"Nussbaum’s films included Men in Black and Field of Dreams, but his primary business was being a Chicago stage actor. His credits were legion and spanned decades" — and his repertory spanned centuries, from Shakespeare to Mamet, who wrote for Nussbaum a new 15-minute two-hander just 18 months ago. - Chicago Tribune (MSN)
There’s a gap between the backlash Chappelle generates online and his live shows with legions of fans. Amid this comedy culture war, he’s doubling down and cashing in. - The Wall Street Journal
In addition to Sarafina!, which became a worldwide hit, Ngema is remembered internationally for the 1981 satire Woza Albert, which won over 20 awards in various countries. - AP
Fay Weldon, Russell Banks, Charles Simic, Kenzaburo Oe, Dubravka Ugresic, D.M. Thomas, Martin Amis, Cormac McCarthy, Robert Gottlieb, Milan Kundera, Edith Grossman, Louise Glück, A.S. Byatt, … - Literary Hub
Such is occasionally the cost of doing business when you work in the same tight-knit industry as your identical twin. Turns out, Jean said, mix-ups are “really good for networking.” - The New York Times
"Across the past four decades, (his works) alluded to the condition of Black Americans without outright stating what they were trying to communicate. (His) sculptures, installations, performances, and conceptual artworks … were often provocative and sad — and, more often than not, funny, too, in ways that could be shocking." - ARTnews
Among the honorees are the founder-director of what's now the National Museum of Mexican Art, the Chicago Symphony's composer-in-residence, the 24-year-old jazz pianist who thrilled Herbie Hancock, and the stage managers of the Joffrey Ballet. - Chicago Tribune (MSN)
When “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” debuted on CBS in the fall of 1967 it was an immediate hit, to the surprise of many who had assumed the network’s expectations were so low it positioned their show opposite the top-rated “Bonanza.” - AP
"Left without the use of his arms and legs, the award-winning writer of The Buddha of Suburbia and My Beautiful Laundrette has charted his experience in brutally-honest blog posts. He credits his sense of purpose to his relationship with his responsive readers." - BBC
When she started there in 1977, it was in a little bungalow in Santa Monica with the oldest radio transmitter west of the Mississippi. When she left in 2010 after 30 years as GM, "KCRW had become a cultural and intellectual trendsetter ... for public radio listeners across America." - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
Christmas and holiday movies usually tend to centre around a key belief: that people need a romantic partner to live “happily ever after.” - The Conversation
One of the Met's stalwarts of the 1950s and '60s (especially as Cherubino and Octavian), she performed so many male mezzo parts that her young daughter once said, "My mommy is a boy." After retiring from the stage, she co-founded the company now known as Pittsburgh Festival Opera. - The New York Times
"This week (the union) released a letter of censure dated Nov. 20 in which Daniels was informed he was permanently barred from the guild. … The 57-year-old and his husband, Scott Walters, pleaded guilty to sexual assault of an adult, a second-degree felony, in Houston’s Harris County District Court on Aug. 4." - AP
Macron said that the 74-year-old star — facing multiple rape accusations and having been caught on camera sexually harassing a translator and making lewd remarks about a 10-year-old — is "a great actor … (who) makes France proud" and should not be stripped of the Legion of Honor. Predictable outrage has ensued. - BBC
"A best-selling author, essayist, playwright and screenwriter, (his) satirical prose examined Jewish angst, women and sex, and (he) later produced a series of humorous children’s books." - The New York Times
