Feist makes it 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Juno wins
CALGARY - Canadian indie sensation Leslie Feist is counting a little higher than her hit single "1 2 3 4" after raking in five trophies at the Juno Awards following an exceptional year of international accolades and commercial success.
Sunday's splashy televised bash served as a triumphant homecoming for the Calgary-bred singer, who took the night's biggest awards, including best single, album and pop album.
"I wrote a whole bunch of stuff down on my arm," Feist said as she took the stage to accept the first trophy of the night, for best single. "Should I try to chip through it?" she asked, going on to thank a slew of friends and bandmates.
She was called back to the podium roughly 20 minutes later for the pop album trophy, and appeared genuinely stunned by the announcement.
"I'm so, so grateful," Feist said. "I'm very, very grateful and I meant to say thank you. I forgot to say that before."
Feist's triple victory Sunday followed two wins on Saturday for best artist and best songwriter, handed out along with the bulk of awards at a private ceremony. The petite singer jumped in the air and clicked her heels as she took the podium at the industry-only event.
In the end, Feist swept all five categories she was nominated in, while industry veterans Celine Dion, who had six nominations, and Avril Lavigne, who had five, were shut out entirely.
Jazz crooner Michael Buble, nominated for five awards, walked away with the fan choice award.
"This is huge. Of course I'd like to thank you fans. Thank you, Canada," Buble said. "This is for all those people that said that I couldn't vote for myself enough times to win."
The only other multiple winner was country-pop band Blue Rodeo, named group of the year Sunday after the disc "Small Miracles" took top adult alternative album and the single "C'mon" took best video on Saturday.
"This is stunning; we were sitting there with Finger Eleven and Hedley," said Blue Rodeo frontman Jim Cuddy, referring to the other contenders in the best band category, which also included Arcade Fire and Kain. "I don't think we really expected to win."
Halifax quintet Wintersleep was named best new group and Calgary's Paul Brandt took country recording of the year for his disc "Risk."
But the night belonged to 32-year-old Feist, a delicate-voiced crooner born in Amherst, N.S., who started out shouting with a Calgary punk band as a teen. She later became known as an indie-rock poster girl with Toronto bands By Divine Right and Broken Social Scene, then as a Parisian ex-pat with sultry jazz leanings that earned her a best new artist Juno in 2005.
But it was an iPod TV commercial - featuring her song "1 2 3 4" and an accompanying video - that catapulted her to mainstream success last year. Record sales soon followed and her eclectic disc "The Reminder" garnered four Grammy nominations in February and a Brit Award nomination for best international female.
Feist, who has managed to achieve a rare combination of mainstream appeal and street cred, boasted Saturday that the pinnacle of her newfound fame has been an appearance on the children's show "Sesame Street."
Backstage on Sunday, she noted that for the children's show, "1 2 3 4" was retooled to be followed by the lyric: "Monsters crawling across the floor."
"They rewrote the lyrics and it was so cathartic," explained Feist, who was accompanied to the ceremony by her mother and her father, brother and sister from Toronto.
"I've sung that song so many times on TV but never with furry creatures peering up at me and chickens in bikinis. It was everything you've ever dreamed of about the Muppets."
It's the second year in a row that an artist has swept the Junos with five wins - last year's "it" girl, Nelly Furtado, achieved the same feat with a series of club-thumping hits and the chart-topping disc "Loose."
Dion had led the nominees with six nods for her two discs, the francophone "D'elles" and the English-language "Taking Chances," regarded by many as a comeback of sorts after a successful five-year residency in Las Vegas. Lavigne, meanwhile, had five nods going in for her disc "The Best Damn Thing" and the summer single "Girlfriend."
Show host Russell Peters opened the bash with a swipe at Alberta superband Nickelback, whose lead singer Chad Kroeger was convicted earlier this week for driving under the influence and lost his licence for a year.
Other targets included Lavigne and an absent Dion.
"Rene, I think, just lost her in a high-stakes poker game," quipped Russell, referring to Dion's husband, Rene Angelil.
Performers included Lavigne, Anne Murray, Buble, Hedley and Feist.
