People: American anti-dolphin-hunt activist arrested in Japan
Former “Flipper” trainer Ric O’Barry was released by police late Tuesday after being arrested for not carrying his passport while in Japan to protest a dolphin hunt due to begin this week.
The activist had been held since Monday night when police in western Japan stopped him based on a tip that he might be driving under the influence of alcohol. He passed a breath test but was detained after he could not produce his passport.
O’Barry was released as “he no longer had to be kept in custody,” said Toshio Fujita, a police official in the town of Shingu, where the activist was detained.
O’Barry, 75, starred in “The Cove,” a 2009 Oscar-winning documentary about Taiji’s dolphin hunt.
Many dolphins are killed and some are captured for sale to aquariums during the western town’s annual, six-month hunt. This year’s was scheduled to start on Tuesday but postponed because of bad weather, according to Kyodo News service.
O’Barry and other activists are unwelcome visitors to Taiji. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society USA said earlier that two of its members were refused entry to Japan on arrival.
Police have tightened security in town during the dolphin hunt season, when Taiji’s foreign population increases, Fujita said.
O’Barry, an American who trained dolphins for the 1960s “Flipper” TV series, had a change of heart and now campaigns against both capturing and killing the animals.
Bond author apologizes for remark
The author of the new James Bond novel apologized on Tuesday after he said British actor Idris Elba is “too street” to play 007.
In an interview with the Daily Mail newspaper published over the weekend, Anthony Horowitz, the author of the new Bond novel “Trigger Mortis,” said Elba is “too ‘street’ for Bond.”
Elba, 42, has been rumored to be among the actors considered to replace Daniel Craig as the next Bond. He would be the first black actor to play the spy should he be cast.
“Idris Elba is a terrific actor, but I can think of other black actors who would do it better,” Horowitz was quoted saying. “It’s not a color issue … Is it a question of being suave? Yeah.”
Horowitz said Tuesday he was thinking of Elba’s gritty detective role in the BBC crime drama “Luther” during the interview, and didn’t mean to cause offense.
“In the article I expressed the opinion that to my mind Adrian Lester would be a better choice but I’m a writer not a casting director so what do I know?” he said in a statement posted to his Twitter account.
The birthday bunch
Dancer-actress Marge Champion is 96. Singer Jimmy Clanton is 77. Singer Sam Gooden (The Impressions) is 76. Singer-turned-minister Joe Simon is 72. Singer Rosalind Ashford (Martha and the Vandellas) is 72. Actor Mark Harmon is 64. Actor Keanu Reeves is 51. Actress Salma Hayek is 49. Actress Cynthia Watros (“Lost”) is 47. DJ/music producer Zedd is 26.