Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: September 21, 2025
By: Laura Deni
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ROBERT REDFORD'S DEATH ENCOURAGES SEARCH FOR KILLER. REWARD OFFERED

The FBI is offering a $10,000 award for information leading to the arrest of a suspect in the 1983 murder of a University of Colorado Boulder student, the agency announced in a post Wednesday. Boulder police are searching for Thayne Smika, who is accused of murdering his then-roommate, Sid Wells. At the time, Wells was dating Shauna Redford, the daughter of famed director and actor Robert Redford, who recently died.

Robert Redford was seriously affected by 1983 murder of his daughter's boyfriend. Redford, himself a former CU student, was preparing to film "The Natural" in Buffalo, rushed to Boulder to comfort his daughter and attended Wells’ funeral, photographers trailing his every step.

Wells was a member of ROTC an considering a Naval career.

He not only attended Wells’ funeral, he paid for security for members of his family in the early days of the investigation when it was not clear who was responsible, according to Colorado news reports.

Robert Wells, Sid Wells’ brother, told 9NEWS that he holds a "deep appreciation" for all that Redford did for his family.

After going unsolved for decades, Boulder's district attorney Stan Garnett obtained an arrest warrant in 2010 for a suspect - Thayne Smika. The charge was first degree murder.

Smika was one of Well’s roommates and had long been the focus of the investigation. Boulder Police arrested him in the fall of 1983, but ultimately had to let him go after then-District Attorney Alex Garnett concluded the evidence wasn’t strong enough to file charges.

Smika had vanished shortly after being released, but the warrant served notice that he could still face a jury.

"If law enforcement does make the decision to file on a case like this, you want to make sure it gets some attention because your only hope of ever actually prosecuting the person whom you've alleged is guilty is finding that person," Garnett emphasized.

Word got back to Redford who called Garnett to thank him.

"I certainly got the impression, both from my understanding of the case and from that conversation and some other things, that this was more than just a casual dating relationship, that Mr. Wells and Robert Redford's daughter were pretty serious about each other," Garnett said elaborated to the Colorado press. I thought [the call] was a positive reflection of Robert Redford's concern about his daughter and about this young man who'd lost his life very tragically."

Smika vanished in 1986. He is still on the FBI's most wanted list.

Life goes on and Shauna graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder with an art degree in 1985. Along the way came love. In October of that year The New York Times reported that Shauna married her husband, Eric Schlosser, at her parents' home in Provo Canyon, Utah. Their ceremony was performed by a Utah State Supreme Court judge and former Salt Lake City mayor Ted Wilson. Schlosser would go on to write the books "Fast Food Nation", and "Reefer Madness." He holds a Princeton University (BA) and Oriel College, Oxford (MLitt).

The pair welcomed two children, Mica and Conor Schlosser.

Their happiness doesn't mean they are content with an unsolved murder case.

The FBI issued a $10,000 reward for Smika’s capture in 2012 after multiple witnesses reported seeing him in California and police recovered his car - fueling theories he may have fled to Mexico.

The arrest warrant for Smika is still active. If he is ever located, bail is already set at $5 million. And, don't forget the reward.

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This is not your typical, totally boring textbook.

In the pages of How To Earn A Living As A Freelance Writer (the first to be lied to and the last to be paid) you'll find sex, celebrities, violence, threats, unethical editors, scummy managers and lawyers, treacherous press agents, sex discrimination; as well as a how-to for earning money by writing down words.

ART AND ABOUT

MARIE ANTOINETTE STYLE

Marie Antionette Style. Photo: V&A Kensington

a fashion icon and one of the world’s first 'celebrities', Marie Antoinette not only shaped the fashion, design and decorative arts of her own time, but her influence continues over more than 250 years later.

The most fashionable, scrutinized and controversial queen in history, Marie Antoinette’s name summons both visions of excess and objects and interiors of great beauty. The Austrian archduchess turned Queen of France had an enormous impact on European taste and fashion in her own time, creating a distinctive style that now has universal appeal and application… Marie Antoinette’s story has been re-told and re-purposed by each successive generation to suit its own ends. The rare combination of glamour, spectacle and tragedy she presents remains as intoxicating today as it was in the 18th century.

