Entertainment
Betty White, Golden Girls star legend, dead at 99
Betty White, TV’s perennial Golden Girl, has died. She was 99. Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever,” her agent and close friend Jeff Witjas tells PEOPLE in a statement on Friday. “I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much. I don’t think Betty ever feared passing because she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband Allen Ludden. She believed she would be with him again.
White was gearing up to celebrate her 100th birthday on Jan. 17. Ahead of her centennial year, in January, White opened up to PEOPLE about how she was feeling about turning 100 years old. I’m so lucky to be in such good health and feel so good at this age,” said the veteran actress. “It’s amazing.
According to White, being “born a cockeyed optimist” was the key to her upbeat nature. “I got it from my mom, and that never changed,” she said. “I always find the positive. Of course, the iconic actress also cracked a joke about the secret to her long life, telling PEOPLE: “I try to avoid anything green. I think it’s working.
As a child, she fantasized about becoming a forest ranger or a writer, only to fall in love with performing when she took the lead in the high school senior play that she wrote. She skipped college and began performing on the radio, but before launching an acting career she married twice: first to Dick Barker, a WWII pilot she wed in 1945 (the marriage lasted only a few months once he took her home to an Ohio chicken farm), then in 1947 to agent Lane Allen, who wanted her to give up showbiz.
When that marriage ended in 1949, she and an L.A. deejay named Al Jarvis got their feet wet together on local TV, which eventually paved the way for her first sitcom, the nationally syndicated Life with Elizabeth. Despite its low budget and minimal sets (indeed, the show was a series of domestic skits featuring White’s daffy Elizabeth and her exasperated husband Alvin, played by Del Moore), the show earned White her first Emmy.
Source: News365
In other news – Tumi Morake pens a sweet birthday note for hubby Mpho
Actress Tumi Morake took to Instagram to share a sweet message to her hubby, Mpho who is celebrating his birthday today. The star went on to share a photo of him and a video of them together.
In the post, Morake calls her partner one of the most kindest, hardest working, most loving person she has ever known and she then described what a wonderful person he is. Learn more
Nigerian Celebrities
Nigerian actor John Mr Ibu Okafor to be buried at the end of June
The late Nigerian actor and comedian John Okafor, popularly known as Mr Ibu, will be buried at the end of June. Okafor passed away in March. According to Nigerian media reports, the Okafor family in Eziokwe Amuri, Nkanu West LGA in Enugu State, released the funeral details in a statement. The family stated that it would like to honour Okafor’s loving memory like the hero and legend he has been, leaving a legacy of love, laughter, and liveliness.
“We would appreciate your esteemed presence as we lay to rest our son, husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and in-law on the 28th of June 2024,” reads the statement.
Kindly join us as we share the best and last moments with our icon.
Five-day burial ceremony
The statement said the burial ceremony would commence on June 25, where a high-profile novelty match will take place. It will be followed by a session called Mr Ibu’s Night that will involve a candlelight procession and live entertainment.
On June 27, a Christian wake will be held at his compound in Eziokwe Amuri, Nkanu West, before the funeral service takes place on June 28.Okafor passed away on March 2 at the age of 62 at Evercare Hospital in Lekki, Nigeria.
He died of cardiac arrest after a prolonged battle with an ailment that led to one of his legs being amputated. Despite his health challenges, Okafor remained dedicated to his craft until his passing. He only disclosed his health struggles in October 2023. The veteran actor appeared in over 200 Nollywood films, including those from the Mr Ibu series, which was very popular in the early 2000s.
Source: Sundayworld
Nigerian Celebrities
Junior Pope not buried by river bank – Police
The Anambra State Police Command says the remains of Nollywood star, John Paul Odonwodo, popularly called Junior Pope, were not among those buried by the bank of the Anam River. The Command’s spokesman, SP Ikenga Tochukwu, made the clarification on Sunday, stating that only three of the deceased families agreed that the victims be buried by the riverside.
He noted that after the burial of the three, one of the families came back to exhume the remains of their daughter for a befitting burial in her country home.Ikenga added that the corpse of Junior Pope was deposited at a morgue.
“The Command, on an inquiry about the unconfirmed information that the recovered bodies including Junior Pope were buried by the Riverside where the boat accident happened, discovered that three of the deceased families accepted the victims should be buried beside the river.
“But later, the family of one of the victims decided to exhume the body to be given a proper burial in her state while the other two were still buried there. Also, Junior Pope and one other are still in the morgue and await the deceased families’ funeral arrangements,” he said. The PPRO further stated that the Command is still investigating the unfortunate incident.
He said, “The producer of the movie and the two boat drivers’ statements have been obtained, and other necessary actions/moves already emplaced by the operatives as directed by the Commissioner of Police to determine the criminal liability of any person, if any, in the mishap
Source: Dailypost
Nigerian Celebrities
Singer Paul Okoye hints at remarrying
Popular singer and half of P-Square, Paul Okoye, aka Rudeboy, has hinted at remarrying. The ‘Reason With Me’ crooner dropped the hint while scolding fans for wishing his divorce from his ex-wife to be toxic.
He stated that he would not succumb to their wishes, urging them to accept the reality that he is with his new partner, Ivy Ifeoma.He went on to unveil hashtag options for himself and his partner, Ifeoma.
On his Instagram story, Rudeboy wrote: “Some of y’all wish and think all divorces must be toxic, looking for someone to blame so that y’all can be entertained… lol
“#Ifeomanonso Or #Ifynonso. Choose one. Rudeboy, 41, unveiled Ifeoma, then 22, as his new girlfriend in December 2022, one year after his divorce from his ex-wife Anita Okoye.
Source: Naijanews
In other news – Why I married Boko Haram fighter – Freed Chibok girl
Ten years later, Amina Nkeki, one of the 276 abducted schoolgirls of Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok, in Borno State, has said that she married a Boko Haram fighter to get her freedom. Nkeki, who regained freedom in 2016 with a baby and a Boko Haram fighter as her husband, stated this on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday monitored by DAILY POST.
She said some of her colleagues gave birth to four children for insurgents who held them hostage. Nkeki said she agreed to marry a Boko Haram fighter while in captivity because she viewed the path as a route of escape from her abductors. Read more
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