Eileen Brennan , who starred in 'Private Benjamin' and other films , dies

EileenBrennan, who earned an Oscar nomination for her hilarious turn as the exasperated drill captain in 1980's "Private Benjamin," has died, CNN has confirmed. She was 80.

Brennan died Sunday at her Burbank, California, home after a battle with bladder cancer, her management company said.

"Our family is so grateful for the outpouring of love and respect for Eileen," her family said in a statement. "She was funny and caring and truly one of a kind. Her strength and love will never be forgotten. She will be greatly missed by all of us."

Brennan was known for character roles as sassy, brassy women, the kind with a sandpaper surface but a light, pure heart.

She played a waitress in "The Last Picture Show" (1971), the companion of Paul Newman's conman in "The Sting" (1973), a wisecracking maid in "At Long Last Love" (1975) and Mrs. Peacock in "Clue" (1985). She also did a great deal of television, including a reprise of her "Private Benjamin" role in the TV series of the same name.

Other TV appearances included guest shots on "Taxi," "thirtysomething," "ER," "Murder, She Wrote," "Mad About You," "Touched by an Angel" and six episodes of "Will & Grace." The latter earned her an Emmy nomination, one of seven she earned in her career -- including one that resulted in a win, a supporting actress-comedy pick for "Private Benjamin."

Verla Eileen Regina Brennan was born in Los Angeles in 1932, the daughter of a doctor and a silent-film actress. After several small stage roles, she finally earned notice for her 1959 off-Broadway turn as "Little Mary Sunshine," for which she won an Obie. Five years later, she gained fame for her performance as Irene Molloy, one of the woman who falls victim to Dolly Levi's matchmaking skills, in the 1960s hit musical "Hello, Dolly!"

In 1982, Brennan was involved in a horrific accident, struck by a car as she exited a restaurant with "Benjamin" co-star Goldie Hawn. She suffered broken bones in her face, an eyeball pulled from its socket and two broken legs. Even after recovering physically -- a process that took years -- she suffered from an addiction to painkillers and entered the Betty Ford Clinic in 1984.

"It was my only hope," Brennan told People magazine in 1985. "I had reached the stage where I was taking anything I could get my hands on."

Typical of her upbeat attitude, however, she told the magazine she took pride in her recovery.

"Everyone hits bottom their own way," she said. "Mine came through my accident, which led to my pill addiction, which led to my birth. I say birth rather than rebirth because I feel born new. I re-established a spiritual connection that is lost when you are taking any kind of drug. Strangely enough I wouldn't have missed my accident. It just knocks me out to say that, but I mean it."

Brennan also survived a bout with breast cancer in 1990.

Brennan was married to David John Lampson from 1968 to 1974. She is survived by two sons, Patrick Brennan and Sam Lampson.

People we've lost in 2013

Source: cnn

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Dodgers sign former Giants rival Brian Wilson

The Los Angeles Dodgers have reached an agreeement to sign reliever BrianWilson.

Wilson, who has not pitched since having Tommy John elbow surgery in April 2012, will be sent on a minor league rehab assignment before joining the Dodgers.

Wilson was the closer on the San Francisco Giants' 2010 World Serieschampionship team and saved 171 games for them over seven seasons.

From2008-11, Wilson was one of the top closers and led the majors with 163 saves.

But he was admittedly miffed when the club did not offer him a contract after his second Tommy John surgery ended his 2012 season, and now, he will pitch for their archrivals to the south.

Wilson is a three-time All-Star who led the National League with 48 saves in 2010.

Source: usatoday

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Mackenzie Rosman of “7th Heaven” shows her grown-up self in Maxim

TV's "7th Heaven" alum Mackenzie Rosman is baring quite a bit for Maxim, showing off that she isn't the spunky Camden family baby anymore. Alas, the former child star did not make the men's mag's annual Hot 100 list.

Rosman, 23, who also appeared in "The Secret Life of the AmericanTeenager," is stripping down to her bra, undies and occasionally sheer over-things for the September issue of the mag, following in former costar Jessica Biel's footsteps. 

In 2000, Biel, who played Ruthie's rebellious older sister on the 11-season drama, posed topless for Gear magazine. She was 17, and costar StephenCollins, who played dad Rev. Eric Camden in the family drama that ran from 1996 to 2007, equated the images to "child pornography."  Producers reportedly took legal action against the magazine and Biel's role on the show was cut down to guest appearances,according to Esquire.

"It was a big deal. The magazine was banned on set, I think by orders of [executive producer] Aaron Spelling," Rosman told Maxim (via Us Weekly). "I sneaked a peek at it, though. It was racy gossip amongst the women of '7th Heaven.'"

