Editor’s note: If you have watched the Netflix docu The Greatest Night in Pop, you saw the 40 biggest singers of the ’80s break into a spontaneous chorus of “Day-o” in tribute to Harry Belafonte for organizing the “We Are the World” global fundraiser that raised over $60 million to save starving, famine-stricken African families. So you understand why the late singer/activist/actor’s daughters were disappointed when an In Memoriam segment on the Grammys flashed his photo but omitted him from a special section honoring the giants. Here, daughter Shari reminds why her father meant so much to the world, and music.
Related: Harry Belafonte Dies: Actor, Singer & Civil Rights Icon Was 96
Being a woman of color and having been in the entertainment business literally All of my life, I’ve witnessed and have been exposed to many instances of what one would call “unjustified treatment.” But, don’t...
Related: Harry Belafonte Dies: Actor, Singer & Civil Rights Icon Was 96
Being a woman of color and having been in the entertainment business literally All of my life, I’ve witnessed and have been exposed to many instances of what one would call “unjustified treatment.” But, don’t...
- 2/9/2024
- by Shari Belafonte
- Deadline Film + TV
Bob Dylan has a reputation for being a prickly celebrity, but he also has a soft side, as he proved in a college class. According to Dylan, he flunked out of an important course while enrolled at the University of Minnesota. He shared why his refusal to participate put a dent in his short-lived academic career.
Bob Dylan didn’t last long in a college science class
While Dylan was beginning to take his music career seriously as a high school student, he enrolled at the University of Minnesota to live up to his parents’ expectations. His cousin was the president of a fraternity and agreed to let him stay in the fraternity house the summer before classes started.
Bob Dylan | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Dylan was excited to be in Minneapolis but not as interested in his courses. His attendance record was spotty at best, and he told...
Bob Dylan didn’t last long in a college science class
While Dylan was beginning to take his music career seriously as a high school student, he enrolled at the University of Minnesota to live up to his parents’ expectations. His cousin was the president of a fraternity and agreed to let him stay in the fraternity house the summer before classes started.
Bob Dylan | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Dylan was excited to be in Minneapolis but not as interested in his courses. His attendance record was spotty at best, and he told...
- 7/31/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Bill Lee, the jazz bassist who recorded with the likes of Bob Dylan and Aretha Franklin and was the father of filmmaker Spike Lee, has died at the age of 94.
Lee died Wednesday at his home in Brooklyn, Spike confirmed to The New York Times. No cause of death was provided.
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A longtime session musician whose work dates back to the early Sixties, Lee’s double bass could be heard on recordings by artists like Harry Belafonte, Judy Collins,...
Lee died Wednesday at his home in Brooklyn, Spike confirmed to The New York Times. No cause of death was provided.
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A post shared by Spike Lee (@officialspikelee)
A longtime session musician whose work dates back to the early Sixties, Lee’s double bass could be heard on recordings by artists like Harry Belafonte, Judy Collins,...
- 5/24/2023
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
The National Music Council of the United States will honor music and event producers Ray Chew and Vivian Scott Chew at the organization’s 39th annual American Eagle Awards on Sunday, June 25 at the American Federation of Musicians Convention in Las Vegas.
The honors are presented each year in recognition of those who have made career-long contributions to American musical culture, to promoting the ideal of music education for all children, and to supporting the protection of creators’ rights both locally and internationally.
This year’s presenter will be Academy Award and multi-Grammy-winning artist Regina Belle.
Music director, producer and composer Ray Chew’s work has been celebrated for excellence over the course of decades. His resume includes Dancing With the Stars, Showtime at the Apollo, and American Idol, as well as the Primetime Emmy Awards, the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremonies, the 2008 Democratic National Convention, President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Ball,...
The honors are presented each year in recognition of those who have made career-long contributions to American musical culture, to promoting the ideal of music education for all children, and to supporting the protection of creators’ rights both locally and internationally.
This year’s presenter will be Academy Award and multi-Grammy-winning artist Regina Belle.
Music director, producer and composer Ray Chew’s work has been celebrated for excellence over the course of decades. His resume includes Dancing With the Stars, Showtime at the Apollo, and American Idol, as well as the Primetime Emmy Awards, the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremonies, the 2008 Democratic National Convention, President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Ball,...
