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Watch Trailer for Netflix’s Jeffrey Epstein Documentary Series “Filthy Rich” Debuting May 27th

Roger Friedman
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Watch Trailer for Netflix’s Jeffrey Epstein Documentary Series “Filthy Rich” Debuting May 27th

The Netflix documentary series about Jeffrey Epstein debuts on May 27th. “Filthy Rich” is directed by Lisa Bryant
written by Peter Landesman. Executive Producers are Joe Berlinger, Lisa Bryant, Jon Doran, Jon Kamen, Bill McClane, James Patterson, Peter Landesman, Bill Robinson, Leopoldo Gout.

From the press release: Leading up to his 2019 arrest, mysterious tycoon Jeffrey Epstein was accused of abusing women and underage girls for decades, assembling a network of enablers to help carry out and cover up his crimes. Epstein came from humble beginnings yet managed to lie and manipulate his way to the top of the financial world. He eventually gained tremendous wealth and power while running an international sex trafficking ring. The serial sex abuser made a secret plea deal with the government in 2008 avoiding a potential life sentence and continued to abuse women. With their frightening firsthand accounts, Epstein’s accusers are the leading voices in director Lisa Bryant’s four-part docuseries JEFFREY EPSTEIN: FILTHY RICH. By revealing their emotional scars, some for the very first time, the sisterhood of survivors intend to stop predators — and the American justice system — from silencing the next generation. A RadicalMedia and James Patterson Entertainment production made in association with Third Eye Motion Picture Company, the series is executive produced by Joe Berlinger (Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes).

The 2020 John Legend Onslaught Continues: New Single is Title Track of Album, “Bigger Love” Coming in June

Roger Friedman
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The 2020 John Legend Onslaught Continues: New Single is Title Track of Album, “Bigger Love” Coming in June

John Legend is everywhere. All the time. Well, why not? He’s very talented, has a beautiful family, they were on the cover of Vanity Fair. His wife, Chrissy Teigen, is beautiful and funny. And successful.

John’s new single “Bigger Love” is pretty good, and it’s the title track to his new album coming in June. We could do worse. The album is produced by Raphael Saadiq, who’s also quite brilliant.

I hope this song is on the album:

Robin Hood Foundation: Paid Six Figure Salary to Jeff Bezos’s Brother for Years, Gave Ex CEO $1.7 Million Exit Package

Roger Friedman
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Robin Hood Foundation: Paid Six Figure Salary to Jeff Bezos’s Brother for Years, Gave Ex CEO $1.7 Million Exit Package

EXCLUSIVE Did you see Tina Fey crying on the Robin Hood Foundation special Monday night? She’d really be crying if she looked at their Form 990 tax filings. Not “every penny of the money we take in goes to charity,” I’m afraid.

For years, from at least 2006 to 2016, Robin Hood was paying a six figure salary to Mark Bezos, brother of Jeff, owner of Amazon and the Washington, and the Richest Man in America ($145 billion). Mark Bezos was listed as their communications director. His salary was around $140,000 in 2013 and 2014, and then jumped up to $240,000 for 2015 and 2016. It’s possible Mark Bezos earned around a million bucks in salary from the Robin Hood Foundation, money that might have gone to New Yorkers in need of food or shelter.

From his Linkedin page, Mark Bezos’s bio: “Mr. Bezos serves on the boards of multiple technology companies and as a director of the Bezos Family Foundation. Prior to co-founding HighPost Capital, Mr. Bezos served as a strategic advisor to several start-ups and tech-enabled multimedia companies. Previously he was head of communications for the Robin Hood Foundation, where he helped establish the non-profit organization as a role model for impact investing.”

Bezos had his own advertising firm that closed in 2006. He told a magazine: “I had to figure out somewhere to go and I got a phone call from a guy named David Saltzman who was executive director at Robin Hood, and I guess through friends of friends, he heard I was looking for what’s next. Robin Hood was looking for someone to help with communications and marketing, so that began a 10-year adventure.” (Bezos is also a volunteer fireman in Scarsdale, New York, where he lives in a sprawling $6 million estate.)

“The guy” Mark Bezos was referring to was David Saltzman, Executive Director of Robin Hood. It wasn’t a random call since Jeff Bezos has given plenty to the foundation and their mother, Jacklyn, has been on the board of directors.