As for her own sassy spread, Rosman wasn't nonplussed about her state of undress, also not minding if people would be surprised by the images.

"They might be. But you know what? It's who I am," she told Maxim.

It isn't the first time racy images of the actress have surfaced. Photos of her posing in her underwear and kissing a girl leaked online in 2008, People reported.

Rosman most recently starred in the horror film "Beneath" and is set to appear in SyFy's upcoming film "Ghost Shark," which premieres on Aug. 22.

And just to put things in perspective (or make them even creepier), at age 23, the actress is two years ahead of modeldu jour Kate Upton, who is 21.

Source: latimes

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Former Birmingham striker Christian “Chucho” Benitez dies at 27

Ecuador striker Christian Benítez died on Monday morning after suffering a cardiorespiratory arrest, less than a month after signing for Qatari club Al Jaish.

Benítez was admitted to hospital with severe stomach pain hours after making his debut against Qatar Sports Club in the Sheikh Jassem Cup but died shortly afterwards. He was 27.

Benítez joined Al Jaish earlier in July from Club America, after previous spells with El Nacional, Santos Laguna and Birmingham.

An Ecuador Football Federation (FEF) statement read: "The FEF regrets to inform you of the death of Christian Benítez, the striker of Qatar club Al Jaish and the Ecuador national team.

"Benítez, who was with his new club in Qatar, had a severe stomach pain, which was why he was rushed to a hospital, where after a few hours suffered he suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest, which ended his life.

"The Ecuadorian Football Federation extends its heartfelt sympathy to the family – parents, wife, children – and friends of our striker Christian Benítez.

"May he rest in peace."

Benitez was a regular for his country and made the Ecuador squad for the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany. Al Jaish were stunned at the player's death so soon after his arrival.

A statement read: "The club would like to offer its sincere condolences to the family of the player. Benítez had recently joined the club from Club America for three seasons. The player participated for the first time with the team during yesterday's match against Qatar Sports Club in the Sheikh Jassem Cup without complaining of any health problems.

"His sudden departure is a big shock for each member of the technical and administrative staff. He was a player that over the short period he was here was regarded for his high moral character."

Tributes were quick to arrive with the Manchester United winger, and Ecuador team-mate, Antonio Valencia tweeting a picture of the pair together.

The Sunderland midfielder Craig Gardner, who played with Benítez at Birmingham, said on the social networking site: "Can't believe Christian Benítez aka chucho has died had the pleasure to play with him he was a top bloke. My thoughts go out to his family."

A tweet from Club America read: "You left as a champion, you will always be in our hearts. Rest in Peace Christian Benítez."

A Birmingham statement read: "BirminghamCity FootballClub is saddened to learn of the passing of former striker Christian'Chucho' Benítez. The thoughts of all associated with the football club are with Chucho's family and friends at this very sad time.

"Chucho's passing will now be marked at St Andrew's ahead of Saturday's fixture against Watford.

"The Ecuador international was an immensely-popular character during his time at the football club. During a season-long loan from Mexicanclub Santos Laguna in 2009-10, Chucho made 36 appearances scoring four goals."

Source: guardian

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Hunting for Luxeury , Retail Giant Buys Saks

When the real estate scion Richard A. Baker acquired the department store chain Lord & Taylor at the market peak in 2006, retail industry players laughed. Mr. Baker, they snickered, was just the latest money guy who would get clobbered trying to break into the fashion business.

No one is snickering anymore.

On Monday, Mr. Baker’s Hudson’s Bay Company announced that it had agreed to buy Saks Inc., one of the oldest and most revered names in luxury retailing, for $2.4 billion in cash, uniting it with Lord & Taylor and the Canadian chain Hudson’s Bay.

The acquisition would create a behemoth in the retail world and cap an extraordinary run of deal making by Mr. Baker. The combined company would own 320 locations, 179 of which are full department stores. It had combined revenues of about $7 billion in the 2012 fiscal year.

Mr. Baker is a dapper businessman who, once he bought Lord & Taylor, swore allegiance to that chain’s Black Brown 1826 private-label suits. Even with that interest in fashion, though, he has largely avoided the follies that have plagued other investors who have gotten into the retail business. He brought in experienced managers (including a handful formerly of Saks), invested in store makeovers and left most of the merchandising decisions to merchants.

“He is more interested in the financials,” said Walter Loeb, a longtime retail analyst.

Under the terms of the deal, the Hudson’s Bay Company will pay $16 a share in cash, about 4.5 percent higher than Saks’s closing price on Friday and about 30 percent higher than its closing price on May 20, the last day before reports about a possible sale surfaced. In New York Stock Exchange trading on Monday, Saks shares rose 4.18 percent to $15.95.