- 5/4/2023
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Stephen King fans are a little protective over "The Dark Tower," the author's sprawling epic that began with "The Gunslinger" in 1982, and it's hard to blame them. It took King 22 years to complete the saga, with gaps of up to five years between each book, so it's been a part of many fans' lives for decades. Not only that, but there is the awful 2017 "The Dark Tower" feature adaptation from director Nikolaj Arcel that just didn't quite cut the mustard. While Idris Elba was certainly an interesting and potentially great choice for the embittered gunslinger Roland Deschain, Arcel's movie tried to condense too much of King's novels into too little screentime, and the film was ultimately a flop.
Mike Flanagan, the director behind fantastic King adaptations like "Gerald's Game" and "Doctor Sleep," has stepped up to take the reins and try to create a "Dark Tower" television series that does the beloved saga justice.
Mike Flanagan, the director behind fantastic King adaptations like "Gerald's Game" and "Doctor Sleep," has stepped up to take the reins and try to create a "Dark Tower" television series that does the beloved saga justice.
- 12/8/2022
- by Danielle Ryan
- Slash Film
Even though 91-year-old troubadour Ramblin’ Jack Elliott didn’t feel like getting out of bed this morning, there was a gig to play. Another chance to dust off his cowboy hat, grab the guitar case, and make it to the show on time.
“I didn’t know if I could play at all this morning. I spent the whole day in bed,” Elliott tells Rolling Stone backstage after at a sold-out gig at the Grey Eagle in Asheville, North Carolina, earlier this month. “But it’s the enthusiasm, all these...
“I didn’t know if I could play at all this morning. I spent the whole day in bed,” Elliott tells Rolling Stone backstage after at a sold-out gig at the Grey Eagle in Asheville, North Carolina, earlier this month. “But it’s the enthusiasm, all these...
- 10/8/2022
- by Garret K. Woodward
- Rollingstone.com
There aren't very many major American animated features that weren't made by Disney, and some of the best were created by animation master Don Bluth. Bluth was a Disney animator who left the company citing "creative differences," and he went on to create classics like "The Secret of Nimh," "An American Tale," and "The Land Before Time." In 1994, Bluth teamed with 20th Century Fox and longtime collaborator Gary Goldman to create Fox Animation Studios. Their first feature was "Anastasia," a historical adventure story about Anastasia Romanov, the daughter of the last Russian Tsar and possibly the only survivor of the mass assassination of her family. The film earned two Academy Award nominations -- for the original song "Journey to the Past" and the movie's score -- and is remembered by many '90s kids for being a weird and wonderful alternative to the movies from the House of Mouse.
But...
But...
- 8/30/2022
- by Danielle Ryan
- Slash Film
Blame the pandemic, the dying planet, or our rapid transition into United States: Fury Road, but there’s a lot of soul searching going on these days. Some artists, especially in the Americana genre, are even looking to the heavens. Brent Cobb is releasing a gospel album in January, Hiss Golden Messenger sing hymns religious and secular on a new LP, and Katie Pruitt is dissecting her complicated religious upbringing in the must-listen podcast The Recovering Catholic.
Brian Fallon, meanwhile, is turning to the spirituals he heard in the pews as a kid.
Brian Fallon, meanwhile, is turning to the spirituals he heard in the pews as a kid.
- 12/8/2021
- by Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
Live performances by Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, recorded at a student ministry on the University of Michigan campus in 1968, were among the professional-quality recordings unearthed by the Michigan History Project.
Seven-inch reel-to-reel audio tapes featuring concerts by Tim Buckley, Odetta, David Ackles and Dave Van Ronk were also among the recordings made at the Canterbury House, an Ann Arbor, Michigan venue that hosted counterculture events in the mid to late-Sixties.
The Michigan History Project recently acquired the recordings, with the non-profit organization now seeking a record label interested in releasing the concerts.
Seven-inch reel-to-reel audio tapes featuring concerts by Tim Buckley, Odetta, David Ackles and Dave Van Ronk were also among the recordings made at the Canterbury House, an Ann Arbor, Michigan venue that hosted counterculture events in the mid to late-Sixties.
The Michigan History Project recently acquired the recordings, with the non-profit organization now seeking a record label interested in releasing the concerts.
- 7/28/2018
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
On a recent afternoon in the suburbs of northern New Jersey, Bettye Lavette sat at her kitchen table, a glass of chardonnay and a weed vape pen in front of her. As her favorite oldies played in the background – the Soul Stirrers, the Drifters – she told a story about one of the many industry giants who offered to boost her career. This one happened to be Pharrell Williams, who she ran into at an event on Long Island a few years ago. “He comes up to me and said, ‘I can produce you,...