Other wins over the weekend included Serena Ryder for best new artist, Finger Eleven for best rock album and Montreal's Arcade Fire, who took best alternative album for their disc "Neon Bible." That disc also took the prize for CD/DVD artwork of the year Saturday.
Rihanna's "Good Girl Gone Bad" was named best international album.
Heston left cinematic, political mark
LOS ANGELES - Nancy Reagan was heartbroken over Charlton Heston's death. President Bush hailed him as a "strong advocate for liberty," while John McCain called Heston a devotee for civil and constitutional rights.
Even Michael Moore, who mocked Heston in his gun-control documentary "Bowling for Columbine," posted the actor's picture on his Web site to mark his passing.
Heston, who died Saturday night at 84, was a towering figure both in his politics and on screen, where his characters had the ear of God (Moses in "The Ten Commandments"), survived apocalyptic plagues ("The Omega Man") and endured one of Hollywood's most-grueling action sequences (the chariot race in "Ben-Hur," which earned him the best-actor Academy Award).
Better known in recent years as a fierce gun-rights advocate who headed the National Rifle Association, Heston played legendary leaders and ordinary men hurled into heroic struggles.
"In taking on epic and commanding roles, he showed himself to be one of our nation's most gifted actors, and his legacy will forever be a part of our cinema," Republican presidential candidate McCain said in a statement that also noted Heston's involvement in the civil-rights movement and his stand against gun control.
Heston's jutting jaw, regal bearing and booming voice served him well as Marc Antony in "Julius Caesar" and "Antony and Cleopatra," Michelangelo in "The Agony and the Ecstasy," John the Baptist in "The Greatest Story Ever Told" and an astronaut on a topsy-turvy world where simians rule in "Planet of the Apes."
"Charlton Heston was seen by the world as larger than life," Heston's family said in a statement. "We knew him as an adoring husband, a kind and devoted father, and a gentle grandfather with an infectious sense of humor. He served these far greater roles with tremendous faith, courage and dignity."
The actor died at his home in Beverly Hills with his wife, Lydia, at his side, family spokesman Bill Powers said. He declined to comment on the cause of death or provide further details Sunday.
One of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s, '60s and '70s, Heston's work dwindled largely to small parts and narration and other voice roles from the 1980s on, including an uncredited cameo as an ape in Tim Burton's 2001 remake of "Planet of the Apes."
In 2002, near the end of his five years as president of the NRA, Heston disclosed he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer's disease.
The disclosure was soon followed by an unflattering appearance in Moore's 2003 best documentary winner "Bowling for Columbine," which took America to task for its gun laws.
Moore used a clip of Heston holding aloft a rifle at an NRA rally and proclaiming "from my cold, dead hands." The director flustered the actor in an interview later in the film by pressing him on his gun-control stance. Heston eventually walked out on Moore.
Moore's Web site, http://www.michaelmoore.com, on Sunday featured a photo of Heston, the date of his birth and death and a note from the actor's family requesting that donations be made to the Motion Picture and Television Fund in lieu of flowers.
There was no other reaction on the site from Moore about Heston's death. Moore did not immediately respond to e-mail and phone requests seeking comment.
Like fellow conservative Ronald Reagan, Heston served as president of the Screen Actors Guild. Former first lady Nancy Reagan said in a statement that she was heartbroken to hear of his death.
"He was one of Ronnie's and my dearest friends," she said. "I will never forget Chuck as a hero on the big screen in the roles he played, but more importantly I considered him a hero in life for the many times that he stepped up to support Ronnie in whatever he was doing."
Bush — who in 2003 presented Heston the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor — called Heston a "man of character and integrity, with a big heart."
Decades before his NRA leadership, Heston was a strong advocate for civil rights in the 1960s, joining marches and offering financial assistance.
Civil-rights leaders in Los Angeles held a moment of silence in Heston's memory Sunday after an unrelated news conference.
Heston had contributed and raised thousands of dollars in Hollywood for Martin Luther King Jr.'s movement, said Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Round Table.
"We certainly disagree with his position as NRA head and also his firm, firm, unwavering support of the unlimited right to bear arms," Hutchinson said. But, he added, "Charlton Heston was a complex individual. He lived a long time, and certainly, there were many phases. The phases we prefer to remember were certainly his contributions to Dr. King and civil rights."
