Day: August 20, 2017

    Comedy pioneer, philanthropist, and an all-American original, Jerry Lewis has died at 91, friend and fellow performer Penn Jillette tweeted this morning. Jerry Lewis just died. When I met him, I feel apart, just sobbed. I guess it's time for that again. — Penn Jillette (@pennjillette) August 20, 2017 Via The Hollywood Reporter: He dominated show business with Dean Martin in the 1950s, starred in ‘The Bellboy’ and ‘The Nutty Professor,’ hosted the Labor Day telethon for decades and received the Hersholt award. Jerry Lewis, whose irrepressible zaniness and frantic creativity vaulted him to stardom as a comic movie star who wielded unparalleled green-light power at Paramount in the 1960s, died Sunday. He was 91. Lewis, who teamed with Dean Martin in the 1950s as one of the most successful tandems in the history of show business, died at 9:15 a.m. at his home in Las Vegas, John Katsilometes of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported, citing a statement from Lewis’ family. Lewis’ health ailments over the years included open-heart surgery in 1983, surgery for prostate cancer in 1992, treatment for his dependence on prescription drugs in 2003, a heart attack in 2006 and a long bout with pulmonary fibrosis, a…

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  by Chris Butler Editor, Tennessee Watchdog   A taxpayer-funded museum in Brownsville that honors singer Tina Turner has a nearly $50,000 deficit, according to a new audit. As reported, in 2014, town officials forced Brownsville taxpayers to pay $20,000 to move Turner’s childhood schoolhouse a 15 mile-distance to the Delta Heritage Museum along Interstate 40. At the time town officials said the museum would generate more local tourism. The museum draws funds from the town’s Delta Heritage Fund. An audit that Tennessee Comptroller Justin Wilson released this week said the fund has a deficit fund equity of $49,260. “The Delta Heritage Fund may not have the needed funds to pay its expenditures if the General Fund doesn’t cover or if the fund doesn’t raise its revenues,” the report said. Mayor Bill Rawls did not return repeated requests for comment. Delta Heritage Museum Director Sonia Outlaw Clark also did not return repeated requests for comment. The museum also showcases the home of Blues singer “Sleepy” John Estes. Turner grew up in this rural area, about 65 miles northeast of Memphis, which runs along Interstate 40. Turner’s childhood schoolhouse, built for African-Americans, consists of one room. Center officials have slightly renovated…

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The President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities announced its plans to resign Friday, making it the first White House department to do so. “We cannot sit idly by, the way that your West Wing advisors have, without speaking out against your words and actions,” reads the joint letter members wrote to President Trump. The group…

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  On Thursday, the second day of his “Rural Road Trip Tractor Tour,” Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee stopped in Johnson City, Tennessee, where WJHL TV asked him where he stands on the removal of the bust of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Tennessean, from the State Capitol. “It is a delicate balance,” Lee told WJHL. “We can’t wash away history just because a few are offended by that. In fact, it is important that we remember history, the people that came before us, so we know where we came from and who we are. But also to remember the parts of our history that we are not happy about and that we never want to repeat,” Lee added. You can watch the video of WJHL’s interview of Lee here:     According to the WJHL’s reporting, Lee did not specifically state whether he agreed or disagreed with Governor Bill Haslam, who on Monday advocated “for the removal of a bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest from the Capitol in Nashville.” “My position on this issue has not changed – I do not believe Nathan Bedford Forrest should be one of the individuals we honor at the Capitol. The General Assembly…

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