Philly music industry icon does good on CBS3's 'The Doctors'

THE PHILANTHROPY of the Kal and Lucille Rudman Foundation hits the national TV spotlight this week when the Philadelphia-area non-profit, helmed by music industry legend Kal Rudman ("The Friday Morning Quarterback") is on The Doctors ninth-annual holiday episode.

The episode premieres Thursday, Dec. 1 (at 9 a.m. on CBS3) and will air again on Friday, Dec. 23.

On the show, the Rudman Foundation delivers an oversized check for $5,000 to 9-year-old Los Angeleno "Francisco," to help him reach his academic goals and become a scientist.

Dr. Travis Stork, host of The Doctors, delivered the $5,000 bundle of joy and this statement from the Rudmans on the show to young Francisco:

"When we heard your beautiful story, it truly touched us! Therefore, Francisco, the Kal and Lucille Rudman Foundation, through the Kimberly Moore Foundation, has proudly made it possible to award you a $5,000 scholarship for college."

Over the years, the Kal and Lucille Rudman Foundation has offered full scholarships for many city firefighters, built and continues to fund the Emmy winning TUTV (Temple University Television) and sponsors a medical summer camp at Drexel University for deserving Philadelphia high school students.

It's been more than 40 years since Melissa Manchester released her biggest hit, "Midnight Blue," but the now 65-year-old singer is still going strong.

This week she dropped her new single, "Let There Be More Light," a joyful, uplifting celebration of Hanukkah.

OK, this one may not be as big a hit.

But with a million Christmas songs vying for airplay over the next few weeks, maybe some radio programmer can slip in a Hanukkah song not by Adam Sandler.

"The overall theme of 'Let There Be More Light' is that everyone can be a source of light - that is, a person of reason, compassion and understanding who makes a choice to do a good deed, a 'mitzvah,' every day, not just at holiday time," said Manchester of the track, which is the first Hanukkah song she has written. "Everyone knows Feliz Navidad by José Feliciano. It's wonderfully simple, hummable and delightfully repetitive. I wanted to write a song as simple as that to celebrate Hanukkah."

Manchester produced the accompanying video in partnership with StandWithUs, an international, nonprofit organization dedicated to informing the public about Israel and combating extremism and anti-Semitism.

"StandWithUs is a nonprofit Israel educational organization, dedicated to shining light on the facts and prejudices about the Arab-Israeli conflict in order to promote peace in the region," Manchester said in a statement. "I appreciate their pro-Israel position, and that their Israeli offices employ Israelis and Palestinians alike."

* The Los Angeles Times reports that Nintendo-themed attractions are headed to Universal theme parks in the U.S.

Universal Creative President Mark Woodbury said the themed areas will be immersive and interactive, so get ready to run and jump over stuff on the Super Mario Bros. Moving Sidewalk.

* Lionsgate has partnered best-selling author Pat Rothfuss with composer and writer Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton, Moana) for an ambitious TV and film adaptation of the fantasy trilogy "The Kingkiller Chronicles."

The film studio said Tuesday it will develop and produce the feature film franchise, as well as a TV drama series that expands on the world outside of Rothfuss' books. There also is an option for a stage adaptation.

Miranda will serve as producer of the franchise and will compose original music, as well as write the songs. Rothfuss will be executive producer for both film and television.

The first film will be written by Lindsey Beer, who penned Transformers 5, and will be based on the first book in the trilogy, The Name of the Wind.

* Paula Hawkins, the British author of The Girl on the Train, will next tell a tale of murder in a riverside town.

Riverhead Books told the Associated Press on Tuesday that Hawkins' Into the Water is a suspense novel about family secrets and "the slipperiness of truth" that will be published May 2. The plot centers on the discovery of the bodies of a mother and teenage girl at the bottom of a river and the investigation that follows.

The 44-year-old author is a former financial journalist who had written romantic fiction under the pen name Amy Silver. The Girl on the Train has sold more than 18 million copies worldwide and was adapted into a film starring Emily Blunt.

Tattle needs to write a best-seller.

- Daily News wire services

contributed to this report.