Saltzman retired from Robin Hood at the end of 2017. His payout was $1.7 million, about triple the $600,000 or so annual salary he’d been receiving up til then. Robin Hood is nice work if you can get it. The most recent top executive listed in their filings is Reynold Levy, who was earning just under $1 million from 2015 to 2017. Total salaries for Robin Hood came to $18 million in 2017, down a bit from 2016, but up up up from 2015. Robin Hood has a huge staff– it takes a lot of people to do good– and they are paid very, very well.

Robin Hood is a largely secretive place with little public relations, which is why Mark Bezos’ listed job sounds so odd. Their only transparency is through their tax filing which shows a steep drop in revenue from 2016’s $170 million to 2017’s $120 million. At the same time, their grants to charitable organizations dropped from $181 million in 2016 to $115 million in 2017.

That makes Tina’s announcement on Monday’s show that they’d pulled in $115 million in one hour more than a little suspect– although Tina wouldn’t have known any of this. Who could blame her for crying? There was no delineation during that crazy hour– with very good musical performances– between corporate donations and money that came in from the public. The PR spin was magnificent — even if Mark Bezos is no longer doing the communications job.

 

Michael Jackson Broadway Musical “MJ” Moves from This Summer to Next March 2021 with April Opening Night

Roger Friedman
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Michael Jackson Broadway Musical “MJ” Moves from This Summer to Next March 2021 with April Opening Night

The Michael Jackson Broadway musical, “MJ,” was supposed to open this summer. But those plans have gone awry, and now “MJ” will start previews in March 2021, and open on April 15th.

The show is produced by the Jackson estate with Lia Vollack Productions. Lia was a very popular and successful record executive and sound expert who was once a roadie for groups like the Ramones and Johnny Thunders. She worked her way up to a top spot at Sony Music. Now she’s producing this show, and her husband, Tony winner Derek McLane, has designed the sets. Lynn Nottage wrote the book for the musical, which presumably stops at the end of the 1980s before Jackson’s scandals began.

I was tracking sales for “MJ” for this summer and they weren’t that great. But maybe with time delay and pent up interest in all returning Broadway shows, “MJ” will make people got to be there.

Happy Birthday to Stevie Wonder: The Great Singer-Songwriter Turns 70 Years Young Today

Roger Friedman
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Happy Birthday to Stevie Wonder: The Great Singer-Songwriter Turns 70 Years Young Today

There is only one Stevie Wonder, and he turns 70 today. A child star since 1963, he’s the youngest of all the “classic” music stars of his generation.

There’s nothing he can’t do or hasn’t done. So many Grammys, best selling albums, great songs covered by other artists– he’s tops in every category.

His first hit was “Fingertips, Pt. 2” when he was 12 years old, with his harmonica solo composed by legendary Beans Bowles, and the rest was history.

Through the 60s Stevie had a string of hits like “Ma Cherie Amour” and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” but none that he wrote. But “If You Really Love Me,” written by Stevie and Syreeta Wright, was a smash hit. It came from the first album he totally wrote, with Syreeta, called “Where I’m Coming From.” The floodgates opened. “Music of My Mind” and “Talking Book” came in ’72, “Innervisions” in ’73, “Fulfillingness’s First Finale” in ’74, and “Songs in the Key of Life” in ’76. It’s one of the greatest runs of albums ever in history. Listen to them now, in order, and they will blow your mind.

We could write a book about Stevie, but he’s the one who got the Martin Luther King Holiday passed nationally. He wrote the song, “Happy Birthday,” for MLK, but we can sing back to him today. At Tony Bennett’s 90th birthday dinner, three summers ago, at the Rainbow Room, Stevie put headphones on my ears, produced a small music mixer from under the table, and played me new songs he was working on. They were brilliant, and I can only hope we hear them soon. He had a successful kidney transplant last fall, and looks great these days. He’s a national treasure, a world treasure, a planetary magnificence.

Happy birthday, Stevie!

Good News at Last: Broadway Star Nick Cordero is Out of His Coma and Awake, Reports Wife Amanda Kloots

Roger Friedman
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Good News at Last: Broadway Star Nick Cordero is Out of His Coma and Awake, Reports Wife Amanda Kloots

Nick Cordero is awake. He’s out of his coma.

His wife, Amanda Kloots, reported it two hours ago on her Instagram stories. Her face is lit up like the Empire State Building, and her son, Elvis, is grinning wide even though he has no idea what’s going on.

Kloots and her endless enthusiasm literally willed Cordero to wake up after six weeks of agony. She has been a steadfast and unflagging champion.

