Function Magazine

Myron Leon “Mike” Wallace born on May 9, 1918 died on April 7, 2012 at age 93 of natural causes. The actor, broadcaster, game show host and journalist feared by many for his straight talk and fearless interviews. During his 60-year career he interviewed many world leaders and famous personals.

Mike was born in Brookline, Massachusetts to Russian Jewish parents. After graduation from Brookline High School he attended the University of Michigan and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

His career started with a radio broadcasting job in 1939. He served in the United States Navy during World War II as a communications officer. In 1940s he joined the CBS radio network. In 1950s he hosted number of game shows and late-night interviews. His career as a lead reporter in CBS’s 60 Minutes is the most notable and made him a legend in the field of broadcast journalism.

His 60 Minutes interviews were legendary. He had his own way of dragging information out of people he interviewed. When he is not getting the whole story from those he interviewed, he used his famous phrase “Oh c’mon!”. For 40 years he dominated the field of interviews, a true giant in television.

The art lovers all over the world mourned the death of Thomas Kinkade. The famous painter, Thomas Kinkade died on April 6, 2012 at the age of 54 in Los Gatos, California. The reason for his death is not known yet but the family says that he died of natural causes. According to news releases, the artist have been drinking the night and a family member revealed that Kinkade had a problem with heavy drinking, and battled alcoholism for years.

He made millions form his art work. At the same time his “Painter of Light” paintings have been criticized by many. He began his early work as an air artist. Once famous Glenn Wessels who moved to Placerville, California where Kinkade lived made an influence over Kinkade’s early art life. Kinkade’s later work is more commercially oriented than a true art work. He painted happy scenes that some people criticized as made for sale. Twenty one pieces of Kinkade’s art work that were auctioned fetched over $34,000 each and some were sold for millions. A national network of Thomas Kinkade Signature Galleries promoted his work.

He was separated from his wife and four daughters, and his company filed for bankruptcy in 2010.

The bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs died of natural causes on Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at the age of 88 in Nashville. No one argue his string-bending and mind-numbing five string banjo excellence. Scruggs used three fingers to play the banjo. His music is imbedded in many hits of Jonny Cash and Hank Williams.

Scruggs, a banjo player helped to create and shape the modern country music industry as we know it. He helped to shape the success of Blue Grass Boys along with bandleader Bill Monroe, guitarist Lester Flatt and the rest of the group. His music partnership with Blue Grass Boys that started in late 1940s lasted until 1969 when he broke off from the band due to a dispute over whether to continue with the music or to look into new ways to play music.

Scruggs was best known for his 1949 recording of “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” with Monroe. He played a role in 1967 movie “Bonnie and Clyde”. He played a part in the 1962 hit TV series, “The Beverly Hillbillies”. After his breakup with Blue Grass Boys, he worked with sons in the Earl Scruggs Revue.

In 2005, the Foggy Mountain Breakdown was selected for the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.

The 47th Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards will be held on Sunday, April 1, 2012 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The ACM awards started in 1964 in Los Angeles, California. Reba and Blake Shelton will host this year’s awards and you can expect crowed vowing humor from Reba. The 8:00 pm live show will be broadcast on CBS. Many number of other events will also takes place throughout Las Vegas leading up to and after the event.

Two most prestigious awards are Artist of the Decade (not included this time) and Entertainer of the year. The Entertainer of the Year nominees for 2012 includes Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton and Taylor Swift. Female Vocalist of the Year nominees includes Miranda Lambert, Sara Evans, Martina McBride, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood. Male vocalist of the year nominees include Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton and Chris young. The New Artist of the Year category nominees includes Brantley Gilbert, Hunter Hayes and last year’s American Idol winner Scotty McCreery. There are many other categories including albums, videos, songs and musicians awards and covers 2011 debuts.

Whiney Houston met a tragic death in February 2012 in Los Angeles and she was laid to rest in Newark, New Jersey where she was born in 1963 and began her career in music.

Whitney had a celebrated career in music. Her early start dominated by her involvement with her church, New Hope Baptist Church, in Newark, New Jersey where she began singing and playing piano at age 11. Her mother, her cousin Dionne Warwick and others helped during Whitney’s early singing career.

Who can forget the golden voice of Whiney Houston? Best among her singles include “I am every woman”, “How will I know”, “Saving all my love for you”, “Greatest love of all”, “I wanna dance with somebody”, “I am your baby tonight”, “one moment in time” and “I will always love you”. Her rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” sang at the Super Bowl XXV at the Tampa Stadium became a hit single. Whitney is the most award winning artist including two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 American Music Awards.

