News

Judith Jamison was born on May 10, 1943, in Philadelphia and passed away on Nov. 9, 2024, in New York City. The American dancer and choreographer is dead at age 81 following a brief illness. May her memory be a blessing.

Jamison prevailed at the 1999 Emmy Awards in the Best Choreography category for “Dance in America: A Hymn for Alvin Ailey,” an episode of PBS’s “Great Performances” anthology series that focuses on the performing arts. For that same project, she also won a trophy at the 1999 American Choreography Awards.

She received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors in 1999, and the National Medal of Arts in 2001. Jamison’s most recent accolade came in 2018 for BET’s “Black Girls Rock” in the category of Living Legend Award.

SEECelebrity Deaths 2024: In Memoriam Gallery

After receiving an education at Fisk University in Nashville and University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Jamison made her Broadway debut in 1979 as a...

Want to travel through time with Reggie Watts? His new comedy special, Never Mind, dropping Saturday on the Veeps streaming service, takes you on a musical Tardis back to the 1990s. Watts’ sonic journey, from the Pov of the late 20th century, marvels at the dream of instant delivery, how expensive laser printers are and just how much he’s looking forward to Windows 98.

Watts recently talked to me about the new special, his comedy heroes and the perks of hanging with James Corden. Not surprisingly, he revealed that he preferred meeting Dolly Parton to Chevy Chase.

@veepsofficial

“I love the idea of time travel. And I thought that the ‘90s were an interesting time because it was a transition into the modern internet. And I think it’s funny to set (my special) in another time period.”

“Absurdism and those types of comedy, I don’t think that’s...

Bollywood actress Kajol is known for her vibrant personality and love for simple joys. When she’s not busy shooting for films, you might find her indulging in her hobbies like crocheting or indulging in some backseat driving.

But what truly lights up her day is the warmth of sunlight. Whenever the sun graces her balcony, Kajol doesn’t miss the chance to capture its radiance with her selfies.

Recently, she treated her Instagram followers to a series of sun-soaked selfies where her million-dollar smile took center stage. Clad in a chic black shirt paired with a skirt adorned with white polka dots, Kajol exuded effortless charm. Her natural hair cascaded freely around her shoulders as she kept her makeup minimal, accentuating her features with a touch of pink on her lips and dark eyeliner.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kajol Devgan (@kajol)

In her caption,...

Liz McCann, a groundbreaking Broadway producer who, as one of the first and most successful women to achieve a prominent leadership role in the theater industry – a term she hated, preferring “theater community” — died Thursday of cancer at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx. She was 90.

Her death was announced by her longtime associate and friend Kristen Luciani.

Elizabeth Ireland McCann — known throughout the Broadway community simply as Liz — started her career in theater as a production assistant and manager with Proscenium Productions at the Cherry Lane Theatre in the 1950s. In 1955, the company would be the first Off Broadway theater to win a Special Tony Award for its seminal productions of The Way of the World and Thieves’ Carnival.

Following a series of short-term theater jobs, McCann, who had acted in plays during her student years at Manhattanville College, completed a law degree at Fordham University. She later earned a...

Netflix has signed an exclusive multi-year first-look deal with leading Danish producer Kim Magnusson to produce original feature films from the Nordic region. The projects, which will be produced, predominantly, in their local languages, will be released globally on the streaming platform. Magnusson will work with both established filmmakers and new talent.

Magnusson has produced or executive produced more than 125 movies and TV series, including Zoe Saldana’s “I Kill Giants,” Mads Mikkelsen’s “Men and Chicken,” J.K. Simmons’ “Worlds Apart,” “Headhunter,” “Terkel in Trouble,” Pilou Asbæk’s “R” and Nicolas Winding Refn’s three “Pusher” films. He has been Oscar-nominated in the live-action short film category six times, winning with “Election Night” and “Helium.” He received an Emmy for the film “Island on Bird Street.”

In a statement, Ian Bricke, Netflix’s director of content acquisition, said Magnusson had “incredibly strong relationships with talent in Scandinavia, and a proven...

Roger Vorce, who learned the agency business at McA under Lew Wasserman and who co-founded the Agency for the Performing Arts in the early 1960s, has died. He was 88. Apa announced the news this morning.

Vorce launched Apa in New York in 1962 with fellow MCAers David Baumgarten and Harvey Litwin, and the agency quickly grew in status. Its client roster at one time or another included Liberace, Johnny Cash, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Harry Belafonte, Michael Feinstein, Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, George Hamilton, Diahann Carroll, Peggy Lee, Marlene Dietrich, Ginger Rogers, Victor Borge and Peter Allen among others.

