newsmakers

newsmakers

Bill Cosby releases brief video touting comedy concert

NEW YORK

Bill Cosby has a new video message out.

In the video released Monday, he doesn’t address assault allegations made against him, but instead promotes his upcoming Saturday show in Wheeling, W.Va.

Cosby was to perform at Packard Music Hall in Warren on Friday, but the show was canceled.

Cosby is seated in an easy chair, dressed in fuchsia-colored pajamas, as he speaks into a phone in the 10-second spot released Monday.

In the one-way conversation, Cosby says, “I’ll be hilarious,” then adds, “Can’t wait.”

He’s far from finished, Cosby says in the note, invoking the title of his ongoing comedy tour that’s seen more than a dozen shows canceled.

Since November, more than 20 women have leveled various assault accusations against Cosby. He has not been charged with a crime, and he has denied the allegations through his attorneys.

‘Simpsons’ co-creator, philanthropist Sam Simon dies at 59

Sam Simon, a co-creator of “The Simpsons” and animal-rights advocate who made a midlife career shift into philanthropy and channeled much of his personal fortune into social causes, has died.

Simon died Sunday at his home in Pacific Palisades, Calif., his agent, Andy Patman said. He was 59.

He was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer in 2011.

After stints writing for “Taxi,” “Cheers” and “The Tracey Ullman Show,” Simon helped launch “The Simpsons” in 1989.

He left the series after its fourth season under a deal that rewarded him with ongoing royalties from the show, which remains in production.

He established the Sam Simon Foundation, which rescues dogs from animal shelters and trains them to assist the disabled. He also donated to Mercy for Animals, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, among other organizations, and funded a Los Angeles food bank.

In an interview in 2013, he voiced a desire to spend all of his money on charitable causes.

“I’m not sad,” he declared as he battled an illness that his doctors said might claim him within months. “I’m happy. I don’t feel angry and bitter. I want to do whatever I can to survive.”

Associated Press