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Quincy Jones, Grammy-Winning Producer for Michael Jackson, Film Composer, Dies at 91

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Quincy Jones, Grammy-Winning Producer for Michael Jackson, Film Composer, Dies at 91

Quincy Jones, who distinguished himself over the course of a 70-year career in music as an artist, bandleader, composer, arranger and producer, has died. He was 91.

Jones died Sunday night at his home in Bel Air, Calif., according to a statement shared with Variety by his rep Arnold Robinson. A cause of death was not disclosed. 

“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing. And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him,” the Jones family said in the statement. “He is truly one of a kind and we will miss him dearly; we take comfort and immense pride in knowing that the love and joy, that were the essence of his being, was shared with the world through all that he created. Through his music and his boundless love, Quincy Jones’ heart will beat for eternity.”

Jones’ eminence in the entertainment community was so great that he went by a one-letter handle: “Q.”

Bred in the world of jazz, Jones became one of pop music’s most formidable figures. He collected six of his 28 Grammy Awards for his 1990 album “Back on the Block” and was a three-time producer of the year honoree.

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To many, he is probably best known for his production collaborations with Michael Jackson, which began in 1979 with the singer’s breakthrough solo album “Off the Wall,” which has sold an estimated 20 million copies internationally.

Its chart-topping sequel “Thriller” (1982) — for which Jones took album of the year honors, plus a record of the year trophy for the track “Billie Jean” — remains the bestselling album of all time, with worldwide sales estimated in excess of 110 million. Jones went on to work with Jackson on his No. 1 1987 release “Bad.”

In 1985, Jones made international headlines as the producer of USA for Africa’s “We Are the World,” the single devoted to African famine relief; Jackson co-authored the song with Lionel Richie and led its all-star cast of vocalists.

Jones was the first African American to pen the score for a major motion picture, 1964’s “The Pawnbroker,” and went on to receive seven Oscar nominations for best original score and song. In 1995, he received AMPAS’ Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, another first for a Black artist.

He made his mark on TV as executive producer of the ’90s NBC sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” which brought rapper Will “Fresh Prince” Smith to prominence as an actor. In addition to the 2022 reboot of “Bel-Air,” he later exec produced the comedy skeins “In the House” and “MadTV”; the 10-hour 1995 documentary “The History of Rock ‘N’ Roll”; the 2014 documentary “Keep on Keepin’ On”; and the 2023 adaptation of “The Color Purple” directed by Blitz Bazawule.

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Jones received a Tony Award nomination in 2006 as producer of the musical adaptation of “The Color Purple.”

In the publishing world, he founded the respected hip-hop magazine Vibe, which spawned a TV spinoff in 1997.

In recognition of the vast array of causes to which he contributed, Jones was named Variety’s philanthropist of the year in 2014.

He was born Quincy Delight Jones Jr. in Chicago. He took up the trumpet, his principal instrument, as a boy. At the age of 10, his family moved to Seattle; there, as a novice musician of 14, he met 17-year-old Ray Charles.

By 18, after studying at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, Jones was touring with Lionel Hampton’s big band in a trumpet section that included Art Farmer and Clifford Brown. In the early ’50s, he honed his arranging chops by writing charts for trumpeter Clark Terry (an important early mentor), Count Basie, Dinah Washington and many others. He made his debut as a leader in 1953 in an octet co-led by drummer Roy Haynes.

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After serving as band director for Dizzy Gillespie’s State Dept.-sponsored big band and doing stints at ABC-Paramount and France’s Barclay Records, Jones assembled an in-house orchestra at Mercury Records. Though a subsequent touring group collapsed financially, the association led to an A&R position at Mercury; by 1964, Jones was a VP at the label, where he produced pop singer Leslie Gore’s major hits.

In 1959-60, he arranged a pair of Charles’ finest albums, “The Genius of Ray Charles” and “Genius + Soul Jazz.” He received his first Grammy in 1964 for his arrangement of “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” Charles’ hit version of Don Gibson’s country tune.

At the behest of Sidney Lumet, Jones wrote the score for the director’s 1964 drama “The Pawnbroker.” That assignment — the first for a Black musician — led to prestige composing jobs on such features as “In Cold Blood,” “In the Heat of the Night” (which featured a title song by Ray Charles), “The Italian Job,” “Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice” and “The Getaway.”

In the mid-’60s, Jones established a working relationship with Frank Sinatra. He arranged a pair of albums teaming the vocalist with Count Basie’s orchestra, “It Might as Well Be Swing” (1964) and the live “Sinatra at the Sands” (1966).

