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UPDATE: Exclusive Woody Allen’s “Rainy Day in New York” Opening in France This September– I Told You in February This Would Happen

Roger Friedman
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UPDATE: Exclusive Woody Allen’s “Rainy Day in New York” Opening in France This September– I Told You in February This Would Happen

I TOLD YOU IN FEBRUARY THAT WOODY ALLEN’S “RAINY DAY IN NEW YORK” WAS GOING TO OPEN IN FRANCE THIS FALL. 

Stephanie Celery, or whatever his name is, refused to answer phone calls or emails. He’s the head of MARS Distribution, and he knew our scoop was true. But he wanted to wait until Cannes to announce it. He belongs where he is, on Mars!

This is the second country to announce the opening “Rainy Day in New York” in defiance of Amazon Studios, which has refused to release Woody’s movie. Allen is suing them, and he is right to do it.

Now other countries will do the same, I am sure. Why not? The movie has an all star cast that includes Timothee Chalamet, Elle Fanning, Selena Gomez and Jude Law.

MARS has set September 18th for the French opening. If Woody’s people are smart they’ll show it a week before, at the Toronto Film Festival. Or maybe they’ll unveil in Venice. My advice: don’t do that, wait til the last minute. But I’m sure they won’t take my advice.

Last year, Celerier (that’s his name I guess) wrote a long essay in a French magazine supporting Allen.

He wrote: “I have been shocked by the wave of hate provoked by the Woody Allen affair, particularly in the United States and on the social networks, and by the lack of rigor by certain media outlets and the pack which condemns without looking into the full facts.”

Célérier said it was time “to examine the facts with attention…That is the approach I have decided to take. Simply to get to the bottom of the truth, to understand whether I’ve been working closely with a paedophile all these years.”

“He has always in my eyes been a man of incredible intelligence as well as discreet and courteous. But his talent and his effervescent creativity don’t make a saint. The admiration I have for the man and the cineaste is real but have not influenced the steps I have taken to ask questions.”

“It seems clear to me that Woody Allen should not be classified in the same category as the sexual predators recently denounced by Hollywood and end his days as a pariah whose work should be burned,” he wrote.

“But it seems complicated today, impossible even, to stand-up for Woody Allen’s innocence without prompting violent reactions and accusations that I am sacrificing the rights of women for economic gain.”

 

Exclusive: Accused Stan Lee Friend, Manager Keya Morgan Has Plenty of Evidence of Innocence Including Notarized Letter from Marvel Creator

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive: Accused Stan Lee Friend, Manager Keya Morgan Has Plenty of Evidence of Innocence Including Notarized Letter from Marvel Creator

An arrest warrant was issued on Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court for Keya Morgan, the friend and manager of late Marvel founder Stan Lee. Morgan is accused of senior abuse, which sounds pretty bad. But it’s not a cut and dried case. So far, it’s just a good headline.

I know that there was no love lost between Morgan and Stan’s daughter, J.C. Lee. In February 2018 I ran into Morgan, a peripatetic presence at Hollywood and celebrity parties, who told me all about his friendship with Stan and the infighting in Lee’s home since his wife had died. This was not long after a nurse had accused Stan of harassing her. It was obvious then that many people were fighting for Stan’s attention if not his estate.

Morgan, who collects and sells expensive memorabilia (Abraham Lincoln, Marilyn Monroe, but not Marvel) didn’t have much use for J.C. Lee or another Lee hanger-on named Jerry Olivera.

When Morgan was suddenly being accused of elder abuse in places like TMZ, he sent me a letter that Lee had written, and was notarized, from last June. Morgan may have helped Lee write it, but Stan signed it and it was properly recorded. In it, Stan says “Keya Morgan has been my most loyal and supportive friend in the last several years.”

The letter excoriates Tom Lallas, the lawyer whom J.C. Lee called in to oust Morgan. It’s signed on April 20, 2018, one week after a piece on Lee appeared in the NY Times called “Is Stan Lee Being Held Prisoner by Real Life Villains?” The conclusion was that he was not. (The Times should make one glaring correction, though: Pablo Picasso never visited the United States.) There was no sign of abuse of Lee by Morgan.

