Issue 13 TOWN HHH Phil Ramone - P 2013
Bobby Bank/WireImageThis story first appeared in the April 12 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.
BIRTHS
Host of NBC’s Early Today and MSNBC anchor Veronica De La Cruz welcomed son Hartley Eric on March 13 on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Kristen Bell and fiance Dax Shepard welcomed daughter Lincoln on March 28. The couple has been engaged since 2009.
PHOTOS: CMT Music Awards: Kristen Bell, Carrie Underwood, Scott McCreery Rock Nashville
CONGRATS
Jeff Olde was named E!’s head of programming March 27.
Morgan Hertzan was named vp and executive in charge of nonfiction content development business in cable, broadcast and digital at ABC News on April 1.
Participant Media tapped Robert Kessel as senior vp production March 26.
ABC News made Byron Pitts anchor and chief national correspondent April 1.
STORY: 5 Essential Phil Ramone Recordings
DEATHS
Don Payne, a four-time Emmy winner for The Simpsons who co-wrote Thor and its sequel, died March 26 at his home in Los Angeles after a battle with bone cancer. He was 48.
Fay Kanin, the Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning writer who served four terms as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, died March 27 from natural causes at her home in Santa Monica. She was 95.
Richard Griffiths, a Tony-winning actor who played Uncle Vernon in five Harry Potter films, died March 28 in Coventry, England.
STORY: Phil Ramone Remembered by Billy Joel, Elton John and Other Stars
Phil Ramone, 1934-2013
The Grammy-winning music producer died March 30 in New York City after suffering an aortic aneurism in late February. He was 79. Over 50 years in the business, Ramone worked with the likes of Barbra Streisand, Paul Simon and Ray Charles. Says Natalie Cole, whose Stardust album Ramone produced, “He made the most seemingly difficult projects a breeze.”
