Spielberg, Streisand for Presidential Medal · Spielberg, Streisand for Presidential Medal ......

ARAB TIMES, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

23NEWS/FEATURES

Madonna performs in concert on Nov 16, in Herning. (AFP)

In this June 4, 1995 file photo, HaroldPrince holds his Tony Award for bestdirector in a musical for ‘Show Boat’, atBroadway’s Minskoff Theater in NewYork. Prince, 87, the most decoratedTony Award-winner in history, directs‘Prince of Broadway’, which takesaudiences through his numerousaward-winning productions. The showfeatures a 10-person cast that performsnippets from many of the shows thathave earned Prince a record 21 Tonys,including ‘Cabaret’, ‘Evita’, ‘Phantomof the Opera’, ‘Kiss of the SpiderWoman’ and ‘Sweeney Todd.’ It hasreceived a sold-out reception in Japanand Prince hopes it will soon grace a

Broadway stage. (AP)

Honors

Posthumous honors for Berra, Chisholm

Spielberg, Streisand for Presidential MedalLOS ANGELES, Nov 17, (RTRS):Steven Spielberg, Barbra Streisand,Stephen Sondheim, Gloria Estefan andJames Taylor are among the recipientsof this year’s Presidential Medal ofFreedom, to be presented at the WhiteHouse by President Obama on Nov. 24.

Other recipients include veteransactivist Bonnie Carroll, music produc-er Emilio Estefan, former Rep LeeHamilton, NASA mathematicianKatherine G. Johnson, baseball legendWillie Mays, Sen. Barbara Mikulski(D-Md.), conductor Itzhak Perlmanand former EPA administrator WilliamRuckelshaus. Posthumous honors willgo to Yogi Berra; Shirley Chisholm,the first African American womanelected to Congress; Indian treatyrights activist Billy Frank Jr. andhuman rights leader Minoru Yasui.

The Medal of Freedom is the WhiteHouse’s highest civilian honor.

The list of recipients of each year’sMedal of Freedom usually includes ahandful from entertainment. MerylStreep and Stevie Wonder were amongthe recipients in 2014. Sondheim wasa recipient last year, but could notmake the ceremony, and Obama saidback then that he would receive thehonor at the 2015 event.

The White House’s full descriptionsof the recipients are below:

Yogi Berra (posthumous)Yogi Berra spent over 40 years as a

professional baseball catcher, manag-er, and coach. Widely regarded as oneof the greatest catchers in baseball his-tory — and an all-time Yankee great— Berra was an 18-time All-Star and10-time World Series Champion whowas elected to the Baseball Hall ofFame in 1972. Always quick witted,Berra was famous for his “Yogi-isms,”teaching us all that we can observe alot just by watching. Berra was also alifelong ambassador for inclusion insports.

Bonnie CarrollBonnie Carroll is a life-long public

servant who has devoted her life tocaring for our military and veterans.After her husband, Brigadier GeneralTom Carroll, died in an Army C-12plane crash in 1992, Carroll foundedthe Tragedy Assistance Program forSurvivors (TAPS), which providescomprehensive support to thoseimpacted by the death of their militaryhero, bringing healing comfort andcompassionate care to the living lega-cies of our nation’s service and sacri-fice. Carroll is also a retired Major inthe Air Force Reserve.

Shirley Chisholm (posthumous)Shirley Chisholm made history in

1968 by becoming the first African-American woman elected to Congress,beginning the first of seven terms inthe House of Representatives. In 1969she became one of the founding mem-bers of what would become theCongressional Black Caucus. Not sat-isfied, Chisholm went on to make his-tory yet again, becoming the firstmajor-party African-American female

candidate to make a bid for the USpresidency when she ran for theDemocratic nomination in 1972. Shewas a champion of minority educationand employment opportunitiesthroughout her tenure in Congress.

Emilio EstefanEmilio Estefan is a passionate and

visionary music producer, entrepre-neur, author, and songwriter who haswon nineteen Grammy Awards andinfluenced a generation of artists. Asthe founding member of the MiamiSound Machine, and later through adecades-long career producing andshaping the work of countless stars,Estefan has helped popularize Latinmusic around the world. He hasreceived a Lifetime AchievementAward from the Songwriters Hall ofFame.

