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1960s Teen Idol Bobby Sherman Is Dead At 81

“Sherman was a squeaky-clean regular on the covers of Tiger Beat and Sixteen magazines, often with hair over his eyes and a choker on his neck. His face was printed on lunchboxes, cereal boxes and posters that hung on the bedroom walls of his adoring fans.” - AP

The Man Who Became History-Keeper Of A Legendary Dance Mecca

Norton Owen has worked in the press office, run the summer school for students, and done development work. But along the way, he began to stage exhibitions and work his way through the programs, films, photographs, posters and other documentation that filled boxes and shelves in the festival offices. - The New York Times

Sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro, Master of The Bronze Sphere, Is Dead At 98

“Pomodoro’s massive spheres are instantly recognizable: shiny, smooth bronze globes with clawed out interiors that Pomodoro has said referred to the superficial perfection of exteriors and the troubled complexity of interiors. … (They) decorate iconic public spaces from the Vatican to the United Nations.” - AP

Actor Jay Ellis Found Inspiration In Colson Whitehead’s Books

The star of movies, and now Off-Broadway, says, "I feel like I did not understand or see myself in fiction until I read him. Sag Harbor was the first thing I read. I’ve been a huge fan since.” - The New York Times

Marlee Matlin Won An Oscar, But Had To Wait Years For More Good Work In Hollywood

And - despite CODA co-star Troy Kotsur’s Oscar win in 2022 - that hasn’t changed. “'It’s hard to find work,’ she said, but still insists: ‘This is something I love to do. This is a business that I love being in. I love acting. I love it all.’” - The Guardian (UK)

Two Years After The British Museum Thefts Were Revealed, Big Questions About The Curator At The Center Of It

What might have motivated a respected professional to allegedly take such high risks for such low rewards? Why is the police investigation taking so long? How did the museum not notice the missing artefacts for so many years? And why did the thief, whoever it may be, make so little effort to cover his tracks? - The Observer

Journalist William Langewiesche, “Master Of The White-Knuckle Narrative,” Has Died At 70

“A globe-trotting correspondent for The Atlantic, Vanity Fair and The New York Times Magazine, … (he) worked as a commercial pilot before becoming one of the most acclaimed magazine writers of his generation, traveling around the world to report on plane crashes, shipwrecks, nuclear proliferation and war.” - The Washington Post (MSN)

Tom Bodett’s Commercials For Motel 6 Are Legends. Now He’s Suing To Get Paid For Making Them.

The hotel chain discovered Bodett through his spots on All Things Considered, and their relationship worked very well for almost 40 years. Then the Indian chain OYO bought Motel 6 — and its assets and debts, including the final year of Bodett’s $1.2 million annual contract, which OYO has refused to pay. - Tedium

Actor Hits Tyler Perry With $260 Million Sexual Assault Lawsuit

Derek Dixon, who appeared in 85 episodes of Perry’s BET series The Oval, alleges that Perry used his power to assault, harass, and exploit Dixon, promising career advancement and then using threats of professional retaliation to keep Dixon quiet. Perry maintains that Dixon has invented the entire thing to extort Perry. - AP

Pianist Alfred Brendel, 94

“His technique was sufficient but rarely dazzling, and his tone was full and generally attractive but not especially lustrous. ... What attracted listeners was his musicianship — his distinctive mixture of welling songfulness and formal rectitude, his willingness to take listeners deep into the heart of anything he played.” - The Washington Post (MSN)

Leonard Lauder, Major Philanthropist And Art Collector, Has Died At 92

The billionaire chief of the Estée Lauder cosmetics company had special relationships with the Whitney Museum (he was a former board chairman) and the Met Museum, to which he donated the Lauder Collection of more than 80 Cubist artworks collectively worth over $1 billion. - ARTnews

Dara Birnbaum, Who Transformed The Wonder Woman TV Show Into Art, Has Died At 78

“Television was a one-way medium, its audience tending to become passive. … I wanted to show the aggressive conditioning forced upon viewers by these programs.” - The New York Times

Joel Shapiro, Post-Minimalist Sculptor, Has Died At 83

“Shapiro’s best-known sculptures are easy to recognize. Constructed from wooden beams jutting in different directions, they typically suggest a human figure with outstretched arms, a blocky head and a torso shaped like a cereal box.” - NPR

Ocean Vuong Recounts The Death Of His Mother And Taking In His Young Brother

“It had been more than a decade since we lived together … a straight man with an affinity for collectible sneakers, basketball, sports cars, anime and first-person-shooter video games coming to live with his nerdy gay professor brother in a house full of books.” - The New York Times

Yes, No, And We Give Up: The Verdicts In Harvey Weinstein’s New York Retrial

After what were reported to be extremely contentious deliberations, the jury found the disgraced producer guilty of one count of sexual assault and not guilty of a second count. The judge declared a mistrial on a count of rape after the jury deadlocked and the foreman refused to continue deliberating. - AP

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