
Rocker Ozzy Osbourne dead at 76, his family says
John Michael (Ozzy) Osbourne, the lead singer of British heavy metal band Black Sabbath, has died at 76, according to Sky News and BBC News, both citing a family statement.
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Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
20 years ago, ‘Hogan Knows Best' premiered. Read our 2005 interview with Hulk Hogan
They were icons of the 1980s, known for their outlandish exploits onstage and in the ring, who later redefined their images in the 2000s by starring alongside their families in reality shows. And, this week, both Ozzy Osbourne and Hulk Hogan died. Hogan lived a lot of lives before his death Thursday at 71. He was a professional wrestler who helped transform the WWE into a lucrative cultural behemoth. He appeared in TV shows and movies — including 'Rocky III' — and provided voices for video games. His victory in his lawsuit against Gawker Media essentially killed the powerful online news and gossip purveyor and heightened tensions around press freedoms and privacy rights. A racial slurs scandal saw the WWE cut ties with him, and though the organization later welcomed him back into the fold, he pursued new pro wrestling ventures. Of late, he was somewhat of a political figure, too, embracing President Donald Trump and even speaking at the 2024 Republican National Convention. But 20 years ago, Hogan was sitting in a New York conference room with The Associated Press, his two teenagers and then-wife, Linda Hogan. The quartet was about to hit stardom as a family, with the impending premiere of their VH1 reality show 'Hogan Knows Best,' which would run for four seasons. The resulting story, written by AP journalist Derrik J. Lang, was published July 7, 2005, under the headline 'Hulk Hogan, Family United in Dysfunction.' You can read it as it ran, below. ___ The similarities between Ozzy Osbourne's family and Terry 'Hulk' Hogan's bleached-blond brood are as striking as the wrestling legend's famous leg drop finishing move. Hogan, 51, is the only seasoned celebrity among his family of four, just like Ozzy. Daughter Brooke, 16, is an aspiring music star, just like Kelly. Son Nick, 14, is rebellious and slightly apathetic, just like Jack. And wife Linda seems to be the true ringleader of the household, just like – you guessed it – Sharon. Of course, the tanned and rowdy Hogan family, stars of the upcoming VH1 reality show 'Hogan Knows Best,' would like to think otherwise. 'Our intensity isn't madness,' insists Hogan, clad in his trademark do-rag while sitting with his family in a conference room high above Times Square. 'We are a united front here.' The Hogans – who've ditched their real name Bollea in favor of dad's stage name – are certainly united in the acceptance of their dysfunction and drive to become superstars. They often spat, but the feuds never reach the expletive-filled bluntness of the Osbournes. 'We're the clean version of 'The Osbournes,'' says Nick. As the 'Real American Hero,' Hogan dominated the wrestling world in the 1980s, way before anybody ever smelled what The Rock was cookin'. Known for addressing everyone as 'brother' and tearing his yellow Hulkamania shirt with his bare hands, Hogan usually was an absentee daddy because of his demanding traveling schedule. 'We went out of our way to be regular,' says Linda. 'He would change his schedule around to try to be the soccer dad. Little by little, he started spending more time at home. He didn't like being on the road as much anymore.' Before fatherhood, Hogan often advised little Hulkamaniacs to say their prayers and take their vitamins. With his own kids, curfews are enforced, drugs are a no-no and dating is off-limits – although he did let a 22-year-old friend of the family take Brooke out on her first date after grilling the guy on his sexual history. The experience, which Brooke calls 'totally embarrassing,' is captured in the first episode. Linda says when Brooke and Nick would act up as youngsters, it wasn't the Hulkster who'd lay the smackdown. 'Our house is full of antiques,' she explains. 'I have this one section in the living room that looks like an English riding setup so I've got the old English leather boots and the caps and the switch that I used to smack their fannies with. It's got this little leather loop on the end of it.' Now that they're teenagers, dad says Nick is the naughtier kid; mom says Brooke. 'Mom?' Brooke whines in reply. 'Why me? I'm a virgin. I don't do drugs. I'm perfect. I'm nice to people. I always did my homework.' Despite the strictness, Linda and Hulk are supportive of Nick and Brooke's extracurricular activities. Nick's into cars. Brooke's into being a star. She wants to ride her dad's do-rag tails to Britneydom. After going through what Hogan calls a 'boot camp' with boy-band impresario Lou Pearlman, Brooke ditched the producer and is recording a debut album on her own. 'They were exposed to behind-the-scenes from early on,' says Linda. 'They grew up thinking that's the norm, that you're backstage, not in the audience.' 'I can't imagine just doing a normal job,' says Brooke. Using his fame, Hulk is giving Brooke a big push. The pair popped up at this year's Grammys and starred in the VH1 special 'Hulk Hogan, Stage Dad,' the precursor to 'Hogan Knows Best.' Hulk is afraid of Brooke receiving the Lindsay Lohan tabloid treatment, but it's all part of the job. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. 'I know I can handle it,' says the bubbly Brooke. Although Hulk is the star of 'Hogan Knows Best,' which premieres 10 p.m. EDT Sunday, boosting Brooke's pop career was the main motivation for allowing producers and camera crews to invade their 18,000-square-foot home in Belleair, Fla. 'We want to be on an even playing field,' says Hogan, citing the surge Ashlee Simpson's reality show gave her debut album. 'Terry and I knew about the reality side of having a reality TV show,' says Linda. 'It's in your face. It's four months of having no privacy.' 'You just can't stay on guard for 24 hours a day,' says Hulk. 'There was an effort for a couple of days for me to keep the rag on my head. Screw it. Who cares if the bald head is hanging out?'


