He must be recalled or fired or whatever can be done in North Carolina, where stupidity still reigns. What a waste of a human being. The people who elected him should be embarrassed right down to their souls, if they have any.
Watch this:
US Congressman Robert Pittenger tells #Newsnight that #Charlotte protesters 'hate white people'. Full interview: https://t.co/9mTuqLMcT0 pic.twitter.com/XCqwOaBvKk
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) September 23, 2016
The Connecticut medical examiner have ruled the death of Thaddeus Wilk Farrow, 27, a suicide. Mia Farrow’s adopted son was found dead two days ago in his car.
Farrow said in a statement: “We’re devastated by the loss of Thaddeus, our beloved son and brother. He was a wonderful, courageous person who overcame so much hardship in his short life. We miss him. Thank you for the outpouring of condolences and words of kindness.”
The actress adopted Thaddeus, originally named Gabriel, in 1995. He was from Kolkata, India, and suffered from polio. She changed his name to Thaddeus and added “Wilk” as a tribute to Judge Eliot Wilk who presided over her nasty custody battle with Woody Allen over three other children.
Was it a good idea for Alicia Keys to join “The Voice”on NBC? By the looks of the iTunes charts, I’d say the answer is Yes.
Since “The Voice” aired on Tuesday night, Keys has sent four old songs of hers up the charts. Currently “If I Ain’t Got You,” “No One,” “Fallin,” and “Girl on Fire” are lodged in the top 100 among current hits. The latter song is Number 15.
Keys isn’t the only artist with a classic hit comeback on the iTunes Top 100. Is it just that music today is so bad? But Creedence Clearwater Revival and John Denver also have old hits in top 100. There are also cover versions of “The Sound of Silence” and Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time.”
What’s causing all this? Weird algorithm? Deep discounts? Payola? I don’t know. But with new music coming from Sting, the Pretenders, Van Morrison and the Weeknd, and others, it would be nice to see those artists up there with new hits.
Tragedy has struck Mia Farrow’s extended family once again. Reports are that Thaddeus Wilk Farrow, 27, has died. Thaddeus is the third of Farrow’s adopted children who’ve died young.
The Hartford Courant reported that Thaddeus, who was paralyzed from polio, was found in his car suffering from a life threatening injury along Route 67 in Roxbury, Connecticut– not far from his own apartment and Mia’s Bridgewater farm.
Farrow adopted Thaddeus in 1995 during her legal wranglings with ex boyfriend Woody Allen over custody of the children they shared. I reported at the time in New York magazine that she’d given the baby the middle name “Wilk” after Judge Eliot Wilk, who was presiding over the trial. Originally Thaddeus’s first name was Gabriel, but many of Farrow’s adopted children and even her biological son Ronan went through many name changes over the years.
Condolences to Farrow and the extended family. The one consolation is that she gave these kids lives they never would have had, but it’s probably small consolation at that.
Ariana Grande did something really smart a couple of nights ago on Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight Show.” Instead of singing one of pre-fabbed songs from her album, she pulled out an “extra” track that few have heard before. “Give it Away (Jason’s Song) is written by Broadway composer Jason Robert Brown. He played piano with the band. This is without a doubt the best thing this young woman has done so far. She also sang jazz on “SNL” this year, and killed it. After the Tonight show. she Tweeted that this is what her voice is for. She’s damn right. She could be an actual artist if she goes in this direction. Exciting.
Two family movies open this weekend, but both are quite different, worthy and for adults as well.
First off is Disney’s “Queen Of Katwe,” which just came in as the second runner up for the coveted Grolsch People’s Choice Award at the recent Toronto Film Festival and for good reason. “Katwe” is directed by Mira Nair, (Monsoon Wedding) who has an artistic skillful touch in capturing the location’s feel of her subject, doing it with joy, and enchanting as well as heart wrenching honesty. This vibrant story is about a young Ugandan slum girl named Phiona, who after she is introduced to the game of chess pursues her dreams to become an international chess champion.