In 1969, Jones began a profitable association as an artist with A&M Records, for which he recorded nine studio albums. He reaped three Grammys for his jazz-pop work at the label; in 1974, the A&M album “Body Heat” became the highest-charting set of his career, peaking at No. 8. In 1977, he released an album of his soundtrack music for the top-rated ABC miniseries “Roots” on the label; it reached No. 21 on the pop album chart.

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While Jones busied himself over the years as a producer for such artists as Aretha Franklin, the Brothers Johnson, George Benson and Chaka Khan, it was his work with Michael Jackson that thrust him into the most rarefied stratum of the music industry.

In 1978, Jones was working as music supervisor on director Lumet’s film adaptation of the Broadway hit “The Wiz,” featuring Jackson as the Scarecrow. While the picture was in production, Jackson — then newly signed as a solo artist to Epic Records — sought Jones’ advice about potential producers for his upcoming album. After supplying the singer with a list of prospects, Jones was enlisted by Jackson for the job.

The phenomenal decade-long Jones-Jackson partnership resulted in three multiplatinum albums (including the unprecedented and still unequalled worldwide smash “Thriller”), 18 top-10 pop hits (including 10 No. 1 singles) and four Grammy Awards for Jones.

At the apex of Jackson’s popularity in January 1985, Jones recorded “We Are the World” with a cast of soloists that also included Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Diana Ross and Ray Charles. The benefit single sold an estimated 20 million copies worldwide and added an additional three Grammys, including one for record of the year, to Jones’ resume.

In 1980, Jones founded Qwest Records, a joint venture with Warner Bros. Records. The imprint released the Jones-penned soundtrack for Steven Spielberg’s “The Color Purple” and signed such artists as George Benson, Tevin Campbell, New Order and, briefly, Sinatra (whose 1984 album “L.A. Is My Lady” was arranged by Jones). But its chief executive became its most prominent act.

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Jones’ 1989 Qwest album “Back on the Block” — an all-star affair pairing Jones with legends like Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Ray Charles and young bloods like Ice-T and Big Daddy Kane — captured a bounty of Grammys and peaked at No. 9 on the U.S. album chart.

In 1993, Warner Bros. released “Miles and Quincy Live at Montreux,” a 1991 live set by trumpeter Davis and Jones from the titular jazz festival in France on which Davis revisited compositions originally arranged in the ’50s by Gil Evans. It proved to be the jazz legend’s final recording and received a Grammy in 1994.

Jones’ latter-day solo releases were “Q’s Jook Joint” (1995) and “Q Soul Bossa Nostra” (2010). The former featured a host of seasoned R&B and jazz vets, young hip-hop stars and even a guest shot by Marlon Brando. The latter album, comprising new recordings of material associated with Jones, included appearances by such diverse artists as Jennifer Hudson, Amy Winehouse, Usher, Snoop Dogg, Wyclef Jean and Three 6 Mafia. In addition to appearing on The Weeknd’s 2022 album “Dawn FM” and in the music video for Travis Scott and Young Thug’s song “Out West,” Jones has only sporadically produced or performed as an artist. Upon the release of his self-titled 2018 documentary, Jones collaborated with producer Mark Ronson and vocalist Chaka Khan on the accompanying single “Keep Reachin’.” 

His Global Gumbo Orchestra made appearances at the Hollywood Bowl in 2011 and at that venue’s Playboy Jazz Festival in 2012. The group released “Tomorrow,” a charity single featuring stars of several Arab nations and co-produced by Jones and RedOne, in late 2011. After appearing at the Hollywood Bowl in 2017 to perform selections from his A&M years, Jones commemorated his 90th birthday in July 2023 with a two-night celebration at the venue featuring past and present artists he worked with, from singer Patti Austin to songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier.

Jones received the Recording Academy’s Legend Award in 1991 and Trustees Award in 1989. He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2001 and the National Medal of the Arts from President Obama in 2011. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013 as the winner of the Ahmet Ertegun Award together with Lou Adler.

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Jones released his autobiography “Q” in 2001; an audio version of the book received a Grammy as best spoken word album in 2002.

Married and divorced three times, he is survived by six daughters and a son.

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Miley Cyrus, Jisoo, Sabrina Carpenter, Al Pacino and More Photos from the Dior Cruise Show in Los Angeles

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Miley Cyrus, Jisoo, Sabrina Carpenter, Al Pacino and More Photos from the Dior Cruise Show in Los Angeles

Jonathan Anderson gathered some of Hollywood’s most famous faces for the front row at his Dior Cruise Collection 2027 fashion show at Los Angeles’ LACMA on Wednesday night.

