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Ben Gazzara

Veteran stage and film actor Ben Gazzara died over the weekend. He was 81. Best known for his role in the classic film Anatomy of a Murder with James Stewart, he appeared in several notable films throughout his long career, including Husbands and The killing of a Chinese bookie with director John Cassavetes. He is also remembered for his starring role in the 1960s television series Run for Your Life in which he played a lawyer with a terminal illness determined to make the most of his remaining time. On stage, Mr. Gazzara originated the role of Brick in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and was nominated for a Tony in 1955 for his performance in A Hatful of Rain. For a complete list of his films click here.

Gabrielle Giffords to Leave Washington

Sunday Giffords announced that she would resign from the U.S. House to focus on her recovery from the attempted assassination on her a year ago. In Gabby: a story of courage and hope, a book that she and husband Mark Kelly coauthored with Jeffrey Zaslow they relate their moving account of a family surviving tragedy and the logistics of living through a medical nightmare.

Oscar Nominations

Nominations for the 84th annual Academy Awards were announced January 24. Several of the nominated films and performances are already available in the Library's collection. Among the nominees for Best Picture ready to check out are:

The Help [videodisc]

Midnight in Paris [videodisc]

Moneyball [videodisc]

The tree of life [videodisc]

Other Categories

Beginners [videodisc]

Bridesmaids [videodisc]

Ides of March [videodisc]

Murder Will Out: The Mousetrap's 60 Years

The Mousetrap, & Other Plays by Agatha Christie — begins it's 60th consecutive year in performance in London's theaters. That's 24,587 performances to date. Written for the radio, the play debuted on November 25, 1952 at the Ambassador Theater starring Richard Attenborough as Detective-Sargent. In 1974 the play transferred to the Martin Beck Theater in London and has been playing there since. Theater goers are asked at every performance not to reveal the play's ending. Beginning in September 25, 2012, The Mousetrap will go on tour. Additional 'murderous' events are planned in celebration.

In Memoriam: Anne McCaffrey (1926-2011)

Anne Inez McCaffrey (1 April 1926-21 November 2011) award-winning author of the "Dragonriders of Pern" series, has died of a stroke at her Ireland home. She was 85 years old. Ms. McCaffrey, the first woman to receive a Hugo Award for fiction and the Nebula Award, was named 22nd Grand Master of the Science Fiction Writers of America in 2005 and inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2006. She was the first science fiction writer to make the New York Times Bestsellers List.

Evelyn Lauder, Breast Cancer Activist

Evelyn Lauder, the longtime breast cancer activist who helped to create the pink ribbon as the symbol of the fight against the disease, died November 12 at the age of 75. Born in Vienna, Austria in 1936, she came to the United States as a young child when her parents fled from the Nazis. The family settled in New York where she met her future husband, Leonard Lauder, whose parents owned a small cosmetics firm. She eventually went to work with at her mother-in-law Estee Lauder's company which today has revenues of nearly $2.5 billion. During her long career Evelyn was instrumental in developing and marketing new products, including Clinique. She was also a leading philanthropist and became very involved in the fight against breast cancer. Along with her friend, editor Alexandra Penney, they created the idea of a pink ribbon as a symbol for breast cancer. In 1993 she founded the Breast Cancer Research Foundation which has raised more than $350 million and supports researchers around the world. Mrs. Lauder was also an avid gardener and photographer, as well as the author of several books including In Great Tate: Fresh Simple Reasons for Eating and Living.

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