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John Madden has been such an institution in our lives it’s hard to imagine he could die. But he has, sadly, at age 85.
from the NFL:
Earlier today we received the sad news that the great John Madden died unexpectedly this morning.
He was 85.
“On behalf of the entire NFL family, we extend our condolences to Virginia, Mike, Joe and their
families,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “We all know him as the Hall of Fame coach of the
Oakland Raiders and broadcaster who worked for every major network, but more than anything, he
was a devoted husband, father and grandfather.
“Nobody loved football more than Coach. He was football. He was an incredible sounding board to
me and so many others. There will never be another John Madden, and we will forever be indebted to
him for all he did to make football and the NFL what it is today.”
Memorial service information will be announced when available.
It was a really big shoe. But now it’s closed temporarily. Sarah Jessica Parker has closed her signature shoe boutique in midtown Manhattan because of COVID. We know SJP loves shoes, and her character, Carrie Bradshaw, loves them on “Sex and the City.” It’s a fetish but it will have to be on hold for the time being!
Hugh Jackman has tested positive– see his video below. Of course he got it. Star Sutton Foster and at least 8 other actors in the company have really gotten hit hard by COVID. What a shame. Losing the holiday season is very rough on the Broadway economy and psyche. Wishing everyone a speedy recovery!
Friends of mine saw the show on the 26th and loved it even with Sutton out. But so many cast members being sick means they’ve got to take the time to regroup and re-set!
Just wanted you to hear it from me. I tested positive for covid. Mild symptoms and as soon as I’m cleared … looking forward to getting back to The Winter Garden! @MusicManBwaypic.twitter.com/q1oEAzXX02
All performances of Broadway’s The Music Man are canceled through January 1. All tickets can be refunded or exchanged at point of purchase. Performances will resume on Sunday, January 2. Sending you warm wishes for the New Year from the entire company of The Music Man.
Apple has closed all its stores in New York City because of COVID. There’s no date given for re-opening.
“We regularly monitor conditions and we will adjust our health measures to support the well-being of customers and employees,” the company said in a statement Monday. “We remain committed to a comprehensive approach for our teams that combines regular testing with daily health checks, employee and customer masking, deep cleaning and paid sick leave.”
Here are the stores. You can still order online or go to the suburbs. Apple sent reviewers AirPods this week, version 3. I am not much of an Apple customer, but I wanted to give these a try. I had to order for $10 a pair of white plastic ear hooks so they didn’t fall out of my ears. But even paired with a Samsung S21, the AirPods are pretty great. The sound is rich and detailed in ways I didn’t expect. So, thanks, Apple.
NYC Locations
Apple World Trade Center: 185 Greenwich Street
Apple SoHo: 103 Prince Street
Apple West 14th Street: 401 West 14th Street
Apple Williamsburg: 247 Bedford Avenue
Apple Downtown Brooklyn: 123 Flatbush Avenue
Apple Grand Central: 45 Grand Central Terminal
Apple Fifth Avenue: 767 Fifth Avenue
Apple Upper West Side: 1981 Broadway
Apple Upper East Side: 940 Madison Avenue
Apple Queens Center: 90-15 Queens Boulevard
Apple State Island: 2655 Richmond Avenue
Apple The Mall at Bay Plaza: 200 Baychester Avenue
COVID is really wrecking havoc on Broadway, as we know.
Sad news this morning that “Ain’t Too Proud,” the Temptations musical, will close on January 16th after 488 performances (pending any additional COVID cancellations) and 21 previews.
I loved this show, and will try and see it again in the next couple of weeks. The casts have been amazing. Dominique Morrisseau did such a good job with original Temptations singer Otis Williams’ book. Just hearing these songs live on stage, and seeing the original Motown dance moves, is exhilarating. we can only hope that down the line, “Ain’t Too Proud” will return once this whole COVID mess is over!
Performances resume tonight for three weeks on Broadway and in Washington at the Kennedy Center. There;s a national tour underway — don’t miss it!
The other news is that David Byrne’s “American Utopia” returns tonight, but downsized so the show can go on. That remarkable cast has been hit by COVID. So David is reconfiguring and playing some songs from his solo career that don’t require as many performers.
Byrne says: “What we are doing could be called Unplugged, or maybe Unchained. We are adding some songs by Talking Heads as well as songs from my solo catalog, that will supplement songs already in American Utopia. I know it’s going to be a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience, that will only be seen for a few performances. We are ready to have a good time!”
I’m going to see that one, too. If you’re a Byrne or Talking Heads fan, again, don’t miss this!
During New Year’s Week, “American Utopia” offers performances December 28 at 8 PM, December 29 at 8 PM, December 30 at 5 PM and 9 PM, January 1, 2022, at 5 PM, and January 2 at 3 PM.
The actors who Jean Marc Vallee directed to awards are lamenting his untimely passing on social media today.
Vallee, 58, died from a suffering a reported heart attack at his home in Canada. He directed Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto to Oscars in the “Dallas Buyers Club,” Valle also directed Nicole Kidman to an Emmy in “Big Little Lies,” a series for which there were 8 Emmy wins including Best Supporting Actor and Actress, respectively, for Alexander Skarsgaard and Laura Dern.
