Entertainment category, Page 243
33 years later, Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall return to Zamunda in ‘Coming 2 America’
NEW YORK — When Eddie Murphy made the original “Coming to America,” he was, almost indisputably, the funniest man in America. Murphy was at the very height of his fame, coming off “Beverly Hills Cop II” and the stand-up special “Raw.” They were heady times. Arsenio Hall, Murphy’s longtime friend...
Former Jerry’s Records owner now selling vinyl from Swissvale spot
Jerry “Vinylman” Weber owns hundreds of thousands of records. He’s not a fan of acquiring music on digital platforms. “I have never downloaded a song,” Weber said. “I have a flip phone. I am what you call ‘eccentric.’ ” Weber loves to help others acquire music. He owned Jerry’s Records...
Fort Ligonier receives museum association award for innovative fundraiser
Fort Ligonier’s Cannon Ball Online Auction and Party to Go received a 2021 Special Achievement Award from PA Museums, an independent statewide museum association that supports the Pennsylvania museum community. Usually an in-person event, the Cannon Ball was restructured in September due to pandemic gathering restrictions. It featured an online...
6 Dr. Seuss books won’t be published for racist images
BOSTON — Six Dr. Seuss books — including “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” and “If I Ran the Zoo” — will stop being published because of racist and insensitive imagery, the business that preserves and protects the author’s legacy said Tuesday. “These books portray people...
City Theatre receives NEA grant to produce new play
Pittsburgh’s City Theatre is on the receiving end of a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, the largest grant from the theater discipline in Pennsylvania. The grant will support City Theatre’s commissioned play, “The Rivers Don’t Know,” about immigration in Pittsburgh. It is part of the first...
Churchill painting owned by Angelina Jolie sells for $11.5M
LONDON — A Moroccan landscape painted by Winston Churchill and owned by Angelina Jolie sold at auction on Monday for more than $11.5 million, smashing the previous record for a work by Britain’s World War II leader. “Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque” sold at Christie’s in London for $11,590,715. The...
Eileen Hertweck, wife of The Clarks guitarist, dies
Eileen Hertweck, wife of The Clarks guitarist Rob Hertweck, died on Saturday of leukemia, at the age of 42. The Pittsburgh music community is in mourning. Clarks bass player Greg Joseph posted a message on Facebook with a photo of the couple and their two daughters, ages 13 and 10....
Review: Quantum Theatre’s ‘Far Away’ brings thought-provoking theater to your living room
While live theater has struggled in the shifting landscape of the pandemic, always-experimental Quantum Theatre has taken the difficulties in stride and created a digital season. Its current production, “Far Away,” which is available for at-home streaming until March 7, flourishes within the video medium, showing a bleak, abstract portrait...
Prince Harry: Split from royal life ‘unbelievably tough’
Prince Harry says the process of separating from royal life has been very difficult for him and his wife, Meghan. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Harry invoked the memory of his late mother, Princess Diana, who had to find her way alone after she and Prince Charles divorced. “I’m...
‘Nomadland,’ ‘Borat’ win at a socially distant Golden GlobesVideo
NEW YORK (AP) — With homebound nominees appearing by remote video and hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler on different sides of the country, a very socially distanced 78th Golden Globe Awards trudged on in the midst of the pandemic and amid a storm of criticism for the Hollywood Foreign...
‘Tom & Jerry’ gives box office some life with $13.7M openingVideo
NEW YORK — A not-so-distant recovery for movie theaters could be glimpsed Sunday, as Warner Bros.’ live-action-animation hybrid “Tom & Jerry” debuted with $13.7 million in ticket sales, the best domestic opening of the year. The better-than-expected opening came despite just 42% of U.S. theaters being open, according to data...
Golden Globes on Sunday will lack some glamour and glitz
NEW YORK — When drained of glamour, what’s left of the Golden Globes? That’s one of the biggest questions heading into the 78th annual awards on Sunday night. The show, postponed two months from its usual early-January perch, will have little of what makes the Globes one of the frothiest...
Lady Gaga’s dogs recovered safely after theft, shooting
LOS ANGELES — Lady Gaga’s two French bulldogs, which were stolen by thieves who shot and wounded their walker, were recovered unharmed Friday, Los Angeles police said. A woman brought the dogs to the LAPD’s Olympic Community Police Station, just northwest of downtown, around 6 p.m, said Capt. Jonathan Tippet,...
