Celebrity – Page 7 – The News Desk

Accusers in Japanese boy band producer’s sex scandal say they hope for apology, compensation

4Sep

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Accusers in Japanese boy band producer’s sex scandal say they hope for apology, compensation

TOKYO -- A group of men who say they were sexually abused by a Japanese boy band producer expressed hope Monday that the company will provide financial compensation and introduce measures to prevent a recurrence. They say producer Johnny Kitagawa sexually preyed on young dancers and singers for decades, having them stay at his luxury home, handing them cash and leveraging promises of potential fame. The company, Johnny & Associates, is a powerful force in Japan's entertainment industry.The men said at a news conference Monday that they have been ignored for decades by the company, Japanese society and mainstream media.Company Chief Executive Julie Keiko Fujishima released a brief statement on YouTube in May about the accusations but has not appeared before reporters. The company has s...

Sweet emotion in Philadelphia as Aerosmith starts its farewell tour, and fans dream on

3Sep

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Sweet emotion in Philadelphia as Aerosmith starts its farewell tour, and fans dream on

PHILADELPHIA -- Aerosmith is one of the best things to come out of Boston, and soon it will exist only in memories and playbacks — like Tom Brady, “Cheers” and Larry Bird.The quintet has given the world 50 years of classic rock and some of the most enduring songs of all time, including “Dream On,” “Walk This Way” and “Sweet Emotion.”Aerosmith began its farewell “Peace Out” tour Saturday in Philadelphia with a two-hour set spanning its voluminous catalog — giving the world one last chance to see what earned these skinny guys from New England an exalted place in the pantheon of rock's all-time greats.Singer Steven Tyler, guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford, and bassist Tom Hamilton all wore black cowboy hats as they ripped into “Back In The Saddle,” the song that has opened Aerosmith sho...

Late-night hosts team up for ‘Strike Force Five’ podcast to benefit their out-of-work staff

31Aug

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Late-night hosts team up for ‘Strike Force Five’ podcast to benefit their out-of-work staff

Something interesting: Stephen Colbert has in his possession a pair of pants belonging to the late Nicaraguan dictator, Anastasio Somoza. It's a long story but his mom dated Somoza when she was younger (before he became a dictator, says Colbert). Speaking of pants, Jimmy Kimmel once bought a pair of Gary Coleman's pants off eBay.These are just two of the wonderfully weird factoids shared by late-night hosts Colbert, Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver and Seth Meyers, in a new podcast called “Strike Force Five" — named after their personal text chain — which debuted Wednesday on Spotify.Because their respective shows have been dark since the Writers Guild of America went on strike in May, all profits from the podcast will go to their respective staffs. The show is sponsored by Mint Mobile a...

Bob Barker, dapper ‘Price Is Right’ and ‘Truth or Consequences’ host and animal advocate, dies at 99

26Aug

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Bob Barker, dapper ‘Price Is Right’ and ‘Truth or Consequences’ host and animal advocate, dies at 99

A publicist says popular game show host Bob Barker, a household name for a half-century as host of “Truth or Consequences” and “The Price Is Right,” has died at his home in Los Angeles. Barker was 99.Barker — also a longtime animal rights activist — died Saturday morning, according to publicist Roger Neal.“I am so proud of the trailblazing work Barker and I did together to expose the cruelty to animals in the entertainment industry and including working to improve the plight of abused and exploited animals in the United States and internationally,” said Nancy Burnet, his longtime friend and caretaker, in a statement. Barker retired in June 2007, telling his studio audience: “I thank you, thank you, thank you for inviting me into your home for more than 50 years.”Barker was working in radi...

Ron Cephas Jones, ‘This Is Us’ actor who won 2 Emmys, dies at 66

20Aug

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Ron Cephas Jones, ‘This Is Us’ actor who won 2 Emmys, dies at 66

LOS ANGELES -- Ron Cephas Jones, a veteran stage actor who won two Emmy Awards for his role as a long-lost father who finds redemption on the NBC television drama series “This Is Us,” has died at age 66, a representative said Saturday. Jones' manager, Dan Spilo, said in an emailed statement the actor died “due to a long-standing pulmonary issue.” “Throughout the course of his career, his warmth, beauty, generosity, kindness and heart were felt by anyone who had the good fortune of knowing him," Spilo said. Jones had a double lung transplant in 2020 because of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and spent nearly two months in a Los Angeles hospital. On “This Is Us,” Jones played William “Shakespeare” Hill, a biological father whose life is renewed through his relationship with the family...