Morgan, meanwhile, has spent the last few months on the East Coast. He’s been making a documentary, he told me, about Marilyn Monroe’s last days. On Twitter, Morgan has not commented about the arrest warrant, which was issued last Friday. Indeed, most of his Tweets have been about Michael Jackson and Morgan’s dislike of the “Leaving Neverland” film.

So hold on, there’s more to this story than the headlines.

“Game of Thrones” Scores Season High Ratings as Dany and Drogon Level King’s Landing, 2 Major Characters Die

Roger Friedman
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“Game of Thrones” Scores Season High Ratings as Dany and Drogon Level King’s Landing, 2 Major Characters Die

Sunday night’s “Game of Thrones” scored a season 8 high for ratings: 12,479,000 total viewers. That’s more than any of the previous four episodes including the darkly lit extravaganza from two weeks ago.

In Episode 5, Dany and her dragon leveled King’s Landing until it looked like Knot’s Landing after a cyclone. Two major characters died, and several others including Cersei’s boyfriend.

“Game of Thrones” continued to lift “Barry” and “Veep” to high ratings. The “Veep” finale was consistent with the show’s ratings this season.

But “Billions” lost some steam on Showtime, which is why it won’t be on this week until “Thrones” is over.

“Keeping Up with the Kardashians” scraped along its bottom again, with just 883K viewers. Stick a fork in the K’s. They are done.

Doris Day’s Death Sends “Que Sera Sera” and Two Greatest Hits Albums onto the iTunes Charts

Roger Friedman
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Doris Day’s Death Sends “Que Sera Sera” and Two Greatest Hits Albums onto the iTunes Charts

Doris Day ruled the charts long before I was born. She had hit after hit from the late 40s through the 1950s.

Now that she’s passed away at age 97, Doris is back on the charts at least for a few days.

On the iTunes singles chart, “Que Sera Sera” is at number 68.

On the iTunes album chart, Doris has placed greatest hits albums at numbers 36 and 81.

It’s a nice tribute to her even if it’s just a few thousand copies.

As for streaming, who knows? Most of Doris’s fans may not know about Spotify. But I’ll bet there are a few.

BTW, Doris’s catalogue of hits is much bigger than just “Que Sera Sera.” Give them all a listen. That dreamy-creamy voice holds up better than ever these days. Taylor Swift et al, should be so lucky!

 

Sean Penn’s First Movie in Four Years Goes Straight to Video Thanks to Mel Gibson, Playing in 1 Theater in US

Roger Friedman
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Sean Penn’s First Movie in Four Years Goes Straight to Video Thanks to Mel Gibson, Playing in 1 Theater in US

Sean Penn’s first movie in six years has gone straight to video– and to one movie theater in the country, all thanks to Mel Gibson.

“The Professor and the Madman,” starring and produced by Gibson, is playing at the Kent Theater in Coney Island, Brooklyn. That’s it, unless someone can tell us if they’ve seen it in their neck of the woods. Fandango has no other listings.

But “P&M” is on Amazon Prime Video and other streaming services. It’s dead on arrival.

Penn’s last movie was “The Gunman” in 2015. I’m not sure why he’s missed so much time at this juncture of his career, even as a director. But “P&M” was destined to be a disaster from the start.

Of course, any alignment with Mel Gibson would be a bad for a mainstream actor. No studio wants to work with him, nor do any serious distributors. Vertical Entertainment, which is handling this one, also gave us John Travolta’s “Gotti.”

This would be Gibson’s second movie to die on release in just a few weeks. In April he gave us “Dragged Across Concrete,” which almost no one saw, and that was just as well.

Meantime, Gibson is at the Cannes film market (not festival– let’s make that clear) trying to double down on his reputation as an anti-Semite. He’s hawking a satire about a rich Jewish family called “Rothchild,” in which he plays a sinister, chiseling grandfather whose bastard grandson (Shia LaBeouf) is trying to kill him.

