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

Stars signing up for Dr. John tribute

From Wire Reports

Stars including Gregg Allman, Mavis Staples and Allen Toussaint have signed on to a special tribute concert to musician Dr. John.

“The Musical Mojo of Dr. John: A Celebration of Mac & His Music” is set for May 3 in New Orleans.

The concert will be Dr. John’s only appearance during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

Also slated to perform for and with the Grammy Award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member are Widespread Panic, Lucinda Williams, Ryan Bingham, The Blind Boys of Alabama and fellow Louisiana musicians like Cyril Neville, Zigaboo Modeliste and Chief Monk Boudreaux.

Performances will be recorded and released at a later date. Tickets go on sale Monday.

Obama to launch ‘Cosmos’ reboot

The Fox TV network said President Barack Obama will introduce the debut episode of the science series “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.”

The 13-part program is a reboot of astronomer Carl Sagan’s groundbreaking 1980 “Cosmos” series. It debuts 9 p.m. EDT Sunday on stations including Fox and National Geographic Channel.

In Obama’s taped video message, he invites viewers to embrace the spirit of discovery and imagine limitless possibilities for the future, Fox said Saturday.

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson is the host.

Last month, a preview of the new “Cosmos” series was screened at the White House as part of a film festival for K-12 students.

Washington returning to ‘Grey’s’

ABC says Isaiah Washington will return to “Grey’s Anatomy” for a guest appearance in May, seven years after he was fired from the medical drama.

Washington exited the series in 2007 after an on-set clash the year before, in which an anti-gay epithet was directed at another cast member at the time, T.R. Knight.

Washington’s return as Dr. Preston Burke coincides with the announced departure of series star Sandra Oh at the season’s end in May. Her character, Dr. Cristina Yang, was engaged to Washington’s Burke at one point in the long-running drama.

The date of Washington’s episode was not announced.

The birthday bunch

Singer-actress Keely Smith is 86. Singer Lloyd Price is 81. Actress Joyce Van Patten is 80. Actor-comedian Marty Ingels is 78. Country singer Mickey Gilley is 78. Actress Trish Van Devere is 73. Former “Good Morning America” host Charles Gibson is 71. Guitarist Robin Trower (Procol Harum) is 69. Actress Linda Fiorentino is 54. Guitarist Rusty Hendrix (Confederate Railroad) is 54. Actor Emmanuel Lewis (“Webster”) is 43. Keyboardist Ben Tanner (Alabama Shakes) is 31. Actress Brittany Snow is 28. Actress Cierra Ramirez (“The Fosters”) is 19.