Britney Spears’ husband files for divorce 14 months after a they were married

17Aug

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Britney Spears’ husband files for divorce 14 months after a they were married

LOS ANGELES -- LOS ANGELES (AP) — Britney Spears ' husband Sam Asghari has filed for divorce from the superstar 14 months after a they were married, a person familiar with the filing said late Wednesday.The person, who is close to Asghari but not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed the filing happened Wednesday, hours after several outlets including TMZ and People magazine reported the couple had separated.An email sent to a Spears representative was not immediately returned. Court records in Los Angeles and Ventura counties did not show where the case had been filed.Spears married Asghari at her home in Thousand Oaks, California, on June 9, 2022 in front of guests including Selena Gomez, Drew Barrymore, Paris Hilton and Madonna, in a wedding seen as a milestone in her newly reclaimed...

Tom Jones, creator of the longest-running musical ‘The Fantasticks,’ dies at 95

13Aug

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Tom Jones, creator of the longest-running musical ‘The Fantasticks,’ dies at 95

NEW YORK -- Tom Jones, the lyricist, director and writer of “The Fantasticks,” the longest-running musical in history, has died. He was 95.Jones died Friday at his home in Sharon, Connecticut, according to Dan Shaheen, a co-producer of “The Fantasticks,” who worked with Jones since the 1980s. The cause was cancer.Jones, who teamed up with composer Harvey Schmidt on “The Fantasticks” and the Broadway shows “110 in the Shade” and “I Do! I Do!,” was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1998.“The Fantasticks,” based on an obscure play by Edmond Rostand, doesn't necessarily have the makings of a hit. The set is just a platform with poles, a curtain and a wooden box.The tale, a mock version of "Romeo and Juliet," concerns a young girl and boy, secretly brought together by their fa...

Singer and songwriter Sixto Rodriguez, subject of ‘Searching for Sugar Man’ documentary, dies at 81

9Aug

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Singer and songwriter Sixto Rodriguez, subject of ‘Searching for Sugar Man’ documentary, dies at 81

DETROIT -- Sixto Rodriguez, who lived in obscurity as his music career flamed out early in the U.S. only to find success in South Africa and a stardom he was unaware of, died Tuesday in Detroit. He was 81.Rodriguez's legacy would take off back home after the singer and songwriter became the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary “Searching for Sugar Man.”His death was announced on the Sugarman.org website and confirmed Wednesday by his granddaughter, Amanda Kennedy.He died following a short illness, according to his wife, Konny Rodriguez, 72.A 2013 Associated Press story referred to Rodriguez as “the greatest protest singer and songwriter that most people never heard of.”His albums flopped in the United States in the 1970s, but — unknown to him — he later became a star in South Africa w...

Mourners in Ireland pay their respects to singer Sinéad O’Connor at funeral procession

8Aug

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Mourners in Ireland pay their respects to singer Sinéad O’Connor at funeral procession

LONDON -- Throngs of fans lined the streets of Sinéad O’Connor’s former hometown in Ireland to bid farewell to the gifted singer as her funeral procession passed by Tuesday following a private memorial service.A vintage VW camper van with rooftop speakers blasting Bob Marley's song “Natural Mystic” led a hearse at walking pace through a thick crowd of admirers along the waterfront in Bray. O'Connor said she loved Marley's music.Devotees of O'Connor's singing and those touched by her sometimes-troubled life tossed roses and other flowers on the hearse. A group that had been waiting for well over an hour outside O'Connor's former home, singing her songs at times, began to clap as four police officers on motorcycles leading the cortege approached and the procession came to a halt. They snapp...

William Friedkin, Oscar-winning director of ‘The Exorcist’ and ‘The French Connection,’ dead at 87

7Aug

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Entertainment

William Friedkin, Oscar-winning director of ‘The Exorcist’ and ‘The French Connection,’ dead at 87

LOS ANGELES -- William Friedkin, the generation-defining director who brought a visceral realism to 1970s hits “The French Connection” and “The Exorcist" and was quickly anointed one of Hollywood's top directors when he was only in his 30s, has died. He was 87.Friedkin, who won the best director Oscar for “The French Connection,” died Monday in Los Angeles, Marcia Franklin, his executive assistant for 24 years, told The Associated Press on behalf of his family and wife, former studio head Sherry Lansing. His son Cedric Friedkin told the AP he died after a long illness. “He was role model to me and to (my brother) Jack," Cedric Friedkin said. "He was a massive inspiration.”He cemented his legacy early with “The French Connection,” which was based on a true story and deals with the efforts ...