Showbuzz
Web posted on: Wednesday, September 16, 1998 6:15:52 PM EDT
Today's buzz stories:
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Pryor
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NEW YORK (CNN) -- Comedian Richard Pryor will be the first recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for humor, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced Tuesday. Pryor will receive the award during a ceremony on October 20 in Washington, D.C. Chevy Chase, Morgan Freeman, Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Damon Wayans and Robin Williams will participate in the ceremony.
"We chose Richard Pryor," said the Center's president, Lawrence
Wilker, "because as a standup comic, writer and actor, he struck a
chord and a nerve with America, forcing it to look at large social
questions of race and the more tragicomic aspects of the human
condition."
"I feel great about accepting this prize," Pryor said in a statement. "It's nice to be regarded on par with a great white man
-- now that's funny!"
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"Titanic"
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MINNEAPOLIS (CNN) -- It's full steam ahead for "Titanic," and then some. Musicland Stores, which operates 1,300 retail stores including Sam Goody, Suncoast Motion Picture, Media Play and On Cue, says that in its first week of release, the video of the Oscar-winning blockbuster has beat sales forecasts by 22 percent. The company also says "Titanic" has exceeded by 20 percent totals for the previous record holder, Disney's "The Lion King."
The picture is already the top-grossing movie of all time, earning more than $1.8 billion at the box office worldwide since its release last December.
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Shandling
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HOLLYWOOD (CNN) -- Fans of the retired HBO comedy "The Larry Sanders Show" might get a Christmas bonus. Variety reports that Garry Shandling, the show's creator, is feverishly trying to complete writing "The Larry Sanders Autobiography," hopefully for publication this holiday season.
Shandling is also concentrating on learning to become a better big-screen actor, working with the likes of Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn and Andie MacDowell in "Town & Country." And Shandling continues to pursue his feature writing career
with "What Planet Are You From?", long in development at Columbia. "The Larry Sanders Show" aired its finale in May.
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Lincoln Center
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NEW YORK (CNN) -- According to the New York Times, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is receiving $25 million, its largest single gift ever from an individual. The donation comes from Julian Robertson Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Tiger Management, a multibillion-dollar investment fund.
The gift was meant to be a surprise for his wife, Josie, for whom the center's fountain plaza will be renamed. Officials with the center say the money will be divided among artistic programs and the center's 12 constituent members, such as the Metropolitan Opera and the Juilliard School. The largest share will go to members through grants.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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