Congratulations to them all. Looking forward now to reports of great improvements. And the other good news for him, at least, is that Broadway is shut down for the next few months. He can do his rehab and be in a show next spring! Fingers crossed!

 

 

This Season is Over for Broadway, Shows Won’t Open Until Fall, At Least, “Plaza Suite” Announces March 2021 Performances

Roger Friedman
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This Season is Over for Broadway, Shows Won’t Open Until Fall, At Least, “Plaza Suite” Announces March 2021 Performances

“Plaza Suite” starring Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker will open in March 2021 on Broadway. The Neil Simon revival would have opened this past March.

This follows the Broadway League’s announcement that the Great White Way is closed until Labor Day, and likely through the end of the year.

“While all Broadway shows would love to resume performances as soon as possible, we need to ensure the health and well-being of everyone who comes to the theatre – behind the curtain and in front of it – before shows can return. The Broadway League’s membership is working in cooperation with the theatrical unions, government officials, and health experts to determine the safest ways to restart our industry,” said Charlotte St. Martin, President of the Broadway League. “Throughout this challenging time, we have been in close communication with Governor Cuomo’s office and are grateful for his support and leadership as we work together to bring back this vital part of New York City’s economy – and spirit.”

Broadway performances were suspended on March 12, 2020. At that time, 31 productions were running, including 8 new shows in previews. Additionally, 8 productions were in rehearsals preparing to open in the spring.

The shutdown is such a huge loss for New York, for the theater district businesses, for the theater owners, the casts and crews of shows. The financial implications are perilous. Despite the terrific efforts of many to raise money for the Actors Fund, and so on, almost no amount of money from individual contributions will solve this problem.  There’s going to have to be some kind of government bail out.

And it’s not just financial– it’s emotional. New York thrives on the pulse of Broadway and all live performances. It’s going to be a very difficult fall.

Meanwhile, what to do about the Tony Awards? Even though the Outer Critics Circle and a few others have cooked up awards for this foreshortened season, it’s kind of ridiculous. The odds are that the 2021 Tony’s will include shows from this season. I already wrote about the shows and nominees that should be included.

 

Broadway Star Nick Cordero’s Wife Amanda Says: “He is starting to wake up” after Six Weeks in a Coma Because of Corona virus

Roger Friedman
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Broadway Star Nick Cordero’s Wife Amanda Says: “He is starting to wake up” after Six Weeks in a Coma Because of Corona virus

Amanda Kloots, wife of Broadway star Nick Cordero, has some hopeful news. She writes on Instagram:

“We had some great news this morning. Nick is starting to follow commands and doing simple tracking!!!!! He is very weak so even just opening his eyes is a struggle, but it is happening. He is starting to wake up!! We are by no means out of the woods yet, there are still concerns with other things, but this news today on his mental status is a win!!”

Nick, Tony nominee for “Bullets over Broadway” and star of “The Bronx Tale” and “Waitress” has been in a coma since around April 1st in Los Angeles’s Cedar Sinai Hospital. He’s had a leg amputated because of blood clots, recently had a ventilator removed, and suffered at least two mini strokes. It’s been torture for him and his family.

His friends around the world are supporting him on social media and praying for a rapid recovery. The couple has a toddler boy, Elvis, who is shamelessly cute.

RIP Ron Dozoretz, Shrink Who was Part of Clinton Marc Rich Pardon Scandal, BFF of Gary Hart, Dies at 85

Roger Friedman
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RIP Ron Dozoretz, Shrink Who was Part of Clinton Marc Rich Pardon Scandal, BFF of Gary Hart, Dies at 85

Ron Dozoretz, the wealthy shrink whose wife, Beth, was part of the Bill Clinton March Rich pardon scandal, has died in Virginia at age 85.

In 2001, Beth, former chairwoman of the finance committee of the Democratic National Committee, made headlines when she became entangled in the former president’s pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich. Ron and Beth were so close to the Clintons that the president was annointed godfather of the Dozoretz’s daughter, Melanie, is 1998.

If you recall, President Bill Clinton, as he left office, pardoned the most famous white collar criminal fugitive, Marc Rich. Rich, a billionaire who did business with every country America deemed unfit, declined to pay his taxes– $10 million– in 1983. He split the US for Switzerland, where he set up shop in his multi national shipping, oil, gas, and aluminum empires. (As it turned, and as I revealed in 2001, he’d never stopped doing business in the US. It was an open secret.)

