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Bob Dylan Apologizes For Autopen-Signed Books

Dylan says was given “the assurance that this kind of thing is done ‘all the time’ in the art and literary worlds.” Now that it has come to light and stirred controversy, the singer-songwriter says, “I want to rectify it immediately. I’m working with Simon & Schuster and my gallery partners to do just that.” - Variety

What It’s Like To Play Steven Spielberg In A Spielberg-Directed Movie

"In terms of speech, I didn’t bother because who would know what he talked like 60 years ago? And he also didn’t want that. But I wanted to emulate him physically as best I could." - Los Angeles Times

Irene Cara, Singer Of Fame And Flashdance, Has Died At 63

Cara was a child dancer and singer who found young fame on Electric Company (and in its band) and then became iconic for singing "Fame" in the movie of the same name, and cowriting and singing the title song for Flashdance. - The New York Times

John von Rhein Remembers Ned Rorem

Rorem came across as an artist of disarming candor, fierce intelligence, urbane wit and, above all, enormous personal charm. We hit it off immediately and, despite the professional boundaries that separate creative artists and critics, became friends. - Chicago Classical Review

Filmmaker Jean-Marie Straub Dead At 89

"Straub ... and his wife, Danièle Huillet, worked together as filmmakers for more than 30 years. Straub-Huillet, as they were often called by French critics, broke away from accepted notions of realism, disengaged from bourgeois values and questioned the primacy of narration." - The Guardian

Orchestra Impresario Bruce Coppock, 71

"It is no exaggeration to say that no single person had a greater role in the SPCO's artistic trajectory over the last 20 years than Bruce Coppock," SPCO artistic director and principal violin Kyu-Young Kim said. - The Star-Tribune

How A Poor, Bullied Black Girl In Pasadena Grew Up To Be Octavia E. Butler, Science Fiction Legend

"(Writing stories was) her own temporary escape hatch from a life of 'boredom, calluses, humiliation, and not enough money. ... I needed my fantasies to shield me from the world.' ... When she learned she could make a living doing this, she never let the thought go." - New York Magazine

Theatre Critic Michael Feingold, 77

Michael Feingold has twice received the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism and has twice been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism. - Broadway World

Michael Butler, The So-Called ‘Hippie Millionaire’ Behind Hair, Has Died At 95

"Butler was from a moneyed Chicago family ... and he was comfortable in the world of polo and debutantes and expensive clothes." Then, "he put his money behind 'the American tribal love-rock musical,' as the show called itself." - The New York Times

If Disney’s Pirates Scared You, Thank Alice Davis, Who Has Died At 93

The costume designer also created more than 150 outfits for the It's a Small World ride. "One wrinkle occurred, Ms. Davis said, when she noticed the panties on the ride’s animatronic French cancan dancers repeatedly falling apart." They got pantaloons. - The New York Times

Gentle Ukrainian Film Critic, Become Soldier, Become Vivid Chronicler Of A War

War has always provoked remarkable writing. Anton Filatov’s blog posts on Facebook are a 21st-century version of this, and they have gained him a growing audience. - The New York Times

Composer Ned Rorem, 99

"By the time he was 40, he had written more than 400 art songs, as well as three symphonies, several one-act operas and a great deal of chamber music. ... By this point, however, Mr. Rorem was at least as well known for his diaries as for his music." - The Washington Post

Joan Didion’s Estate Auction (Sunglasses for $27,000?)

Among the 224 items up for grabs, both the photograph (a 1968 portrait of Didion by Julian Wasser) and the table (an oak desk she used in her office) were sold for a combined total of $87,000 — far beyond their projected worth. - Los Angeles Times

Just How Serious Are Jay Leno’s Burn Injuries?

"Right now they're in that progression of somewhere between deep second and third-degree burns to the face," says his doctor.  "We're hoping we can keep them from progressing by using these alternate treatments, including good wound care and hyperbaric oxygen and aggressive surgical management." - CNN

Kevin Spacey Is Hit With Seven More Sexual Assault Charges In London

"The Crown Prosecution Service said (Spacey) has been charged over 'a number of sexual assaults against one man between 2001 and 2004'.  It also authorised 'one charge of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent' against the 63-year-old actor, who lives in the United States." - MSN (AFP)

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