 56th Street and Eighth Avenue. An indication of how fast real estate prices rose in the neighborhood was a 2004 transaction involving the Howard Johnson's Motel at 52nd Street and Eighth Avenue. In June, Vikram Chatwal's Hampshire Hotel Group bought the motel and adjoining Studio Instrument Rental building for $ 9 million. In August, they sold

4340-540: A result, most of the buildings are older, and are often walk-up apartments . For the most part, the neighborhood encompasses the ZIP Codes 10019 and 10036. The post office for 10019 is called Radio City Station, the original name for Rockefeller Center on Sixth Avenue . The neighborhood overlaps Times Square and the Theater District to the east at Eighth Avenue. On its southeast border, it overlaps

4495-732: A version of the Drifters song " Under the Boardwalk " as a second single; it reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart , but was less successful in the US. Willis returned to the recording studio several times. Having acquired major personal success and pop culture influence playing John McClane in Die Hard , Willis reprised his role in the sequels Die Hard 2 (1990) and Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995). These first three installments in

4650-455: A way to fill air time, since the dialogue on the show was spoken so quickly and the producers needed something to fill the entire hour. In some episodes, the production crew and sets become involved in the plot; in the final episode of the series, " Lunar Eclipse ", Hayes and Addison find out that the show is being canceled, and the office set is dismantled around them as they argue with a producer. The series also embraced fantasy; in season two,

4805-599: Is Chelsea . The Hudson Yards neighborhood overlaps with Hell's Kitchen, and the areas are often lumped together as "West Midtown", given their proximity to the Midtown Manhattan business district. The traditional dividing line with Chelsea is 34th Street. The area between the rail corridor at Pennsylvania Station and the West Side Yard and 42nd Street, and east of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center ,

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4960-649: Is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City , United States. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the east, and the Hudson River to the west. Hell's Kitchen has long been a bastion of poor and working-class Irish Americans , and its gritty reputation has long held real-estate prices below those of most other areas of Manhattan. But by 1969,

5115-611: Is also known as Hell's Kitchen South. The western border of the neighborhood is the Hudson River at the Hudson River Park and West Side Highway . Several explanations exist for the origin of the neighborhood's current name. An early use of the phrase appears in a comment Davy Crockett made about another notorious Irish slum in Manhattan, Five Points . According to the Irish Cultural Society of

5270-406: Is immediately west of New York's main business district, large-scale redevelopment has been kept in check for more than 40 years by strict zoning rules in a Special Clinton District designed to protect the neighborhood's residents and its low-rise character. In part to qualify for federal aid, New York developed a comprehensive Plan for New York City in 1969–70. While for almost all neighborhoods,

5425-411: Is known for its extensive selection of multiethnic, small, and relatively inexpensive restaurants, delicatessens, bodegas , bars, and associated nightlife. The name "Hell's Kitchen" generally refers to the area between 34th to the south and 59th Street to the north. Starting west of Eighth Avenue and the north side of 43rd Street, city zoning regulations generally limit buildings to six stories. As

5580-399: Is left with several failing businesses formerly maintained as tax writeoffs, one of which is the City of Angels Detective Agency, helmed by the carefree David Addison. Between the pilot and the first one-hour episode, David persuades Maddie to keep the business and run it as a partnership. The agency is renamed Blue Moon Investigations because Maddie was most famous for being the spokesmodel for

5735-553: Is that a half hour of television costs X, and an hour of television costs Y, no matter what that television is, it strikes me as an insane hypothesis. The parallel is, you're hungry, whether you go to McDonald's or whether you go to '21,' it should cost the same; they both fill your stomach. It's nonsense." All of this attention to detail resulted in production delays and the show became notorious for airing reruns when new episodes had not been completed in time for broadcast. The first two seasons of Moonlighting focused almost entirely on

5890-423: The Die Hard series grossed over US$ 700 million internationally and propelled Willis to the first rank of Hollywood action stars. At one point, Die Hard 2 and Ghost , starring Willis' then wife Demi Moore , would occupy the number one and number two spots at the box office, a feat that would not be accomplished again for a married Hollywood couple until 2024. In the early 1990s, Willis's career suffered

6045-524: The Late Show with David Letterman several times throughout his career. He filled in for an ill David Letterman on his show on February 26, 2003, when he was supposed to be a guest. On many of his appearances on the show, Willis staged elaborate jokes, such as wearing a day-glo orange suit in honor of the Central Park gates , having one side of his face made up with simulated birdshot wounds after

6200-484: The 1988 presidential elections . In the 1992 presidential election , however, he supported President George H. W. Bush for reelection and was an outspoken critic of Bill Clinton . In 1996, he declined to endorse Clinton's Republican opponent Bob Dole because Dole criticized Demi Moore for her role in the film Striptease . Willis was an invited speaker at the 2000 Republican National Convention , and supported George W. Bush that year. In 2006, Willis said that

6355-539: The 2006 Israel-Lebanon war . In the 2012 presidential election , Willis said that he had a negative opinion of Mitt Romney . Willis has won a variety of awards and has received various honors throughout his career in television and film. Moonlighting (TV series) The series revolved around cases investigated by the Blue Moon Detective Agency and its two partners, Madolyn "Maddie" Hayes (Shepherd) and David Addison (Willis). The show, with

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6510-510: The Broadhurst Theatre . His performance was generally panned by critics, who called it "vacant" and "inert". Willis was the subject of a roast by Comedy Central in a program broadcast on July 29, 2018. Willis played himself in a cameo in the 2019 film The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part . In the final years of his career, Willis starred in many low-budget independent thrillers and science fiction films. He worked primarily with

6665-606: The February sweeps , and returned on Sunday evenings in the spring of 1989. Six more episodes aired before the series was canceled in May of that year. In keeping with the show's tradition of "breaking the fourth wall", the last episode (fittingly titled "Lunar Eclipse") featured Maddie and David returning from Agnes and Herbert's wedding to find the Blue Moon sets being taken away, and an ABC network executive waiting to tell them that

