Martin Luther King-Junior Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

John Legend shared that Harry Belafonte had a profound impact on his life both professionally and personally.

Thania Garcia Hollywood is mourning Harry Belafonte, the Calypso singer, award-winning performer and activist, who died on April 25 of congestive heart failure at age 96. The Caribbean-American entertainer is lauded as one of the most versatile recording artists of the 1950s and was one of the first Black leading men in cinema. He also had a fierce commitment to activism throughout the 60s and participated in numerous protests and marches including the Freedom March on Washington in 1963 (alongside his friend and actor Sidney Poitier) where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his historic “I Have a Dream” speech. Tastemakers like Berry Gordy, Tony Bennett, Oprah Winfrey and more paid their respects and celebrated Belafonte’s work, calling him a “trailblazer” and “great entertainer.”

Rita Moreno Harry Belafonte, who passed away today at the age of 96, was not only a Tony-, Grammy- and Emmy-winning singer and actor, he was a vitally important activist who brought many top Hollywood actors to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legendary march on Washington in 1963. Below, his longtime friend, EGOT-winning actress, singer and dancer Rita Moreno, remembers that day, and more. Harry Belafonte was the reason that a planeload of movie stars showed up for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington in August 1963. The trip came about at his behest. Harry wanted very much for Dr. King to understand that there were people in Hollywood who really cared, people who were emotionally involved in politics and cared for the welfare of people of any color.

Martin Luther King Jr. (including speaking at the 1963 March on Washington) and other pivotal faces of the civil rights movement, standing up for migrant farmworkers, working in support of LGBTQ, or becoming a voice in South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement, Belafonte forged a strong commitment to activism. In fact, in 1968, Belafonte became the first Black person to helm a late-night talk show when he hosted for a week.

Singer, actor and staunch civil rights activist Harry Belafonte as died aged 96, it's been announced.

Harry Belafonte died on Tuesday, April 25. He was 96.

Harry Belafonte, the civil rights and entertainment giant who began as a groundbreaking actor and singer and became an activist, humanitarian and conscience of the world, has passed away. He was 96.

Harry Belafonte, the legendary singer known for hits including “Banana Boat (Day-O)” and “Jump in the Line,” has died. He was 96.According to a statement from Belafonte’s team, the singer died of congestive heart failure, at his home.

Carmel Dagan Singer, actor, producer and activist Harry Belafonte, who spawned a calypso craze in the U.S. with his music and blazed new trails for African-American performers, has died at his Manhattan home, according to the New York Times. He was 96.An award-winning Broadway performer and a versatile recording and concert star of the ’50s, the lithe, handsome Belafonte became one of the first black leading men in Hollywood. He later branched into production work on theatrical films and telepics. As his career stretched into the new millennium, his commitment to social causes never took a back seat to his professional work.An intimate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he was an important voice in the ’60s civil rights movement, and he later embarked on charitable activities on behalf of underdeveloped African nations. He was an outspoken opponent of South Africa’s apartheid policies.

The director and subjects of Kokomo City are expressing shock over the death of Rasheeda Williams, one of the trans women featured in the award-winning documentary, who reportedly was shot to death in Atlanta Tuesday night.

EXCLUSIVE: The Daily Show has been ticking along nicely with its phalanx of guest hosts including Chelsea Handler, Leslie Jones and Kal Penn.

Dawn Porter Dawn Porter is a filmmaker whose latest project “The Lady Bird Diaries,” an all-archival documentary about Lady Bird Johnson, former First Lady of the United States, will debut at the SXSW Film Festival. Her four-part docuseries “Supreme” explores the history of the United States Supreme Court and the legal battles that have shaped America. Porter’s other projects include the next installment of the civil rights series “Eyes on the Prize” for HBO. Throughout the month of February, Variety will publish essays from prominent Black artists, artisans and entertainment figures celebrating the impact of Black entertainment and entertainers on the world at large.

Jennifer Hudson said, with Ludacris agreeing, «Everyone in the music industry looks up to Quincy Jones. It's that simple.»Meanwhile, Chaka Khan called Jones «the best that there ever was in his field.»«Everybody who ever is around Quincy Jones says the same thing, that there's a light about him,» Oprah Winfrey told ET, adding in a 1996 interview that Jones «stole my heart when we did .»Steven Spielberg noted that Jones has «worn many, many hats» throughout his career. «I think Quincy Jones knows more people, more significant people who have changed the world, than anybody I have ever met,» Spielberg said.It's safe to say Rashida Jones is a fan too, as the soon-to-be 90-year-old is the actress' dad.«He is very supportive of anything that I decided to do,» the younger Jones told ET in 2005.In a 2007 chat with Jones, he told ET that the actress and his six other children make him «the luckiest man on the planet.»«I am so proud of it, I can't stand it,» he said of his kids.

