- Grammy lifetime honorees announced
- Annual Sundance Film Festival
- 1999 Grammy Award Nominations
- '98 Pulitzer Prizes Announced
- '98 Emmys
- Jagger marriage claim may be flawed
- Nick Nolte Is at Home Now
- His Mates or His Mate (Rod Stewart)
- Reaction to Michael Jordan's Retirement
- Preserving Hollywood
- Great Film Music of the Silent, Classic and Modern Eras
- Mulgrew may beam off Voyager
- Heston says prostate cancer almost gone
- CBS blasted for Stern, Kevorkian
- Celebrity FBI Files
- Find out life is like on New York's Bowery

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Johnny Cash, Mel Torme, Smokey Robinson, Otis Redding and Sam Cooke will be honored at the Grammys next month for a lifetime of work. The artists will each receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. The awards for Redding and Cooke are being given posthumously. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences also announced Wednesday that it will give Trustees Awards, for non-performing industry contributors, to the songwriting teams of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, and Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The 41st annual Grammy Awards will be presented Feb. 24.

Top of Page

LOS ANGELES (AP) - It's a documentary about a gritty subject and almost no one has seen it. But after a showing at this week's Sundance Film Festival, "American Pimp" could capture a distribution deal worth big bucks - and its creators are hoping to milk the opportunity. "We held out showing it to any distributors to put it in a friendly situation for us as far as getting the best price," said Allen Hughes, who has teamed with his brother to make the film as well as "Menace II Society" and others. Sundance, held each year in Utah, is the nation's top showcase for independent films. Overrun by Hollywood players, entertainment reporters and publicists, it's a festival where buzz leads to more buzz, which leads to more hype, which leads to film studios paying millions of dollars for films - something they may or may not regret in the morning.

Top of Page

LONDON (AP) - Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger may have "shot himself in the foot" by claiming he never married Jerry Hall, a divorce specialist said Tuesday. Jagger's publicity agents, LD Publicity, released a statement Monday saying the singer's lawyers were contesting the divorce petition filed by Texas-born model Jerry Hall "on the grounds that Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall are not, and never have been, married." But divorce attorney Mark Stephens said the English courts were unlikely to give credence to Jagger's claim that his 1990 Indonesian marriage to Hall was not legally valid.

Top of Page

With two brilliant performances sparking Oscar buzz, Nolte talks about life on screen and off - By Jack Kroll and David Ansen

You can feel Nick Nolte's intense physicality even as he's at ease in his Malibu house, wearing his slob-chic gear of pajama bottoms and faded work shirt. On the screen, it's not the physicality of a Stallone or a Schwarzenegger, who turn their bodies into cartoons on the hoof. Nolte's physical force has an emotional eloquence that powers his award-winning performance as Wade Whitehouse, the raging-bull small-town cop in Paul Schrader's "Affliction." Now Nolte is odds-on to get two Oscar nominations, for "Affliction" and for his role as the equally raging Lt. Col. Gordon Tall in Terrence Malick's "The Thin Red Line." There are many who think that Nolte is the best American screen actor today, and his stunning performances in these films show him at the peak of a talent that has never stopped developing.

It was only seven years ago that Nolte was dubbed "the sexiest man alive" by People magazine, after his performance in Barbra Streisand's "The Prince of Tides." That wimpy accolade was surpassed this year when both the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics named him best actor for "Affliction." The film, based on Russell Banks's novel, is as close to Greek tragedy as movies come. His performance evokes the pity and terror that Aristotle identified as the key ingredients in tragic drama. Brutalized as a boy by his drunken father, Nolte's Wade embodies the repressed violence transmitted from father to son. Add to that the ferocious Colonel Tall, and you have the Darwinian philosophy that is an article of belief for Nolte. "There's this violence that's in us that's partly genetic and partly taught," he says. "In this century more wars than ever killed more people than ever. You say, 'It's them over there, it's drugs, it's this or that.' But it might be indigenous to mankind."

