L.J. Smith, an author of young adult novels best known for “The Vampire Diaries” series, which became a hit television drama, and for repossessing her characters by writing fan fiction after she was fired and replaced by a ghostwriter, died on March 8 in Walnut Creek, Calif. She was 66. Her partner, Julie Divola, and … Read more
Dennis McDougal, a prolific author, Hollywood muckraker and Peabody Award-winning documentarian, died on Saturday from injuries sustained in a car crash in Southern California. He was 77. His death, in a hospital near Palm Springs, was confirmed by his stepson, Dennis Fitzgerald Dearmore. Mr. McDougal’s wife, Sharon (Murphy) McDougal, 76, who was also critically injured … Read more
Eddie Adcock, the virtuoso banjo and guitar player who served as a bridge between the formative early years of bluegrass and the innovative “newgrass” movement of the 1970s and beyond, died on March 19 in Lebanon, Tenn. He was 86. His death, in a hospital, was confirmed by Dan Hays, a former executive director of … Read more
The lights go up on two dancers, each isolated in a zone of light. As the two trade moves and trade places, recognizable elements keep recurring: the side-to-side head isolations of Indian dance, a duck walk from vogueing, a hip-hop crotch grab. The ingredients are familiar, but the combination is novel. Such is “A Duo,” … Read more
On Oct. 27, 1918, Egon Schiele sketched his wife, Edith, pregnant and feverish in bed. She died from influenza the next day. He died three days later. Edith, 25, and Egon Schiele, 28, were two of an estimated 50 million victims of the flu pandemic that began sweeping through Europe that year. For almost a … Read more
The subject of the painting is stunning — a regal Black woman in tiger print, her Afro crowning her head like a dandelion. She basks in a halo of warm yellows and oranges that give her the appearance of a walking sunset, or a wild flame. She is the vision of “perfect Black womanhood,” according … Read more
The proliferation of documentaries on streaming services makes it difficult to choose what to watch. Each month, we select three nonfiction films — classics, overlooked recent docs and more — that will reward your time. ‘Sweetgrass’ (2010) Stream it on Mubi. Rent it on Amazon. The cowboys in “Sweetgrass” have access to walkie-talkies, radio and … Read more
Patsy Ferran will not judge a book by its cover. But covers are important to her. “See?” she said, palming a copy of a Barbara Kingsolver novel at a Brooklyn branch of McNally Jackson bookstore. “Such a good cover. Aesthetics do matter.” Ferran, a London-based actress, is currently starring in Tennessee Williams’s “A Streetcar Named … Read more
When it comes to telling stories about the victims of abuse, filmmakers are often faced with a dilemma: to show or not show the act of violence. Showing could mean exploiting the victim’s pain to satisfy viewers’ curiosity; not showing could mean hedging around a hard truth. Jessica Palud’s “Being Maria” — a biopic of … Read more
The animated pharma thriller/stoner dramedy “Common Side Effects,” available on Max, is as rare and precious as the miraculous mushroom its hero, Marshall (Dave King), discovers in the jungle. Smarts, humor, style and perspective rarely align so harmoniously. Not a lot of shows have as much to say, and fewer still say it with such … Read more