| Hard Copy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Infotainment |
| Created by | Mark Monsky John Parsons Peditto |
| Presented by | Alan Frio (1989–1991) Terry Murphy (1989–1998) Barry Nolan (1991–1998) Kyle Kraska (1998–1999) |
| Theme music composer | David Mansfield |
| Composer | Dan Siegel |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 10 |
| No. of episodes | 2,159 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Kim Paul Friedman (1995–1999) Peter Brennan (1990–1993) Mitchell L. Gamson Lisa Gregorich (1996–1999) Marky Monsky (1989–1990) William Sackheim Ron Vandor (1995–1999) |
| Producers | Mary Aloe Burt Kearns Lisa Lew (1989–1992) |
| Running time | 22 min |
| Production company | Paramount Domestic Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | Syndication |
| Release | September 18, 1989 (1989-09-18) – September 10, 1999 (1999-09-10) |
Hard Copy is an Americantabloid television show that ran insyndication from 1989 to 1999.Hard Copy was aggressive in its use of questionable material on television, including gratuitous violence.
The original hosts ofHard Copy were Alan Frio andTerry Murphy. Frio left the series after the 1990–91 season and was succeeded byBarry Nolan in the fall of 1991. Nolan and Murphy would stay until after the 1997–98 season, when they both departed. In the show's final season, Kyle Kraska took over as the sole host.[1]
Hard Copy was produced and distributed byParamount Domestic Television and, for much of its time on air, was often aired with its sister show, the Hollywood news programEntertainment Tonight as part of an hour-long programming block sold to local stations.
Hard Copy was a tabloid show that aired footage and news about celebrities and everyday people. Also featured were interviews with various newsmakers.
In 1992,Elton John threatened to takeHard Copy to court, alleging a reporter tried toblackmail him into giving an interview by falsely claiming he hadHIV/AIDS and had moved toAtlanta to be near an AIDS treatment center.[2] John allegedextortion,defamation,right to privacy andendangerment.[3]
The day after the lawsuit was filed, the show ran a segment about John but, rather than accuse him of having HIV, praised him for the work he was doing for those affected by the disease. John'sattorney at law toldNational Enquirer he "assume(d) the show was changed as a result of our suit".[4][5]
Fox airedThe Simpsons episode "Homer Badman" on November 27, 1994. After Homer is mistakenly embroiled in a local scandal, the entire incident devolves into a media frenzy. As a result, Homer takes part in aHard Copy-like show calledRock Bottom. The show distorts Homer's case and it takespublic-access television, and aid from Groundskeeper Willie, to clear Homer's name. The episode ended withRock Bottom issuing a series of corrections.
In 1996, actorGeorge Clooney began a public boycott of bothHard Copy and Paramount's celebrity news showEntertainment Tonight afterHard Copy violated a six-month agreement not to air segments about Clooney by airing footage of Clooney and then-girlfriend Celine Balitran on the set of the filmBatman & Robin. Other celebrities supporting the boycott includedWhoopi Goldberg,Madonna, andSteven Spielberg.[6] Paramount eventually agreed to modify the way that both shows gathered information for their stories.[7] They also agreed not to air "unauthorized footage" of celebrities or "footage that is known to have been obtained illegally."[6]
An Australian version of the series hosted byGordon Elliott aired in 1991.
A New Zealand version of the series hosted by Natalie Brunt (now Natalie Chetkovich) and, later, Pip Groves aired in 1995-96.
