newsmakers

newsmakers

Kardashian-Kanye wed in Florence fortress

FLORENCE, Italy

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are officially “Bound” to each other.

The celebrity couple, who have made a habit of over-the-top, public displays of affection, got hitched Saturday in a decidedly private spot: a Renaissance fortress in Florence. The nuptials were confirmed to The Associated Press by Kardashian’s representative, who noted the reporting of E! Online, the news site from the network that carries her reality show, “Keeping Up With The Kardashians.” E! Online reported the wedding party consisted of her sisters, while stepfather Bruce Jenner walked her down the aisle. Andrea Bocelli and John Legend sang for the couple at the reception.

The city’s mayor’s office had said a week earlier that the couple had rented Belvedere Fort for a wedding to be performed by a Protestant minister, adding a flurry of excitement in the entertainment world about the ceremony, which had been anticipated for months. In the days before the nuptials, the pair held court in Paris, parading in front of photographers for pre-wedding festivities. Kardashian posted a picture on the social-media site Instagram of the gardens of fashion designer Valentino’s 17th-century Chateau de Wideville west of Paris, where one of their events was taking place. The couple also toured the Chateau of Versailles.

The duo, who have one child together, were not shy about their romance; he briefly appeared on her reality show, and he gushed about his love for her in a talk show hosted by her mother, Kris Jenner. A topless Kardashian also starred in his music video for “Bound 2,” in which they simulated having sex on a motorcycle bike.

But when it came to the wedding, the press was able to get photos only of the many celebrity guests at the wedding.

Among the notables sighted arriving in Florence ahead of the nuptials were Steve McQueen, director of Oscar-winner “12 Years a Slave”; Lala Anthony, wife of NY Knicks basketball star Carmelo Anthony; and Jaden Smith, the actor and teenage son of Will and Jada Smith.

Exec who helped create GI Joe dies

PROVIDENCE, R.I.

Donald Levine, the Hasbro executive credited as the father of G.I. Joe for developing the world’s first action figure, has died. He was 86.

He died of cancer Thursday, said his wife, Nan.

Levine shepherded the toy through design and development as Hasbro’s head of research and development. He and his team came up with an 111/2-inch articulated figure with 21 moving parts, and since the company’s employees included many military veterans, it was decided to outfit the toy in the uniforms of the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force, with such accessories as guns, helmets and vehicles.

Associated Press