Spotted taking their seats underneath the new David Geffen Galleries were Miley Cyrus, Sabrina Carpenter, Al Pacino, Jisoo of Blackpink, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jeff Goldblum, Tracee Ellis Ross, Role Model, Grace Gummer, Dominic Fike, Miranda Kerr, Mikey Madison, Paul W. Downs, Leslie Mann, Miles Teller, Macaulay Culkin and Bill Pullman.

Guests entered LACMA through a simple entrance on Wilshire Boulevard lined on both sides by gaggles of photographers (some were apparently extras hired to act like shutterbugs). Inside, there were large stone-like step-and-repeats for more photos. Attendees were gifted Dior blankets at their seats as well as a mock script titled “Wilshire Boulevard” starring Anderson explaining the show’s noir theme and looks.

An after-party took place at Chateau Marmont.

Miley Cyrus told me she was grateful Anderson chose her hometown for the event. “I love that they came to L.A.,” she said. “That’s the best part.”

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Of her all-denim look, the Grammy winner said, “What I love about L.A. is that it’s casual, so just stopping by to enjoy. Not overdone.”

Meanwhile, following the success of her “Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special,” I asked Cyrus if a reboot of the Disney Channel sitcom was in the works. “I don’t know about all that,” she said, smiling.

Cyrus cracked, “You always get me in trouble.”

Cyrus has credited my question about her possible plans to mark the two-decade milestone earlier in the year that prompted her and Disney to develop the special.

Tracee Ellis Ross also said she was “so pleased” the show took place in Los Angeles: “I don’t have to get on a plane.”

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See all the best celebrity looks at the Dior fashion show below.

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Non-Jewish professor says he was fired for calling out Hamas supporters in online post

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Non-Jewish professor says he was fired for calling out Hamas supporters in online post

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A non-Jewish Canadian professor says he was fired from his university for defending Israel in a social media post as antisemitism exploded across Canada following Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attacks.

Paul Finlayson told Fox News Digital that he lost his job at Canada’s University of Guelph-Humber after taking a strong stance online about the massacre and kidnapping of Israelis and foreigners — including Americans and Canadians.

Finlayson responded in November of 2023 to a LinkedIn message from an overseas educator who he said was “calling for the eradication of Israel.” Though the author later deleted his post and all corresponding comments, the National Post quoted from Finlayson’s response in a December 2023 article.

“If you say ‘from the River to the Sea’, you’re a Nazi,” Finlayson wrote. “I’m not neutral. I stand with Israel. I stand against antisemites who want nothing but dead Jews: who take millions from their education and health care budgets and spend it on making war…You stand with Palestine means you stand with Hitler. You don’t want peace, you want dead Jews…They murdered 1,400 innocents and took 250 hostages and the people celebrated rapist monsters as heroes.”

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RECORD ANTISEMITIC INCIDENTS IN CANADA FUEL CRITICISM OF CARNEY GOVERNMENT RESPONSE

Paul Finlayson says he lost his job after taking a strong stance online against the Hamas terror attacks on Israel. (Paul Finlayson )

Since the post, Finlayson says he has faced a targeted campaign against him which has affected his professional standing and job prospects. 

Finlayson said that students at the school found his LinkedIn reply before the post’s author erased the thread, leading to outcry. While meeting with a student in his office on Nov. 27, Finlayson said an administrator waited outside, eventually presenting him with a suspension letter.

A copy of the suspension letter, provided by Finlayson, cites “inappropriate online comments” and places the professor “on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.” It directed Finlayson not to contact “any of your departmental staff or students or broader members of the [university].”

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Finlayson said he was “very well-liked” by students, who ranked him among the highest in the business department faculty. He said that rumors about the accusations against him destroyed his academic reputation, which included formulating courses and writing textbooks.

“My trial has been by defamation, and it continues by defamation,” Finlayson said of the “Kafkaesque” situation that ensued.

FEDERAL PROBE CLAIMS UNIVERSITIES ARE ‘LEGITIMIZING AND AMPLIFYING ANTISEMITISM’

Anti-Israel protesters hold antisemitic posters in Edmonton, Alberta, on April 13, 2025. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto)

He says that his union, OPSEU Local 562, refused to represent him. The union did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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Finlayson was officially fired by the university in July 2025. He provided a copy of his termination letter, which stated that after a “formal complaint of discrimination and harassment,” an investigator found that his “conduct violated the Ontario Human Rights Code and Humber’s Human Rights and Harassment Policy, and that [he] engaged in reprisal under both of those instruments.”