This exhibition explores the origins and countless revivals of the style shaped by the most fashionable queen in history, Marie Antoinette. A fashion icon in her own time, and an early modern ‘celebrity’, the dress and interiors modelled and adopted by the ill-fated Queen of France in the final decades of the 18th century have had a lasting influence on over 250 years of design, fashion, film and decorative arts.

The exhibition traces the cultural impact of the Marie Antoinette style, and her ongoing inspiration for leading designers and creatives, from Sofia Coppola and Manolo Blahnik to Moschino and Vivienne Westwood. On display are exceptionally rare personal items owned and worn by Marie Antoinette, including richly embellished fragments of court dress, the Queen’s own silk slippers, and jewels from her private collection. The Queen’s dinner service from the Petit Trianon, her accessories and intimate items from her toilette case are on display for the first time outside of Versailles and France.

Contemporary couture pieces by designers such as Moschino, Dior, Chanel, Erdem, Vivienne Westwood and Valentino are featured alongside costumes made for screen, such as for Sofia Coppola’s Oscar winning Marie Antoinette staring Kirsten Dunst, as well as shoes designed for the film by Manolo Blahnik.

The world of Marie Antoinette is also brought to life with a scent experience that will re-create scents of the court, and the perfume favored by the Queen herself.

Discover key pieces of furniture, fashion, jewelry, and musical instruments from Marie Antoinette's court, revealing her roles and interests as queen consort.

Marie Antoinette Style is sponsored by Manolo Blahnik and is on exhibit at V&A South Kensington in London.

THE ROYAL ROAD: CELEBRATING 125 YEARS OF THE INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS at the Freud Museum in London.

They are celebrating the 125th anniversary of Freud’s landmark text "The Interpretation of Dreams", holding a season of events that explore the continuing legacy of Freud’s dream theory.

Through the interpretation of dreams, Freud was able to uncover the unconscious processes of the mind and develop a theory of the psychoneuroses, which became foundational for all subsequent talking therapies.

Glenn Brown and Mathew Weir's exhibition at the Freud Museum is inspired by Sigmund Freud's observation that childhood terrors can be triggered by the 'sight of something'. The artists explore how an image or object can stir unease or awaken memories suppressed or forgotten.

Drawing on the great works of art history, both artists create intricate paintings that echo the way memories are formed. Layered, altered and meticulously constructed, their images are determined as much by absence as by what is seen and remembered.

The Sight of Something through October 19, 2025 at the Freud Museum in London.

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SPREADING THE WORD

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE which returns for its 51st season on October 4 js announced that musician Bad Bunny is the host and Doja Cat the musical guest. The season will also feature Amy Poehler hosting with Role Model as the musical guest, and Sabrina Carpenter serving as both musical guest and host.

HRH SOPHIE THE DUCHESS OF EDINBURGH 60, is frequently seen performing a difficult low courtesy to an important person. Her low courtesy is always fluid, smooth and flawless. The protocol maneuver takes excellent muscle and leg stamina and practice. If you don't think so, try executing one.

CIRCLE FESTIVAL 2025 features a boundary-breaking season of twelve daring new productions running through October 19 at AMT Theater in New York City.

"After a sold-out debut in 2024, Circle Festival returns with an expanded lineup that embraces the raw, the immediate, and the gloriously human. This year’s works span family dramas, tech-fueled dark comedies, reimagined musicals, and movement-based experiments, all grounded in our belief that in impossible times, theater remains a stubborn necessity," states the Festival.

2025 Festival Lineup Highlights:

Sunbreak by Jonathan Goetzman – A tightly wound family drama about grief, reconciliation, and sisterhood, starring Martina Ferragamo in a breakout role.

Replica by Paul Tully - A raw and unflinching drama begins in the darkest corners of violence, addiction, and hate—but it does not end there.

The Sleepover Show by Mackenzie Jaquish - A nostalgic late-night comedy where secrets spill, boundaries blur, and the truth always comes out before sunrise.

