Chuck Brown, the Godfather of Go-Go, Dies at 75

Chuck Brown, who fused funk, soul and Latin sounds into an entirely new party music called go-go in Washington, D.C., in the 1970s, has died at 75 after suffering pneumonia. Brown, a guitarist, singer and songwriter affectionately dubbed the "godfather of go-go," died Wednesday from complications of sepsis at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore. He had been hospitalized since April 18. Go-go music was a point of pride for black Washingtonians, and Brown – an ex-con who became one of the city's most beloved figures – remained its most charismatic performer. He performed less often but still regularly in his final years. Brown was nominated for his first and only Grammy Award in 2011, for best rhythm-and-blues performance by a duo or group with vocals for "Love," a collaboration with singer Jill Scott and bassist Marcus Miller.
 Mary Kennedy, the estranged second wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has died. She was 52. "We deeply regret the death of our beloved sister Mary, whose radiant and creative spirit will be sorely missed by those who loved her," Mary Kennedy's family said in a statement released through her lawyer Kerry Lawrence. "Our heart goes out to her children who she loved without reservation. Mary was found dead at her Bedford, N.Y., home on Wednesday. Police issued a statement confirming they were investigating a "possible unattended death" at her home on Wednesday afternoon. Police reports also confirm that officers found "a deceased individual … inside an out building on that property." But the report withheld the individual's name. In May 2010, Robert, the son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, filed for divorce from Mary after 16 years of marriage. At the time of the filing, police were summoned to Kennedy's home for a "domestic incident," according to reports. Robert, a radio host and environmental activist, alleged his wife was intoxicated. Three days later, Mary was arrested for driving while intoxicated after police spotted her running over a curb near her home. Police said she had a .11 blood alcohol level. She pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, was fined $500 and had her license suspended for 90 days. In August 2010, she was charged with driving under the influence of drugs after speeding down the Taconic State Parkway. She was determined to be under the influence of prescription medication. Mary is survived by Robert, 58, and their children Conor, Kyra, William and Aiden.


Marvin Winans Carjacked
Pastor Marvin Winans was carjacked at a Detroit gas station earlier today.  Winans was pumping gas when some scumbags roughed him up and stole the 54-year-old's Infiniti QX56 SUV. The pastor said  he had a feeling this was "not a good situation" when he first saw the group of  guys who eventually jumped him.Winans -- whose family is legendary in the gospel music world -- was not seriously injured, but his son, Marvin Winans Jr., said his dad has checked into a hospital to get treatment. According to police, 4 suspects jacked an undisclosed amount of cash from Winans, and got away in the SUV. They describe three of the suspects as Black males. Marvin gave the eulogy at Whitney's funeral in New Jersey back in February -- and thanked Whitney's mom for bringing "the world" to church.


'Iron Man 3' lands new villain
James Badge Dale (HBO’s The Pacific, AMC’s Rubicon) has signed onto Iron Man 3 to play villain Eric Savin, who in Marvel Comics lore becomes a cyborg called Coldblood.
 

John Travolta Accuser No. 1 Hires Gloria Allred

John Doe Number One, whose accusations of misconduct against John Travolta seemed to unravel last week, has a new lawyer. "I represent John Doe Number One," famed civil rights attorney Gloria Allred confirmed. "Mr. Doe's lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice which means that he is still legally entitled to file another lawsuit against John Travolta if he chooses. We are in the process of conferring with him regarding the next steps, which he may wish to take. Our client and our firm has no further comment at this time." Allred has a long history of taking on sexual misconduct cases against A-list celebs, including allegations against Tiger Woods and Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others. Doe Number One alleged in a $2 million lawsuit filed May 4 that the actor exposed himself and acted inappropriately while receiving a massage in L.A. on Jan. 16. But his lawyer, Okorie Okorocha, withdrew him from the suit after Travolta's attorney, Marty Singer, provided evidence that suggested the actor was in New York at the time. A second lawsuit filed by Okorocha on behalf of an Atlanta-based massage therapist still remains active. Singer has vehemently denied the allegations as "false" and "absurd," adding, "People are going to come forward to get their 15 minutes of fame."
 Three members of the children's music quartet The Wiggles will be hanging up their colorful outfits and leaving the Australian band this year, with the Blue Wiggle the lone original member left dancing. Jeff Fatt (Purple Wiggle), Murray Cook (Red Wiggle) and Greg Page (Yellow Wiggle) will leave after the group wraps up a "Celebration Tour" that begins this month and ends in Australia in December, the band said in a statement Thursday. The trio will no longer perform but will take on backstage, creative roles. Three replacements have already been chosen to join Anthony Field (Blue Wiggle), who helped found the group in 1991. Since then, the group has earned worldwide renown with dozens of pop-influenced children's albums, concert tours and a television show featuring singing, jumping, dancing and skits with recurring characters like Wags the Dog and Henry the Octopus. The demands of touring and performing have taken their toll, and the three departing members want to spend more time with their families, Cook said. "We've been entertaining children around the world for 21 years and it's important that we plan for the future so that The Wiggles can keep wiggling in the years to come," Cook said in the statement. Performers Emma Watkins, Lachlan Gillespie, and Simon Pryce will become the new Yellow, Purple and Red Wiggles, respectively.