Mr. Baker prevailed over a number of other Saks suitors. Among those who explored a deal were Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, which had floated the idea of injecting money into the chain and then merging it with its rival Neiman Marcus. The Qatar Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund of the Middle Eastern emirate, also took a serious look at the company.

Saks drew suitors because it continues to benefit from luxury shoppers who, after closing their wallets during the recession, have come back in force since. Its 2012 sales rose 4.4 percent, to $3.15 billion, and executives say it continues to benefit from foreign tourists, particularly from China, Russia and the Middle East.

While industry experts once questioned whether department stores would stay relevant given competition from the Internet, analysts said Saks’s prime locations, like Fifth Avenue in New York, had held up well.

“No tourist wakes up in New York and says: ‘You know what I’m going to do now? I’m going to log on to the Internet and shop,’ ” said Faye Landes, a retail analyst at Cowen.

Mr. Baker described the Fifth Avenue store as having tremendous financial results “in a neighborhood that has some of the highest rents in the world.”

But Saks also has a number of mall locations that are thought to be less profitable, and it is trying to build an outlet business with its Off Fifth concept.

Mr. Baker, 47, lives in Greenwich, Conn., where he grew up, the son of the shopping mall developer Robert C. Baker. In 2006, restless in the family business, Mr. Baker dove headlong into the retail trade. He teamed up with his father and two real estate investors, Bill Mack and Lee Neibart, to buy Lord & Taylor for $1.2 billion. A couple of years later, he acquired Hudson’s Bay and merged the two into a single business. Last year, he listed the combined company on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Mr. Baker said there was no overlap between Saks and Lord & Taylor, even though their flagship Fifth Avenue locations are just 11 blocks apart.

“Where Lord & Taylor ends is where Saks begins,” he said.

That is not entirely true; both carry items from midprice clothing brands like Catherine Malandrino, but while those goods, which generally cost $300 to $500, represent the top of Lord & Taylor’s offerings, they are near the bottom of Saks’ price range.

The Lord & Taylor shopper might pick up a Marc Jacobs perfume to own a piece of that brand for less than $100, while the Saks shopper might preorder a $4,395 Marc Jacobs python bag instead.

And Lord & Taylor carries middle-America brands like Jessica Simpson shoes and Kim Kardashian perfume that Saks does not, lest its aura of luxury be sullied.

With the acquisition, Mr. Baker says he plans to push the Saks brand into Canada, where there is only one luxury department store chain, Holt Renfrew. “There’s certainly room for a little competition up there,” Mr. Baker said. Canadian Saks stores will be “on the luxurious side of the U.S. Saks stores,” he said.

As in his previous deals for Lord & Taylor and Hudson’s, real estate is an important component of the Saks acquisition.

Mr. Baker told analysts on Monday that he planned to pool the valuable property of the three separate chains and form a real-estate investment trust, or a REIT, which receives preferential tax treatment. Then, by selling shares of the REIT to the public, Hudson’s can also raise money to help pay down debt.

Other retailers, including the American department store chain Dillard’s and the Canadian food retailer Loblaw, have had recent success executing a similar strategy.

Hudson’s is just the latest owner of Saks, which was founded in 1867 as a privately held company operating as a division of Gimbel Brothers, the now-defunct department store. Horace Saks and Bernard Gimbel opened the flagship Fifth Avenue store in 1924.

In 1973, British American Tobacco Industries acquired Saks Fifth Avenue when it purchased Gimbel Brothers, and then sold it in 1990 to Investcorp International, a Bahrain-based investment firm. Proffitt’s, the Southern department store chain, acquired the company for $2.1 billion in 1998, changed its name to Saks and jettisoned some of its lower-end divisions to focus on luxury. During the recession, though, as shoppers spent less, Saks expanded its cheaper private-label offerings and pushed designers to offer lower-priced options.

Mr.Baker did not specify whether the new company would continue to employ Stephen I. Sadove, who has been chief executive of Saks since 2006. “We don’t have a closed deal,” Mr. Baker said, “so we haven’t had those conversations yet.”

As for Mr. Baker, the acquisition also offers a chance for him to upgrade his wardrobe — Saks’s men’s labels include Armani, Gucci and Ralph Lauren Black Label.

“I’m very fond of our Black Brown,” he said. “But I definitely have more shopping options going forward.”

Source: nytimes

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Osheaga : A field trip for the masses

MONTREAL - If you’re from out of town, good luck getting a hotel room in Montreal this weekend.

