newsmakers

May 18, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

newsmakers

hDisco Queen Donna Summer dies at 63

NEW YORK

Like the King of Pop or the Queen of Soul, Donna Summer was bestowed a title fitting of musical royalty — the Queen of Disco.

Yet unlike Michael Jackson or Aretha Franklin, it was a designation she wasn’t comfortable embracing.

“I grew up on rock ’n’ roll,” Summer once said when explaining her reluctance to claim the title.

Indeed, as disco boomed then crashed in a single decade in the 1970s, Summer, the beautiful voice and face of the genre with pulsating hits such as “I Feel Love,” “Love to Love You Baby” and “Last Dance,” would continue to make hits incorporating the rock roots she so loved. One of her biggest hits, “She Works Hard for the Money,” came in the early 1980s and relied on a smoldering guitar solo as well as Summer’s booming voice.

Yet it was with her disco anthems that she would have the most impact in music, and it’s how she was remembered Thursday as news spread of her death at age 63.

Her family released a statement saying she died Thursday morning and they “are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy.”

‘Terminator 3’ actor Stahl missing in LA

LOS ANGELES

Los Angeles police say “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” actor Nick Stahl has been reported missing by his wife.

Police Officer Cleon Joseph confirmed Thursday that the missing-persons report was filed this week and the 32-year-old actor hasn’t been found. The Los Angeles Times reports Stahl’s wife last saw the actor May 9.

Foul play isn’t suspected.

People magazine reports the couple has been embroiled in a child-custody fight.

Stahl was a child star who first got attention from his performance in the 1993 film “The Man Without a Face.”

Will Lopez be next to leave ‘Idol’?

LOS ANGELES

The search for “The X Factor’s” new judges ended earlier this week, but the search for a new “American Idol” judge may be just beginning, if there’s any truth to rumors that second-year judge Jennifer Lopez is looking to leave the show.

Lopez’s one-year contract for $20 million is up after this season, and she has not yet signed for a third season.

The singer is touring with Enrique Iglesias in the U.S. and Latin America this summer, and there are reports of a world tour after that. She also reportedly wants to spend more time with her children.

This could just be part of a negotiating tactic, of course.

Associated Press