 

Legendary Singer-Actress Doris Day Passes Away at 97: Her Thoughts on Rock Hudson, Cary Grant, and Paul McCartney

Roger Friedman
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Legendary Singer-Actress Doris Day Passes Away at 97: Her Thoughts on Rock Hudson, Cary Grant, and Paul McCartney

Doris Day has died at age 97,  just a few weeks after her birthday. There really should be a national day of mourning. She achieved what so many singers even today cannot: at one point she was the most popular pop star and movie star in the world. For years I tried to interview her, but she refused everyone. Then suddenly in 2011 a publicist called and asked if I were still interested? Doris gave four interviews that month for the release of an album of unreleased material. I was honored to be one of the outlets they chose.

One funny thing that happened: during our interview, the Grammys announced their annual list of songs and albums going into their Hall of Fame. “Que Sera Sera” was included. I told Doris this while we were talking. She was just thrilled, and asked what else got in. I said, “Bruce Springsteen got in with Born to Run album.” Doris paused and said, “Isn’t that wonderful? Who is he?” It was the most charming  response ever.

Doris never got an Oscar. Year after year this column and others, particularly Liz Smith’s, begged the Academy to give her an honorary statue. Doris didn’t care, but her fans did. In the end, she didn’t need an Oscar. She leaves an enduring legacy, one that will shine for the ages.

