Entertainment
Jack Russell, Great White frontman who survived deadly nightclub fire, dies at 63
![Jack Russell, Great White frontman who survived deadly nightclub fire, dies at 63 Jack Russell, Great White frontman who survived deadly nightclub fire, dies at 63](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e9e2a4e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1575+0+5/resize/1200x630!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb2%2Fbb%2F9ac2c1db493f93d552ff92835bba%2Fgettyimages-164779233.jpg)
Singer and songwriter Jack Russell, who scored hard-rock hits in the 1980s with his band Great White and who survived a Rhode Island nightclub fire in 2003 that killed 100 people, has died. He was 63.
His death at his home in Southern California was announced Thursday in a statement on Instagram, which said he “passed peacefully” in the presence of family members and friends. K.L. Doty, with whom Russell wrote a 2024 memoir, said the cause was Lewy body dementia and multiple system atrophy, though she declined to say when Russell died.
The singer revealed in July that he was retiring from the road as a result of those conditions. “I am unable to perform at the level I desire and at the level you deserve,” he wrote on Instagram.
A product of the Los Angeles club scene of the late 1970s, Great White played scuzzy but tuneful rock in the proudly debauched hair-metal tradition; Mark Kendall’s guitars chugged and squealed, while Russell’s voice could evoke the manly shriek of Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant.
The band first charted on Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1987 with the bluesy “Rock Me,” in which Russell assured a woman that “if you stay the night we’ll make the wrong seem right.” Its biggest single was a rowdy cover of Ian Hunter’s “Once Bitten, Twice Shy,” which peaked at No. 5 in 1989 and drove the group’s album “…Twice Shy” to sales of more than 2 million copies. “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” was nominated for best hard rock performance at the Grammy Awards in 1990.
Great White’s commercial fortunes declined throughout the ’90s as grunge and alternative rock displaced hair metal on the radio and MTV; the band broke up in 2001. Yet the next year Russell and Kendall formed a splinter group called Jack Russell’s Great White that began touring clubs around the country.
On Feb. 20, 2003, a pyrotechnic display during the band’s set at the Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., ignited soundproofing insulation lining the venue’s walls and ceiling, leading to a fire that quickly engulfed the club. Among the 100 people who died was the band’s guitarist, Ty Longley; an additional 230 were reported injured.
The group’s tour manager and the Station’s owners were later charged with involuntary manslaughter; Russell and other Great White members agreed to pay $1 million in a settlement with survivors and families of the fire’s victims.
Russell, who was born in Montebello in 1960, went on to play with a reunited version of the original Great White until the band broke up again and he reformed Jack Russell’s Great White. That band’s most recent album, a tribute to Led Zeppelin, came out in 2021; this year, Russell teamed with another hair-metal veteran, Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns, for a duo LP titled “Medusa.”
Russell’s survivors include his wife, Heather Ann Russell, and his son Matthew Hucko.
On Instagram on Thursday, his former bandmates in Great White sent their condolences to Russell’s family and said it was “a privilege and joy to share the stage with him — many shows, many miles and maximum rock.”
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Movie Reviews
'Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi' movie review: Formulaic, middling love drama
!['Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi' movie review: Formulaic, middling love drama 'Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi' movie review: Formulaic, middling love drama](https://images.deccanherald.com/deccanherald%2F2024-08-16%2F0zui0x2t%2Ffile7wrmlliq0hc1694xv7df.png?rect=0%2C15%2C755%2C396&w=1200&ar=40%3A21&auto=format%2Ccompress&ogImage=true&mode=crop)
Actor Ganesh’s latest outing follows an age-old template of romantic movies. Krishna (Ganesh), a 32-year-old industrialist, falls head over heels for Pranaya (Malavika Nair), an orphan running an orphanage. With the entry of Jahnavi (Sharanya Shetty), we get the love triangle. If that wasn’t enough, there’s also the memory loss angle.
As soon as one talks of rich boy-poor girl movies with an element of amnesia, the first movie that comes to the mind of a Kannada movie connoisseur is ‘Hrudaya Sangama’ (1972). While the gripping Rajkumar-Bharathi starrer hinged on emotional performances, director Srinivas Raju chooses a fun narrative for this one.
The urge to mix a laughter riot with a middling non-linear storyline compromises the plot severely. The logical inconsistencies and lack of character development add to the woes. The first half is middling but director Srinivas Raju does an impressive job in holding viewers’ interest through it.
What works greatly for the film is Ganesh’s knack for playing typical romantic characters with flair and his camaraderie with seasoned comedian Sadhu Kokila.
Malavika impresses in her Kannada debut. She imparts the perfect dose of innocence that her character demands. Rangayana Raghu is hilarious as a comic villain. His Kannada accent typical of Telugu people from the Chikkaballapur region is spot on.
Raghu’s performance is brilliant at times and meek elsewhere. But for the mess, Ganesh might have as well got that critical mid-career break that he has long hoped for.
