New Year’s Eve TV viewership dips

New Year’s Eve TV viewership dips

NEW YORK

Television ratings for New Year’s Eve celebrations took a tumble this year.

This year, viewership for ABC’s prime-time New Year’s show with Ryan Seacrest averaged 9.1 million people, down 26 percent from last year’s 12.3 million, the Nielsen company said.

Here’s a list of the top 20 prime-time programs in the Nielsen ratings for Dec. 24-30: 1. College Football Playoff: Oklahoma vs. Alabama, ESPN, 18.49 million; 2. College Football Playoff: Notre Dame vs. Clemson, ESPN, 16.28 million; 3. “Orange Bowl Pregame,” ESPN, 16.23 million; 4. “Orange Bowl Postgame,” ESPN, 16.07 million; 5. NFL Football: Indianapolis at Tennessee, NBC, 16.05 million; 6. “Cotton Bowl Postgame, ESPN, 15.15 million; 7. “NFL Pregame,” NBC, 11.54 million; 8. “The OT,” Fox, 9.58 million; 9. “Football Night in America,” NBC, 8.98 million; 10. NFL Football: Denver at Oakland, ESPN, 8.71 million.

Daryl Dragon dies at 76

NEW YORK

Daryl Dragon, the cap-wearing “Captain” of “The Captain and Tennille” who teamed with then-wife Toni Tennille on such easy listening hits as “Love Will Keep Us Together” and “Muskrat Love,” died Wednesday at age 76.

Dragon died of renal failure at a hospice in Prescott, Ariz., according to spokesman Harlan Boll. Tennille was by his side.

A Los Angeles native, Dragon was the son of Oscar-winning composer Carmen Dragon and singer Eloise Dragon and was himself a classically trained musician.

Dr. Hook singer dies

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.

Guitarist and vocalist Ray Sawyer of the rock band Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show has died at age 81.

Wearing a black eyepatch, Sawyer was the face of the band as they produced several hits in the 1970s.

His agent, Mark Lyman, said Sawyer died in his sleep Monday in Daytona Beach, Fla., after a brief illness.

Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show’s hits included “When You’re in Love with a Beautiful Woman,” and “The Cover of ‘Rolling Stone.”’

Einstein of ‘Curb’ dies

LOS ANGELES

Bob Einstein, the veteran comedy writer and performer known for “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and his spoof daredevil character Super Dave Osborne, has died, according to his brother, filmmaker Albert Brooks. Einstein was 76.

“R.I.P. My dear brother Bob Einstein. A great brother, father and husband. A brilliantly funny man,” tweeted Brooks, 71.

Details of Einstein’s death were not immediately available.

‘Mean Gene’ dies at 76

MINNEAPOLIS

Eugene “Mean Gene” Okerlund, whose deadpan interviews of pro wrestling superstars such as “Macho Man” Randy Savage, The Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan made him a ringside fixture in his own right, has died. He was 76.

World Wrestling Entertainment announced Okerlund’s death on its website Wednesday. Okerlund’s son, Tor Okerlund, told The Associated Press that his father died early Wednesday at a hospital in Sarasota, Fla., near his home in Osprey, Florida, with his wife, Jeanne, by his side. Tor Okerlund said his father, who had received three kidney transplants, fell a few weeks ago “and it just kind of went from bad to worse.”

Associated Press