METUCHEN, N.J. (AP) – Robert Hegyes, the actor best known for playing Jewish Puerto Rican student Juan Epstein on the 1970s TV show “Welcome Back Kotter” has died.
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LOS ANGELES (AP) – Etta James was remembered at a service Saturday attended by hundreds of friends, family and fans as a woman who triumphed against all odds to break down cultural and musical barriers in a style that was unfailingly honest.The Rev. Al Sharpton eulogized James in a rousing speech, describing her remarkable rise from poverty and pain to become a woman whose music became an enduring anthem for weddings and commercials.Perhaps most famously, President Barack Obama and the first lady shared their first inaugural ball dance to a version of the song sung by Beyonce.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) – Actor Jason Segel can add a Hasty Pudding pot award to his career highlights.Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals on Monday named Segel its Man of Year.The student group is the nation’s oldest undergraduate drama troupe.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – The fright flick “The Devil Inside” scared up a monstrous $34.5 million opening weekend to help Hollywood exorcise its recent box-office demons, according to studio estimates Sunday.The surprise hit from Paramount Pictures debuted well above industry expectations as horror fans crowded theaters for the low-budget tale about exorcists trying to free a woman possessed by evil spirits.Between “The Devil Inside” and solid results for holdover films, Hollywood’s business soared over the first full weekend of 2012 after a sluggish holiday season that ended a ho-hum year at the box office.Overall domestic revenues totaled $144 million, up 29 percent from the same weekend last year, when “True Grit” led with $14.6 million, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.Paramount already is well into profit with “The Devil Inside,” an independently produced movie that the studio bought for $1 million.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) – Both Ryan Seacrest and Fox executives say they want Seacrest to remain as host of “American Idol” beyond this season.
NEW YORK (AP) – Most people are excited before recording a new album, but Common didn’t particularly feel that way.He says before making his ninth album, “The Dreamer, the Believer,” he was at a low point musically.”I hadn’t figured out what I was going to do, what label I was going to work with,” he said. “I wasn’t inspired.”Common had major success with 2005′s “Be” and “Finding Forever,” which came two years later.