Category: people

Daniel Felsenthal: “I spent high school writing papers I never risked neglecting in order to play the drums, reading books I never lied about reading so I could go to a concert instead. I could dream of being a musician all I wanted. Through no conscious intention of my own, I was always training to be a writer.” – The Point

“You may never have heard the Ken Nordine name, but there is no doubt you have heard him. … [He was] one of the few people in the history of radio to use the medium to its fullest potential, rather than as a forum for blather, confrontation, inanities and noisy nonsense. He made a kind of vocal music as the voice of thousands of commercials and as the force behind a new art form he created and called ‘word jazz.'” – Chicago Tribune

“Prosecutors dropped the rape investigation into allegations by the actor Sand Van Roy who told police in May that she had been repeatedly raped by Besson, 59, during an on-off relationship. … But the Paris prosecutor’s office said a new preliminary investigation was launched on 21 February after a different, unnamed woman reported an allegation of sexual assault.” – The Guardian (AFP)

“Throughout her career, Ms. Zadek was praised by critics for her dark-hued voice, dramatic intensity and fine musicality. Before retiring from the stage in 1971, she also sang at the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden and other major houses. But her primary work was in Vienna. There, in the city she feared would revile her [as a Jew], she sang more than 700 performances in dozens of roles; taught for years at the Vienna Music Academy; [and] presided over the International Hilde Zadek Voice Competition, a prestigious contest for young singers.” – The New York Times

Ruskin was a man who believed in angels but championed the most radical British artist of his time. He was a social reformer and utopian who was at heart a conservative reactionary and a puritan. He was a brilliant artist who ought to have been a bishop. He hated trains but invented the blog. How can it be that a man so celebrated in his time is only fitfully remembered now, 200 years after his birth – and then mostly for a salacious story. – New Statesman

A look at Terry Dwyer’s nearly 13-year tenure at the Segerstrom Center offers no obvious rationale for such a hasty and undignified goodbye. By many measures, he was the most effective leader in the institution’s 33-year history. – Voice of Orange County

Sure, the man had millions of novels of his own in print – but millions more under other pseudonyms (Griffin is also a pseudonym for William E. Butterworth III), not to mention the numbers of books he ghostwrote. “His fast-paced novels, rooted in history and chockablock with technical details, combined action, sex and patriotism and had a devoted readership.” – The New York Times

The famous singer of “9 to 5” (and star of the movie) speaks about the #MeToo movement, the new 9 to 5 musical (opening in London), and more. “I mean, I must be if being a feminist means I’m all for women, yes. But I don’t feel I have to march, hold up a sign or label myself. … I’m just all for gals.” – The Guardian (UK)

Donen “brought a certain charm and elegance to the silver screen in the late 1940s through the 1950s, at a time when Hollywood was soaked in glamour and the big studio movies were polished to a sheen.” Some of his other movies: Royal Wedding, with Fred Astaire dancing on the ceiling; On the Town, Damn Yankees, and so, so many more. – The New York Times