Entertainment

'More guts than brains'

Nothing is impossible in Trudy Golley’s world — as long as you are passionate and want it badly enough.

The innovative Red Deer ceramicist was so determined to make her artistic career fly that she earned more selling her clay creations out of her parents’ basement than many of her friends made at so-called “real” jobs. Years later, Golley applied to get her master’s degree at the University of Tasmania even though she had just $39 in her bank account at the time. READ

Cancer claims ‘Queen of Disco’

Like the King of Pop or the Queen of Soul, Donna Summer was bestowed a title fitting of musical royalty — the Queen of Disco. READ

Nazareth coming to Westerner

Legendary rock band Nazareth is joining the Westerner Days entertainment lineup this summer. READ

Heavy sounds at The Vat

The thrash/metal band Tribune will bring some intense, head-banger sounds to The Vat in Red Deer on Thursday. READ

‘Dictator’ reigns over the Riviera

The sunbaked Cannes Film Festival got under way with Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom, whose carefully composed whimsy stood in stark contrast to the zoo-like atmosphere at the annual French Riviera extravaganza. Anderson’s film, which was shown to the press before its official premiere Wednesday evening, opened the 65th edition of Cannes. While that anniversary — marked by festival posters of Marilyn Monroe — suggests maturity, Moonrise Kingdom began things on a childlike note. READ

Another ‘SNL’ class appears set to graduate

How can Saturday Night Live possibly replace (fill in the blank)? How many times have we asked that question across nearly four decades? “Impossible!” said some in 2006 when Tina Fey, Chris Parnell, Horatio Sanz and Rachel Dratch headed for the door, only to be followed two years later by her friend and Weekend Update co-host Amy Poehler. READ

Thank you for the music, Mr. Cohen

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