"Giacomo Casanova practiced many trades — violinist, gambler, spy, Kabbalist, soldier, man of letters — but his main line of work was deceiving fools. ... His conquests in the boudoir, not to mention those in carriages, in bathhouses, or behind park shrubbery, have eclipsed his accomplishments while fully dressed." - The New Yorker
Returning to Barbados after university in England, "(he) became a moral, political and intellectual force for a newly independent country seeking to tell its own story. ... His calling was to address the crimes of history, unearth and preserve his native culture and forge a 'collective sense' of the future." - AP
Paul Haggis "is accused of sexually assaulting the woman over the course of two days while in for an entertainment industry event." - Los Angeles Times
Joel Whitburn, who published nearly 300 books, "was a music lover whose personal collection — meticulously curated in his basement and, later, in a vault — totals more than 200,000 records, including every single ever to make a Billboard chart." - The New York Times
Trintignant received a number of accolades throughout his 60-plus-year career, including the best actor prize from Cannes in 1969 for Costa-Gavras’ political thriller Z and a Cesar Award in 2013 for Michael Haneke’s Amour, which also won the Oscar for best foreign-language film. - The Hollywood Reporter
Brand, 83, is a huckster—one of the great hucksters in a time and place full of them. Over the course of his long life, Brand’s salesmanship has been so outstanding that scholars of the American 20th century have secured his place as a historical figure. - The Nation
Like any artist, Ono wanted recognition, but she was never driven by a desire for wealth and fame. Whether she sought them or not, though, she has both. - The New Yorker
"The 62-year-old is also facing a fifth charge of causing a man to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. He was not asked to enter pleas for the alleged offences from 2005 to 2013 ... (and was) given unconditional bail." (Pleas will be entered on July 14.) - BBC
On June 21, Nye Ffarrabas turns 90. She is "in the midst of several new Fluxus projects". When asked whether she had any advice for her 20-year-old self, without hesitating she smiled and said, "Forget the 1950s."
A good run indeed. At 63, an age when many if not most opera singers have retired, Fleming is still keeping extremely busy — and her projects have nothing to do with nostalgia. - San Francisco Classical Voice
He had two stays in the gay community of Cherry Grove, neither during high season, during which he worked on Another Country (May 1959) and Blues for Mister Charlie (September 1963). It wasn't a comfortable place for him, and not only because the Grove was, back then, very white. - Literary Hub
"At the end of the day, the only people who care about your image in a movie is the marketing department." Hanks discusses finding his way into Col. Tom Parker (in the upcoming Elvis) and working with "a particular countenance that I carry into any movie." - The New York Times Magazine
One of a small group of writers who got Israeli literature established on the world stage, "(he) tackled a variety of narrative forms — from surrealist to historical — and delved into knotty or uncommon subjects ... in an oeuvre of 11 novels, three short-story collections and four plays." - The New York Times
After a wave of outrage over the original story erupted not only on social media but among the newspaper's staff, the column in question was removed and replaced with the columnist's apology. The Herald's editor has expressed contrition as well. - The Guardian
Amid an absolute avalanche of online criticism, the SMH has activists shaking their heads. "The 42-year-old Australian actress, who is known for roles in Bridesmaids and Pitch Perfect among others, said it was a 'very hard situation but trying to handle it with grace.'" - BBC
