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Pianist Byron Janis, 95

In 1944, Janis became Horowitz’s first student and made his orchestral debut with conductor Arturo Toscanini’s NBC Symphony Orchestra. At 18, he was signed by RCA Victor Records as its youngest artist. - The Hollywood Reporter

Shigeshi Negishi, Inventor Of Karaoke, Dies At 100

Negishi “was in his 40s when he came up with the idea of prototyping a mass-produced, coin-operated karaoke machine, branded 'Sparko Box,' after a colleague at the consumer electronics assembly business he ran in Tokyo criticized his singing." - NPR

After His Oscar, The Question Remains: Will Miyazaki Retire?

Hayao Miyazaki was the oldest person ever nominated for an Oscar for best animated feature - and then, in a surprise moment (Spider-Man: Into the Multiverse was tipped to win), the oldest to win. Now, “rumours are swirling that he will return to work yet again." - The Guardian (UK)

Billy Porter Would Like His Flowers – And Payment – While He’s Here

Porter says, "The world has a difficult time understanding that fabulous and serious do coexist." - The Guardian (UK)

Why Director Ava Duvernay Isn’t On Social Media

"After a decade on Twitter I’d had every possible insult hurled my way. The most awful abuse you can think of. It stopped affecting me. I became desensitised. It’s hard to hurt me now – there’s nothing I’ve not heard. Still, I’m not on there any more.” - The Guardian (UK)

The Frida Kahlo You Probably Didn’t Know About

Yes, we know she was intelligent and gifted, leftist and patriotic, long-suffering physically and emotionally. She also scorned the New York elites feting Diego, had to terminate a pregnancy in Detroit, and absolutely despised the French Surrealists who championed her work. - Artnet

The Fierce, Frustrated Life Of The Real-Life Inspiration For Strindberg’s Miss Julie

Victoria Bruzelius Benedictsson, marooned in a stifling Swedish village, began writing and publishing books and stories under the name Ernst Ahlgren, left her family for a gender-fluid life (half-Benedictsson-half-Ahlgren) of literary celebrity in Copenhagen, and then, rejected in love, committed suicide — whereupon Strindberg immediately co-opted her life as subject matter. - Aeon

Bassem Youssef (“Egypt’s Jon Stewart”) On Building His US Comedy Career While Advocating For Gazans

"A year ago, Youssef wouldn’t have expected his defense of the Palestinian people to be the arc of his return to public discourse. Meanwhile, by his own admission, making a living out of being funny remains his priority." - The Hollywood Reporter

Roman Polanski Sued By Accuser For Different Case Of Alleged Rape In 1970s

"The trial is scheduled to take place on Aug. 4, 2025, following a lawsuit that accused Polanski of giving a (13-year-old girl) alcohol and raping her at his Benedict Canyon home. The complaint was filed last June in Los Angeles County Superior Court." - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

Amateur Ballerina Held By Russia After $50 Donation To Ukraine Charity

Russian authorities apparently accessed Ksenia Karelina’s phone and discovered she had donated approximately $50 to Razom, a pro-Ukrainian charity, in 2022. - The Guardian

Editor William Whitworth’s Outsized Influence On The Atlantic Magazine

Bill was a mentor to two generations of writers—writers of narrative reporting, primarily, but also novelists, biographers, intellectuals, essayists, and humorists. He expanded The Atlantic’s topical range and its cultural presence. - The Atlantic

Malachy McCourt, Author, Actor, And Professional Irish-American, Has Died At 92

"As an actor, talk show guest and broadcaster, Mr. McCourt was a boisterous and entertaining counterpart to his more dour and literary-minded brother Frank, a high school English teacher whose 1996 memoir about growing up dirt poor in Ireland (Angela's Ashes) became a publishing phenomenon." - The Washington Post (MSN)

Arnold Schoenberg’s Hollywood

He played tennis with George Gershwin, who idolized him. He delighted in the American habits of his children, who, to the alarm of other émigrés, ran all over the house. He taught at U.S.C., at U.C.L.A., and at home, counting John Cage, Lou Harrison, and Oscar Levant among his students. - The New Yorker

NY Times Co-Chief Art Critic To Retire After 32 Years, 4,500 Reviews

Roberta Smith started freelancing for The New York Times in 1986, after writing for Art in America and The Village Voice, and after a semester at the Whitney Museum’s Independent Study Program. Before writing full time, she also worked at MoMA; with Donald Judd, the celebrated Minimalist; and at the Paula Cooper Gallery. - The New York Times

Revered Editor And Writer William Whitworth Has Died At 87

Whitworth "wrote revealing profiles in The New Yorker ... and polished the prose of some of the nation’s celebrated writers as its associate editor before transplanting that magazine’s painstaking standards to The Atlantic, where he was editor in chief for 20 years." - The New York Times

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