Published 16 August 2024, 20:13 IST
Movie Reviews
Dominic Savage’s ‘CLOSE TO YOU’ (2023) – Movie Review – PopHorror
![Dominic Savage’s ‘CLOSE TO YOU’ (2023) – Movie Review – PopHorror Dominic Savage’s ‘CLOSE TO YOU’ (2023) – Movie Review – PopHorror](https://pophorror.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/imgonline-com-ua-resize-5y5DkoZpSf.jpg)
When I was a kid, I was different from my entire family. I fit right in punk rock; that was my passion and style choice. However, the torment I went through does not compare to people who aren’t happy with their gender. We put people who are different into a big pot of culture. I love being an outsider, and Close To You, directed by Dominic Savage, was almost like an anthem of strength for people who deal with darkness and confusion.
Synopsis
Sam (Elliot Page The Umbrella Academy) who found comfort in his new purpose and gender, is headed home for their fathers birthday. Sam had been gone for years and fell off the map. Upon Sam’s return, he struggles with acceptance from the people he loves. Sam protects his dignity and fear of not being accepted.
After his family welcomes him with open arms and general conncern Sam has to dig deep to find the love he used to have. With the entire family together, he has to deal with strong criticsm from his brother in law Paul (David Reale Molly’s Game). While Sam is growing, he runs into an old love Katherine (Hillary Baack, Helen). When the pot boils over between Sam and Paul, Sam’s life collapses. He slowly starts to bring himself back. Old memories and old flames are rekindled.
“The films I have been making over the past years have all been made with, and written
specifically for, a particular lead actor. They are, I feel, special collaborations that result in
stories that are rooted in absolute truth that have deep meaning and resonance for both me
and, most importantly, the actor. They are films about the complexities of our relationships, the
difficult parts of our lives, the every day of our existences, yet the striving for meaning and truth
within them.” -Dominic Savage
As much as I live for the horror community, sometimes drama movies impress me. However, I wouldn’t exactly call this drama. I think of it as empowering for people who can relate to it. I understand how hard it is for someone to accept and love you as you are. Sometimes, we need to hear that it’s OK to be different. That is what Close To You was centered around. The acting and emotion are powerful. Everyone landed their role perfectly; you could feel the tension in your own mind. What got me the most was the realism of the situation for so many people out there who just feel different.
In The End
I also loved the acceptance from the people who love Sam the most. I didn’t have the love I always yearned for with my parents. There are many scenes where you cheer on Sam and feel the crushing weight of emotions built inside. You can also feel everyone trying to build Sam up in self-confidence. Close To You is a movie I think everyone should see just once, just for a perspective for the people who may be intolerant. Some of us still believe in equal rights, and we don’t have to live it to accept it.
Close To You hits digital platforms August 16th.
Entertainment
Eugene and Dan Levy will host the 2024 Emmy Awards
Four years ago, Eugene and Dan Levy became the first father-son duo to win Emmys in the same year. This year, they’re embarking on another first: hosting the Emmys.
On Friday, ABC and the Television Academy, the organization that presents the awards, announced that the Levys would host the show, making them the first-ever father and son pair to do so. The ceremony, which celebrates the best of television, will take place Sept. 15 at the Peacock Theater at LA Live in Los Angeles.
“For two Canadians who won our Emmys in a literal quarantine tent, the idea of being asked to host this year in an actual theater was incentive enough,” Eugene and Dan Levy said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to be able to raise a glass to this extraordinary season of television and can’t wait to spend the evening with you all on Sept. 15.”
In announcing the hosts, Craig Erwich, president of Disney Television Group, said in a statement that the pair’s “comedic intuition and uncanny ability to capture the hearts of viewers will make for a memorable Emmys telecast honoring this year’s best and brightest.”
Television Academy Chair Cris Abrego added that the organization was “thrilled to welcome two generations of comedy genius to the Emmy’s stage as hosts.”
“I cannot wait for Emmy fans to see what they have in store for all of us,” he said in a statement.
In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Levys won multiple Emmys for the sixth and final season of their critically acclaimed comedy “Schitt’s Creek,” which they co-created and starred in. The Canadian sitcom aired on CBC in Canada and on Pop TV in the U.S. before moving to Netflix in 2017, where it experienced a bump in popularity. It also starred Catherine O’Hara and Annie Murphy.
Since “Schitt’s Creek” wrapped, the actors have remained busy. Eugene Levy is host and executive producer of “The Reluctant Traveler,” a travel documentary series on Apple TV+ that was recently renewed for a third season, and he will guest star in the fourth season of Hulu’s hit series “Only Murders in the Building.” Dan Levy launched a film and television production company, Not a Real Production Co., and he made his directorial feature film debut with 2023’s “Good Grief,” which he also wrote and starred in. He also created and hosted the cooking competition series “The Big Brunch” on Max.
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