Mandatory News

Saturday, January 3, 2015

'Beverly Hillbillies' star Donna Douglas dead at 81

"The Beverly Hillbillies" cast (l-r): Irene Ryan, Buddy Ebsen, Max Baer, Nancy Kulp, Raymond Bailey and Donna Douglas(AP)

Donna Douglas, the actress who won over TV viewers as Elly May Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies, has died. She was 81.

The stars granddaughter told TMZ Douglas died in her Louisiana home surrounded by friends and family.

The cause of death was pancreatic cancer, her niece told The Associated Press.

Douglas appeared The Beverly Hillbillies, a comedy about a backwoods Tennessee family who moved to Beverly Hills after striking it rich from oil on their land. for all nine seasons of the show and reprised her role in a TV movie reboot of the series in 1981.

As Elly May, she seemed blissfully unaware of her status as a bumpkin blond bombshell. Typically she was clad in a snug flannel shirt and tight jeans cinched with a rope belt, and she seemed to prefer her critters to any beau.

Chosen from more than 500 other actresses, Douglas said she felt at ease playing the role because, like her character, she grew up a poor Southern tomboy. Her childhood in Pride, Louisiana, came in handy when she was asked during her audition to milk a goat.

"I had milked cows before," she recalled in a 2009 interview with The Associated Press. "I figured they were equipped the same, so I just went on over and did it."

The show was not only assailed by critics, but by the network president who put it on the air: "I HATED it," Michael Dann confided much later. "After screening the pilot, I don't think I ever watched another segment."

The public, however, felt quite the opposite: It ran for nine seasons, often in the Top 10. In their own way, the Clampetts were a forerunner of the `60s counterculture.

It wasn't much of a stretch for Douglas to fit into the troupe, said her cousin, Charlene Smith.

"She was always happy, and she really loved animals -- just like her character on `The Beverly Hillbillies.' She was a wonderful lady, a very good Christian lady."

Indeed, when Douglas gave her autograph, she included a biblical verse ("Trust in the Lord with all your heart..."), according to New Orleans TV station WAFB.

Douglas' career began with beauty pageants -- she was Miss Baton Rouge and Miss New Orleans -- followed by a trip to New York to pursue a career in entertainment.

"That was the first time I had ever been on an airplane," Douglas said.

While modeling didn't appeal to her -- "I didn't want to be that skinny" -- television did. Douglas was featured as the Letters Girl on "The Perry Como Show" in 1957 and as the Billboard Girl on "The Steve Allen Show" in 1959.

Throughout the 50s and 60s the 1957 Miss New Orleans winner appeared in series like The Twilight Zone and Mr. Ed. In 1966, she transitioned to film with a role opposite Elvis Presley in the movie Frankie and Johnny.

After "The Beverly Hillbillies," Douglas worked in real estate, recorded country and gospel music albums and wrote a book for children that drew on biblical themes.

In 2010 she sued CBS and toymaker Mattel over a Barbie doll that used Elly May's name and likeness. The suit was settled in 2011.

She said she never minded being typecast as her "Hillbillies" character.

"So many kinds of people relate to Elly May," Douglas said. "So many people love her, and that means a lot to me."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2015/01/02/beverly-hillbillies-star-donna-douglas-dead-at-81-reports-say/

Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones shakes off interception to figure out ...

Cardale Jones took the field Thursday night with the Mercedes-Benz Superdome lights glistening off the coat of fresh silver paint covering his helmet.

The glare was brighter than that reflecting off his Ohio State teammates. Their helmets were adorned with buckeye stickers, presented by coaches for good plays, which served to absorb much of the glow. But Jones helmet, at least on the right side, was bare a reminder that the man taking snaps for the Buckeyes was not the same man they intended to have leading their huddle during the Sugar Bowl.

