Today's Entertainment

May 9 - 15, 2016 Page 3 ACROSS 1. Actor on "2 Broke Girls" 4. Sitcom about a deacon 8. Lovitz or Cryer 11. Vigoda of "Barney Miller" 12. Actor Nicolas 13. Record producer Brian __ 14. Role on "Black-ish" (2) 17. Stewart or Serling 18. Suffix for rook, cook or book 19. "Terminator 3: __ of the Machines"; 2003 sci-fi movie 21. "The __ Wing" 24. "__' Blue Eyes" 25. Actor Burrell 26. Brad Pitt's state of birth: abbr. 27. Setting for "Evening Shade": abbr. 28. "Baby __"; 2008 Tina Fey movie 30. Pod vegetable 32. __ for; choose 34. "__ Air"; 1997 John Cusack film 35. Series for Rico Rodriguez (2) 41. Have debts 42. Spanish ones 43. Charge 44. Building addition, often 45. Mothers of lambs 46. Ending for host or shepherd DOWN 1. "__ About You" 2. Geisha's accessory 3. "The Wonder __" (1988-93) 4. __ a test; passed with flying colors 5. Hot Lips Houlihan's rank: abbr. 6. Boaster's problem 7. Favorite drink of Radar O'Reilly 8. Owens or Ventura 9. Wife of a Beatle 10. "__-Stop"; 2014 Liam Neeson movie 15. 2015 Lake Bell/Pierce Brosnan film (2) 16. "The __"; 2012-14 HBO Jeff Daniels series 19. "__ 222" (1969-74) 20. Actress Chase 22. "__ Trek: Voyager" 23. Recent talk show host Banks 29. "America's Next Top __" 31. "Mack the __"; 1959 Bobby Darin hit 33. "__ Grit" 34. Member of "The Ma- mas & the Papas" 35. Bartender on "The Simpsons" 36. "The __ and the Pussycat"; Barbra Streisand film 37. 90 from WSW 38. Enemy 39. "__ Miserables" 40. "__, Dear" Solution on page 2. CoverStory By George Dickie © Zap2it Celebrity impres- sions, when done right, can be hilariously entertaining. Just ask anyone who has seen Rich Little's Las Vegas act over the years. A new competition series debuting this week puts the spotlight on up-and-coming tal- ent in that arena. In "First Impressions With Dana Carvey," premiering Tuesday, May 10, on USA Network, amateur im- pressionists compete against each other in a series of challenges with the winner deter- mined by the studio au- dience. Along the way, they hone their im- personation skills with the help of in-house expert and Emmy win- ner Carvey ("Saturday Night Live," "Wayne's World") and celebrity guests including Steve Carell ("The Office"), Jay Leno ("The Tonight Show"), Kevin Nealon ("Saturday Night Live"), Yvette Nicole Brown ("Community") and Tom Arnold ("Sons of Anar- chy"). Freddie Prinze Jr. is the host of the half-hour series. During his seven seasons on "SNL," Carvey made a name for himself imitating celebrities, among them Ross Perot, Woody Allen, Johnny Carson, Regis Philbin and one for which he is proba- bly best known, former President George H.W. Bush. Those were all hilarious, and laughter, he says, should be the main goal of any celeb- rity impressionist. "I guess because I'm in the comedy world, 'Can you make it fun- ny?' is the number one thing," Carvey says. "And I guess, there's some expectation that you would sound like the person but I do think total accuracy is sort of overrated. I would go more for some weird angle but it's truthful and some- thing that's funny about it." Prinze, the son of legendary comic Fred- die Prinze, agrees. "When an impression is dead-on, it's more scary than funny," he says. "So it's always better to lean on your sense of humor and then let the rest of it come out because you don't want to freak people out with your impressions." "That is true," Car- vey adds. "There are certain ones that are so accurate that you are kind of like, 'Is this person a devil worship- per?' " As for the talent lev- el on the show, both men say it is top-notch and Prinze notes that one young competitor even came away with a development deal with USA Network. And there is plenty of it to be tapped, judging by the proliferation of celebrity impression videos on YouTube and other websites, Carvey notes. "If you go online or to these clubs," Carvey says, "you'll see all these people doing im- pressions. And there's a kid in his bedroom with a camcorder and he does this amazing Tom Cruise. So if the show keeps going, more and more people out there who don't have a platform for this kind of thing, if you're not Jay Pharoah or Darrell Hammond on 'SNL,' where do you do it? "This niche show should exist," he con- tinues. "There should be a place for this be- cause it's a fun thing to watch. ... It doesn't have to be with me and Freddie, but right now it is." Freddie Prinze Jr. (left) and Dana Carvey star in "First Impressions With Dana Carvey," premiering Tuesday on USA Network. USA competition series turns the spotlight on celebrity impressionists

• Cover