Names and faces
■ Singer-songwriter Michael Bolton shared Friday that he was diagnosed with a brain tumor late last year, and he’ll be taking a break from performing to recover from surgery. “2023 ended up presenting me with some very unexpected challenges. Just before the holidays, it was discovered that I had a brain tumor, which required immediate surgery,” he wrote in a message posted to Facebook and Instagram. “Thanks to my incredible medical team, the surgery was a success. I am now recuperating at home and surrounded by the tremendous love and support of my family.” Bolton, 70, began his music career as a hard rock singer in the 1970s, performing as a solo artist and as the lead singer of the short-lived rock band Blackjack. The singer achieved more success in the ’80s and ’90s with his transition into the pop rock genre. Best known for hit romantic ballads such as “That’s What Love Is All About,” Bolton was nominated for four Grammy awards for best male pop vocal performance and won two of them: for “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You” and “When a Man Loves a Woman.” His most recent chart-topping song was the pop version of “Go the Distance” for the 1997 Disney film “Hercules.” Bolton performed in Las Vegas, Mexico and Italy while touring last year before his health issue forced him to take a break.
■ Kevin Hart is playing the bigger man after fellow comedian Katt Williams dissed him in the instant-classic “Club Shay Shay” interview last week. In response to Williams questioning the credibility of Hart’s rise to stardom over the past several decades, Hart dismissed the “Friday After Next” actor’s comments in a tweet, writing, “Gotta get that anger up outcha champ.” “It’s honestly sad,” Hart added. He went on to promote his upcoming Netflix comedy, “Lift.” During his interview with former NFL star Shannon Sharpe, Williams fired off insults and candid revelations about a long list of other comedians and performers, including Steve Harvey and Chris Tucker. “No one in Hollywood has a memory of going to a sold-out Kevin Hart show, there being a line for him, ever getting a standing ovation at any comedy club,” Williams told Sharpe. “He already had his deals when he got here,” he continued. “Have we heard of a comedian that came to L.A., and in his first year in L.A., he had his own sitcom on network television and had his own movie called ‘Soul Plane’ that he was leading? No, we’ve never heard of that before that person, or since that person. What do you think a ‘plant’ is?” In the “Shay Shay” interview, Williams addressed Hart’s 2018 statements, commenting that he had never scared off studios — directing Sharpe to check his IMDb profile — and denied taking drugs, saying, “I’m never under the influence of anything.”