During the week leading up to the game, Ohio State expressed confidence or at least hope the sophomore could get the job done after a strong performance in a win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game. Some believed it was wishful thinking. But what Alabama found out is that Jones possessed the goods to beat and badger it the same way he did Wisconsin, as the Buckeyes rode the sophomores arm to a 42-35 victory.

Ohio State will play Oregon in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Jan. 12 in Dallas. Oregon beat Florida State 59-20 on Thursday afternoon in the Rose Bowl.

This is not my story, this our team, Jones said. Its just been an emotional season for us all. ... Its not bad, but this game could have never turned out like this.

Like the stickers on his helmet, Jones performance was uneven. Early in the game, he looked the part of an inexperienced quarterback making his second start in the biggest game of his career. He appeared confused and baffled by the Alabama defense for much of the this first quarter and was forced into avoidable mistakes. It wasnt until he threw an interception with 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter, which led to Alabama taking a 21-6 lead, that Jones showed up.

And once he did, the Buckeyes transformed into a different team, one completely worthy of being in the playoffs a point that was the cause of contentious debate when the participants were announced.

Something about that mistake made Jones (18-of-35, 243 yards, one touchdown, one interception; 17 carries, 43 yards) lock in. Immediately after throwing it, he appeared more comfortable in the pocket and was able to more quickly progress through his reads.

It kind of settled us down a little, Jones said. Our teammates rallied around each other. We were saying, We got this, defensive guys saying, We got this.

On his next pass, Jones hit Jalin Marshall for a gain of 26 yards, then went to Marshall again for the same result later in the series to move inside the red zone, where Ohio State eventually scored on an Ezekiel Elliott run to make it 21-13.

After forcing Alabama to punt on its next series, Jones immediately went back to work, hitting Michael Thomas for a gain of 14 and Nick Vannett for 18 more yards. Jones then tucked the ball and ran 27 yards through the heart of the defense to put the Buckeyes at the 13-yard line.

Jones work for the first half was done. The next pass was thrown by wide receiver Evan Spencer to Thomas following a double reverse. The pass caused Thomas to go up in the air to retrieve it. As he was coming down, Thomas managed to turn his foot sideways and land inbounds to cut the Alabama lead to 21-20.

After that, any aerial highlights for Ohio State were created by Jones arm. And he didnt wait to pad his reel. On the first series of the third quarter, he gave Ohio State a 27-21 lead when he hit Devin Smith, who got open after defensive back Eddie Jackson slipped, for a 47-yard touchdown.

The one thing the new quarterback (Jones) does is he has a tremendous arm, Alabama coach Nick Saban said. They have very talented receivers. The two things that were very apparent is those things became very apparent in the last two games because of the quarterback.

But many of the lowlights suffered by the Buckeyes were also due to Jones. The same way the interception made him fall apart, the big pass to Smith made him regress back to his earlier state. In the second half, Jones completed just 5-of-11 passes, as the game became more about holding on than dictating the action until Elliott (20 carries, 230 yards) broke free for an 85-yard touchdown run with 3:24 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Jones wasnt supposed to be in this position. He was the break-glass option for a team that lost J.T. Barrett and Braxton Miller to injuries earlier in the season.

The selection committee was so concerned about Ohio States quarterback situation that it looked as though it was going to be left out of the playoff until Jones completed 12-of-17 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns against Wisconsin.

And it initially appeared the committee might have erred by buying into Jones first start of the season. The sophomore missed on his first five passes, coming closest to completing a pass when wide receiver Spencer went up, extended his arm into the air, and nearly pulled in a one-handed catch on the first series of the game.

He then threw two incompletions and was stuffed on a run up the middle following a 54-yard run by Elliott that put Ohio State on the 5-yard line, forcing a field goal. Then, after connecting with Smith for a 40-yard gain to put the Buckeyes on the goal line in the first quarter, Smith fumbled a snap, causing the offense to move back 8 yards, and missed on a pair of passes. Ohio State had to settle for another field goal.

It appeared Ohio State was going to melt down after Jones underthrew Smith and was intercepted. But that moment somehow, improbably, led to the turnaround.

