actor – Michmutters

Tag: actor

Categories
Entertainment

Ellen DeGeneres leads tributes to her former girlfriend Anne Heche who died following a car crash at the age of 53

Ellen DeGeneres leads tributes to her former girlfriend Anne Heche who died following a car crash at the age of 53

US comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres has led a chorus of tributes following the death of her former girlfriend Anne Heche.

The 53-year-old actress was declared brain dead on Friday (local time) after she slipped into a coma following a severe car crash on August 5.

The pair dated for three years from 1997 to 2000 – shortly after DeGeneres came out as lesbian.

Stream more celebrity and entertainment news with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends October 31, 2022

“This is a sad day,” DeGeneres wrote on Twitter.

“I’m sending Anne’s children, family and friends all of my love.”

Shortly after the incident on Friday, DeGeneres was approached on the street and asked if she had spoken to Heche.

“No, have not. We’re not in touch with each other, so I wouldn’t know,” she said, as reported by Fox News.

Asked if she wanted to send her former girlfriend any well-wishes, DeGeneres simply responded: “Sure. I don’t want anyone to be hurt.”

The former Six Days, Seven Nights actress was in critical condition and hospitalized after crashing her car into a home in West Los Angeles.

A representative for her family told PEOPLE on Friday she is being kept on life support until she is determined as a match for organ donation.

“Today we lost a bright light, a kind and most joyful soul, a loving mother and a loyal friend,” a representative for her family said in a statement.

“Anne will be deeply missed but she lives on through her beautiful sons, her iconic body of work, and her passionate advocacy. Her bravery for always standing in her truth, spreading her message of love and acceptance, will continue to have a lasting impact .”

Heche’s eldest son Homer, 20, said he has been left with a “deep, wordless sadness.”

“My brother Atlas and I lost our mum,” he told PEOPLE in an exclusive statement.

“After six days of almost unbelievable emotional swings, I am left with a deep, wordless sadness.

“Hopefully my mum is free from pain and beginning to explore what I like to imagine as her eternal freedom.”

The 20-year-old went on to acknowledge the outpouring of love from friends, families and fans of Heche.

“Over those six days, thousands of friends, family and fans made their hearts known to me,” he said.

“I am grateful for their love, as I am for the support of my dad, Coley, and my step mum Alexi who continue to be my rock during this time. Rest in Peace Mom, I love you.”

The 53-year-old’s ex James Tupper also posted an emotional tribute to the actress on Instagram.

The Canadian actor and father of Heche’s youngest son Atlas posted a sweet photo of Heche with the caption: “Love you forever” alongside a broken heart emoji.

.

Categories
Entertainment

Anne Heche on life support, ‘not expected’ to survive injuries suffered in car crash

Anne Heche smiles toward the camera at a red carpet event

Anne Heche is on life support after suffering a brain injury in a fiery crash a week ago and her survival is not expected, according to a statement from a representative.

The actor — who is in a coma and in critical condition — is being kept on life support for possible organ donation, according to the statement released Thursday night on behalf of her family and friends.

Heche — who’s been hospitalized at the Grossman Burn Center at West Hills hospital north of Los Angeles — suffered a “severe anoxic brain injury,” the statement said.

Such an injury is caused by a sustained lack of oxygen to the brain.

“She is not expected to survive,” the statement said.

“It has long been her choice to donate her organs and she is being kept on life support to determine if any are viable.”

On the morning of August 5, Heche’s car smashed into a house in a neighborhood in west Los Angeles and a fire erupted, with the car embedded inside the home.

Earlier on Thursday, local time, police said they were investigating Heche for driving under the influence.

Detectives with a search warrant took a sample of her blood and found narcotics in her system, LAPD spokesperson Officer Jeff Lee said.

Toxicology tests — which can take weeks to complete — must be performed to identify the drugs more clearly and to differentiate them from any medication she may have been given for treatment at the hospital.

