Farewell to ‘The Hills,’ With a Wink and a Nod

From the ArtsBeat Blog at the NYT:

"“The Hills” ended on Tuesday with a wink to all the fans and critics who have questioned its semi-scripted nature over the years.

After Kristin Cavallari said goodbye to her former boyfriend, Brody Jenner, on a quiet street, the Hollywood sign gleaming in the distance, the camera pulled back to reveal that Mr. Jenner was standing on a studio backlot, implying that the coming-of-age-in-tinseltown stories were never as real as they appeared."

The end of the Hills; the end of an era (or sideshow.) Here's what I remarked after first watching: "I found myself oddly moved by the finale, the obligatory photo montage, the labored attempt at narrative closure, the confused attempt at being 'self-reflexive' at the end; the genuine pathos of Brody and Kristen's mismatch; the utter absence of Speidi and L.C.

Lena Horne Is Remembered at Funeral Mass

From NYT:

"In the pews were hundreds of mourners, among them Jessye Norman, Leontyne Price, Dionne Warwick, Lauren Bacall, Chita Rivera, Cicely Tyson, Vanessa Williams and Gov. David A. Paterson. Leslie Uggams said that Ms. Horne had been someone to look up to. “When my father reluctantly figured out that I was going to go in show business,” Ms. Uggams recalled outside the church, he said, “I want you to be like Lena.”

The service began with a cello piece by Bach. Later, Audra McDonald performed an arrangement of “This Little Light of Mine” and “Amazing Grace,” and one of four speakers, Representative John Lewis of Georgia, said Ms. Horne had been “a light, and she did shine."

I never had much of an opinion about Lena Horne--a passable supper-club singer, a civil wright stalwart, a beautiful woman, an MGM star that could never really became a star--until I learned, in Billy Strayhorn's biography Lush Life, she was very close to Ellington's legendary collaborator, and I purchased a record of her standards called, unsurprisingly, Stormy Weather--both her signature song and film role. Both gave me a better appreciation for her gifts and her personality.

Stormy Weather was a great film, and she was a giant.

The list of mourners is fantastic--Leontyne Price and Jessye Norman the ones I was most pleased to see.

Olivia's ex working on boat

Olivia's ex working on boat: "Olivia Newton-John's missing former lover working on a tourist boat for last five years in Mexico, locals claim."

Proof that sometimes interesting stories happen to boring celebrities.