R Kelly just got ahead on his child support issues. Over $41,000 was reportedly paid to the embattled singer/songwriter’s ex wife Andréa Kelly to get him two months ahead. Kelly was previously jailed for back child support, and, according to Kelly’s spokespeople, it took fans to get him out when they collected money for the singer. This gives Kelly a three month head start, in total, to get his other legal issues focused on. R Kelly is facing criminal sexual abuse charges in Illinois, including childhood sexual abuse.
Wendy Williams is living her best life! She’s dating again and says she’s a single woman and the parade of men will continue. Even though her son Kevin, Jr. is her priority and she’ll always make sure their family, The Queen Of All Media stated she enjoys being on her own. Meanwhile, her estranged husband Kevin Sr. is reportedly straightening out his new born baby duties by his alleged side-chick.
There’s controversy with The Bobby DeBarge TV movie that’s coming to TV One. Producers apparently only went to Bobby DeBarge’s wife. Reportedly she was only paid her twenty grand ($20,000) to do this movie. El and I talked about this situation and this movie is not sanctioned by us….I mean the family (smile). Anytime Bobby DeBarge looks more like Little Richard…Houston, we have a problem! The Bobby DeBarge Story premieres on TV One Saturday, June 29th.
Actress/Model/Singer/Songwriter Peggy Lipton was remembered by her daughters and ex-husband Quincy Jones with loving social media tributes. Lipton was the It Girl of the 1960’s after her successful modeling career launched her into superstardom. TV Legends and Producing Partners Danny Thomas and Aaron Spelling cast Lipton alongside Clarence Williams, III and Michael Cole in The Mod Squad, a counterculture police drama focused on young people in society. The drama was an instant hit and ran from 1968 to 1973 on ABC. Lipton won four Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe Award. Lipton also released three singles as a solo singer in 1968. From 1974 to 1990, she was married to Super Producer Quincy Jones and stepped away from acting to raise their two daughters, Actresses Kidada and Rashida. Lipton did find time as a session background vocalist and a songwriter on Quincy Jones productions for The Brothers Johnson, Patti Austin, James Ingram, Rufus & Chaka Khan and Frank Sinatra. Lipton made an acting comeback beginning in 1979 with The Return Of The Mod Squad, followed by 1989’s acclaimed drama Twin Peaks, Wings, Popular, Alias and Claws. Peggy Lipton died after a battle with cancer and was 72 years old.
Actress and Singer Doris Day has died. She was known as America’s Sweetheart and was one of the pioneers of the rom-com (romantic comedy) in movies. Day began her career as a dancer, but an injury to her leg after a car accident ended that phase of entertaining. She moved on to singing including with Bandleader Les Brown followed by a solo career. Her hits included Confess, Move Over Darling, Secret Love, Sentimental Journey and the Oscar winning international smash Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be). Her hit movies included comedies That Touch Of Mink, Move Over Darling, The Thrill Of It All, and with leading man and life-long friend Rock Hudson Send Me No Flowers, Lover Come Back and Pillow Talk. Day also did the thrillers Midnight Lace and Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much. Despite her public persona, Day had a turbulent life with four marriages including physical abuse from one husband and another husband who ran through her $20 million fortune forcing her to work in TV to recover. Day’s dad, William Joseph Kappelhoff, had an interracial marriage to a black woman, Luwenia Williams Bennett, which lasted one year when he felt he was being taking advantage of, and that Day reportedly wouldn’t publicly support. Day’s only son Terry Melcher, a music producer known for successes with The Beach Boys, preceded her in death by 15 years from cancer. No funeral, memorial or grave will happen per Day’s instructions. Doris Day was 97 years old.
Writer/Actor/Comedian Tim Conway has passed away. The legendary performer’s career stretches back to the 1950’s when Dick Van Dyke Show Co-star Rose Marie recommended Conway to be a regular on The Steve Allen Show. Several more opportunities led to a co-starring role in the popular 1960’s sitcom McHale’s Navy with Ernest Borgnine and Joe Flynn. After several short lived series of his own and appearances on the variety shows The Flip Wilson Show, Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In and The New Bill Cosby Show, Conway’s biggest success came as a regular on The Carol Burnett Show. Conway appeared on all 11 seasons, but only became a regular cast member after the eighth season. Conway was most noted for improvising and breaking up his co-stars on stage, particularly his good friend Harvey Korman. Conway also had success on the big screen teaming up with fellow legend Don Knotts in the 1975 box office hit Disney film The Apple Dumpling Gang with Bill Bixby and Susan Clark. Knotts and Conway made three more features together. In 2002, The Carol Burnett Show did a highly rated reunion show and the entire cast, with Conway included, enjoyed a resurgence of popularity. Conway’s second wife and his daughter battled out in court over the comedian’s care after his diagnosis of dementia. Tim Conway, a six-time Emmy winner, died at age 85.