Evidence is still being gathered from the crash, police said, and they would present a case to prosecutors if it is warranted when the investigation is complete.

A representative for Heche declined comment on the investigation.

Ellen Degeneres cocks her head to the side and looks at Anne Heche as Heche smiles
Anne Heche (right) had a high-profile relationship with Ellen Degeneres in the late 1990s. (AFP: Hector Mata)

On Tuesday, Heche spokesperson Heather Duffy Boylston said her client had been in a coma since after the accident, with burns that required surgery and lung injuries that required the use of a ventilator to breathe.

“Anne had a huge heart and touched everyone she met with her generous spirit. More than her extraordinary talent, she saw spreading kindness and joy as her life’s work — especially moving the needle for acceptance of who you love,” Thursday’s statement said.

“She will be remembered for her courageous honesty and dearly missed for her light.”

Heche, 53, was among the most-prominent film stars in Hollywood in the late 1990s, playing opposite actors including Johnny Depp (Donnie Brasco) and Harrison Ford (Six Days, Seven Nights).

Her relationship with Ellen DeGeneres from 1997 to 2000 heightened her fame and brought immense public scrutiny.

In a 2001 memoir, she discussed her lifelong struggles with mental health.

She recently had recurring roles on the TV series Chicago PD and All Rise and, in 2020, was a contestant on Dancing With the Stars.

ABC/Wires

.

Categories
Entertainment

Ashton Kutcher says he’s ‘lucky to be alive’ after vasculitis diagnosis which left him unable to see or hear

Ashton Kutcher says he's 'lucky to be alive' after vasculitis diagnosis which left him unable to see or hear

Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher has declared he is “lucky to be alive” after he was diagnosed with a rare form of vasculitis almost two years ago.

The Two and a Half Men star revealed the auto-immue disorder left him without the ability to see, hear or walk, and took him almost a full year to recover.

“Like two years ago I had a weird, super-rare form of vasculitis that knocked out my vision, knocked out my hearing and knocked out all my equilibrium,” he revealed on a new episode of Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge.

Stream more celebrity news with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends October 31, 2022

“It took me like a year to build it all back up again. You don’t really appreciate it until it’s gone, until you go, ‘I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to see again; I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to hear again; I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to walk again’.”

Kutcher added he is “lucky to be alive.”

“The minute you start seeing your obstacles as things that are made for you, to give you what you need, then life starts to get fun, right?” he said.

“You start surfing on top of your problems instead of living underneath them.”

The 44-year-old enjoyed some quality beach time with his wife Mila Kunis, 38, over the weekend – just days before the clip where he spoke publicly about his health battle was released.

Kutcher was pictured shirtless and wearing a white baseball cap while Kunis sported a black hat along with a white t-shirt and denim shorts.

Vasculitis is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of blood vessels, which means the immune system attacks the body’s own cells, tissues and organs.

The disease is “relatively rare” and can affect people of all ages, according to the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy.

.

Categories
Entertainment

Actor Ezra Miller, star of The Flash, Fantastic Beasts, Justice League, charged with felony burglary in Vermont

A person with short black hair in front of brown backdrop, wearing dark lipstick and wearing jacket

Actor Ezra Miller has been charged with felony burglary in the latest in a string of incidents involving the embattled star of The Flash.

Vermont State Police said they responded to a burglary complaint in Stamford on May 1, discovering several bottles of alcohol were taken from a home while the owners weren’t there.

Miller was charged after police looked at surveillance footage and interviewed witnesses.

The police report said the 29-year-old actor was located shortly before midnight and ordered to appear in Vermont Superior Court on September 26.

The felony charge added to Miller’s mounting legal woes and reports of erratic behaviour.

They were arrested twice earlier this year in Hawaii, including for disorderly conduct and harassment at a karaoke bar.

The second incident was for a second-degree assault.

