Entertainment Archives - Page 98 of 112

Blair High School Alumna Cynthia Addai-Robinson Stars in New Lord of the Rings Television Series

Published September 6, 2022 at 9:49AM

Cynthia Addai-Robinson stars as Queen Regent Tar-Míriel in Amazon Prime’s highly anticipated The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. She was born on January 12, 1980, in London; her mother is from Ghana and her father was a U.S. citizen. She moved to the U.S. when she was 4 and was raised by her mother in Silver Spring, where she graduated from Blair High School in 1998.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premiered last week with its first two episodes. The rest of the eight-episode first season is running until October 14. The show’s time period is before the events of The Hobbit and the original The Lord of the Rings.

Utkarsh Ambudkar Returns to MoCo For an Episode of ‘Secret Celebrity Renovation’ to Upgrade His Parents’ Home in Gaithersburg

By MCS Staff

Published August 27, 2022 at 9:56AM | Updated August 27, 2022 at 7:29PM

Utkarsh Ambudkar was born in nearby Baltimore, but was raised in Rockville while his parents worked at NIH in Bethesda. The 38 year old actor graduated from Wootton High School and is well known for his roles in Hulu’s The Dropout, the male lead in hit CBS sitcom Ghosts (which he stars in with fellow Wootton alumnus Richie Moriarty), Donald in Pitch Perfect, Rishi in the Mindy Project, Skatch in Mulan, and a lot more. In season 2, episode 5 of the CBS series Secret Celebrity Renovation, Ambudkar comes home to MoCo to renovate his parents’ home.

The episode starts off with views of Gaithersburg, where his parents currently live, leading into Ambudkar and the show’s host, Nischelle Turner, driving through MoCo on their way to his parents’ home. While home he visits friends who are still in the area and heads over to Wootton High School where one of his childhood friends, Nick Hitchens, is currently the assistant principal at the school. He stops by the theater where it all started and credits one his former directors, Harriet Mittelberger, for changing the course of his life by convincing Utkarsh’s mom to let him pursue acting.

Ken Mease, Longtime WUSA9 Sportscaster and MoCo Resident, Has Passed Away

By MCS Staff

Published August 23, 2022 at 6:20PM

Ken Mease, who is recognized by many from his time as a sportscaster with WUSA9 from 1986 until 2003, has passed away at the age of 80. He is survived by his wife, Paulette Mease, 79 , and sons Kert, 48, Bart, 46, and Blake, 38, all of Gaithersburg. Per an obituary written in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Mease was Robert Morris University’s athletic director from 1975-78, where he oversaw the Colonials’ transition from a junior college to a Division I athletic program. He was a sportscaster on and off in Western Pennsylvania from the late 1960s through the mid ‘80s KDKA-TV and WPXI-TV before making the move to the DC area to work for WUSA9.

Per WUSA9, “Ken readily admitted he was not a “flashy” kind of guy when it came to doing his sportscasts. However, Ken’s knowledge of sports and the people who participated were top-notch. He had a delivery style that was easygoing, and he was known for his great storytelling and writing style. Ken also had one of those laughs that just filled a room and a sportscast. At the end of every broadcast, Ken would sign in American Sign Language, ‘I love you.’ His son, Kert, tells us that his father passed away at 1:43 on Monday. The three numbers are also sometimes used in instant messaging as an abbreviation for the phrase ‘I love you.'”

Damascus Native Brian Stelter Signs Off of CNN’s ‘Reliable Sources’ for Final Time

By MCS Staff

Published August 22, 2022 at 5:58AM

CNN’s “Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter” came to an end on Sunday night after the company announced Thursday that it is ending the media analysis show that has aired in various iterations for 30 years (Stelter has hosted for nine years). Stelter is a native of Damascus, MD, where he was born and raised, graduating from Damascus High School in 2003.

After graduating from college in May 2007, Stelter joined The New York Times as a media reporter at the age of 22, making him one of the youngest staff members at the time. In November 2013, he became the new host of CNN’s Reliable Sources and also chief media correspondent.

Who Am I? MoCo Edition

By MCS Staff

Published August 15, 2022 at 8:52AM | Updated November 23, 2022 at 7:12PM

This comedian (pictured above in the middle with his mother and siblings), born Anthony Reed in Greenville, Mississippi, was seen by millions weekly when he became an original cast member on Fox’s In Living Color. At just 18 months old, he was abandoned in the trash before being rescued by the woman who became his adoptive mother. His parents changed his name to what he’s known by now when they adopted him. His adoptive parents divorced when he was five years old, and his mother and the children moved to Washington, D.C. before later moving to Montgomery County where he lived in Wheaton, the neighborhood of Rosemary Hills in Silver Spring, and then Takoma Park. He attended Rosemary Hills Elementary School, Sligo Middle School, and Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School (with a short amount of time at Mark Twain in Rockville).