In 1993, following the death of then-president Marty Klein, Vorce relocated the Los Angeles office and assumed the role of president, becoming CEO in 1997. He most recently was Chairman Emeritus at the agency.

“Nobody loved working with talent more than Roger,” Apa president and CEO James Gosnell said. “Through his devotion to our company,...

Life of Danish-American comedian Borge set for the big screen treatment.

Danish Producer Kim Magnusson (Men & Chicken) is working with writer-producer duo Mette Lisby and Jesper Baehrenz to produce a feature film and TV series about the life of comedian Victor Borge.

The Borge family have granted rights to his story.

“The vision for the movie and TV-series presented to us by these three filmmakers is compelling. It aligns perfectly with our father’s spirit, amazing life and remarkable career. We are thrilled to give our full support to this project,” said Frederikke, youngest daughter of Borge.

She and her four siblings will all open their private archives and share personal stories of their father.

Magnusson said: “When Mette and Jesper approached me with their creative idea for Borge I felt, here was a beautiful project that could finally tell us all the story of one of the most important Danes around the world. Now that we...

John Waters has made 16 films over the course of his nearly 50-year career, one of which has remained elusive for years: 1970’s “Multiple Maniacs.” Janus Films recently restored the cult icon’s second feature, and Waters spoke to us about the film’s re-release, the filmmakers of today he most admires and why he hasn’t directed in more than 10 years.

There’s a funny coincidence because our TV team is at the TCAs. NBC is promoting “Hairspray Live” as part of their upfronts. It’s like Must See TV for the Whole Family. Meanwhile, your “Multiple Maniacs” restoration is going to promote rosary jobs for a whole new generation. Is this your idea of a balanced life?

It is, because I felt the same thing. I did in June a thing with the Baltimore Symphony, where they do “Hairspray,” and I’m sort of like Victor Borge and I...

Fillip Cornershop Satiediously, vol. 2 (Unheard Universe)   Following up on last year's initial Satie volume, Cornershop now delivers a unique reading of Satie's notorious "Vexations," the one-page piece which Satie said should be performed with repeats until it totaled 840 times through the printed text (or perhaps not; debate has raged since its 1949 publication). Cornershop brings the piece in at a monumental 48 hours (more traditional performances of the 840-times length range from 18 to 28 hours). 

As I was wondering how Cornershop could achieve such a performance without the aid of caffeine, which in turn would mitigate against his chosen slow tempo, I noticed a splice after the 168th time through and then, in turn, after the 336th. Shortly after the latter, and concurrent with my wife's threat of divorce, I had to stop listening, but a little math revealed to me that 1 through 168 and 169 through 336 were precisely the same length, so it appears...

Tribeca’s 12th annual festival, running from April 17-28, recently announced that the 30th Anniversary restoration of Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy, will close its 12th edition on Saturday, April 27. “Twelve years ago when we announced the first Festival, it was Marty’s idea for us to feature Restored and Rediscovered films. This year we are proud to close our 12th Festival with a restoration of his The King of Comedy,” said Jane Rosenthal, co-founder, Tribeca Film Festival. See below for the official press release and original 1983 theatrical trailer.

30th Anniversary Restoration Of The King Of Comedy To Close

2013 Tribeca Film Festival On April 27

The Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by American Express, announced that the 30th Anniversary of Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy, restored in association with The Film Foundation, Regency Enterprises and Twentieth Century Fox, will close its 12th edition on Saturday, April 27. Closing...

Associated Press Hyung-ki Joo, left, and Aleksey Igudesman.

Here’s how violinist Aleksey Igudesman and pianist Hyung-ki Joo perform Bach. With blissful expressions on their faces, they start with the gentle strains of Prelude in C—then John Malkovich interrupts, Igudesman falls to his knees in prayer and the piece somehow erupts into tango master Astor Piazzolla’s “Libertango.”

Known as Igudesman & Joo, the duo lampoons the perceived stuffiness of classical music using daffy comedy skits and genre-blurring music mashups.

Muppet mania is back in full force. They’ve got a new film out, they had a minor bid for Oscar hosting glory, and people everywhere are discovering – or rediscovering – the sheer joy of muppetry.

What better excuse (like one was needed) to count down our ten favourite Muppet duets.

-

10 – Sandra Bullock and Kermit the Frog – “Phenomena”

The only reason this is at number 10 is that there’s very little actual singing involved. For sheer entertainment value, “Phenomena”, and Sandra Bullock getting into the swing of things, would be number one.

