DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Los Angeles Works to Build Its Dance Muscles
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Robin Pogrebin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Los Angeles may not be thought of as a dance town, but it has a rich legacy. It was here, in 1915, that the modern dance pioneers Ruth St. Denis and her husband Ted Shawn, established the Denishawn school and company, shaping and showcasing the first generation of American modern dancers, including Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. Lester Horton, one of the first choreographers to insist on a racially integrated company, established the Lester Horton Dance Theater here in 1946, a pioneering stage dedicated to modern dance. But for all the talent Los Angeles has attracted over the years, and its success in founding other performing arts institutions, the city has struggled to establish lasting dance companies able to attract and maintain audiences and patronage. It has also just entered an agreement with the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, a larger theater, to perform there.

Persons: Ruth St, Denis, Ted Shawn, Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Busby Berkeley, Hermes Pan, Jack Cole, George Balanchine, Lester Horton, Benjamin Millepied Organizations: Hollywood, Lester Horton Dance, New York City Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Wallis Annenberg Center, Performing Arts Locations: Angeles, Beverly Hills

Leon Wildes, a prominent immigration lawyer best known for his landmark, yearslong fight in the 1970s to prevent John Lennon from being deported and enable the former Beatle to receive permanent residency in the U.S., has died at age 90. Thanks to Wildes' ingenuity and the shocking twists of politics in the 1970s, Lennon's deportation was delayed and ultimately revoked. His honors included the Edith Lowenstein Memorial Award for excellence in advancing the practice of immigration law and the Elmer Fried Excellence in Teaching Award. He attended Yeshiva College as an undergraduate and became interested in immigration law after working with the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society in the late 1950s. Wildes published articles in the Cardozo Law Review among other journals and wrote a book on the Lennon case, “John Lennon Vs. the USA,” that came out in 2016.

Persons: Leon Wildes, yearslong, John Lennon, Wildes, Englewood , New Jersey Mayor Michael Wildes —, Dad, Michael Wildes, Weinberg, “, ” Leon Wildes, Alan Kahn, Lennon, Yoko Ono, ”, Kahn, Jack Lemmon, Yoko Moto, Ono, Kyoko Chan Cox, John, Yoko, Richard Nixon, Lennon's, Nixon, Sen, Strom Thurmond, Thurmond, John Mitchell, Richard Kleindienst, J, Edgar Hoover, Fred Astaire, Dick Cavett, Saul Bellow, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, “ Leon, ” Lennon, Nixon's, Mitchell, Sean, Norman Mailer, Gloria Swanson, Barack Obama, Mick Jagger, ” Jagger, ” Wildes, Benjamin N, Edith Lowenstein, Elmer Fried, Alice Goldberg Wildes, “ John Lennon Vs, John Lennon ”, Pennyblackmusic.co.uk Organizations: Lenox Hill Hospital, Englewood , New Jersey Mayor, Wildes, New York University School of Law, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Apple Records, Beatles, South Carolina Republican, Naturalization Service, Los, Nixon, Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva College, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Cardozo Law, Beatles Fans Locations: U.S, Manhattan, Englewood , New Jersey, Olyphant, England, New York City, Vietnam, Tokyo, British, London, Los Angeles, New York, Norman, Pennsylvania, Chicago

☆ Michael Jackson documentary: ‘Thriller 40’ focuses on the art, not the artist
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

By sidestepping the philosophical questions about separating the art from the artist, “Thriller 40” can focus steadfastly on the music, and all the other ways Jackson influenced the industry, and less on the man himself. The documentary incorporates a bit of context about The Jackson 5, primarily to make the point that Jackson’s success as a solo artist was by no means a preordained conclusion. His success with 1979’s album “Off the Wall” offered a mere teaser of what was to come – the explosion of hits on his subsequent record “Thriller”in 1982, including the title track, “Bille Jean” and “Beat It.”Michael Jackson's music is explored in the documentary "Thriller 40." “Thriller 40” consciously and effectively brings the focus back to the music and the thrills he delivered as a performer. “Thriller 40” premieres December 2 on Paramount+ and at 8 p.m.

