Cole pays Spanish tribute to dad
When she was 8, Natalie Cole went to Mexico City with her father. And while Nat King Cole’s daughter was accustomed to his stardom, she was startled by the adulation he received.
“The people thronged to see him as we were walking the streets — he was like a king,” Cole says.
It was her first trip to Mexico, and she was struck by the crowds’ enthusiasm.
“I could not believe all these people knew who my daddy was,” she says. “It was the first time I had been around that kind of energy. So that made a very big impression on me.”
Forty-five years later, that impression inspired Natalie to celebrate a littleknown side of her famous father’s artistry with Natalie Cole en Español, an album, released this week, that covers classic Spanish-language songs recorded by her father such as “Frenesi” and “El Dia Que Me Quieras.”
Between 1958 and 1962, at the height of his career, the iconic singer of “Mona Lisa” and “Smile” recorded three albums in Spanish. Having become the first black star in the white U.S. mainstream, Cole crossed another cultural divide with his success among Latinos.
“Dad was a frontrunner with all of this,” says Natalie, 63. “People knew he was an American. They just loved the idea of this man taking these wonderful songs and making such beautiful music. For them this was like a gesture of honor, love and respect.”
Hawke speaks up for literacy
Actor Ethan Hawke says it’s crucial that all children get an education from an early age, pointing to his own daughter’s struggles with dyslexia.
Hawke spoke Wednesday in Romania, where he is promoting his recent film “Before Midnight.”
His mother, Leslie Hawke, has been raising awareness and educational funds for impoverished Romanian children since arriving here as a Peace Corps volunteer in 2000.
The actor said he is “affected by children whether it is in New York or Romania.” He says his “eldest daughter is dyslexic ... if she were from a poor family, everyone would assume she was stupid.”
Retrospective of pin-up photog
Model-turned pin-up photographer Bunny Yeager is returning to the spotlight.
Yeager, now 83, was a photographer at a time when men dominated that profession. But she used that to her advantage, making the everyday woman feel comfortable enough to bare it all.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Yeager was one of the top fashion models and photographers, publishing about a dozen books. among her models was a thenunknown Bettie Page.
More than 40 years later, 40 framed prints of her work are now on display in a gallery in Miami.