Martin Luther King-Junior: Last News

Addie Morfoot Contributor When the American Film Institute announced last year that it was merging AFI Docs, the organization’s annual Washington, D.C., documentary film festival, into the Los Angeles-based AFI Fest, Jamie Shor called Sky Sitney.Shor, president of PR Collaborative, and Sitney, director of the film and media studies program at Georgetown, had both previously worked for AFI Docs. Shor’s publicity firm had done work for the former festival, previously known as Silverdocs, while Sitney served as AFI Docs festival director from 2005-2014.“Sky and I were both thinking to ourselves that Washington, D.C., was not going to have a doc presence,” says Shor.

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.

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”.

A Louisiana high school teacher has been forced to resign after she sent a racist text to her coworker!

Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and fiancé Jay Mohr sweetly kissed on Monday at a home game after publicly announcing their engagement last month.The 61-year-old controlling owner of the Lakers and comedian Jay, 52, were sitting courtside in leather jackets as they shared a smooch before the game between the Lakers and Houston Rockets at Crypto.com arena.Jeanie had her blonde hair down below her shoulders as she leaned in, while Jay sported a white fedora hat with a checkered band for the game played on the Martin Luther King Jr Day holiday. Tender moment: Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and fiancé Jay Mohr sweetly kissed on Monday at a home game after publicly announcing their engagement last monthJay also posed with basketball coach and broadcaster Dave Miller and actor Vince Vaughn, 52, at the game.Dave in a post on Twitter said of their group photo: 'Did you hear the one about the coach, the movie star, and the comedian/actor that walked into a bar… Vince is a great friend and Jay and i first met like 21 years ago on the Best Damn Sports Show Period…#goodtimes #lakers #lakeshow.' Jeanie inherited the Lakers from her late father Dr.

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.

Piers Morgan, 57, was stunned to learn a foundation set up to honour President J F Kennedy's brother Robert has awarded Meghan Markle and Prince Harry a Ripple Of Hope Award, a status they share with Ukrainian President Zelensky this year.The pair will join a list of former winners which includes Barack Obama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu - and Piers scoffed when he discovered they were being placed in the same category, exclaiming it was hard to imagine "two less heroic figures in modern history".Kerry Kennedy, one of Robert's 11 children, insisted Meghan and Harry had "changed the narrative" around the world about mental health and racial justice.However, Piers branded them greedy and argued they had set out to cause "as much damage to the monarchy as they can" without providing evidence of any abuse they suffered.Kerry, whose famous father once worked with the civil rights activist Dr Martin Luther King Jr, had praised the pair for their "moral courage".He told the Telegraph: "They went to the oldest institution in UK history and told them what they were doing wrong, that they couldn’t have structural racism within the institution; that they could not maintain a misunderstanding about mental health.""They knew that if they did this there would be consequences, that they would be ostracised, they would lose their family, their position within this structure, and that people would blame them for it," he continued."They believed they couldn’t live with themselves if they didn’t question this authority.

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.