At 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, Broadway will dim its lights in honor of stage and screen legend Sidney Poitier.
The legendary actor and activist, who died at 94 on January 6, made his debut on the Great White Way 75 years ago in an all-Black revival of Lysistrata, and went on to earn a Best Actor Tony nomination for creating the role of Walter Lee Younger in Lorraine Hansberry‘s groundbreaking drama A Raisin in the Sun.
After becoming the first Black actor to win a Best Actor Academy Award, for 1963’s Lilies of the Field, Poitier returned to the stage as a director, with Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights.
Charlotte St. Martin, president of The Broadway League noted in the announcement, “Although Sidney Poitier’s brilliance shone on Broadway stages as a performer and director in just a small number of productions, his presence on Broadway was both titanic and influential.”
Calling him a “true icon and an inspiration to so very many,” St. Martin said, “I know that Broadway fans worldwide recognize the incredible impact Mr. Poitier had on our art form.”
Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Gaspard Ulliel, an award-winning French actor who starred in the acclaimed film A Very Long Engagement and the prequel Hannibal Rising, has died after a skiing accident, reports The Guardian.
The actor, who will appear in the upcoming Disney+ Marvel show Moon Knight was 37.
Quoting French media outlet France Bleu, the Guardian noted Ulliel collided with another skier in the Alps, but later died of head trauma after being airlifted to a hospital.
The actor was a favorite among voters for the Cesar, the French film equivalent of the Oscars, first winning a Promising Young Actor trophy for his role in 2004’s A Very Long Engagement, and later its Best Actor prize for the 2016 Xavier Dolan film It’s Only the End of the World.
Ulliel’s passing was mourned on Twitter by France’s Prime Minister Jean Castex, who said the actor, “grew up with cinema and cinema grew with him.”
Ulliel, who will appear as Midnight Man opposite Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke in Moon Knight, leaves behind a 6-year-old son Orso with his model and singer girlfriend Gaëlle Piétri.
NBC has canceled the Ellen Degeneres game show Ellen’s Game of Games after four seasons, coinciding with the conclusion of DeGeneres’ long-running daytime talk show, Ellen, set to end in the spring after 19 seasons, according to Deadline. DeGeneres served as host and executive producer of Ellen’s Game of Games, which includes supersized versions of the most popular games from the talk show…
Paramount+ has set March 3 for Star Trek: Picard‘s highly anticipated second season, the streamer announced on Tuesday. New episodes of the Patrick Stewart-led series will air weekly after that. Picard was renewed for a third season in September. Star Trek: Discovery and the upcoming Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, have also picked up early renewals. Discovery, which kicks off the second half of season four February 10, has been picked up for a fifth installment, while Strange New Worlds, premiering May 5, scored a season two pickup ahead of its launch…
Entertainment Tonight reports F. Murray Abraham, Adam DiMarco, Tom Hollander and Haley Lu Richardson have been added to the cast of HBO’s The White Lotus, joining Aubrey Plaza, Michael Imperioli and season one star Jennifer Coolidge, who’s also rumored to be returning, though HBO hasn’t officially confirmed it. The second installment, which is the follow-up to Mike White’s breakout social satire limited series, will leave Hawaii behind for a new White Lotus property, rumored to be Italy. Abraham will play Bert Di Grasso, an elderly man traveling with his son and grandson; DiMarco will play his grandson; Albie Di Grasso; Hollander will play an English expat named Quentin, who is vacationing with his friends and his nephew; and Richardson will appear as Portia, a young woman traveling with her boss, according to ET…
Willem Dafoe is set to make his Saturday Night Live hosting debut on January 29, the late-night comedy series announced on Tuesday. It will be the multiple Oscar nominee’s first time on SNL‘s stage at Studio 8H.
Dafoe will be joined by musical guest Katy Perry, who will be making her fourth appearance on the show.
The actor can currently be seen in theaters reprising his role as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in the blockbuster Spider-Man: No Way Home, and alongside Bradley Cooper in the film Nightmare Alley.
Former SNL cast member-turned MacGruber star Will Forte is set as host for January 22’s show, alongside musical guests Måneskin.
Bob Saget‘s longtime friend, fellow comedian and “Roastmaster General” Jeff Ross is dishing on the beloved comedian and Full House patriarch’s funeral.
To Page Six, Ross emailed details about last weekend’s send-off for Saget, who was found dead in his Florida hotel room on January 9. He was 65.