Last time we played was four weeks ago, Jones said. Shaking off the rust, Id say. It takes a little while.

As Jones left the field, he was provided several celebratory slaps and pats and hugs from his teammates.

The next time he takes it, the right side of his helmet should be covered with a fresh batch of stickers.

Source: http://theadvocate.com/sports/11230783-32/ohio-state-quarterback-cardale-jones

Friday, January 2, 2015

Rose Parade warms up chilled crowd in Pasadena

Pasadena flaunted its annual floral extravaganza Thursday, as it narrowly missed a Rose Parade record for cold weather and carried on after the death of World War II legend and grand marshal Louis Zamperini.

The theme for the 126th Tournament of Roses Parade, "Inspiring Stories," spawned creations both poignant and whimsical: One float paid tribute to those who have died fighting Ebola, another featured a cast reunion of the 1970s TV series "Love Boat."

Amid ice-blue skies and temperatures that bottomed out at 36 degrees four degrees above the low set in 1952 children gasped as the petal-encrusted floats began sliding down the 51/2 -mile route.

"There they are!" exclaimed 3-year-old Jack LaVine, cradled in his father's arms.

"He's cold, but he's excited," said his father, Mark LaVine, 48.

Zamperini the USC track star from Torrance who became an Olympic runner, prisoner of war and subject of Laura Hillenbrand's book and the movie "Unbroken" died last summer of pneumonia at age 97, two months after he was named to lead the parade.

Baseball legend and onetime Pasadena resident Jackie Robinson was named an honorary grand marshal of the parade in 1999, years after his death, but Zamperini had planned to participate in the event just as the high-profile film hit the screen.

Traveler, USC's mascot horse, walked the parade route riderless to honor Zamperini. The grand marshal's car carried Zamperini's family, followed by the float from his hometown, which offered petal portraits of the "Torrance Tornado" at various stages of his life.

Zamperini's son, Luke, described the parade as a cathartic experience one more chance to honor their dad.

"We kept coming across people jumping up and down and screaming, 'Louis! Louis! Unbroken!'" he said. "We were nearly to the point of tears."

The Torrance float bearing the words "Louis Zamperini A Race Well Run" won the parade's theme trophy. Perhaps even more of a feat, the entry dragged a teenager along the parade route away from his phone.

"Oh, that's the guy from 'Unbroken,'" he said, looking up from his screen. "So cool!"

Authorities reported 18 arrests, including seven people protesting police violence who were held on suspicion of interfering with the parade. The other arrests were mostly for drinking in public, police said.

While protests were muted compared with recent years, the parade featured symbolic efforts to redress historical racial injustice.

Five Nisei veterans of World War II rode on Alhambra's entry. They included Masao Takahashi, who was interned at the Manzanar, Calif., camp where Japanese Americans were confined by the U.S. government during the war.

Eighty-three-year-old Joan Williams, who was kept out of the parade nearly 60 years ago because she is black, rode on the "banner" float conveying the "Inspiring Stories" theme at the beginning of the parade.

Other entries paid tribute to survivors and heroes of international disasters. Teenagers who lived through Japan's 2011 earthquake and tsunami shared American Honda Motor Co.'s float with U.S. military service members who assisted them.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation sponsored a float memorializing those who have died fighting the Ebola virus in Africa.

A Wells Fargo executive presented a giant red key to a new home to retired Army Sgt. Dominic Perrotte III, a veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq who received a purple heart after his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb. Perrotte's wife sobbed as he accepted the donation from the Military Warriors Support Foundation, in Hampton, Va.

For many parade-goers, the early chatter focused on the cold weather, even if it failed to break the record. In the early morning darkness, it was still plenty bitter.

A Florida woman, Alla Lazareva, 43, said Pasadena was as cold as her native St. Petersburg the one in Russia.

"It's tough," she said, huddled in a corner of a coffeehouse at 6 a.m., sharing a cappuccino with her husband.