Fans remember Heston for some of the most epic moments on film: Parting the Red Sea as Moses in "The Ten Commandments," cursing his self-destructive species as he stumbles on the remnants of the Statue of Liberty in "Planet of the Apes," tearing hell-bent through the chariot race in "Ben-Hur."
"Ben-Hur" earned 11 Oscars, the most ever until 1997's "Titanic" and 2003's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" tied it.
Born Charles Carter in a Chicago suburb on Oct. 4, 1923, Heston grew up in the Michigan wilderness, where his father operated a lumber mill.
Heston took up acting after serving in the Army during World War II. He took his professional name from his mother's maiden name, Charlton, and the last name of his stepfather, Chester Heston, whom she married after his parents' divorce.
After his movie debut in two independent films by a college classmate, Heston was put under contract by producer Hal B. Wallis ("Casablanca"). Cecil B. DeMille cast him as the circus manager in "The Greatest Show on Earth" and then as Moses in "The Ten Commandments."
He followed with Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil," William Wyler's "The Big Country" and the sea saga "The Wreck of the Mary Deare" before "Ben-Hur" elevated Heston to the top of Hollywood's A-list.
His later films included "Earthquake," "El Cid," "The Three Musketeers," "Midway" and "Soylent Green."
In recent years, Heston drew as much publicity for his crusades as for his performances. In addition to his NRA work, he campaigned for Republican presidential and congressional candidates and against affirmative action.
He resigned from Actors Equity, claiming the union's refusal to allow a white actor to play a Eurasian role in "Miss Saigon" was "obscenely racist." He attacked CNN's telecasts from Baghdad as "sowing doubts" about the allied effort in the 1990-91 Gulf War.
Heston also feuded with liberal Edward Asner, one of his successors as Screen Actors Guild president. In a statement Sunday, Asner said Heston "was a worthy opponent and certainly helped create work for a lot of actors."
When Heston stepped down as NRA president, he told members his time in office was "quite a ride. ... I loved every minute of it."
Heston and his wife had a daughter, Holly Ann, and a son, Fraser Clarke, who played the infant Moses in "The Ten Commandments."
In the 1990s, Heston's son directed his father in several TV and big-screen films, including "Treasure Island" and "Alaska."
The Hestons celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1994 at a party with Hollywood and political friends. They had been married 64 years when he died.
'21' doubles up with $15M weekend
LOS ANGELES - The gambling tale "21" kept up its winning streak as it took in $15.1 million to stay on top of the box office for a second-straight weekend, leaving George Clooney's "Leatherheads" and the family tale "Nim's Island" to scrimmage for second place.
"Leatherheads" — a 1920s football comedy directed by Clooney, who co-stars with Renee Zellweger and John Krasinski — had a soft opening of $13.5 million, below distributor Universal's expectations.
20th Century Fox's "Nim's Island" was right behind with $13.3 million. The family adventure centers on a bold girl (Abigail Breslin) alone on an island and her e-mail pen pal (Jodie Foster), an obsessive-compulsive, shut-in author.
"Leatherheads" and "Nim's Island" were so close that their rankings could switch after final weekend numbers are released Monday.
"Leatherheads" is Clooney's third directing effort, a commercial turn after his acclaimed Edward R. Murrow drama "Good Night, and Good Luck" and the Chuck Barris fantasy thriller "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind."
Yet "Leatherheads" earned mixed reviews and mainly drew theatergoers in their 30s and 40s, failing to connect with younger crowds that are the box office's mainstay, according to Universal.
"I'm disappointed for us, I'm disappointed for George. I think he's a great guy and think he's got tons of directing talent," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal. "I wish I could have that crystal ball and tell you what went wrong."
He said some parents who might otherwise have gone to see "Leatherheads" may have been tied up taking children to see "Nim's Island" or the family hit "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!"
20th Century Fox, which had been tracking "Nim's Island" slightly ahead of "Leatherheads," was pleased with the results of its film, said distribution executive Chris Aronson.
"This movie was targeted for families, and we hit the families," Aronson said of "Nim's Island."
Sony's "21," featuring Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth and Jim Sturgess in a Vegas blackjack romp, raised its 10-day total to $46.5 million.
