My first daughter Nisa was born on my birthday, today, November 10th. I'm 55 and she's 18. As a legal adult, for the first time in her life she is no longer under the jurisdiction of a custody arrangement from a court that ordered me to stay away. She is free to contact me, I'm free to contact her, and there's nothing any court can do about it.
Unfortunately, from my side, there's nothing much I can do but write this, a blatantly sentimental attempt to regain a lost relationship. Short of kidnapping her years ago and living our lives as fugitives, there's no way I could have been Nisa's father. The decks were too stacked. I've had no choice but to wait until this very day, November 10, 2006, to initiate contact, but the barriers are still in place. I live near Palm Springs in California. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her aunt who controls every aspect of her life. She has no phone of her own, and the last time I called to talk to her, auntie told me she couldn't come to the phone because she was "busy playing." Auntie doesn't allow access to the internet, always answers the phone first, blocks the mail, and has taken away all pictures of me. I can't call or write so what's left but journalism, my paltry slice of the World Wide Web, and the hope she'll Google herself someday, find this article, and try to contact me.
Sure, I could linger around her school, but what school? Who knows if she's still in school. I don't even know if her name is Nisa Dare or Nisa Paris or Nisa Paris Dare. Does she hate me? Does she have any idea I've done things of which she should be proud? Does she have plans for college? What kind of music does she like? Has she seen "The Man who Would be King?" Democrat or Republican? Bush Bozo or free thinker? Sure of herself or emotional wreck? Does she smoke? Drink? Date? What does she want to be? Did she go to the prom? What does she look like? Have any of my talents filtered through? Can she play a musical instrument? Does she write or draw? A million bucks she's never heard Elvis Costello or seen Kandinski. These, and countless other things, are what Nisa's dad wants to know.
I also want Nisa to know that whatever she's been told, I never gave her up, never let go, fought every inch of the way, not just that she's got a father but has always had one. There isn't a moment in the past eighteen years that I haven't been here for her when she needed me. It's just that contact had to be initiated by her, and decades of brainwashing can be mighty effective. I have no idea the level of hostility she may feel towards me, or even if reconciliation is emotionally possible. I only know I've spent Nisa's childhood a wounded animal, my baby ripped from my arms, a hole in my life effectively filled by the constant privilege of raising my boys, knowing that I love all my children equally, no matter what the circumstances. It's amazing that I've been able to accomplish anything in the intervening years considering my constant emotional distress. It's not the kind of thing I can let go. It's my subtext to everything. I think of my girls every day.
Nisa was taken from me when just a baby, and I participated in her life to the best that circumstances would allow, considering the fact she had been moved out of state and I had limited resources to fight the enormous legal battle I found myself in, one of the most complicated imaginable, five children, all under the jurisdiction of different courts.
One day Nisa's mom simply drove to Phoenix, Arizona, gave Nisa to her mother, and drove back. Ta-dah! No more Nisa. She's been there ever since, in the care of her grandmother, who eventually bestowed custody to another of her daughters, one with little likelihood of starting her own family.
In order to keep my daughters in Arizona, they succeeded in implementing a diabolical scheme from which I'm suffering the consequences to this very day. How easy it is make a false charge in the middle of a custody hearing, especially one that crosses state borders. One word from a social worker in Arizona who never met me and I was suddenly a child pornographer in California until proven otherwise. During the nine months it took to get the court to just look at the goddam tape, not only was my career as a professional film critic destroyed, but the rest of my kids were shuffled around from mother to wards of the state to father to group home to grandmother to aunt to homeless shelter, from court to court, from one ruthless social worker to another, each with their own agenda, advocating one way or another, dozens of ruined lives in the wake of an endless succession of different judges given ten minutes to read through paperwork a foot high, a total gamble, just as I'd get a judge in my corner they'd be replaced and I'd have to start all over again.
All for what? I ended up with legal and physical custody of my boys with orders to protect them from the rest of the family, and grandma ended up with legal and physical custody of my girls with orders to protect them from me. You are cordially invited to find the logic in that.
They protected my daughters from me with a vengeance. Here's my favorite stunt. The California court miraculously ordered a bunch of monitored visits with Amanda and Alex, my two other girls. During these visits I always saw all three of my daughters, but one day grandma and auntie realized that Nisa was under a different jurisdiction - that the visits with her weren't "court ordered" - so they deliberately left her out of the visits, sometimes in particularly diabolical ways.
