People: Medal of Freedom on deck for Yogi?
Yogi Berra’s amazing life has taken him from the coast of Normandy to the batter’s box at Yankee Stadium, the dugout at Shea Stadium and the halls of Cooperstown. The next stop could be 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
A petition filed last month on whitehouse.gov to award the Hall of Fame catcher the Presidential Medal of Freedom reached the threshold needed to require an official response from the White House. The threshold was 100,000 signatures by June 8, one month from the petition’s publication, and Berra’s petition received 108,623.
“A man of unimpeachable integrity and respect, he befriended the first black and Latino baseball players in Major League Baseball,” the petition states. “He is currently an ambassador for Athlete Ally, which promotes LGBT rights in sports. Berra enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War II and served during the D-Day invasion.”
Berra’s cause received a big 11th-hour push online, with advocates as diverse as MLB Executive Vice President Joe Torre and CEO Steve Forbes championing the case.
Berra, who turned 90 on May 12, was a three-time American League MVP and 10-time World Series winner for the Yankees.
Songwriters Hall announces lineup
Tony Bennett, Michael Buble, Ne-Yo and Richie Sambora will attend this week’s Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Dinner in New York City.
The Hall announced performers and presenters Tuesday, but didn’t specify who is doing what. Thursday’s ceremony will also include Zac Brown, Dr. John, Jennifer Nettles, Paul Williams and Bernie Taupin.
The 46th annual ceremony will induct Bobby Braddock, Willie Dixon, Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia, Toby Keith, Cyndi Lauper and Linda Perry. Lady Gaga will earn the first-ever Contemporary Icon Award, Van Morrison will receive the Johnny Mercer Award and Nate Ruess of fun. will be honored with the Hal David Starlight Award.
Gangsta rap’s N.W.A. to reunite
Three surviving members of the group N.W.A., which defined West Coast gangsta rap and forever changed American music culture, will reunite for a performance at the BET Experience in Los Angeles on June 27, according to an interview in Rolling Stone with founding member Ice Cube.
Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella will perform N.W.A material together for the first time in 26 years. Cube and Ren most recently performed together in 2000; Yella hasn’t joined them since 1989. The group’s other core member, Eazy-E, died in 1995 from complications of AIDS.
Dr. Dre, perhaps the group’s best-known figure, isn’t scheduled to perform with them, but Cube didn’t rule it out.
The birthday bunch
Britain’s Prince Philip is 94. Singer Shirley Alston Reeves (The Shirelles) is 74. Rock musician Kim Deal is 54. Singer Maxi Priest is 54. Actress Gina Gershon is 53. Actress Jeanne Tripplehorn is 52. Model-actress Elizabeth Hurley is 50. Actor Shane West is 37. Model-actress Kate Upton is 23.