Overall, however, it was another dreary weekend for Hollywood, where business has lagged nearly every weekend since January. The top 12 movies took in $80.9 million, down 27 percent from the same weekend last year.
Revenues are at $2.24 billion so far this year, off 1.8 percent from 2007, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers. Factoring in higher ticket prices, movie attendance is running 5 percent behind last year's.
This weekend's other new wide release — Paramount's horror story "The Ruins," about tourists who discover an ancient evil during a jungle trip — debuted at No. 5 with $7.8 million.
In narrower release, Martin Scorsese's Rolling Stones concert film "Shine a Light," distributed by Paramount Vantage, did fair business with $1.5 million.
Wong Kar Wai's romantic drama "My Blueberry Nights," starring singer Norah Jones and Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman and David Strathairn, took in a solid $73,742 opening in six theaters.
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "21," $15.1 million.
2. "Leatherheads," $13.5 million.
3. "Nim's Island," $13.3 million.
4. "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!", $9.1 million.
5. "The Ruins," $7.8 million.
6. "Superhero Movie," $5.4 million.
7. "Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns," $3.51 million.
8. "Drillbit Taylor," $3.5 million.
9. "Shutter," $2.9 million.
10. "10,000 B.C.", $2.8 million.
KILLER JOKES
THE 50 BEST BITS, GAGS AND QUIPS THAT CRACK UP PRO COMICS - AND MAY HAVE YOU SPLITTING YOUR SIDES
To assemble this collection of jokes, The New York Post contacted dozens of comics, ranging from top-dollar headliners in Vegas to regulars on "Late Night" and "The Daily Show" to up-and-comers who do alt-comedy at local bars. They asked them to tell us the best gag they'd written in the past year and their favorite punch line delivered by another comedian. So according to some of the funniest people on earth, these are the 50 most hilarious jokes of the last 12 months, whether they were told in nightclubs, on television or around a platter of fries at a late-night diner meal. Feel free to incite your own laugh riot.
Roseanne
A doctor tells a guy: "I have bad news. You have Alzheimer's, and you have cancer." Guy says, "Thank God I don't have cancer."
Jackie Mason
Hillary Clinton says she's the most qualified because she was married to a president for eight years. Now let me ask you, if a brain surgeon quit his job, would everyone in the operating room say, "Wait, let's get his wife."
Lisa Lampanelli
I was watching Gene Simmons' TV show, "Family Jewels." Or as it's known in the business, " 'The Osbournes' Without the Talented Father."
Laura Kightlinger
After miraculously surviving two heart surgeries, pneumonia and a mild stroke, at 82 my grandfather was no longer able to care for himself. Now he lives with my aunt who spoon-feeds him, takes him to the bathroom, etc. Proof that what doesn't kill you makes you a burden to someone else.
Bill Maher
Barack Obama bowled a 37. Is he black enough for you now?
Bobby Slayton
I got a teenage daughter and a menopausal wife. One's getting breasts, one's getting whiskers. My life is over.
Jeffrey Ross
John McCain is so old that running for President is on his bucket list.
Tomi Walamies
My uncle is in a coma - he's living the dream. (Paul Provenza's favorite)
Nick Dipaolo
I think I might vote for Barack Obama. Because I live in New York City and have been giving black guys change for the past 10 years. I want to see what it feels like for a black guy to give me change.
Artie Lange
Alex Rodriguez never gets clutch hits in October, yet his fans insist on comparing him to Babe Ruth. So A-Rod tries to get as close as he can to Ruth-type achievements. Before the playoffs last year, A-Rod went to a hospital and promised a dying kid that he'd ground out to second Base for him. And I was at the game, people, it's true - A-Rod pointed to second Base.
Triumph the Insult Comic Dog
At the Tony Awards: I'm here with Harvey Fierstein, nominated tonight for the "I Hate Vagina Monologues."
Seth Herzog
I took nine years of French, but I can't remember any of it. I realized on the plane ride over that if someone doesn't ask me what color my hat is, I'll have nothing to talk about for two weeks.
Earthquake
You know why the US can't find Osama Bin Laden? They're using the wrong agency to look for him. Don't send the Army, Navy, Marines or the CIA - send Child Support!
