{"id":93725,"date":"2025-04-06T19:29:35","date_gmt":"2025-04-07T02:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/?p=93725"},"modified":"2025-04-06T19:29:35","modified_gmt":"2025-04-07T02:29:35","slug":"former-actors-and-singers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/blog\/2025\/04\/06\/former-actors-and-singers\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Actors and Singers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, Russell Brand <\/strong>found himself facing multiple charges of rape and sexual assault.  These stem from incidents in the UK which allegedly happened between 1999 and 2005 (most were related in the 2023 UK television show Dispatches<\/em><\/strong>).  In response, Brand posted a video where he said, \u201cI\u2019ve never engaged in non-consensual activity.  I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes.\u201d  He then glared into the camera in a way not unlike Charles Manson<\/strong>.  Guilt or innocence aside, I\u2019m troubled by the news coverage.  The press seems to be treating Brand much like Kevin Spacey <\/strong>\u2013 with the assumption that the charges are true and that he\u2019s a sleezeball.  What really ticked me off was that virtually every news outlet has latched onto describing Brand the same way \u2013 as a \u201cformer actor-comedian\u201d.  What the hell is that all about?  One is either a performer or one isn\u2019t.  Nobody is calling Liza a \u201cformer actress-singer\u201d.  The Hollywood Reporter<\/em> managed a rare \u201ctwofer\u201d \u2013 they called Brand a \u201cformer actor-comedian\u201d in the sub-headline, and then a \u201cdisgraced comedian and actor\u201d in the body of the piece.<\/p>\n

\"colorbar1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I suppose one is a former performer if they formally retire (although I still wouldn\u2019t use the term).  Take our own Johnny Mathis<\/strong>.  He just announced his imminent farewell.  With a career spanning seven decades, I\u2019d never call him a \u201cformer singer\u201d.  He\u2019s bowing out gracefully due to \u201cage and memory issues which have accelerated\u201d.  I\u2019m told by people that he\u2019s still in great shape vocally.  But lyrics have been challenging as he approaches his 90th<\/sup> birthday.  His last concert will take place on May 18th<\/sup> at the Bergen Performing Arts Center <\/em>in New Jersey.<\/p>\n

The legendary Darlene Love <\/strong>(who will attend Johnny Mathis\u2019 farewell) has called for an intervention for another singer.  A recent video has circulated that shows Frankie Valli <\/strong>having great difficulty onstage.  \u201cIt\u2019s clear something deeper is going on with his health and it pains me to see him on stage in this condition, struggling, lip-syncing, seemingly unaware of his surroundings…This man is a legend.  He deserves dignity, not to be paraded around for profit or pushed to perform when he clearly needs care and compassion.  It\u2019s not entertainment \u2013 it\u2019s exploitation,\u201d said Love.  She added, \u201cTo my own team, manager, publicist, and family: if I ever reach a point where I can no longer move, speak, or sing my own songs \u2013 please I beg you \u2013 do not allow me to perform.  My legacy matters.  How we leave this world artistically is just as important as how we enter it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, Russell Brand found himself facing multiple charges of rape and sexual assault.  These stem from incidents in the UK which allegedly happened between 1999 and 2005 (most were related in the 2023 UK television show Dispatches).  In response, Brand posted a video where he said, \u201cI\u2019ve never engaged in non-consensual activity.  I pray<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-breaking"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93725"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93726,"href":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93725\/revisions\/93726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.billymasters.com\/custom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}