Persons: CNN — Michael Jackson, Nelson George, Jackson, Usher, Mary J, Blige, George, Michael Jackson ”, –, Misty Copeland, “ Bille Jean ”, Michael Jackson's, Robert Hilburn, Fred Astaire, “, John Landis, Jafaar Jackson Organizations: CNN, ”, MTV, Paramount, SHOWTIME, Motown, Los Angeles Times, Jackson, Showtime Locations: London

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Eddie Merrins was known as “The Little Pro” because of his 5-foot-7 stature, certainly not his influence on golf. Merrins died Wednesday in Los Angeles at age 91 after a long illness, according to UCLA, where he coached for 14 years. He played 82 times on the PGA Tour, but never more than 10 tournaments in a year. He was a popular figure when golf came to Los Angeles, either the PGA Tour or USGA championships. “When Dr. Hepler saw me and the club, he started laughing," Merrins wrote.

Persons: Eddie Merrins, Corey Pavin, Fred Astaire, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Merrins, ” Merrins, you’ve, Arnold Palmer, Palmer, Arnold, “, Bel, Duffy Waldorf, Steve Pate, Brandt Jobe, Jerry Pittman, “ Jerry, Robert Hepler, Hepler, ’, ‘, ” Organizations: ANGELES, Bel, Air Country, UCLA, PGA, U.S ., SEC, LSU, Hunting, Air, Bruins, NCAA, PGA Tour Locations: U.S, Los Angeles, Meridian , Mississippi, Long

☆ Domenico Spano Dies at 79; Clothier of Stars Found Fame of His Own
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Alex Williams | More About Alex Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Domenico Spano, a New York custom clothier who outfitted captains of industry and Hollywood stars, and whose own dandyish style made him a highly recognizable peacock on the streets of the city as well as in newspaper fashion pages, died on Oct. 23 in Manhattan. His daughter Elisabeth Spano said he died in a hospital of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Mr. Spano, who went by the nickname Mimmo, was born in the Calabria region of southern Italy. But although he grew up in a country known for its illustrious fashion history, he made his name in New York as a champion of classic American style, as epitomized by the timeless elegance of silver-screen legends like Fred Astaire, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Cary Grant and Gary Cooper. With his own head-turning outfits, rendered in colorful patterns and bold prints and complete with felt fedoras, paisley scarfs, suspenders, bow ties and an ever-present carnation in his lapel, he would become a fixture in street-style columns like The New York Times’s “On the Street,” written and shot by his friend, the photographer and fashion-world institution Bill Cunningham.

Persons: Domenico Spano, Elisabeth Spano, Spano, Fred Astaire, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, fedoras, paisley scarfs, Bill Cunningham Organizations: Hollywood Locations: New York, Manhattan, Calabria, Italy, York

Box office receipts totaled 23.44 billion yuan ($3.2 billion) between June and September, the highest amount for that period in history, according to data from Dengta and Maoyan, China’s two major box office tracking apps. Ticket sales for the traditional high season between June and August soared to a record 20.6 yuan ($2.8 billion), smashing the previous summer peak of 17.8 billion yuan ($2.4 billion) recorded in 2019. “I’ve been a big fan of American and European movies,” Peng said. Powered by womenThat China’s recent box office boom has been driven by women is surprising given the gender imbalance in the country. So far this year, American films accounted for only about 14% of China’s box office, the second largest in the world, according to CNN calculations based on Dengta data.

Persons: Alibaba, ”, Stanley Rosen, Rosen, “, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Barbie ”, “ Oppenheimer, ” Perry Peng, she’s, “ We’ve, “ Barbie, “ I’ve, ” Peng, ” Pency Peng, Perry’s, Xuguang Chen, Chen, Kevin Tran, Tran Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, USC’s, China Institute, Warner Bros, CNN, School of Arts, Peking University, “, Morning, Hollywood Locations: China, Hong Kong, Dengta, United States, Shanghai, WarnerBros .

☆ The Future of Rap Is Female
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Niela Orr | Photographs Adrienne Raquel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +22 min

The Future of Rap Is Female As their male counterparts turn depressive and paranoid, it’s the women who are having all the fun. In the mid-’80s, the dynamics shifted slightly, when UTFO released “Roxanne, Roxanne,” a comical torch song dissing a woman who rejected the men’s advances. Like good sex, raunchy rap is only fun if all parties are completely enthusiastic, and this music provides necessary female perspectives to match what the men make. In Miami one weekend in late July, Rolling Loud, one of the biggest annual hip-hop festivals, made itself into a microcosm of the rap world. There’s a relentless gender pessimism in the air, too — on the street, on dating apps, in the Supreme Court and, of course, in rap music.