Calling it the “best funeral ever,” Ross explained of last Friday’s service, “The crowd was star-studded, just the way Bob would have wanted.” Guests reportedly included fellow comedians like Dave Chappelle, Billy Crystal and Jimmy Kimmel. The publication noted that Ross also acted as pallbearer, along with others including Jonathan Silverman, John Mayer, and Saget’s Full House co-stars Dave Coulier and John Stamos, as well as Netflix head Ted Sarandos.
Ross also said, “The next night, we threw him an impromptu rock and roll shiva in the small room above The Comedy Store in Hollywood, where Bob started his career as a teenager.”
An “overwhelmed and so heartbroken” Ross closed by saying, “There will be other tributes, but I wanted the comedy fans to know that although Bob’s giant heart may have stopped while he was alone on the road, he still went out with a giant bang.”
Last week, Ross and Mayer Instagrammed their “rescue” of Saget’s car from a parking lot at Los Angeles International Airport, explaining that doing so was what Bob would have done for anybody. “[I]f you need a doctor, if you need a lawyer, if you need a pastrami sandwich at 3 in the morning because some girl just broke your heart, Bob was that guy,” he noted.
Friends for years with Saget, Ross emceed the Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget, which initially aired in 2008, but which the network recently re-ran in his honor.
It’s been a week of joy and pain for Tiffany Haddish. On Friday, she was arrested for DUI, and on Tuesday, she was nominated for the NAACP Image Awards Entertainer of the Year. This follows breaking up with her boyfriend Common in December. Now, the Emmy and Grammy winner jokes that she will formally assess potential boyfriends like they were applying for a job.
“I’m going to drop applications next week and I’m going to hold my interviews. I’m gonna go through the applications, right? Then I’m gonna hold interviews on Instagram Live,” Haddish tells Entertainment Tonight.
“I’m gonna go live,” she continues. “I’m gonna interview them in front of everybody, you know, let their girlfriends, ex-girlfriends, whatever, say what they gonna say.”
In other news, Shaquille O’Neal is bringing his All Star Comedy Jam to LA to kick off Super Bowl weekend.
“From delivering numerous sold-out tours to being among the first to give a national stage to current comedy legends such as Mike Epps, DeRay Davis and Kevin Hart, All Star Comedy Jam has been a fixture on the comedy scene, dedicated to elevating the brightest up-and-coming comedic voices,” Shaq said in a statement.
Davis will host the show on Thursday, February 10, at the Microsoft Theater in LA. The event also will feature Bill Bellamy, Mo’Nique, Earthquake and Michael Blackson. The next day, O’Neal will host his annual Shaq’s Fun House Super Bowl Party at the Shrine in LA, featuring a performance by Lil Wayne.
Finally, Netflix announced Tuesday that Tyler Perry’s A Madea Homecoming will premiere on February 25. The comedy revolves around Madea’s great-grandson’s college graduation, as hidden secrets and family drama threaten to destroy the happy homecoming.
And while his character Steven Grant suffers from what used to be known as split personality disorder, some on the Internet snarked at one of those personalities — specifically Isaac’s British accent as Grant.
“Oscar Isaac’s accent in the #MoonKnight trailer is literally like ‘ello guvna wot are ya dewin?!” one Twitter user jabbed. Another offered, “Oscar Isaac’s Dick Van Dyke-esque British accent is singlehandedly going to make this immensely watchable, isn’t it?”
That said, Oscar had his defenders, too. “Nah I love it lmao,” said one, offering a possible explanation: “It totally works with how one of his identities, Steven Grant, thinks a British accent sounds.”
“I think, if anything, it’s almost too good,” said another Twitter user. “It’s a legit sounding accent – it just sounds like it couldn’t come out of Oscar Isaac.”
Hear it for yourself when Moon Knight, which also stars another Oscar nominee, Ethan Hawke, playing a cult leader, debuts March 30.
Comedian and actress Iliza Shlesinger is a new mom. The 38-year-old posted to Instagram the good news, along with a shot of her in a hospital bed, chowing down on a huge sandwich the day after the January 13 birth.
She and her husband since 2018, Noah Galuten, named the baby girl Sierra Mae.
“I gave birth late at night (because that’s when I work) and there was no food available at 1:30am,” she noted, joking, “Noah went to a vending machine and came back with chips and cookies, basically prison commissary food. I think he paid for them in cigarettes.”
She added, “I was unaware this photo was being taken but I’m glad it was. Vaginal delivery mothers knows why I’m eating sitting side saddle wearing exclusive Mesh Underwear for SS22.”
