Page 29 - Florida Sentinel 5-15-20

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R&B Lost Three Legends Last Weekend In Little Richard, Andre Harrell And Betty Wright
Last weekend, it was tough for rhythm and blues with the deaths of three musical icons.
Singers Betty Wright and Little Richard along with music executive Andre Har- rell died last weekend. All had major impacts on R&B and the music industry as a whole. If one wasn't moving the genre forward, another was intro- ducing the world to new acts.
Betty Wright influenced a generation of female artists
The soulful Betty Wright died from cancer Sunday at the age of 66 in her Miami home, according to Billboard.
She had been diagnosed with endometrial cancer in the fall, Steve Greenberg, pres- ident of S-Curve Records who worked with Wright, told The New York Times.
Wright's career started with her family's gospel group, according to Billboard, and she released her first album at the age of 14 in 1968.
The Grammy-award win- ner and six-time nominee is known for her hits "Clean Up Woman" and "Tonight is the Night."
Many of her hits have been sampled by rappers and singers like Beyoncé, Color Me Bad and Chance the Rapper. Wright's net worth is $5 million.
Little Richard was an early figure in rock
The screaming, preening, scene-stealing wild man of early rock 'n' roll first came on the scene in the 1950s with hits like "Tutti Frutti," "Long Tall Sally" and "Slippin' and Slidin'."
The Macon, Georgia, native had a long career that saw him becoming one of the first in- ductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, getting a street named after him in his home town and receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1993 Grammys.
Aside from music, Little Richard's most noted am- bivalence was in his attitude toward his sexuality. He told Charles White he was "om- nisexual." A decade later, he told Penthouse magazine he always knew he was gay.
BETTY WRIGHT, LITTLE RICHARD AND ANDRE HARRELL
Richard's net worth is es- timated at $40 million.
"I've been gay all my life andIknowGodisaGodof love, not of hate," he told the magazine in 1995. "How can I (put) down the fisherman when I've been fishing all my life?"
Andre Harrell had an everlasting footprint in hip-hop
Harrell is credited with mentoring Sean Diddy Combs as well as discovering and launching the careers of various artists and entertain- ers.
He got his start in 1980s with as one of two members in the rap group Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. Harrell was then hired by Def Jam Records
where he worked as vice presi- dent and then became a gen- eral manager of the label.
It was when he founded Uptown Records that things really took off. He hired Diddy as an intern and launched the careers of Mary J. Blige, Heavy D and The Boyz, Jodeci and Teddy Riley. Harrell's net worth is $50 million.
"Known to have the midas touch when it came to discov- ering and developing talent, Andre was responsible for changing the sound of R&B music and crossing artist and executives over into what was then known as 'pop culture,'" the Combs Enterprises website said.
Comedian Jerry Stiller, Who Played Hotheaded Dad On 'Seinfeld,' Dies At 92
Jerry Stiller performed in a comedy duo with his wife, Anne Meara, and also ap- peared in films and on Broad- way and television. Onscreen, he was George Costanza's fa- ther; in real life, he was dad to actor Ben Stiller. He's pictured above in New York City in Oc- tober 2008. Brad Barket/Getty Images
When Jerry Stiller told his father he wanted to be- come an actor, his father of- fered an alternate plan. He said, "Why don't you be a stagehand — that's like being on the stage — at least you'll be working every night," Stiller told Fresh Air in 1993.
Stiller did not heed his father's advice and went on to have a long career in show business. He performed com- edy on stage and screen, and, in later years, made a name for himself playing George Costanza's hotheaded fa- ther on Seinfeld. Stiller died of natural causes, his son Ben Stiller tweeted Mon- day.
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