Friday, December 19, 2014

OUTSTAGN COUNTS DOWN THE TOP 20 ILLI MO ENTERTAINMENT STORIES of 2014

TOP ILLI MO ENTERTAINMENT STORIES of 2014





This year in entertainment has been quite interesting.  From St Louis native actor Lavell Crawford winning a Screen Actors Guild Award along with his castmates from the show “Breaking Bad,”  Robbins, Ill native actress/talk show host Keke Palmer turning heads wearing a revealing  dress on the red carpet at the BET Awards and her debut as a talk show host on the network to OWN’s  delayed documentary on Mizzou alum Michael Sam getting scheduled air time. Below are the Top 20 entertainment stories with Illinois-Missouri  influence, roots or impact on national entertainment news.



20.St Louis based freelance writer Daniel Durchholz’s review of BB King’s less than stellar concert at The Pageant had gone  viral (APRIL)



19.Chicago native basketball player Dwayne Wade got married to actress Gabrielle Union  (AUGUST)



18.Chicago native cartoonist/satirist Aaron McGruder quit “The Boondocks” before the show’s last season (MARCH)



17.NHL team Chicago Blackhawks vied for first team in 20 years to win back to back NHL titles but lost to the Kings in Game 7 (MAY)


16.The First Lady Michelle Obama's Turnip Or What video had gone viral on The Vine and breaks records on Internet  (OCT)


15.Springfield, Mo. Native actor Brad Pitt won his first Oscar producing the film, “12 Years A slave” for Best Picture (FEB) and married Angelina Jolie later in the year.



14.Chicago Bulls player Derrick Rose wore an “I Can’t Breathe” shirt during warm-ups (DEC)



13.Oak Park, Ill comic Kathy Griffin was given late comic Joan Rivers' job on Fashion Police after dispelling rumors of getting the job during Rivers’ convalesce. (NOV)



12.St Louis Blues player TJ Oshie grabbed the spotlight during Winter Olympics in Sochi  scoring the winning goal against Russia dubbing it second to “The Miracle on Ice” in 1980. (JAN).



11.The National Baseball Hall of Fame winners were inducted in Cooperstown which included former St Louis Cardinals player Joe Torry and former St Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa  (JULY)





10.ILLI Moians Jason Brown and Grace Gold won Bronze medals  in figure skating at this year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi (JAN)










9.Kansas City Royals advanced to the World Series after a nearly 30 year absence. They lost to the San Francisco Giants.  (OCT)






8.Chicagoans Sherri Shepherd and Jenny McCarthy had a topsy turvy  year. They were fired from The View in June, Shepherd got a divorce from Lamar Sally, McCarthy got married to singer Danny Wahlberg and Shepherd was on Broadway in Cinderella, had a part in the film, “Top Five” and will join the cast of the sitcom, “The Soul Man.”]




7.Kansas City native actor Columbus Short’s career downspiraled.  He was unceremoniously fired from the  show “Scandal” in April due to his personal life and demons. At the same time, his infamous interview on the Tom Joyner Morning Show where he sounded incoherent made news. In September he hosted a Season Four  Scandal viewing party in Atlanta that killed off his  TV character, Harrison. At years end, he disclosed that he had a cocaine addiction and his Scandal family tried to intervene.




6.This year we had two significant deaths of two prominent people in the arts and entertainment field.  One was St Louis native poet/educator Dr Maya Angelou, famed poet of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” novel, died  May 28 at the age of 86. Oprah Winfrey, who was Maya’s spiritual daughter, oversaw her funeral that was held in her adopted city Winston Salem, NC.








5.During the aftermath of the non-indictment verdict of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson from the death of teen Mike Brown, continued civil unrest throughout St Louis and throughout. The sports world was also affected. In December, the major event was being The St Louis Rams when five players  (Wide receivers Stedman Bailey, Tavon Austin, Chris Givens and Kenny Britt and tight end Jared Cook   )raised their hands in the Don’t Shoot position with their hands up. The gesture made international headlines, one of The St Louis Police Board demanded an apology as well as the fans.




