Monday, March 20, 2006
Charles and Camillato tour Middle East, India
LONDON -- Prince Charles and wife Camilla are to leave today for a two-week tour of the Middle East and India, officials said.
The Prince of Wales and the former Camilla Parker Bowles, the Duchess of Cornwall, are scheduled to make stops in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and India.
The tour, the couple's second official trip together, aims to improve Britain's profile and promote interfaith tolerance and the prince's environmental initiatives, according to a statement from the prince's office.
The royals will start in Egypt, where they are to lay a wreath at war graves in El Alamein and attend an exhibition of Islamic art. From there, they will travel to Saudi Arabia to attend meetings on education and work training.
Their tour wraps up in India, where the pair will attend the British high commissioner's annual reception for diplomats, politicians and businessmen. The prince -- known for his interest in the environment and young people -- is expected to discuss his ideas for sustainable farming, water conservation and jobs.
The couple's first official foreign trip together was a tour of the United States in November.
Character actor? That'sjust fine with Beatty
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Ned Beatty says he sees himself as a quintessential character actor.
Although the leading man may get the girl, he said, as a character actor, "you make things happen. ... You drive the story on."
Beatty, who has been in more than 100 films, accepted the Master of Cinema award Saturday at the 2006 RiverRun International Film Festival.
He discussed his role in the 1972 adventure-thriller "Deliverance." His character underwent an unforgettably vivid sexual assault. "The whole 'squeal-like-a-pig' thing ... came from guess who?" Beatty said.
As the audience laughed, he theatrically put his head in his hands and silently pointed to himself. Beatty then explained how director John Boorman encouraged him to improvise the scene with Bill McKinney, his on-screen tormenter.
Despite identifying himself as a character actor, "I think I look like a leading man," Beatty joked.
The festival held in Winston-Salem included 25 feature films and 44 short films.
Notable deaths
Fashion designer Oleg Cassini died Friday at age 92 in a Long Island hospital, said his wife, Marianne. She said her husband was hospitalized after complaining of a headache last Saturday, but that he did not have a stroke.
Cassini is probably best known for creating Jacqueline Kennedy's graceful, elegant look.
Bill Beutel, the longtime television news anchor and host of the show that became ABC's "Good Morning America," has died, the network announced. He was 75.
Beutel, whose trademark signoff "Good luck and be well" closed WABC's nightly local newscast for more than 30 years, died Saturday at his home in Pinehurst, N.C., the network said.
King Floyd III, the soul singer and songwriter best known for his 1970 hit "Groove Me," died March 6 of complications from a stroke and diabetes, his record label said. He was 61.
Today's birthdays
Producer-director-comedian Carl Reiner is 84. Actor Hal Linden is 75. Singer Jerry Reed is 69. Country singer Don Edwards is 67. Hockey Hall-of-Famer Bobby Orr is 58. Actor William Hurt is 56. Rock musician Jimmie Vaughan is 55. Country musician Jimmy Seales (Shenandoah) is 52. Movie director Spike Lee is 49. Actress Theresa Russell is 49. Actress Vanessa Bell Calloway is 49. Actress Holly Hunter is 48. Rock musician Slim Jim Phantom (The Stray Cats) is 45. Actress-model Kathy Ireland is 43. Actor Michael Rapaport is 36. Rock singer Chester Bennington (Linkin Park) is 30. Actor Michael Genadry is 28. Actress Bianca Lawson is 27.