The Humber harassment policy states that “anyone who attempts Reprisal or threatens Reprisal against a person who initiates a complaint or participates in proceedings under this Policy may be subject to disciplinary action.”

The same policy says that “Humber upholds and supports the right to equal treatment without Discrimination” based on prohibited grounds, which include antisemitism.

CANADA’S ANTISEMITISM ENVOY RESIGNS, CITING EXHAUSTION AMID HATE SURGE

Temple Emanu-El in Toronto was shot at on March 3, 2026. No injuries were reported. (Nick Lachance/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

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The University of Guelph-Humber did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions about Finlayson’s suspension, investigation and firing, and about whether anti-Israel posts shared by its students and a professor at the University violate the Humber Human Rights and Harassment Policy.

The University of Guelph’s “UofGforPalestine” Instagram page, which presents itself as the account of “students, staff, and faculty who stand in solidarity with Palestine,” has shared posts with the inverted red triangle that Hamas uses to mark targets. Like the U.S., Canada designates Hamas as a terror group.

In November 2024, the group shared photos on its Instagram account of a guillotine that “appeared on a walking path” in Guelph, which featured photos of the heads of Canadian, American and Israeli leaders coated in red paint. Though purported to be an “anonymous submission,” the post notes its “message” as “Death to empire, death to colonialism and imperialism, death to the war machine.”

The University of Guelph Humber in Ontario, Canada.  (Google Maps)

A University of Guelph-Humber professor whom Finlayson believes brought the case against him has posted inflammatory rhetoric on his own LinkedIn account, calling Israel a “terrorist state,” and stating that the world “cannot have both” peace and Israel.

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The professor did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

While Finlayson lost his position, elsewhere in Canada, activism led to starkly different circumstances for three staffers at York University, who were among 11 individuals charged with “hate-motivated mischief” in Nov 2023 for plastering a bookstore with photos accusing a Jewish CEO of genocide, and splashing the store with red paint, as reported by the National Post.

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Though they were initially suspended from the school, at least two staff members appear to have current profiles on the York University website. One, a professor, most recently taught courses at the school in the Winter 2026 semester. York University did not respond to requests for comment about its restoration of staff members’ roles.

Since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, antisemitism has exploded in Canada. In April, B’nai Brith Canada’s League for Human Rights released a report showing that 6,800 antisemitic incidents took place in the country in 2025, representing a 9.4% increase over 2024. On average, this represented 18.6 incidents a day and was the “highest volume” the group has recorded since it began tracking incidents.

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Russia’s prison population falls by 180,000 since start of Ukraine war

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Russia’s prison population falls by 180,000 since start of Ukraine war

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The number of prisoners in Russia has dropped by more than 180,000 over five years, in part driven by Moscow sending convicts to fight in Ukraine, Russia’s prison chief said on Thursday.

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In four years of war, Russia has offered prisoners army contracts to fight in Ukraine and buy out their sentences, should they survive.

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Russia, which has a massive prison network inherited from Soviet labour camps, has one of the world’s largest convict populations, though that number has been decreasing in the last 20 years.

“If at the end of 2021 there were 465,000 (prisoners), then now there are 282,000,” the head of Russia’s penitentiary service, Arkady Gostev, said, according to the TASS state news agency.

That represents a drop of nearly 40%.

Around 85,000 of the current prison population is held in pre-trial detention, he added.

Gostev said the decline was in part driven by the army’s recruitment drive, but also due to more suspended sentences and other forms of punishment handed out.

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Prisoners returning from the Ukraine front have led to an increase in crime and social tension in Russia.

Gostev also said thousands of prisoners were working on production sites in support of the army, contributing to the country’s wartime economy.

Russian prisoners are often made to work, in a system inherited from the Soviet Gulag.

“Over the course of the year, we had additionally deployed 16,000 inmates for these (army) purposes, specifically for manufacturing,” TASS quoted Gostev as saying.

“We produce goods for the special military operation (worth) around 5.5 billion rubles (€64 million),” he said, using Moscow’s term for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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“The volume of production (at prison sites) in 2025 amounted to 47 billion rubles (€548 million),” he said, without elaborating how much of it was for army needs.

Russia has experienced a shortage of workers during its offensive, with hundreds of thousands of men at the front and a similar amount fleeing the country due to mobilisation.

Additional sources • AFP

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