4.The second prominent death was Chicago native actor/comedian Robin Williams who was found dead Aug 11. It was ruled an apparent suicide. It was speculate that his suicide was brought on from his knowledge that he had early Parkinson's Disease and was battling depression,. He was 63. At this year’s Emmy Awards, longtime friend Billy Crystal done a heartfelt tribute to Williams. He was also the most Googled person of 2014.







3.This year was dominated by the events leading up to the

 marriage of Kimye. The first was the infamous cover of the

 couple on Vogue in April and Kanye’s bullying tactics with
publisher/editor Anna Wintour  to give the cover spot to his fiancee.  The magazine issue had its publisher to make a statement saying she approved of the cover. The sales of the issue reportedly failed below expectations. The next big story was their wedding in May in Paris, France and the millions paid just for security but the “event” occurred in Italy. In June, the photo of the couple’s kiss broke an Instagram record of nearly two million but West had gone on a tirade about the photo and blamed famed photographer Annie Leibovitz  
for ruining his honeymoon because he had to spend four days retouching a photo she didn't take.






2.The outcry after the death of slain teen Mike Brown struck a nerve across the world. The media also had a frenzy in reporting the after effects.  It was soon after the August 9 event, Hollywood came to Ferguson when life coach and motivational speaker Iyanla Van Zandt brought cameras to film a special episode of her popular “Fix My Life” series on OWN.  Titled, “IYANLA: FIX MY LIFE SPECIAL REPORT: HEALING IN FERGUSON"  the
 episode followed Iyanla Vanzant as she worked with the Ferguson, Missouri community to promote peace and healing. She also brought face-to-face Ferguson police chief Thomas Jackson and Michael Brown's uncle, pastor Charles Ewing to discuss the need for peace, then hosted a community discussion with leaders and citizens. In the hip hop world, twelve hip hop artists -- The Game, Diddy, 2 Chainz, Rick Ross, Wale, DJ Kaled, Swizz Beatz, Yo Gotti, Curren$y, Problem, and King Pharaoh & TGT -- collaborated on the track “Don’t Shoot,” in memoriam of Mike Brown and in protest of police violence.The song was released recently on the Empire Distribution SoundCloud page,adding itself to the growing list of tribute songs inspired by Michael Brown, such as Lauryn Hill's "Black Rage" and J. Cole' s "Be Free."
(AUGUST)





AND THE NO. 1 ILLI MO ENTERTAINMENT STORY OF 2014 WAS




1.Mizzou alum Michael Sam made headlines on and off the grid iron becoming the first openly gay football player trying to win a spot on a team in the NFL. His story played like a Hollywood movie . After coming out  of the closet while still a student at Mizzou in Columbia, Mo., the move was controversial and the media reacted feverishly.  The news of his openness got him the front cover of Sports Illustrated in February. In May, during the NFL Draft, The St Louis Rams drafted him and made even more headlines when he kissed his boyfriend in celebration when cameras were at his house. Soon after media from across the country came to Rams Park in Earth City, Mo to get his comments about being drafted (POTUS even sent him congrats). In the same month,The Oprah Winfrey Network announced plans for a multi-part documentary series that will chronicle Sam’s life as he prepared to enter the world of professional football. But the organization disapproved of the happening which it felt would deter Sam from receiving a spot on the roster and extra attention to The Rams. Thus, the project was postponed. In July, he received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at this years ESPYs. In August, he played as a Ram in a pre season game at the Edward Jones Dome against the Cleveland Browns putting up impressive numbers with two sacks  (He punctuated his first sack with a signature money sign celebration.) In September, The Rams cut Sam, much to the chagrin of the organization claiming it didn’t cut him becasue of his sexuality but due to the major talent to choose from (and much to the rumor from the ESPN report that the teammates felt uncomfotable around him in the lockerroom). Soon after, The Dallas Cowboys drafted Sam on its practicing squad but was released a month later. In November, he copped one of the six cover spots for GQ magazine and OWN reported that it would air his delayed documentary in late December. 