A member of The Mighty, Mighty Dells has passed away. Chuck Barksdale was an original member of the Chicago born group on which Screenwriters Robert Townsend and Keenen Ivory Wayans based the movie The Five Heartbeats. The Dells enjoyed the hits Oh, What A Night; There Is; Give Your Baby A Standing Ovation; Always Together; The Love We Had Stays On My Mind; Love Is Blue/I Can Sing A Rainbow and Stay In My Corner. The Dells also cut their 40th anniversary album, I Salute You, with Gamble & Huff on Philadelphia International Records. Barksdale and the late lead Singer Marvin Junior suffered health issues forcing them into retirement and ending the group’s near 60-year run as a touring act. When The Dells took an earlier hiatus, Barksdale briefly joined Harvey Fuqua & The Moonglows featuring a young Marvin Gaye. Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Member Chuck Barksdale was 84-years old.
At the movies this week, Halle Berry teams up with Lawrence Fishburne and Keanu Reeves in the film John Wick: Chapter 3-Parabellum. Berry will play Sofia a professional hitwoman who teams up with John Wick (Reeves). Wick has a $14 million bounty on his head after he kills a member of an international assassin ring. Berry holds her own with Reeves in this action thriller so strongly that producers are eyeing a spin-off for her. Berry recently revealed 25 years ago she had the chance to work with Reeves, but she turned down Speed. The part went to Sandra Bullock. Berry says in her defense the original script said the bus never left the parking lot. John Wick: Chapter 3-Parabellum hits theaters this Friday.
Steve Harvey does not let grass grow under his feet despite a shake up with two of his gigs. The comedian will be keynoting this weekend’s business success conference: The Vault Conference, which is being billed as a learning hub for entrepreneurs, leaders and corporate visionaries. His daytime talk show is done and his run on NBC’s primetime Little Big Shots is over. Ellen DeGeneres produces that show and is bringing in Melissa McCarthy to replace Harvey. What’s going on with WDAS’ morning man that the gigs are going away? No one’s saying yet, but Harvey’s too busy to worry about it anyway. The Vault Conference takes place in Los Angeles this weekend and Harvey’s Celebrity Family Feud returns to ABC 8pm Sunday, June 9th.
Tiger Woods is being sued for wrongful death. His restaurant/bar, The Woods Jupiter, and his girlfriend Erica Herman, the general manager of the establishment, are named in the suit. An employee, Nicholas Immesberger, was a bartender there and died after allegedly drinking at the restaurant after his shift and getting into a fatal accident. Nicolas had more than three times the legal limit and died. Nicholas Immesberger’s family is suing stating the Woods and Herman both knew he was a terrible alcoholic. Lawyers for Immesberger also claim the restaurant was irresponsible in over-serving Nicholas that night and letting him leave. Woods says he feels bad for Nick and his entire family and it was a terrible night and terrible ending.
Tiffany Haddish is hosting a revival of Kids Say The Darndest Things on ABC. She’s also executive producer. Legendary TV Host Art Linkletter hosted the original as part of his show House Party in the golden age of television. Then Bill Cosby revived the show for CBS in 1998. No premiere date for Tiffany Haddish’s revival has been announced yet.
ABC wants American Idol back but also wants the judges to take a pay cut. Published reports say Lionel gets $10 million a season, Katy Perry gets $25 million and Luke Bryan between $12 and $15 million. The network wants a season three, but not at that cost. Could we be looking at new judges?
Whose TV shows got cancelled? Fam (CBS/Tone Bell/Nina Dobrev/Sheryl Lee Ralph), Madame Secretary (CBS/Tea Leoni/Sara Ramirez), Shondaland’s For The People (ABC/Jasmin Savoy Brown/Charles Michael Davis/Rege’-Jean Page), Lethal Weapon (FOX/Damon Wayans, Sr.) and Happy Together (CBS/Damon Wayans, Jr./Amber Stevens West) are among those not returning this fall. Lee Daniels’ Empire will be back on FOX, but next season is the last. Daniels’ drama Star was cancelled all together, but good news for leading lady Queen Latifah. She’s a new mom. Published reports say her partner, former Laker’s Dancer Eboni Nichols, 41, welcomed the newborn last year and the two met on the set of Dancing With The Stars.
