Entertainment category, Page 158
‘American Idol’ star CJ Harris dead at 31 of apparent heart attackVideo
CJ Harris, a singer who competed on “American Idol” during the reality competition’s 13th season, has died. The Alabama native was 31 years old. A family member told TMZ that Harris was taken to a hospital via ambulance but died following a suspected heart attack on Sunday in Jasper, Ala....
Italian film legend Gina Lollobrigida dies at age 95
Italian film legend Gina Lollobrigida, who achieved international stardom during the 1950s and was dubbed “the most beautiful woman in the world” after the title of one of her movies, died in Rome on Monday, her agent said. She was 95. The agent, Paola Comin, didn’t provide details. Lollobrigida had...
TV Talk: Behind the scenes at Critics Choice Awards
CENTURY CITY, Calif. — Sure, on TV the stars look glamorous in their bespoke wardrobes, but what’s it like to attend a televised awards show? As a journalist who covers TV/streaming, I’ve not yet made it into the room where it happens, but I have made it into the next...
‘Jagged Little Pill’ crafts Alanis Morissette songs into jukebox musical
Alanis Morissette’s 1995 album, “Jagged Little Pill,” marked an alt-rock, grunge swerve from the Canadian singer-songwriter’s two previous dance-pop albums. Songs like “You Oughta Know” explored hot-button themes like sexuality, sexual harassment, self-help and societal apathy. The songs and themes are incorporated in “Jagged Little Pill,” a jukebox musical that...
Prime Stage Theatre awarded National Endowment for the Arts Grant
Pittsburgh’s Prime Stage Theatre has received a significant financial boost for its plan to produce the world premiere stage adaptation of “Perseverance,” the story of a Holocaust survivor’s life in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood. Prime Stage has been awarded a $10,000 Grant for Arts Projects from the National Endowment for...
‘Avatar 2,’ ‘M3GAN’ hold onto top spots at the box office
New movies like “Plane” and “House Party” were no match for “Avatar: The Way of Water” and the killer doll horror “M3GAN” at the box office this weekend. The two holdovers topped the charts again according to studio estimates Sunday. In first place for the fifth weekend in a row...
Prime Stage Theatre set to open Harriet Tubman play
Most Americans know about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, but there are many more details that aren’t as well known about this fascinating and exceedingly brave woman. A good many of those details are woven into an upcoming Prime Stage Theatre production opening this week at the New Hazlett...
Lisa Marie carved her musical path as she bore Elvis’ legacy
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — She was dubbed a “rock princess,” but Lisa Marie Presley staked her own musical claim as a singer-songwriter, allowing her to express herself apart from — but sometimes alongside — her megastar father. Presley, who died Thursday at 54, bore a heavy weight: The daughter of musical...
Former WDVE, WXDX radio host ‘Max’ talks addiction on his ‘Recovery Cast’ podcast
When WDVE radio hired Oxford, Ohio, native Pawley Bornstein to be a nighttime disc jockey in the mid-1990s, it was a dream come true. But, that dream contributed to the nightmare of addiction Bornstein was dealing with at the time. Bornstein, 52, has been clean and sober for 16 years...
Hundreds of Salem Witch Trials documents get new home
BOSTON — Hundreds of court documents from the 1692 Salem Witch Trials are being transferred from the Salem museum where they have been stored for more than four decades to the newly expanded Judicial Archives facility in Boston. The 527 documents — which include transcripts of testimony and examinations, depositions,...
Lisa Marie Presley dies at 54 after hospitalization
WEST HILLS, Calif. — Lisa Marie Presley — the only child of Elvis Presley — died Thursday after being hospitalized earlier that day, her mother said in a statement. The singer was 54. “It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter...
U.K. royals appear for first time after Harry’s book published
LONDON — Members of the U.K. royal family appeared in public Thursday for the first time since the publication of Prince Harry’s explosive memoir, touring charities and a hospital as they got on with the task of being working royals. Prince William and Kate seemed relaxed as they arrived at...
Jimmy Page, Rod Stewart, others pay tribute after death of Jeff Beck
Reactions to the death of Jeff Beck, rock innovator and guitar virtuoso who died Tuesday. “The six stringed Warrior is no longer here for us to admire the spell he could weave around our mortal emotions. Jeff could channel music from the ethereal. His technique unique. His imaginations apparently limitless....