Iliza explained she opted to induce labor, which, “came purely from me wanting to have enough time with her and to heal before my February shows.”
She adds, “27 hours of labor, 75 minutes of power pushing…and at 11:27pm on January 13 out came my healthy, strong and beautiful Sierra Mae.”
Iliza blurred the baby’s face in the photo, explaining that, “her face is hers to share, not mine.”
“I became a mother…around minute 60 of pushing when I realized I could feel my body breaking and I didn’t care because I was doing it for her. I had been dreaming of the moment they would pull her out and put her on my chest and I could look at her little face. I got what I came for. That perfect moment.”
She added, “I’m in awe of this experience: mothers who do this without epidurals, single mothers, mothers without support and just what a woman is capable of physically and mentally.”
Jennifer Hudson, Lil Nas X, Megan Thee Stallion, Regina King and Tiffany Haddish were announced Tuesday as the nominees for the NAACP Image Awards Entertainer of the Year.
The Harder They Fall, starring King, received 12 nominations, including Outstanding Motion Picture. In the television category, Insecure was the top nominee with 13.
In music, H.E.R. snagged the most nominations with six. Drake, Chlöe and Jazmine Sullivan also scored multiple nods.
Anthony Anderson will host the 2022 NAACP Image Awards Saturday, February 26 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on BET.
Here’s a partial list of NAACP Image Award nominees:
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Jennifer Hudson
Lil Nas X
Megan Thee Stallion
Regina King
Tiffany Haddish
MOTION PICTURE CATEGORIES
Outstanding Motion Picture Judas and the Black Messiah King Richard Respect The Harder They Fall The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
Denzel Washington – The Tragedy of Macbeth
Jonathan Majors – The Harder They Fall
LaKeith Stanfield – Judas and the Black Messiah
Mahershala Ali – Swan Song
Will Smith – King Richard
Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
Andra Day – The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Halle Berry – Bruised
Jennifer Hudson – Respect
Tessa Thompson – Passing
Zendaya – Malcolm & Marie
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Algee Smith – Judas and the Black Messiah
Daniel Kaluuya – Judas and the Black Messiah
Delroy Lindo – The Harder They Fall
Idris Elba – The Harder They Fall
LaKeith Stanfield – The Harder They Fall
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Aunjanue Ellis – King Richard
Audra McDonald – Respect
Danielle Deadwyler – The Harder They Fall
Dominique Fishback – Judas and the Black Messiah
Regina King – The Harder They Fall
TELEVISION + STREAMING CATEGORIES
Outstanding Comedy Series black-ish Harlem Insecure Run the World The Upshaws
Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson – black-ish
Cedric the Entertainer – The Neighborhood
Don Cheadle – Black Monday
Elisha “EJ” Williams – The Wonder Years
Jay Ellis – Insecure
Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
Issa Rae – Insecure
Loretta Devine – Family Reunion
Regina Hall – Black Monday
Tracee Ellis Ross – black-ish
Yvonne Orji – Insecure
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Andre Braugher – Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Deon Cole – black-ish
Kenan Thompson – Saturday Night Live
Kendrick Sampson – Insecure
Laurence Fishburne – black-ish
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Amanda Seales – Insecure
Jenifer Lewis – black-ish
Marsai Martin – black-ish
Natasha Rothwell – Insecure
Wanda Sykes – The Upshaws
Outstanding Drama Series 9-1-1 All American Godfather of Harlem Pose Queen Sugar
Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
Billy Porter – Pose
Damson Idris – Snowfall
Forest Whitaker – Godfather of Harlem
Kofi Siriboe – Queen Sugar
Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us
Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
Angela Bassett – 9-1-1
Dawn-Lyen Gardner – Queen Sugar
Octavia Spencer – Truth Be Told
Queen Latifah – The Equalizer
Rutina Wesley – Queen Sugar
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Alex R. Hibbert – The Chi
Cliff “Method Man” Smith – Power Book II: Ghost
Daniel Ezra – All American
Giancarlo Esposito – Godfather of Harlem
Joe Morton – Our Kind of People
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Alfre Woodard – SEE
Bianca Lawson – Queen Sugar
Chandra Wilson – Grey’s Anatomy
Mary J. Blige – Power Book II: Ghost
Susan Kelechi Watson – This Is Us
Outstanding Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special Colin in Black & White Genius: Aretha Love Life Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia The Underground Railroad
Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special
Anthony Mackie – Solos
Jaden Michael – Colin in Black & White
Kevin Hart – True Story
Wesley Snipes – True Story
William Jackson Harper – Love Life
Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special
Betty Gabriel – Clickbait
Cynthia Erivo – Genius: Aretha
Danielle Brooks – Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia
Jodie Turner-Smith – Anne Boleyn
Taraji P. Henson – Annie Live!