- 7/26/2018
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
Another casting update! Ok, we already know that Javier Bardem and Viggo Mortensen are both in the running to play the lead character Roland Deschain in the upcoming Ron Howard‘s adaptation of The Dark Tower.
So, we’re here to add another name to this project, because, according to the latest rumors, Naomie Harris is the front runner for the female lead, Susannah Dean!
In the novels Susannah Dean is originally known as Odetta Holmes and Detta Walker, two wildly different women trapped within the same body.
After suffering a serious brain trauma early in her life, Odetta’s damaged mind created the Detta personality, a cold-blooded and violent racist with intentions of killing both Roland and Eddie.
Eventually Roland successfully fuses the legless woman’s two personalities into the solitary Susannah Dean, turning her into an invaluable member of his Ka-tet of gunslingers.
Harris is perhaps best known...
So, we’re here to add another name to this project, because, according to the latest rumors, Naomie Harris is the front runner for the female lead, Susannah Dean!
In the novels Susannah Dean is originally known as Odetta Holmes and Detta Walker, two wildly different women trapped within the same body.
After suffering a serious brain trauma early in her life, Odetta’s damaged mind created the Detta personality, a cold-blooded and violent racist with intentions of killing both Roland and Eddie.
Eventually Roland successfully fuses the legless woman’s two personalities into the solitary Susannah Dean, turning her into an invaluable member of his Ka-tet of gunslingers.
Harris is perhaps best known...
- 1/9/2011
- by Fiona
- Filmofilia
I still say we are a few weeks away from Ron Howard being in a place to seriously consider casting his ambitious t.v. & film adaptation of Stephen King’s fantasy, sci-fi, western The Dark Tower series but anyway, we’ll play ball, mainly because this proposed hiring is an interesting one.
NY Post says Brit actress Naomi Harris is being considered for the duel role of Susannah – who is the product of two wildly different women trapped within the same body. Originally Odetta Holmes, a serious brain drama inflicted the African-American whose damaged mind created Detta Walker, a violent, almost uncontrollable and murderous racist. The character doesn’t appear in the novels until book number two, The Drawing of the Three, and would probably only appear at the end of Universal and NBC’s first film, The Gunslinger, if at all in that one.
Susannah is one of the...
NY Post says Brit actress Naomi Harris is being considered for the duel role of Susannah – who is the product of two wildly different women trapped within the same body. Originally Odetta Holmes, a serious brain drama inflicted the African-American whose damaged mind created Detta Walker, a violent, almost uncontrollable and murderous racist. The character doesn’t appear in the novels until book number two, The Drawing of the Three, and would probably only appear at the end of Universal and NBC’s first film, The Gunslinger, if at all in that one.
Susannah is one of the...
- 1/8/2011
- by Matt Holmes
- Obsessed with Film
Last September when the project was announced, I asked you all for your choices on who should play Susannah Dean in the adaptation of Stephen King’s epic, mammoth The Dark Tower novel series.
Many of you chimed in with your selections, and some even mentioned Naomie Harris’ name.
Well, this afternoon, the New York Post, via MTV Movies, reported that, in addition to Viggo Mortensen and Javier Bardem, whose names are being tossed around for the coveted lead Roland Deschain role, Pirates of the Caribbean beauty Naomie Harris is being considered for the female lead in Ron Howard’s highly anticipated adaptation, which his long-time partner in crime, Brian Grazer will produce.
As we later posted, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly magazine, King himself stated, when asked for his casting choices of the key roles: “haven’t got as far as casting in my thoughts, but when I write about Susannah Dean,...
Many of you chimed in with your selections, and some even mentioned Naomie Harris’ name.
Well, this afternoon, the New York Post, via MTV Movies, reported that, in addition to Viggo Mortensen and Javier Bardem, whose names are being tossed around for the coveted lead Roland Deschain role, Pirates of the Caribbean beauty Naomie Harris is being considered for the female lead in Ron Howard’s highly anticipated adaptation, which his long-time partner in crime, Brian Grazer will produce.
As we later posted, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly magazine, King himself stated, when asked for his casting choices of the key roles: “haven’t got as far as casting in my thoughts, but when I write about Susannah Dean,...
