People: Burnett honored by Jimmy Stewart museum
Actress and comedian Carol Burnett was honored by a Pennsylvania museum dedicated to actor Jimmy Stewart, a Hollywood star she was smitten with as a toddler during a trip to the movies with her grandmother in San Antonio.
“I saw this long, tall drink of water up there in black and white and I said, ‘He’s my friend. I know him,’ ” Burnett told the Associated Press before receiving the award. “And it came to pass.”
Burnett received the museum’s Harvey Award at a Friday night fundraiser for the James M. Stewart Museum Foundation, based in the actor’s Pennsylvania hometown of Indiana, about 45 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. The banquet was a few miles away in Blairsville, Pennsylvania.
Past winners include actors Janet Leigh, Shirley Jones and Ernest Borgnine and Rich Little, the comedian and impressionist known for his stammering imitation of Stewart. The award is named for the 1950 film in which Stewart befriends an invisible rabbit. It is typically given to someone with entertainment industry connections to Stewart.
Burnett, 81, has fewer professional connections with Stewart than most past winners, nearly all of whom have worked with him professionally, but perhaps no past winner has a deeper emotional connection. Burnett has called Stewart her idol.
Bennett breaks record with new album
Even at age 88, Tony Bennett is still reaching No. 1 on the charts.
The singer is once again the oldest performer with a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 for “Cheek to Cheek,” his jazz duets collaboration with Lady Gaga.
“Cheek to Cheek” sold more than 131,000 copies since its release last month, according to Nielsen SoundScan, edging ahead of new albums by Kenny Chesney and Barbra Streisand. The placement gives Bennett his second No. 1 overall and Gaga her third consecutive No. 1 album.
Bennett established the previous record of 85 years old with the 2011 release of “Duets II,” an album that included a song with Lady Gaga.
Johnny Cash Trail unveiled in Folsom
The city of Folsom, California, has completed the first section of the “ Johnny Cash Trail” that will pay tribute to the country music icon and his 1968 album “At Folsom Prison.”
City officials unveiled the first section of the 2.5-mile trail on Saturday – a pedestrian and bike bridge designed to echo Folsom State Prison’s east gate guard towers. The trail will traverse prison property and link to area trails.
The Sacramento Bee reported that the city is planning a $3 million fundraising drive to pay for a 2-acre park next to the bridge and art installations along the trail – including a 40-foot steel statue of Cash.
The birthday bunch
Actress Glynis Johns is 91. Comedian Bill Dana is 90. Singer-musician Steve Miller is 71. Rock singer Brian Johnson (AC/DC) is 67. Actress Karen Allen is 63. Rock singer and famine-relief organizer Bob Geldof is 60. Actor Guy Pearce is 47. Pop-rock singer Colin Meloy (The Decemberists) is 40. Actress Kate Winslet is 39. Actor Jesse Eisenberg is 31.