Clayton recovering after car accident
Merry Clayton, the veteran backup singer who was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary “20 Feet from Stardom,” is recovering after being seriously injured in an automobile accident.
Clayton’s manager, Alan Abrahams, said in a statement Monday that the 65-year-old singer suffered “severe injuries to her lower body, including major trauma to her lower extremities,” in the June 16 crash.
Clayton has “a long road to recovery,” Abrahams said.
“It’s a very serious situation,” he said. “She’s feisty, and she’s with us. She’s gonna make it.”
Clayton began her career in the early 1960s and has recorded with Ray Charles, Carole King, Bobby Darin and the Rolling Stones. Her story was among those told in the film “20 Feet from Stardom,” which won the best documentary film Oscar earlier this year.
DeGeneres among Emmy winners
Ellen DeGeneres, Steve Harvey and the soap opera “The Young and the Restless” were among the 41st annual Daytime Emmy winners.
“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” received its eighth trophy as outstanding entertainment talk show at the awards ceremony Sunday in Beverly Hills.
The “Steve Harvey” show was honored as outstanding informative talk show, while Harvey won as best game show host for “Family Feud.”
CBS’ “The Young and the Restless” captured six awards, including honors for best drama series and best lead actor for star Billy Miller. Eileen Davidson of NBC’s “Days of Our Lives” was named best drama series actress.
ABC’s “Good Morning America” won the best morning program Emmy.
CBS, which received eight creative arts Daytime Emmys for technical achievements at a ceremony last week, emerged as the network leader with a total of 14 awards after Sunday’s ceremony.
PBS received a combined 13 awards, with six for HUB Network; five for TOLN.com; four for ABC and three for NBC.
The ceremony, which aired on the cable news channel HLN last year and in 2012 after losing its longtime home on the broadcast networks, this year settled for streaming the proceedings online. The change in fortune reflects the dwindling daytime audience and programming shifts.
Kathy Griffin hosted Sunday’s ceremony, with Billy Bush and Mario Lopez among the presenters.
The birthday bunch
Actor Al Molinaro is 95. Comedian Jack Carter is 92. Rock singer Arthur Brown is 72. Actress Michele Lee is 72. Rock musician Jeff Beck is 70. Musician Mick Fleetwood is 67. Actor Peter Weller is 67. Actress Nancy Allen is 64. Actor Iain Glen (“Game of Thrones,” “Downton Abbey”) is 53. Actress-producer Mindy Kaling is 35. Actress Minka Kelly is 34. Singer Solange Knowles is 28.