ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, MAY 31, 2021 NEWS/FEATURES 13 People & Places Obits Actor MacLeod dead ‘Hooked on Feeling’ singer Thomas dies LOS ANGELES, May 30, (AP): B.J. Thomas, the Grammy-winning singer who enjoyed success on the pop, country and gospel charts with such hits as “I Just Can’t Help Believing,” “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” and “Hooked on a Feeling,” has died. He was 78. Thomas, who announced in March that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer, died from complications of the disease Saturday at his home in Arlington, Tex- as, his publicist Jeremy Westby said in a statement. A Hugo, Oklahoma-native who grew up in Hou- ston, Billy Joe Thomas broke through in 1966 with a gospel- styled cover of Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” and went on to sell mil- lions of records and have doz- ens of hits across genres. He reached No. 1 with pop, adult contemporary and country listeners in 1976 with “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Thomas Wrong Song.” The same year, his “Home Where I Belong” became one of the fi rst gospel albums to be certifi ed platinum for selling more than 1 million copies. Dionne Warwick, who duetted with Thomas, sent out a tweet Saturday with her condolences. “My sincere condolences to the family of one of my favorite duet partners, BJ Thomas. I will miss him as I know so many others will as well. Rest In Peace my friend,” she said. Thomas’ signature recording was “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head,” a No. 1 pop hit and an Oscar winner for best original song as part of the soundtrack to one of the biggest movies of 1969, the irreverent Western “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” This image released by Netflix shows Michael Douglas, (left), and Kathleen Turner in a scene from the third and final season of ‘The Kominsky Method.’ (AP) Thomas wasn’t the fi rst choice to perform the whim- sical ballad composed by Burt Bacharach and Hal David; Ray Stevens turned the songwriters down. But his warm, soulful tenor fi t the song’s easygoing mood, Television immortalized on fi lm during the scene when Butch (Paul Newman) shows off his new bicycle to Etta Place (Katharine Ross), the girlfriend of the Sundance Kid (Robert Redford). ‘Kominsky’ revisits ‘The War of the Roses’ 30 years later Soundtrack “Raindrops” has since been heard everywhere from “The Simpsons” to “Forrest Gump” and was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2013. But, at fi rst, Fun reunion for Turner and Douglas not everyone was satisfi ed. Thomas was recovering from laryngitis while recording the soundtrack version LOS ANGELES, May 30, (AP): Near- and watch and had a front-row seat, His reunion with Turner gave both and his vocals are raspier than for the track released on ly four decades ago, “Romancing the which was amazing.” of them a chance to reflect on their its own. Redford, meanwhile, doubted the song even Stone” introduced audiences to the Paul Reiser, who plays Baker’s fi- early careers. belonged in “Butch Cassidy.” crackling chemistry between Michael ance, said he was struck by the unique- Turner recalled first meeting Doug- “When the fi lm was released, I was highly critical Douglas and Kathleen Turner. ness of Douglas’ and Turner’s rela- las over Mexican food before filming — how did the song fi t with the fi lm? There was no Now at 76 and 66 years old, Douglas tionship. “Romancing the Stone.” rain,” Redford told USA Today in 2019. “At the time, and Turner are back on screen together “There aren’t that many pairings “‘Oh, he’s very sexy,’” she recalls it seemed like a dumb idea. How wrong I was.” in the third and final season of Netf- of actors ... There aren’t that many thinking of him. But she didn’t let that Thomas would later say the phenomenon of “Rain- lix’s “The Kominsky Method.” De- that you’ve seen repeatedly,” he said. intimidate her. “He’s quite sure of what drops” exacerbated an addiction to pills and alcohol spite the many years that have passed “You’ve got De Niro and Pesci. Wal- he wants. He’s quite focused and spe- which dated back to his teens, when a record producer since their third and last film together, ter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. ... You cific. So you just kind of go, ‘Uh huh, in Houston suggested he take amphetamines to keep Colin Farrell attends the premiere for their reunion was seamless. subconsciously have this history that uh huh, OK.’ But then when you saw the his energy up. He was touring and recording constant- ‘Widows’ on day 3 of the Toronto In- “Like riding a bicycle,” Douglas the minute you see them. It almost work: ‘I need to be a full partner.’ And ly and taking dozens of pills a day. By 1976, while ternational Film Festival on Sept 8, said over a video call earlier this week. breaks the frame in a good way. It he understood and respected that.” “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done 2018, in Toronto. Farrell turns 45 on “We’d look at each other, and there’s a makes what you’re watching seem a After that, the two of them “went May 31. (AP) Somebody Wrong Song” was hitting No. 1, he felt like lot of memories coming back.” piece of what you’ve been watching through a lot.” he was “number 1,000.” The Los Angeles-set “Kominsky for years. It’s a real treat to have that.” From mountainous muddy roads “I was at the bottom with my addictions and my Method” doesn’t place the pair in the Turner’s presence — along with an in Mexico to oppressive desert heat problems,” he said in 2020 on “The Debby Campbell same exotic locations as 1984’s “Ro- expanded role for Reiser and smaller in Africa, filming their first two films Goodtime Show.” He cited a “spiritual awakening,” mancing the Stone” or its sequel “Jewel parts for Oscar winners Morgan Free- was a true adventure. “The War of the shared with his wife, Gloria Richardson, with helping of the Nile.” But it does include the type man and Allison Janney — helps make Roses” also had its challenges, despite him to get clean. of caustic barbs from their last film to- up for the third season’s absence of 90% of the film taking place in a house. Thomas had few pop hits after the mid-1970s, but gether, 1989’s “The War of the Roses.” Alan Arkin, who left the show after Turner said she and Douglas recent- he continued to score on the country charts with such It was with that in mind that Doug- its second season. His banter with and ly had a laugh about the film’s famous No. 1 songs as “Whatever Happened to Old-Fash- las thought to invite Turner to join needling of Douglas was pitch perfect last scene, in which their warring char- ioned Love” and “New Looks from an Old Lover.” In “The Kominsky Method” in its second acters become precariously stuck on a the late 1970s and early ’80s, he was also a top gospel and earned both men Emmy nomina- season to play his character’s sharp- giant chandelier. The actors had to sit and inspirational singer, winning two Dove awards tions. tongued ex-wife, who’s introduced in the chandelier for hours and hours and fi ve Grammys, including a Grammy in 1979 for Characters best gospel performance for “The Lord’s Prayer.” Jackson Masterson during a phone call. The idea came to over the course of two weeks to get all Fans of the 1980s sitcom “Growing Pains” heard him Douglas immediately when creator/ “He was such an instrumental part the shots. as the singer of the show’s theme song. He also acted in writer Chuck Lorre mentioned intro- of our success,” Douglas said. “It was “It was very painful,” Turner said. a handful of movies, including “Jory” and “Jake’s Cor- ducing an ex-wife to the show. a little bit of a risk ... but I felt strong “Continuity loved it because all you ner” and toured often. Recent recordings included “Liv- Variety “I just smiled and I said, ‘This is ‘The enough for the other characters.” had to do was lie down on the line of ing Room Music,” featuring cameos from Lyle Lovett, War of the Roses’ revisited 30 years lat- Douglas said he’s sad the show is the bruises, you know? The arms, you Vince Gill and Richard Marx. He had planned to record er’,” Douglas said. “We’ve already got ending but that he appreciates what it just lined up the bruises, and then you in 2020 in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, but the sessions BRUSSELS: The European Commission our back stories and we’re all set.” has taught him. were in the right position ... That was a were delayed because of the pandemic. said on Friday it has given one month to As in the film, Turner often uses R- “One of the main reasons why I real test of many things.” Thomas married Richardson in 1968, and had three the Chinese-owned video app TikTok rated terms when speaking to Douglas’ did it was just to kind of learn a little Turner also continues to challenge daughters: Paige, Nora and Erin. He and his wife to answer complaints from an European character, which never fails to delight more about comedy and how you do herself with new experiences, develop- worked on the 1982 memoir “In Tune: Finding How consumers group over its commercial her in real life.