Mom Play by Madelyn Slattery – A fierce and tender exploration of the stories we inherit—and the ones we rewrite for ourselves.

Close Encounters: Packed by Elise Wilkes – Comedy ensues when strangers pack up a mutual ex’s apartment.

Don’t Push the Red Button, by Zachary Mailhot – Two men, one bunker, zero sanity in this absurd dark comedy about friendship, fear, and the end of the world.

Between Us: Into Your Hands by Nick Navari – A solo meditation on loss, memory, and letting go.

Enmeshment by Caity Ladda – A movement-driven exploration of identity boundaries.

Lodestone by Constance Lake – A multimedia ritual blending immersive soundscape, projection, and physical storytelling.

Another Kind of Holding On by Genevieve Scott – A time-bending drama about memory.

Late Night Cabaret by Ariella Carmell – A dark satire on sex, power, and revolutionary sisterhood.

Three Short Plays by Edward Allan Baker – Working-class tenderness and betrayal, led by Actors Studio lifetime member Suzanne Di Donna.

They proudly present work by queer, femme, and neurodiverse artists alongside seasoned voices from the Actors Studio and beyond.

SIR BRIAN MAY

Sir Brian May performming at the Last Night at the Proms. Photo: Event.

and Roger Taylor were star guests at London's recent the Last Night of the Proms, giving their first ever symphonic performance of their rock operetta, "Bohemian Rhapsody." They joined the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Chorus to bring their scaramouches and fandangos to the Royal Albert Hall, as the song celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Brian May delivered the song's iconic guitar solo from a specially extended stage at the Royal Albert Hall Tenor Sam Oladeinde performed the Freddie Mercury parts while the chorus was bolstered by the National Youth Choir, the BBC Singers and soprano Louise Alder for the famous "Bismillah!" section.

The show's climax was an eary recording of Mercury singing "any way the wind blows" followed by Roger Taylor striking Britain's largest gong - was met with a massive roar of approval.

Stuart Morley's all-new orchestral arrangement gave Bohemian Rhapsody a "fresh grandeur", said chorister Gareth Malone, who watched the performance and tthen spoke to the BBC.

"This is a big room to fill, and it filled it."

Speaking backstage, Sir Brian called the performance "very emotional".

"A little too emotional for me," he added. "I missed a couple of things which I wish would have loved to get better. But the overall feeling was great."

The Last Night was led for the first time by Hong Kong-born conductor Elim Chan, 38, who acknowledged her debut by hanging a learner's plate from her podium.

She explained that she had been inspired to take up the baton after watching Mickey Mouse conducting the constellation of stars in Walt Disney's animated classic "Fantasia."

Suprano Louise Alder assumed the character of Eliza Doolittle for her sassy medley of songs from "My Fair Lady." She promised and delivered "an uplifting evening" as an antidote to global political turmoil.

The singer embraced the Last Night's party atmosphere, performed with a cockney accent and flower-sellers costume for "Wouldn't It Be Loverly", and sporting a spectacular union flag ballgown for "Rule, Britannia!"

The concert ended with the traditional program of sea shanties and patriotic songs like "Jerusalem" and "Land of Hope and Glory" - as the audience waved flags, set off party poppers and waved stuffed toys.

Comedian Bill Bailey played Leroy Anderson's 1950 classic "The Typewriter" on… a typewriter and then reappeared at the end of the concert, playing "Auld Lang Syne" on the Royal Albert Hall's famous "voice of Jupiter" organ - but not before bashing out an impromptu version of Europe's rock classic "The Final Countdown."

This year's season totalled 86 concerts featuring everyone from jazz singer Samara Joy to the world's only one-handed pianist, Nicholas McCarthy.

Highlights included the Vienna Philharmonic's superlative performance of Bruckner's "Symphony No 9", and star conductor Klaus Mäkelä, who delivered an astonishingly emotional version of Gustav Mahler's "Fifth Symphony" with the Netherlands' Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

There was also a Prom dedicated to the music of The Traitors; another featuring the music of Psycho composer Bernard Herrmann; and crossover concert with pop star Jade Thirlwall and guitar virtuoso St Vincent.