from December 2011:
RF: Paul McCartney interviewed you recently for a British newspaper about My Heart. What was that like?
DD: I think it went well. I’ve known him for quite a while now.
I was out walking my dogs. And the man who works here came and out said, it’s Paul McCartney on the phone.
I said, Alright, tell me who it really is. I didn’t believe it, I thought it was someone playing a game. He said, Will you please tell her that I am, that I want to know her and want to come and see her.
It was Paul and he did come. He came with his new wife. We had hours here. It was really nice.
And he’s really cute.
One night the phone rang around 2:30 in the morning, I thought something terrible happened. He said Hey, what are you doing? I said, Well, I was sleeping. He would call all hours of the morning just to say hello. He got a big kick out of that.
RF: The album, My Heart, was mostly produced by your son, Terry. Most people don’t know he co-wrote Kokomo for the Beach Boys.
DD: And they didn’t win [the Grammy] that year. That was a crime. [It lost in 1988 to Phil Collins’s “Two Hearts”]. That year, that was so terrible.  I thought was an insult. I loved Kokomo. It was so popular
RF: And you covered his song, Disney Girls. How was that?
DD: I loved it. I enjoyed it. If it’s a good song, I love singing so much. It just love it. I get so involved.
RF: Do you sing much now?
DD: I can’t now. I could still sing until I got bronchitis. I had a very, very bad attack a couple of years ago, I thought I would never get over it. That’s why I sound different.
But sometimes I sing along with something, and I think that wasn’t bad. I wonder sometimes if I could start vocalizing.
RF: I’m interested in your technique as a singer. Your phrasing is so elegant and simple. Did you think about what you were doing?
DD: No. I knew the song that we were going to do. We would put them together at my house. We would all decide what to do. The words were there, and the words told a story. I can’t say any more than that except I loved singing.
RF:Were they always suggesting songs to you?
DD: They used to tell us what to do. The album I did with Andre Previn, I picked my own then.
RF: A great favorite is Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps, from the Latin for Lovers album
DD: I love that. I loved making that album.
At first I thought I’m going to do this? Me? But I fell in love with all the songs. It maybe one of my favorites of all time.
RF: Were there songs you weren’t thrilled with?
DD: (Thinks about it) The Purple Cow. Oh my god! When they tagged that one on me, that was it. ‘I never thought I’d ever see a Purple Cow.’ Isn’t that terrific? Great idea. Oh lord! I don’t like to fight with people and say I won’t do that! But you get a long of good things to do. And you do your best with that.
RF: How about some other favorites? How about Que Sera Sera?
DD: I was wondering why it was going to be in that film [Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much]. That was a real mystery. Then I read the script. But at first I thought this was kind of a silly song to be in that movie. But it was good for the movie. And the people liked it anyway in or out of the movie. People could sing it. They could sing it to their children.
RF: What was it like to sing with Les Brown and His Band of Renown? What was it like singing with a big band?
DD: It feels good. And if you know your song, and you like the song, it’s wonderful because people come right up to the bandstand. And it’s great fun. They want to say hello to you.
RF: Did the band kid around with you a lot?
DD: I had a great time. The guys were so nice to me.
They looked after me and helped me, they took all my baggage. They were all like my brothers.
RF: Was it a big change for you when you went solo?
DD: The first time I ever worked alone, I had two shows a night at The Little Club on East 55th St. in New York. I opened it. My mother was with me and my little baby. It was something so new for me. I thought, what am I doing? I was so used to having the guys behind me. But it turned out to be really nice. The people kept coming back! I was surprised!
A lot of the women were the Vogue types, models. They were all dressed up like crazy. They would say, Come on over and have a drink. But I wasn’t drinking. I would go back to my apartment between shows.
RF: You were not a drinker?
DD: No.
RF: All these other singers—Billie Holiday, Judy Garland—had terrible substance problems. How did you avoid it?
DD: Easy. I didn’t do it.
RF: Many other performers would party all night
DD: Party all night? Oh lord! No, no no! I don’t even like parties.
RF: Tell me about your co-stars. What was Jimmy Cagney like?
DD: I loved him. He as a wonderful person, just adorable. Not in that film [Love Me or Leave Me], he wasn’t. Oh he was nasty!
RF: Tony Randall?
DD: He was so superb, so funny. He was always in New York after that. I just loved him. Did we ever [have fun]. We laughed.
RF: Cary Grant?
DD: I enjoyed Cary, He was very different. Very nice. But you don’t sit around and talk a lot between scenes. I think he went outside with that thing you put under your chin, for the sun. Because he didn’t want to wear makeup. All the men hated makeup. At lunch time, I didn’t see him. I used to eating in my trailer. But we didn’t really sit around and talk.
RF: Who did you hang around with? Rock Hudson?
DD: He was always around, he was funny. He named me Eunice, just for fun. I was always Eunice with him.
RF: You had such great chemistry.
DD: We really liked each other.
I was up here—filming the show we had here [Doris Day’s Best Friends, July 1985]—all of a sudden he appeared. At first I didn’t know who he was. I looked at him and I was almost in tears. He was so thin, and just gaunt. It was just unbelievable.
We would walk and laugh together. He was so seriously ill, but he was still funny. It just about put me away. It’s so hard to be funny when you know what’s going to happen.
RF: Jimmy Stewart?
DD: Wonderful. I had a great time with all the gentlemen I worked with. Really.
RF: Looking back, all your co-stars were men. Was there ever a woman you would have liked to be in a movie with? An actress you thought was funny? Or like a Thelma and Louise?
DD: No. Yes if there was a really great script and a reason. But I always thought the women should be with the men.

Rival Networks Brace for “Game of Thrones” Finale: Showtime Gives “Billions” A Rest, “American Idol” Will Declare Winner Even If No One Watches, CBS Puts on New Show

Roger Friedman
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Rival Networks Brace for “Game of Thrones” Finale: Showtime Gives “Billions” A Rest, “American Idol” Will Declare Winner Even If No One Watches, CBS Puts on New Show

The networks are bracing themselves for the series finale of “Game of Thrones” next Sunday at 9pm.

Tonight, “Thrones” killed off two main characters and a few minor ones. But the two that died show anything can happen in the finale. All eyes will be on HBO in that hour. The ratings should set a record to see who sits on the Iron Throne. (My guess: Arya.)

Showtime, HBO’s chief competitor on cable, has made a smart move. They’re giving their best show, “Billions,” the week off. New episodes will return the next week. “Billions” has been holding its own with around 760,000 viewers each week. With “Thrones” gone, their numbers could increase in their their last three showings.