CTV News
9 hours ago
- CTV News
Golden Earring co-founder George Kooymans dies at 77
NEW YORK — George Kooymans, the guitarist and co-founder of the Dutch band Golden Earring who co-wrote the hard-rock classic 'Radar Love' and wrote and shared lead vocals on the top 10 hit 'Twilight Zone,' has died at age 77. Kooymans' family and the surviving members of Golden Earring announced that he had died Wednesday from complications of ALS, which he had been diagnosed with in 2020. He retired from the band soon after. 'George bore this devastating and debilitating illness with exceptional strength and dignity,' the statement from Golden Earring reads in part. 'We bid farewell to a great musician and composer, whose work extended beyond Golden Earring. George was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, but above all, a friend.' A native of The Hague, Kooymans was in his mid-teens when he helped found what became Golden Earring in the early 1960s: The band's name was inspired by an instrumental of the time, 'Golden Earrings.' He was also a core member of the group's best known lineup, which featured drummer Cesar Zuiderwijk, singer-guitarist Barry Hay and bassist-keyboardist Rinus Gerritsen and stayed together from 1970 until Koosyman's departure. With more than 20 top 10 singles in their native country, Golden Earring had more success at home than overseas. But they began to attract an underground following in the U.S. in the late 1960s and broke through commercially in 1973 with the worldwide hit 'Radar Love,' which has been covered by U2, R.E.M. and hundreds of others and used on the soundtrack to 'Baby Driver,' 'Wayne's World 2' and other films. 'Radar Love,' with its stately opening riff and memorable opening line 'I've been driving all night, my hands wet on the wheel,' was once ranked by Rolling Stone as among the greatest road trip songs. Golden Earring shared bills with Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin among others and toured with such stars as Aerosmith, Rush and the Doobie Brothers. In 1982, 'Twilight Zone' became their biggest U.S. song with the help of a video on the recently launched MTV, while other popular tracks included 'When the Lady Smiles' and 'Going to the Run.' Golden Earring continued to tour and record in the 1990s and beyond. For its 50th anniversary, in 2011, the band was honored with a commemorative stamp from the Dutch postal service that through an app could be linked to 'Radar Love.' A farewell performance, without Kooymans, had already been scheduled for early next year. The Associated Press


CTV News
12 hours ago
- CTV News
Bansky work ‘The Migrant Child' removed from Venetian palazzo for restoration and future display
Banksy's work The Migrant Child is removed from the facade of Palazzo San Pantalon in Venice, Italy, to complete its rescue, in this picture made available Thursday July 24, 2025. (Ifis Art Via AP) MILAN — Art restorers have removed a deteriorating piece of graffiti by the street artist Banksy titled 'The Migrant Child' from the side of a building overlooking a Venetian canal to preserve the work for future public display, officials said Thursday. The removal from the wall of Palazzo San Pantalon was carried out in consultation with people close to the secretive British street artist, according to the Venice-based bank Banca Ifis' art program that promotes art and culture. The artwork depicting a shipwrecked child holding a pink smoke bomb and wearing a lifejacket appeared along Rio di San Pantalon in Venice in May 2019, and was acknowledged by Banksy. Marked on online maps, it has become a tourist destination. But six years of neglect had led to the deterioration of about a third of the work, the bank said. The restoration is being overseen by Federico Borgogni, who previously removed dust and cleaned the surface before detaching a section of the palazzo's facade overnight Wednesday, Banca Ifis said in a statement. The bank is financing the project, but didn't release the cost of the operation. The bank intends to display the work to the public as part of free cultural events organized by Ifis art once restoration is completed. No time frame was given. The Associated Press