Reese Witherspoon, a producer on “Big Little Lies,” was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Vallee also directed her to an Oscar nomination for “Wild.” Laura Dern was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.
Vallee made several other excellent pictures including the very underrated “Demolition” with Jake Gyllenhaal. He directed Amy Adams’ Emmy nominated “Sharp Objects” for HBO as well.
Witherspoon, who produced and starred in two projects with Vallee, is devastated. Kidman, Adams, NcConaughey are all sending messages. What a shame. Condolences to Jean Marc’s family.
A filmmaking force and a true artist who changed my life with a beautiful movie called Dallas Buyers Club. Much love to everyone who knew him. Life is precious. pic.twitter.com/2DT0tu9Lbo
Some numbers are out for 2021 record sales and they are revealing a lot.
The number 1 album in 2021 was from Morgan Wallen, his “Dangerous: The Double Album” sold a total 3,091,000 copies including streaming. Wallen was ‘canceled’ after it was discovered in a home video he’d used the ‘n’ word. His fans didn’t care. Although Wallen was banned from awards shows, and dropped (not really) by his agents and managers, he was the king of popular music sales in 2021.
Adele was the big story because her “30” album was supposed to be a monster. As it turns out, it was a mini-monster. “30” sold 1.4 million copies from its release on November 19th. For comparison: her previous album, “25,” sold 3.8 million in its first week, the same week in 2015. By the end of the year it was up over 8 million copies. So while “30” has been a hit, it’s a far cry from its predecessor. “30{ sales are down 82% from “25.”
One issue might be that “30” has had just one big hit single, “Easy On Me,” and no follow up. The “25” album started with “Hello,” and had several singles subsequently including “Send My Love (to Your Lover)” and “When We Were Young.” Right now on iTunes, “Easy On Me” is number 2, and only one other track from the album, “Oh My God,” charts at 64. But a track from the “25” album, “Water Under the Bridge,” is at 72 now, six years later.
Other end of the year info: Taylor Swift has issued so many albums that she wins over all. She sold about 4 million albums in 2021. Kanye West’s “Donda” didn’t make the 1 million mark coming in at 918,000.
Among the legacy performers, Fleetwood Mac is really the success story of the year. They sold 848,000 copies including streaming of “Rumours,” an album released in 1977! Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow, indeed! Queen sold 918K copies of their greatest hits. And Elton John, the legacy winner in singles and albums, sold 687,000 copies of his “Diamonds” box set, plus he had three top 10 hits including “Cold Heart.”
The Beatles also came in hot with over 500,000 total sales. More numbers coming in the next week or so…
PS This is a great time to hunt Amazon for deals on box sets from 2021. The best ones were the Billy Joel vinyl set, the Beatles “Let it Be Super Deluxe,” the Rolling Stones “Tattoo You,” sets from Joni Mitchell, Aretha Franklin, David Bowie, Curtis Mayfield.
My own favorite record from 2021 by contemporary artists? The Weeknd and Ariana Grande singing “Save Your Tears” to what sounds like a track from an old Orchestral Manouevers in the Dark album. I love it when Ariana Grande just sings, doesn’t yodel or sing loop-de-loops. She has a knockout voice. Best song of the whole year? Sting’s “The Bridge.”
The Emmy for Guest Appearance in a comedy goes to… Alexander Vindman. The Trump whistleblower in real life made his acting debut in the season finale of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and walked away with the episode.
In the show, Vindman is having a book party at the LA Holocaust Museum. Larry agrees to host a reception at his home. Many of the season’s plot lines are played out there including Vindman overhearing Larry on the phone and announcing he’s going to transcribe it and send it to the head of the Santa Monica City Council. In real life, Vindman’s testimony about Trump’s phone call to the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky was incendiary and helped unravel Trump’s criminal presidency.
Vindman — “call me colonel” — gets the last laugh when he snatches Leon’s date, Mary Ferguson (a long story) — for a romantic liaison on a flight to Asia.
The episode was typical Larry David genius, with Tracey Ullman actually probably snaring an Emmy for her work, and the writers pulling off a signature “Curb’/”Seinfeld” type sequence of unlikely connected calamities including Larry stealing a pair of shoes from an exhibit in the Holocaust museum.
Vindman was forced to retire from the Army after outing Trump in front of Congress. But now he has a new, unexpected career. The whole season 21 of “Curb” on HBO for viewing pleasure.
Whatever you do, don’t say Patti Lupone has COVID. She has the runs. That’s right. stomach virus, diarrhea, or as she calls it, the “rotavirus.”
In a scathing social media post this evening, Lupone, star of “Company” on Broadway, explains why the show has been in so much distress lately. They’ve canceled a number of performances.
Lupone writes that two other actors also got the stomach virus. She says of her own case: “My toilet can confirm this.”
Meantime, the virus has spread to the crew and “We currently cannot field a crew of stagehands to run the show safely.”
Here’s her post:
I’m sure people will think Patti is full of you know what, but no one posts a statement like this if it’s not true. Just everyone get better at “Company,” Patti included, “Company” is a gem and audiences love it and her!