NBC will offer Ellen Degeneres’s game show to anyone who’s not watching “Thrones.”

CBS has a new series, “The Red Line,” fro 8 to 10pm.  Season 5 of “Madam Secretary” ended a couple of weeks ago. “The Red Line” is filler, basically.  Last week, “Red Line” had just 3.8 million viewers. That’s less than a daily episode of “The Young and the Restless.”

ABC is taking the biggest risk. They’re airing the season finale of “American Idol.” The winner will be revealed. Only, will anyone be watching? “Idol” numbers are already in decline. This won’t help.

Review: “Veep” Comes to a Brilliant End After 7 Seasons, As Selina Does the Worst Thing Ever and Is Eclipsed by Tom Hanks

Roger Friedman
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Review: “Veep” Comes to a Brilliant End After 7 Seasons, As Selina Does the Worst Thing Ever and Is Eclipsed by Tom Hanks

SPOILERS AHEAD

*****************************************************************

SPOILERS AHEAD

“VEEP” is done and it has more shocking deaths in its finale than “Game of Thrones” in tonight’s episode.

Cheers to David Mandel and the writing staff for creating a perfect ending to the best sitcom HBO has ever produced, and one of the best of all time. We will so miss “Veep”as it not just mirrored the insanity of presidential politics, but became prescient about them too.

Selina Meyer, a terrible person, finally gets what she wants: to be elected president. Remember, her brief previous stay in the White House was because she was vice president, and the president had to resign.

After losing her election, Selina licked her wounds and plotted a comeback. Tonight, she fulfilled her destiny. Just when it looked like she’d lose her party’s nomination and all was lost, Selina had an epiphany and let loose. She did the worst thing ever in her seven seasons, and threw her devoted aide, Gary, under the bus. That was after selling out to the Chinese, agreeing to let Tibet be returned to the Chinese, and backing a platform change to ban gay marriage– even though her gay daughter is married.

But Selina’s garnering of the nomination means she’ll have to fix the scandal surrounding her Selina Fund (a gloss on the Clinton Foundation). It’s her only way to win the presidency with her slogan, “Man Up.” So she turns on her best friend and most loyal servant, Gary (Tony Hale), who is dragged away by the FBI as Selina accepts the nomination.

It’s what Trump has done to his allies, to Manafort and Cohen, so it makes sense. Later, during a flash forward, Dan says of Selina and Gary in prison: “I heard she never even visited him.”

Selina’s epiphany gives Julia Louis Dreyfus scenes every actor would beg for. JLD literally turns colors and burns bright as she sets in motion these last few scenes where she brokers her future. She destroys candidate Tom James (Hugh Laurie) with a #MeToo scenario that peels the wallpaper off the walls. It’s a glorious moment as Selina convinces Tom’s aide to fess up on TV about their affair.

And then there’s Jonah (Timothy Simons) who has worked his way up from lowest of the lowliest aides on Capitol Hill to unlikely congressman and presidential candidate. Simons is more than hilarious. He is gifted. Jonah is now married to his own sister. He is vile in every way imaginable, on the wrong side of every topic. He has no IQ. He’s the perfect satire of a congressman. He’s waging war against “Math,” saying it’s an Islamic invention, just as Trump has denounced science.

And so Jonah is offered the role of Selina’s Veep. Her explanation of why that’s a safe place to stick him– her description of a vice president, her original role– is a clip that must be played over and over. JLD has never been better. Horror comedy at its best.

In the end, the show flashes forward 24 years to Selina’s state funeral. Her old PR guy, Mike, is now anchor of the CBS Evening News. He’s narrating the funeral live, when suddenly there’s Breaking News. Someone far more famous has died: Tom Hanks. Mike drops the Selina funeral and starts eulogizing Hanks, who’s died at age 86. Once again, Selina is forgotten, relegated to secondary news.