Bold And The Beautiful' Star Reveals She's A Lesbian

"Bold and the Beautiful" star Joanna Johnson has become the daytime soap opera world's only "out" actor currently on a series, revealing in an exclusive interview that she's a lesbian. The 50-year-old Johnson, whose longtime "The Bold and the Beautiful" character Karen has been living a secret life as a lesbian, says she's married to L.A. club promoter Michelle Agnew, with whom she has two children, five-year-old Julian and Harlow, two. Johnson, says she came out to her parents at the age of 23, but professionally she's chosen to stay in the closet until now. Johnson told writer Michael Logan that she kept mum on her personal life for so long out of "fear of rejection" as an actress. "I was so worried I wouldn't be employable as an actress if people knew I was a lesbian," she said. "Or that I wouldn't be believable in romance stories. I had to deal with a lot of self-loathing." On her personal life mirroring that of her "Beautiful" character Karen, who is both married to a woman (Crystal Chappell) and mother to Caroline (Lindsay Godfrey), Johnson proclaims, "I guess that's why I'm ready to open up. It feels weird and wrong to play this revelation about Karen's life and not talk about my own."



TV NEWS
Tia Mowry may no longer be playing The Game. The star of the BET comedy announced the news Tuesday, tweeting, “Just wanted to let all my fans know that I will not be returning to The Game for Season 6. It was an incredible run and I had lots of fun.” Mowry’s exit comes on heels of her co-star Pooch Hall recently indicating that his new Showtime series Ray Donovan might keep him off of the show as well. However, Hall assured his followers that he and BET are “workin it out” so that he “can still do The Game.”


Tonight's Finales:ABC: Missing at 8p; Grey's Anatomy at 9p; Scandal at 10p
CBS: Rules of Engagement at 830p; Person of Interest at 9p; The Mentalist at 10p
NBC: 30 Rock at 830p; Community at 930p


This summer, VH1 launches several new series: Yo! MTV Raps (VH1 Rock Doc) premieres June 7 at 10p; new series Mob Wives Chicago opens June 10 at 8p; VH1's new docu-soap Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta opens June 18 at 8p; Hollywood Exes premieres June 27 at 9p; Big Ang debuts July 8 at 8p; Mama Drama premieres July 18 at 10p; and Marley (VH1 Rock Docs) bows August 4.  VH1 has a handful of returning series including VH1 Storytellers starting May 21 at 11p; Pop Up Video returns August 6; and Do Something Awards airs August 21 at 9p. 

A fifth season of Cake Boss featuring Buddy Valastro and his family-run bakery in Hoboken, NJ returns to TLC's lineup on May 28 at 9p.  The new season has 16 all-new half-hour episodes including the series' 100th episode. 



Great news, Nikita fans: stalwart CIA agent Ryan Fletcher is here to stay! Noah Bean has officially inked a series regular deal with The CW’s just-renewed spy thriller.


Landry has scored again! Much-missed Friday Night Lights MVP Jesse Plemons has landed a major recurring role on the upcoming fifth season of Breaking Bad. He’ll play Todd, a dependable, innocuous, working-class guy in the show’s fifth and final season (which is slated to kick off in July and will be broken up into two eight-episode chunks). However, his character may not be what he appears to be.


"Two and a Half Men" will be moving to Thursday nights next season, pairing with "The Big Bang Theory" and ceding its long-time Monday spot to "2 Broke Girls." That's the only major change in CBS' schedule for 2012-13, which will feature four new series in the fall and two more on midseason. The network did not decide to add any more comedies to its lineup, despite widespread speculation that it would.


TNT's current and new series:
Rizzoli & Isles  season 3 opens June 5 at 9p
Franklin & Bash  season 2 debuts June 5 at 10p
Dallas  two-hour series premiere June 13 at 9p
Falling Skies  two-hour season 2 premiere June 17 at 9p
The Great Escape  series launch June 24 at 10p
The Closer  final six episodes begin airing July 9 at 9p
Perception  series premieres July 9 at 10p
Leverage  season 5 debuts July 15 at 8p
Major Crimes  series debuts August 13 at 10p (then moves to 9p)
Southland  season 5 set for February 2013


ABC Fall 2012 Primetime Schedule: (new shows bolded)
Monday: Dancing with the Stars, Castle
Monday (January): The Bachelor, Castle
Tuesday: Dancing with the Stars the Results Show, Happy Endings, Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, Private Practice
Tuesday (January): How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life) at 8p, The Family Tools at 830p
Wednesday: The Middle, Suburgatory, Modern Family, The Neighbors, NashvilleThursday: Last Resort, Grey's Anatomy, Scandal
Friday: Shark Tank, Primetime: What Would You Do?, 20/20
Friday (November): Last Man Standing, Malibu Country, Shark Tank, 20/20
Saturday: Saturday Night College Football
Sunday: America's Funniest Home Videos, Once Upon a Time, Revenge, 666 Park Avenue


CBS Fall 2012 Primetime Schedule: (new shows in bold)
Monday: How I Met Your Mother, Partners, 2 Broke Girls, Mike & Molly, Hawaii Five-O
Tuesday: NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, VegasWednesday: Survivor, Criminal Minds, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Thursday: The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Person of Interest, ElementaryFriday: CSI: NY, Made In Jersey, Blue Bloods
Saturday: Crimetime Saturday, Crimetime Saturday 48 Hours Mystery
Sunday: 60 Minutes, The Amazing Race, The Good Wife, The Mentalist