Friday, December 13, 2024

Eddie Redmayne, Benedict Cumberbatch, Van Morrison Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II

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Queen Elizabeth gave out some honorifics for her birthday today. Among them are Eddie Redmayne, this year’s Oscar winner, who received Order of the British Empire. Actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Spacey. and Chiwetel Ejiofor received a CBE (Commander of the British Empire).

The best of all the Queen’s awards, however, is to Van Morrison, the magnificent Irish musician. He gets the OBE, for his contribution to music and refusal to play his hits properly in concert. (The second part I made up.) I’m surprised he never got this before, but Van is turning 70 and receiving a lot of accolades right now.

Spacey is the rare American to receive an honor, but he’s been living in the UK and  running the Old Vic Theater for quite a while.

Also on the Queen’s list are actress Lesley Manville, and classical music conductor Neville Marriner, who has been a knight for 30 years. The Queen just wanted to remind everyone.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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