-

-

9- Debbie Harry and Kermit the Frog – “The Rainbow Connection”

A little soppy, a little teary – looks a little as though Debbie Harry is not entirely sure what she’s doing.

-

-

8- Miss Piggy and Ozzy Osbourne – “Born to be Wild”

Miss Piggy unleashes her wild side and rocks out with Ozzy. Wonder if she rides a Hog?...

From 1978 until last month, Andy Rooney, who has died aged 92, regularly occupied the last minutes of the CBS Sunday evening show 60 Minutes. Wry, often tart, sometimes combative and always beguiling, he presented a miniature essay on a topic of his choice. The programme's phenomenal audience figures in the Us and around the world made him one of the best known news commentators, even though his segment was only – to borrow its name – A Few Minutes With Andy Rooney.

Staring out from under a wiry thicket of eyebrows, he would rummage in his desk drawer and comment caustically on its contents, compare the shrinking quantities of coffee tins, ruminate on the existence of God – he was an agnostic – or mock the absurdities of the politically correct. His liberal tendencies brought enmity from the right, but his stalwart, old-fashioned values sometimes...

The Kennedy Center Honors have been handed out since 1978. Recipients hail from various branches of the American performance art world — including film, stage, music, and dance — even though performers more closely associated with British show business have managed to sneak in every now and then, e.g., Paul McCartney, Roger Daltrey, Elton John, Pete Townshend. Since recipients are supposed to attend the Washington, D.C., ceremony in order to take home their Kennedy awards, Doris Day has remained unhonored by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Katharine Hepburn kept putting it off until she finally relented in 1990. (Irene Dunne, see above photo, was one who managed to be honored though absent due to ill health.) Ginger Rogers, for her part, was present at the ceremony, but her films with Fred Astaire weren't — because Astaire's widow, Robyn Astaire, demanded payment for the televised clips. At the time, Kennedy Center Honors...

I like a man who knows how to wield his comma (Victor Borge, anyone?). HBO has released a couple of clips from their upcoming comedy special, "Talking Funny." In the first, Jerry Seinfeld and Louis C.K. discuss punctuating traffic signs; that's an idea I'll be having my own fun with next time I hit the streets. (I'd like to add expletives as well: Yield, Motherfucker!) The gathering of "stand up comedy legends" also includes Chris Rock and Ricky Gervais. Seinfeld seems the odd man out here, but in a proper ice cream sundae, someone has to be the vanilla ice cream. It will be interesting to see where the conversation leads and if anyone dominates the group.

Here's a taste:

While these short clips don't leave us laughing as much as the comedians themselves, I have to believe there's a whole lot of funny headed our way. HBO promises insights...

Talented, beloved, actor Jason Robards died Tuesday afternoon in Bridgeport, Connecticut, after a long battle with cancer. He was 78. Robards was best known for playing real-life people; he won back-to-back Best Supporting Actor Awards for portraying Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee in the 1976 Watergate film, All the President's Men (1976), and as the husband of Lillian Hellman, Dashiell Hammett, in Julia (1977). He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor again for his kind portrayal of Howard Hughes in the 1980 film, Melvin and Howard (1980). His last role was as the dying father of Tom Cruise's infomercial spokesman in Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia (1999). Robards was born into an acting family. His father, Jason Robards Sr., was a star of stage and screen and his son was born while he was on tour. Jason Jr. wanted nothing to do with acting, initially. He wanted to be a baseball player. But WWII intervened. Robards was present during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and eventually was decorated for the Navy Cross (the second highest Naval honor). His post-war years marked a turn to the theater, with several years of struggle, before he made his mark in Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh." O'Neill proved kind to Robards; he made his first mark on the big screen as the alcoholic Jamie in the 1962 production of O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962) (holding his own alongside such noted thespians as Katharine Hepburn and Sir Ralph Richardson). Robards seemed to prefer the stage to screen, often deriding his feature film roles as a way to pay bills between Broadway performances. He would be nominated for eight Tonys over his long career (winning in 1958 for "The Disenchanted"). Robards often gravitated to gruff, world-weary characters, frequently the patriarchal heavy. His more notable recent roles included Parenthood (1989) and Philadelphia (1993). Robards personal life seemed to reflect some of the tumult he captured on-screen; he was married four times: Eleanor Pitman ('48-'58), Rachel Taylor ('59-'61), Lauren Bacall ('61-'69) and Lois O'Connor (1970-present). Robards had three children with Eleanor Pitman, a son with Bacall (actor Sam Robards), and two more with O'Connor. In 1999 Robards was a recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors. Ironically, he shared in the recognition that year with another beloved personality, comic pianist Victor Borge, who died Saturday.