Dharmendra, iconic Bollywood actor and Indian cinema’s ‘He-Man,’ dies at 89

Friends, family and fans gathered Thursday to honour the late Chadwick Boseman receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles.

Thursday was declared “Chadwick Boseman Day” in Hollywood, and his “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” costar Viola Davis, his “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler and Boseman’s widow Taylor Simone Ledward Boseman spoke during the emotional ceremony.

“I have to believe that Chadwick is still alive,” Davis said. “I can’t use the word ‘gone’ or ‘death’ really when thinking about him.”

The “Black Panther” actor died in 2020 at the age of 43 after a private battle with colon cancer.

Davis noted that they worked on their Oscar-winning movie “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” just before he passed, and said Boseman “was always trying to engage me on the set” talking about the “cap of success” and having the types of conversations that she believes people have when they know they “possibly are transitioning.”

The late actor, she said in her tribute, was a “mighty mighty elixir that sort of stirred up the alchemy that we’re all in search of, which is meaning.”

“I celebrate him today. And I say to him, I hope all the angels in heaven just sang him to a beautiful rest,” Davis said. “And I thank him for what he left behind in me, which is a burning ember that always guides me to a higher meaning of my work and my purpose.”

“This star, as beautiful as it is on the Walk of Fame, shines a whole lot less brighter than Chadwick is in heaven,” she concluded her speech.

Coogler, Boseman’s friend who directed him in the “Black Panther” Marvel film, asked for attendees’ understanding as he emotionally talked about the late star.

“When I think of Chadwick Boseman I think of three things: leadership, teaching and generosity,” Coogler said. “He was an incredible leader.”

The famed “Sinners” director said Boseman was “ageless,” and joked he didn’t know his age until he went to one of his birthday parties. He also told a story about Boseman sneaking past stars like Sylvestor Stallone, Michael B. Jordan (who was present at Thursday’s ceremony) and others to get into Coogler’s hotel room during a big press tour for the 2015 film “Creed.”

Boseman, Coogler said, wanted to meet with him to talk about working together on “Black Panther” and managed to evade even the press that were were present.

“I was so impressed by that and I asked him how he got past everybody and he smiled and said, ‘That was the Panther,’” Coogler said, chuckling.

Boseman’s wife was the last to take the podium, and had a heartfelt message for her late husband.

“Chad, today we recognize a lifetime of artistry. We recognize your skill and your devotion and we cement your legacy as a hero and icon,” she said. “You lived with honour and you walked in truth. You were as brilliant as you were beautiful and as courageous as you were kind. We love you, we miss you and we thank you.”

She then invited her husband’s brothers, Derrick and Kevin Boseman, to help with the unveiling of the star.

In addition to portraying T’Challa in “Black Panther” and other Marvel movies as well as his Academy Award-nominated turn in Netflix’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” Boseman had a robust film and television career, and portrayed Thurgood Marshall, James Brown and Jackie Robinson on film before his untimely passing.

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

Hollywood star Richard Gere brings Tibet advocacy to Parliament Hill.

He says he is worried about that strain but says that won’t last forever and it is problematic for Canada to make “corrections” in its relationship with China as a result of the issues with the U.S.

Gere was on Parliament Hill on what is known as Tibet lobby day, an annual event that advocates for the rights and freedoms of Tibetans.

Gere’s philanthropy work includes advocating for human rights in Tibet and supporting the Tibetan independence movement.

The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Tibet and the head of Tibetan Buddhism who was forced into exile in 1959 after an uprising by Chinese troops.

Liberal MP James Maloney, whose Ontario constituency is home to the Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre, welcomed Gere in a statement before question period today, before most MPs gave the actor a standing ovation.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 17, 2025.

The Canadian Press

Actor Danny Masterson asks for rape convictions to be tossed over lawyer errors

During a private audience with Hollywood stars like Cate Blanchett, Spike Lee, and Gus Van Sant, Pope Leo XIV expressed concern about the decline of cinemas.

Singer #Akon arrested near Atlanta for missing court over suspended licence.


#Police records show Akon, whose legal name is Aliaune Thiam, was arrested Friday by police in Chamblee, just northeast of Atlanta. Akon was taken to the DeKalb County jail, where he was handed over to the Roswell police. They in turn booked Thiam into another jail, after which he posted bail and was released the same day.

Akon, who was born in the United States to Senegalese parents, rose to R&B fame after his 2004 debut album. The Grammy-nominated singer has performed on more than a dozen Top 10 hits, including “Smack That,” ’’I Wanna Love You” and “Locked Up.” He has also been active in philanthropic ventures in Africa, having lived in Senegal as a child.

Representatives for Akon didn’t immediately respond to requests seeking comment Wednesday.