Lupita Nyong’o plays her headstrong, scrappy mother with ferocity, pathos and pure love. David Oyelowo is the always encouraging local sports coach who is her stout and loyal champion throughout. Both of these gifted actors give beautifully layered exquisite performances. Otherwise, Nair uses mainly unknown native African actors, all charming and sweetly sincere. Kudos to Composer Alex Heffes for his gorgeous engrossing score. Yes it’s inspirational and yes we know where it’s going. Didn’t stop me and many of the other jaded journalists at a recent screening from dabbing their eyes. Go see it, it’s a gem.
Next is Warner’s “Storks,” a film about finding-your-family, in whatever form that is. A truly funny animated bundle of joy, (pardon the pun) treat co-written and directed by Nicholas Stoller. Basically the story is that of two storks, Junior and Hunter, voiced by an always funny Andy Samberg and Kelsey Grammer, who reveal the truth about their job delivering babies to parents. It’s a quirky movie, because it bounces from being really clever, quippy and amusing, to at times being quite sentimental and surprising. Kind of manic too, which makes the whole movie going experience even more interesting. Kudos to newcomer Katie Crown for creating a redhead for the ages the protagonist Tulip, and a hilarious Keegan-Michael Key as Alpha Wolf. I’m sure we’ll see many more entertaining sequel flights from “Storks.”
EXCLUSIVE The Famed Friars Club on East 55th St. is in hot, hot water.
Their controversial president, Bruce Charet, has been sued for sexual harassment in a lawsuit that’s rocked the staid club, home to famed comedians, singers and actors for decades.
Charet has become such a lightning rod that several veteran members of the club have left. And to make matters worse, comic Stewie Stone, one of the Friars stalwarts, was “suspended” recently without a hearing. Stone has served in various capacities and offices for years and, with Freddie Roman, is one of the very popular senior members.
“There is no Friars Club without Stewie Stone,” says Susie Essman, the hilarious comedian who co-stars in Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Essman has also left the Friars– but for a different reason. She is furious that 90 year old star Jerry Lewis has become the head, the Abbott, and that the “Monastery”– the main room in the gothic East 55th St. townhouse club– has been named for him. She calls Lewis a “misogynist.” She’s “utterly disgusted” with Lewis’s comments that “no woman” can be a comedian. “He said Joan Rivers should drop dead two months before she actually did,” Essman says. “I’m through with the Friars Club.”
I’m told other members have resigned or are in tense negotiations with the club right now. Tonight’s salute to director Martin Scorsese at Cipriani Wall Street is going to be light on celebrities, I’m told. “At the last event, for Tony Bennett, at the Sheraton, they closed off the dividing wall in the ballroom because they didn’t want to show how few people were there,” says a source.
Charet has scant credentials available on the internet. He lists himself as president of Bruce Charet Productions, but there are no credits for him in the Internet Broadway Data Base. On the Internet Movie Data Base, Charet is listed as co-executive producer in 2006 of “Bigfoot Presents: Meteor and the Mighty Monster Trucks.” He’s referred to in a few articles from 2004 as Reverend Al Sharpton’s LA-based entertainment manager. His own postings suggest a tie to Frank Sinatra “in his later years.”
Additionally, there are significant questions about the Friars’ philanthropic efforts. They are registered as a 501 c 3 charity, and for years have raised money and donated it to various causes. But their 2014 federal tax filing should set off alarms. Contributions to the foundation went from $676,216 in 2013 to just $47,198 in 2014. Hence, the Friars’ donations to outside groups went from $351,896 to a startling $8,685. Their net assets or fund balances dropped from $1.2 million to $985,125. My call to Martin J. Gross of Sandalwood Partners, who signed the Foundation’s tax filing, has not been returned. (UPDATE: Mr. Gross declined to answer any questions and referred me to another Friars exec.)
Charet seems to be the central issue. Rehanna Almestica, who worked for the Friars Club since 2007, alleged in a lawsuit this past spring that Charet “subjected her to sexual harassment – by, e.g., soliciting sex from her, forcing her to look at a picture of a penis, asking her personal sexual questions, asking her to touch his groin, and telling her by phone that he was having an orgasm – and that defendants fired her in retaliation after she submitted a complaint to the NYS Division of Human Rights complaining of the harassment.”
