Burton to host Scripps spelling bee
LeVar Burton has been hired as host of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, giving the competition a celebrity headliner who’s also a longtime literacy advocate as Scripps takes over production of the bee telecast.
Burton, who played Geordi La Forge on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and was the host of the children’s educational program “Reading Rainbow,” said ahead of Thursday’s announcement by Scripps that he said “yes” immediately when approached about the hosting role. Burton comes from a family of educators and said the bee represents “the inspirational, aspirational ideal of education.”
“I want to normalize the pursuit of knowledge in this culture. That wouldn’t be a bad thing, would it?” Burton said. “Not just making stuff up and calling it a fact. Achievement through knowledge, scholarship, putting in the work to gain the reward.”
Burton described the opportunity as one of many that have come his way since his unsuccessful public campaign to become the permanent host of “Jeopardy!” His bid to succeed the late Alex Trebek attracted plenty of goodwill online while the show’s producers were roundly criticized for their decision to hire Mike Richards, who stepped down shortly thereafter when his past insensitive comments were revealed.
Scripps announced this fall it has ended its partnership with ESPN, which brought the bee to millions of viewers and promoted it like a major sporting event.
The bee will air next year on the Scripps-owned networks ION and Bounce and will stream online.
Springsteen sells music catalog: Bruce Springsteen has sold his entire catalog of music, including his master recordings and song publishing catalog, to Sony Music Entertainment in a blockbuster deal that reportedly could be worth $500 million.
The transaction, which includes classic songs “Born to Run,” “Dancing in the Dark,” “Born in the U.S.A.” and hundreds of others stretching back nearly 50 years, will send Springsteen’s recorded masters to his longtime home Sony Music and his song publishing to its corporate sibling, Sony Music Publishing.
The Boss’ payday is the largest in a string of deals since 2019 that has seen classics of American music sold to major music houses.
Street renamed for Young Dolph:
Family and friends of slain rapper Young Dolph remembered him Wednesday as a loving father, skilled businessman and generous philanthropist at a ceremony renaming a street for him in Memphis, Tennessee.
The rapper’s son, 7, stood on a ladder and pulled a string to remove the cover off the brown and gold street sign, not far from Young Dolph’s boyhood home and the bakery where he was killed Nov. 17. A stretch of road near Memphis International Airport, Dunn Avenue, now has a sign bearing the rap artist’s real name, Adolph Thornton Jr.
Dec. 17 birthdays: Singer Tommy Steele is 85. Actor Ernie Hudson is 76. TV host Chris Matthews is 76. Actor Eugene Levy is 75. Actor Wes Studi is 74. Singer Wanda Hutchinson Vaughn is 70. Actor Bill Pullman is 68. Director Peter Farrelly is 65. Singer Sara Dallin is 60. Actor Sarah Paulson is 47. Actor Milla Jovovich is 46.