Almost 290,000 tickets were sold across the season and and millions more tuned into coverage across BBC Radio 3, BBC Sounds and BBC Television.

The festival will return on July 17, 2026, for its 131st season.

More than 3,000 musicians played at the Proms over the course of the 2025 season.

THE STUDIO BIG BAND. Here’s Johnny!: A Tribute to Late Night Music took place Saturday, September 20 at the Armstrong Concert Hall at Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, VA.

Directed by Matthew Niess, the Studio Big Band was founded in the late 1950s as one of the first collegiate jazz ensembles in the country and highlights prominent jazz composers and significant stylistic periods.

Kicking off their season,"Here’s Johnny!" salutes the unforgettable music of The Tonight Show band, made legendary under Doc Severinsen’s bold direction. This dynamic tribute traced over five decades of late-night television history — from Steve Allen to Jimmy Fallon — spotlighting the evolving sound led by iconic bandleaders including Skitch Henderson, Tommy Newsom, Branford Marsalis, Kevin Eubanks and The Roots. Featuring classic theme songs and high-energy arrangements, this concert celebrated the vibrant soundtrack of one of America’s most beloved shows.

MOLLY SHANNON Get ready for a night of laughter, heart and inspiration. For six unforgettable seasons, Molly lit up the stage of Saturday Night Live, bringing to life iconic characters like Mary Katherine Gallagher and Sally O’Malley. Her fearless comedy earned her an Emmy nomination, an Independent Spirit Award and a place in our hearts.

Join us on September 24 for an intimate evening with Molly Shannon as she shares her inspiring life story, her comedic genius and the moments that shaped her into the beloved icon we know today. Bring a friend and double the fun. Buy one ticket, get one free with code: BOGOMOLLY. Green Music Center, Sonoma State University. Santa Rosa, CA.

EMMY WINNER SANDRA OH will make her Metropolitan Opera debut playing the Duchess of Krakenthorp in Donizetti's La Fille du Régiment. La Fille du Régiment is an opéra comique, a genre of French opera popular in the 19th century which included spoken dialogue. The Duchess of Krakenthorp is a speaking role which is often played by a guest star from outside the world of opera. Previous performers in the role at the Met have included Kathleen Turner, Marian Seldes, and Bea Arthur.

The opera follows Marie, a foundling child who was raised by a regiment of soldiers. When her aunt, the Marquise of Berkenfeld, discovers Marie, she is appalled to see the military manners with which her niece has been brought up. The Marquise whisks Marie away to teach her how to be a lady, preparing her for an arranged marriage with the son of the Duchess of Krakenthorp. Comedy ensues as Marie does not take to upper-class life, while her chosen family in the regiment attempt to rescue her.

Oh joins a cast which includes soprano Erin Morley as Marie, mezzo-soprano Alice Coote as the Marquise, tenor Lawrence Brownlee as the Tyrolean soldier Tonio, and bass-baritone Peter Kálmán as Marie's adoptive father Sergeant Sulpice. Giacomo Sagripanti conducts the production by French director Laurent Pelly.

La Fille du Régiment has been performed 116 times at the Met since its company premiere on January 6, 1902. Pelly’s production, with costumes by the director, premiered in 2008, featuring a creative team that includes set designer Chantal Thomas, lighting designer Joël Adam, choreographer Laura Scozzi, and dialogue by Agathe Mélinand.

La Fille du Régiment begins performances at the Met October 17, running through November 12.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

LATE DESIGNER GIORGIO ARMANI in his will instructed heirs to gradually sell the fashion brand he created 50 years ago or seek a stock market listing.

The will, reviewed by Reuters, states heirs should sell an initial 15% stake in the Italian fashion house within 18 months and later transfer an additional 30% to 54.9% stake to the same buyer between three and five years after Armani's death. The designer, known in the industry as 'King Giorgio' died on September 4, at 91 and with no children.