Whitney’s first major movie role was “The Bodyguard” made in 1992 with Kevin Costner. Other notable movies include “Waiting to exhale”, and “The Preachers wife”.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO), Martha Stewart’s commercial empire, start selling Martha Stewart line in Macy’s in 2005. At the time Martha was a household name selling housewares at Kmart for a decade (contract ended in 2010), a TV show, and a publishing empire. On December 2011, MSLO announced that it will set up a small boutique inside J.C. Penney starting in February 2012. The deal will cost J.C. Penney $38.5 million and give 17% ownership of MSLO. Macy’s sued MSLO for breach of contract in New York State Supreme Court. MSLO filed a countersuit in February 2012 claiming that Macy’s mishandled its line of products causing loss revenue for the company. Both cases are pending at the time of this writing.

It is hard to go shopping these without bumping onto more specialized MSLO products. MSLO has an interior decoration contract with KB Home where its concepts are displayed at home builder’s model home complexes. Besides towels displayed at Macy’s, PetSmart, Home Depot, Staples and Michaels Stores carry its specialized products such as craft kits, doggie raincoats and desktop organizers to name a few.

Experts expect MSLO to settle with Macy’s and move on.

Betty White celebrated her 90th birthday on January 17, 2012. NBC threw in a big bash for the celebration. You may know her from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” or from “Golden Girls”. But do you know that the seven time Emmy winner and SAG Lifetime Achievement Award winner is an avid promoter of animal health and welfare?

Her love for animals started at her early childhood. Her father brought in stray animals home and asks Betty whether she want to keep them. Betty says she was a lucky little girl.

Betty’s serious work with animals started in 1970 with the Morris Animal Foundation. It is an animal health organization where she was involved with more than 30 animal health studies. She was president emeritus of the organization.

At the same time she got involved with the Los Angeles Zoo. Her untiring work has resulted in renovating chimpanzee and gorilla exhibits at the zoo. Betty also spearheaded the opening of the new elephant forest at the zoo.

Betty says she is not an animal rights activist but a promoter of animal health and welfare. Betty says she like both, comedy and animals, equally.

NBC threw in a birth day bash on TV for the Golden Girl, Betty White, on Monday, January 16, 2012. She is 90.

Born in Oak Park, Ill, Betty landed her first movie role in a short film, “Time to Kill” at the of age 23 in 1945. Movie was made by the U.S. Armed Forces to encourage solders after the tour of duty.

Betty sang for a Los Angeles area TV station in 1939. By 1952, she had her own daily radio show, “Hollywood on Television”.

First sitcom role came in 1953 in “Life with Elizabeth”. She was the lead and the show lasted until 1955.

Betty married to show producer Alan Ludden in 1963 whom she met at the set of “Password”.

1973 to 1977 she appeared on “Mary Tyler Moore Show” where she won two Emmys.

Perhaps, we all know her very well from her role in “Golden Girls”. Who could not remember four elderly roommates and naive Rose Nylund?

After “Golden Girls”, she made guest appearances in several shows and “The John Larroquette Show” landed her an Emmy.

This is brief may not do the justice for her long career in TV, film and radio. Thank you for being a friend.

It has been announced that Island Records which is a part of Universal Music will release a posthumous album of Amy Winehouses’s songs. It will be released on December 5 and will be called “Lioness: Hidden Treasures”

The album will feature 12 tracks which have previously not been released and alternative versions of existing classics and new Winehouse compositions according to a statement posted on the late singer’s website.

The album has been compiled by Marc Ronson and Salaam Remi , the producers who worked with the singer at the time of her death.

The multiple Grammy award winning singer was found dead at her home in July at the age of 27 as a result of excessive consumption of alcohol with 5 times the legal driving limit in her blood.

Lioness: Hidden Treasures will be her third album following the first album “Frank” in 2003 and “Back to Black” in 2006. The songs to be included in this album will include “Between the Cheats” recorded in 2008, “A song for you”, a demo version of “Wake up Alone”, “tears dry on their own”, “Valerie” and her recently released Tony Bennet duet” Body and Soul”.

Natalie Woods, the beautiful actress who became famous for her portrayal of Maria in West Side Story met with a tragic end when she drowned in 1981 while on a yatch with husband Robert Wagner and friend and fellow actor Christopher Walken. Her death was always shrouded in mystery with various accounts revealed about how she died. The official verdict however was that she fell overboard while trying to launch a dingy and deemed as an accidental death.

Three decades after her death new evidence has emerged that her husband actor Robert Wagner was responsible for her death with the possibility of the police reopening the case. This is in the wake of the ship’s captain Dennis Davern revealing that on the day of her death they have been drinking heavily and the couple has argued violently before she disappeared and Wagner, when told about the disappearance has told him not to spend time looking for her and that it took some time to persuade him to call the police and by that time it was too late for Natalie.

Natalie Wood’s sister Lana Woods always stated that she did not accept the verdict of death mainly due to the fact that Natalie had a deep fear of the water.