Persons: Sackler, Drake, Foley, Yung Miami, Wu, Da, Tupac Shakur, Nicki Minaj, Cardi, Megan Thee, there’s, ”, There’s Latto, Jung Kook, “, Diana ”, Boy’s, Red’s, Munch, Rodney Dangerfield, munch, ” MAIYA, “ We’re, Lil Baby, Flo Milli, —, ” Flo Milli, Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire —, Debbie D, Lisa Lee, Mercedes Ladies, UTFO, Roxanne, Lolita Shanté Gooden, Gooden, ” FLO MILLI, Roxanne Shanté, Clover Hope, M.C, Brian Coleman, Lyte, Ruff Ryders, it’s, Missy Elliott, Lauryn Hill, Kash Doll, SKODI LOLA BROOKE, Lil ’ Kim, “ I’m, I’m, ” That’s, Lolita Gooden, Greta Gerwig’s “ Barbie ”, James Harden, P.J, Tucker, KENTHEMAN “, I’ve, Playboi Carti, Travis Scott, Grace Jones, Benzino, blowin, ignorin ’, Berry hairdo, Grandmaster Flash, It’s, ” —, ” Leray, VETTE, CHANEL, ” Flo, Cartier, “ Lyte, Flo Organizations: YouTube, Girls, City Girls, Public, Down Productions, Wu -, Digital, City, Memphis, Brooklyn Locations: Miami, Wu - Tang, “, Bronx, Mobile , Ala, y’all

☆ Tony Bennett, masterful stylist of American musical standards, dies at 96
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

US singer Tony Bennett (Anthony Dominick Benedetto) performs on stage during an invitation only concert at the newly opened Encore Boston Harbor Casino in Everett, Massachusetts on August 8, 2019. "No country has given the world such great music," Bennett said in a 2015 interview with Downbeat Magazine. The evening's performance resulted in the album, "Tony Bennett: MTV Unplugged," which won two Grammys, including album of the year. Bennett would win Grammys for his tributes to female vocalists ("Here's to the Ladies"), Billie Holiday ("Tony Bennett on Holiday"), and Duke Ellington ("Bennett Sings Ellington — Hot & Cool"). He also won two Emmy Awards — for "Tony Bennett Live By Request: A Valentine Special" (1996) and "Tony Bennett: An American Classic" (2007).

Persons: Tony Bennett, Anthony Dominick Benedetto, Bennett, Antonia Benedetto, Frank Sinatra, Lady Gaga, Sylvia Weiner, Bennett didn't, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Sinatra, Sinatra's, Cheek, Gaga, Carrie Underwood, Amy Winehouse, Winehouse, Oscar, Amy, Porter, George Gershwin, George Cory, Douglass Cross, Ralph Sharon, Ralph, Danny, David Letterman, Fred Astaire, Elvis Costello, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, — Bennett, Louis Armstrong, Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Long, Susan Crow Benedetto, Anthony, Anna, James Infirmary, Bel, Miriam Spier, you'll, it's Bing Crosby, Art Tatum, Lester Young, Stan Getz, Joe Bari, Rosemary Clooney, Arthur Godfrey's, Pearl Bailey, Bob Hope, Mitch Miller, Hank Williams, Miller, Chuck Wayne, Chico Hamilton, Art Blakey, Count Basie, Harry Belafonte's, Martin Luther King Jr, Selma, Bennett's, Johnny Mandel's Oscar, Clive Davis, Tony, Bill Evans, Patricia Beech, Sandra Grant, Susan, Johanna, Antonia, Dae, —, Benedetto — Organizations: Associated Press, American, MTV, Ellington, New, Frank Sinatra School of, Arts, Armed Forces Network, Armed Forces Radio, American Theater, Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, Greenwich Village, Paramount Theater, Sinatra, Columbia Records, Count Basie Orchestra, Army, Civil Rights Movement, Carnegie Hall, Columbia, IRS, Kennedy, National Endowment, Arts Jazz, Smithsonian Museum of American Locations: Everett , Massachusetts, Francisco, New York, San Francisco, Little Rock , Arkansas, Astoria, New York City, Queens, Italian, Germany, Greenwich, Montgomery, Los Angeles

Jack Daniel's Properties Inc is owned by Louisville, Kentucky-based Brown-Forman Corp (BFb.N). The dispute pitted the whiskey brand's trademark rights against legal protections for creative expression - in this case a send-up by Phoenix-based VIP Products of Jack Daniel's Old No. Jack Daniel's spokesperson Svend Jansen said the company was pleased with the decision. "Jack Daniel's is a brand recognized for quality and craftsmanship, and when friends around the world see the label, they know it stands for something they can count on. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2020 ruled in favor of VIP Products on two grounds.