David Byrne’s next Broadway show will be ‘Here Lies Love’
NEW YORK — David Byrne’s “American Utopia” may have left Broadway but the Talking Heads leader is plotting a return — with disco. Byrne and Fatboy Slim plan to put their musical “Here Lies Love,” a show that charts the rise and fall of Philippine ex-first lady Imelda Marcos, on...
New, taller Barbie doll is aimed at kids as young as 3
NEW YORK — Love her or loathe her, Barbie has been transformed again, this time into a version for children as young as 3. Gone is the contentious hourglass figure for My First Barbie, which launched Thursday ahead of July’s live-action film about the icon starring Margot Robbie and Ryan...
Disney faces proxy fight as Peltz pushes to join board
Activist investor Nelson Peltz is fighting for a seat on the board of Walt Disney Co., claiming that the company is struggling with self-inflicted problems. Peltz’s attempt to join Disney’s board comes just months after the company brought back longtime CEO Bob Iger to lead Disney again. Disney urged shareholders...
Nonfiction books to watch for in 2023
The top history, memoir and other nonfiction for the first quarter of the year. Last week we gave you a list of fiction to watch for in 2023. Now here is some good-looking nonfiction. “Rough Sleepers,” by Tracy Kidder. (Random House, Jan. 17) Kidder spent five years following a Boston...
Jeff Beck, guitar god who influenced generations, dies at 78
NEW YORK — Jeff Beck, a guitar virtuoso who pushed the boundaries of blues, jazz and rock ‘n’ roll, influencing generations of shredders along the way and becoming known as the guitar player’s guitar player, has died. He was 78. Beck died Tuesday after “suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis,” his representatives...
Tatjana Patitz, supermodel of ’80s and ’90s, dies at 56
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Tatjana Patitz, one of an elite group of famed supermodels who graced magazine covers in the 1980s and ’90s and appeared in George Michael’s “Freedom! ‘90” music video, has died at age 56. Patitz’s death in the Santa Barbara, California, area was confirmed by her New...
The quest to find King Tut is detailed in new book about the storied pharaoh
“The Complete Tutankhamun: 100 Years of Discovery” by Nicholas Reeves; Thames & Hudson (464 pages, $50) Ancient Egyptians made him a god. Modern Egyptologists made him immortal. When Tutankhamun came to the throne around 1330 B.C., he still counted his age in single digits. When he died, his body weakened...
Movie review: Grounded action keeps ‘Plane’ on courseVideo
The villains of the 2022 holiday season were the airlines, so it’s an apt moment for the Gerard Butler action vehicle “Plane” to take flight. The inciting incident involves a cost-cutting safety checker at Trailblazer Airlines insisting that Captain Brodie Torrance (Butler) pilot through a storm instead of around it...
Sting makes beautiful music with Pittsburgh Symphony at Heinz Hall
When Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra first violinist Dylan Naroff found out he was going to have the opportunity to perform with Sting this year, Naroff said he was “geeking out about” it. He learned to appreciate Sting from the vinyl records he inherited from his dad. But the guy he got...
TV Talk: Return of the Golden Globes proves a Hollywood insider’s affairVideo
After a one-year absence because of bad behavior — a diversity and ethics scandal — the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globes were back on NBC in a one-year deal that relegated the Globes to a downgraded Tuesday night instead of its usual Sunday prestige spot. On the TV side,...
TV Talk at TCA: Amanda Peet talks Pittsburgh-filmed ‘The Chair,’ new ‘Fatal Attraction’ series
PASADENA, Calif. – Although Netflix’s filmed-in-Pittsburgh “The Chair” was billed as a “limited series,” that term is flexible enough to be somewhat meaningless. HBO’s “The White Lotus” was a limited series until it wasn’t. When “The Chair” premiered on Netflix in August 2021, it received generally positive reviews and appeared...
Get the Led Out brings annual 2-night Led Zeppelin tribute to GreensburgVideo
Paul Hammond wasn’t enthralled by Led Zeppelin’s music when he first heard it about age 4. But first impressions don’t always last. Now 57, Hammond has been playing in a Led Zeppelin tribute band for 20 years. Philadelphia-based Get the Led Out will play its annual two-night stint at the...
