"(He) fashioned a 43-year career at The Inquirer that featured hundreds of influential stories about Philadelphia’s art and culture and the people who shaped them. He first covered cultural life ... in 1989 and, until he retired in 2022, focused as much on the newsmakers as the culture they created." - The Philadelphia Inquirer
"A multi-instrumentalist who sang and played guitar, keyboards and harmonica, Mr. Mayall was better known as a bandleader who had a superb eye for talent and a steadfast devotion to the purity of the blues." He also helped launch the careers of Eric Clapton and Fleetwood Mac. - The Washington Post (MSN)
As little as possible, actually. "I promised myself to only practise when I wanted to, and then I didn’t want to for 15 months! I just pigged out and watched Netflix. I let my brain drift into stupid movies. ... But after six months I got sick of (it).” - The Telegraph (UK)
Darren Walker announced Monday that he would step down as the president of the Ford Foundation at the end of 2025 after what will have been a consequential 12-year tenure in which he shifted the institution’s focus to inequality and oversaw the distribution of $7 billion in grants. - The New York Times
Mowry, in a 40-year career, was an “actor and director known both for his personal gentleness and generosity and for his deep, profoundly captivating onstage speaking voice.” - Oregon ArtsWatch
Esta TerBlanche was a South African actress whose first language was Afrikaans, so of course she played a Hungarian princess - who ad-libbed a lot - on Days of Our Lives. - The New York Times
Sure, yes, she’s the prime minister when the Daleks come in Doctor Who, but what really helped her with the Youngs was acting in Shaun of the Dead. - The Guardian (UK)
“In a career-spanning six decades, Cheng burst on to the scene in the 1960s, becoming a star for Shaw Brothers Studios, the Hong Kong production company modelled on the Hollywood studios that became internationally famous for action films and period martial arts epics” (aka wuxia). - The Hollywood Reporter
Reagon, also a cultural historian who worked at the Smithsonian, “was an original member in 1962 of the Freedom Singers, a vocal quartet that provided anthems of defiance for civil rights protesters preparing to confront the police or as they were hauled away to jail.” - The New York Times
Betty Cooper, that's who. "For decades she lived at the center of a bohemian New York that long ago faded into mythology. … Betty mingled with artists, writers and entertainers. She even had a romance with one of the most famous undercover cops of all time." - The New York Times
"His understated comedy routines that emphasized the absurdities of ordinary life made him a national sensation. (He) became the first comedian with a No. 1 record and the star of two long-running sitcoms (and is) regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern comedy." - The Washington Post (MSN)
The online news outlet, founded in 2013, collapsed in 2021 after Watson and other execs were caught lying to potential investors with wildly inflated figures for audience size, valuation, and earnings. Watson, convicted of identity theft, securities fraud conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy, faces up to 37 years in prison. - CNN
"Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter said there isn’t a theme when selecting the honorees, but one often emerges organically. This year, that accidental theme is 'a reflection of American culture through its music and how music is used to create American culture.'" - The Washington Post (MSN)
"The initiative, (20 unrestricted grants of $50,000 each to disabled creative artists,) administered by United States Artists, named its inaugural class of fellows in 2020. … The second class was announced in 2022, and this is the last cohort in the program." - The New York Times
"A funny thing happened when I got to the end of all that eating: I realized I wasn’t hungry. I’m still not, at least not the way I used to be. And so … I’ve decided to bow out as gracefully as my state of technical obesity will allow." - The New York Times