6820-740: The Garment District also on Eighth Avenue. Two landmarks are located here – the New Yorker Hotel at 481 Eighth Avenue, and the Manhattan Center building at the northwest corner of 34th Street and Eighth Avenue. Included in the transition area on Eighth Avenue are the Port Authority Bus Terminal at 42nd Street , the Pride of Midtown fire station (from which an entire shift, 15 firefighters, died at

6975-477: The Golden Nugget Las Vegas . On December 20, the couple held a second reception for about 450 guests on a soundstage at Warner Bros. Studios Burbank . They have three daughters: Rumer (b. 1988), Scout (b. 1991), and Tallulah (b. 1994). Willis and Moore announced their separation on June 24, 1998. They filed for divorce on October 18, 2000, and the divorce was finalized later that day. Regarding

7130-669: The Harry Whittington shooting , or trying to break a record (a parody of David Blaine ) of staying underwater for only twenty seconds. On April 12, 2007, he appeared again, this time wearing a Sanjaya Malakar wig. On his June 25, 2007, appearance, he wore a mini-wind turbine on his head to accompany a joke about his own fictional documentary titled An Unappealing Hunch (a wordplay on An Inconvenient Truth ). Willis also appeared in Japanese Subaru Legacy television commercials. Tying in with this, Subaru did

7285-530: The Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. Willis was cast as David Addison Jr. in the television series Moonlighting (1985–1989), competing against 3,000 other actors for the position. His starring role in Moonlighting , opposite Cybill Shepherd , helped to establish him as a comedic actor. During the show's five seasons, he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy . During

7440-472: The Hudson River Railroad , whose initial leg – the 40 mi (64 km) to Peekskill  – was completed on September 29, 1849, By the end of 1849, it stretched to Poughkeepsie and in 1851 it extended to Albany . The track ran at a steep grade up Eleventh Avenue, as far as 60th Street . The formerly rural riverfront was industrialized by businesses, such as tanneries, that used

7595-610: The Moonlighting Soundtrack . The episode " Big Man on Mulberry Street " centers around a production dance number set to the Billy Joel song of the same name. The sequence was directed by musical director Stanley Donen . Moonlighting was unusual at the time for being one of only three shows, due to FCC regulations limiting the practice, to be owned and produced in-house by a broadcast network ( NBC 's Punky Brewster and CBS 's Twilight Zone revival being

7750-640: The Panic of 1857 led to the formation of gangs "in the notorious ' Gas House District ' at Twenty-First Street and the East River, or in 'Hell's Kitchen', in the West Thirties." Hell's Kitchen has become the most frequently used name of the neighborhood, even though real estate developers have offered alternatives such as "Clinton" and "Midtown West", or even "the Mid-West". The "Clinton" name, used by

7905-521: The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks , the station with the greatest loss of firefighters was Engine Co. 54/Ladder Co. 4/Battalion 9 at 48th Street and Eighth Avenue, which lost 15 firefighters, an entire shift on duty. Given its proximity to Midtown, the station specializes in skyscraper fires and rescues. In 2007, it was the second-busiest firehouse in New York City, with 9,685 runs between

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8060-560: The USO tour, singing to the troops with his band, The Accelerators. Willis considered joining the military to help fight the second Iraq War , but was deterred by his age. It was believed he offered US$ 1 million to any noncombatant who turned in terrorist leaders Osama bin Laden , Ayman al-Zawahiri , or Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ; in the June 2007 issue of Vanity Fair , however, he clarified that

8215-595: The World Trade Center ), several theatres including Studio 54 , the original soup stand of Seinfeld ' s " The Soup Nazi ", and the Hearst Tower . The northern edge of Hell's Kitchen borders the southern edge of the Upper West Side , though the section west of Ninth Avenue and south of 57th Street is also part of the Columbus Circle neighborhood. 57th Street was traditionally

8370-469: The "black-and-white" gimmick for the episode. The show's producers hired Orson Welles to deliver the introduction, which aired a few days after the actor's death. "Atomic Shakespeare" features the cast performing a variation of The Taming of the Shrew , with David in the role of Petruchio, Maddie as Katharina, Agnes as Bianca, and Herbert as Lucentio. The episode features Shakespearean costumes and mixed

8525-535: The 2005 film Hostage . In 2007, he appeared in the thriller Perfect Stranger , opposite Halle Berry , the crime/drama film Alpha Dog , opposite Sharon Stone , and reprised his role as John McClane in Live Free or Die Hard . Subsequently, he appeared in the films What Just Happened and Surrogates , based on the comic book of the same name . Willis was slated to play U.S. Army general William R. Peers in director Oliver Stone 's Pinkville ,

8680-563: The 44th Street convention center over water, the Mayor and Governor chose the rail yard site originally proposed by the local community. The SCD was originally split into four areas: Special permits are required for all demolition and construction in the SCD, including demolition of "any sound housing in the District" and any rehabilitation that increases the number of dwellings in a structure. In

8835-572: The Blue Moon Shampoo Company. In many episodes, she was recognized as "the Blue Moon shampoo girl", if not by name. In his audio commentary for the Season 3 DVD , creator Glenn Gordon Caron says that the inspiration for the series was a production of The Taming of the Shrew he saw in Central Park starring Meryl Streep and Raúl Julia . The show parodied the play in the Season 3 episode "Atomic Shakespeare". The series

8990-552: The City Planning Commission's Plan for New York City reported that development pressures related to its Midtown location were driving people of modest means from the area. Gentrification has accelerated since the early 1980s, and rents have risen rapidly. In addition to its long-established Irish-American and Hispanic-American populations, Hell's Kitchen has a large LGBTQ population and is home to many LGBTQ bars and businesses. The neighborhood has long been

9145-564: The City purchased for $ 10 clear title to a right-of-way through John Leake Norton's farm, "The Hermitage", to lay out 42nd Street clear to the river. Before long, cattle ferried from Weehawken were being driven along the unpaved route to slaughterhouses on the East Side. Seventy acres of the Leakes', later the Nortons' property, extending north from 42nd to 46th Street and from Broadway to