BIG SPOILER: The series finale has a lovely Easter egg, the return of Sufe Bradshaw as Sue, who is once again Selina’s secretary. Bradshaw was on for four seasons, from 2012-2016, and then left for health reasons. Sue’s absence wasn’t really explained (if I’m wrong, forgive me). Tonight she returns and there’s a scene that parallels her first one from Season 1. Nice. Bradshaw looks great, too.

 

 

 

 

 

Actress Selma Blair Takes the Stage at Nancy Davis’s Stunning Annual Race to Erase MS Gala: “My dream is to be a useful mom”

Leah Sydney
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Actress Selma Blair Takes the Stage at Nancy Davis’s Stunning Annual Race to Erase MS Gala: “My dream is to be a useful mom”

Nancy Davis has been front and center in the fight against MS for 26 years with her annual ‘Race to Erase’ Multiple Sclerosis gala this past Friday at the Beverly Hilton. Nancy was diagnosed with MS when she was 33, not given little hope from her doctors. But determined Nancy, with the support of her philanthropic and much loved mother Barbara Davis, opened the Center Without Walls to further MS research. Nancy told the crowd that “there were 15 drugs last year to help stop the progression of MS, now there are 17.  It can take 10 years to get these drugs approved.  That’s how much research is going on.”

“Big Bang Theory’s” Johnny Galecki (his pregnant girlfriend Alaina Meyer was his date) hosted the event. Sarah Michelle Gellar and ABC’s “Good Morning America” anchor Robin Roberts introduced Selma Blair, who was herself recently diagnosed with MS.

Gellar has known Blair for over 20 years, they starred in the cult hit movie “Cruel Intentions” together. She said: “I thought I knew everything there was to know about [Selma], mostly because has no filter. But in the last year, I have a seen a new side to her.  Sure she’s an incredible mother and friend, but now I know how brave she is.  It would have not only been easy but understandable for someone to hide once they were diagnosed with MS, but instead she has done amazing things. She is facing this head on and sharing this journey with the world.  In this day and age when nobody shares a picture unless it’s been edited and faceted and filtered, Selma is choosing to share the raw truth.”

Selma Blair, 46, appeared on stage with a cane, a little shaky, but stalwart in her convictions. She had her adorable, long haired 7 year old son Arthur Saint Bleick by her side. Blair spoke off the cuff because,  as she explained, “I have double vision now, so I can’t see the Teleprompter.” Blair noted all the people that have been supportive of her including actress Jaime King who “sends me flowers every week, but who I forgot to invite tonight because I have MS!”

Selma went on to say that her son “is the reason for everything, my dream is to be a useful mom as long as this kid wants me, which is about one more year.” Arthur, hearing this, grimaced as if to say: not so fast, mom!

On stage, an alice + olivia fashion show included Nancy’s twin daughters Mariella and Isabella with their Peace and Love dancers. When a technical glitch cut off the music, the girls–just like their mother– didn’t miss a step. They completed their choreographed routine with aplomb, the audience clapping along. After all, they are the granddaughters of the late billionaire Marvin Davis and very much alive and kicking Barbara Davis, the elegant high priestess of Hollywood charity.

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne‘s son Jack (who has MS) and record producer David Foster brought on R&B -pop star Aloe Blacc, who sang three songs and ended with his massive hit, “Wake Me Up (When It’s All Over).”  Athletic rapper Flo Rida followed and got the crowd gyrating throughout his energetic, frenetic performance. At one point his bodyguard, the size of a Viking fridge, carried Flo Rida (who’s not exactly small) on his shoulders through the crowd.  Nancy Davis danced up front on stage, leading her bejeweled guests, showing that MS isn’t a death sentence, quite the contrary. There was so much enthusiasm, Flo Rida ran 45 minutes over his allotted time.

