honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, September 19, 2009

Policy on Cuba disappoints Belafonte


Advertiser News Services

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Glover and Belafonte

spacer spacer
Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Redmond O'Neal

spacer spacer

American singer Harry Belafonte said on a visit to Cuba yesterday that he's disappointed President Obama has not done more to improve relations with the communist nation. "The policy toward Cuba — yes, I, like a lot of people, am disappointed," the 82-year-old said in an interview.

Obama has eased travel and financial restrictions on Americans with family members in Cuba, but on Monday reaffirmed the 47-year-old trade embargo on the island.

Belafonte, known for calypso, and "Lethal Weapon" actor Danny Glover were in Havana to inaugurate a new center promoting Caribbean cinema.

FARRAH'S SON SENTENCED TO DRUG REHAB

Redmond O'Neal yesterday pleaded no contest to bringing drugs to a jail facility and will be sent to a yearlong rehab program.

The L.A. district attorney's office said the son of actors Ryan O'Neal and Farrah Fawcett will be released from jail to enter a residential treatment program.

The 24-year-old was arrested in April for carrying drugs onto the grounds of a jail where he was visiting.

SUIT AGAINST BOB BARKER THROWN OUT

A Los Angeles judge yesterday threw out a wrongful termination lawsuit by a former "The Price is Right" employee against CBS and former host Bob Barker.

Deborah Curling alleged she was improperly fired from the show and subjected to a hostile work environment. Several of her other claims against Barker were thrown out last year. Barker retired in 2007 after hosting "The Price is Right" for 35 years.

DISNEY STUDIO CHIEF QUITS SUDDENLY

Walt Disney Co. studio chief Dick Cook announced yesterday he's stepping down immediately, after nearly four decades with the company. He was hired in 1971 as a Disneyland ride operator and became chairman in 2002.

Cook said in a statement he's been contemplating leaving the studio for some time for "new adventures." It wasn't immediately known who will replace him.

Many of the studio's recent movies, such as "Race to Witch Mountain," "Bedtime Stories" and "Confessions of a Shopaholic," have been box office disappointments.