9300-486: The Clinton Planning Council and Daniel Gutman, their environmental planner, proposed that the convention center and all major development be located south of 42nd Street, where public policy had already left tracts of vacant land. Nevertheless, in 1973 the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center was approved for a 44th Street site that would replace piers 84 and 86. But in exchange, and after the defeat of

9455-601: The Garden City Area: When, in 1835, Davy Crockett said, "In my part of the country, when you meet an Irishman, you find a first-rate gentleman; but these are worse than savages; they are too mean to swab hell's kitchen", he was referring to the Five Points. According to an article by Kirkley Greenwell, published online by the Hell's Kitchen Neighborhood Association: No one can pin down the exact origin of

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9610-501: The Great Kill formed from three small streams that united near present-day Tenth Avenue and 40th Street, and then wound through the low-lying Reed Valley, renowned for fish and waterfowl, emptying into the Hudson River at a deep bay on the river at the present 42nd Street . The name was retained in a tiny hamlet called Great Kill, which became a center for carriage-making. The upland to the south and east became known as Longacre,

9765-522: The Hudson Yards Master Plan, the area covered is bordered on the east by Seventh and Eighth Avenues, on the south by West 28th and 30th Streets, on the north by West 43rd Street, and on the west by Hudson River Park and the Hudson River . The City's plan was similar to a neighborhood plan produced by architect Meta Brunzema and environmental planner Daniel Gutman for the Hell's Kitchen Neighborhood Association (HKNA). The main concept of

9920-551: The Kid which featured a CGI representation of himself. That same year, he starred in Mike Judge 's animated film Beavis and Butt-head Do America with his then-wife Demi Moore . In the movie, he plays a drunken criminal named "Muddy Grimes", who mistakenly sends Judge's titular characters to kill his wife, Dallas (voiced by Moore). He then played the lead roles in 12 Monkeys (1995) and The Fifth Element (1997). However, by

10075-701: The New Poon Detective Agency. The dynamic of the main characters mirrored that of Shepherd and Willis, even down to breaking the fourth wall and addressing viewers directly. The show was parodied as "Moon-Fighting" in Mad Magazine #264 by Dick DeBartolo and Mort Drucker . The show was also parodied on an episode of "The Chipmunks" titled "Dreamlighting" in 1988 with Alvin's character named "Alvinson" based on David Addison. Notes Further reading Hell%27s Kitchen, Manhattan Hell's Kitchen , formerly also known as Clinton ,

10230-493: The Preservation Area cannot exceed 66 ft (20 m) or seven stories, whichever is less. As the gentrification pace increased, there were numerous reports of problems between landlords and tenants. The most extreme example was the eight-story Windermere Apartments complex at the southwest corner of Ninth Avenue and 57th Street. Built in 1881, it is the second-oldest large apartment house in Manhattan. In 1980,

10385-544: The Sun (2003), Sin City (2005), The Expendables , Red (both 2010), Looper (2012) and Glass (2019). In the last years of his career, he starred in many low-budget direct-to-video films, which were poorly received. Willis retired in 2022 due to aphasia , and was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023. As a singer, Willis released his debut album, The Return of Bruno , in 1987, followed by two more albums in 1989 and 2001. He made his Broadway debut in

10540-550: The US, and W in Canada) in the 1990s and 2000s. Bravo airings often featured new claymation promos with Maddie and David using original audio clips from the series. The "Atomic Shakespeare" episode aired on Nick at Nite in 2005 as part of the network's 20th anniversary celebration. The 1985 ABC Tuesday night line-up was honored with reruns of Who's the Boss? , Growing Pains , and Moonlighting , although "Atomic Shakespeare"

10695-460: The United States in 1995. Maxim also ranked his sex scene in the film as the best in film history. In 1994, Willis also had a leading role in one part of Quentin Tarantino 's acclaimed Pulp Fiction ; the film's success gave a boost to his career, and he starred alongside his Look Who's Talking co-star John Travolta . In 1996, he was the executive producer and star of the cartoon Bruno

10850-510: The United States should intervene more extensively in Colombia to end drug trafficking from that nation. In several interviews Willis has said that he supports increased salaries for teachers and police officers, and that he is disappointed in the United States foster care system and its treatment of Native Americans . Willis has supported gun rights , saying, "Everyone has a right to bear arms. If you take guns away from legal gun owners, then

11005-458: The action-comedy film The Last Boy Scout . Willis enrolled in the drama program at Montclair State University , where he was cast in a production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof . He left the school in 1977, and moved to New York City, where he supported himself in the early 1980s as a bartender at various nightspots in Manhattan including Kamikaze, Cafe Central & Chelsea Central, while living in

11160-512: The area was still zoned as a manufacturing district with low-rise apartment buildings. By the early 1990s, there was a recession , which scuttled plans for rezoning and severely reduced the amount of development in the area. After the recession was over, developers invested in areas like Times Square , eastern Hell's Kitchen, and Chelsea , but mostly skipped the Far West Side. While most fire stations in Manhattan lost firefighters in

11315-400: The authentic look of black-and-white film which took 16 days to shoot, bringing the cost of the episode to the then-unheard-of sum of two million dollars. Caron often defended his filming practices in the name of giving the audience what they wanted and producing a quality product. He used the following analogy to illustrate the point, "The thinking in television which makes no damn sense to me,

11470-434: The bickering stars of a television detective show pilot. Although their names were an allusion to Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell , the characters were written as parodies of Shepherd and Willis, even adopting some of their real mannerisms and clothing styles, and their dialogue contained many nods, both obvious and subtle, to Moonlighting 's writing style. The episode was explicitly promoted by NBC ( Riptide 's network) as

11625-539: The boundary between the Upper West Side and Hell's Kitchen, but another interpretation puts the northern border at 59th Street, where the names of the north–south avenues change. Included between 57th and 59th Streets the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle; Hudson Hotel ; Mount Sinai West , where John Lennon died in 1980 after being shot; and John Jay College . Beyond the southern boundary