“We (just) got the numbers for occupancy, and it’s 98.6 per cent on Saturday night,” said Nick Farkas, director of the Osheaga Music and Arts Festival. “Almost every single room in the city is booked. Try finding a room now, and it’s impossible. There’s nothing left.”

You may have noticed it last year, if you were among the 40,000-per-day attendees as the festival sold out all its days for the first time in its seven-year history: this was major-league stuff. Throngs of people, everywhere, all day and all evening long. It was a far cry from Osheaga’s early editions, some of which made do with a modest 10,000 fans on slow days.

“Last year was just crazy,” Farkas said. “I think the big turning point was getting Eminem (in 2011). Last year it went exponential. Our sales quadrupled over the year before. … The first day that tickets went on sale, I was in Toronto for Canadian Music Week. I saw the ticket counts and I said, ‘This can’t be right. Somebody’s pulled a bunch of tickets for stores or something.’ It didn’t make sense compared to the previous year. Nobody expected it.”

Days away from Osheaga’s eighth edition, which runs Friday to Sunday, Farkas was still coming to terms with just how big his baby has become. Saturday and Sunday have been sold out for a couple of weeks already. As of last Tuesday, there were only about 500 tickets left for opening day. By Thursday, those too were gone.

The festival’s numbers are actually up this year, as the site has been expanded to accommodate 42,500 people each day.

So how did it happen? What put Osheaga over the top? It may well have been Eminem. But previous headliners included mainstream attractions Coldplay and Jack Johnson. Ultimately, it may have come down to what author Malcolm Gladwell calls the tipping point — the moment when something goes from being a thing to a phenomenon, carried by word of mouth, hype and an inexplicable surge of momentum that takes on a life of its own.

“Eminem put us on the map — we got a lot more international notice from Americans and Europeans,” Farkas said, trying to quantify the fest’s success. “That took us to another level in terms of people having heard of (Osheaga).

“Last year, we built on that. We got love right away from (highly influential music website) Pitchfork, which went a long way toward making word spread across the Internet and various social media platforms.

“(News of) the lineup spread really, really, really fast and wide, in terms of page views and hits. We were trending on Twitter across Canada. It had a big impact. I don’t know what exactly happened. The fest always had good credibility, in terms of the perception of the lineup. I think it just finally hit the point where … all of a sudden people were buying tickets. Before, people were talking about it but not coming.”

The biggest difference in attendance has been from tourism. More than 60 per cent of last year’s festivalgoers came from outside the province. Alongside North American rock festivals such as Coachella in California and Lollapalooza in Chicago, Osheaga has become a destination event, drawing music fans from near and far. But Farkas explained his fest’s success has been earned.

“From the start, when we embarked on this, we had five stages and spent a lot of money on production, to optimize the fan and band experience,” he said. “We knew it would never work as just a Montreal or Quebec festival. We had to get people to travel in order to make it viable.”

Last year, the formerly intimate Green Stage was moved to a near

y field, effectively creating a mid-size venue that could accommodate approximately 10,000 people, in contrast to the previous location, which held a fraction of that number. A victim of its own success, the change led to foot-traffic jams as fans migrated back and forth to catch different shows.

The problem was quickly fixed, however, as organizers reacted to feedback on the fly. This year, they have added an extra bridge (leading over a road on the way to the Green Stage area) to ensure a smooth commute, and again moved the stage, which can now accommodate 17,500 people.

“We’re (also) focusing our programming on scheduling acts, so as to avoid massive influxes of people in either direction,” Farkas said. “Adequate flow patterns are something we never thought of before. We were always focusing on the lineup, and making it better than the last year.”

This year’s roster is one of the heaviest-hitting yet, with an impressive depth of talent led by some nifty top draws.

“We’ve got Mumford & Sons (on Sunday), which is one of the biggest acts in the world right now,” Farkas said, “The Cure (Friday), and Beck (Saturday), who we’ve been trying to get for the past eight years. It all fell into place.”

Source: montrealgazette

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On “Blurred Lines” , Robin Thinke's vision is clear

NEW YORK — At 36, Robin Thicke has been with the same woman, happily, for 20 years. But he has spent his entire creative life looking for love.

"When I think of the artists that I respect the most — Stevie Wonder, John Lennon, Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye — they're all people who found a way to sing about togetherness, about changing the world with love," says Thicke. "That's who I am. I'm a hippie at heart. And that's what most of my songs revolve around: figuring out love, or finding love, or spreading love."

Thicke has also sought affirmation in a more professional sense. "I always wanted legitimacy, or my peers' respect, or my parents' respect, more than I wanted a big radio hit."