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THE SEAGULL MALIBU Anton Chekhov’s timeless masterpiece as re-imagined by Theatricum artistic director Ellen Geer.

In the aftermath of the civil rights movement, a disillusioned young writer is haunted by the rise of a consumer-driven, plasticized world and the early warning signs of climate change.

It’s the 1970s, and American culture is transitioning from the ideals of free-love to the self-centered “Me Generation.” At the Malibu estate of New York transplant Thad (Tim Halligan), budding writer Constantine (Christopher Glenn Gilstrap) prepares a performance of his new play — a theoretical, avant-garde observation of the changing world and climate. But his ideas are dismissed as absurdist fantasy by Nina (Caroline Quigley), the show’s young star with whom Constantine is in love, and by his ego-driven audience: his mother, the aging actress Irina Arkadin (Susan Angelo); Arkadin’s much younger lover, the acclaimed novelist Trigger Hale (Rajiv Shah); groundskeeper Ivan (Franc Ross); Ivan’s daughter, the morose Masha (Willow Geer) and his wife, Paulina (Katherine Griffith); and the local teacher, Ted (Steven C. Fisher). Only the philosophical Dr. Dore (Daniel Reichert) sees the merit in his argument.

With the crashing waves of Malibu as both a literal and metaphorical backdrop, Chekhov’s tragicomic masterpiece about fame, art and unrequited love is emblematic of the societal and artistic upheavals of a culture in flux. As in the original, the beautiful, sun-soaked locale belies the turbulent emotions of its inhabitants: Constantine loves Nina even as Trigger pursues her. Nina, longing for fame, is hypnotized by Trigger’s success. Irina clings to her fading youth and celebrity — and to Trigger. Masha loves Constantine, while Ted loves Masha. Paulina yearns for Dr. Dore, and Thad longs to return to the lights of New York City.

The creatives are: costume designer is Vicki Conrad, with lighting designed by Hayden Kirschbaum and sound by Grace Escandón. Nicole Bernardini is the prop master and Beth Eslick is the wardrobe supervisor. The production stage manager is Karen Osborne, assisted by Sky Wahl.

The Seagull: Malibu will run in rotation every weekend through October 5 at Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in North Topanga Canyon Blvd. in Topanga, CA.

FALSE STEPS written by Candace H. Caplin and Kim St, Leon.and Ronny Dutra.

Directed by Kim St. Leon an Rony Dutra.

Featuring original choreography by Ronny Dutra and partnering consultation by U.S. Ballroom Champion Edward Simon.

Original music by Jesse Corbin.

A Ballroom Comedy about Love, Lies, and Finding Your Footing.

False Steps tells the story of Rae Applebaum, a struggling playwright thrown into chaos when her recently widowed mother Sophie falls head-over-heels (and heels-over-head) for a charming, much younger ballroom dance instructor named Paulo. Suspicions swirl, secrets surface, and a retired NYPD homicide detective is pulled into the family fray. What follows is a madcap tango through maternal tensions, romantic confusion, and a whole lot of sequins.

The creatives are: scenic design by Harry Feiner, lighting by Steimel, sound by Sean Hagerty, production stage management by Haley Robles and publicity and marketing consulting by Katie Rosin, Kampfire PR.

Performances at the Theatre at St. Clements, NYC.

BÁN Written by Carys D. Coburn.

Directed by Claire O'Reilly.

“All of us running around, thinking we’re so clever, so good at keeping secrets, and actually everyone knows everything and just never says.”

A reworking of Spanish writer Federico García Lorca’s "The House of Bernarda Alba." Raw and raucous; dark but not unduly despairing; loving but not unduly merciful, BÁN explores a family's longing for escape, power and the local eligible bachelor in 1980s Ireland.

The cast includes: Bláithín Mac Gabhann, Bebhinn Hunt-Sheridan, Malua Ní Chléirigh, Niamh McCann, Bríd Ní Neachtain, Liadán Dunlea, Yvonne Gidden.

Recently nominated for the prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, BÁN runs on the Peacock Stage at the Abbey Theatre in Ireland until November 8, 2025.

