People
NEW YORK — Aaron Sorkin is a huge fan of courtroom dramas but when he returned to Broadway with a legal thriller this winter, he had to shake off a real courtroom drama.
A lawsuit earlier threatened to delay or even derail Sorkin’s adaptation of the beloved Harper Lee 1960 novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” before the Oscar- and Emmy-winning writer made a few minor changes to his script to keep the show on track.
Sorkin expects no lingering bitterness, with many of Lee’s heirs expected to be at opening night.
Sorkin’s adaptation crackles with energy and his trademark soaring language that made hits of “The Newsroom” and “The West Wing.”
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SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. — Floyd Estel Parton, the brother of country singer Dolly Parton, has died.
An obituary posted by Atchley Funeral Home in Sevierville, Tenn., says Parton died last Thursday. He was 61.
Like his sister, Floyd Parton was a songwriter and composer. His most famous songs were “Rockin’ Years,” which was recorded by his sister and Ricky Van Shelton, and “Nickels and Dimes,” which was also recorded by his sister and later by George Burns.
In a statement, Dolly Parton called him “our sweet baby brother” and said the family laid him to rest Monday.
“We all sang his lovely song, ‘Rocking Years,’ together as a family at the service to say goodbye to him,” Parton said. “He lived a short life of love and beautiful songs.”
His family will remember him as a renaissance man who enjoyed the outdoors and cooking.
He’s survived by his siblings and their spouses, several nieces and nephews and great-nieces and nephews.
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AMSTERDAM, N.Y. — Public officials and relatives of Kirk Douglas have unveiled a new historic marker in his upstate New York birthplace to honor the Hollywood legend.
The blue and yellow New York state historic marker was presented in Amsterdam on Sunday, the actor’s 102nd birthday. The sign will be erected near the home where he was born as Issur Danielovitch to Russian Jewish parents on Dec. 9, 1916.
The marker says Douglas “Rose From Poverty To Appear In Over 90 Films In Hollywood.”
Douglas was raised in Amsterdam, about 30 miles northwest of Albany.