- 1/7/2011
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
Man, it sure would be nice to have some solid Dark Tower casting news to share with you guys instead of all the rumors and possibilities we've been given lately. In any event, here's one more: "Pirates of the Caribbean beauty Naomie Harris is being considered for the female lead."
This latest bit of "news" comes to us from the New York Post with no further attributions or information. The lead in question from Stephen King's Dark Tower series, which is being adapted for both the big screen and TV by Ron Howard, is no doubt Susannah Dean, and MTV Movies Blog expands on the Post's tidbit with the following: King has said before that he always envisioned Angela Bassett as an ideal actress for Susannah, but given Bassett's current age, her casting doesn't seem likely.
In the novels Susannah Dean is originally known as Odetta Holmes and Detta Walker,...
This latest bit of "news" comes to us from the New York Post with no further attributions or information. The lead in question from Stephen King's Dark Tower series, which is being adapted for both the big screen and TV by Ron Howard, is no doubt Susannah Dean, and MTV Movies Blog expands on the Post's tidbit with the following: King has said before that he always envisioned Angela Bassett as an ideal actress for Susannah, but given Bassett's current age, her casting doesn't seem likely.
In the novels Susannah Dean is originally known as Odetta Holmes and Detta Walker,...
- 1/7/2011
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
From Viggo Mortensen to Javier Bardem, there are plenty of names floating around for the coveted role of Roland Deschain in "The Dark Tower." Ron Howard certainly has his work cut out for him in terms of finding his gunslinger, perhaps the single most adored figure in all of Stephen King's catalogue.
But Roland isn't the only major role that Howard needs to fill. There are other integral players from the nefarious Man in Black to recovering drug addict Eddie Dean. Then, of course, there's Susannah Dean.
King has said before that he always envisioned Angela Bassett as an ideal actress for Susannah, but given Bassett's current age, her casting doesn't seem likely. It seems especially unlikely given a new rumor that the part of Susannah is Naomie Harris' for the taking.
The New York Post has the rumor, stating quite simply and without attribution: "'Pirates of the...
But Roland isn't the only major role that Howard needs to fill. There are other integral players from the nefarious Man in Black to recovering drug addict Eddie Dean. Then, of course, there's Susannah Dean.
King has said before that he always envisioned Angela Bassett as an ideal actress for Susannah, but given Bassett's current age, her casting doesn't seem likely. It seems especially unlikely given a new rumor that the part of Susannah is Naomie Harris' for the taking.
The New York Post has the rumor, stating quite simply and without attribution: "'Pirates of the...
- 1/7/2011
- by Josh Wigler
- MTV Movies Blog
Naomie Harris is said to be circling Ron Howard's epic adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower . That's according to the New York Post and it should be taken only as a rumor at this point. Who could she play? She's likely a contender for the character Odetta Holmes, a woman debilitated by a subway accident in which she lost both of her legs. Harris landed on the genre map with 28 Days Later and also starred in Pirates of the Caribbean and Miami Vice . Howard's vision of the Dark Tower series stretches across three films and a television series. The first installment is expected in 2013.
- 1/7/2011
- shocktillyoudrop.com
As some of you may have already heard, Universal Pictures recently announced plans to turn Stephen King’s mammoth novel series The Dark Tower into a feature film trilogy, as well as a network TV series, with Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Akiva Goldsman to direct, produce and write respectively.
I haven’t read the Dark Tower series, which King himself considers his magnum opus. A cross-genre work, including elements of science fiction, fantasy, horror and western, there are 7 novels in the series, published between 1982 and 2004, with King, last year, announcing an upcoming 8th book, titled The Wind Through the Keyhole.
Consider the opus added to my to-read pile! I just don’t know when I’ll be able to get to them
Those of you who’ve already done the work should be able to give the rest of us some dish on what to expect!
Plot summary: “In the story,...
I haven’t read the Dark Tower series, which King himself considers his magnum opus. A cross-genre work, including elements of science fiction, fantasy, horror and western, there are 7 novels in the series, published between 1982 and 2004, with King, last year, announcing an upcoming 8th book, titled The Wind Through the Keyhole.
Consider the opus added to my to-read pile! I just don’t know when I’ll be able to get to them
Those of you who’ve already done the work should be able to give the rest of us some dish on what to expect!
Plot summary: “In the story,...
- 9/10/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
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