One time they sent Nisa to the pony rides. Amanda and Alex wanted to go too, but were told "You can't go to the pony rides, you've got to stay home and visit with your father." They were crying when I showed up. It took all of ten minutes to calm then down and have a loving visit, but the court was later told that my visits were traumatizing the children, that they cried when I showed up. End of court ordered visits.
It all came down to money. 10,000 bucks and I could have gotten Nisa back, but to what? If my career had skyrocketed, if I was perched on a Hollywood hillside with film deals and money for private schools, there would have been no contest, but instead I lost everything in a series of seriously unfortunate events including bankruptcy, treachery, and theft. All I would have had to offer the past few years was welfare, foodstamps, an abandoned house in the middle of the desert, and no car. Judges are always interested in improving the lifestyles of children in their care, but the only group of people for whom my lifestyle would be an improvement is the homeless.
Pink Amanda, blue and yellow Alex, and green Nisa
In a photo smuggled out of the house years ago by their mom
Here's what I remember about my last visit with Nisa, when she was about seven.
We were all playing in grandma's living room when I remembered something I wanted to get from the car. I was sitting in the driver's seat looking through baggage when Nisa ran out of the house and gave me a big hug. She thought I was leaving without saying goodbye. I kissed her and reassured her I'd never do such a thing. She sat in my lap and we talked and cuddled. I looked back towards the house and there stood grandma and auntie looking at us like I was raping her. It was the worst thing they had ever seen, this blatant display of genuine affection between a father and daughter. I could see them making up their minds then and there to prevent anything like it ever occurring again. I haven't seen Nisa since then.
Nisa, this is for you sweetheart. You probably think I'm dangerous. Maybe I am. Here's me with a sharp object. (That's Max behind me.)
Nisa, you were kidnapped, a legal kidnapping endorsed by a court, but a kidnapping nonetheless. I miss you and love you as much as any father has ever loved a daughter. Your brothers miss you too, and we all hope this finds you well. Send us a picture.
Molly Ivins: Post-Election Etiquette
The Democrats won this election because we are involved in a disastrous war. We know how to do this: Declare victory, and go home.
A great week for American women (guardian.co.uk)
For the first time, a woman is third in line to be US president. Then there's Hillary ... and even good news on abortion. Women's editor Kira Cochrane celebrates.
365Gay.com Newscenter Staff: Record Number of Gays Elected To Office (365gay.com)
The wave that swept Democrats to victory on Tuesday led to unprecedented success in electing openly gay candidates. Sixty-seven candidates endorsed by the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, an organization that helps LGBT candidates gain office, were elected in national, state and local races. Some of the victories were historic said Victory Fund president Chuck Wolfe. "This is the tipping point election for openly gay candidates," said Wolfe.
Rick Perlstein: Who deserves credit for the Democratic comeback? (The New Republic; Posted on nevadathunder.com)
When Klein decided that all Larry Kissell needed was a boost, he remembered how radio guys used to use long gas lines as promotional opportunities. Together, they arrived at an idea: Kissell would subsidize the sale gas at a filling station in his North Carolina district at the price it sold for when the incumbent had entered office-$1.22 a gallon. A line of cars soon stretched down the thoroughfare. The unknown Democrat was suddenly all over TV, shaking hands and pitching a hard Democratic message. He started inching up in the polls.
Andrew Tobias: Hope (andrewtobias.com)
Hope is in the air. As bleak as things are - bleaker I think than many realize ("The ship of state is on a disastrous course, and will founder on the reefs of economic disaster if nothing is done to correct it," writes the Economist, paraphrasing the Comptroller General of the United States) - the tide may be turning.
Beverly C. Lucey: Liberty and the Librarian (irascibleprofessor.com)
Jane Goodwin's essay "You Can't Take That Away From Me" was wonderfully written in its capture of those summer days in libraries of long ago: the gluey smells of book spines, the thunking sound of the date stamp that gave us two whole weeks at home to meander through pages, and the impatient wait for access to the grown up shelves. A raspberry popsicle would be nice, too. It's been a long time.
Garrison Keillor: The Retiring Type? Not Me (The Salt Lake Tribune; Posted on truthout.org)
Congress, which once spent an entire year investigating a married man'sattempt to cover up an illicit act of oral sex, has shown no curiosity whatsoever about a war that the administration elected to wage that has killed and maimed hundreds of thousands and led our own people to commit war crimes and squandered hundreds of billions of dollars and degenerated into civil war.
Here in Oregon, gas prices are always high. But between yesterday and this morning, the prices jumped ten cents a gallon. I'm thinking the big oil companies are going to punish us for the election results. Actually, I think the only reason prices have dropped in recent weeks is because the oil companies wanted the repugs to win and that party is over.
