Entertainment
Forest Lawn Memorial Parks presents ‘An Evening of Gospel, Jazz, and Blues’
LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — In its fifth annual Black History Month celebration, Forest Lawn—Hollywood Hills presents An Evening of Gospel, Jazz, and Blues
By Sentinel News Service
In its fifth annual Black History Month celebration, Forest Lawn—Hollywood Hills presents An Evening of Gospel, Jazz, and Blues, a one-night-only evening of music, dance, and spoken word celebrating the broad spectrum of Black history and culture. The spectacular event on February 2, 2019, produced by Mychal Henry of MjDD Production Studio and Life Empowerment Church, includes an impressive lineup of choirs, soloists, musicians, comedians, African dancers, and poets hailing from San Bernardino to Riverside and up and down Los Angeles. The event is free and open to the public and also offers receptions with refreshments.
An Evening of Gospel, Jazz, and Blues celebrates the distinctive sounds of black music and the roots of jazz and blues within gospel music and the Church, as well as the stories the elements of each genre of music tell. Featured performers Janice Freeman of NBC’s The Voice and powerhouse comedian Carl Six Foota Slimm will headline performances of Umoja African dance by Makeda Kumasi; music and vocals by the MjDD Inland Empire Band, GMWA Gospel Choir of the Inland Empire with director Dansby Sturdivant II, Thokoza All Nations African Choir San Bernardino, Valerie Geason, Louis Mosely,Scottie Pierce, Rickey Vivey, Maudie Wilson, and saxophone by Donald Hayes, who is fresh off touring and recording with Robin Thicke; a skit by Jeanie Gaines; spoken word and solo by celebrated vocalist Phalia Louder; emcee Tifani Hanley; and keynote remarks by Reverend Henry Horsely.
An Evening of Gospel, Jazz, and Blues features performances of music and spoken word by some of the most important names in Black culture, including Louie Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Andraé Crouch, George Duke, Earth Wind & Fire, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Mahalia Jackson, Michael Jackson, Prince, Otis Redding, and Maya Angelou. The event continues a five-year tradition of Black History Month celebrations at Forest Lawn, which bring the vitality of Black culture to life through community gathering, sound, and celebration.
“It is an honor to present this fifth-annual commemoration of the rich black culture that surrounds us in Los Angeles and is vital to the American experience,” said Rodolfo Saenz, Forest Lawn’s Senior Vice President, Marketing. “This year’s performances will make for a remarkable event and continue Forest Lawn’s tradition of community celebration.”
“Gospel, jazz, and blues each have their own definition, character, and expression, but they all tell a story particular to the black community,” said event producer Mychal Henry. “It is thrilling to see the music come to life and the diverse sounds of African culture expressed in one event. It is only because of the talented performers who represent the authenticity of the Black community that we are able to do so.”
An Evening of Gospel, Jazz, and Blues takes place on Saturday, February 2, 2019, from 6:30–9:00 PM, inside the Hall of Liberty at Forest Lawn—Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90068. Doors open for a pre-show reception at 6:30 PM. Seating is available on a first come, first served basis and will begin at 6:00 PM. Admission and parking are FREE. Visit www.forestlawn.com for more information.
This article originally appeared in the Los Angeles Sentinel.
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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024
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Entertainment
O.J. Simpson, 76, Dies of Prostate Cancer
Orenthal James (O.J.) Simpson, who rose to fame as a college football player who went on to the NFL and parlayed his talents in acting and sportscasting, succumbed to prostate cancer on April 10, his family announced.
By Post Staff
Orenthal James (O.J.) Simpson, who rose to fame as a college football player who went on to the NFL and parlayed his talents in acting and sportscasting, succumbed to prostate cancer on April 10, his family announced.
Born and raised in San Francisco, the Galileo High School graduate was recruited by the University of Southern California after he was on a winning Junior College All-American team.
At USC, he gained wide acclaim as a running back leading to him becoming the No. 1 pick in the AFL-NFL draft in 1969 and joining the Buffalo Bills, where he had demanded – and received — the largest contract in professional sports history: $650,000 over five years. In 1978, the Bills traded Simpson to his hometown team, the San Francisco 49ers, retiring from the game in 1979.
Simpson’s acting career had begun before his pro football career with small parts in 1960s TV (“Dragnet”) before “Roots” and film (“The Klansman,” “The Towering Inferno,” Capricorn One”).
He was also a commentator for “Monday Night Football,” and “The NFL on NBC,” and in the mid-1970s Simpson’s good looks and amiability made him, according to People magazine, “the first b\Black athlete to become a bona fide lovable media superstar.”
The Hertz rent-a-car commercials raised his recognition factor while raising Hertz’s profit by than 50%, making him critical to the company’s bottom line.
It could be said that even more than his success as a football star, the commercials of his running through airports endeared him to the Black community at a time when it was still unusual for a Black person to represent a national, mainstream company.
He remained on Hertz team into the 1990s while also getting income endorsing Pioneer Chicken, Honey Baked Ham and Calistoga water company products and running O.J. Simpson Enterprises, which owned hotels and restaurants.
He married childhood sweetheart Marguerite Whitley when he was 19 and became the father of three children. Before he divorced in 1979, he met waitress and beauty queen Nicole Brown, who he would marry in 1985. A stormy relationship before, during and after their marriage ended, it would lead to a highway car chase as police sought to arrest Simpson for the murder by stabbing of Brown and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994.
The pursuit, arrest, and trial of Simpson were among the most widely publicized events in American history, Wikipedia reported.
Characterized as the “Trial of the Century,” he was acquitted by a jury in 1995 but found liable in the amount of $33 million in a civil action filed by the victims’ families three years later.
Simpson would be ensnared in the criminal justice system 12 years later when he was arrested after forcing his way into a Las Vegas hotel room to recover sports memorabilia he believed belonged to him.
In 2008, he received a sentence of 33 years and was paroled nine years later in 2017.
When his death was announced, Simpson’s accomplishments and downfalls were acknowledged.
Sports analyst Christine Brennan said: “… Even if you didn’t love football, you knew O.J. because of his ability to transcend sports and of course become the businessman and the pitchman that he was.
“And then the trial, and the civil trial, the civil case he lost, and the fall from grace that was extraordinary and well-deserved, absolutely self-induced, and a man that would never be seen the same again,” she added.
“OJ Simpson played an important role in exposing the racial divisions in America,” attorney Alan Dershowitz, an adviser on Simpson’s legal “dream team” told the Associated Press by telephone. “His trial also exposed police corruption among some officials in the Los Angeles Police Department. He will leave a mixed legacy. Great athlete. Many people think he was guilty. Some think he was innocent.”
“Cookie and I are praying for O.J. Simpson’s children … and his grandchildren following his passing. I know this is a difficult time,” Magic Johnson said on X.
“I feel that the system failed Nicole Brown Simpson and failed battered women everywhere,” attorney Gloria Allred, who once represented Nicole’s family, told ABC News. “I don’t mourn for O.J. Simpson. I do mourn for Nicole Brown Simpson and her family, and they should be remembered.”
Simpson was diagnosed with prostate cancer about a year ago and was undergoing chemotherapy treatment, according to Pro Football Hall of Fame President Jim Porter. He died in his Las Vegas, Nevada, home with his family at his side.
He is survived by four children: Arnelle and Jason from his first marriage and Sydney and Justin from his second marriage. He was predeceased son, Aaren, who drowned in a family swimming pool in 1979.
Sources for this report include Wikipedia, ABC News, Associated Press, and X.
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