Campbell performs for welcoming crowd
Glen Campbell came home this week.
Hundreds of fans in Little Rock, Ark., hollered and sprang to their feet to welcome the Country Music Hall of Fame member and one of Arkansas’ favorite sons as the opening notes of “Gentle on My Mind” spilled into the theater.
The lyrics ran away from Campbell, 76, toward the end of the song, betraying his battle with Alzheimer’s disease, but no one seemed to mind. The pop music icon pulled a couple of lines together and the crowd cheered him on as his goodbye tour brought him back to his native state.
Long before he rose to fame as a singer and guitar player, Campbell was a young dreamer born near a tiny town in southwest Arkansas called Delight.
Affleck’s ‘Argo’ premieres in Toronto
On behalf of himself and his fellow Americans, Ben Affleck is saying thanks to Canada.
Affleck made his latest return to the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday to premiere his Iran hostage thriller “Argo,” for which he does double-duty as star and director.
Opening in theaters Oct. 12, “Argo” chronicles a joint effort by the CIA and the Canadian government to rescue six Americans from Tehran after the U.S. Embassy was taken over by Islamic militants.
Affleck said “Argo” is a fitting choice for Toronto crowds because the film centers on heroic actions by Canadians and the friendship between the U.S. and Canada.
President Barack Obama can beat rival Mitt Romney as a television draw, but can’t eclipse his old self.
The Nielsen company said 35.7 million people watched the final night of the Democratic convention on Thursday between 10 and 11 p.m. Eastern time. That’s when the president delivered his nomination acceptance speech.
The week before, Romney had 30.3 million viewers for his speech at the GOP convention, with an assist from Clint Eastwood.
Four years ago, Nielsen said candidate Obama’s speech was seen by 38.3 million. But that estimate did not include PBS’ audience, which no doubt pushed the audience over 40 million.
The birthday bunch
Actress Sylvia Miles (“Midnight Cowboy”) is 78. Actor Topol is 77. Singer-keyboardist Doug Ingle (Iron Butterfly) is 66. Guitarist John McFee (The Doobie Brothers) is 62. Actor Tom Wopat is 61. Actress Angela Cartwright (“The Danny Thomas Show,” “Lost in Space”) is 60. Actor Hugh Grant is 52. Actor-comedian Adam Sandler is 46. Model Rachel Hunter is 43. Actor Eric Stonestreet (“Modern Family”) is 41. Actor Goran Visnjic (“ER”) is 40. Jazz singer Michael Buble is 37. Actress Michelle Williams (“My Week with Marilyn”) is 32.