 Vanessa Williams takes on challenging role in ‘Brother’
Kam Williams
Born in the Bronx, N.Y., on March 18, 1963, Vanessa Lynn Williams was raised in Millwood, a suburb of New York City located in Westchester. Her parents, Milton and Helen, both music teachers, are also each half-white and half-black. And they must have had a premonition, because Vanessa’s birth announcement read: “Here she is: Miss America!”
As a child, Williams studied both piano and French horn, though she showed the most interest in developing her sultry singing voice. She settled on theater arts as her major at Syracuse University, but she her desire to enter show business prevented her from staying there very long. Full story
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Beatles’ ‘Penny Lane’ named for British slave trader
Robert Barr
LIVERPOOL, England — Beatles lovers who seek out Penny Lane imagine it as that magical place “in my ears and in my eyes, there beneath the blue suburban skies.” But it has a sinister undertone that still reverberates.
The street in Liverpool, hometown of the Fab Four, is named after James Penny, a slave trader and investor in 11 voyages that took 500 to 600 captives at a time to the New World.
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 Script falls flat in Rock’s remake of ’72 morality play
Kam Williams
 On the surface, it sure looks like Richard Cooper (Chris Rock) is living the American dream. By day, he has a great job as an investment banker in midtown Manhattan, complete with corner office and breathtaking view. In the evenings, he retreats to his spacious home in the suburbs where he is welcomed by his beautiful wife Brenda (Gina Torres) and a couple of adorable, well-behaved young children.
So what’s wrong with this picture? Well, despite all the trappings of success, the pizzazz has gone out of the Coopers’ marriage. They both have demanding careers and, between work and caring for the kids, they haven’t made love in ages.
This asexual state of affairs seems to suit Brenda just fine, but it’s been driving Richard up a wall. He finds himself with an ever-wandering eye, fantasizing about every attractive woman who crosses his path. Full story
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