Tag: Entertainment News

Country Music Legend Dolly Parton Awarded $100 Million by Jeff Bezos for Charity Work

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos awarded country music star Dolly Parton with $100 million over the weekend as part of the Bezos Courage and Civility award. Bezos and his partner Lauren Sanchez presented the award to Parton, 76, on Saturday evening for her philanthropic work. The award “recognizes leaders who aim high, find solutions and who always do…


Brazilian Singer Gal Costa Dies at 77

RIO DE JANEIRO—Singer Gal Costa, an icon in the Tropicalia and Brazilian popular music movements who enjoyed a nearly six-decade career, died on Wednesday. She was 77. Her death was confirmed by a press representative, who provided no further information. The soprano with wild curls of dark hair was best known for lending her unique…


Jeff Cook, Co-founder of Country Band Alabama, Dies at 73

NEW YORK—Guitarist Jeff Cook, who co-founded the country group Alabama and steered them up the charts with such hits as “Song of the South” and “Dixieland Delight,” has died. He was 73. Cook had Parkinson’s disease and disclosed his diagnosis in 2017. He died Tuesday at his home in Destin, Florida, said Don Murry Grubbs,…


Leslie Phillips, ‘Carry On’ Star, Voice of Sorting Hat, Dies

LONDON—Leslie Phillips, the British actor best known for his roles in the bawdy “Carry On” comedies and as the voice of the Sorting Hat in the “Harry Potter” movies, has died. He was 98. His agent, Jonathan Lloyd, confirmed Tuesday that Phillips died “peacefully at home” on Monday. The veteran actor made his first film…


Chris Rock to Go Live on Netflix in a First for the Streamer

Chris Rock is going where no comedian has gone before—live on Netflix. The streaming giant said Thursday that Rock will be the first artist to perform on the company’s first-ever live, global streaming event. The comedy special is set to stream in early 2023, but few other details were revealed. “Chris Rock is one of…


‘Getting to the Truth:’ Mississippi Hip Hop Artist Topher Empowers His Audience to Keep the Conversation Going and Not Be Puppets

For Mississippi conservative hip-hop artist Christopher “Topher” Townsend, rap is about empowerment. Not only an artist, Topher served in the U.S Air Force. He sees the current policies and ideologies infiltrating the country as corroding the traditional values for which he stands and spreading a poisonous message of powerlessness. Topher’s music emboldens his audience to…


Oscar, Tony-Nominated Writer-Director Douglas McGrath Dies

NEW YORK—Stage, TV and film writer-director Douglas McGrath, who earned a Tony nomination for “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” and an Oscar nod for the “Bullets Over Broadway” screenplay he co-wrote with Woody Allen, died Thursday. He was 64. The death was announced by the producers of McGrath’s solo off-Broadway show, “Everything’s Fine,” which opened…


Former Partner of Elizabeth Holmes Wins Delay in Sentencing

SAN JOSE, Calif.—A federal judge on Monday granted a three-week delay in the sentencing of Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, the former lover and accomplice of disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, to give probation officers more time to recommend his punishment for engineering a scam tied to Theranos’ blood-testing technology. Balwani, 57, is now scheduled to be…


Nick Carter Remembers His ‘Baby Brother’ Aaron Carter

NEW YORK—The day after 34-year-old singer Aaron Carter was found dead at his home in Southern California, Nick Carter, the Backstreet Boys member, remembered his younger brother, saying that despite “a complicated relationship,” his love for him “never ever faded.” In a posting Sunday on Instagram with photos of the two through the years, Nick…


Jimmy Kimmel: ‘I Have Lost Half of My Fans’ Since Targeting Trump With Jokes

Popular television host Jimmy Kimmel has revealed that he has lost at least half of his fanbase after cracking jokes against former president Donald Trump. “I have lost half of my fans—maybe more than that,” Kimmel said in an interview with Stitcher’s “Naked Lunch” podcast. “Ten years ago, among Republicans, I was the most popular…