ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, MAY 3, 2021 NEWS/FEATURES 13

People & Places

Obits

Author Matthews dead Oscar-winning actress Dukakis dies aged 89 MAPLEWOOD, NJ, May 2, (AP): Olympia Duka- kis, the veteran stage and screen actor whose fl air for maternal roles helped her win an Oscar as ’s mother in the romantic comedy “,” has died. She was 89. Dukakis died Saturday morning in her home in , according to Allison Levy, her agent at In- novative Artists. A cause of death was not immedi- ately released, but her family said in a statement that she had been in failing health for months. Dukakis won her Oscar through a surprising chain of circumstances, beginning with author Nora Ephron’s recommendation that she play ’s mother in the fi lm version of Ephron’s book “Heartburn.” Du- kakis got the role, but her scenes were cut from the fi lm. To make it up to her, director Mike Nichols cast her in his hit play “Social Se- curity.” Director Norman Jew- ison saw her in that role and cast her in “Moonstruck.” Dukakis won the Oscar for best supporting actress and Cher took home the trophy for best actress. She referred to her 1988 win as “the year of the Dukakii” because it was also the year Gov. Dukakis, her cousin, was the Democratic Party’s presiden- tial nominee. At the ceremony, she held her Oscar high over her head and called out: “OK, Michael, let’s go!” Members of the Chinese music group Produce Pandas, (from left), Husky, Otter, Mr 17, Cass, and DING strike a pose while practicing dance choreography dur- In 1989, her Oscar statuette was stolen from Duka- ing rehearsals in Beijing, April 15, 2021. The Produce Pandas proudly call themselves ‘the first plus-sized boy band in China.’ That’s a radical departure from the kis’ New Jersey home. industry standard set by Korean super groups such as BTS, whose lanky young members are sometimes referred to in China as ‘little fresh meat.’ (AP) “We’re not pretentious,” her husband, actor , said at the time. “We kept the Oscar in the kitchen.” Drama Dukakis, who was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, Music had yearned to be an actor from an early age and had hoped to study drama in college. Her Greek immigrant parents insisted she pursue a more practical education, so she studied physical therapy at Musicians blend jazz rhythms across Estonia-Russia border on a scholarship from the National Foundation for In- fantile Paralysis. After earning her bachelor’s degree, she worked at an understaffed hospital in Marmet, West Virginia, and at the Hospital for Contagious Diseases in Boston. ‘Plus-size’ boy band inspires fans But the lure of the theater eventually led her to study drama at Boston University. BEIJING, May 2, (AP): Gathered in the oldest contestant in the competition “I hope people will feel encouraged It was a shocking change, she told an interviewer in a practice room, fi ve generously pro- at age 31. He had been discovered on when watching our performance,” 1988, noting that she had gone from the calm world portioned young men in baggy black Douyin, the Chinese version of Tik- he said. They can think, “If Produce of science to one where students routinely screamed sweaters are patting their bellies and Tok, where he posted clips of himself Pandas can make a breakthrough and at the teachers. waggling their arms. Bearded with dancing in pajamas or while holding a perform on a bigger stage, then ‘why “I thought they were all nuts,” she said. “It was double chins, they shout “Hoo-Ha!” in bowl of rice. can’t I?’” wonderful.” time to upbeat African drums. He nicknamed himself “17” after Her fi rst graduate school performance was a disas- The choreography is for the new his favorite age. The former petroleum Also: ter, however, as she sat wordless on the stage. song “Good Belly,” by Produce Pan- company worker said he doesn’t feel NARVA, Estonia: Two jazz musi- After a teacher helped cure her stage fright, she be- das. DING, Cass, Husky, Otter and old, but admits that after rehearsals, “I cians gave an unusual concert Friday gan working in summer stock theaters. In 1960, she In this May 24, 2013 file photo, Ac- Mr. 17 weigh an average of 100 kilo- felt my energy was emptied.” on the Estonia-Russia border, where made her off- debut and two years later had tress Olympia Dukakis is honored grams (220 pounds) and proudly call The fi ve were solicited from over Estonian guitarist Jaak Sooäär and a small part in “The Aspern Papers” on Broadway. with a star on the Hollywood Walk of themselves “the fi rst plus-sized boy 300 hopefuls by Beijing-based DMDF Russian saxophonist Alexey Kruglov After three years with a Boston regional theater, Fame for her stage work in front of band in China.” Entertainment, which wanted to build performed from castles on the oppos- Dukakis moved to New York and married Zorich. the Pantages Theatre in . That’s a radical departure from the a band that would be rotund and ap- ing banks of the river that separates Olympia Dukakis, the veteran stage industry standard seen in South Ko- proachable as well as inspiring. During their fi rst years of marriage, acting jobs their countries. were scarce, and Dukakis worked as a bartender, wait- and screen actress whose flair for rean super groups such as BTS, whose maternal roles helped her win an Os- lanky young members are sometimes Weight The musicians combined rhythms ress and other jobs. car as Cher’s mother