Harland Williams
I was eating an orange the other day and a friend said, "Did you know nothing rhymes with 'orange?' " So, I threw the orange at his head and said, "Now your face is swollen red 'cause I just threw an orange at your big fat head. Does that rhyme with 'orange,' you jackass?"
Conan O'Brien
To America, there's just something about Charlie Sheen working with children that "feels right." (Bill Maher's favorite)
Wendy Liebman
My husband wanted one of those big-screen TVs for his birthday. I just moved his chair closer to the one we already have.
Seth Meyers
During a "Weekend Update" segment about Eliot Spitzer: And you wanted to have sex with a hooker but you didn't want to wear a condom? Really?!? That might not be scary if you were client number 1, but you were client number 9. I wear a condom if I'm ninth in line at the deli. (Robert "Triumph the Insult Comic Dog" Smigel's favorite)
Hannibal Buress
I got a fortune cookie today. It said I should invest in something fun on four wheels. I don't know if that meant I should get a new car, or a prostitute on one roller skate.
Louis C.K.
On his daughter's diaper: There was so much poop. It didn't look like a baby's poop. It looked like a 55-year-old alcoholic took a dump. (Nick Dipaolo's favorite)
Emo Philips
Cellphones are like a dog's nipples. You don't have to shout into them!
Nick Thune
Tupac Shakur's mother was a Black Panther. His father was a regular panther. (Russell Peters' favorite)
Jonathan Katz
I was a kid during the height of the Cold War. If I did something wrong, my parents just accused me of being a communist.
Jim Florentine
I'm sick of Heather Mills. Now that she's divorced, let her go marry the drummer from Def Leppard. They can rub their stumps together.
Ophira Eisenberg
I'm still in my first marriage. I know, it's wrong to talk about it so temporary like that. My current husband hates it when I do that.
Jim Norton
I never liked Eliot Spitzer until he got busted with a hooker. Then I was sorry to see him leave office. I felt like there was finally someone in the government who represented my interests.
Sean Keane
My girlfriend said, "I hate it when you finish my sentences." So I said, "Period." (Harland Williams' favorite)
George Carlin
Why do they put alcohol on the arm of a death row inmate before they give him the needle? Are they afraid he might get an infection? (Jackie Mason's favorite)
Greg Proops
They say Hillary Clinton has a bad personality. Really? I forgot about Dick Cheney's wow factor.
Robert Duchaine
Almost all serial killers are men. That's 'cause women like to kill one man slowly over many, many years. (Bobby Slayton's favorite)
David Brenner
Gasoline prices are highest in Hawaii, closing in on $4 a gallon. President Bush said, "See, I told you it wasn't only in our country!"
John Oliver
One hundred and fifty years ago, England was fueled primarily from burning Catholics. It's a naturally renewable resource. (Seth Herzog's favorite)
Liam McEneaney
They say gay people have "gaydar," which lets them figure out who else is gay. Waiters in expensive restaurants have something similar, called "poor-dar." They always know I shouldn't be there, and I can tell by the way they talk to me: "Sir, can I take your coat - out back and burn it?" "Can I call you a car - or will you be riding a boxcar out of town?"
Carolyn Castiglia
My mom says to me, "Honey, I don't want you to think I have diabetes because I'm fat. I have diabetes because it runs in our family." I said, "No, mom, you have diabetes because no one runs in our family!" (Adira Amram's favorite)
David Wain
Have you heard they're doing a sequel to "Brokeback Mountain?"
No, what's it called?
"Brokeback Mountain 2."
Desiree Burch
I don't wear vanilla-scented lotion or perfume. Most girls love that crap, but I can't do it. 'Cause I can't be the fat girl that smells like Rice Krispie treats. Can't do it. People are all like, "God, Desiree! Did you eat again?!"
Marc Maron
It's significant Barack Obama is running. I think it's important for black people to have a chance to be misrepresented by one of their own. (Greg Proops' favorite)
Todd Levin
I just got engaged. My fiancée won't take my name because "Lisa Levin" sounds awful. So she's just going to remain Lisa Hitler. I understand - it's a family name.