Other notables attending  were Tommy Hilfiger, whose late sister Susie was afflicted with MS, and has often worked with Nancy on the event, as well as producer Jimmy Jim Harris, Diane Warren, Frances Fisher, Melora Hardin, Nikki Haskell, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, (who also has MS), super realtor Robert Morton (formerly EP of “David Letterman”), talent manager Harriet Sternberg, Rumer Willis, Camille Grammer, LaToya Jackson, Brenda Ritchie, Lea Thompson, Avril Lavigne, Kathy and Rick Hilton, “DWTS” stars Peta Murgatroyd and Maksim Chmersovskiy, Garcelle Beauvais, Tia Carrere, Garcelle Beauvais, Constance Zimmer, Harry Hamlin, Keri Selig and Keith Addis and Kris Jenner, whom Selma portrayed in the 2016 FX miniseries, ‘American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson.”Cosmetics entrepreneur Peter Thomas Roth made the rounds wife his old friend, Brooke Mueller, former wife of Charlie Sheen.

Nancy Davis is a true warrior who is  making a difference for those around the world afflicted with MS.  The evening raised $1.8 million.

with additional reporting from Roger Friedman

Flo Rida leads the crowd:

Garth Brooks Flies in to Salute Sam Moore for Grammy Legends Show in Hollywood, But Julio Iglesias, Ozzy Osbourne Are AWOL to Pick Up Their Awards

Roger Friedman
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Garth Brooks Flies in to Salute Sam Moore for Grammy Legends Show in Hollywood, But Julio Iglesias, Ozzy Osbourne Are AWOL to Pick Up Their Awards

It was a grand night for the Grammy Awards’ 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award winners. A slew of stars showed up at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, where the Oscars take place, to tape a PBS special for this fall featuring Garth Brooks and Soul Man Sam Moore (who lit the theater up), Dionne Warwick, George Clinton and Parliament- Funkadelic, famed songwriter Valerie Simpson, and 93 year old composer Johnny Mandel.

It was a colossal achievement that no one would miss, right? But Julio Iglesias was AWOL, sending just a video instead of showing up and collecting his prize. And the new head of the Grammys, Deborah Dugan, whom everyone was hoping to meet, couldn’t make it out from the East Coast.

The most egregious absence of the night was Ozzy Osbourne, whose group, Black Sabbath, was honored. Neither Ozzy–who’s been ill– or Sharon Osbourne were present. To make matters stranger, the members of Black Sabbath who did show up didn’t mention the Osbournes at all. They’re obviously angry that the Osbournes ended the band in 2017.

Regardless, the people who did show up were much more important. There are many highlights that you’ll see this fall starting with Sam Moore and Garth Brooks’ duet on “Soul Man” and “Hold On I’m Coming,” but even better, Sam’s solo outing on “I Can’t Stand Up for Falling Down.” Recovering from back surgery, Sam performed from a stool center stage and brought the audience to their feet. His voice soars still at age 83.

Garth, by the way, loves Sam so much he flew up from Nashville specially to be at the show. He had to get right back when he was done; Trisha Yearwood and the kids were waiting for him to celebrate Mother’s Day.

Other voices that impressed were honoree Dionne Warwick, performer Patti Austin, inductee Valerie Simpson and Kenny Latimore on Valerie and late husband Nik Ashford’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” Broadway star Jessie Mueller, and of course George Clinton and Bootsy Collins bringing down da funk with stunning ornamental headdresses and a great sense of humor. Snoop Dogg introduced them.

Late star Donny Hathaway must be smiling in heaven as his daughters, Lala and Kenya, are sensational honoring their dad. Donny Hathaway’s political-tinged R&B was actually a forerunner of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.” Everyone should spend the summer listening to his music, getting ready for this special.

The taping last night was Grammy chief Neil Portnow’s swan song after a long and illustrious career keeping the ship on course for the Recording Academy. He will be missed, but he goes out on a high note with this last project.

When “Grammy Salute to Music Legends” does air, don’t miss it. There was a wonderful vibe in the audience last night, a mixture of the inductees’ families and music lovers. It’s a very warm evening with a  lot of laughs and some tears.

PS I’ll have a full review this fall when the special is all put together.

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