Year after leader’s death, Levert revives itself

Year after leader’s death,
Levert revives itself

CLEVELAND — A revival of the R&B trio Levert is scheduled to make its hometown debut Nov. 23 at Cleveland State University, a year after the death of founder Gerald Levert. Dwight Thompson, formerly of the Rude Boys, will replace Gerald Levert. Thompson joins Levert’s younger brother, Sean Levert, and Levert’s childhood friend, Marc Gordon. Gerald Levert, 40, died last Nov. 10 of an accidental overdose of prescription and over-the-counter medications at his home in suburban Newbury Township. The new Levert group tested the waters over the past few months with performances in Miami, New Orleans and Atlanta. The father of the Levert brothers is O’Jay’s singer Eddie Levert. The Levert group had a string of hits, including “(Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop) Goes My Mind” and “Casanova” in 1987.

Enterprise crew is cast
for ‘Star Trek’ flick

LOS ANGELES — The bridge of the starship Enterprise is filling up. Chris Pine, who had been in talks to join the cast of J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek” flick, will play the young James Kirk, while Karl Urban will take on the role of Dr. Leonard McCoy, distributor Paramount confirmed Thursday. They join previously announced cast members Zachary Quinto as Vulcan scientist Spock, Simon Pegg as engineer Scotty, John Cho as helmsman Sulu, Zoe Saldana as communications officer Uhura and Anton Yelchin as navigator Chekov. Leonard Nimoy, who played Enterprise science officer Spock in the 1960s TV series and six “Star Trek” feature films, also will appear as an older version of the Vulcan. Eric Bana, the star of Steven Spielberg’s “Munich” and Ang Lee’s “Hulk,” is playing a villain in the “Trek” film, which begins shooting in November and is due out in December 2008. Abrams, creator of “Lost” and director of “Mission: Impossible III,” is keeping the plot secret for the film that follows the early days of the “Star Trek” crew, which was led by William Shatner as the bold Capt. Kirk.

Today’s birthdays

Actress Joyce Randolph is 82. Rock singer Manfred Mann is 67. Singer Elvin Bishop is 65. TV’s Judge Judy Sheindlin is 65. Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is 58. Actress-author Carrie Fisher is 51. Singer Julian Cope is 50. Actor Jeremy Miller is 31. Actor Will Estes is 29. Actor Matt Dallas is 25.