Entertainment category, Page 319
‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ comes alive on Byham stage
A favorite holiday tradition is watching Charlie Brown and his pals as they once again discover the real meaning of Christmas in “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” the 1965 animated television special based on the Peanuts comic strip by beloved cartoonist the late Charles M. Schulz. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust will...
Classical music, dance offerings abound in Pittsburgh in 2020
Music and dance shift back into high gear after the mid-winter break, with many alluring and important performances coming up. The Pittsburgh Symphony, for example, will present 15 weekends of classical music from January to June. Among the many highlights are two full-evening masterpieces by Ludwig van Beethoven – “Fidelio”...
Songwriter Allee Willis, who did ‘Friends’ theme, dies
LOS ANGELES — Allee Willis, a songwriter whose work included the Broadway musical “The Color Purple” as well as the theme song from the TV show “Friends” and Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September,” has died. She was 72. The cause of death Tuesday was a cardiac event, her publicist, Ellyn...
Lil Wayne may face charges after gold-plated gun, drugs found on his plane
MIAMI — Lil Wayne is free to celebrate Christmas in Miami after federal agents searched his private jet, but the rapper still faces potential charges after agents found at least one handgun and drugs, according to law enforcement sources. The gun also qualified as bling — a gold-plated .45 caliber...
Study: No evidence museum’s stovepipe hat was Lincoln’s
A new study has found no evidence to corroborate that a beaver-skin stovepipe hat — for years a centerpiece of Illinois’ Abraham Lincoln museum — ever actually belonged to the 16th U.S. president, according to a published report. Among the findings spelled out in a 54-page report was that the...
Pop culture in 2010s marked gains in diversity, inclusion
NEW YORK — When the family-friendly Hallmark Channel recently pulled, under pressure from a conservative group, a set of ads featuring a kiss between two happy brides at the altar, backlash was swift — to say the least. Within hours, stars like Ellen DeGeneres and William Shatner were tweeting in...
Justin Bieber to play Pittsburgh in 2020Video
Christmas came early for Justin Bieber fans. In a YouTube video posted about noon Tuesday, the pop star announced a tour, new album, new single and new docu-series for 2020. Bieber is set for a show in Pittsburgh on Aug. 4 at PPG Paints Arena. The Ontario, Canada native last...
Rapper DaBaby detained hours after toy giveaway, concert
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Grammy-nominated rapper DaBaby was detained in North Carolina hours after he gave away toys to children and shortly after his concert. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police issued citations to the rapper, whose real name is Jonathan Kirk, for misdemeanor possession of marijuana and resisting an officer Monday night, news outlets...
Dewayne Perkins on writing for ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine,’ new solo stand-up show
We often talk about sketch and improv as an entry point for comedic performers. But it’s a type of acting that also tends to hone a person’s writing skills. Which means a decent chunk of people writing for late-night talk shows or TV comedies came up through the Chicago improv...
Ed Sheeran taking a break from music — again
Another album and tour over, another Ed Sheeran break from music. The 28-year-old singer-songwriter announced to his fans on Instagram that he’s cutting out for a bit. View this post on Instagram Brb x A post shared by Ed Sheeran (@teddysphotos) on Dec 24, 2019 at 4:00am PST “Hello all....
Holiday TV picks for moms and dads who can hardly wait for school to start again
With Christmas landing and the new year traveling faster than a speeding bullet, television can be a soothing influence on parents who have too much to do and kids who have too little. The networks have not forgotten, and FXX offers its Plus+Size Holiday Marathon featuring 661 episodes of “The...
Dancer born with one hand makes Radio City Rockettes history
A dancer born with one hand is the first person with a visible disability ever hired by New York’s famed Radio City Rockettes. “I don’t want to be known as the dancer who has one hand, and not because that’s a bad thing,” Sydney Mesher, who joined the Rockettes this...
Bill Cosby spokesperson hits back at Eddie Murphy after dig on ‘SNL’Video
Bill Cosby’s spokesperson slammed comedian Eddie Murphy over a dig Murphy made on “Saturday Night Live” this weekend. Murphy was back on “SNL” after departing the show in 1984. In his opening monologue he said he was busy being a stay-at-home dad and distanced himself from the disgraced comic. “If...