THE BILLIONAIRE INSIDE YOUR HEAD by Will Lord.

Directed by Anna Ledwich.

Rise. Grind. Hustle. Repeat. And repeat. And repeat...

The cast features Nathan Clarke (Alex Ryder), Ashley Margolis, and Allison McKenzie.

Lifelong best friends Richie and Darwin are on the lowest rung of the corporate ladder, stuck in the basement together with decades of old case files to work through. Darwin's morning routine is an episode of Seinfeld and a spliff; Richie's an ice bath, meditation, and Jack Dorsey's 7 minute workout.

When an opening becomes available as a Junior Associate, it presents the opportunity to fly up the ranks faster than SpaceX's latest rocket. The only things that might prevent that awesome LinkedIn update? The voice of Richie’s OCD whose demands are getting harder and harder to keep up with, and the fact that Darwin's mum just happens to be the CEO calling the shots.

Will Lord's debut play is a biting satire questioning the value of motivation, and what it may end up costing you.

Playing through October 25 at the Hampstead in London.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST by Oscar Wilde.

Directed by Max Webster.

A Trivial Comedy for Serious People.

This joyful and flamboyant reimagining of Oscar Wilde’s "glittering masterpiece', is a hilarious story of identity, impersonation and romance.

Featuring Olly Alexander in the role of Algernon Moncrieff will be Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as Jack Worthing, Hugh Dennis as Reverend Canon Chasuble, Shobna Gulati as Miss Prism, Kitty Hawthorne as Gwendolen Fairfax, Jessica Whitehurst as Cecily Cardew, Hayley Carmichael as Merriman/Lane, and Stephen Fry as Lady Bracknell.

Being sensible can be excessively boring. At least Jack thinks so. While assuming the role of dutiful guardian in the country, he lets loose in town under a false identity.

Meanwhile, his friend Algy takes on a similar facade. Unfortunately, living a double life has its drawbacks, especially when it comes to love.

Hoping to impress two eligible ladies, the gentlemen find themselves caught in a web of lies they must carefully navigate.

Performances at the National Theatre in London.

AND THEN THERE WERE NO MORE a new play written by Tim Blake Nelson.

Directed by Mark Wing-Davey.

In the not-too-distant future a lawyer is forced to represent a prisoner deemed ‘beyond rehabilitation’ and destined to perish in a newly developed machine designed to execute 'without pain.' The attorney must strive for justice in a system devoid of mercy.

The cast features Elizabeth Marvel, Scott Shepherd, Jennifer Mogbock, Henry Stram, Elizabeth Yeoman, William Appiah, E.J. An, Kasey Connolly, and Craig Wesley Divino.

The creatives are: features scenic design by David Meyer, lighting design by Reza Behjat, costume design by Marina Draghici, and sound design by Henry Nelson and Will Curry.

In previews with opening set for September 28 in a limited engagement at La MaMa in New York City.

THE GLITCH by Kipp Koenig.

Directed by Mark Koenig. Mark and Kipp are not related.

A sci-fi dramedy about the daughter you haven’t had and the person you realize you want to become.

Amy has found the perfect man. He dreams of five kids, but she’s not even sure she wants one. In search of clarity, she visits a futuristic lab where advanced emotional AI generates a holographic teenager based on her and her partner’s DNA. However, when a glitch in the system reveals something impossible, the actual spirit of her future daughter, Amy must decide whether to listen to the voice reaching across time or retreat to the life she thought she wanted.

When Amy walks through the door, Wyatt, the lab’s brilliant but reclusive founder who hides behind a false identity and a lifetime of guilt, is forced to confront a childhood tragedy, the possibility of redemption, and the stunning truth that love, memory, and forgiveness are more intertwined than ever imagined.

Blending humor, heartbreak, and sci-fi intimacy, The Glitch explores the nature of connection in an increasingly synthetic world. It dares to ask: what if the AI you feared could help you become the parent you always wished you had? What if it could connect you with the one person meant to guide you there?

The Glitch is a story about finding grace in unexpected places and discovering that we may be more than our programming, and so are the machines.