Sports Illustrated Coverwoman Tyra Banks is back on the gossip dating conversation. Banks is reportedly dating a much older married man. How much older? He’s dropping his wife of forty years. That’s how much older. Banks is not commenting
Mo’Nique speaks not about Steve Harvey, Oprah, Tyler Perry or Lee Daniels but says black women need to allow your husbands and boyfriends to have sidechicks. The Oscar winning comedienne has long been talked about for having an open marriage.
Lamar Odom a sex addict?! He’s written his memoir, Darkness To Light. The two time NBA-L.A. Lakers champion writes he slept with over 2,000 women, his dad was a heroin addict and his mom died of colon cancer at a young age. Odom paid heavily for drugs and strippers. When his third child died from an accidental drowning, he really got involved in his addictions. Odom, the ex-husband of Khloe Kardashian, says he couldn’t keep the coke out of his nose or his (you know what) in his pants. By the way, he says he cheated on Kardashian throughout their marriage, and he’s still a sex addict. Odom is still standing after 12 seizures, six strokes, a stint on life support, a collapsed lung and a ruptured kidney. Darkness To Light has excerpts in this week’s People magazine and the book will be released May 28th.
Kenan Thompson, currently the longest serving SNL member, is getting his own primetime show as a widowed Dad on NBC. He’ll reportedly do both The Kenan Show and SNL this coming fall
Will the Oscars go with no host again for next year? The producers liked how it worked this year because it cut down on the length of the show. The Academy Awards is currently scheduled for February 2020 on ABC.
Disney is now the majority owner of Hulu.
Common reveals he was molested as a child. Let Love Have The Last Word is the rapper/actor’s new memoir and among other events of his life, he reveals on family trip a relative, who he only identifies as Brandon, violated him. Common says he shared this and more to encourage people to not be afraid to talk about it, to seek healing and to stop the cycle of abuse. The Oscar winner was working on the movie The Tale with Actress Laura Dern, whom he was once reportedly romantically linked to, when the repressed memory came to light. Dern and Common talked about it, and she helped him begin his journey of healing.
Down Under Cover teams up Tiffany Haddish and Chris Hemsworth (Thor from the Avengers). They’re detectives looking for a band of Australian male strippers who are actually a high functioning ring of thieves. Down Under Cover is currently in production. But first up, Haddish plays one of several Hell’s Kitchen wives who keep up the rackets of their husbands after the men are sent to prison in the drama The Kitchen. Co-starring Melissa McCarthy, Elizabeth Moss and Common, The Kitchen opens Friday, August 9th in theaters.
In the 16th Century, the first African Samurai to swing a sword in Japan was Yasuke and Black Panther’s Chadwick Boseman will play him on the big screen in Yasuke. The journey of the first black man to in Japan who arrived as a slave before serving as a samurai under Japanese warlord Oda Nobunaga is set to begin filming. Meanwhile, Boseman is riding high in the latest Marvel/Disney film Avengers: Endgame, which just passed the $2 billion mark in worldwide box office receipts. Next up for Boseman is 21 Bridges. Partially filmed right here in Philly, Boseman is an NYPD detective in hot pursuit of a cop killer. As a result of the chase, Manhattan’s 21 bridges must be shutdown to catch the criminal. 21 Bridges is due out Friday, July 12th.
The Dell Music Center has announced its 2019 line up for the summer. Everything kicks off Thursday, July 11th with the premiere groups of Philly Soul The O’Jays with special guests Russell Thompkins, Jr. & The New Stylistics, The Intruders and Bloodstone and the rest of the lineup:
Thursday, July 18th: Ne-Yo and Tamia
Thursday, August 1st: India.Arie/Raheem DeVaughn/Major
Thursday, August 8th: Anthony Hamilton/Ledisi/Gregory Porter
Thursday, August 15th: Guy featuring Teddy Riley
Saturday, August 17th: Jordan Feliz
Thursday, August 22nd: SWV
Thursday, August 29th: Keith Sweat/Johnny Gill/Stokley
Ain’t Too Proud To Beg is the toast of The Tony Award nominations. Broadway’s highest honor has given 12 nominations to the stage production of one of Motown’s all time legendary groups The Temptations.Ain’t Too Proud To Beg: The Life And Times Of The Temptations is currently running on Broadway and stars Derrick Baskin, Ephraim Sykes, Jeremy Pope, James Harkness and Jawan M. Jackson. Baskin as Otis Williams, Pope as Eddie Kendricks and Sykes as David Ruffin are among the 12 nominations. The cast says they’re not doing impressions of the original group, but giving their interpretations in both acting and song. The Tony Awards air on CBS Sunday, June 29th.