11780-434: The cinematic feel of the films of the 1940s, for example, he would prohibit the use of a zoom lens, opting instead to use more time-consuming moving master cameras that move back and forth on a track and require constant resetting of the lights. Diffusion disks were used to soften Cybill Shepherd's features, and a special lens needed to be employed so that in a two shot , Maddie would be diffused and David would not. Much of

11935-631: The comic book mini-series of the same name , in which he portrayed Frank Moses. The film was released on October 15, 2010. Willis starred alongside Bill Murray , Edward Norton , and Frances McDormand in Moonrise Kingdom (2012). Filming took place in Rhode Island under the direction of Wes Anderson , in 2011. Willis returned, in an expanded role, in The Expendables 2 (2012). He appeared alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt in

12090-423: The credit for this look and feel can be attributed to the hiring of Gerald Finnerman as the director of photography . Finnerman, a second-generation cinematographer , was brought up in the old school of cinematography by working with his father, Perry Finnerman, and later as a camera operator for Harry Stradling on such films as My Fair Lady and The Picture of Dorian Gray . Finnerman would then go on to be

12245-582: The decline of the West Side piers and many longshoremen found themselves out of work. In addition, construction of the Lincoln Tunnel in the 1930s, Lincoln Tunnel access roads, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal and ramps starting in 1950 destroyed much of Hell's Kitchen south of 41st Street. In 1959, an aborted rumble between rival Irish and Puerto Rican gangs led to the notorious " Capeman " murders in which two innocent teenagers, mistaken for rival gang members, were killed. By 1965, Hell's Kitchen

12400-454: The director of photography for the TV series Star Trek and was responsible for creating much of the mood in that show by employing black-and-white lighting techniques for color film. This background meshed perfectly with what Caron was trying to portray in the series and earned him an Emmy nomination for the black-and-white episode "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice". Hired for the show after

12555-620: The divorce, Willis stated, "I felt I had failed as a father and a husband by not being able to make it work." He credited actor Will Smith for helping him cope with the situation. He has maintained a close friendship with both Moore and her subsequent husband, actor Ashton Kutcher , and attended their wedding. Willis was engaged to actress Brooke Burns until they broke up in 2004 after ten months together. He married model Emma Heming in Turks and Caicos on March 21, 2009; guests included his three daughters, as well as Moore and Kutcher. The ceremony

12710-474: The eighth-highest-grossing leading actor . Walter Bruce Willis was born on March 19, 1955, in Idar-Oberstein in what was then West Germany . His mother, Marlene, was German, from Kassel , and his father, David Willis, was an American soldier. He has a younger sister, Florence, and two younger brothers, Robert (deceased) and David. After being discharged from the military in 1957, his father relocated

12865-484: The end of the 1990s his career had fallen into another slump with critically panned films like The Jackal (which despite negative reviews was a box office hit), Mercury Rising , and Breakfast of Champions , as well as the implosion of the production of Broadway Brawler , a debacle salvaged only by the success of the Michael Bay -directed Armageddon , which Willis had agreed to star in as compensation for

13020-403: The end of the fourth season, the writers tried to recreate the tension between Maddie and David by having Maddie spontaneously marry a man named Walter Bishop ( Dennis Dugan ) within a few hours of meeting him on the train back to Los Angeles. When Shepherd read the script, she strongly voiced her objection that her character would not do such a thing, but was overruled. The move failed to rekindle

13175-693: The episode, Lionel Stander reprised his role as the Harts' assistant Max. Both Shepherd and Willis sang musical numbers over the course of the show. In "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice", Shepherd performed both " Blue Moon " in Maddie's dream sequence and " I Told Ya I Love Ya, Now Get Out " in David's, while in "Atomic Shakespeare", Willis sings The Young Rascals ' " Good Lovin' ". Willis also frequently broke into shorter snippets of Motown songs. "Good Lovin'", "Blue Moon", and "I Told Ya I Love Ya..." appeared on

13330-494: The extension of Midtown Manhattan 's skyscraper development into Hell's Kitchen, at least north of 42nd Street. In 1989, the David Childs - and Frank Williams -designed Worldwide Plaza established a beachhead when it was built at the former Madison Square Garden site, a full city block between 49th and 50th Streets and between Eighth and Ninth Avenues that was exempt from special district zoning rules. This project led

13485-459: The failed production, and which turned out to be the highest-grossing film of 1998 worldwide. The same year his voice and likeness were featured in the PlayStation video game Apocalypse . In 1999, Willis played the starring role in M. Night Shyamalan 's film The Sixth Sense , which was both a commercial and critical success. In 2000, Willis won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in

13640-537: The family to his hometown of Carneys Point, New Jersey . Willis has described his background as a "long line of blue-collar people". His mother worked in a bank and his father was a welder, master mechanic and factory worker. Willis spoke with a stutter . He attended Penns Grove High School in Carneys Point Township , where his schoolmates nicknamed him "Buck-Buck". Willis joined the drama club, and found that acting on stage reduced his stutter. He

13795-477: The first time in the 50-year history of the Directors Guild of America, for both Best Drama and Best Comedy in the same year (both in 1985 and 1986). Moonlighting frequently broke the fourth wall , with many episodes including dialogue that made direct references to the scriptwriters, the audience, the network, or the series itself. (For example, when a woman is trying to commit suicide by jumping into

13950-437: The following week. Shepherd's real-life pregnancy and a skiing accident in which Willis broke his clavicle further contributed to production delays. To counter these problems, with the fourth season, the writers began to focus more of the show's attention on supporting cast members Agnes and Herbert, writing several episodes focusing on the two so that the show would be able to have episodes ready for airing. Moonlighting

14105-408: The fragility of romance. Cy was played by Dennis Dugan, the same actor who had played Walter Bishop in Maddie's marriage storyline — however, Dugan was also the director of the episode, so his acting credit was listed as "Walter Bishop". David and Maddie then admit defeat and that the show is ending, but not before Maddie tells David "I can't imagine not seeing you again tomorrow." This is followed by