Persons: Jack, Read, Jack Daniel's, Elena Kagan, Brown, Kagan, Svend Jansen, Jansen, Ginger Rogers, Ginger, Fred, Federico Fellini, Fred Astaire, Rogers, infringer, Joe Biden's, John Kruzel, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, VIP Products, Inc, Forman Corp, VIP, Rogers, New, Circuit, Appeals, Hollywood, Thomson Locations: Washington, WASHINGTON, Louisville , Kentucky, Phoenix, Tennessee, New York, San Francisco

☆ Former FCC Chair Newton Minow, who called 1960s TV 'vast wasteland', dies at 97
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Bill Trott | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

On May 9, 1961, he addressed the National Association of Broadcasters convention and had some stark criticism for television executives. "When television is good, nothing - not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers - nothing is better," Minow said. "I can assure you that what you will observe is a vast wasteland," he said. The speech draft had referred to a "vast wasteland of junk" but Minow excised "of junk" so as not to offend his audience too deeply. Minow headed the FCC for two years and in 1965 became a partner at the Chicago law firm of Sidley Austin.

Some companies have expressed concern that a ruling against Jack Daniel's would weaken their control over their brands and reputations. The toy mimics Lynchburg, Tennessee-based Jack Daniel's famous whiskey bottles with humorous dog-themed alterations - replacing "Old No. "Jack Daniel's loves dogs and appreciates a good joke as much as anyone," the company told the justices in a brief. "But Jack Daniel's likes its customers even more, and doesn't want them confused or associating its fine whiskey with dog poop." VIP Products has said a ruling favoring Jack Daniel's would make it easier for trademark owners to stifle free speech.

Stephen "tWitch" Boss was a thoroughly modern dancer. He lit up the stage of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" for nearly a decade. He was so classy," Boss told The Associated Press in 2014, the year he joined the "Ellen" show. Stephen "tWitch" Boss on "Ellen's Game of Games." Stephen "tWitch" Boss and Ellen DeGeneres on "Ellen's Game of Games".

☆ Larry Page, Sergey Brin Post-Google Lives: Investments, Yachts, Islands
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Hugh Langley | Rob Price | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +33 min

Even before their retirement from Google, Page and Brin relied heavily on their respective family offices to bring order to their worlds. The Bay Area headquarters of Koop, Larry Page's family office, is nondescript and gives little indication of the billionaire's empire. Insider; Marianne Ayala/Insider Show less Bayshore Global Management, Sergey Brin's family office, is based in Palo Alto and has a bit more of a public face. Insider; Marianne Ayala/Insider Show lessThe difference in styles holds true for Brin's family office, Bayshore Global Management. The CEO of Page's family office is Wayne Osborne, a former elder in the Presbyterian Church who attended Princeton Theological Seminary.

☆ Jules Bass, producer and director known for ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ and ‘Frosty the Snowman,’ dies at 87
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The three prominent holiday specials, “Rudolph,” voiced by Burl Ives, “Frosty” starring Jackie Vernon and Jimmy Durante and “Santa Claus,” voiced by Fred Astaire and Mickey Rooney, all debuted during the 1960s and 1970s. NBCUniversal via Getty ImagesBass was known for his longstanding creative partnership with director Arthur Rankin Jr., who died in 2014 at 89. Bass and Rankin’s first production was a syndicated television series titled “The New Adventures of Pinocchio,” which premiered in 1960. In addition to numerous holiday specials, they served as producers of series including “Thundercats” and “The Jackson 5ive” animated series. The January death of Bass’ daughter, Jean Nicole Bass, preceded his own.

Senate and House leadership from both parties manned the phones, contacting local, state and federal authorities to call up the National Guard, D.C. police and other security forces to secure the Capitol. These bipartisan efforts were led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who showed remarkable composure and leadership in the face of physical danger. She is also one of the most effective speakers in history, and she does it while battling the double standards that apply to powerful women. Days after the Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act, Pelosi’s caucus in the House passed the bill without a single Democratic defection. As Pelosi established a new vision for House leadership, she did so with careful attention to detail.

Search resuls for: "Fred Astaire"

15 mentions found