Says the daughter of actress Ingrid Bergman and filmmaker Roberto Rossellini, "Of course it opens the door, because people are curious to see you. But I don’t know that it was an advantage. The judgment is much more severe, and you don’t have time to grow." - The Guardian
"With his childhood friends Jerry and David Zucker, Abrahams formed the filmmaking trio, called Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker, and popularized the spoof genre of the 1980s" with Kentucky Fried Movie, the Naked Gun series, Ruthless People, and, most indelibly, Airplane! - Variety
Murakami’s approach to consciousness is less representational than literal, with many of his characters literally being transported to a realm created by (or wholly inside of) their minds. - Esquire
"(He) was a celebrated wordsmith, a leading voice in literature in Afrikaans — an offshoot of Dutch that was developed by white settlers (in South Africa) — and a fierce critic of apartheid that was imposed against the country’s Black majority between 1948 and 1990." - AP
Aside from the many, many collaborations with playwright Pinter, “her influence on BBC design work, ‘a slightly crazy mix of boarding-school perfectionism and free-spirited iconoclasm,' was baked in.” - The Guardian (UK)
In almost any Auerbach oil painting, early or late, rawness is thick on the ground. So dense, so clotted, and so busily heaped is the pigment that you’re not sure whether to gaze at it, lick it, chew it, or file a weather report. - The New Yorker
In 2021, he was convicted for staging a fake hate crime against himself in Chicago in January 2019. But the local DA had dropped charges, and, under public pressure, a special prosecutor revived the case. The Illinois Supreme Court has now ruled that this violated Smollett's civil rights. - CNN
"Clarisse Yeung, 38, is an artist and, previously, an elected member of Hong Kong’s district council. She first rose to prominence during the 2014 pro-democracy protests. … (She) was among 45 of 47 defendants convicted under the national security law for their roles in an unofficial party primary election (in 2020)." - Artnet
In our fragmented media landscape, it can be difficult to grasp just how large Carson loomed over the culture. At the center of late-night for 30 years — he presided from 1962 to 1992 — he is the most influential talk-show host of all time, and possibly the most popular figure in the history of television. - The New...
"He was part of the founding editorial crew of Time Out Chicago, once a major force in local arts coverage. … Vire stayed with (Time Out) until 2018, then moved on to a busy freelance career, eventually landing at the Tribune-owned Chicago magazine as a freelance arts-and-entertainment editor." - Chicago Tribune (MSN)
Multiple Vladimir Putin adversaries have died after falling from windows. The term “Sudden Russian Death Syndrome” was born after many notable Russian figureheads who have spoken out against Putin’s reign died in puzzling ways. One of the most common causes of the deaths are window falls. - The Daily Beast
Beginning in 1957 with "Europe on $5 a Day," Frommer’s philosophy changed the way Americans traveled abroad. His advice became so standard that it’s hard to remember how radical it seemed in the days before discount flights and backpacks. - AP
Michael R. Corcoran, 96, of Newport, RI, has an inimitable way of "whipping through hundreds of lots while engaging crowds with a blend of repartee, potted histories, antiquarian acumen and name-dropping with the subtlety of an anvil being shoved off a roof." - The New York Times
"(He) brought a commanding presence to historical figures like Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin and King Edward VII, and to notables of classic theater like King Lear, Macbeth and Willy Loman. He was perhaps best known to American audiences for his performances in British television imports." - The New York Times
"An alto saxophonist with a supple, earthy style, (he) was a key figure in the development of three styles of jazz" — bebop, hard bop, and soul jazz — "from the 1940s to the 1960s and sustained a career for almost seven decades." - The Washington Post (MSN)
