BREAKING Louis Gossett Jr., 1st Black man to win supporting actor Oscar, dies at 87
Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries 'Roots,' has died. He was 87.
Canadian pop favourites Michael Bublé and Drake each have a shiny new Grammy on their shelves, while singer-songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr. has two, thanks in part to Harry Styles.
The trio of homegrown talents were among the highlights of a historic Grammy Awards on Sunday that had a few Canadian surprises.
One of them came as Styles' "Harry's House" won album of the year, an announcement made on the live broadcast by a fan from Sudbury, Ont. named Reina, who seemed as stunned as anyone, her voice cracking as she revealed his name.
The great-grandmother had appeared earlier in the night to defend Styles' album in a roundtable discussion of super fans where each made a case for why their artist should take the top prize.
Styles beat out Beyoncé's "Renaissance," a favourite in the category, after she had smashed the record for the most-decorated artist earlier in the night.
His victory proved to be one for Jesso Jr. too, giving the North Vancouver native his second Grammy for co-writing the album's track "Boyfriends."
Already, Jesso Jr. had won the inaugural songwriter of the year, non-classical award, recognizing creators who penned some of the year's standout pop tunes.
He took the opportunity of his first Grammy to celebrate the introduction of the new songwriting award.
"I think this is a big win for everyone — this is not just for me, this is for them," he told the audience at the pre-broadcast ceremony where most Grammys are handed out.
Drake won best melodic rap performance for his appearance on Future's "Wait for U," while Vancouver crooner Michael Bublé's "Higher" was named best traditional pop vocal album.
Neither of them attended, in Bublé's case because he was on tour overseas.
“I honestly feel this is the best album I’ve ever made, making the recognition from the Academy members that much more meaningful,” he tweeted after the fifth win of his lifetime.
Other big Canadian winners included Montreal conductor and pianist Yannick Nézet-Séguin who added two Grammys to his collection.
Nézet-Séguin took home best opera recording for "Blanchard: Fire Shut Up In My Bones," and best classical solo vocal album for "Voice Of Nature - The Anthropocene."
He had to skip the Grammys, however, because of a previously scheduled performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra on Sunday afternoon. But he still managed to sneak away after his concert to celebrate bringing his career tally to three wins.
"Of course there were bubbles," he said by phone.
"It was not a huge party, but it’s always special to feel like your work is noticed and recognized this way."
And two Canadians were part of the team that pocketed a best jazz instrumental album Grammy for "New Standards Vol. 1."
Matthew Stevens, a Toronto-born guitarist and co-producer on the project, shared the win with jazz pianist and composer Kris Davis, who was born in Vancouver and grew up in Calgary.
Davis, a first-time winner, called the accomplishment "surreal" personally, but also "monumental" for the project, which is an effort by the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, where she teaches.
She said the goal of "New Standards" was to "give space to women composers and performers through the book and album."
"It’s very meaningful for women at this moment," Davis added.
Other notable Canadian wins include one for Toronto drummer Larnell Lewis, a member of Snarky Puppy. The Brooklyn jazz fusion band landed best contemporary instrumental album for "Empire Central," their fifth Grammy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2023.
Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries 'Roots,' has died. He was 87.
Warnings of up to 60 millimetres of rain and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces and one territory ahead of the Easter weekend.
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Luxury operator Regent Seven Seas Cruises is raising their price tag to eye-watering levels, with a suite on an upcoming 140-day world voyage costing US$1.7 million.
The estate of minimalist contemporary artist Donald Judd filed a lawsuit against Kardashian this week, claiming the fashion and beauty mogul promoted 'cheap knockoffs' of his furniture designs.
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea.
An Ontario man who built a garage on his property has been locked in a battle with his electricity provider for a year and half over a severed power line.
Buckingham Palace officials say King Charles III and Queen Camilla will attend an Easter service at the chapel at Windsor Castle on Sunday.
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.