newsmakers

newsmakers

Robert Chew, actor on ‘The Wire’ dies at 52

BALTIMORE

Robert Chew, who played Proposition Joe on the HBO series “The Wire,” has died. He was 52.

His sister, Clarice Chew, said he suffered a heart attack and died at his Baltimore home Thursday.

Robert Chew grew up in Baltimore and studied music at Morgan State University for two years. His sister said he worked as music director for the Arena Players community theater.

The character Prop Joe was a highly intelligent and ruthless yet polite and diplomatic Baltimore drug lord. Another sister, Maureen Brown, said strangers would approach Chew on the street in Baltimore and tell him what a great job he did in that role.

He also appeared in TV shows “The Corner” and “Homicide: Life on the Street” and the 2004 TV movie “Something the Lord Made.”

J.J. Abrams to produce Armstrong biopic

LOS ANGELES

He’s already gotten the Oprah treatment. Now Lance Armstrong is headed for the silver screen.

Paramount Pictures and J.J. Abrams’ production company, Bad Robot, are planning a biopic about the disgraced cyclist, a studio spokeswoman said Friday.

They’ve secured the rights to New York Times reporter Juliet Macur’s upcoming book “Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong,” due out in June. Macur covered the seven-time Tour de France winner for more than a decade.

No director, writer, star or start date have been set.

Armstrong did a two-part interview last week with Oprah Winfrey in which he admitted using performance-enhancing drugs to reach his historic victories, something he’d defiantly denied for years. The International Olympic Committee also stripped him of his 2000 bronze medal last week.

Source: Lady Gaga to sing at inaugural ball

WASHINGTON

Watch out Beyonce and Katy Perry. There’s another diva set to perform during the inauguration festivities — Lady Gaga.

A person familiar with the inauguration tells The Associated Press that the pop star will perform at Tuesday’s ball for White House staffers.

The source spoke on condition of anonymity because that person wasn’t authorized to publicly reveal the information.

The staff ball typically is a private affair. During the last inauguration festivities, Jay-Z reportedly performed at it.

According to one attendee, Jay-Z rapped a riff on one of his hit songs, “99 Problems but George Bush Ain’t One,” to the delight of the throngs of young staffers who worked to elect Obama in 2008.

Associated Press