Ain't gonna be pretty at the pump.
ducks
Thanks, ducks!
When I gassed up last Friday it $2.38/gal. Today it was $2.48/gal.
Figure it's only gonna go up.
Do our grocery shopping on Fridays - and the price of food stuff has been creeping up, as well.
In the last year, produce has doubled in cost here - what's it like in the rest of the country?
OTOH, it's still nothing like the prices we used to pay in Alaska in the winter.
Got the official summons invitation to Thanksgiving dinner behind the Orange Curtain.
Tonight, Saturday:
CBS writes off the night with a RERUN'CSI: The 3rd One', followed by a RERUN'CSI: The Original One', then 48 Hours'.
NBC throws away the night with 'Dateline', followed by a RERUN'Law & Order: Criminal Intent', then a RERUN'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'.
'SNL' is FRESH with Alec Baldwin hosting, music by Christina Aguilera.
The late, late 'SNL' is from 9 February, 2000, with Ben Affleck hosting, music by Fiona Apple.
ABC fills the night with LIVE'College Football', then pads the left coast with local crap and an old 'Oprah'.
The CW offers 'American Idol Rewind', and 'The Shield'.
Faux has the traditional 'Cops', 'Cops', and 'America's Most Wanted'.
MY has a FRESH'Desire', followed by a FRESH'Fashion House'.
A&E has 'Drugs At The Border', 'Cold Case Files', another 'Cold Case Files', and 'The First 48'.
AMC offers the movie 'A Bridge Too Far', followed by the movie 'Tora! Tora! Tora!', then the movie 'The Enemy Below'.
BBC -
[2:00 pm] Cash in the Attic - Episode 5;
[3:00 pm] Cash in the Attic - Episode 4;
[4:00 pm] Cash in the Attic - Episode 3;
[5:00 pm] Cash in the Attic - Episode 2;
[6:00 pm] Cash in the Attic - Episode 5;
[9:00 pm] The Avengers - A Funny Thing Happened...;
[10:00 pm] The Avengers - Something Nasty in the Nursery;
[11:00 pm] The Saint - The Russian Prisoner;
[12:00 am] The Saint - The House on Dragon's Rock;
[3:00 am] Ed vs Spencer - Ep 8 Who Can Stay Handcuffed The Longest?;
[3:30 am] Ed vs Spencer - Ep 5 Who Can Put On The Most Weight?;
[4:00 am] Creature Comforts - Episode 4;
[4:30 am] Creature Comforts - Episode 5;
[5:00 am] Bromwell High - Ep 5 Fire Drill;
[5:30 am] Bromwell High - Ep 6 Valentine's Day;
[6:00 am] BBC World News. (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Top Chef', followed by the movie 'Back To The Future', then the movie 'Back To The Future', again.
Comedy Central has the movie 'Back To School', followed by the movie 'Coming To America', and 'Pablo Francisco: Ouch!'.
History has 'Snipers: Stop & Kill', 'Trapped Tower', 'Civil War Terror', and 'Sex In The Civil War'.
IFC -
[07:20 AM] November Media Lab Results;
[07:30 AM] Dinner For Five #35;
[08:00 AM] Samurai 7 Episode #11: The Village;
[08:30 AM] Samurai 7 Episode #12: The Truth;
[09:00 AM] Blind Swordsman #7: Zatoichi's Flashing Sword;
[10:25 AM] Digging To China;
[12:05 PM] Below;
[01:55 PM] IFC News Special: The F Word/So Goes the Nation;
[02:05 PM] Samurai 7 Episode #12: The Truth;
[02:35 PM] Blind Swordsman #7: Zatoichi's Flashing Sword;
[04:00 PM] Digging To China;
[05:40 PM] Below;
[07:25 PM] Keep The River On Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale;
[09:00 PM] Greg the Bunny: Wumpus the Monster;
[09:15 PM] Monster;
[11:05 PM] Greg the Bunny: Wumpus the Monster;
[11:20 PM] Proof;
[12:55 AM] Lulu On The Bridge;
[02:40 AM] Greg the Bunny: Wumpus the Monster;
[02:55 AM] Monster;
[04:45 AM] Greg the Bunny: Wumpus the Monster;
[05:00 AM] IFC Short Film Showcase: November. (ALL TIMES EST)
SciFi has the movie 'Rest Stop', followed by the movie 'Dawn Of The Dead' (2004 version).