The production stars Danielle Augustine as Amy, Jacquie Bonnet as Wendy, Hannah Rose Doherty as Hailey, Sunny Makwana as Wyatt, and Amilia Shaw as Aurora.
The production features scenic design by Josh Oberlander, costume design by Danny Colon, and lighting design by Zack Lobel. Sound design is by Kipp Koenig and Bryan Kohl, and Kayla Katona is the stage manager. Publicity by Katie Rosin/Kampfire PR.

The Glitch will play a limited six-week engagement at the Jerry Orbach Theater, The Theater Center in New York City from September 24–November 2, 2025, official opening is Friday, October 3.

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This is not your typical, totally boring textbook.

In the pages of How To Earn A Living As A Freelance Writer (the first to be lied to and the last to be paid) you'll find sex, celebrities, violence, threats, unethical editors, scummy managers and lawyers, treacherous press agents, sex discrimination; as well as a how-to for earning money by writing down words.

FINAL OVATION

LEO PEARLSTEIN died in Los Angeles on September 10, 2025 three weeks shy of his 105th birthday.

A pioneer in the world of public relations and marketing, Leo was known as "the king of culinary public relations," and, more recently, "the world's oldest jazz drummer."

He attended the University of Southern California, where he was honored with the Paul G. Hoffman Award as the most outstanding marketing graduate.

While he was in college, he met Helen Bluefield. The pair wed in 1942, and Leo enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. After the war Leo began his career in the food business, and in 1950, he opened his own agency, Lee & Associates Public Relations and Advertising, which operated for six decades. The agency was recognized as one of the nation's top independent public relations agencies specializing in food and beverage. It represented over 40 agricultural advisory boards for industries including turkeys, seafood, eggs, figs, prunes, almonds and apples. Some of his brand-name clients included Mrs. Cubbison's, Frito-Lay, Weber's Bread, Rold Gold Pretzels, Suntory Whiskey, Del Monte and American Home Foods.

Leo also was part of the team that developed the pop-up thermometers used with millions of turkeys each Thanksgiving.

Leo had a talent for creating publicity opportunities for his clients by joining forces with Hollywood stars. For example, he worked with Jayne Mansfield (promoting turkeys), Bob Hope (grapefruit), Groucho Marx (figs), and Abbott & Costello (eggs).

A gifted storyteller, Leo chronicled his career in several books, including "Celebrity Stew: Food Publicity Pioneer Shares 50 Years of Entertaining Inside Stories of Hollywood Royalty," "Recipes of the Stars," and "Adventures in PR." Just after he turned 103, Leo was honored by the Public Relations Society of America with a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.

Leo was also a passionate, accomplished drummer and played his entire life. He spoke fondly of the time he jammed with the great vibraphonist Lionel Hampton. A YouTube video of him drumming at age 103 has been viewed more than 3.6 million times. Leo and Helen were married for nearly 70 years, until she passed away in 2012. Leo is survived by his sons, David and Frank; his daughters-in-law, Karen, Cathie and Helaine; and his grandchildren, Jennifer and Jackie. A third son, Howard, passed away in 2023.

GRAMMY WINNING COUNTRY SONGWRITER BRETT JAMES died with his wife and her daughter in her private jet James was flying with his new wife and her 28-year-old daughter, who had just celebrated her birthday, when the plane crashed and killed them, officials said Friday.

James, 57, who co-wrote and wrote songs for Taylor Swift, Dierks Bentley and Carrie Underwood — was with wife Melody Wilson, 59, and her daughter, Meryl Maxwell Wilson, on the hitmaker’s Cirrus SR22T when it crashed in an open field in Franklin, North Carolina, Thursday afternoon, as first reported by the Daily Mail.

His songs were also recorded by pop and rock artists such as Backstreet Boys, Bon Jovi and Nick Jonas.

Wilson, who lived with James in a lavish $2 million Nashville home since at least 2020, had wished her daughter a happy 28th birthday just one day before the plane went down.

