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Exclusive: Natalie Cole Has Died– She Was Severely Ill Back in August When She Sang in the Hamptons

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive: Natalie Cole Has Died– She Was Severely Ill Back in August When She Sang in the Hamptons

I saw Natalie Cole sing in the Hamptons on August 29th at a charity benefit. She was there with producer David Foster, who was bringing a caravan of performers back from an Asia tour. She was stick thin. She could barely sing. She sang in a whisper. She was late coming on stage. She was confused and disoriented. She was physically weak.

I have never been horrified in my life. I’ve known Natalie well for years. This was NOT Natalie Cole. She looked like she was going to drop dead any moment. If this were a close friend, or a work associate with whom I’d been traveling, I would have called an ambulance right then and there.

I insisted going backstage to speak with her. Her rotten manager/publicist tried stop me. Natalie was happy to see me, however, and brushed the woman aside. We closed doors on either side of us in Southhampton’s Parish Museum so that we had a moment of privacy.

The last time I’d seen her was on March 3rd at Lincoln Center. She’d performed a rare version of “This Will Be,” her monster hit from the 70s, at a charity show. She looked very well, and her voice was perfect. We sat at the dinner table and chatted for a while. She told me “This Will Be” was bringing in good money from the eHarmony commercials. We joked that she had made eHarmony.

She told me she was going to Asia on tour in the summer.

Now, six months later, we stood in this cold breezeway, closed in by sleek polished doors, and I was really worried about her. The person standing in front of me had had a terrible decline in a very short time.

“Natalie, you need a doctor,” I said, “I am very concerned about you.”

“I know,” she replied. We held hands. She was very fragile. “I need one. Do you know one? I’m having so much trouble with my immune system.”

I told her I would help her. I told her if she stayed in New York, we could get to the best doctors. Or another mutual friend, Joyce Moore, could get her to the Mayo Clinic. I mentioned the name of her great friend, Denise Rich, whom I called immediately thereafter.

Natalie blamed the trip to Asia for her frightening condition. “I couldn’t eat anything here.” This seemed highly unusual, even for someone with Hepatitis C.

Natalie gave me her cell number so we could text, and I could send her information and we could be in contact. I sent her a “test” message so she had my information.

After we left each other, I mentioned to David Foster that Natalie didn’t look well. He said, “She’s fine. It’s just been a long trip.”

No one traveling with this group seemed concerned about Natalie’s upsetting situation.

A few hours later, I received a response to my text, which had read: “I will help you any way I can. Doctors etc”.

The response: “Thank you but I am welll taken care of.” I am not sure that she wrote it herself. Looking at the text now, I am sure she did not send it herself.

Today’s news is terrible beyond my imagination. I am told by friends in Los Angeles that they did try to help after my frantic calls on that August night. They say she checked into Cedars Sinai Hospital and has been there mostly since then. The other details are fuzzy.

Natalie Cole’s voice was a gift from God. She was also one of the loveliest people I’ve ever met. She was really an angel. But she suffered. Her ex husband, Marvin, who was also her manager when she hit big around 1975, was not a good guy. He died in 1985 at age 34, of a heart attack.

Natalie suffered from chronic kidney failure. She’d had a miracle kidney transplant. She had Hepatitis C. Somehow she’d survived it all.

Back in 2010, she’d played New York’s City Winery. That was the first time her manager tried to stop me from seeing her after the show. She told the audience that night, “I didn’t think I’d live to be 30.” It’s a wonder that she did. That week she’d turned 60. At the beginning of the week I’d seen her in Los Angeles, where she sang on Quincy Jones’s remake of “We Are the World.” By the time she’d arrived at City Winery her arm was in a sling– she’d fallen and broken an elbow.

Natalie’s amazing voice and her beaming personality will outlive her tragedy as legacies. But I am so mad that yet another wonderful talent– like Michael or Whitney– has been squandered. To say it’s a shame is a gross understatement.

To use a cliche, she was Unforgettable.

Barack Obama (Wearing a Sleek Electronic Watch) Gives Best Interview Ever to Jerry Seinfeld

Roger Friedman
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Barack Obama (Wearing a Sleek Electronic Watch) Gives Best Interview Ever to Jerry Seinfeld

I think I learned more about Barack Obama from this episode of “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” than any interview he’s done before. First of all, he does think most world leaders are nuts. Second, he wears a sleek black electronic watch, but not an Apple watch. He also picks out his own suits in the morning, gets a wake up call, and shaves before he works out.
Seinfeld: “Have you ever gone on ebay?” Obama-without hesitation: “No.”
Obama: “Do you still do stand up?” Seinfeld (incredulous): “Do you still give speeches?”

