Music director, at various points, of the Indianapolis Symphony, Opera Theater of St. Louis, and the Ensemble orchestral de Paris, he is noted especially for a series of landmark recordings of Berlioz’s vocal and stage works — in particular a multi-award-winning Les Troyens. - Gramophone
“Marcus was everywhere that mattered to a young, determined and very talented artist in the late 1950s and ’60s. In Provincetown, Mass., on Cape Cod each summer, painting out of a shack in the dunes. At the Cedar Tavern in Greenwich Village, holding her own.” - The New York Times
But he’s OK if you’re stuck on that era of his long, and continuing, career. Meanwhile, he’s also a painter, which is why The Thomas Crown Affair is, in his words, his favorite of his movies. - The New York Times
“(He) rose improbably from rural poverty in Costa Rica to the towering heights of the global antiquities market, despite accusations that he trafficked in fake and stolen artifacts — and … fell precipitously when those accusations proved to be true.” - The New York Times
“Filed last week in New York federal court, the complaint from Dr. Brian Morley, the ex-medical director of health insurance corporation AmeriHealth Caritas, … (states) “Defendants falsely told millions of viewers … that Dr. Morley testified in a Medicaid hearing that ‘he thinks it’s okay if people have shit on them for days.’” - Deadline
“The tragedy came from the women’s testimony — a set decorator who spoke of how Depardieu trapped her between his legs and groped her, an assistant director who detailed multiple occasions when the actor touched her breasts, buttocks, and genitals. The farce is from Depardieu’s performance in court.” - The Hollywood Reporter
“(He) experienced the ups and downs of fame more dramatically than most. His break came in 1984’s spy spoof Top Secret! … (and) his movie career hit its zenith in the 1990s ... as a dashing leading man” in Tombstone, True Romance, Top Gun, The Doors (as rockstar Jim Morrison), and Batman Forever. - AP
Just hours before he was due to surrender to Federal authorities to serve almost 10 years in prison, Watson received clemency from the Trump White House. - CNBC
Want to learn to live like her? The Marina Abramović Institute offers €2,450 (~$2,600) five-day Cleaning the House workshops in various locations—Brazil, Thailand—taught by people (not her) trained to lead guests “through a series of long durational exercises to improve individual focus, stamina, and concentration.” - ARTnews
David M. Childs, an architect who crowned the New York City skyline with the tallest building in the Americas — a shimmering new 1 World Trade Center in place of the twin towers destroyed on 9/11 — died on Wednesday in Pelham, N.Y. He was 83. - The New York Times
“Her most headline-grabbing work focused on pornographic films, which she saw as worthy of consideration as a discrete genre — and worthy of scholarly analysis and inquiry as well. She shrewdly compared pornography to another popular genre: the musical.” - The New York Times
A heartthrob for most of his life, the actor came out publicly in 2003. He said, “I’m positive that love exists … and is available to us all the time.” - The New York Times
“Archaeologists have been searching (in and around Lumbini in southern Nepal) for an altogether different Buddha — not the figure of faith and metaphor, but an actual man who was born, lived, preached and died in this region at least a century before any records of his teachings were written down.” - Smithsonian Magazine
“He called his previous behavior, particularly toward subordinates, ‘bone-headed’ and ‘narcissistic.’ He acknowledged that he had long yelled at his assistants (‘Yes, of course’) and that he had on occasion thrown things at people (‘Very, very rarely’).” - The New York Times
“A statement posted to Facebook reads: ‘As many of you may already be aware, Johnny Mathis is approaching his 90th birthday this year. So, it’s with sincere regret that due to Mr. Mathis’s age and memory issues which have accelerated, we are announcing his retirement from touring and live concerts.’” - The Guardian