The parents of 18-year-old Tokata Iron Eyes, a Native American activist, also filed a protection order against Miller earlier this year.

The teen’s parents accused the actor of grooming their child and other inappropriate behavior with her as a minor from the age of 12.

Tokata Iron Eyes recently told Insider that those allegations were false.

A person with shoulder length dark hair and collared shirt stares into camera for mugshot
Miller, seen here in a mugshot from a Hawaii arrest, has faced a series of controversies.(AP: Hawaii Police Department )

Miller’s lawyers didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the Vermont felony charge or the protection order related to Tokata Iron Eyes.

After appearing in several films for Warner Bros and DC Films as the Flash, Miller stars in the upcoming standalone film The Flash, due out in June 2023.

Though Warner Bros last week axed the nearly completed Batgirl film, the studio has suggested it remains committed to releasing The Flash.

In an earnings report last week, David Zaslav, chief executive of Warner Bros Discovery, referenced The Flash.

“We have seen The Flash, Black Adam and Shazam 2. We are very excited about them,” said Mr Zaslav.

“We think they are terrific, and we think we can make them even better.”

Representatives for Warner Bros didn’t respond to requests for comment.

ABC/AP

.

Categories
Entertainment

Pat Carroll — who voiced iconic Disney villain Ursula in The Little Mermaid — dies, aged 95

Pat Carroll — who voiced iconic Disney villain Ursula in The Little Mermaid — dies, aged 95

Pat Carroll — best known for voicing underwater villain Ursula in Disney’s 1989 The Little Mermaid — has died, aged 95.

Carroll’s daughter, Tara Karsian, confirmed the actor’s death on Instagram with a post praising her mother’s iconic laughter.

“We ask that you honor her by having a raucous laugh at absolutely anything today (and everyday forward) because besides her brilliant talent and love, she leaves my sister Kerry and I with the greatest gift of all, imbuing us with humor and the ability to laugh … even in the saddest of times,” Ms Karsian said.

loading

The actor’s other daughter, Kerry Karsian, said Carroll died at her home in Cape Cod, in the US state of Massachusetts on Saturday.

Carroll’s first film role came in 1948, in Hometown Girl, but she found her stride in television.

She won an Emmy for her work on the sketch comedy series Caesar’s Hour in 1956, was a regular on Make Room for Daddy with Danny Thomas, a guest star on The DuPont Show with June Allyson, and a variety show regular stopping by The Danny Kaye Show, The Red Skelton Show and The Carol Burnett Show.

However, she’s best known for her role as Ursula in The Little Mermaid, with her throaty rendition of Poor Unfortunate Souls making her one of Disney’s most memorable villains.

loading

Carroll would often say that Ursula was one of her favorite roles.

She said she saw her as an “Ex-Shakespearean actress who now sold cars.”

“She’s a mean old thing,” Carroll said in an interview.

“I think people are fascinated by mean characters.

“There’s a fatal kind of distraction about the horrible, mean characters of the world because we don’t meet too many of them in real life.

“So, when we have a chance, theatrically, to see one — and this one, she’s a biggie — it’s kind of fascinating for us.”

In a statement on Twitter, Disney Music said “we are deeply saddened” by Carroll’s death.

“We will forever treasure and remember her iconic portrayal of Ursula and performance of Poor Unfortunate Souls,” it said.

loading

AP/ABC

.

Categories
Entertainment

Rachel Griffiths ‘deeply moved’ by devastation found while filming new series

Rachel Griffiths is pictured side-on, speaking with a man who has his hands clasped. There is a river behind them.

Watching a man clean the remnants of a devastating flood from his home was a sobering moment for actor and producer Rachel Griffiths.

She was traveling across Australia filming earlier this year when a painting by Arthur Streeton drew her to the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales.

Griffiths was met by a community recovering from their third flood in 12 months.