PS If you know what brand that watch is in the picture, tweet me @showbiz411. In most photos Obama is wearing a round, old fashioned analog watch, usually something Swiss with a black dial.

Tarantino’s Three Hour “Hateful Eight” — in Fewer Theaters– Outplays “Sisters,” “Joy,” “Concussion,” “Good Dinosaur”

Roger Friedman
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Tarantino’s Three Hour “Hateful Eight” — in Fewer Theaters– Outplays “Sisters,” “Joy,” “Concussion,” “Good Dinosaur”

Quentin Tarantino and Harvey Weinstein win again. They expanded “The Hateful Eight”– the two hour, forty seven minute version without an intermission or overture– and scooped up $3.5 million on Wednesday night.

Tarantino’s blazingly colorful talky bloodbath made more money in Wednesday night than Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Will Smith and a football, and animated dinosaurs.

Those movies– “Joy,” “Sisters,” “Concussion,” and “The Good Dinosaur”– were each playing in more theaters.

“The Hateful Eight” finished fourth last night, with a total now of $10.2 million.

You can’t ever bet against these people. You will lose.

Weinstein moved “H8” up a week to pounce on Fox’s “The Revenant”– also bloody, not so talky. After 6 days in limited release (four theaters) Leo and the bear have earned $800,384. Their real test is yet to come but those numbers bode well.

“Joy,” which could have gone either way, has already made $25 million in 6 days. Great news.

And “Star Wars” will cross $700 million domestic by Sunday.

2016 Happy New Year! (Listen)

Roger Friedman
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2016 Happy New Year! (Listen)

Five Years Later, We’re Still Waiting for Elaine to Come Back

Roger Friedman
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Five Years Later, We’re Still Waiting for Elaine to Come Back

This is what people who used to go to Elaine’s say to each other on the occasion of an accidental meeting: “Where do you go now?”

It’s as if there’s a secret, and it must be shared.

Elaine Kaufman died five years ago on December 3rd. You’re asking, why did I wait to mention it until now? I just couldn’t do it. I thought about it, but it seemed like I needed more than a minute to think about Elaine, whom we miss so much.

A bunch of people did get together at Neary’s on December 3rd, organized by Peter Khoury of the New York Times. Neary’s is way east on 57th St. I was all the way downtown and west at some event. It was too hard to get there. So already you know what’s changed. Because back in the day, no matter where I was at 11pm, Second Avenue and East 88th St. was just a cab ride away.

Five months after Elaine died, the restaurant closed. The regulars know why it all happened, we discuss it regularly. There is a lot of anger. One day maybe the story will be told, how Elaine came to her demise. And then the restaurant, too. But truth be told, those months after her death were really weird. You’d sit there and kind of wait for her to come back through the doors.

And little by little, things started to disappear: the flat bread on the tables, the waiters. We were being sent a message.

But I digress.

Where do we go now? Nowhere. There is no way to recapture what Elaine gave us. She gave us home. And on New Year’s Eve, when dates didn’t work out and nothing you planned elsewhere clicked, you gravitated back to Elaine’s. The place was jazzed up with ornaments and lights and balloons. There was a golden cast over the mundane tables, and live music. People you saw all year were dressed up.

And there she was, Elaine in her tent dress, sparkling, holding out hope for the new year. “We’ve been waiting for you,” she’d say. “What took you so long?”

Happy New Year, Elaine.

Plenty of “Room” At Awards Shows for the Man Who Made Brie Larson an Oscar Contender

Leah Sydney
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Plenty of “Room” At Awards Shows for the Man Who Made Brie Larson an Oscar Contender

We probably haven’t talked enough about the brilliant “Room,” a suspenseful and emotional film about a mother and son locked in a tiny room for years.

“Room” has been lauded by critics to say the least, landing on most Critics Top Ten Lists, as well as the AFI’s recent top ten films of the year.  Star Brie Larson is considered a frontrunner for the Oscar for Best Actress and newcomer Jacob Tremblay has earned raves as the Best Newcomer of the year, child actor of the year, and frankly, just one of the actors of any age this year.