in the romantic on International Jazz Day as an act of She and Zorich had three children - Christina, Peter referred to in China as “little fresh Husky, who worked in IT, thought comedy ‘Moonstruck,’ has died. She meat.” he would fi t in perfectly because he has friendship, despite the deteriorating and Stefan. They decided it was too hard to raise chil- was 89. (AP) relations between Russia and Estonia. dren in New York with limited income, so they moved Yet, it seems to be working for been chubby since primary school and Produce Pandas, who rose to fame af- has failed repeatedly to lose weight. The coronavirus pandemic has limited the family to a century-old house in Montclair, a New opportunities for cross-border contact. Jersey suburb of New York. ter making it about halfway through “I often work out one day then take “Youth with You,” an idol talent com- a rest for the next three days, so the re- “As the border stayed closed, I have Her Oscar victory kept the motherly fi lm roles com- friends on the other side of the border ing. She was Kirstie Alley’s mom in “Look Who’s petition hosted by iQiyi, one of the sult is clear that I gained some weight Talking” and its sequel “Look Who’s Talking Too,” largest video platforms in China. instead,” he said. The point is “stay in with whom I wanted to play with, so the sardonic widow in “” and the On the show, mentors and audience shape (and) not to lose weight, but to we decided to do it,” Sooäär said be- overbearing wife of Jack Lemmon (and mother of Ted voters pick nine fi nalists, either indi- lose fat.” fore the concert. Danson) in “Dad.” viduals or group members, to come Echoing Husky, Cass said the up- For the predominantly Russian- Her recent projects included the 2019 TV minise- together to form a new band. side to being on such a team is that speaking residents of Estonian border ries “” and the upcoming fi lm “Not to “The fi ve of us may not have the they don’t need to abstain when it city Narva, the concert was a chance Forgot.” But the stage was her fi rst love. standard look and shape of a boy band comes to food. to reconnect with their foreign neigh- “My ambition wasn’t to win the Oscar,” she com- but we hope to use the term ‘plus-sized “We don’t mind eating like a horse. bors, albeit through music. band’ to break the aesthetic stereo- I feel sorry for the ‘little fresh meat’ Few places in Europe illustrate the mented after her “Moonstruck” win. “It was to play Lady Gaga Douglas the great parts.” types,” Cass said in an interview. bands whose members must follow a tensions between Russia and the West She accomplished that in such New York productions The fi ve, two of whom formerly diet to stay slim. I feel great whenever as strongly as Hermann Castle, the as ’s “Mother Courage and Her Children,” sang in bars, are also unusual for their they look on enviously as we dig in!” 14th century fortress of Narva, and the Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey into Night” and Variety relatively advanced ages in an industry Team leader DING quit plus-sized medieval fortress built across the river ’ “The Rose Tattoo.” that worships youth and stamina. Most modeling when he heard about audi- at the end of the 15th century in what is In 2000, she was on Broadway in ’s of their fellow contestants on “Youth tioning for an “XXL” boy band, say- now the Russian town of Ivangorod. one-actor play “Rose,” and received a Drama Desk with You” began South Korean-style ing, “I feel this is probably the closest I LOS ANGELES: The woman who training while in their teens. can get to being on a magazine cover.” Modern relations between the two Award nomination for the role of an 80-year-old sur- returned Lady Gaga’s stolen French sides deteriorated again this week vivor of the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII. bulldogs was among fi ve people arrested While Produce Pandas excited au- The fi ve are now working on a new diences and sparked discussion about album, with songs including “Pursue when Russia added Estonia to its list For two decades she ran the Whole Theater Com- in connection with the theft and shooting of “unfriendly” nations following the pany in Montclair, New Jersey, specializing in classic of the music superstar’s dog walker, Los how a pop idol should look, some Your Dreams.” taunting also appeared online. “Saddle up on the horse and pur- expulsion of a Russian diplomat from dramas. Zorich died in January 2018 at age 93. Angeles police said. Estonia. Dukakis is survived by her children Christina, Ste- Detectives do not believe that the Users of China’s Weibo microblog sue your dreams. Don’t idle your time thieves initially knew the dogs belonged seized on the Chinese word for panda, away,” the lyrics go. But for the musicians, politics didn’t fan and Peter; her brother Apollo Dukakis; and four have a place at their performance. grandchildren. to the pop star, the Los Angeles Police a homonym of which appears in the Vocalist Otter, who has idolized the Department said in a statement. The mo- Chinese name for the Japanese horror South Korean boy band Super Junior “I don’t think politically at all about Also: tive for the Feb 24 robbery, investigators movie “Ring,” suggesting that watch- since he was 7, never thought he could it. It’s about the music. It will be bet- NEW YORK: Jason Matthews, an award-winning spy believe, was the value of the French bull- ing them dance