14260-411: The harassment, he and his wife made top billing in the 1985 edition of The Village Voice 's annual list, "The Dirty Dozen: New York's Worst Landlords." Most of the tenants eventually settled and moved out of the building. In May 2006, seven tenants remained and court orders protecting the tenants and the building allowed it to remain in a derelict condition even as the surrounding neighborhood

14415-534: The height of the show's success, beverage maker Seagram hired Willis as the pitchman for their Golden Wine Cooler products. The advertising campaign paid Willis US$ 5–7 million over two years. Willis chose not to renew his contract when he decided to stop drinking alcohol in 1988. In 1987, Willis obtained his first lead role in the Blake Edwards film Blind Date , co-starring with Kim Basinger and John Larroquette . Edwards cast him again to play

14570-508: The insurance company Norwich Union 's change of name to Aviva . As of 2010, Willis was the eighth highest-grossing actor in a leading role and 12th-highest including supporting roles. Willis starred with Tracy Morgan in the 2010 comedy Cop Out , directed by Kevin Smith , about two police detectives investigating the theft of a baseball card. Willis appeared in the music video for the song " Stylo " by Gorillaz . Also in 2010, he appeared in

14725-465: The label, but some refer to a tenement on 54th Street as the first "Hell's Kitchen". Another explanation points to an infamous building at 39th as the true origin. A gang and a local dive took the name as well. Local historian Mary Clark explained the name thus: ...first appeared in print on September 22, 1881 when a New York Times reporter went to the West 30s with a police guide to get details of

14880-423: The last minute].' It can be very difficult, it requires an amazing amount of stamina. It's easier to do if you're still reaching for the stars, it's a lot tougher if you're already a star, if you've already reached the top of the mountain." Producer Jay Daniel talked about the difficulties between the costars in the later seasons: "Well, I was the guy that more often than not would be the one that would go into

15035-437: The last new episode. The season three clipshow episode "The Straight Poop" also made fun of the episode delays by having Hollywood columnist Rona Barrett drop by the Blue Moon Detective Agency to figure out why David and Maddie couldn't get along, as the premise to set up the clips from earlier episodes. In the end, Rona convinced them to apologize to one another, and promised the viewers that there would be an all-new episode

15190-439: The lions den when they were having disagreements. I'd sort of be the referee, try to resolve it so that we could get back to work. So there was that side of it. Everybody knows there was friction between the two of them on the stage. In the beginning, Bruce was just a guy's guy. Let's just say he evolved. Over the years, he went from being the crew's best friend and just being grateful for the work and all of that to realizing that he

15345-420: The makeup chair at six thirty the next morning." The delays became so great that even ABC mocked the lateness with an ad campaign showing network executives waiting impatiently for the arrival of new episodes at ABC's corporate headquarters. One episode featured television critic Jeff Jarvis in an introduction, sarcastically reminding viewers what was going on with the show's plot since it had been so long since

15500-467: The massive residential displacement that this development project would have caused, and the failure of the City to complete any replacement housing, led to opposition to the first project – a new convention center to replace the New York Coliseum . To prevent the convention center from sparking a development boom that would beget the rest of the master plan with its consequent displacement,

15655-451: The master plan contained few proposals, it was very explicit about the bright future of Hell's Kitchen. The plan called for 2,000 to 3,000 new hotel rooms, 25,000 apartments, 25 × 10 ^  sq ft (2,300,000 m ) of office space, a new super liner terminal, a subway along 48th Street, and a convention center to replace what the plan described as "blocks of antiquated and deteriorating structures of every sort." However, outrage at

15810-419: The municipality of New York City, originated in 1959 in an attempt to change the image of the neighborhood by linking the area to DeWitt Clinton Park at 52nd and Eleventh Avenue , named after the 19th century New York governor , though The New York Times noted that those who live in the area "prefer Hell's Kitchen" as the name for the neighborhood. On the island of Manhattan when Europeans first saw it,

15965-478: The murder took place. They were filmed on black-and-white film stock so that they would look like true period films. (On the commentary on the DVD, it is said that they used black-and-white film instead of color so that the network would not later use the color film.) Fearing fan reaction to a popular show being shown in black and white, ABC demanded a disclaimer be made at the beginning of the episode to inform viewers of

16120-685: The only people who have guns are the bad guys." In February 2006, when Willis was in Manhattan to promote his film 16 Blocks , he was asked his opinion on the Bush administration . Willis responded: "I'm sick of answering this fucking question. I'm a Republican only as far as I want a smaller government , I want less government intrusion. I want them to stop shitting on my money and your money and tax dollars that we give 50 percent of every year. I want them to be fiscally responsible and I want these goddamn lobbyists out of Washington. Do that and I'll say I'm

16275-449: The original provisions, no building could be demolished unless it was unsound. New developments, conversions, or alterations that create new units or zero bedroom units must contain at least 20% two bedroom apartments with a minimum room size of 168 sq ft (16 m ). Alterations that reduce the percentage of two-bedroom units are not permitted unless the resulting building meets the 20% two-bedroom requirement. Building height in

16430-473: The others). This allowed the network greater flexibility in budgeting the show since the "back-end potential" for profits was so much greater with not having to pay a licensing fee to the film studio or independent production company. As a result, ABC gave Caron a lot of control over production. Caron, however, was a perfectionist and viewed Moonlighting as the filming of a one-hour movie every week, using techniques usually reserved for big budget films. To capture

16585-459: The owner, Alan B. Weissman, tried to empty the building of its tenants. According to former tenants and court papers, rooms were ransacked, doors were ripped out, prostitutes were moved in, and tenants received death threats in the campaign to empty the building. All the major New York newspapers covered the trials that sent the Windermere's managers to jail. Although Weissman was never linked to