Gloria EstefanGloria Estefan is a singer, song-

writer, actor, and entrepreneur whointroduced Latin music to a globalaudience. The Cuban-American leadsinger of the Miami Sound Machinehas had chart topping hits such as“Conga,” “Rhythm is Gonna GetYou,” and “Anything for You.”Estefan has won seven GrammyAwards and is one of the best-sellingmusic artists of all time, having soldmore than 100 million records world-wide. She is an inductee to the LatinSongwriters Hall of Fame and a recip-ient of the Ellis Island Medal ofHonor.

Billy Frank, Jr. (posthumous)Billy Frank, Jr. was a tireless advo-

cate for Indian treaty rights and envi-ronmental stewardship, whoseactivism paved the way for the “Boldtdecision,” which reaffirmed tribal co-management of salmon resources inthe state of Washington. Frank ledeffective “fish-ins,” which were mod-eled after sit-ins of the civil rightsmovement, during the tribal “fishwars” of the 1960s and 1970s. Hismagnetic personality and tirelessadvocacy over more than five decadesmade him a revered figure bothdomestically and abroad. Frank wasthe recipient of many awards, includ-ing the Martin Luther King, Jr.Distinguished Service Award forHumanitarian Achievement.

Lee HamiltonLee Hamilton has been one of the

most influential voices on internation-al relations and American nationalsecurity over the course of his morethan 40 year career. From 1965 to1999, he served Indiana in the UnitedStates House of Representatives,where his chairmanships included theCommittee on Foreign Affairs, thePermanent Select Committee onIntelligence, and the Select Committeeto Investigate Covert ArmsTransactions with Iran. Since retiringfrom Congress, Hamilton has beeninvolved in efforts to address some ofour nation’s most high profile home-land security and foreign policy chal-lenges. He served as Vice Chairman of

the 9/11 Commission and Co-Chairman of the Iraq Study Group.

Katherine G. JohnsonKatherine G. Johnson is a pioneer in

American space history. A NASAmathematician, Johnson’s computa-tions have influenced every majorspace program from Mercury throughthe Shuttle program. Johnson washired as a research mathematician atthe Langley Research Center with theNational Advisory Committee forAeronautics (NACA), the agency thatpreceded NASA, after they openedhiring to African-Americans andwomen. Johnson exhibited exception-al technical leadership and is knownespecially for her calculations of the1961 trajectory for Alan Shepard’sflight (first American in space), the1962 verification of the first flight cal-culation made by an electronic com-puter for John Glenn’s orbit (firstAmerican to orbit the earth), and the1969 Apollo 11 trajectory to the moon.

Willie MaysWillie Mays was a professional

baseball player, spending most of his22 seasons as a center fielder for theNew York and San Francisco Giants.Mays ended his career with 660 homeruns, making him the fifth all-timerecord-holder. Known as “The SayHey Kid,” Mays was inducted into theBaseball Hall of Fame in 1979 andlanded on MLB’s All-Time team. In1951, Mays became one of the firstAfrican-American players in MajorLeague Baseball history and won theRookie of the Year award. Mays alsoserved his country in the United StatesArmy.

Barbara MikulskiBarbara Mikulski is a lifelong pub-

lic servant, who has held elected officesince 1971. She became the longestserving female Senator in 2011, thelongest serving woman in Congress in2012, and the first female Senator tochair the Senate AppropriationsCommittee in 2012. Applying whatshe witnessed in her early career as asocial worker and community activistin Baltimore, Maryland to her time inoffice, Senator Mikulski championedthe Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, andhelped establish the NIH Office ofResearch on Women’s Health toinclude women in federally-fundedhealth research protocols.

Itzhak PerlmanItzhak Perlman is a treasured con-

ductor and sought-after teacher.Among his many achievements arefour Emmy Awards, 16 GrammyAwards, and the 2008 GrammyLifetime Achievement Award. He wasawarded a National Medal of Arts in2000 and a Kennedy Center Honor in2003. A native of Israel, he came to theUnited States at a young age and wasintroduced to Americans broadly whenhe appeared on the Ed Sullivan Showin 1958. Mr. Perlman made hisCarnegie Hall debut in 1963 when hewas 18. In addition to performinginternationally and recording the clas-

sical music for which he is bestknown, Perlman has also played jazz,including an album made with jazzpianist Oscar Peterson.

William RuckelshausWilliam D. Ruckelshaus is a dedi-

cated public servant who has workedtirelessly to protect public health andcombat global challenges like climatechange. As the first and fifthAdministrator of the EnvironmentalProtection Agency, under PresidentsNixon and Reagan, he not only shapedthe guiding principles of the agency,but also worked diligently to bring thepublic into the decision makingprocess.