Families hunched over heat lamps and fire pits, roasting marshmallows for s'mores and grilling shish kebabs and carne asada for tacos. With people arrayed in gear ranging from the minimalist a piece of cardboard and a blanket to luxe a king-sized, 3-foot-high air mattress the flames drew envious looks.

Vivian Rivera, 42, of Koreatown sat one of her kids atop a container of hot chocolate. A father-and-son team, more enterprising than most, brokered a deal: two pieces of wood for a like number of tamales.

Others took the cold in stride.

"At least we get some sun, unlike in Portland where you get only rain during the winter," said Chris Parrott, one of a group of 300 who came to town from Oregon to watch the parade and Rose Bowl game pitting Oregon against Florida State.

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FOR THE RECORD: A previous version of this article said that Sue Zavala lived around the corner from the parade route. She lives in Porter Ranch.

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Sue Zavala, 65, of Porter Ranch, sat atop a 6-foot yellow ladder. Her boyfriend Jim Vigue, 72, who lives just around the corner from the parade route, was on a stool next to her.

With the grandkids grown up and gone, it was their least elaborate setup in years, but they couldn't stay away, Vigue said.

Added Zavala: "I got the best seat in the house!"

Mary Margarum came from New Jersey to see the parade in person for the first time with her daughter Courtney, newly relocated to Los Angeles.

"I've been watching since I was a kid," said Courtney, who remembered the parade from an episode of the TV show "Beverly Hills, 90210."

As the last marching band passed by, Hector Morales told his 5-year-old daughter, Rotce, "Se acab" (it's over). Rotce made a sad face.

The parade's beauty made up for the rugged temperatures, Morales said.

"It was great, great," he said. "From beginning to end."

marisa.gerber@latimes.com

Twitter: @marisagerber

javier.panzar@latimes.com

Twitter: @jpanzar

trevell.anderson@latimes.com

Twitter: @trevellandersonh

Times staff writers Gale Holland, Brittny Mejia, Samantha Masunaga, Taylor Goldenstein, Sarah Parvini and Kate Mather contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-rose-parade-20150102-story.html

Streamers Unhappy as WatchESPN Down for Rose Bowl

Fans looking to watch the Rose Bowl on their tablets or computers got an error message during the first half instead of the WatchESPN stream.

The cable network's online feed of the first College Football Playoff game went down Thursday night, leaving anyone looking to watch the game anywhere besides a television out of luck.

The stream appeared to begin working again for at least some users during halftime.

ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz says the network is sorry for the inconvenience. He said during the third quarter of the Rose Bowl that the issues appeared to be largely resolved.

The stream feeds video services on tablets, phones, computers and other streaming devices like console game systems.

Incensed viewers sounded off on the issue on Twitter, where #watchespn began trending in the United States.

ESPN had promoted the playoffs on TV and online in an email during the first half.

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/streamers-unhappy-watchespn-rose-bowl-27953047

'Baby New Year 2015

ST. GEORGE-New Years Eve celebrations started out normal for Diamond Valley residents Heath and Britni Davis. While enjoying a friendly game of Pictionary with her family, Britni Davis soon realized that something unexpected was happening. What started out as a typical New Years Eve celebration was about to become a new born baby celebration.

(story continues below)

Videocast by Samantha Tommer, St. George News

It was definitely unexpected, Britni Davis said of the early arrival of Allison Kay Davis. The baby is the firstborn for the Davises, as well as the first grandchild born to very happy grandpa Tim Canfield. Baby Allison was also the first baby born at Intermountain Healthcare Southwest Regions Dixie Regional MedicalCenter in 2015. Her due date was not until Jan. 13.

Allison Kay Davis was born at 4:50 a.m. at Dixie Regional Medical Center making her the hospitals Baby New Year 2015, St. George, Utah, Jan. 1, 2015 | Photo by Samantha Tommer, St. George News

The Davises headed down the hill from Diamond Valley just a few minutes before midnight amid snowflakes and fireworks as they headed for the hospital. Approximately five hours later Allison Davis made her appearance, weighing in at 6 pounds, 6 ounces.