Sundance -
[06:00 AM] Fahrenheit 451 (1967);
[07:55 AM] Coney Island Baby;
[09:30 AM] IN SHORT: Israel 1;
[10:20 AM] To Be and To Have;
[12:00 PM] Fahrenheit 451 (1967);
[02:00 PM] Iconoclasts 2: Episode 3: Quentin Tarantino + Fiona Apple;
[03:00 PM] The Nominees: Episode 4;
[03:30 PM] The Incredible Shrinking Woman;
[05:00 PM] Crossing Arizona;
[06:30 PM] In This World;
[08:00 PM] Purple Hearts;
[09:30 PM] Six Shooter;
[10:00 PM] Coney Island Baby;
[11:35 PM] A Summer Dress;
[12:00 AM] City of Men - Season 1: Episode 1: The Emperor's Crown;
[12:35 AM] City of Men - Season 1: Episode 2: The Man's Brother-in-Law;
[01:05 AM] City of Men - Season 1: Episode 3: The Mail;
[01:35 AM] City of Men - Season 1: Episode 4: Uolace and Joao Victor;
[02:10 AM] City of Men - Season 2: Episode 1: Saturday;
[02:45 AM] City of Men - Season 2: Episode 2: Two Tickets to Brasilia;
[03:30 AM] City of Men - Season 2: Episode 3: It's Gotta Be Now;
[04:00 AM] City of Men - Season 2: Episode 4: The Ordinaries;
[04:30 AM] City of Men - Season 2: Episode 5: Hot Spot;
[05:15 AM] In This World. (ALL TIMES EST)
From left, actor Pierce Brosnan; his wife, actress Keely Shaye Smith; actress Mary Steenburgen; and her husband, actor Ted Danson, pose at the Oceana Partners Award Gala in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2006. The honorees include Brosnan, Smith, and director James Cameron.
Photo by Dan Steinberg
Tony Bennett left a little of his heart in Hollywood after an emotional 80th birthday bash thrown by movie and music stars spanning three generations - from Paul Newman to Kelly Clarkson.
Other luminaries at the Thursday-night party at the Kodak Theatre included Quincy Jones, Bruce Willis, Stevie Wonder, George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Billy Crystal and Marc Anthony. The bash came a little late; Bennett's birthday was August 3.
Thursday night's celebration was a fund raiser for Newman's Hole in the Wall camps for children with chronic or life-threatening illnesses.
"60 Minutes" will give its late correspondent Ed Bradley a send-off on Sunday with an hour-long tribute that features interviews with close friends and a solo by jazz musician Wynton Marsalis.
Sunday's special includes Steve Kroft's interviews with some of Bradley's closest friends, musician Jimmy Buffett, journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Marsalis. Morley Safer will review the legacy of Bradley's estimated 500 "60 Minutes" stories.
Lesley Stahl will do a profile of Bradley, from his childhood in Philadelphia to his job at "60 Minutes."
Singer Alicia Keys arrives to the KCA (Keep a Child Alive) annual fundraiser, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2006 in New York. KCA is dedicated to providing life-saving anti-retroviral aids medicines to children and families living with HIV/AIDS in Africa and the developing world by buying the needed drugs for a dollar a day.
Photo by Dima Gavrysh
Two fraternity boys want to make lawsuit against "Borat" over their drunken appearance in the hit movie.
The legal action filed Thursday on their behalf claims they were duped into appearing in the spoof documentary "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," in which they made racist and sexist comments on camera.
The young men "engaged in behavior that they otherwise would not have engaged in," the lawsuit says.
The plaintiffs were not named in the lawsuit "to protect themselves from any additional and unnecessary embarrassment." They were identified in the movie as fraternity members from a South Carolina university, and appeared drunk as they made insulting comments about women and minorities to Cohen's character.
A painting by Colombian artist Fernando Botero, which features embellishments by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, drew 350,000 dollars at an auction to benefit the families of injured and slain soldiers, organizers said.
Botero is famous for his rotund figures in sculpture and painting. The oil painting, titled "Fiesta Nacional de un Pueblo", was bought by a Colombian living in New York who bid 100,000 dollars over the 250,000-dollar asking price.
The work was one of 32 paintings by Colombian artists that were embellished by luminaries in the worlds of business, academia, journalism and politics, who added their own brushstrokes to the canvases.
Czech writer Milan Kundera's most famous novel "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" has become a best seller in his homeland after a 20-year wait for its general release in his native language.