The Friars Club was founded in 1904. Its modern associations have been with Frank Sinatra, George Burns, Jack Benny and all the classic comedians. It was featured in a famous episode of “Seinfeld.” But the membership has been aging. “Younger”comedians– like David Letterman and Jon Stewart– have eschewed the Club.
UPDATE SEPTEMBER 26TH: “Perfect Illusion” is now number 40 and falling. What a strange turn of events. A new single should be forthcoming.
Sept 21: What the heck is Lady Gaga up to? The video for new single “Perfect Illusion,” debuted last night during Ryan Murphy’s “Scream Queens” on FOX. It’s a Perfect Confusion. The song, a kind of screed against maybe her former fiancee, already lacked a bridge and coherence. A video with a real narrative line and something witty– as Gaga is known for– might have helped. But the video, which heavily features producer Mark Ronson (famous for producing Amy Winehouse), is a screed unto itself. It’s Gaga rocking out– looking great, of course, and hot– in the desert, on the back of truck, using her microphone like a lasso. But why? What? Huh? The shaky camera is nausea inducing.
The result is that “Perfect Illusion” has made it back to number 38 on iTunes, which is the same as number 100. If you’re not in the top 20 with a new song, it doesn’t really matter. “Perfect Illusion” has not caught on with fans. Yes, it’s scored over 1 million views on You Tube, but again, if I had a nickel for each of those views…
I really hope the “Joanne” album on October 21st has more of a cohesive idea. I feel like Gaga the chanteuse has lost interest in Gaga the rock star, which is fine. At this point, having seen Gaga at Tony Bennett’s two birthday events, I think she should just make amazing pop and jazz albums. She’s an amazing singer. This kind of thing seems like a waste of effort. The new Lady Gaga has bigger fish to fry.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s relationship began with a hit movie, “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.”
It ended with a flop, “By the Sea.”
If anyone should have been cast in “A Star is Born,” it was them.
Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston when he shot “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” with Jolie. There were constant rumors of an affair. It was all denied up and down. But where there’s smoke, there’s fire. A source on set of “Smith” told me at the time that Pitt had started directing Jolie’s scenes, and that it was very uncomfortable.
Not long after, Pitt and Aniston filed for divorce. The publicity fueled “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” to a worldwide box office of $478 million.
Last year, Jolie directed Pitt in their only other movie together, “By the Sea.” Unwatchable by any standards, the overpriced screech fest of a couple who can’t get along brought in just $538,460 in the US. Abroad it scammed off around $2.8 million. It was a total loss of over $10 million, maybe more.
Now Pitt is rumored to have had an affair with Marion Cotillard on the set of “Allied.” It’s directed by Robert Zemeckis, and set for release from Paramount. This is the kind of old school publicity scandal that studios long for– will people come see it to figure out what went on? You bet they will. But if “Allied” isn’t a hit, Pitt and Cotillard won’t be celebrating together.
As for “By the Sea,” that should have been the warning. No couple puts themselves through that much sturm und drang unless they’re working out problems, or expressing existing ones. That movie was about anger. And today we have the results.
For almost 60 years, Liz Taylor’s affair with Eddie Fisher and his divorce from Debbie Reynolds has been considered the template, the gold standard, for all Hollywood scandals. Carrie Fisher has written books about it and performed Broadway shows. Nothing topped it. Debbie, the angel; Liz, the witch; Eddie the miscreant.
And now! Brad Pitt is said to be having an affair or something with Marion Cotillard. He’s married! She’s married! He has six children with Angelina Jolie– three adopted, three biological (and one that may be gender fluid). Angelina has had had cancer– cancer!– that spurred surgery to remove her breasts, take out her ovaries.
On top of that, both women have Oscars. Brad only has two nominations.
People will be talking about this for another 60 years. Carrie Fisher must be weeping. Her parents’ long run as the number 1 Hollywood scandal of all time is over.
And what about Maddox, Pax, Vivienne, Knox, Shiloh, et al? And what about the French chateau worth $35 million? And all that philanthropy?
And what about Jennifer Aniston? Did they have to sedate her this morning?
On a serious note: I went to London a couple of years ago for the premiere of “World War Z.” Brad, Angelina, some of the kids were there. Brad was so devoted, she was so happy. But you see, they are actors.
PS Who gets to keep George Clooney?