In a way Nolte recalls the great expressionist actors of the '20s, like Emil Jannings, who spoke with their bodies in silent movies. But Nolte is more subtle. After the battle in "Thin Red Line," the colonel's face literally collapses from an exhaustion that's both physical and psychological. It's an unforgettable image. Wade's agonizing toothache in "Affliction" is also an expression of his angry pain at his loser's life. Nolte, legendary for his detailed research and preparation, had four progressively larger prosthetic teeth made, which he popped in as the ache got worse, "to give me a reality of something in my mouth." For his role as a sadistic detective in Sidney Lumet's 1990 "Q&A," Nolte wore shoes with six-inch lifts. "I was literally 6 foot 6," he says. "And I had them pitched so that I could not lean backwards. So whenever I was talking to somebody I was right in their face."

Paul Schrader loves the way Nolte "is able to show this man's mind working. You can see him adding up one and one and getting three." For a long time in his own life Nolte, now 57, was adding up one and one and getting three, or maybe minus three. Born in Omaha, Neb., Nolte bounced around various colleges and didn't avoid his generation's near-compulsory trip into drugs and booze. In 1962 he was convicted of selling counterfeit draft cards and received a suspended sentence of five years. He has said that it was seeing a production of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" that changed his life. "Acting was a savior for me," he says. "I'm not comfortable in life. It's a little scary for me, it's a little too violent. I had to grow up with the idea of the atomic bomb. So psychologically when I saw a play I realized that you not only can see and read this play but you could be in it. At that time I was going through some heavy questioning of self and everything else. At the same time I'm reading Stanislavski's 'An Actor Prepares,' and I'm saying that's the exact process I'm going through right now. So I went and got in a play. I was petrified going onstage. But the minute I hit out there I knew I was home."

Work in rep companies led to television, and in 1976, at 35, he won an Emmy for his portrayal of the wastrel Tom Jordache in the mini-series "Rich Man, Poor Man." That led to a series of film roles including the drug-smuggling Vietnam veteran in "Who'll Stop the Rain," the disaffected pro football player in "North Dallas Forty" and his big box-office breakthrough as the cop opposite Eddie Murphy in the 1982 "48 HRS." In the 1984 "Grace Quigley," his costar, Katharine Hepburn, said to him, "I hear you've been dead drunk in every gutter in town, and it has to stop." "I can't stop, I've got a few more gutters to go," answered Nolte. In 1986 he put those gutters to good use as a homeless man opposite Bette Midler in Paul Mazursky's comedy "Down and Out in Beverly Hills." Mazursky recalls how Nolte's penchant for realistic detail led Midler to complain, "Method is one thing, but he stinks!" Mazursky's comment, both amused and admiring, is, "I'm telling you, Nick goes very, very deep."

This desire for depth led to Nolte's disaffection from the big-bucks mentality of mainstream Hollywood. Movies like "I Love Trouble" (1994), in which he and Julia Roberts failed to revive '40s-style romantic comedy, literally disheartened the actor. "You become what they call 'hot' and these wads of money come at you and this dance, this seduction takes place, and you forget why you act. I would actually get a heart murmur if I was working on a film that I knew I was in for the wrong reason. It would go ba-boom, ba-boom, ba-boom. So I went to the heart specialist." The doctor's diagnosis was simple: "You're doing something you don't want to do."

Since then Nolte has stayed away from the ba-boom movies. In 1996 he did "Mother Night," a Kurt Vonnegut adaptation about the dark days of Nazism, and in 1997 "Afterglow," costarring with a radiant Julie Christie as a couple with big marital problems. Alan Rudolph, who directed him in "Afterglow" and in the upcoming "Breakfast of Champions" (another Vonnegut adaptation), says, "Nick is just growing. He recognizes that there are darlings and demons in every one of us, and he wants to roll around in the mud with his. Nick is a superstar—but it's on his own terms." Today Nolte, a veteran of three divorces, a recovering alcoholic in great shape, lives in his Malibu compound with TV actress Vicki Lewis. In "Breakfast of Champions," Nolte plays a cross-dresser. He took the role on one condition. The sexiest man emeritus insisted on designing his own dress.

