Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Names and faces
■ A Rhode Island woman’s karaoke version of
Missy Elliott’s hit song “Work It” has become an internet sensation, even drawing praise from Elliott. Mary Halsey of West Warwick recently performed a version of the 2002 hit at an outdoor party at a park and posted the performance on her Facebook page. Elliott reposted Halsey’s video on Twitter and Instagram and wrote: “I just found out I have a FUNKY WHITE SISTER.” She added that Halsey “straight killed” the song. Halsey’s video had been shared more than 140,000 times and had 7.1 million views as of Thursday. Halsey, a recreation assistant at a nursing and rehabilitation facility, says she knew the video would be big “but I had no idea it would be this big.”
■ Superman actress Margot Kidder’s death has been ruled a suicide, and her daughter said it’s a relief to finally have the truth out. Kidder, who played Lois Lane opposite Christopher Reeve’s Superman in her most famous role, was found by a friend in her Montana home on May 13. At the time, Kidder’s manager, Camilla Fluxman Pines, said Kidder died peacefully in her sleep. However, a statement released Wednesday by Park County Coroner Richard Wood said the 69-year-old Kidder “died as a result of a self- inflicted drug and alcohol overdose” and that no further details would be released. Maggie McGuane, Kidder’s daughter by her ex-husband Thomas McGuane, said in a phone interview that she knew her mother died by suicide the moment authorities took her to Kidder’s home in Livingston, a small town near Yellowstone National Park. “It’s important to be open and honest so there’s not a cloud of shame in dealing with this,” McGuane said. Kidder struggled with mental illness much of her life, and it was made worse by a 1990 car accident that left her in debt and led to her using a wheelchair for almost two years. McGuane noted that Montana has one of the highest suicide rates in the nation, and she urged people with mental illness to seek help. “It’s a very unique sort of grief and pain,” McGuane said. “Knowing how many families in this state go through this, I wish that I could reach out to each one of them.”