Entertainment – Page 69 – The Mississippi Link

Mississippi Blues Trail honors Otis Spann and Little Johnnie Jones

Otis Spann and Little Johnnie Jones were the latest musicians honored with a marker on Mississippi Blues Trail. The marker unveiling was at 547 South Roach Street in Jackson.

Otis Spann and Little Johnnie Jones, two of the acknowledged masters of Chicago blues piano, were cousins who lived in Jackson in the 1930s and ’40s. On the vibrant post-World War II Chicago scene they both played with blues king Muddy Waters and other luminaries and were hailed for their stellar work both as accompanists and as featured recording artists. Spann and his family lived on this block of Roach Street.
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Seller of bootleg DVDs gets 2 years in prison

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A Meridian man has been sentenced to two years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) after pleading guilty to selling pirated DVDs.

Antwun Sharell Jones, 28, of Meridian pleaded guilty and was sentenced by Judge Vernon R. Cotten in Neshoba County Circuit Court. Jones was arrested at a flea market near Philadelphia, Mississippi, after selling a bootleg copy of the movie “The Help” to an undercover investigator from the Attorney General’s Intellectual Property Theft Task Force.
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Teri Shields, Brooke's mom and manager, dead at 79

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Teri Shields raised eyebrows when she allowed her 11-year-old daughter, Brooke, to be cast as a prostitute in 1978’s “Pretty Baby.” A few years later, she permitted a teenage Brooke Shields to famously star in a series of commercials for Calvin Klein jeans, provocatively professing that nothing comes between “me and my Calvins.”

Teri Shields died earlier this month in New York City, according to Jill Fritzo, a spokeswoman for Brooke Shields. She was 79. The New York Times reported the elder Shields died following a long illness related to dementia. […]

Mississippi Country Music Trail honors Chris Ledoux

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Country music star Chris Ledoux was recently honored with a marker on the Mississippi Country Music Trail. The marker unveiling took place at the at the Biloxi Town Green at 710 Beach Blvd., in Biloxi.

Born on Oct. 2, 1948, in Biloxi, Chris Lee LeDoux was the son of an Air Force major stationed at Keesler Air Force Base. Young Chris lived in Biloxi for the first year and a half of his life and for another year at the age of 12, which yielded the boyhood memories of fishing holes and black-eyed peas reflected in his song, “Born in Mississippi.” […]

Spielberg to speak at 'Gettysburg Address' event

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Director Steven Spielberg will deliver the keynote address at an observance commemorating the 149th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address.”

Park officials in central Pennsylvania noted that Spielberg’s remarks will come days after the release of his film “Lincoln,” which stars Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role. […]

Winfrey, Huffington launch new HuffPost section

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Two of the most powerful women in U.S. media – Oprah Winfrey and Arianna Huffing ton – are joining forces.

On Nov. 1, the two launched “HuffPost OWN,” a new section on the Huffington Post website that will feature material from the Oprah Winfrey Network and Oprah.com. The new online destination will focus on lifestyle advice and personal inspiration. […]

Call for protest ignored as Bahamas honors Poitier

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A bridge in the Bahamas was renamed Friday to honor Oscar-winning actor Sidney Poitier, with no sign of any protests called for by an opposition politician.

Hundreds of spectators cheered as Poitier and Prime Minister Perry Christie arrived for the rechristening of the Paradise Island Bridge as part of the 40th anniversary celebration of Bahamian Independence. […]

Meridian area rail history available in new book

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Without railroads Meridian wouldn’t have a history, and these two men, and many more like them over the years, might have found themselves in completely different lines of work.

One of those is Charles “Skeeter” Lang, who turned 92 years old earlier this month. […]

Foxx, Wonder among stars honoring Eddie Murphy

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However riotous the Eddie Murphy stories from Arsenio Hall, Tracy Morgan, Adam Sandler and Russell Brand, the highlight of Spike TV’s tribute to Eddie Murphy was the comedian’s duet with Stevie Wonder.

Murphy joined the subject of one of his most classic impressions for a rousing rendition of Wonder’s 1973 hit “Higher Ground” during the taping of the Spike TV special “Eddie Murphy: One Night Only,” which is set to air Nov. 14. The Roots served as the house band. […]

Hudson, Spears, LL Cool J honor Whitney Houston

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Jennifer Hudson embodied the look of one of her idols, Whitney Houston, during a tribute to the late singer put on by Grammy organizers.

Rocking a pompadour and glittery jacket reminiscent of Houston’s stage costumes from the 1980s, Hudson belted out a medley of Houston’s hits at the Nokia Theatre for “We Will Always Love You: A Grammy Salute to Whitney Houston,” which will air as a TV special tomorrow, Nov. 13.
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