With Corie Brown in Los Angeles
Newsweek, January 18, 1999

Top of Page

Rocker Rod Stewart once said of model Rachel Stewart, his wife of eight years, "I can't find any fault with her at all." Apparently she felt otherwise; last week the couple, who have two kids, announced a separation. Stewart, 54, has a history of woman-hopping, but Hunter, 30, reportedly broke it off because Rod got old and boring, watching TV and hanging out with his middle-aged mates. Seems "Hot Legs" has cooled.

Top of Page

January 14, 1999 -- Michael Jordan's announcement yesterday that he is ending his basketball career brought reaction from fans throughout the United States and the world.

In Chicago, home of Jordan's Bulls, fans say they are grateful for the 13 seasons they had with the basketball superstar but will miss the team's glory days. Hear more as NPR's Cheryl Corley reports for Morning Edition.

It's not just American fans who are upset with Jordan's retirement. A front-page headline in the Beijing Morning Post read, "Flying Man Jordan is Coming Back to Earth." Listen to reaction from folks in China, Russia and France.

Michael Jordan is considered by many the greatest National Basketball Association player of all time. The five-time MVP led the league in scoring 10 times and averaged 31.5 points per game. He appeared in 12 All-Star games and helped bring six NBA titles to Chicago. He is also one of the world's best-known and most loved figures. Hear more about what made Jordan an icon with a global following as NPR's Tom Goldman reports for Morning Edition.

Jordan announced his decision at a news conference at Chicago's United Center. He thanked his wife, Juanita, Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and NBA Commissioner David Stern, who were at his side for the announcement.

Jordan said the time is right for him to retire. "Mentally, I'm exhausted. I don't feel I have a challenge. Physically, I feel great. This is a perfect time for me to walk away from the game. I'm at peace with that." Listen as Morning Edition host Bob Edwards speaks with commentator John Feinstein about Jordan's retirement.

Top of Page

Efforts are underway to preserve two of Hollywood's most recognizable sights, the Walk of Fame -- the metal stars engraved with celebrity names along Hollywood Boulevard -- and the hillside "Hollywood" letters. Fund raising efforts include selling "adoption rights" to the landmarks.  Fans can't actually take them home, but for the right  price, they can buy a small piece of stardom.

Top of Page

In this second Milestones of the Millennium feature, commentator, film music scholar, critic and educator Royal S. Brown joins Performance Today host Martin Goldsmith to talk about the development of original music for motion pictures, from the silent era to the present. 

As Brown notes, music has been associated with the movies since the beginning. During the 19th century, theaters used scores of recommended music which were performed live as accompaniment to the action. Since "talkies" first arrived, film scores have often been integral, if not indispensable, in setting the proper atmosphere, mood and tempo for a film and its narrative. It’s hard to imagine "Star Wars" without John Williams’ triumphant score supporting the protagonists in their intergalactic struggles against evil. Brown is certainly not alone in finding Bernard Herrmann's shrieking violins in Hitchcock’s "Psycho" more terrifying than the image of the weapon in the famous shower scene.

The Silent Era brought landmark early film scores including the first score ever written for a movie: "The Assassination of the Duke of Guise" by French composer Camille Saint-Saens. Royal and Martin also touch on the movie "New Babylon" by Dmitri Shostakovich, Max Steiner's music for the 1933 film "King Kong," and the final scene of "Alexander Nevsky," a movie by Sergei Eisenstein with music by Sergei Prokofiev.

Regarding Classic film scores, Brown discusses Steiner's "Gone with the Wind," "The Sea Hawk" by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and the film noir classic "Double Indemnity" by Miklos Rozsa, as well as the gentle music Elmer Bernstein wrote for "To Kill a Mockingbird." Finally, Brown covers the modern era, including Danny Elfman's "Batman" score, "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" by Ennio Morricone, John Corigliano's music for "Altered States," and the surprising score for "Koyaanisquatsi" by Philip Glass.