Glamour magazine features Gabrielle Union talking disrupting Hollywood, her newborn daughter, her new TV series with Jessica Alba (the Bad Boys spin-off L.A.’s Finest), sharing parenting with husband Dwyane Wade, and at day’s end she’s just Nickie Union from Omaha.
Music Mogul Diddy, a.k.a. Sean Combs, and his children grace the cover of Essence Magazine’s 49th anniversary issue. In dual covers, the 49-year old poses in one with all six of his children and in a second with his three daughters.
Diana Ross is on the cover of Ebony magazine. She’s celebrating her 75th birthday this month and Motown’s 60th anniversary, the legendary music label that started her career.
Rihanna brings out the rainbow flavor for her cover of Harper’s Bazaar. It’s the Beauty Issue and Rih Rih is the perfect person at the perfect time. The Wild Thoughts singer has got the new Fenty make up line on its way. The cover puts the eyeliner and lashes on full display, but on social media, Fenty Beauty will only say stay tuned and wouldn’t name the products. While we wait for Rihanna’s big reveal look for her on May’s Harper’s Bazaar.
New music and a new book are on the way courtesy of the estate of Prince. The Beautiful Ones is a classic Price song and soon to be a book title about his life. The Purple One was working on this memoir at the time of his death three years ago. The Beautiful Ones is set to hit bookshelves October 29th and is being released with the cooperation of the Prince estate. The estate is also rolling out new music in their partnership with Warner Brothers Records. Songs that Prince wrote and produced for other artists he usually recorded himself as well, but he let them stay in the vault so the other artists could have the hit. Now to mark what would have been the legendary singer/songwriter’s 61st birthday on June 7th, the new album, Originals, debuts. This time Prince performs the songs he wrote for The Bangles (Manic Monday), The Family and Sinead O’Connor (Nothing Compares 2 U), The Time (Jungle Love), Kenny Rogers (You’re My Love) and Shelia E. (The Glamorous Life), just to name a few. Originals by Prince will be streamed on Tidal June 7th, released June 21st on all formats followed by a limited edition collectors’ Deluxe CD and Double LP on July 21st.
Made In America 2019 has been announced with Cardi B and Travis Scott headlining. Also on the bill are Freddie Gibbs, Grace Carter, Kodak Black and Anderson .Paak. The festivities take place on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Labor Day Weekend, Saturday, August 31st through Sunday, September 1st. Tickets and information can be found at madeinamericafest.com.
Jill Scott, a.k.a. Jilly From Philly, heads up the WDAS Block Party coming to The Mann. Philly’s own Jazmine Sullivan and Musiq Soulchild, plus Mase and DJ D-Nice are all on the bill at The Mann Center for The Performing Arts, 52nd and Parkside Avenue, on Saturday, June 29th. Tickets are on sale at ticketmaster.com.
Dionne Warwick will release her first album in five years. Produced by her son, Damon Elliot, the album is simply entitled She’s Back. The album consists of remakes and new songs, and Warwick will duet with Kenny Latimore, Musiq Soulchild, and Krayzie Bone from Bone, Thugs & Harmony. She’s Back, will be released May 10th.
Check out who’s coming to town:
Saturday, June 1st – The 2019 Roots Picnic has a new location at The Mann Music Center For The Performing Arts, 52nd and Parkside! Celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Roots album Things Fall Apart with special guests H.E.R., Raphael Saadiq, 21 Savage, City Girls and more. Log onto rootspicnic.com for more information.
Thursday, June 6th – One Nation Under A Groove-George Clinton’s Farewell Tour with Parliament-Funkadelic at the Franklin Music Hall, formerly The Electric Factory, 421 North 7th Street. For more ticket information log onto ticketmaster.com
Saturday, June 29th– Diana Ross in concert at Borgata Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City. Log onto theborgata.com for tickets and information.
Saturday, July 6th– Earth, Wind & Fire in concert at The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City. Log onto ticketmaster.com for tickets and information.
Friday, July 12th and Saturday, July 13th– Lionel Richie in concert at The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City. Log onto ticketmaster.com for tickets and information.
Saturday, July 20th– Mary J. Blige & Nas in concert at The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City. Log onto ticketmaster.com for tickets and information.
If you would like more info please email me at PattyJackson@iHeartMedia.com or check me out with my midday reports at 10:30am, 12:30pm and 2:30pm during the day.