newsmakers

newsmakers

Model sues Bill Cosby for defamation

LOS ANGELES

Model Janice Dickinson has sued Bill Cosby for defamation over statements by his representatives that called her claims the comedian raped her in 1982 lies.

Dickinson’s lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court seeks unspecified damages on defamation, false light and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims. The suit states Dickinson requested a retraction from Cosby about statements calling her allegations, made last year to “Entertainment Tonight,” a lie.

An email sent to Cosby’s attorney Martin Singer was not immediately returned. Singer called Dickinson’s claims that Cosby raped her in a Lake Tahoe, Calif., hotel room in 1982 “false and outlandish” in a letter to The Associated Press last year.

Brian Williams nixes PBS appearance

WASHINGTON

NBC’s Brian Williams has withdrawn from hosting a broadcast honoring those who support U.S. veterans and military families, and first lady Michelle Obama is stepping in to film an introduction instead.

Williams was set to host the inaugural Lincoln Awards, which are scheduled to air Friday on PBS. The concert was filmed in January, featuring appearances by Nick Jonas, Gavin DeGraw and Jerry Lewis.

Williams was suspended at NBC after revelations he embellished details of stories he was involved in, including military coverage.

Lincoln Awards co-founder Cappy McGarr says Williams asked to be removed from the PBS broadcast because he didn’t want to be a distraction.

The Lincoln Award honorees include Bruce Springsteen; Segway inventor and bionic-arm creator Dean Kamen and Fisher House Foundation CEO Ken Fisher, among others.

Bruce Lundvall, Blue Note Records president, dies

NEW YORK

Record executive Bruce Lundvall, who revived the iconic Blue Note Records label in the mid-1980s and turned it into a major influence on the contemporary jazz scene during his 25 years as president, has died at age 79.

Lundvall died Tuesday at The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, N.J., of complications from a prolonged battle with Parkinson’s disease, Blue Note publicist Cem Kurosman said. He failed to regain consciousness from recent surgery.

As a top executive at Columbia Records and Blue Note, Lundvall was responsible for signing and nurturing the careers of Herbie Hancock, Wynton Marsalis, James Taylor, Bobby McFerrin, Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, Dianne Reeves, Richard Marx, Phoebe Snow, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen and Norah Jones.

Associated Press