Stephen SondheimStephen Sondheim is one of the

country’s most influential theater com-posers and lyricists. His work hashelped define American theater withshows such as Company, West SideStory, Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, Sundayin the Park with George, and Into theWoods. Sondheim has received eightGrammy Awards, eight Tony Awards,an Academy Award, and the PulitzerPrize for Drama.

Steven SpielbergSteven Spielberg is an American

film director, producer, philanthropist,and entrepreneur. Spielberg’s filmsinclude blockbusters such as Jaws,Jurassic Park, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, and the Indiana Jonesseries, as well as socially consciousworks Schindler’s List,Saving PrivateRyan, Lincoln, and his newest filmBridge of Spies. A three-timeAcademy Award winner, Spielberg iswidely considered one of the mostinfluential filmmakers in cinematichistory.

Barbra StreisandBarbra Streisand is one of our

Nation’s most gifted talents. Her bodyof work includes extraordinarysinging, acting, directing, producing,songwriting, and she is one of the fewperformers to receive an Emmy,Grammy, Oscar, and a Tony. Her per-formance in 1968’s Funny Girlendeared her to Americans for genera-tions, and she won her first AcademyAward for her role in that film. In1984, she became the first woman towin a Golden Globe for Best Director,which she won for the motion pictureYentl. Streisand is also a recipient offour Peabody Awards, in addition tothe National Medal of Arts andKennedy Center Honors.

James TaylorAs a recording and touring artist,

James Taylor has touched people withhis warm baritone voice and distinctivestyle of guitar-playing for more than 40years, while setting a precedent towhich countless young musicians haveaspired. Over the course of his celebrat-ed songwriting and performing career,Taylor has sold more than 100 millionalbums, earning gold, platinum andmulti-platinum awards for classicsranging from Sweet Baby James in1970 to October Road in 2002.

Variety

LOS ANGELES: Country singers ChrisStapleton and Eric Church kept popsinger Ellie Goulding from the top spoton the weekly U.S. Billboard 200 albumchart on Monday.

Stapleton’s “Traveller” spent its secondconsecutive week at No. 1 with 124,000album units sold in the week ending Nov.12, according to figures from NielsenSoundScan.

Church’s “Mr. Misunderstood” climbedone spot to No. 2 with 65,000 units sold.Both Stapleton and Church saw boosts insales following their appearances andwins at the Country Music Awards earlierthis month. (RTRS)

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark: TheEuropean Broadcasting Union saysAustralia has been invited to submit anentry to next year’s Eurovision SongContest, taking place in Stockholm.

Spokesman Jon Ola Sand says in astatement the glitzy song fest “has thepotential to evolve organically into a trulyglobal event,” adding Australian attendance“is an exciting step in that direction.”

Australia competed in the 60th editionin Vienna in May as a one-off celebrationbecause of its “long tradition of broadcast-ing the show.”

For the 2016 event, Australian broad-caster SBS will not be guaranteed a finalsplace as it was in Vienna. Instead,Australia’s entry will have to earn a spotvia the semifinals.

The popular extravaganza is known forits eclectic lineup of techno beats, lovesongs and pop tunes. (AP)

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KUALALUMPUR: Australian metalcoreband I Killed The Prom Queen has beenreleased from a Malaysian immigrationdetention centre after being held for per-forming without valid permits, one of itsmembers said.

Guitarist Jona Weinhofen said onTwitter the band was freed withoutcharge.

“Freedom,” he tweeted Monday. “A lotof press is stating we were deported. Forthe record we were released with noaction against us.”

He added that the head of Malaysia’sImmigration Department apologised, butsaid the band would not likely be back inMalaysia any time soon.

“Sorry Malaysia but after this horribleexperience I don’t think we will return in

a hurry,” he tweeted. (AFP)❑ ❑ ❑

LONDON: Prince has joined Irish bandU2 and American group the Foo Fightersand other entertainers in cancelling con-certs in France, and elsewhere in Europe,following the carnage at a Paris concertvenue on Friday.

Vienna’s Wiener Konzerthaus,announcing that he would not appear onNov. 24 as planned, said on its website,

“Due to the tragic events in Paris, the tourpromoter has decided to postpone theupcoming European tour until furthernotice.” (RTRS)

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NEW YORK: Singer Jazzmeia Horn haswon the Thelonious Monk Institute JazzCompetition.

