newsmakers

newsmakers

Rapper 2 Chainz faces drug charge

EASTON, Md.

Rapper 2 Chainz has been arrested on drug charges in Maryland where he was performing at a college homecoming event.

Maryland State Police spokesman Sgt. Marc Black said troopers stopped a van Thursday night about 9:15 p.m. for speeding near Easton, Md., and smelled a strong odor of burnt marijuana in the van. A backpack in the van had a marijuana grinder and trace amounts of marijuana, police said.

The rapper, whose real name is Tauheed Epps, claimed possession of the backpack and was arrested, police said. Epps was cited for having drug paraphernalia and marijuana and was released. The citation carries up to a year in jail and up to a $1,000 fine.

‘Underdog’ cartoon co-creator dies

BOSTON

The co-creator of the cartoon “Underdog,” the mild-mannered shoeshine boy who turned into a caped superhero to rescue his girlfriend, Sweet Polly Purebred, has died. William Watts Biggers was 85.

Family friend Derek Tague says Biggers, who went by “Buck,” died unexpectedly at his Plymouth home Sunday.

The native of Avondale Estates, Ga., worked for the New York City advertising firm DFS when he accepted an assignment from the agency’s largest client, General Mills, to create television cartoons to promote its breakfast cereals. The most famous was “Underdog,” which debuted on NBC in 1964.

After General Mills pulled out of the animation business, Biggers became vice president of promotion and creative services at NBC.

Vindicator wire services