Smokey Robinson still has things he wants to accomplish. ET's Kevin Frazier spoke to the 83-year-old singer, and Robinson revealed the last item on his bucket list.«If there's anything left on my bucket list, it would be that I would like to make a movie, a good movie,» he told ET. "… I'd like to be in a really good movie and be a character.«While Robinson hopes to play a character in a flick, lots of people want a Broadway show or a movie to be made about life, both of which „some people have approached me to do it.“Any potential project about his life, Robinson said, is „gonna be very candid.“»I might as well be candid.

Smokey Robinson still has things he wants to accomplish. ET's Kevin Frazier spoke to the 83-year-old singer, and Robinson revealed the last item on his bucket list.«If there's anything left on my bucket list, it would be that I would like to make a movie, a good movie,» he told ET. "… I'd like to be in a really good movie and be a character.«While Robinson hopes to play a character in a flick, lots of people want a Broadway show or a movie to be made about life, both of which „some people have approached me to do it.“Any potential project about his life, Robinson said, is „gonna be very candid.“»I might as well be candid.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s Kathleen Finch broke a lot of science producers’ hearts in Austin, Texas last week when she said that Science Channel was “not very high on our priority list”.

A24’s The Whale crossed the $11-million mark in week six as it jumped to 1,500 screens from 835 as the Brendan Fraser-starrer and other contenders continue to tweak theatrical runs through awards season.

The Gotham Film & Media Institute has set The Woman King filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood and Audible, Inc.’s Founder and Executive Chairman Don Katz as the latest pair of honorees to be feted at the 32nd annual Gotham Awards, taking place live and in person at NYC’s Cipriani Wall Street on November 28. 

Paying it forward. Julia Roberts confirmed that Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King paid the hospital bill for her birth to help her parents.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Samuel L. Jackson had his marching orders. So when actor John David Washington approached him for tips about playing Boy Willie, a role Jackson originated in the 1987 production of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson,” he clammed up. “I was specifically told by the director not to give him advice,” Jackson says. “John David asked several times, but when he realized that I was not allowed to help him, he stopped asking.” The director, in this case, is LaTanya Richardson Jackson, who also happens to be Jackson’s wife, as well as the first woman to oversee a production of Wilson’s work on Broadway. The two are teaming up on the hotly anticipated revival of the classic drama, only this time Sam is playing Boy Willie’s uncle, Doaker Charles. It marks his first time on Broadway since 2011’s “The Mountaintop,” in which he played Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and LaTanya’s  first time directing after a run of acclaimed stage performances, including the 2014 revival of “A Raisin in the Sun” and 2018’s “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

reported the move late Monday, citing that it happened during a meeting with the union’s executive board. The news comes after leaked audio of a closed-door conversation was released Sunday in which Herrera and Councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León were heard in conversation with the then-City Council President Nury Martinez as she made racists, disparaging remarks about her colleagues and, in one case, a Black child.

A Florida man has been arrested after investigators said he opened fire on a homeless family of five who were sleeping in their car at a park in Tampa last week. Christopher Stamat Jr., 21, is facing six felony charges following the shooting that unfolded around 4:30 a.m.

EXCLUSIVE: Labid Aziz’sPeople of Culture Studios (PoC Studios), has picked up North American distribution rights to Kim Bass’s comedy A Snowy Day in Oakland, and will open the film nationwide in theaters over the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday weekend, Jan. 13, 2023. The movie is the debut theatrical release for PoC Studios. 

Nicola Sturgeon has slammed the 'vile racists' who targeted young children at a school in Glasgow in a torrent of online abuse following a recent visit.

Disney+ and National Geographic’s anthology series has found the ensemble cast of its upcoming “Genius: MLK/X.” Portraying the pioneering leaders of the Civil Rights Movement are Kelvin Harrison Jr. (“Waves,” “Elvis”) as Dr.

EXCLUSIVE: Disney+ and National Geographic have set the lead cast for Genius: MLK/X, the fourth installment in the anthology series, which will focus on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

Selome Hailu ‘MLK/X,’ the fourth installment of Disney+ and National Geographic’s period drama anthology series ‘Genius,’ has set its lead cast: Kelvin Harrison Jr. will play Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Aaron Pierre will play Malcolm X, Weruche Opia will play Coretta Scott King and Jayme Lawson will play Betty Shabazz. “Genius: MLK/X” will explore the formative years, pioneering accomplishments, dueling philosophies and key personal relationships of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. While King advanced racial equality through nonviolent protest, Malcolm X argued forcefully for Black empowerment, identity and self-determination. With their formidable wives, Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz, by their sides, King and Malcolm X became synonymous with the civil rights era and the fight for racial and economic justice.

currently has three clinics offering the monkeypox vaccine: one in Ward 2, at 1900 I St NW, which is open from Sunday through Friday from 12-8 p.m.; one in Ward 4, at 7530 Georgia Ave NW, open from Sunday through Friday from 12-8 p.m.; and one in Ward 8, at 3640 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE, open from Monday through Saturday from 12-8 p.m.Vaccination doses will be subject to availability at each of the clinics.