16740-478: The pilot episode, on DVD in Region 1. Each release contains bonus features including commentaries and featurettes. As of 2013, these releases have been discontinued and are out of print. In Regions 2 & 4, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released all 5 seasons on DVD, although the Region 4 sets are now out of print. A complete series box set was also released in Region 2 on September 14, 2009. Following

16895-562: The pilot was shot, Finnerman would become involved in virtually every aspect of the show including the scripts, lighting, set design, and even directing some of the later episodes. Typical scripts for an average one-hour television show run 60 pages, but those for Moonlighting were nearly twice as long due to the fast talking overlapping dialogue of the main characters. While the average television show would take seven days to shoot, Moonlighting would take from 12 to 14 days to complete with episodes and dialogue frequently being written by Caron

17050-542: The plot with humorous anachronisms and variations on Moonlighting' s own running gags. The characters perform the dialogue in (mostly) iambic pentameter , and the episode is wrapped by segments featuring a boy imagining the episode's proceedings because his mother forced him to do his Shakespeare homework instead of watching Moonlighting . In addition, the show mocked its connection to the Remington Steele series by having Pierce Brosnan hop networks and make

17205-508: The predecessor of Longacre Square , now Times Square . One of the large farms of the colonial era in this neighborhood was that of Andreas Hopper and his descendants, extending from today's 48th Street nearly to 59th Street and from the river east to what is now Sixth Avenue . One of the Hopper farmhouses, built in 1752 for John Hopper the younger, stood near 53rd Street and Eleventh Avenue. Christened "Rosevale" for its extensive gardens, it

17360-493: The production companies Emmett/Furla Oasis , headed by Randall Emmett , and 308 Entertainment Inc, headed by Corey Large . Emmett/Furla Oasis produced 20 films starring Willis. Described by Chris Nashawaty of Esquire as "a profitable safe harbor" for older actors, similar to The Expendables , most of the films were released direct-to-video and were widely panned. Willis would often earn US$ 2 million for two days' work, with an average of 15 minutes' screentime per film. He

17515-407: The production: I don't think Cybill understood how hard the workload was going to be. A situation arose with her, and at a certain point it became clear that… umm… suffice it to say I wasn't there for the last year and a half. Shepherd recalled Caron left the show stating that it was either him or her, and he did not think the network would choose him. When Maddie returned to Los Angeles near

17670-539: The property to Elad Properties for about $ 43 million. Elad, which formerly owned the Plaza Hotel , built The Link, a luxury 44-story building, at that location. In 2003, the New York City Department of City Planning issued a master plan that envisioned the creation of 40,000,000 sq ft (3,700,000 m ) of commercial and residential development, two corridors of open space. Dubbed

17825-403: The proposals for a link to Penn Station was pursued successfully, for example, the ill-fated West Side Transitway. No changes to the zoning policy happened until 1990, when the city rezoned a small segment of 11th Avenue near the Javits Center. In 1993, part of 9th Avenue between 35th and 41st Streets was also rezoned. However, neither of these rezonings was particularly significant, as most of

17980-554: The real-life cowboy actor Tom Mix in Sunset (1988). The same year, he starred in an action role in Die Hard (1988) as John McClane . He performed most of his own stunts in the film, and the film grossed $ 138,708,852 worldwide. Following his success with Die Hard , Willis had a leading role in the drama In Country as Vietnam veteran Emmett Smith and also provided the voice for a talking baby in Look Who's Talking (1989) and

18135-589: The release of the series on DVD in the mid-2000s, Moonlighting had not been available on any streaming platform because of the costly music licensing. However, on October 5, 2022, Caron posted on his official Twitter account that work had begun to prepare all five seasons of the series for streaming. In September 2023, it was announced that all 67 episodes of the series, remastered in high definition, would be made available on Disney's streaming service Hulu starting October 10 that same year. The series will feature its theme song by Al Jarreau , and that "great care"

18290-421: The river at 54th Street, was Mott's Point, with an 18th-century Mott family house surrounded by gardens, that was inhabited by members of the family until 1884 and survived until 1895. A lone surviving structure from the time this area was open farmland and suburban villas is a pre-1800s carriage house that once belonged to a villa owned by former Vice President and New York State governor George Clinton , now in

18445-528: The river for shipping products and dumping waste. The neighborhood that would later be known as Hell's Kitchen started forming in the southern part of the 22nd Ward in the mid-19th century. Irish immigrants – mostly refugees from the Great Famine  – found work on the docks and railroad along the Hudson River and established shantytowns there. After the American Civil War , there

18600-401: The river, were purchased before 1807 by John Jacob Astor and William Cutting , who held it before dividing it into building lots as the district became more suburban. The West Side later had its own slaughterhouses, which went out of business in the middle 20th century. There were multiple changes that helped Hell's Kitchen integrate with New York City proper. The first was construction of

18755-527: The same character over 25 years and still be asked back is fun. It's much more challenging to have to do a film again and try to compete with myself, which is what I do in Die Hard . I try to improve my work every time." On October 12, 2013, Willis hosted Saturday Night Live with Katy Perry as a musical guest. In 2015, Willis made his Broadway debut in William Goldman 's adaptation of Stephen King 's novel Misery opposite Laurie Metcalf at

18910-439: The same day they were shot. This attention to detail contributed to Moonlighting as being one of the most expensive television shows being produced at the time. Where most episodes would cost around $ 900,000 to produce, Moonlighting was running nearly double that. The season 2 episode "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice" could have been filmed much more cheaply by being shot in color and then decolorized, but Caron insisted on

19065-528: The sci-fi action film Looper (2012), as the older version of Gordon-Levitt's character, Joe. Willis teamed up with 50 Cent in a film directed by David Barrett called Fire with Fire , starring opposite Josh Duhamel and Rosario Dawson , about a fireman who must save the love of his life. Willis also joined Vince Vaughn and Catherine Zeta-Jones in Lay the Favorite , directed by Stephen Frears , about