Emma Donoghue’s screenplay has also been included in the huzzahs. Oddly though, the talented director, Dublin based Lenny Abrahamson, has been conspicuously absent from those lists.  I talked to Lenny recently at an event that Rob Reiner hosted. Rob told the VIP crowd that, “I admire this movie so much.  There are magicians that set up huge tricks, big extravaganzas like the Taj Mahal disappearing.  The ones that impress me are the ones that have their hands right in front of my eyes and I can’t figure out what they are doing.  That’s what Lenny has done.  He’s done an expert job.”

Reiner is right, the film is indeed brilliant and daunting. I asked Lenny if that was a challenge with audiences.

Lenny answered, “From the beginning, people have told me that they were afraid to see it.  But after they do, they become evangelists of sorts and tell all their friends, ‘Don’t’ be afraid, it’s okay.” So a big part of this conversation is telling people that this film is beautiful, hopeful, emotional and life affirming. “

Maybe he succeeded too well and made it look too easy?

“The film doesn’t appear to be wrought, or made, as opposed to seeing it just happening. I filmed it with a deep cohesion and truthfulness.  The film was so tricky, unbelievably hard to make this fly and to do what it does, to get the tone right all the way through. I’m getting such positive feedback from directors  and that’s truly gratifying. One said that it’s a seamless movie, because I sewed up the many seams to make it seem that way.  So I’m grateful.”

I told him that Brie’s performance is truly magnificent, and Jacob’s is so pure.  How did he know that combination was going to be so perfect?

Lenny answered,  “You place your bets as a director on all sorts of all things.  We were about three days into in when I realized how powerful it all was.  Brie is such a generous person. Working with a kid, I’d work in a non-linear way, just to keep it fresh.  Brie would often have to find that place and jump from moment to moment.  She’s extraordinary that she was able to do that.”

What’s up next for him?

Lenny said, “I’m working on a project about the boxer Emile Griffith who was a six-time world welterweight champion in the 1950s.  He was black man from the American Virgin Islands.  He comes to New York in the late 1950’s, worked in ladies hats; he was gay and active in that scene, lived a double life.  Then became this successful boxer, it’s a fascinating story. I’m still co-writing it and will direct.”

 I then asked if the plum part of Emile has been cast yet?

 He smiled, “Not even close.”

 

Remember Lady Gaga’s “Protege,” Maria Aragon? She’s 15 Now and Going Viral with “Ave Maria”

Roger Friedman
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Remember Lady Gaga’s “Protege,” Maria Aragon? She’s 15 Now and Going Viral with “Ave Maria”

Maria Aragon blew everyone away four years ago when– at age 11– she performed “Born this Way” on stage in Toronto with Lady Gaga.

She even got a shot on “Ellen”:

Well, Maria’s 15 now and has blossomed into quite the singer. She just performed “Ave Maria” with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra to a live audience of over 2000 people at Centennial Hall, and caused a sensation. Here’s the video:


You can download this track at welovefreemusic.com, an exciting, brand new music site described as “the first and only website in the history of the internet to deliver curated and produced content from it’s artists to the entire world, entirely free, in both streaming and download formats, without any advertising and without the requirement for personal information to access the content.”

As for Maria, I’m told she’s making her first album with Whitney Houston’s original producer, multiple Grammy Award winner Narada Michael Walden. So hold on. Before 2016 is out we may have a new teen superstar. Sure sounds like it.

Kennedy Center Fail: Ratings Drop From Last Year Despite “Star Wars” Tie-In with George Lucas Tribute

Roger Friedman
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Kennedy Center Fail: Ratings Drop From Last Year Despite “Star Wars” Tie-In with George Lucas Tribute

It’s no fault of the new Kennedy Center Honors producers. But their ratings were down by 300,000 viewers in the key 18-49 demo last night, from last year’s show.

It was last year’s show that brought the ousting of George Stevens Jr, who started the show 37 years ago, and his son Michael.

The new major donor of the Kennedy Center, David Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group, decided he wanted new, hipper people presenting the program. So he got rid of the Stevenses unceremoniously. (Michael Stevens became gravely ill right after last year’s award show. He died a few weeks ago at age 48.)

Now the ratings are in for last night’s telecast. They are lower than the year before– a 0.9 vs. 1.2 in the demo. Last night show’s drew 7.5 million viewers total. Last year, the Kennedy Center Honors had a total of 9.25 million viewers. The show lost the lead in from an “NCIS” rerun of 10.4 million.

Think of this: the program featured George Lucas and “Star Wars,” a movie that is making $30 mil a day and has already crossed $1 billion worldwide. You’d think there would have been some interest– and certainly not a huge loss.

The show was very good, albeit for the weird non tribute to the Eagles. But something got lost in the translation.