After graduating in 1981, he studied communications and interned at the radio station of the University of the District of Columbia for one semester. While in the area he held jobs across MoCo, including in the kitchen of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, cleaning at Roy Rogers, bussing tables at an IHOP in Wheaton, and working in Prince George’s County at the storeroom of Hechinger in Hyattsville.

MoCo Native Jennifer Celotta Has Directed Several Episodes of Hit Netflix Series ‘Cobra Kai’

By MCS Staff

Published August 7, 2022 at 10:57AM

Jennifer Celotta is a Montgomery County native who was born in Gaithersburg and graduated from Wootton High School in Rockville in 1989. Since then she has gone on to become a very successful television producer, writer, and director, including directing six episodes of the popular Netflix series Cobra Kai that is a television series sequel to the original Karate Kid films.

Celotta has an impressive résumé that includes writing credits on popular television series’ like, Home Improvement, The Office, Abbott Elementary, Malcolm in the Middle, and a lot more, including directing three episodes of The Office.

Arts and Social Justice Fellows Present Culminating Projects This Sunday at AMP by Strathmore

By Patrick Herron

Published July 27, 2022 at 11:14PM

Created in conjunction with Strathmore and Woolly Mammoth’s co-presentation of Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower by Toshi Reagon and Bernice Johnson Reagon, the fellowship engaged eight high school fellows in six months of study, discussions, and creation at the intersection of arts and social change.

Their research and reflection covered Butler’s Parable novels, as well as many other works and creators including Audre Lorde, Sonic Youth, Terence Trent D’Arby, Danez Smith, Robin DiAngelo, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, the film “Sorry to Bother You,” the TV show “American Gods,” and more.

Mike Tyson’s Cannabis Brand Expands National Footprint to Four New Markets, Including Maryland (Includes Two Montgomery County Locations)

By MCS Staff

Published July 24, 2022 at 4:37PM

Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson’s cannabis brand, Tyson 2.0, announced its launch in four additional markets: Arizona, Maryland, Ohio and Pennsylvania with Columbia Care. The expansion into Maryland will include two Montgomery County locations– in Chevy Chase and Rockville. Mike Tyson previously lived in Montgomery County, where his former home at Congressional Country Club sold last summer.

Per the press release: Columbia Care is Tyson 2.0’s exclusive national cultivation, manufacturing and distribution partner in the markets where it operates. The partnership was first announced in October of 2021, with products hitting shelves in November of 2021. Tyson 2.0 is now available in nine Columbia Care markets, with more planned in the coming months.

MoCo Native Tim Kurkjian Will Be Honored at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown on Sunday

By MCS Staff

Published July 22, 2022 at 9:51AM | Updated July 24, 2022 at 3:24PM

Bristol, CT - April 2, 2014 - Photo Studio: Portrait of Tim Kurkjian (Photo by Rich Arden / ESPN Images)

Tim Kurkjian will have his life-changing Cooperstown moment when he is presented the 2022 Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s Career Excellence Award as part of the Hall of Fame Induction in Cooperstown on Sunday. The 2022 Induction Ceremony will take place at 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday, July 24, on the grounds of the Clark Sports Center.

Kurkjian attended Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, where he played on the school’s basketball and baseball teams. At the suggestion of his basketball coach, Kurkjian began writing for the student newspaper, The Pitch, and the school’s yearbook, “The Wind-up.” He eventually became the sports editor of The Pitch and realized that journalism would be the surest means of fulfilling his childhood dream of making a living in professional sports. He graduated from the school in 1974 and after some time away, still lives in MoCo today.

MoCo Rapper ‘Joony’ Makes His First Appearance on Billboard’s Hot 100

By MCS Staff

Published July 20, 2022 at 4:12PM

Billboard congratulated Montgomery County native ‘Joony’ via social media for the rapper’s first appearance on the Hot 100 this week. Joony, who is from Silver Spring and attended Springbrook High School, entered the list after being featured on Brent Faiyaz’s “FYTB.” The Billboard Hot 100 features the week’s most popular artists across all genres.

Faiyaz is from Columbia in neighboring Howard County, and rose to prominence after he was featured on the GoldLink single “Crew” alongside another local rapper, Shy Glizzy, in 2016. The song was certified 5× Platinum by the RIAA, and earned him a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

Call to Artists for Arts Barn City Shop In Gaithersburg

By MCS Staff

Published July 16, 2022 at 4:32AM

Selected artists will have the opportunity to display their artwork from October through March.

A panel of jurors will review the applications received during the call & select the artists for the upcoming year. The criteria for review includes the originality & technical achievement in the medium and the type & price of work appropriate for the Arts Barn’s typical patron.