The shelves of many large book stores in the city have been cleared of Kundera's masterpiece within three weeks of its Czech release. Luxor has dispatched a letter to the publisher, Atlantis, warning of "the anger of its clients" faced with the insufficient number of copies.
The reason for the delayed literary stampede is simple: before the Atlantis edition, Czechs had very restricted access to a book which, in spite of its international success, had never been printed in their country.
Music producer Quincy Jones poses with actor Paul Newman as they arrive at Singers and Songs Celebrate Tony Bennett's 80th, Thursday night, Nov. 9, 2006, in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles.
Photo by Mark J. Terrill
Think rock, paper, scissors is a children's game? Think again. Top players from around the globe will gather in Toronto this weekend to compete for a C$10,000 (4,636 pounds) prize and the title of world champion.
More than 500 contestants, including national champions from Australia, Norway and New Zealand, are expected to attend.
The Paper Scissors Stone Club was founded in England in 1842 and provided an environment free from the long arm of the law where enthusiasts could come together and play for honour, according to the World RPS (Rock Paper Scissors) Society Web page.
Guns N' Roses canceled a performance in Portland, Maine this week after being told by state officials that the band could not drink on stage.
Inspectors from the state fire marshal's office gave the band the no-drinking order when they came to look over the pyrotechnics planned for Monday's scheduled concert at the Cumberland County Civic Center, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Public Safety Department.
McCausland said the band had wanted to drink beer, wine and Jagermeister while performing. A couple of hours after being told that would violate state law, Guns N' Roses canceled its concert, he said.
Actress Annette Bening is joined by her husband Warren Beatty after receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, November 10, 2006.
Photo by Chris Pizzello
Police said Friday that Denise Richards won't face charges for throwing two laptop computers over a balcony in a tussle with paparazzi in western Canada.
The actress was accused of hurling two laptops from a balcony at the River Rock Casino and Hotel on Wednesday, hitting two elderly women below.
The 90-and 81-year-old women were sitting in the lobby when the computers hit them on their arms, causing minor injuries.
After days of speculation, NBC has ordered a full season's worth of episodes for "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," the critically praised drama whose poor ratings placed it on the brink of cancellation.
Sources said NBC will pay the show's producer, Warner Bros. Television, a lower license fee for the nine additional episodes than they negotiated for the initial 13 episodes, which was said to be in the range of $2.5 million-$3 million per episode.
"Studio 60" has the highest concentration of viewers with a household income of more than $75,000 of any show on television. The series co-stars Sarah Paulson, D.L. Hughley, Steven Weber, Nathan Corddry and Timothy Busfield.
Comedienne Sarah Silverman arrives for the premiere of the movie 'Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny,' Thursday, Nov. 9, 2006, in Los Angeles.
Photo by Danny Moloshok
A Spanish-language TV network apologized to President Vicente Fox Thursday after airing offhand comments made by Fox about his pending departure from office before the formal start of an interview.
"Telemundo understands that the broadcast of these comments could be construed as inappropriate and may have been taken out of context," the Florida-based network said in a written statement. "Telemundo regrets any offense that the airing of these comments may have caused in Mexico."
Telemundo obtained an interview with Fox, conducted on Oct. 31, from the Spanish news agency EFE and broadcast the offhand comments the next day in a segment called "In Context" that airs from Los Angeles. Since then, it has shown up on Internet sites including the popular YouTube.com.
"Now I speak freely. ... I can say whatever nonsense. ... It doesn't matter now. ... Now it's the end, I'm leaving," Fox said during pleasantries exchanged with an EFE reporter before an interview that dealt with ongoing conflicts in Mexico's southern state of Oaxaca.
Unknown vandals have desecrated the grave of dissident Russian poet Boris Pasternak whose novel "Doctor Zhivago" won him the Nobel Prize for Literature, Russian television channels said on Friday.
The modest tombstone, at a cemetery in the famed writers' retreat of Peredelkino outside Moscow, was covered with soot after vandals put wreathes around it and set them on fire last night, said TV reports, featuring the monument.
Pasternak's daughter-in-law Natalya told NTV channel she feared the fragile white-limestone monument with Pasternak's bas-relief and his signature could be lost forever.
Actor Jerry Stiller, left, and his wife Anne Meara, right, arrive for the premiere of the movie 'Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny,' Thursday, Nov. 9, 2006, in Los Angeles.
Photo by Danny Moloshok
A Florida voter may have unwittingly lost hundreds of thousands of dollars by using an extremely rare stamp to mail an absentee ballot in Tuesday's congressional election, a government official said on Friday.