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special
Courtney B. Vance – Genius: Aretha
Keith David – Black as Night
Tituss Burgess – Annie Live!
Will Catlett – True Story
William Jackson Harper – The Underground Railroad
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special
Anika Noni Rose – Maid
Natasha Rothwell – The White Lotus
Pauletta Washington – Genius: Aretha
Regina Hall – Nine Perfect Strangers
Sheila Atim – The Underground Railroad
RECORDING CATEGORIES
Outstanding New Artist
Cynthia Erivo
Jimmie Allen
Saweetie
Tems
Zoe Wees
Outstanding Male Artist
Anthony Hamilton
Drake
Givēon
J. Cole
Lil Nas X
Outstanding Female Artist
H.E.R.
Ari Lennox
Beyoncé
Chlöe
Jazmine Sullivan
Outstanding Music Video/Visual Album
“Best Friend” – Saweetie feat. Doja Cat
“Essence” – Wizkid feat. Tems
“Fye Fye” – Tobe Nwigwe feat. Fat Nwigwe
“Have Mercy” – Chlöe
“Leave the Door Open” – Silk Sonic
Outstanding Album An Evening with Silk Sonic – Silk Sonic Back of My Mind – H.E.R. Certified Lover Boy – Drake Heaux Tales – Jazmine Sullivan When It’s All Said and Done… Take Time – Givēon
Outstanding Soul/R&B Song
“Damage” – H.E.R.
“Be Alive” – Beyoncé
“Have Mercy” – Chlöe
“Leave the Door Open” – Silk Sonic
“Pick Up Your Feelings” – Jazmine Sullivan
Outstanding Hip Hop/Rap Song
“Best Friend” – Saweetie feat. Doja Cat
“Fye Fye” – Tobe Nwigwe feat. Fat Nwigwe
“Industry Baby” – Lil Nas X feat. Jack Harlow
“My Life” – J. Cole with 21 Savage and Morray
“Way 2 Sexy” – Drake
Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Traditional)
Anthony Hamilton feat. Jennifer Hudson – “Superstar”
Chlöe x Halle – “Georgia on My Mind”
Jazmine Sullivan feat. H.E.R. – “Girl Like Me”
Leela James feat. Anthony Hamilton – “Complicated” (Remix)
Silk Sonic – “Leave the Door Open”
Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Contemporary)
Chris Brown feat. Young Thug, Future, Lil Durk and Latto – “Go Crazy” (Remix)
Doja Cat feat. SZA – “Kiss Me More”
Drake feat. Future & Young Thug – “Way 2 Sexy”
H.E.R. feat. Chris Brown – “Come Through”
Tobe Nwigwe feat. Fat Nwigwe – “Fye Fye”
Tributes poured in for Betty White on what would have been her 100th birthday on Monday, and many fans of the late actress were struck by one in particular.
On White’s official Facebook account, her assistant shared what she said is one of the last photos taken of the Hollywood legend, along with a message about how special White was as a person.
Hello Everyone! It’s Kiersten. Betty’s Assistant. On this special day, I wanted to share this photo of Betty. It was taken on 12/20/21,” she wrote. “I believe it’s one of the last photos of her.”
White died on Dec. 31, 2021 at the age of 99.
“She was radiant and beautiful and as happy as ever,” the post continued. “Thanks to all of you who are doing kind things today and every day to make the world a better place,” she said, following it with a heart emoji.
White was also honored on her birthday by many of her friends in the industry.
A message on Carol Burnett‘s account encouraged fans to tune in to a marathon featuring White’s appearances on her show: “Happy 100th Birthday to the incomparable Betty White. Tune in to our all-day marathon and celebrate the love and laughter she continued to bring to The Carol Burnett Show. We love you, Betty”
Morgan Freeman shared a message the day before White’s birthday that read: “Life is precious, and so are the friends that we meet along the way. Happy Heavenly Birthday tomorrow Betty White! You will always be treasured!”
Many fans also took part in the “Betty White Challenge” in support of animal rescues or shelters on Jan. 17 in her honor. Read more about the challenge here.