I think its pretty special, actually, Canfield said of his new granddaughter. Shes pretty perfect.

According to a press release from Dixie Regional Medical Center, Dixie Regional presents the family of Baby New Year a gift package of infant items which includes a $100 gift certificate to the hospitals gift shops.

Grandfather Tim Canfield with Dixie Regional Medical Centers Baby New Year 2015Allison Davis, St. George, Utah, Jan. 1, 2015 | Photo by Samantha Tommer, St. George News

Its always exciting to welcome Baby New Year, saidAmy Christensen, director of Dixie Regionals womens services.

Some of the families of previous Baby New Years have also made it a holiday tradition to present the current Baby New Year with gifts.

This year gift blankets and toys came from the parents of Baby New Years 2001 and 2002.

Though Allison Kay Davis is the years first baby born at Dixie Regional Medical Center, there will be many more to come. According to the hospitals press release, approximately 2,500 babies were born in the hospital in 2014.

Email:rtommer@stgeorgeutah.com

Twitter:@STGnews

Source: http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2015/01/01/rbt-sam-baby-new-year-2015-makes-early-arrival-at-dixie-regional-stgnews-videocast/

Thursday, January 1, 2015

The year Taylor Swift said goodbye to Nashville � and shook off Spotify

This was the year in which Taylor Swift went big city on us. Just before releasing her fifth album, 1989, the 25-year-old singer announced that, after a decade in Nashville, she had decided to leave behind Music Row for Manhattan. Then, to make it clear that she and Nashville are never, ever getting back together, Swift told the world she now wants her music to be thought of as pop, not country. Nashvilles many country-music purists rejoiced.

But the queen of kiss-off songs was kind enough to leave the Music City a parting gift. She started a feud with Spotify, the top streaming service. Upset over her royalty payments, Swift not only withheld 1989 from Spotifys servers; she also asked the company to stop streaming her previous albums. Swifts label, Big Machine Records, claims to have received less than $500,000 from Spotify in the 12 months prior to her music coming down. The service would have paid out $6m for Swifts music in 2014 had she allowed it to stream her new album. Even taking into account the cut taken by Universal, which distributes Swifts music, the gap between the two sides figures is substantial.

Yet the decision appears to have paid off for Swift. Her new album sold 1.3m copies in its first week, becoming the first album released in 2014 to go platinum. It was also the best one-week performance by an album in 12 years. And 1989 has continued to sell well since, having spent five weeks in Billboards top slot. (The other two weeks the album has been out, it ranked second in sales.)

Spotify, for its part, has managed to shake the controversy off. Though Swift was one of the services most popular artists, the companys chief executive spins the row as having generated good publicity for his site, as it fights for market share with competitors such as Pandora.

Swift was in a strong position to make such a power play. As the most popular artist on an independent label, Swift could dictate the terms for her albums release. And as often mocked as she may be, her songs of teenaged angst have a large and loyal following. The girls for whom Swifts music is written and the parents who shop for those girls are almost certain to buy it in any form Swift chooses, especially with its release coming so close to Christmas.

Swift also has the advantage of playing to a fanbase that has been late to adopt streaming. Perhaps because of slower download speeds and spottier internet service in rural areas, country-music fans continue to be major listeners of radio and buyers of CDs. One can imagine her core audience catching Blank Space or a previous hit over the airwaves while driving to pick up 1989 at the nearest Walmart.

But it isnt clear Swifts attempt to stand athwart the march of technology will have a lasting impact on the music industry. She says shes been thanked privately by fellow musicians, but its far easier to cheer from the sidelines than enter the fray. While Radioheads Thom Yorke pulled music from Spotify before Swift made her announcement, only Jason Aldean, a country singer with similar relationships to his label and to his fans, appears to have followed her lead.