Hear Royal Brown and Performance Today host Martin Goldsmith discuss great film scores throughout the past century on this Milestones of the Millennium. Note: some music parts have been edited from the commentary because of internet rights issues.   "Great Film Music" is the second installment of PT's new Milestones of the

Top of Page

NEW YORK (AP) - Capt. Kathryn Janeway may be ready to abort her mission.  The Daily News reported Sunday that Kate Mulgrew, who plays the captain on ``Star Trek: Voyager,'' wants to leave the show. The newspaper said Ms. Mulgrew is tired of 80-hour work weeks and that she wants to devote more time to her teen-age children and upcoming marriage to Tim Hagan, a Cleveland politician. Ms. Mulgrew also complained Friday to TV critics in California that she was fed up with Hollywood because it lacks intimacy and a sense of community. She said she wanted to return to theater work in New York. After Ms. Mulgrew's comments were reported, Paramount, which owns the UPN network where ``Voyager'' airs, issued a statement in which Ms. Mulgrew said she ``cannot imagine not participating in (the show's) entire run, whatever that may be.''

Top of Page

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Charlton Heston is battling prostate cancer, but says he is on the road to recovery after weeks of intense radiation treatments. He said he found out about the cancer during his annual checkup and prostate screening in June. Doctors agreed to let Heston, who is active in politics and president of the National Rifle Association, postpone radiation treatment until after the November election so he could stump for Republican candidates and continue shooting a film. Heston, 75, underwent the treatment for six to seven weeks, finishing last month. He said he went to the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center about 7 a.m. five days a week to receive treatment and then went to work.

Top of Page

WASHINGTON (AP) - CBS was given a "Silver Sewer" award Monday by cultural critics William Bennett and Sen. Joseph Lieberman for airing shock jock Howard Stern's TV show and Dr. Jack Kevorkian's lethal injection of a terminally ill man. The awards - intended to identify "cultural polluters" - are part of Bennett and Lieberman's campaign against sexual and violent content in music, video and computer games and on TV. Bennett was a top official in the Reagan and Bush administrations. Lieberman is a Democratic senator from Connecticut.

Top of Page

Subject: Marilyn Monroe
Summary: Confidential FBI memos discuss rumors concerning Monroe's death. One document analyzes a newspaper report that implied she was having an affair with then-Attorney General Robert Kennedy. The report also mentions allegations of sex parties that involved high-ranking U.S. officials.

Top of Page

CELEBRITY FILES

Raymond Burr - Frank Sinatra - Princess Diana - Dean Martin - Marilyn Monroe - Elvis Presley - John Lennon - John Wayne - Errol Flynn - Sammy Davis Jr. - Jackie Robinson - Mike Royko - Lucille Ball- Pablo Picasso - Fred Friendly

HISTORICAL FIGURES

Adolph Hitler - John Wilkes Booth - The Duke and Duchess of Windsor - Amelia Earhart - Wyatt Earp - Julius and Ethel Rosenberg - John Dillinger

THE REAL X-FILES

Roswell - Project Blue Book - Majestic 12 - Cattle Mutilations - Unidentified Flying Objects

Charles Geter is a long-time resident of The Palace Hotel, one of the last flophouses on the Bowery in New York City. It's a tough place to live. It's an even tougher place to show outsiders. But Charles Geter spent nearly 2 years trying to document the world he's lived in for the past 25 years. Producers David Isay and Stacy Abramson gave him a tape recorder so he could keep audio diaries and conduct interviews with men living at the Palace and the handful of other flops still in existence. It was not an easy task-- the few men still living in these hotels are reclusive, the owners wary of anyone looking for a story.  

Listen to the moving audio diaries in Charlie's Story.   Charlie's Story is a companion piece to a special half-hour documentary, The Sunshine Hotel, All Things Considered aired in September 1998. Charlie's Story was produced by Sound Portraits Productions with funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Greenwall Fund.