was similarly frighten- be in a band that lives and performs to- ter for life on the planet. Let’s just cel- novelist who drew upon his long career in espionage dogs — which can run into the thousands ing. gether, and more importantly, encour- ebrate International Jazz Day,” Sooäär of dollars. Mr. 17, the band’s main dancer, was ages ordinary folk. said. and his admiration for John le Carre among others in The dog walker, Ryan Fischer, is crafting his popular “Red Sparrow” thrillers, has died recovering from a gunshot wound and at age 69. has called the violence “a very close call Matthews died Wednesday from Corticobasal De- with death” in social media posts. He They are charged with attempted murder, Jackson, who authorities say was the means of force likely to produce great generation (CBD), a rare, untreatable neurodegenera- was walking Lady Gaga’s three dogs conspiracy to commit robbery and shooter, also faces charges of assault bodily injury. (AP) tive disease, according to his publisher, Scribner. — named Asia, Koji and Gustav — in second-degree robbery, according to the with a semiautomatic fi rearm and a felon ❑ ❑ ❑ “How a bestselling, critically-acclaimed spy nov- Hollywood just off the famed Sunset Los Angeles County District Attorney’s carrying a concealed fi rearm in a vehicle. elist sprung from the head of a quiet CIA operations Boulevard when he was attacked. Offi ce. White faces one count of assault by BEVERLY HILLS, Calif: Anne Doug- offi cer appeared to be a great mystery,” Colin Harri- Video from the doorbell camera of a las, the widow of and son, Matthews’ editor at Scribner, said in a statement. nearby home shows a white sedan pull- stepmother of , died in “But when you learned Jason Matthews spoke six ing up and two men jumping out. They California. She was 102. languages, had read widely for decades, was an astute struggled with Fischer and one pulled a Douglas died at her home in Beverly gun and fi red a single shot before fl eeing Hills, according to an obituary provided observer of human behavior, and was adept at com- by spokeswoman Marcia Newberger. No posing long classifi ed narratives, it all made sense. with two of the dogs, Koji and Gustav. The video captured Fischer’s screams cause of death was given. His books were not only sophisticated masterpieces Kirk Douglas, the Hollywood legend of plot and spy craft, but investigations into human of, “Oh, my! I’ve been shot!” and “Help me!” and “I’m bleeding out from my who starred in “Spartacus,” “Lust for nature, especially desire in all its forms.” chest!” Life” and dozens of other fi lms, died in Matthews worked 33 years in the CIA’s highly se- Lady Gaga offered a $500,000 reward February 2020 at 103. cretive Operations Directorate before retiring a decade — “no questions asked” — to be reunited He married Anne Buydens in 1954 ago and following the path of such authors as le Carre with the dogs. The singer had been in after they met in Paris while he was and Charles McCarry in fi ctionalizing their time in Rome at the time fi lming a movie. fi lming “Act of Love” and she was doing intelligence. “Red Sparrow,” published in 2013, was The dogs were returned two days later publicity. They had two sons, Peter, a a neo-Cold War tale that introduced readers to CIA to an LAPD station by a woman who producer, and Eric, an actor. man Nathaniel Nash and to the former Russian bal- originally appeared to be “uninvolved “I often wonder what would have lerina Dominika Egorova, recruited by her uncle as a and unassociated” with the crime, police happened to me if I hadn’t married Anne. “sparrow,” trained in the art of “sexpionage - sexual initially said. The woman, identifi ed as I might not have survived without her entrapment, carnal black-mail, moral compromise.” 50-year-old Jennifer McBride, had business acumen and her fi nely-honed As an author, Matthews was an immediate, late- reported that she’d found the dogs and instincts,” Kirk Douglas once said. life success. “Red Sparrow” won an Edgar for best responded to an email address associated In 2017 the couple published “Kirk debut American thriller and was adapted into a fi lm with the reward, police said. and Anne: Letters of Love, Laughter, and starring and Joel Edgerton. Crit- McBride turned out to be in a rela- a Lifetime in Hollywood.” ics praised the book for its detail, insight, plot twists tionship with the father of one of the The Douglas Foundation, which Anne suspects, the LAPD said. It was not and her husband co-founded, has donated and candid portrait of the more tedious parts of the immediately clear if she had received the RJ Mitte, actor and executive producer, poses for a photo with professional boxer millions to a wide range of institutions, spy trade, and cited it as a model for how the CIA reward. Omar Juarez, (left), and with the president of World Boxing Council, Mauricio Su- from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to man’s skills in observation can be employed by a fi c- Police arrested James Jackson, 18; laiman Saldivar, (right), before the special premiere screening of Relativity Me- the Motion Picture & Fund. tion writer. Jaylin White, 19; and Lafayette Wha- dia’s film TRIUMPH on April 29, 2021 in Brownsville, Texas. TRIUMPH released Michael Douglas said his stepmother ley, 27, in connection with the violence. in theatres in the US on April 30. (AP ) “will always be in our hearts.” (AP)