19220-489: The sequel Look Who's Talking Too (1990). In the late 1980s, Willis enjoyed moderate success as a recording artist , recording an album of pop-blues, The Return of Bruno , which included the hit single " Respect Yourself " featuring the Pointer Sisters . The LP was promoted by a Spinal Tap –like rockumentary parody featuring scenes of Willis performing at famous events including Woodstock . He released

19375-673: The sequel, Ocean's Twelve (2004), he makes a cameo appearance as himself. In 2005, he appeared in the film adaptation of Sin City . In 2006, he lent his voice as RJ the Raccoon in Over the Hedge . In 2007, he appeared in the Planet Terror half of the double feature Grindhouse as the villain, a mutant soldier. This marked Willis's second collaboration with the director Robert Rodriguez , following Sin City . Willis appeared on

19530-463: The show aired "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice", an episode that features two lengthy and elaborately produced black-and-white dream sequences. David and Maddie are told about a murder that occurred in the 1940s by the inheritor of the then-famous nightclub where the murder took place. Maddie and David feud over whether the man or woman who was executed for the crime was the real murderer. The two dream sequences present each detective's version of how

19685-405: The show has been canceled. The characters then race through the studio lot in search of a television producer named Cy, as the world of Moonlighting is slowly dismantled. When they find Cy, he is screening a print of "In 'n Outlaws", the episode of Moonlighting that had aired two weeks earlier. Once informed of the problem, Cy lectures David and Maddie on the perils of losing their audience and

19840-400: The sparks between the main characters or capture the interest of the audience, which led to an even further ratings decline. Neither of the principal stars were fully committed to the final season of the show. Bruce Willis, fresh from his Die Hard success, wanted to make more films. Cybill Shepherd, having just given birth to twins, had grown tired of the long, grueling production days and

19995-468: The stage adaptation of Misery in 2015. Willis has received various accolades throughout his career, including a Golden Globe Award , two Primetime Emmy Awards , and two People's Choice Awards . He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006. Films featuring Willis have grossed between US$ 2.64 billion and US$ 3.05 billion at North American box offices, making him in 2010

20150-489: The standard twenty-two." Glenn Gordon Caron partly blamed Cybill Shepherd for production problems: "I don't mean to paint her as the sole bearer of responsibility for the discord. But if I said to you, 'You're going to have a great new job – it's a life-defining job – but you're going to work 14–15 hours a day, and by the way, you'll never know what hours those are – sometimes you'll start at noon and work until 3 a.m., other times you won't know when or where it will be [until

20305-485: The statement was made hypothetically and not meant to be taken literally. Willis has also criticized the media for its coverage of the war, complaining that the press was more likely to focus on the negative aspects of the war: I went to Iraq because what I saw when I was over there was soldiers—young kids for the most part—helping people in Iraq; helping getting the power turned back on, helping get hospitals open, helping get

20460-710: The sun moved, why weather changed, why hurricanes occurred, or volcanoes happened. Modern religion is the end trail of modern mythology. But there are people who interpret the Bible literally. Literally! I choose not to believe that's the way. And that's what makes America cool, you know?" When asked by a Hollywood.tv reporter how he stays grounded in Hollywood , Willis said, "I just thank God every day for...everything great that's come my way." In 1988, Willis and then-wife Demi Moore campaigned for then Democratic Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis 's presidential campaign in

20615-402: The two companies. Its patch reads "Pride of Midtown" and "Never Missed a Performance". Memorials dot the station's exterior walls and a granite memorial is in a park to its north. Ladder 21, the "Pride of Hell's Kitchen", located on 38th Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues, and stationed with Engine Co. 34, lost seven firefighters on September 11. In addition, on September 11, Engine Co. 26

20770-401: The two main characters, having them appear in almost every scene. According to Cybill Shepherd, "I left home at 5 A.M. each day. Moonlighting scripts were close to a hundred pages, half again as long as the average one-hour television series. Almost from the moment the cameras started rolling we were behind schedule, sometimes completing as few as sixteen episodes per season, and never achieving

20925-491: The water turned back on and you don't hear any of that on the news. You hear, "X number of people were killed today," which I think does a huge disservice. It's like spitting on these young men and women who are over there fighting to help this country. Willis was a Lutheran , but says he no longer practices. In a July 1998 interview with George magazine, he said, "Organized religions in general, in my opinion, are dying forms. They were all very important when we didn't know why

21080-594: Was a hit with TV audiences as well as with critics and industry insiders, with 16 Emmy nominations for the second season which saw Moonlighting tie for 20th place in the Nielsen ratings . In season three, the show peaked at 9th, then dropped off slightly to tie for 12th in the 4th season. By the end of the final season, the show was 49th in the ratings. The show's ratings decline is popularly attributed to Episode #14 of Season 3, "I Am Curious... Maddie", which had Maddie and David consummate their relationship after two and

21235-412: Was an influx of people who moved to New York City. The tenements that were built became overcrowded quickly. Many who lived in this congested, poverty-stricken area turned to gang life. Following Prohibition , implemented in 1919, the district's many warehouses were ideal locations for bootleg distilleries for the rumrunners who controlled illicit liquor. At the start of the 20th century, the neighborhood

21390-412: Was constructed in Hell's Kitchen, the surrounding area was still largely tenements. After the repeal of Prohibition , many of the organized crime elements moved into other rackets, such as illegal gambling and union shakedowns. The postwar era was characterized by a flourishing waterfront, and longshoreman work was plentiful. By the end of the 1970s, the implementation of containerized shipping led to

21545-609: Was controlled by gangs, including the violent Gopher Gang led by One Lung Curran and later by Owney Madden . Early gangs, like the Hell's Kitchen Gang, transformed into organized crime entities, around the same time that Owney Madden became one of the most powerful mobsters in New York. It became known as the "most dangerous area on the American Continent". By the 1930s, when the McGraw-Hill Building

21700-434: Was created by Glenn Gordon Caron , one of the producers of the similar Remington Steele , when he was approached by ABC executive Lewis H. Erlicht. Erlicht liked the work Caron had done on Taxi and Remington Steele and wanted a detective show featuring a major star in a leading role who would appeal to an upscale audience. Caron wanted to do a romance, to which Erlicht replied "I don't care what it is, as long as it's