Josh Comers
I had a bully as a kid. He was dyslexic, so he used to stick "Me Kick" signs on my back. Then everyone thought I was the bully - with bad grammar and the courtesy to give a heads up. (Liam McEneaney's favorite)
Freddie Roman
A couple is married for 47 years and the woman dies. At the funeral, the pallbearers swing the coffin, which hits a wall. From inside the coffin, the woman yells, "Oh, my God!" She lived another four years. She dies again. The pallbearers are swinging the coffin. The husband yells, "Watch out for the wall!" (David Wain's favorite)
Dave Attell
I hate to travel. I guess it's because my father used to beat me with a globe. (Todd Levin's favorite)
Feist named artist of year
CALGARY -- Winning Junos is one thing, but appearing on Sesame Street is something else entirely.
Just ask Calgary-raised, Toronto-based singer-songwriter Feist, who picked up best artist and best songwriter honors at last night's non-televised Junos during a gala dinner held at the Calgary Telus Convention Centre.
While Feist alternately kicked up her heels and danced on her way up to the podium, she was still hugely stoked about her recent appearance on Sesame Street, which she taped a few days ago in New York City doing a reworked version of her breakthrough hit, 1234.
"I mean, c'mon please, it's the Muppets we're talking about," said Feist, who was so flustered winning her second award that she didn't initially recognize hockey great Lanny McDonald when he handed her the songwriting award.
"(1234) brought me two days ago to Sesame Street and it was the Muppets and it was the best day of my life. I'm sorry Junos, but the Muppets trump everything!"
A five-time nominee heading into the awards, Feist, whose first name is Leslie although she just uses her last name professionally, will also compete for best album and pop album for The Reminder, and best single for 1234 at tonight's televised Juno Awards being broadcast live on CTV from the Pengrowth Saddledome.
After an incredible year, including four Grammy nominations and a Grammy performance, and a high-profile nano iPod commerical that used the 1234 video, Feist is a favourite to win in those categories as well -- although veteran Anne Murray could upset her in the best pop album race.
In this year's biggest controversy, Murray's all-star Duets collection was mistakenly left out of the best album race due to a sales calculation screw up and then added later, bringing her total nominations to two.
"I want to thank the Junos for a chance to get a bit dressed up and to mark a moment in the blur of all the cities we go to," said Feist, who had written her acceptance speech down on her palm, last night.
"And the fact that it's in Calgary, my mom threw a party for us last night, that's bringing it hometown, full circle!" she said.
Thirty-two Junos were handed out during the gala celebration, plus previously announced honours were given to Toronto TV pioneer Moses Znaimer (The Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award) and Albertan country star Paul Brandt (The Allan Walters Humanitarian Award).
The remaining seven trophies, plus the induction or Toronto rock trio Triumph into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, will be awarded during the live show tonight.
The telecast will be hosted by comic Russell Peters and feature performances by many artists including other five-time nominees Avril Lavigne, originally from Napanee, Ont., and Vancouver crooner Michael Buble.
Six-time nominated French Canadian pop diva Celine Dion is currently on tour in Australia.
Feist's win in the artist of the year category meant a loss for Lavigne, Dion, Buble and the other nominee, Pascale Picard.
Her songwriting victory also meant Lavigne, Joel Plaskett, Rufus Wainwright and Daniel Belanger went home empty handed in that category.
The only other mutiple winners last night were Toronto country-rock-pop veterans Blue Rodeo, who picked up two trophies for best adult alternative album for Small Miracles and best video for C'mon.
Montreal champer-pop act Arcade Fire's Neon Bible won alternative album of the year while the CD/DVD artwork design on the record won a trophy for director/designer Tracy Maurice and photographer Francois Miron.
