Final goodbye: Recalling influential people who died in 2022
December 31, 2022 GMTOne would have to go back hundreds of years to find a monarch who reigned longer than Queen Elizabeth II.
In her 70 years on the throne, she helped modernize the monarchy across decades of enormous social change, royal marriages and births, and family scandals.
Review: Sidney Poitier documentary shows a constant striving
September 21, 2022 GMTSidney Poitier was not expected to live. He was born two months premature to uneducated tomato farmers in the Caribbean. His father planned to use a shoe box as a makeshift coffin.
Poitier's rise from that humble origin to become an Oscar-winning box office draw and civil rights figure who remade Hollywood seems almost scripted, almost too good to be true, but such was Poitier, a life well-lived.
New this week: ‘Athena,’ ‘Sidney’ and ‘Quantum Leap’ returns
September 20, 2022 GMTHere’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.
For Oprah Winfrey, ‘Sidney’ is an act of love for Poitier
September 11, 2022 GMTTORONTO (AP) — Oprah Winfrey was discussing her profound affection for trailblazing actor Sidney Poitier — a longtime friend and mentor to her — when she was overcome by emotion during an interview on the upcoming documentary “ Sidney,” a life-spanning portrait.
Woman testifies Cosby forcibly kissed her when she was 14
June 4, 2022 GMTSANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) — A woman testified Friday that she was 14 when Bill Cosby took her into a trailer on a movie set in 1975, grabbed her so she couldn't move her arms, and kissed her.
EXPLAINER: A look at Bill Cosby’s sexual assault civil trial
May 31, 2022 GMTLOS ANGELES (AP) — Eleven months after he was freed from prison when a Pennsylvania appeals court threw out his criminal conviction, Bill Cosby, 85, will again be the defendant in a trial over sexual assault allegations.
Today in History: April 13, Apollo 13 damaged by explosion
April 13, 2022 GMTOn April 13, 1970, Apollo 13, four-fifths of the way to the moon, was crippled when a tank containing liquid oxygen burst. (The astronauts managed to return safely.)
Sidney Poitier: A trailblazing life in his own words
January 8, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — As a trailblazing actor to generations of Black performers in Hollywood, Sidney Poitier often spoke about his larger off-screen role.
Poitier, who died Thursday at the age of 94, entered the film industry at a time when portrayals of African Americans were generally stereotypical.
Oscar winner and groundbreaking star Sidney Poitier dies
January 8, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Sidney Poitier, the groundbreaking actor and enduring inspiration who transformed how Black people were portrayed on screen, and became the first Black actor to win an Academy Award for best lead performance and the first to be a top box-office draw, has died.
Tributes pour in for groundbreaking actor Sidney Poitier
January 8, 2022 GMTTributes to Sidney Poitier poured in from Hollywood and around the world following the death Thursday of the groundbreaking actor and cultural icon.
Sidney Poitier changed movies, and changed lives
January 8, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — We go to movies not just to escape, but to discover. We might identify with the cowboy or the runaway bride or the kid who befriends a creature from another planet.
To see yourself on screen has long been another way of knowing you exist.
Oscar winner and groundbreaking star Sidney Poitier dies
January 7, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Sidney Poitier, who played roles of such dignity and intelligence that he transformed how Black people were portrayed on screen, becoming along the way the first Black actor to win an Oscar for best lead performance and the first to be a top box-office draw, has died.
Poitier’s films include ‘The Blackboard Jungle,’ ‘Sneakers’
January 7, 2022 GMTFilms of Sidney Poitier include:
“From Whence Cometh Help” (Army documentary), 1949.
Eddie Murphy to be inducted into NAACP Hall of Fame
March 11, 2021 GMTLOS ANGELES (AP) — Eddie Murphy will be inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame this month...
Latest honor for Sidney Poitier: A film school in his name
January 25, 2021 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — In 1963, Sidney Poitier made a film in Arizona, “Lilies of the Field.” The performance led to a huge milestone: He became the first Black winner of a lead-acting Oscar...
‘Dark Knight,’ ‘Grease’ added to National Film Registry
December 14, 2020 GMTLOS ANGELES (AP) — This year's inductees into the National Film Registry include a record number of female directors and filmmakers of color as well as a new crop of movies ranging from a silent short film thriller, classic musicals and an acclaimed Batman film...
The week Harry Belafonte took over TV is subject of new doc
September 8, 2020 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Harry Belafonte made history in early 1968. But it was lost to history.
While the Vietnam War was raging and civil unrest was convulsing American cities, TV talk show host Johnny Carson did something special: He stepped away from “The Tonight Show” perch for a week...
Text of Oprah Winfrey’s DeMille Award acceptance speech
January 8, 2018 GMTBEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — The following is the full text of Oprah Winfrey's speech as she accepted the Cecil B...
Winfrey says ‘time is up’ for abusive men in Globes speech
January 8, 2018 GMTOprah Winfrey earned multiple standing ovations at Sunday's Golden Globes as she accepted the Cecil B...
Text of Oprah Winfrey’s DeMille Award acceptance speech
January 8, 2018 GMTBEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — The following is the full text of Oprah Winfrey's speech as she accepted the Cecil B...
A North Carolina artist wants to create lilies in a field of coal ash
December 27, 2017 GMTGREENSBORO, N.C. — Much has been said about coal ash since that grimy waste product shot to the top of North Carolina’s political agenda after the 2014 spill into the Dan River.
It’s a pretty safe bet that, in all that time, nobody has ever praised the stuff for its beauty or elegance.
‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’ legacy debated on anniversary
April 4, 2017 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Fifty years ago, Katharine Houghton found herself on her first big movie set making something that made plenty of people deeply worried.
Houghton and co-star Sidney Poitier were playing lovers in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," a romantic comedy directed by Stanley Kramer...