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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Simon, Ma share Swedish prize

From Wire Reports

Singer-songwriter Paul Simon and cellist Yo-Yo Ma have won the 2012 Polar Music Prize, Sweden’s most prestigious award for musicians.

Simon and Ma will receive $166,000 each and an invitation to the prize ceremony in Stockholm on Aug. 28.

The award was founded by the late Stig Anderson, the manager of Swedish pop group ABBA, and has been handed out since 1992. It is typically shared by a pop artist and a classical musician.

Calling Ma the “leading cellist of our time,” the prize jury said Tuesday he is “living proof that music is communication, passion and the ability to share experience.”

The citation praised Simon as a “world-class songwriter” who captured the currents of his time with “consummate skill, innovative arrangements and provocative lyrics.”

Hoffman helps jogger in distress

A man who had a cardiac arrest while jogging in London’s Hyde Park says his life was saved with help from a famous passer-by: Dustin Hoffman.

Sam Dempster said Tuesday that the actor waited with him after he collapsed on April 27 until paramedics arrived.

On his recovery blog, 27-year-old Dempster thanked medical staff and “my newfound favorite celebrity Dustin Hoffman.”

Martin Macarthur, one of the paramedics on the scene, said Hoffman described seeing Dempster collapse and froth at the mouth.

“It is essential to get a history of what has happened, and he witnessed the jogger go down. He was the main witness and saw him stagger and go down,” Macarthur said. “He stayed on the scene for the whole duration of the resuscitation, which was about 15 minutes. He was very concerned.”

Macarthur said the 74-year-old actor told medics, “Great job, guys” after they resuscitated Dempster with a defibrillator.

Representatives of the “Tootsie” and “Rain Man” star, who has a home in London, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The birthday bunch

Guitarist Nokie Edwards (The Ventures) is 77. Actor Albert Finney is 76. Actress-turned-politician Glenda Jackson is 76. Guitarist Sonny Curtis (Buddy Holly and The Crickets) is 75. Singer Tommy Roe is 70. Singer-guitarist Richie Furay (Buffalo Springfield, Poco) is 68. Actress Candice Bergen is 66. Singer Billy Joel is 63. Actress Alley Mills (“The Wonder Years”) is 61. Actor John Corbett is 51. Singer David Gahan (Depeche Mode) is 50. Actress Rosario Dawson is 33.