Early Juno winners
CALGARY -- The bulk of the Juno Awards were handed out at a private gala Saturday. A look at the winners:
- International album of the year: Girl Gone Bad, Rihanna
- Artist of the year: Feist
- New artist of the year: Serena Ryder
- Songwriter of the year: Feist
- Adult alternative album of the year: Small Miracles, Blue Rodeo
- Alternative album of the year: Neon Bible, Arcade Fire
- Rock album of the year: - Them vs. You vs. Me, Finger Eleven
- Vocal jazz album of the year: Make Someone Happy, Sophie Milman
- Contemporary jazz album of the year: Almost Certainly Dreaming, The Chris Tarry Group
- Traditional jazz album of the year: Debut, Brandi Disterheft
- Instrumental album of the year: The Utmost, Jayme Stone
- Francophone album of the year: L'echec du material, Daniel Belanger
- Children's album of the year: Music Soup, Jen Gould
- Classical album of the year: Solo or chamber ensemble: Alkan Concerto for Solo Piano, Marc-Andre Hamelin
- Classical album of the year: Large ensemble or soloist(s) with large ensemble: Korngold, Barber & Walton Violin Concertos, James Ehnes, Bramwell Tovey, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
- Classical album of the year: vocal or choral performance: Surprise, Maesha Brueggergosman
- Classical composition of the year: Constantinople, Christos Hatzis
- Rap recording of the year: The Revolution, Belly
- Dance recording of the year: All U Ever Want, Billy Newton-Davis vs. Deadmau5
- R&B/Soul recording of the year: Revival, Jully Black
- Reggae recording of the year: Don't Go Pretending, Mikey Dangerous
- Aboriginal recording of the year: The Dirty Looks, Derek Miller
- Roots & traditional album of the year: Solo: Right of Passage, David Francey
- Roots & traditional album of the year: Group: Key Principles, Nathan
- Blues album of the year: Building Full of Blues, FATHEAD
- Contemporary Christian/Gospel album of the year: Holy God, Brian Doerksen
- World music album of the year: Agua Del Pozo, Alex Cuba
- Jack Richardson producer of the year: Joni Mitchell, Shine by Joni Mitchell
- Recording engineer of the year: Kevin Churko, Black Rain by Ozzy Osborne
- CD/DVD artwork design of the year: Neon Bible, Arcade Fire
- Video of the year: C'mon, Blue Rodeo
- Music DVD of the year: 666 Live, Billy Talent
Film legend Charlton Heston dead at 84
LOS ANGELES - Charlton Heston, who won the 1959 best actor Oscar as the chariot-racing "Ben-Hur" and portrayed Moses, Michelangelo, El Cid and other heroic figures in movie epics of the '50s and '60s, has died. He was 84.
The actor died Saturday night at his home in Beverly Hills with his wife Lydia at his side, family spokesman Bill Powers said.
Powers declined to comment on the cause of death or provide further details.
"Charlton Heston was seen by the world as larger than life. He was known for his chiseled jaw, broad shoulders and resonating voice, and, of course, for the roles he played," Heston's family said in a statement. "No one could ask for a fuller life than his. No man could have given more to his family, to his profession, and to his country."
Heston revealed in 2002 that he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer's disease, saying, "I must reconcile courage and surrender in equal measure."
With his large, muscular build, well-boned face and sonorous voice, Heston proved the ideal star during the period when Hollywood was filling movie screens with panoramas depicting the religious and historical past. "I have a face that belongs in another century," he often remarked.
Publicist Michael Levine, who represented Heston for about 20 years, said the actor's passing represented the end of an iconic era for cinema.
"If Hollywood had a Mt. Rushmore, Heston's face would be on it," Levine said. "He was a heroic figure that I don't think exists to the same degree in Hollywood today."
The actor assumed the role of leader offscreen as well. He served as president of the Screen Actors Guild and chairman of the American Film Institute and marched in the civil rights movement of the 1950s. With age, he grew more conservative and campaigned for conservative candidates.
In June 1998, Heston was elected president of the National Rifle Association, for which he had posed for ads holding a rifle. He delivered a jab at then-President Clinton, saying, "America doesn't trust you with our 21-year-old daughters, and we sure, Lord, don't trust you with our guns."
Heston stepped down as NRA president in April 2003, telling members his five years in office were "quite a ride. ... I loved every minute of it."
Later that year, Heston was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. "The largeness of character that comes across the screen has also been seen throughout his life," President Bush said at the time.
He engaged in a lengthy feud with liberal Ed Asner during the latter's tenure as president of the Screen Actors Guild. His latter-day activism almost overshadowed his achievements as an actor, which were considerable.
Heston lent his strong presence to some of the most acclaimed and successful films of the midcentury. "Ben-Hur" won 11 Academy Awards, tying it for the record with the more recent "Titanic" (1997) and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003). Heston's other hits include: "The Ten Commandments," "El Cid," "55 Days at Peking," "Planet of the Apes" and "Earthquake."
