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Published Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024 | 11:47 a.m.
Updated Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024 | 11:47 a.m.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Although James Earl Jones was known for his booming voice, he considered himself a stutterer his entire life. Jones said in a 2004 Associated Press interview anyone who listened to him long enough would hear the stutter. He joked that Marlon Brando and Jimmy Stewart made people think that stuttering was the way that Americans talk. President Joe Biden says in a statement he admired Jones for the thing they had in common: “overcoming a childhood stutter to find our voice for something bigger than ourselves.” Jones died Monday at the age of 93.
Mark Hamill says James Earl Jones was “one of the world’s finest actors whose contributions to ‘Star Wars’ were immeasurable.” “Star Wars” creator George Lucas says for half a century, Jones was Darth Vader, “but the secret to it all is he was a beautiful human being.” Kevin Costner, who starred with Jones in “Field of Dreams,” says the movie “wouldn’t be the same with anyone else in his role.” CNN, where Jones was the voice of the brand for years, issued a statement saying his voice conveyed “instant authority, grace and decorum.” Jones died Monday at the age of 93.
The death of James Earl Jones is being mourned not just in Hollywood, but in the sports world. Major League Baseball issued a statement recognizing Jones for his roles in “Field of Dreams” and “The Sandlot,” and for giving “a moving recitation” of the national anthem at the 1993 All-Star Game in Baltimore. University of Michigan President Santa Ono says the school is mourning Jones, who not only was a graduate, but he was heard at every home game. Jones died Monday at the age of 93.
NEW YORK (AP) – The White Stripes have sued former President Donald Trump for allegedly using their song “Seven Nation Army” without permission in an online video. The band says the Trump campaign is guilty of copyright infringement for using the song’s opening riff over footage of Trump boarding a plane for campaign stops in Michigan and Wisconsin last month. The Trump campaign has not returned requests for comment.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Ryan Seacrest says he had no idea what he was going to say until he started his first show as host of “Wheel of Fortune” yesterday. Seacrest opened the show saying he was grateful to be invited into people’s living rooms, and he realized he had “really big shoes to fill” in replacing Pat Sajak, who retired. Seacrest says on his radio show “On Air with Ryan Seacrest” he went back and forth with what he was going to say on that first show. He says he’s having a “super fun” time with co-host Vanna White.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) – Kathryn Hunter of the new horror film “The Front Room” was not all that worried that there might be ghosts in the abandoned house where they filmed — she made her own. Hunter says a huge number of crew members would cram into the bedroom during filming, so the only way she could make them disappear in her mind was to pretend they were ghosts. Hunter plays the stepmother who makes life difficult for her daughter-in-law, played by Brandy, in “The Front Room." It's out now.
NEW YORK (AP) — Oprah Winfrey has again turned to author Elizabeth Strout for her book club pick. It’s Strout’s new one, “Tell Me Everything.” Winfrey had chosen Strout’s book “Olive, Again” in 2019, a sequel to the Pulitzer Prize winner “Olive Kitteridge.” Strout says in a statement the first time Winfrey called her was “extraordinary,” but the second time was “absolutely astonishing!”
LONDON (AP) – Spice Girl Mel B has joined an opened letter to British Parliament from dozens of Britons urging laws to prohibit discrimination based on Afro hair. Mel B writes that even when she shot the “Wannabe” video for the Spice Girls, the stylists wanted to straighten her hair because her “big hair didn’t fit the pop star mold.” She says she stood her ground, and women still tell her that video inspired them to stop straightening their hair. The open letter states that people with Afro hair have suffered unjust treatment, and current law is not enough to protect them from serious harm.