Entertainment
Thank you for the music, Mr. Cohen
TORONTO — Leonard Cohen humbly accepted the Glenn Gould Prize on Monday, but not the $50,000 prize that accompanied it, instead donating the cash to the Canada Council for the Arts.
The 77-year-old Cohen struck a modest tone as he claimed the award, first by hushing a standing ovation and then by offering his reassurance to the roster of musicians set to perform in his honour. READ
Ellen DeGeneres wins Mark Twain Prize for American Humor
Ellen DeGeneres, who broke ground in 1997 as the first lead character on prime-time TV to reveal she was gay, is winning the nation’s top humour prize. The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced Tuesday that DeGeneres will receive the 15th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. She will be honoured Oct. 22 with a lineup of star performers in a tribute show that will be recorded for broadcast at a later date. READ
Fans bid farewell to Wisteria Lane
There was nothing desperate about this finale. ABC’s Desperate Housewives concluded its rocky, racy and macabre eight-season run with a tidy, affectionate send-off. For those who haven’t yet made their farewell visit to Wisteria Lane, be advised: Plot spoilers from Sunday’s finale await. READ
Fox moves ‘Glee’ to Thursday, turns Tuesday into comedy night
Fox is promising changes to underperforming competition shows American Idol and The X Factor and trying to breathe new life into Glee by moving it to a new night and adding guest stars Kate Hudson and Sarah Jessica Parker. READ
Actress accused of stalking Alec Baldwin upbeat about case
A Canadian actress accused of stalking Alec Baldwin was upbeat Monday about the case as her lawyer said she had a legitimate reason for contacting the star. “I’m confident that my lawyers are going to solve this,” Genevieve Sabourin said after a brief, procedural appearance in a Manhattan court. READ
Christopher Plummer’s ‘The Tempest’ hits cinemas
It will be hard to miss Christopher Plummer this year. The Academy Award winner’s stage performance in The Tempest will be shown in hundreds of movie theatres on June 14, even as plans are in the works to have his Barrymore join it at the multiplex. READ
Playwright tells story of human trafficking
People in 12 Canadian cities can soon see a powerful play about human trafficking written by Red Deer playwright Andrew Kooman. READ
The Canola Project
When Lynda Adams talks about canola, she’s really speaking about life in Central Alberta: the relationship between people and the land; the impact of big business on small-scale farming; the ever-changing Prairie landscape and demographics. READ
Young cancer patients’ video a big hit; Kelly Clarkson calls effort amazing
A video featuring cancer-stricken children, their nurses, doctors and parents lip-synching and dancing to the popular Kelly Clarkson song “Stronger” has become an online sensation. READ
Music reality show ‘Canada Sings’ returns with more at stake
You’d have to have a heart of stone to be unaffected by the contestants on Canada Sings, says judge Rob Van Winkle, better known as early 1990s rapper Vanilla Ice. READ
Third trip for young filmmaker
Few young filmmakers can claim to be Cannes veterans. READ
Bass player Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn of Booker T. and the MGs dies in Tokyo
Bass player and songwriter Donald “Duck” Dunn, a member of the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame band Booker T. and the MGs and the Blues Brothers band, has died in Tokyo. He was 70. READ
Johnny Depp biting off more than he can chew
Johnny Depp’s Barnabas Collins, a reluctant 18th-century vampire, looks confused when he awakes in 1972 from a 200-year slumber. READ
Brent Butt says he’s never been seized by nerves in front of an audience
Corner Gas creator Brent Butt won’t have a prepared road map of comic zingers in his head when he hits the stage in Red Deer next week with his stand-up comedy routine. READ
Musician seizes the muse
Regular deadline pressure is the one thing you’d think a singer/songwriter could avoid — but not Peter Katz. READ
Country music legends Sawyer Brown join Hedley on Westerner Days lineup
Country music legends Sawyer Brown are coming to entertain at Red Deer’s Westerner Days in July. READ
Musician seizes the muse
Regular deadline pressure is the one thing you’d think a singer/songwriter could avoid — but not Peter Katz. The Juno Award-nominated folk musician decided about a year ago to stop waiting for the muse to strike. READ
Revolutionary author roars his last
Maurice Sendak didn’t think of himself as a children’s author, but as an author who told the truth about childhood. “I like interesting people and kids are really interesting people,” he explained to The Associated Press last fall. “And if you didn’t paint them in little blue, pink and yellow, it’s even more interesting.” READ
Rittenhouse tribute concert set for Lacombe
Virginia-Gene Rittenhouse started life in Lacombe and went on to spectacular acclaim in international musical circles. Not only was she the first person to earn a doctorate in music from the prestigious American Peabody Institute of Music in both violin and piano performance, but she also founded the globally-known New England Youth Ensemble and performed around the world as an award-winning composer and soloist. READ
Allman tells it all in new memoir My Cross to Bear
Gregg Allman thinks about his late brother Duane every day. And once in a while, he can feel his presence. “I can tell when he’s there, man,” Allman said. “I’m not going to get all cosmic on you. But listen, he’s there.” The untimely death of the game-changing rock ’n’ roll guitarist is a central theme in Gregg Allman’s life and a big part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member’s new memoir, My Cross to Bear. READ