21855-634: Was eventually elected student council president. He graduated from Penns Grove High School in 1973. After graduating from high school, Willis worked as a security guard at the Salem Nuclear Power Plant and transported crew members at the DuPont Chambers Works factory in Deepwater . He turned to acting after working as a private investigator , a role he would later play in the comedy-drama series Moonlighting and

22010-576: Was experiencing a dramatic burst of demolition and redevelopment. In September 2007, the fire department evacuated the remaining seven residents from the building, citing dangerous conditions, and padlocked the front door. In 2008, the New York Supreme Court ruled that the owners of the building, who include the TOA Construction Corporation of Japan, must repair it. By the 1980s the area south of 42nd Street

22165-424: Was filming Die Hard during this period. When the film became a blockbuster , a film career beckoned and his desire to continue in a weekly series waned. In a series that depended on the chemistry between the two main stars, not having them together for the bulk of the fourth season hurt the ratings. The series lost Glenn Gordon Caron as executive producer and head writer when he left the show over difficulties with

22320-789: Was from the '86-'87 season. BBC Two initially carried the show in the UK from 1986 to 1989, and it ran on Sky 1 circa 1991. It has been shown on CBS Drama since November 2009. Between 2005 and 2008, the show was frequently shown on the now defunct channel ABC1 . TVNZ aired the show in New Zealand in its entirety in the 1980s, and repeated it in 2004. In Asia, Moonlighting began airing Seasons 1 and 2 on Rewind Network's HITS channel in December 2013. On October 10, 2023, it had commenced streaming on Hulu , digitally remastered in HD . Moonlighting

22475-578: Was given to preserve as many original songs as possible. For example, songs sung by the actors and those that were deemed "critical" were retained, while songs used for background ambiance were replaced with new songs. Riptide , a once-popular detective series whose ratings had declined to the point of cancellation after airing against Moonlighting in the 1985–1986 television season, aired an episode (the show's penultimate) in 1986, in which that show's detectives acted as mentors to "Rosalind Grant" ( Annette McCarthy ) and "Cary Russell" ( H. Richard Greene ),

22630-496: Was going to be a movie star and wanting to move on. Part of that was because of his strained relationship with Cybill. That sometimes made the set a very unpleasant place to be. Cybill – I got along with her very well at times, other times I'd have to be the one who said you have to come out of the trailer and go to work. In fairness to her, she was in the makeup chair at six thirty in the morning with pages of dialogue she hadn't seen before, she'd work very long hours, and then be back in

22785-433: Was in decline. Both the state and the city hoped that the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center would renew the area. Hotels, restaurants, apartment buildings, and television studios were proposed. One proposal included apartments and hotels on a 30 acres (12 ha) pier jutting out onto Hudson River, which included a marina , ferry slip , stores, restaurants, and a performing arts center . At Ninth Avenue and 33rd Street,

22940-425: Was nominated for a wide range of awards, including nominations for 40 Emmy Awards of which it won 6. It was also nominated for 10 Golden Globe Awards of which it won 3. On February 6, 1991 the pilot was released on VHS by Warner Home Video . Anchor Bay Entertainment released the original pilot episode on DVD in region 1. Lions Gate Entertainment later released the entire series of Moonlighting , including

23095-532: Was nonetheless featured heavily in the films' promotional materials, earning them the derogatory nickname " geezer teasers ". The Golden Raspberry Awards , an annual award for the year's worst films and performances, created a dedicated category, the Worst Bruce Willis Performance in a 2021 Movie , for Willis's roles in eight films released that year. Those working on the films later said Willis appeared confused, did not understand why he

23250-467: Was not legally binding, so the couple wed again in a civil ceremony in Beverly Hills six days later. The couple has two daughters, one born in 2012 and another born in 2014. Throughout his film career, Willis has depicted several military characters in films such as In Country , The Siege , Hart's War , Tears of the Sun , Grindhouse , and G.I. Joe: Retaliation . Willis grew up in

23405-405: Was ready for the series to end. In the 1988–1989 TV season, the show's ratings declined precipitously. The March to August 1988 Writers Guild of America strike canceled plans for the 1987–1988 Moonlighting season finale to be filmed and aired on TV in 3-D in a deal with Coca-Cola , and delayed the broadcast of the first new episode until December 6, 1988. The series went on hiatus during

23560-459: Was temporarily stationed with Engine Co. 34/Ladder Co. 21 and lost many firefighters themselves. Hell's Kitchen has become an increasingly upscale neighborhood of affluent young professionals as well as residents from the "old days", with rents in the neighborhood having increased dramatically above the average in Manhattan. It has also acquired a large and diverse community as residents have moved north from Chelsea . Zoning has long restricted

23715-626: Was the home base of the Westies , an Irish mob aligned with the Gambino crime family . In the early 1980s widespread gentrification began to alter the demographics of the longtime working-class Irish American neighborhood. The 1980s saw an end to the Westies' reign of terror, when the gang lost all of its power after the RICO convictions of most of its principals in 1986. Although the neighborhood

23870-476: Was the home of the War of 1812 veteran, Gen. Garrit Hopper Striker, and lasted until 1896, when it was demolished. The site was purchased for the city and naturalistically landscaped by Samuel Parsons Jr. as DeWitt Clinton Park . In 1911, New York Hospital bought a full city block largely of the Hopper property, between 54th and 55th Streets, Eleventh and Twelfth Avenues . Beyond the railroad track, projecting into

24025-449: Was there and had to be fed lines through an earpiece . Days before Willis was scheduled to arrive on set for Out of Death (2021), the screenwriter, Bill Lawrence, was instructed to reduce his role and abbreviate his dialogue, and the director, Mike Burns , was told to complete all of Willis's scenes in a single day of filming. On March 30, 2022, Willis's family announced that he was retiring because he had been diagnosed with aphasia ,

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