Farnsworth is 'Clumsy,' 'Shallow'

(NEWSER) - John Forsythe, a versatile actor who gained lasting fame as Blake Carrington on the pioneering prime-time soap Dynasty and as the voice of the mysterious Charlie on Charlie's Angels, died yesterday in California. He was 92. Best known at the time as the affable star of Bachelor Father, Forsythe played a villainous judge in the 1979 Al Pacino vehicle And Justice for All, demonstrating he had the chops to channel the scheming Blake Carrington. More»

Vaudevillian gained fame as Gypsy Rose Lee's younger sister

(NEWSER) - June Havoc, the film and theater actress who gained fame as a child vaudeville star and the younger sister of Gypsy Rose Lee, died yesterday. The inspiration for the "Baby June" character in the Broadway musical and movie Gypsy, Havoc was believed to be 97. To accommodate local child labor laws while on the road performing, her mother, the archetypal stage mother Rose Thompson Hovick, had five birth certificates for her, the New York Times reports. More»

Julie Taymor says she's not being fairly compensated

(NEWSER) - More drama behind the curtains for Broadway’s Spider-Man: Former director Julie Taymor is suing the show’s producers over what she says is a lack of compensation for her creative work. “The producers' actions have left her no choice but to resort to legal recourse to protect her rights,” her attorney says. Taymor was fired following much-publicized trouble onstage and off, but she's the only director eligible for a Tony for the show. More»

Scarlett Johansson, VIola Davis, Catherine Zeta-Jones Prevail

(NEWSER) - Denzel Washington won his first Tony Award tonight for his performance in August Wilson's Fences, and Scarlett Johansson and Catherine Zeta-Jones joined the Hollywood-to-Tony parade by picking up statuettes of their own. Best play Red and best musical Memphis also enjoyed big nights, the AP reports . More»

But will his performance be convincing enough for 'Newsweek' critic?

(NEWSER) - Sean Hayes is a Broadway newcomer, but he's nominated for a Tony for lead actor in a musical—and he'll be hosting the award ceremony as well. Today's announcement comes in the wake of the controversy over Newsweek critic Ramin Setoodeh's dismissal of the openly gay Hayes' ability to play straight, and co-star Kristin Chenoweth's stinging rebuttal . By tapping Hayes, the Los Angeles Times notes , the Broadway establishment is standing up for an actor best known for his TV work, as dizzy sidekick Jack on Will & Grace. More»