Unless more pop and hip-hop artists take up the banner, Swifts tiff with Spotify will be remembered as just another of her spoiled relationships, not the beginning of a revolution. Maybe now that her divorce from Nashville has been finalised, she should patch things up with Katy Perry.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jan/01/taylor-swift-spotify-feud-nashville-new-york

Not a happy New Year

A sweaty and frustrated Milan Lucic lumbered to his locker stall after the Bruins 4-3 shootout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs last night and decided not to wait for any questions.

The big guy wanted to kick things off with a statement.

It wasnt a good 2014. Im happy its over. Im looking forward to 2015, Lucic said with 90 minutes remaining in the calendar year. Hopefully, it will better than this year.

The Bs could have had a happy New Years Eve. They erased a two-goal deficit and 30-plus minutes of bad hockey to tie the game and earn a point. They easily could have earned the second point with one more goal in the third period or overtime, when they outshot the Leafs, 14-2. But they couldnt get the go-ahead goal, and then Nazem Kadri scored the winner in the fifth round of the shootout to take the 4-3 win at the Garden.

In another season, the Bs might have been able to live with that one point. But they wanted to follow up their excellent performance in the win over Detroit on Monday with something similar. They did not produce it. For a good chunk of the first two periods, it was the same ol, same ol. They got hemmed in their own end. They made unforced errors on the breakout. They iced the puck when they didnt have to.

And when Phil Kessel stepped off the half wall and scored on the power play at 9:45 of the second to give the Leafs a 3-1 lead, it looked like Toronto would walk away with an easy win. The Bs were on their heels and getting booed in their own building.

I think we showed that we are capable of playing well when we set our minds to it. The second half was more of that, said coach Claude Julien. But I keep saying, as a team youve got to be able to come and play 60 minutes of hockey, especially in the positions that were in right now we need to play 60 minutes. Im not saying Im disappointed in the way we came back, because if theres anything that was positive, it was that. I thought we did a great job of getting back into the game, tying it up, those are great things that we can talk about.

The Bs got back in the game by getting greasy, scoring a pair of goals late in the second by getting some pucks to the net along with some push toward the crease.

First, David Krejci got the Bs to within a goal when he fired the puck from a bad angle but, with Cody Franson trying to defend Lucic at the crease, it went off the defenseman and in at 15:28.

Then Torey Krug tied it off a rush at 17:31. With Krejci going to the net, Krug tried to get it to him but it went off defenseman Korbinian Holzer and then Leo Komarov and into the net.

The Bs dominated the third period and overtime. Seth Griffith had great chances but couldnt convert tough passes to score into open nets.

It was a game in which some liberal officiating allowed both teams to escape infractions much to the betterment of the entertainment level but Julien felt Brad Marchand was the victim of an obvious trip. And with his team dead last in drawing penalties this year, a place they often inhabit even in years theyve been dominant, Julien wasnt going to let it slide.

I think it was a trip, I think it was pretty obvious to everybody, he said. Again, its getting frustrating to say the least. You see a lot of things out there, or even the hook I gotta look at it again on Lucic trying to go to the net there in the second period. Were not getting the benefit of the doubt, thats for sure.

So where do the Bruins go from here? After 38 games, its hard to think this group can string seven or eight wins together and get comfortably back in the playoff structure.

But Lucic, ever impassioned, said he and his teammates cannot be waiting for general manager Peter Chiarelli to make a move to fix everything.

You cant wait for that. You cant, said Lucic. I mean, I dont think guys are. I hope that guys arent. I hope that were not waiting around for some savior to come in and help this team be the team that it should be because it hasnt happened in the past. . . . We have to take it upon ourselves, me especially with how things have gone for myself this season, I have to step up my game and produce the way that I can. And if I can start getting that going, hopefully itll help the team go in the right direction.

Source: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/bruins_nhl/boston_bruins/2014/12/not_a_happy_new_year