WASHINGTON – Grammy-winner Whitney Houston will be honored at the BET Awards in Las Vegas Tuesday with a tribute led by Christina Aguilera and Luther Vandross.
Houston was chosen as the first recipient of Black Entertainment Television’s Lifetime Achievement Award because of her many accomplishments in film and music, said Curtis Gadson, senior vice president of entertainment programming and network operations.
“Her voice is incomparable, and she broke ceilings for female artists that many never imagined were possible,” Gadson said. “In only 15 years, Whitney has accomplished a lifetime worth of achievements.”
The 37-year-old singer-actress has won six Grammy Awards. Her films include “The Bodyguard,” “Waiting to Exhale” and “The Preacher’s Wife.”
The BET Awards, recognizing excellence in music, film and sports, will be broadcast live at 9 p.m. EDT from the Paris Las Vegas Hotel. Steve Harvey and Cedric “The Entertainer” will be the hosts of the two-hour show.
“I am extremely honored to be recognized by Black Entertainment Television in this way,” Houston said in a statement. “I see this prestigious award as another major milestone in my career.”
CHICAGO – Encyclopaedia Britannica is publishing a revised edition of its 32-volume printed set – its first updated version since 1998.
The printing this fall will include revisions to thousands of articles and hundreds of new ones, the Chicago-based company said last week. For example, Doctors Without Borders, Falun Gong and Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling will make their first appearances.
The Holocaust entry will be updated to reflect recent advances in Holocaust studies, and Pulitzer-winning historian Joseph Ellis has written new entries on Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.
Britannica’s new chief executive officer, Ilan Yeshua, said the new printing reflects the company’s return to its core strengths.
Last month, Encyclopaedia Britannica and Britannica.com announced plans to consolidate operations gradually amid the continuing financial struggles at the fledgling online venture.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica has been in print since 1768 and has been available electronically since the early 1990s. The revised edition will carry a suggested retail price of $1,295.
NEW YORK – Dick Cavett, Tom Snyder … and Sandra Bernhard?
The often outrageous comedian is using those two television personalities as a model in launching a talk show, “The Sandra Bernhard Experience,” on the A&E television network this summer.
She wants a show where artists and personalities will feel comfortable talking about their work, not necessarily hyping their most recent project. She’ll have no studio audience or comedic skits.
“The thing I’m good at is keeping things moving and making guests comfortable, but not jumping all over them when they have a deeper thought than a sound bite,” the 46-year-old comedian said.
Bernhard is hoping for guests like Sean Penn, Stevie Nicks, Robert Evans and Courtney Love.
A&E, which is looking for ways to reach a younger audience, has committed to five shows as a pilot to run later this summer. Bernhard hopes it does well enough to continue into an ongoing show.
