Search results for

Joe Albany was an acclaimed bebop pianist, a band mate of legendary jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker -- and a heroin junkie. In her new memoir, Lowdown: Jazz, Junk, And Other Fairytales From Childhood, author A.J. Albany recalls her turbulent life with her troubled, talented father. Tom Vitale reports.

Kim dominated the leaderboard after her stellar first run at the women's snowboard halfpipe event on Thursday in Beijing. She's the first woman to win multiple Olympic golds in the halfpipe.

In their day, acts like Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy would keep audiences young and old as transfixed as the biggest stars on television today. It's hard to imagine that ventriloquists and their wooden sidekicks would be such big hits -- on radio. NPR's Bob Edwards talks to the author of a new book about the bygone era of ventriloquism.

HBO is now airing the second season of Project Greenlight, a reality TV show that focuses on aspiring screenwriters and directors who earn a chance to make a movie for Miramax. Winners star in a behind-the-scenes look at the movie business. But what happens to those who miss the cut? NPR's Lynn Neary reports.

Gregory Hines, the greatest tap dancer of his generation, dies of cancer at age 57. He grew from a child star to become a Tony-winning Broadway actor who made numerous appearances in movies and television. NPR's Jacki Lyden reports.

From the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s through the Vietnam War, Martha Gellhorn covered the major conflicts of her day. Best known as the third wife of Ernest Hemingway, Gellhorn was also a pioneer in journalism, telling the story of war in a unique and personal way. NPR's Susan Stamberg reports on a new biography of the writer.

Legendary dancer and actor Donald O'Connor dies of heart failure in Calabasas, Calif., at age 78. O'Connor's career began in vaudeville and carried him to Hollywood. He made more than 50 films, including Singin' in the Rain, with Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds. NPR's Liane Hansen offers a remembrance.

At his death in 1829, English scientist James Smithson left half a million dollars for the establishment of an institution in Washington, D.C. He'd never set foot in the city -- or in the United States. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Nina Burleigh, author of The Stranger and the Statesman, a new book about the mysterious benefactor of the Smithsonian Institution.

Photographer Frederic Brenner spent 25 years documenting Jewish communities in more than 40 countries on five continents. The results are the subject of an exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and a new book, Diaspora: Homelands in Exile. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Brenner about his art and the state of the diaspora.

For the first time in history, all 10 acts on the "Billboard Top 10" are black. Nine of the 10 are rap acts, and the top spot is held by Pop/R&B songstress Beyonce and Dancehall Reggae star Sean Paul.