Horn won the competition finalsSunday night at Los Angeles’ DolbyTheatre after performing the standards

“Moanin’” and “Detour Ahead.” She’llreceive a $25,000 scholarship and record-ing contract with the Concord MusicGroup.

Originally from Dallas, the 23-year-oldHorn also won the Sarah VaughanInternational Jazz Vocal Competition twoyears ago.

The evening also featured a gala con-cert honoring Quincy Jones, who was pre-sented the Monk Institute’s humanitarianaward by pianist Herbie Hancock. (AP)Stapleton Church

MusicSara seeks change

Get ‘Eagles’ to No. 1: UK fansLOS ANGELES, Nov 17,(Agencies): Fans of the California-based rock band Eagles of DeathMetal, whose Paris show wasturned into a massacre by gunmenwho stormed the concert, havemounted a social media campaignto boost downloads of the band’snewly recorded track “Save aPrayer”.

A Facebook page titled “Eaglesof Death Metal for No. 1” waslaunched over the weekend,according to the site, by a handful

of British-based “regulargig-goers”with no ties tothe band’sorganization,its manage-ment, market-ing or musiclabel.

A compan-ion Twitterpage was alsoestablished.

They urged fans to show solidar-ity by purchasing “Save a Prayer”,a cover version of a 1982 DuranDuran single, from music sites likeAmazon.com and iTunes and byplaying the track on the Spotifymusic streaming website.

Organizers said they were aim-ing to drive the song to the top ofthe British pop singles charts thisweek, and that the track already hadhit No. 1 on Amazon and iTunesrock charts within 24 hours.

“Save a Prayer” is the 10th trackamong 11 songs recorded by theband on its fourth album, “ZipperDown,” which was released inOctober to mostly positive reviews.

“Zipper Down” ranked 6 onAmazon’s US roster of best-sellingrock albums and at No. 3 oniTunes’ equivalent chart onMonday — an impressive showingfor a release that according toNielsen SoundScan had sold a mea-ger 12,000 album downloads andCDs in the United States beforeFriday’s tragedy.

The band, which also goes by theacronym EODM, was on stageFriday night at the Bataclan concerthall in Paris when gunmen openedfire with automatic rifles, killingscores of people in the largest lossof life in the attacks across Paris.

All the musicians escapedunharmed, according to relativesreached by Reuters over the week-end. But at least one member of theband’s entourage, merchandisingmanager Nick Alexander, 36, waskilled, his family said in a statementon Saturday.

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She’s got a new album out withbrand-new music, but SaraBareilles has pulled it all from herpast.

The singer-songwriter of suchhits as “Brave” and “Love Song”has changed gears entirely to writeeclectic music for the Broadway-bound stage musical “Waitress.”

“This is the oldest part of me.This is the part that got suppressedas I was a young singer-songwriterin LA and just barely getting afoothold,” she said.

Bareilles adored musical theatergrowing up but had to shelve hermore quirky songwriting instinctsto become palatable to a main-stream audience.

“When you’re trying to make afirst impression, sometimes it’s niceto simplify and to just help youraudience distill your expression sothey can understand it,” she said.“Now, it’s like the gloves are off.”

The new album — her fourth stu-dio CD, which debuted at No. 10 onBillboard 200 albums chart this week— is just part of a creative period forBareilles, who also has her first bookout and is preparing to dive back intoher new songs to ready them for aspring Broadway debut.

After 14 years in Los Angeles,she moved to New York three yearsago following a “mini-hiatus” here,finding inspiration in a nonstop,exciting city.

“I had a very comfortable life —wonderful friends, cute little housenear the beach. And I just felt kindof uninspired. So, it was time for achange,” she said.

One of those changes came in theform of Tony Award-director DianePaulus, who was creating a musicalfrom the 2007 film “Waitress”about a waitress and pie makertrapped in a small-town diner and aloveless marriage.

“When I was thinking of creatinga musical version of this movie, Ijust had this gut instinct that weneeded a composer who would cap-ture the indie film quality of theoriginal movie. That led me toSara,” said Paulus. “Lucky for allof us in the theater world, she actu-ally wanted to write a musical.”

That’s because Bareilles didcommunity theater and grew up onthe cast albums of “The Sound ofMusic,” “Annie,” “The SecretGarden” and “A Chorus Line.”(“Those are my desert islandrecords,” she said.)

Alexander