Murrysville woman finds author’s voice during pandemic with message of inclusion
One evening during the pandemic, Vivian O’Hara of Murrysville went to sleep with a lot weighing on her mind. “On the news they’d showed a story about a little boy, seven years old, who rescued his younger sister from a vicious dog attack,” said O’Hara. “He suffered a lot of...
Prince Harry raps ‘Fresh Prince,’ says he didn’t walk awayVideo
LONDON — Prince Harry, who decamped from England to Southern California last year, rapped the theme song to the 1990s sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” during a late-night talk show appearance in which he said he didn’t walk away from his royal duties. During a segment on the CBS...
TV Talk: Golden Globes-nominated ‘Queen’s Gambit’ has Pittsburgh tie; Paramount+ launchesVideo
Sunday’s NBC telecast of the “Golden Globes” awards (8 p.m., WPXI-TV) includes a few ties to Pittsburgh, including Netflix’s “The Queen’s Gambit.” Former Pittsburgher Susan Schulman, a New York-based literary agent, represented the estate of Walter Tevis, author of the 1983 novel of the same name that was the basis...
Bob Kudzma, legendary KDKA-TV meteorologist, dies at 81
Former KDKA-TV meteorologist Bob Kudzma, who retired from the station in 2002 after 34 years on the air, died from cancer Thursday at age 81. A New Hampshire native, Kudzma earned a degree in mathematics from the University of New Hampshire and entered the Air Force, which sent him to...
TV Talk: ‘Lost’ George Romero movie ‘Amusement Park’ to stream on Shudder
Streaming service Shudder will stream the “lost” George A. Romero film “The Amusement Park” this summer. Restored by the Pittsburgh-based George A. Romero Foundation, the 1973 film was commissioned by the Pittsburgh-based Lutheran Society as a PSA about being helpful to the elderly, but it was never released publicly. Romero’s...
Lady Gaga’s dog walker shot, French bulldogs stolen in LA
LOS ANGELES — Lady Gaga’s dog walker was shot and two of the singer’s French bulldogs were stolen in Hollywood during an armed robbery, police said. The singer is offering a $500,000 reward. The dog walker was shot once Wednesday night and is expected to survive his injuries, according to...
Stephen King talks about crime, creativity and new novel
NEW YORK — Stephen King doesn’t think of himself as a horror writer. “My view has always been you can call me whatever you want as long as the checks don’t bounce,” King told The Associated Press during a recent telephone interview. “My idea is to tell a good story,...
Mini-grants boost Lincoln Highway-linked arts programming
Art and music along the Lincoln Highway are getting a boost, thanks to mini-grants funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Bureau of Recreation and Conservation and administered by the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor. Westmoreland Cultural Trust received $675 toward creating an interactive video tour of its...
‘Blinding Lights’ and more hits the Grammys left in the dark
NEW YORK — The wattage in The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” wasn’t strong enough to compete at the Grammys — but the song isn’t the only electrifying No. 1 hit that the Recording Academy snubbed. The Weeknd joins an exclusive club of songs that were crowned biggest hit of the year...
Marvel’s Wanda has a future, but ‘WandaVision’ fate unclearVideo
LOS ANGELES — When “WandaVision” wraps its initial run next month on the Disney+ streaming service, Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda will make her next appearance in the big-screen “Doctor Strange” sequel. It’s storytelling that determines how and when characters from the Marvel Comics universe hopscotch between TV and movies, Marvel Studios...
‘The Mighty Ducks’ coaxes Emilio Estevez back into actingVideo
LOS ANGELES — Emilio Estevez said “The Mighty Ducks” TV series wooed him out of the director’s chair and back into acting, but only because it was a worthy successor to the 1990s movie franchise. Estevez reprises his role as youth hockey coach Gordon Bombay for the Disney+ streaming service’s...
TV Talk: NBC’s ‘Debris’ is watch-at-your-own-risk TV
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Ever since ABC premiered “Lost” to critical acclaim and commercial success in 2004, networks have tried to duplicate its success with serialized, mystery-unlocking stories. Rarely have networks succeeded. A litany of supernatural/alien-themed series — “666...