RIP BITZ of 2014






In 2014 we lost some prominent people in the arts and entertainment field that had Illinois-Missouri ties.


Below are some of those fielders









STL based jazz label owner Richard McDonnell. He was 68





Chicago native actor/director Harold Ramis. He was 69.







 St Louis TV weatherman, Howard DeMere. He was 89.








Adopted Chicagoan and Grammy Award winning music producer Frankie Knuckles. He was 59.







St Louis bred award winning poet and educator Dr.Maya Angelou. She was 86.








St. Louis radio legend Lou "Fatha" Thimes. 
He was 85.





Chicago native and Oscar winning comic/actor Robin Williams. He was 63.









St Louis native and jazz artist,  Floyd A. LeFlore, Jr. 
He was 74.







St Louis Cardinals player Oscar Taveres. He was 22.





Mizzou's assistant football coach/radio broadcaster 
John Kadlec. He was 86.












St Louis Post Dispatch journalist/TV sports analyst
Bryan Burwell. He was 59.




AND






Chicago reared boxing legend Ernest Terrell . He was 75.

OUTSTAGN COUNT DOWNS THE TOP 20 STL ENTERTAINMENT STORIES of 2014


In 2014, St Louis got her spotlight in a major way from St Louis native rock legend Chuck Berry performing his 200th concert at his monthly gig at Blueberry Hill in January,  the debut of the controversial and short lived reality series BAPS on Lifetime, to  the Board of Alderman electing the city’s first poet laureate, Michael  Castro.  Of course, we would be remiss to mention the civil unrest in the town of Ferguson, Mo in August after the death of teen Mike Brown and the outpouring of tributes from common folk to celebrities including Nelly, Talib Kweli, J Cole, Keke Palmer, and Flavor Flav to name a few .


Below are the Top 20 St Louis based stories that made an impact in 2014




20. East St Louis Peace rally was held at Malcolm Martin Memorial Park with Chicago native rapper Common, and acts Arrested Development,  St Louis native gospel singer Amber Bullock and St Lunatics member Murphy Lee (OCT)




19.Talk show host Wendy Williams visited St Louis on her Thank You Tour  (MAY)





18.Radio Station Louis 103.7 FM stunted their station by repeating the song “Never Gonna Give You Up “ by Rick Astley  24 hours until it changed its format . (JUNE)





17.Singer Mylie Cyrus cancelled her Bangaz Tour at Scott Trade Center due to illness (as well as Kansas City). Her tour was rescheduled later in the year. (APRIL)





16.Longtime radio personality Tony Scott was shockingly fired from Clear Channel’s Magic 100.3 FM but was rehired by rival Radio One’s Foxy 95 later in the year. (MAY)





15.The St Louis Cardinals announced its first class inducted in its Hall of Fame for the newly constructed Ballpark Village. They were  Mike Shannon,  Marty Marion, Willie McGee  and Jim Edmonds. (MAY)





14.Conversations and rumors about the St Louis Rams leaving St Louis after the 2014 season continued  (even had a citizens group Save The Rams  protesting the save them) with Governor Jay Nixon creating a committee to save the team before its contract with Edward Jones Dome ends in January 2015.





