Johnny Mercer Centennial Tribute

Johnny Mercer (top); Mercer, Donald O’Connor, Hoagy Carmichael at the 1951 Academy Awards ceremony (bottom)

Johnny Mercer’s musical legacy will be celebrated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with a gala centennial tribute featuring film clips of many of Mercer’s classic songs, in addition to performances and appearances by friends and colleagues, on Thursday, November 5, at 8 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
Note: This event is sold-out, but standby tickets may become available.
Program host Michael Feinstein and Monica Mancini (daughter of Mercer’s longtime friend, Henry Mancini) will perform some of Mercer’s best-known songs, while Oscar-winning songwriter-composer Alan Bergman, Oscar-nominated songwriter Arthur Hamilton, [...]

Jack Wrangler

Jack Wrangler, the blond, handsome 1970s sex star — and a lifelong smoker — has died from complications of lung disease in Manhattan. He was 62.
Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon, a documentary chronicling Wrangler’s life and career — including his marriage to big-band singer Margaret Whiting — was released last fall. Earlier this week, Wrangler was screened at the London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival.
“Jack Wrangler knew the power of image-making and inspired an entire generation to be comfortable in their own skin and to become the man of their dreams,” said the film’s director, Jeffrey Schwarz.
According to Schwarz, Wrangler wasn’t sure about being the subject of a documentary.
"Are you sure people will [...]