 

Movies: Best of 2015 Includes Moving Michael Keaton into Lead Actor for “Spotlight,” Then it All Gets Easier

Roger Friedman
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Movies: Best of 2015 Includes Moving Michael Keaton into Lead Actor for “Spotlight,” Then it All Gets Easier

Here’s the deal. A few years ago I wrote that Kate Winslet should be moved from Supporting to Lead for “The Reader.” She was listed on the Oscar ballot as supporting actress for “The Reader.” I discovered that a letter goes out with Academy Award ballots stating that you can move an actor or actress from one category to another. It worked. Kate won Best Actress for her startling work in “The Reader.”

Earlier this year Michael Keaton came within a whisker of winning Best Actor for “Birdman.” He had already won a lot of other awards. He lost the Oscar to Eddie Redmayne, whose portrayal of Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything” is heartbreaking.

This year there’s a big movement to get Leonardo DiCaprio an Oscar for “The Revenant.” I’m not against that. But Michael Keaton is sensational in “Spotlight.” The actors from that movie all wanted to be in supporting. This is a mistake. Keaton is the leader of that ensemble. And his character, Walter “Robby” Robinson holds the key to how the Globe dealt with the “Spotlight” story. Move him, I say. Put Keaton in lead and let’s see what happens.

Ballots go out or can be downloaded on Wednesday. Keep refreshing…

Best Film: (no order) Carol, Room, Spotlight, Inside Out, The Big Short, Straight Outta Compton, The Martian, Steve Jobs, Joy, Bridge of Spies

Best Actor: Michael Keaton, Matt Damon, Michael Fassbender, Steve Carell, Samuel L. Jackson; special mention Eddie Redmayne (but he just won this past year)

Best Actress: Lily Tomlin, Cate Blanchett, Charlotte Rampling, Brie Larson, Jennifer Lawrence

Best Supporting Actor: Mark Ruffalo, Mark Rylance, Christian Bale, Michael Shannon, Idris Elba

Best Supporting Actress: Jane Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rooney Mara, Rachel McAdams, Kate Winslet

Best Director: Ridley Scott, Tom McCarthy, Todd Haynes, Steven Spielberg, David O. Russell

Movies that were inexplicably blown: Youth, Suffragette, Love and Mercy, The Walk

Performances that fell by the wayside: Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel in Youth, Joseph Gordon Levitt in The Walk, Carey Mulligan in Suffragette.

Great performances but not enough there to merit awards action: Liev Schreiber, Parker Posey, Tom Courtenay, Jessica Chastain, Diane Ladd-Isabella Rossellini-Elisabeth Rohm in “Joy,” Joan Allen

Best song: Til It Happens to You, Diane Warren, from The Hunting Ground

Best score: I loved Howard Shore’s music for “Spotlight.” Ennio Morricone’s music from “The Hateful Eight” is epic. Also really dug “The Circus of Machines” from “Steve Jobs” by Daniel Pemberton. It was a good year for scores. John Williams again? I can’t hear the difference anymore. Does anyone know anything more than the original “Star Wars” theme? It’s like John Barry’s “007” music.

Best cinematography: it’s a toss up between Ed Lachman for “Carol,” and Emmanuel Uzbeki for “The Revenant.” But don’t count out Robert Richardson’s saturated colors that make beautiful tableaux in “The Hateful Eight,” Dariusz Wolski for “The Martian,” or the way Danny Cohen made the “Room” seem bigger than it was.

Bill Cosby Decision Day: Arraignment Today– Arrest Warrant Issued in 2004 Sex Assault Case

Roger Friedman
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Bill Cosby Decision Day: Arraignment Today– Arrest Warrant Issued in 2004 Sex Assault Case

Update: Bill Cosby will be arraigned later today in Pennsylvania after his official arrest. He committed aggravated indecent assault, says District Attorney.

Earlier:
An arrest warrant has been issued for entertainer Bill Cosby for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting former Temple employee Andrea Constand at his Elkins Park, Pennsylvania mansion in January 2004, according to People magazine.

A press conference is imminent.

If Cosby is arrested and arraigned it will bring some satisfaction to the dozens of women who’ve come forward in the last year or more. The formerly beloved comedian has turned out to be a Jekyll and Hyde who has just about a life long history of drugging and assaulting women. Their stories by now are well known.

It’s a very sad ending to what was a heralded life and career for Cosby. He became a role model and educator, a paragon of virtue as a family man and father. For his long time fans, Cosby’s implosion came as a shock.

More to come…

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