Police reports from Roswell show Akon, who lists an address in gated community in neighboring Alpharetta, was found Sept. 10 in a disabled Tesla Cybertruck on a busy street. The police officer called for a tow truck. While he was waiting, the report states the #officer checked the #licence plate and found Akon had no valid auto insurance and had a suspended driver’s licence for failing to appear for a #court hearing in January 2023.

Police impounded the truck and cited Akon for driving without a valid licence, the report says, taking the licence he was carrying and releasing him. Police also found and seized an “illegal vape,” the report says.

Chamblee police told local news outlets they responded to a business called Tint World on Friday when a traffic camera alerted them that the Cybertruck was present and was connected to an outstanding warrant.

Akon is currently on tour in India. He performed in Delhi on Sunday, two days after his arrest.

The #film is a straightforward yet engaging survival-action romp. The paint-by-numbers blockbuster approach offers everything you would expect from a Hollywood IP film - but done well.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony will induct Outkast, Cyndi Lauper, Salt-N-Pepa, the White Stripes

Rock group Bad Company opens door to Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. “I said to him, ‘Do you remember when we were looking for a band name and we called each other with silly names?’ And then I just called him up one day and I said, ’Bad Company’ and he dropped the phone and he said, ‘Oh yeah, that’s it. That’s the name,’” says Rodgers.

“I said, ‘From then, it’s a long way, but it seems like we just blinked our eyes a couple of times and here we are at the Hall of Fame.’ So at least I was able to tell him that.”

Ralphs died in June, just weeks after learning the induction news.

Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke are the last surviving original members of the British supergroup that crafted such arena-rock staples as “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” “Can’t Get Enough” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy.” They will be part of the celebrations Saturday at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, which will stream live on Disney+. ABC will air a prime-time special on Jan. 1, available on Hulu the next day.

“The fans have just been so great throughout the years. We feel like we’re celebrated, but it’s just not been stamped officially. That’s the only difference,” says Rodgers.

Who else made it?

Bad Company will join rock legend Chubby Checker, late soul singer Joe Cocker, pop icon Cyndi Lauper, hip-hop pioneers Outkast, rock duo the White Stripes and grunge masters Soundgarden in the class of ’25.

Salt-N-Pepa, the first female rap act to achieve platinum status, and the late singer-songwriter Warren Zevon will get in via the Musical Influence Award. The late record producer Thom Bell, pianist Nicky Hopkins and bassist Carol Kaye will each get the Musical Excellence Award.

Chappell Roan and The Killers will be special guests, as will Elton John, Olivia Rodrigo, Doja Cat, Questlove, Twenty One Pilots, Missy Elliott, Raye, Beck, Brandi Carlile, David Letterman, Flea, Iggy Pop, J.I.D, Killer Mike, Maxwell, Sleepy Brown, Taylor Momsen and Teddy Swims.

More stars attending will include Avril Lavigne, Bryan Adams, Donald Glover, En Vogue, Feist, Janelle Monáe, Jim Carrey, Joe Perry, Mick Fleetwood, Mike McCready, Nancy Wilson and Nathaniel Rateliff.

Greek singer-songwriter Dionysis Savvopoulos buried in a state funeral, Savvopoulos had died of a heart attack after battling cancer since 2020.

Thousands came to pay their respects to a well-beloved, if sometimes controversial, artist as he lay in state at a chapel of the Athens Metropolitan Cathedral Saturday morning. Hundreds made the nearly 2-kilometre (1.2-mile) walk behind the hearse to the cemetrey.

The presence of a Greek navy band playing mournful music was indicative of the change in Savvopoulos’s status, from someone lionized by anarchist-leaning leftists in the 1960s and 1970s and dismissed by the establishment as a long-haired freak, to a figure embraced by the same establishment and cultural mainstream.

Savvopoulos never changed his musical style — a blend of rock, folk-rock, jazz and Greek popular music — to conform to mainstream tastes. Always a political animal, he didn’t shy away from criticizing the left and its illusions, especially on his 1989 album “The Haircut,” whose sleeve showed him beardless with long locks. A few of his songs drew the enmity of some of his longtime admirers. The beard grew back but his politics remained moderate.

Conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the first of many who eulogized Savvopoulos during the funeral service, used the lyrics of the 1972 song “Messenger Angel” to portray the artist as a speaker of uncomfortable truths that many did not want to hear. “If he had no pleasant news to tell/better tell us none,” he quoted the song’s ending.

Others who joined in eulogizing Savvopoulos were former President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, fellow musicians, artists and literary figures, some from his hometown of Thessaloniki, and one of his two grandsons.

Demetris Nellas, The Associated Press