James’ single-engine aircraft had departed from John C. Tune Airport in Nashville before it inexplicably slammed into the field, near Iotla Valley Elementary School, at around 3 p.m. Thursday. No students or faculty were injured.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating what caused the crash.

James is survived by his four grown children, who he shared with ex-wife Sandra Cornelius-Little.

AGNES GUND the former president of New York’s Museum of Modern Art and leading art collector and philanthropist dedicated to social justice, has died September 18. 2025 at her Manhattan apartment. She was 87.

At MoMA, Gund first joined the museum’s international council in 1967, and then the board of trustees in 1976. She held the board presidency, an unpaid role, from 1991 to 2002. During her tenure, Gund oversaw a $858 million expansion erecting a new building by Yoshio Taniguchi, completed in 2004, and helped forge a merger with the P.S. 1 Center for Contemporary Art in Long Island City, Queens, now known as MoMA PS1. She stayed on as president emerita of the board until her death.

As a collector, Gund was a champion of contemporary art, encouraging MoMA to expand its holdings in that area. She owned work by some of the great American artists of the 20th century, many of whom she counted as friends—Roy Lichtenstein, Mark Rothko, James Rosenquist, Jasper Johns, Claes Oldenburg, Ellsworth Kelly, Brice Marden, and Frank Stella.

But Gund, a self-proclaimed feminist and prominent Democratic donor, was also known for supporting artists of color and women artists. She believed firmly in the power of art to solve problems. "I think that now artists are really going to come to the fore when it comes to political and social causes," she told then-Artnet News editor-in-chief Andrew Goldstein in 2017. "I think art can make a difference. I think art can help."

She founded the Art for Justice Fund, donating $100 million.

Born in Cleveland on August 13, 1938, Gund, known as Aggie, was the daughter of Jessica Roesler Gund and George Gund II. The family fortune, which Gund inherited upon her father’s death in 1966, came from real estate and brewing.

Gund got a degree in history from the Connecticut College for Women. Later in life, after her divorce, she went back to school, earning a master’s in art history at the Fogg Museum, at the Harvard Art Museums in Cambridge in 1980.

The vast majority of Gund’s collection is promised to museums, and she made major gifts during her lifetime to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as well as the Cleveland Museum and the MoMA, where she donated more than 250 artworks. A 2018 MoMA exhibition, “Studio Visit: Selected Gifts From Agnes Gund,” highlighted this generosity.

President Bill Clinton recognized Gund’s philanthropic work with the National Medal of Arts in 1997.

Gund’s taste in art was famously wide-ranging. When asked what she looked for in art, she told Gagosian, "Everything. That’s my problem. I can’t go look at galleries without ending up wanting to have something. It’s a disease."

Her 2,000-odd piece collection was known to include Joseph Cornell, Philip Guston, Vija Celmins, Willem de Kooning, Eva Hesse, Lee Bontecou, Lynda Benglis, Kara Walker, Derrick Adams, Marina Abramoviç, Dawoud Bey, Alice Aycock, Romare Bearden, Mark Bradford, Nick Cave, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Nan Goldin, Arshile Gorky, David Hammons, Robert Indiana, Alex Katz, William Kentridge, Yayoi Kusama, Paul Klee, Kerry James Marshall, Mary Miss, Ana Mendieta, Alice Neel, Shirin Neshat, Martin Puryear, Susan Rothenberg, Richard Serra, Ed Ruscha, Laurie Simmons, Kiki Smith, Carrie Mae Weems, Alma Thomas, LaToya Ruby Frazier, and Lorna Simpson.

Gund was a member of the New York State Council on the Arts and the chairwoman of the Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission of New York City. She was also on the board at the Morgan Library & Museum and the Frick Collection, both in New York, Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, and the Menil Collection in Houston, and on the philanthropy committee of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.

Twice married and twice divorced, to Albrecht Saalfield and Daniel Shapiro, Gund is survived by her four children, filmmakerCatherine Gund, David, Anna, and Jessica Saalfield, and 12 grandchildren, as well as her siblings Gordon, Geoffrey, and Louise Gund.

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Laura Deni