Beth Dozoretz had suddenly become the bff of Marc Rich’s wife, Denise, who donated $450,000 to the Clinton Presidential Library in exchange for the pardon. Marc Rich feared at the time that George W. Bush would win the presidency from Al Gore and install Paul O’Neill, an enemy, as Secretary of the Treasury–and pursue him legally in Switzerland. As it happened, he was right. Bush stole the election from Gore, and did hire O’Neill, who, coincidentally, died just last week. But Rich secured his pardon, and was able to conduct business freely until he himself died in 2013.

The couple was really wealthy. Two years ago they paid $19 million for a condo in the ritzy Four Seasons Surf Club in Miami. It was their second purchase in the building following a $7.4 million condo purchase the year before.

Back in 2001, when the pardon scandal occurred, gossip columns brimmed with stories that Beth was having an affair with Bill Clinton. She was definitely the conduit to Denise Rich in setting up the library donation that paid off the pardon.

Ron Dozoretz was always there for charismatic Democrats who had affairs. He was Gary Hart’s BFF when Hart’s presidential campaign imploded in 1988. He was such an enthusiastic Clinton fundraiser that in 1996 the president made Dozoretz trustee of the Kennedy Center, where the shrink was “very busy redoing the restaurants and improving the kitchen and the catering service.” Dozoretz managed to scam two 6 year terms by resigning as Clinton left office and then getting re-appointed by Bush.

In 2001, Ron was said to be worth an estimated $250 million. He owned and operated FHC Health Systems, a network of private health care companies that focus on mental health services and substance abuse.

 

Disney Plus Moves 11 Tony Award Winner “Hamilton” Up to July from October ’21 to Score Broadway Starved Audience

Roger Friedman
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Disney Plus Moves 11 Tony Award Winner “Hamilton” Up to July from October ’21 to Score Broadway Starved Audience

Disney has tried everything to get us to subscribe to Disney Plus– all the “Star Wars” movies, their whole animation catalog, etc. But now they win: moving “Hamilton” up from October 2021 to this July 3rd, aka July 4th weekend. Very clever. With no Broadway shows playing, no one can see “Hamilton” live anywhere. But they secured this deal last year.

Here’s the release:

BURBANK, Calif. (May 12, 2020)—The Walt Disney Company, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jeffrey Seller and Thomas Kail are pleased to announce that Disney+ will fast track the premiere of the filmed version of the original Broadway production of “Hamilton,” bringing the 11-time-Tony Award®-, GRAMMY Award®-, Olivier Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning stage musical to homes around the world on July 3, 2020.

Producers for “Hamilton,” the film of the original Broadway production, include Miranda, Seller, and Kail, who also directs.

The film is a leap forward in the art of “live capture” which transports its audience into the world of the Broadway show in a uniquely intimate way. Combining the best elements of live theater, film, and streaming, the result is a cinematic stage performance that is a wholly new way to experience “Hamilton.”

“No other artistic work in the last decade has had the cultural impact of ‘Hamilton’—an inspiring and captivating tale told and performed in a powerfully creative way.  In light of the extraordinary challenges facing our world, this story about leadership, tenacity, hope, love and the power of people to unite against the forces of adversity is both relevant and impactful,” said Robert A. Iger, Executive Chairman of The Walt Disney Company. “We are thrilled to bring this phenomenon to Disney+ on the eve of Independence Day, and we have the brilliant Lin-Manuel Miranda and the team behind ‘Hamilton’ to thank for allowing us to do so more than a year before planned.”

“I’m so proud of how beautifully Tommy Kail has brought ‘Hamilton’ to the screen. He’s given everyone who watches this film the best seat in the house,” said Lin-Manuel Miranda. “I’m so grateful to Disney and Disney+ for reimagining and moving up our release to July 4th weekend of this year, in light of the world turning upside down. I’m so grateful to all the fans who asked for this, and I’m so glad that we’re able to make it happen. I’m so proud of this show. I can’t wait for you to see it.”

Filmed at The Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway in June of 2016, “Hamilton” features Tony Award® winners Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton; Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson; Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler; Leslie Odom, Jr. as Aaron Burr; Tony Award nominees Christopher Jackson as George Washington; Jonathan Groff as King George; Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton; and Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds; Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison; and Anthony Ramos as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton.

The cast also includes Carleigh Bettiol, Ariana DeBose, Hope Easterbrook, Sydney James Harcourt, Sasha Hutchings, Thayne Jasperson, Elizabeth Judd, Jon Rua, Austin Smith, Seth Stewart and Ephraim Sykes.

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