Neither of those goals is evident, he admits, on his cheeky, chart-topping single Blurred Lines. And that's just fine with him.

"I started out with very lofty ambitions," Thicke admits, in between sips of double espresso. "The guys I admired got more serious as they got older. John Lennon went from Help! to Working Class Hero; Marvin went from Ain't No Mountain High Enough to What's Going On. I think I'm going the other way. When I watch my new video, I think, 'That's not the guy I set out to be — but you know, that guy may be cooler.' "

Thicke is sitting in the lobby of a chic downtown hotel where he's crashing with his 3-year-old son, Julian Fuego, while plugging his new album, also titled Blurred Lines, out Tuesday. Julian's mom, actress Paula Patton, is off promoting a new film, 2 Guns. "She had a few busy days, so I was like, 'Why don't you come with me, buddy?' He's my best friend."

Patton, whom Thicke met as a teenager and married in 2005, and Julian were a big source of inspiration for Thicke's new material, though not in the way you might expect. There are reflective songs on the album, such as 4 the Rest of My Life, which recalls Thicke's courtship of Patton, and Top of the World, informed by single female friends "who have accomplished amazing things in their careers, but still don't have the love they want."

But Lines' light heart lies in breezier, funkier fare such as the titular smash, modeled after Gaye's Got to Give It Up, and Thicke's follow-up single Give It 2 U, which features Kendrick Lamar. And Thicke isn't being ironic when he attributes that vibe to his experience as a family man.

"What it came down to is that at this point in my life, it's most important for me to be happy," Thicke says. "That means being with my wife and child. And when I'd play new songs for my wife at night, I'd play happy stuff and sadder, deeper stuff — and she'd always want to go back to the happy stuff. So this became a let's-have-fun-and-dance album."

Certainly, there has been a playful element to Thicke's eroticism in the past; his 2009 album Sex Therapy included a double-entendre-laden duet with Jay Z, Meiple. But Thicke insists he's had a tendency to brood that dates back to his childhood.

"The reason I started to write songs was to get rid of some of the loneliness I felt growing up in this big house with busy parents (Alan Thicke and his ex-wife, singer/actress Gloria Loring) and a big brother who had a do-not-disturb sign and skull and crossbones on his door. The piano became how I connected with the world."

Andre Harrell, who has served as an executive producer on all of Thicke's albums, feels that this sensitivity has been an asset for the singer, whose authenticity as a purveyor of romantic soul has made him that rare white artist more popular with urban audiences than on pop radio.

"If you close your eyes and listen to Robin sing, you can't tell that he's white," Harrell says. "I could always tell that Michael McDonald was white, that Justin Timberlake was white. (Thicke) used his vulnerability as a strength, to sing about the ups and downs of relationships, but people didn't know how to define him."

Working on Lines, Thicke was also influenced by newer collaborators, such as Pharrell Williams and will.i.am, both contributors to the album. "I noticed that they don't bring their issues to a song," Thicke says. "With will.i.am and Pharrell, it's all about moving it forward, having a good time, as opposed to me going, 'Sit down, let me tell you my problems.' I took out the melodrama."

Commercial prospects were a factor as well, Thicke admits. His last album, 2011'sLove After War, sold a disappointing 206,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. "After releasing five albums where I'm pouring everything into my music, and then the last one doesn't sell at all, I thought, am I crazy?"

For veteran music critic Alan Light, Thicke's resilience makes his current success all the more impressive. "The guy's been in the game, a young man's game, for 15 years now. When you hit a peak after that long, it's a testament to something, some vision or bigger idea that sustains you," Light says.

Thicke quips, "Now that I've had a taste of that success, I can see how other artists are like, 'Next one's going to be even bigger!' You think about world domination."

He might consult his son, whom Thicke jokes is "pretty much my A&R (artists and repertoire) director. He's always able to pick the hits, even with my old songs." Julian is already a budding tunesmith himself: "He's written five songs. The latest one is called I Forgot to Sing My Song. That's the new hit. He's very serious about it. I'll tell him my band is coming over to rehearse, and he'll be like, 'No, my guys are coming over, Daddy. We have to work on my new song.' "

The final track on Lines, The Good Life, was included with Julian and his mother in mind. Thicke originally wrote it "about eight years ago, when I was going through my darkest period," but now views its fundamental message — that "life takes you up and down," as he sings — in a brighter light.

"Some of our individual goals still haven't been realized," Thicke says of himself and Patton. "But we have a healthy child. We're madly, crazily in love. That's where I was at, and I wanted to celebrate it. Life is pretty good, you know?"

Source: usatoday

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