13.Garth Brooks performed at Scott Trade Center for four sold out days with one fan attending, singer Justin Timberlake (Dec)




12.St Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford reinjured his ACL during an exhibition game with the Browns and replaced by  Shaun Hill. (AUGUST)




11.The opening of Ballpark Village finally opened but caused controversy in its clothing policy (MARCH)


10.St Louis celebrated turning 250. It celebrated with events and a symbolic cake with the numbers 250 placed at various venues across St Louis (FEB)





9.Former American Idol finalist and singer Nikko Smith had a touch of mistaken identity for a brief time when he was mistaken with Love and Hip Hop reality star  Nikko Smith who made a sex tape with Mimi Faust. (APRIL)





8.The debut of the STL filmed reality series BAPS  which involved young black upscale movers and shakers  aired on Lifetime but caused controversy with some of its negative images of women of color and was canceled  due to low ratings. (JULY)



7.The 1999 Greatest Show on Turf  St Louis Rams  and its coach Dick Vermeil had a 25 th anniversary reunion  of their SuperBowl win during halftime at the Rams game against The Niners at Edward Jones  (OCT)






6.The death of St Louis Cardinals player Oscar Taveras was a shock for all Cards fans when the young upstart died in a car accident along with his girlfriend in his hometown of the Dominican Republic . He was 22. (OCT).



5.St Louis based freelance writer Daniel Durchholz’s review of BB King’s less than stellar performance at the Pageant had gone viral causing much discussion about the legend’s ability to perform. King issued an apology and blamed it on his health matters (APRIL)




4.Slain teen Mike Brown’s mother  Lesley McSpadden gave an exclusive interview on Clear Channel radio on the Tammy Holland Show to talk about her son, her feelings on his death and seeking justice for him as the grand jury was still without a decision to indict. (NOV)




3.St Louis reared rap mogul Nelly joined in the protests in

 Ferguson, Mo  after getting flack from that community of 

their opinion of his involvement after the Aug 9 incident. As a

 result of this, Nelly went on Hot 104.1 to voice to speak 

about the criticism. He also called Attorney General Eric

 Holder on matters and formed a scholarship in the honor of

 Mike Brown's Family, Meanwhile, Nelly protested in

 Ferguson with protesters as it was documented by BET for a

 subsequent special that aired hosted by BET News

 Correspondent Marc Lamont Hill and Actress Keke Palmer

(AUGUST)




2. The outcry after the death of slain teen Mike Brown struck a nerve across the world. The media also had a frenzy in reporting the after effects.  It was soon after the August 9 event, Hollywood came to Ferguson when life coach and motivational speaker Iyanla Van Zandt brought cameras to film a special episode of her popular “Fix My Life” series on OWN.  Titled, “IYANLA: FIX MY LIFE SPECIAL REPORT: HEALING IN FERGUSON"  theepisode followed Iyanla Vanzant as she worked with the Ferguson, Missouri community to promote peace and healing. She also brought face-to-face Ferguson police chief Thomas Jackson and Michael Brown's uncle, pastor Charles Ewing to discuss the need for peace, then hosted a community discussion with leaders and citizens. In the hip hop world, twelve hip hop artists -- The Game, Diddy, 2 Chainz, Rick Ross, Wale, DJ Kaled, Swizz Beatz, Yo Gotti, Curren$y, Problem, and King Pharaoh & TGT -- collaborated on the track “Don’t Shoot,” in memoriam of Mike Brown and in protest of police violence.The song was released recently on the Empire Distribution SoundCloud page,adding itself to the growing list of tribute songs inspired by Michael Brown, such as Lauryn Hill's "Black Rage" and J. Cole' s "Be Free."
(AUGUST)


AND THE NUMBER ONE STL ENTERTAINMENT STORY OF 2014 WAS










1. During the aftermath of the non-indictment verdict of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson from the death of teen Mike Brown, continued civil unrest throughout St Louis and throughout. The sports world was also affected. In December, the major event was  The St Louis Rams when five players  (Wide receivers Stedman Bailey, 
Tavon Austin, Chris Givens and Kenny Britt and tight end Jared Cook   )raised their hands in the Don’t Shoot position with their hands up. The gesture made international headlines, one of The St Louis Police Board demanded an apology as well as the fans. In the end, The Rams did not have the guys to apologize for they were expressing their First Amendment Rights, The gesture sparked other sports figures to follow their lead including Derrick Rose and Lebron James.