Eddie Murphy to be inducted into NAACP Hall of Fame
FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2020, file photo, Eddie Murphy accepts the lifetime achievement award at the 25th annual Critics' Choice Awards in Santa Monica, Calif. Murphy will be inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame this month. The NAACP announced Thursday, March 11, 2021, that Murphy will be inducted during the March 27 ceremony, which will air on CBS. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)LOS ANGELES – Eddie Murphy will be inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame this month. The NAACP announced Thursday that Murphy will be inducted during the March 27 ceremony, which will air on CBS. The NAACP Image Awards honoring entertainers and writers of color will also simulcast on BET, MTV, VH1, MTV2, BET HER and LOGO.
New this week: 'Coming 2 America,' Camilo and a dragon movie
(ABC/Paramount+/Amazon via AP)Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week. MOVIES— Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall are back in Queens as Prince Akeem and Semmi in “Coming 2 America,” the sequel to the 1988 film, which is now coming straight to your living room Friday on Amazon Prime Video. Set to becoming the King of Zamunda, Murphy’s character returns to the U.S. to find a son he’s never met. Ad— A more family friendly streaming option this week is the Walt Disney Co.’s computer animated “Raya and the Last Dragon,” featuring the voices of “Star Wars’” Kelly Marie Tran as Raya and Awkwafina as a dragon. The big-voiced Grammy-winning singer self-produced “Baby, I’m Hollywood!” – which is a mix of soul music, piano ballads and funk sounds.
Ray Charles’ musical legacy has roots in Jacksonville area
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Singer-songwriter Ray Charles may have had Georgia on his mind, but North Florida is where his path to fame and fortune began. AdRecreation of Ray Charles' childhood home, now a museum. AdGALLERY: Ray Charles performing throughout the yearsErik Avanier: “As someone who grew up with him, how proud are you of Ray Charles? Ray Charles died in 2004 and left behind a legacy of music, but also financial resources that helped to form the Ray Charles Foundation, which is based in Los Angeles. Ray Charles said: “The inability to hear is a handicap; not the inability to see.” The vision of The Ray Charles Foundation is to instill in the youth of America that “there is no challenge too great one cannot overcome.”There is also the Ray Charles Library in Los Angeles that is a two-story building that Charles built.
Little known moments in Black history in Jacksonville
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In honor of Black History Month, News4Jax is sharing local places and people in the history of our community. Charles attended school at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine from 1937 to 1945. Before becoming an Olympian and NFL star Jacksonville Native “Bullet” Bob Hayes went to Matthew Gilbert High School where he played football and ran track. Now, every year, the top high school athletes from around the country compete for the top prize. On March 20th, the 56th Annual Bob Hayes Invitational Track and Field Meet will be held at Raines High School.
Charley Pride overcame racial barriers as country music star
And he did it by winning over millions of country music fans. Until the early 1990s, when Cleve Francis came along, Pride was the only Black country singer signed to a major label. “Then it was ‘first Negro country singer;’ then ‘first Black country singer.’ Now I’m the `first African-American country singer.′ That’s about the only thing that’s changed. Throughout his career, he sang positive songs instead of sad ones often associated with country music. Even a country singer,” said country singer Rissi Palmer on Twitter.
Artist brings authenticity to Rattler sculpture at FAMU
The 8-foot-tall coiled rattler sculpture was delivered to the front of the new $40 million, three story, 73,000 square foot Center for Access and Student Success in the middle of FAMU’s campus on Wahnish Way. Cooley, 50, is owner of Bronze by Cooley in Lamont, Florida, about 30 miles east of Tallahassee, in Jefferson County. In January 2019, Cooley Jr.’s bronze sculpture of Aurelío Angel Casañas, a Cuban immigrant and part-time musician, was unveiled at Casañas Village in Frenchtown. They were familiar with his work and FAMU commissioned the project, which the university said cost about $112,000. RATTLER PRIDECooley is immensely proud of his first work to grace the campus of FAMU.
Carol Burnett puts variety, and music, back in her show
FILE - Carol Burnett arrives at the 76th annual Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 6, 2019, in Beverly Hills, Calif.. Sixty-five episodes of The Carol Burnett Show have been restored and expanded and are streaming for the first time on services including Hulu and Tubi. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)LOS ANGELES – Carol Burnett is so glad we had this time together, as she sang in her signature song. And of course in television the “v” of vaudeville became the “v” of variety show," Burnett told The Associated Press this week. One restored episode from the show’s first season ends with Burnett, Lawrence, comic Phyllis Diller and dancer Gwen Verdon wearing psychedelic “Sgt. “It’s just me and Vicki now,” Burnett said with a sigh.
Toots Hibbert, beloved reggae star, dead at 77
FILE - In this May 3, 2018 file photo, Toots Hibbert of Toots and the Maytals performs at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans. Hibbert, frontman of Toots & the Maytals, had been in a medically-induced coma at a hospital in Kingston since earlier this month. Grammy nominations for Hibbert included best reggae album of 2012 for “Reggae Got Soul” and best reggae album of 2007 for “Light Your Light.” Hibbert was ranked No. Married to his wife, Doreen, for nearly 40 years, Hibbert had eight children, including the reggae performers Junior Hibbert and Leba Hibbert. Frederick Nathaniel Hibbert ("Toots" was a childhood nickname) was born in May Pen, Parish of Clarendon.