The 1918 Inverted Jenny stamp, which takes its name from an image of a biplane accidentally printed upside-down, turned up on Tuesday night in Fort Lauderdale, where election officials were inspecting ballots from parts of south Florida, Broward County Commissioner John Rodstrom told Reuters.
Only 100 of the stamps have ever been found, making them one of the top prizes of all philately.
Rodstrom said he did not examine the envelope's postmark, but it had no return address and the ballot was disqualified because it gave no clue as to the identity of the voter.
Maiko, or apprentice geiko, perform during the Gion Odori appearance, hosted by Gion Higashi Kabukai, in the ancient capital of Kyoto in western Japan November 10, 2006. Geiko, professional female entertainers who perform Japanese traditional dance at banquets, is the local term for a geisha used in the Kyoto districts.
Photo by Issei Kato
Jack Palance, the craggy-faced menace in "Shane," "Sudden Fear" and other films who turned successfully to comedy in his 70s with his Oscar-winning self-parody in "City Slickers," died Friday. He was 87.
His film debut came in 1950, playing a murderer named Blackie in "Panic in the Streets."
After a war picture, "Halls of Montezuma," he portrayed the ardent lover who stalks the terrified Joan Crawford in 1952's "Sudden Fear." The role earned him his first Academy Award nomination for supporting actor.
The following year brought his second nomination when he portrayed Jack Wilson, the swaggering gunslinger who bullies peace-loving Alan Ladd into a barroom duel in the Western classic "Shane."
That role cemented Palance's reputation as Hollywood's favorite menace, and he went on to appear in such films as "Arrowhead" (as a renegade Apache), "Man in the Attic" (as Jack the Ripper), "Sign of the Pagan" (as Attila the Hun) and "The Silver Chalice" (as a fictional challenger to Jesus).
Weary of being typecast, Palance moved with his wife and three young children to Lausanne, Switzerland, at the height of his career.
He spent six years abroad but returned home complaining that his European film roles were "the same kind of roles I left Hollywood because of."
Forty-one years after his auspicious film debut, Palance played against type, to a degree. His "City Slickers" character, Curly, was still a menacing figure to dude ranch visitors Crystal, Daniel Stern and Bruno Kirby, but with a comic twist. And Palance delivered his one-liners with surgeon-like precision.
A strapping 6-feet-4 and 210 pounds, Palance excelled at sports and won a football scholarship to the University of North Carolina. He left after two years, disgusted by commercialization of the sport.
He decided to use his size and strength as a prizefighter, but after two hapless years that resulted in little more than a broken nose that would serve him well as a screen villain, he joined the Army Air Corps in 1942.
A year later he was discharged after his B-24 lost power on takeoff and he was knocked unconscious.
The GI Bill of Rights provided Palance's tuition at Stanford University, where he studied journalism. But the drama club lured him, and he appeared in 10 comedies. Just before graduation he left school to try acting professionally in New York.
Born Walter Jack Palahnuik in Pennsylvania coal country on Feb. 18, 1919, Palance was the third of five children of Ukrainian immigrants. His father worked the mines for 39 years until he died of black lung disease in 1955.
Gerald Levert, the fiery singer of passionate R&B love songs and the son of O'Jays singer Eddie Levert, died on Friday. He was 40. His label, Atlantic Records, confirmed that Levert died at his home in Cleveland, Ohio.
Levert first gained fame in 1986 as a member of the R&B trio LeVert, which also included his brother, Sean, and childhood friend Marc Gordon. They quickly racked up hits like "(Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop) Goes My Mind," "Casanova," and "Baby I'm Ready."
But Gerald Levert's voice - powerful and soulful, almost a carbon copy of his father's - was always the focal point, and in 1991, he made his solo debut with the album "Private Line," which included a hit duet with his dad, "Baby Hold on to Me." His father also recorded the successful album "Father & Son."
Though Levert was successful as a solo singer, in 1997 he got into group mode again - joining with R&B singers Johnny Gill and Keith Sweat for the supergroup of LSG. The self-titled album sold more than two million copies, and their hits included the sensual "My Body." Levert also worked with other artists as a songwriter and producer.
A girl looks out from a sculptural creation by the artist Igor Mitorac of Poland in a square in Vigo, northwest Spain, November 10, 2006.
Photo by Miguel Vidal
You have reached the Home page of BartCop Entertainment.
Make yourself home, take your shoes off...
Go ahead, scratch it if it itches.
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amused or entertained?
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How about a favorite TV show, movie, book, play, cartoon, or legal amusement?
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