Last-minute deal will keep Starz on Comcast’s Xfinity lineup
Fans of the hit series “Outlander,” think of it as your early Christmas present. Comcast NBCUniversal and Lionsgate have agreed to a new carriage deal that will keep Starz on Xfinity TV’s lineup, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The deal also will put Starz on NBC’s upcoming streaming service Peacock,...
Let’s cancel ‘cancel culture’ in 2020, and the humblebrag, too
Either loudly sing your own praises or don’t in the new year, but let’s leave the humble brag behind, along with a few other oversaturated, cloying or just plain silly cultural quirks that deserve a big goodbye. Among them are pop-up shops, cancel culture and the ever-present “OK Boomer” retort...
‘Rise of Skywalker’ opens with $175.5 million; ‘Cats’ flops
NEW YORK — The Force was a little less strong with “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” J.J. Abrams’ Skywalker finale couldn’t match its recent predecessors on opening weekend, but it still amassed a $175.5 million debut that ranked as the third largest weekend of the year. “The Rise of...
Eddie Murphy returns to ‘SNL,’ roasts Bill CosbyVideo
Eddie Murphy returned to host “Saturday Night Live” after leaving the show 35 years ago. In his opening monologue, as the crowd cheered his name, Murphy joked about how long it’s been since he was on the show. The comedian said it was great to be back for the Christmas...
Check out this eclectic pick of 17 gift-worthy box sets
This year figures to go down as a memorable one for box sets and other special releases. Several landmark albums, including the Beatles’ “Abbey Road,” The Replacements’ “Don’t Tell A Soul” and Prince’s “1999” were re-issued with lots of worthy additional music. Bob Dylan’s vault got raided once again, and...
San Francisco musical, longest running in US, to hang up hat
SAN FRANCISCO — When you think of America’s longest-running musicals, Broadway favorites such as “The Lion King” or “Chicago” may come to mind. But there’s a small San Francisco show that’s been a must-see for tourists and locals alike for more than 45 years — and now the curtain is...
30-plus years of ‘Garfield’ comic strips to sell at auction
DALLAS — Cartoonist Jim Davis is offering up more than 11,000 “Garfield” comic strips hand-drawn on paper in an auction that will stretch into the coming years, with at least a couple of strips featuring the always-hungry orange cat with a sardonic sense of humor available weekly. “There are just...
The Jim Crow film that just won’t die, “Song of the South”
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Racially segregated movie theaters and whites-only water fountains disappeared decades ago after court rulings struck down the legal framework of Jim Crow America, but another element of the era just won’t die: Walt Disney’s 1946 movie “Song of the South.” With racist stereotypes and Old South tropes,...
5 things to do in Westmoreland this weekend: Dec. 20-22Video
And just like that, the last weekend before Christmas is upon us. There may or may not be a flurry of snowflakes, but a flurry of fun awaits. Music, train displays and movies will help calm any seasonal stress, and keep the kiddos from bouncing off the walls — maybe....
J.K. Rowling stirs transphobia debate again with new tweetVideo
“Harry Potter” scribe J.K. Rowling brewed up a whole new controversy Thursday after she tweeted her support for a British woman who had been fired for making transphobic remarks. The outspoken billionaire author chimed in on the trending hashtag, #IStandWithMaya, a campaign backing researcher Maya Forstater. The researcher claimed online...
Review: ‘Bombshell’ is another sneaky, fact-adjacent docudramaVideo
One week after the tepid box office reception for “Richard Jewell,” a well-acted, sneakily political, fact-adjacent drama of no little controversy, here comes “Bombshell” — another well-acted, sneakily political and fact-adjacent picture, representing the other side of what’s left of the aisle in this country. It’s hard to assess the...
Review: Love it or hate it, ‘Cats’ is a pop culture phenomenonVideo
There’s apparently enough groundbreaking technology used in “Cats” for NASA to send a rocket to unexplored parts of the universe — perhaps to a far-off planet where cats sing, dance on two legs and recite T.S. Eliot poetry in half-Cockney accents. But let’s forget the much-discussed “digital fur technology” used...