“Standing with a guy who’s pressure washing his house for the third time and feeling deeply connected to a place he isn’t sure he has the ability to deal with or accept nature’s fury — that was one of our deeply moving times,” Griffiths said .

She never imagined that local Rohan Smith who she interviewed would be doing a fourth clean-up just weeks later.

Griffiths has come away with a heightened appreciation of the harsh realities of Australian landscapes.

Life after lockdowns

Presenting the new ABC art series Great Southern Landscapes, she has taken a deep dive into some of Australia’s most iconic landscape paintings and hopes the prime-time series will inspire wanderlust for our own backyard.

Rachel Griffiths sits in a boat with Erin Wilkins which is being driven down the Hawkesbury River.
Darug woman Erin Wilkins takes Griffiths down the Hawkesbury River to share about its history.(ABC: Great Southern Landscapes)

The Melbourne-based actor and producer came out of pandemic lockdowns hungry to explore the natural beauty and she’s done so through the eyes of some of our greatest artists.

An art-lover herself, Griffiths wasn’t disappointed.

“It was wonderful to fly across the great breadth of the country after the borders opened and I think what I really loved hearing was how people outside of Melbourne experienced the past few years,” Griffiths said.

The six episodes capture the devastation of recent flooding, the cultural significance of the landscapes and the painful history that has played out.

Lake Eyre in South Australia, Western Australia’s Exmouth and Cottesloe Beach, and Warrnambool in Victoria are some of the backdrops to feature in the 30-minute episodes filmed from February to July.

Griffiths cherishes the time she spent exploring the landscapes that surrounded Albert Namatjira, a pioneer of contemporary Indigenous Australian art.

Rachel Griffiths stands on a bridge over a river with her arms spread.
Melbourne-based Griffiths was keen to explore Australia when the borders opened. (ABC: Great Southern Landscapes)

In one episode, she will take viewers to Namatjira’s house at Hermannsburg in the Northern Territory to hear about how pivotal he was in sharing knowledge of country and inspiring other artists to do the same.

It’s in her blood

Griffiths herself grew up inspired by artists from all walks of life.

She had a passion for art through school and trailed her mother Anna Griffiths around galleries.

“For me it’s part of my day-to-day language because I’m the daughter of an artist and I’m married to an artist and I’m a performing artist,” Griffiths said.

Her love of landscapes is reflected in the films that have captivated the actor.

Griffiths described mystery film Picnic at Hanging Rock as formative for her, fascinated by the idea that the landscape could be a place that could eat girls.

“I think what put Australian filmmaking on the map was our cinematographers and our directors before our writers,” she said.

“Whether it’s Baz Luhrmann’s Sydney in Strictly Ballroom to Tracks, I think our filmmakers have always sought to do justice to the incredible views that we have.”

Rachel Griffiths stands in front of a grassy landscape. She is wearing a brown hat.
Griffiths has loved art her whole life. (ABC: Great Southern Landscapes)

She hopes Great Southern Landscapes will also do justice to our country’s precious natural environment, just as the featured artists have done.

Griffiths said it would be great to give ABC viewers some inspiration to see what their own backyard has to offer.

“I hope to inspire people when they do go to that viewing spot — rather than get out of the car, run over, take a selfie and fall off a cliff — you actually Google who was here, whose land you are on and what stories were here,” she said.

“And you understand the place in a slightly deeper way than just the five-minute Instagram.

“The purpose of a view should not just be for an Instagram post but to really have an understanding of our European history and the 60,000 years before we arrived of what these places were.”

What’s next?

Aside from the series set to premiere at 8pm on August 9, Griffiths has her fingers in several feet which are yet to be revealed.

She has a string of awards behind her including for her roles in Muriel’s Wedding and Six Feet Under.

The Melbourne actor said she was “on hold” for a role in a big US show and was waiting to find out more.

She is also the co-creator and executive producer in a few shows which she is pitching internationally to various streamers.

“I’ve always got something cooking,” she said.

.