He liked to the cite the number of historical figures he had portrayed:
Andrew Jackson ("The President's Lady," "The Buccaneer"), Moses ("The Ten Commandments"), title role of "El Cid," John the Baptist ("The Greatest Story Ever Told"), Michelangelo ("The Agony and the Ecstasy"), General Gordon ("Khartoum"), Marc Antony ("Julius Caesar," "Antony and Cleopatra"), Cardinal Richelieu ("The Three Musketeers"), Henry VIII ("The Prince and the Pauper").
Heston made his movie debut in the 1940s in two independent films by a college classmate, David Bradley, who later became a noted film archivist. He had the title role in "Peer Gynt" in 1942 and was Marc Antony in Bradley's 1949 version of "Julius Caesar," for which Heston was paid $50 a week.
Film producer Hal B. Wallis ("Casablanca") spotted Heston in a 1950 television production of "Wuthering Heights" and offered him a contract. When his wife reminded him that they had decided to pursue theater and television, he replied, "Well, maybe just for one film to see what it's like."
Heston earned star billing from his first Hollywood movie, "Dark City," a 1950 film noir. Cecil B. DeMille next cast him as the circus manager in the all-star "The Greatest Show On Earth," named by the Motion Picture Academy as the best picture of 1952. More movies followed:
"The Savage," "Ruby Gentry," "The President's Lady," "Pony Express" (as Buffalo Bill Cody), "Arrowhead," "Bad for Each Other," "The Naked Jungle," "Secret of the Incas," "The Far Horizons" (as Clark of the Lewis and Clark trek), "The Private War of Major Benson," "Lucy Gallant."
Most were forgettable low-budget films, and Heston seemed destined to remain an undistinguished action star. His old boss DeMille rescued him.
The director had long planned a new version of "The Ten Commandments," which he had made as a silent in 1923 with a radically different approach that combined biblical and modern stories. He was struck by Heston's facial resemblance to Michelangelo's sculpture of Moses, especially the similar broken nose, and put the actor through a long series of tests before giving him the role.
The Hestons' newborn, Fraser Clarke Heston, played the role of the infant Moses in the film.
More films followed: the eccentric thriller "Touch of Evil," directed by Orson Welles; William Wyler's "The Big Country," costarring with Gregory Peck; a sea saga, "The Wreck of the Mary Deare" with Gary Cooper.
Then his greatest role: "Ben-Hur."
Heston wasn't the first to be considered for the remake of 1925 biblical epic. Marlon Brando, Burt Lancaster and Rock Hudson had declined the film. Heston plunged into the role, rehearsing two months for the furious chariot race.
He railed at suggestions the race had been shot with a double: "I couldn't drive it well, but that wasn't necessary. All I had to do was stay on board so they could shoot me there. I didn't have to worry; MGM guaranteed I would win the race."
The huge success of "Ben-Hur" and Heston's Oscar made him one of the highest-paid stars in Hollywood. He combined big-screen epics like "El Cid" and "55 Days at Peking" with lesser ones such as "Diamond Head," "Will Penny" and "Airport 1975." In his later years he played cameos in such films as "Wayne's World 2" and "Tombstone."
He often returned to the theater, appearing in such plays as "A Long Day's Journey into Night" and "A Man for All Seasons." He starred as a tycoon in the prime-time soap opera, "The Colbys," a two-season spinoff of "Dynasty."
At his birth in a Chicago suburb on Oct. 4, 1923, his name was Charles Carter. His parents moved to St. Helen, Mich., where his father, Russell Carter, operated a lumber mill. Growing up in the Michigan woods with almost no playmates, young Charles read books of adventure and devised his own games while wandering the countryside with his rifle.
Charles's parents divorced, and she married Chester Heston, a factory plant superintendent in Wilmette, Ill., an upscale north Chicago suburb. Shy and feeling displaced in the big city, the boy had trouble adjusting to the new high school. He took refuge in the drama department.
"What acting offered me was the chance to be many other people," he said in a 1986 interview. "In those days I wasn't satisfied with being me."
Calling himself Charlton Heston from his mother's maiden name and his stepfather's last name, he won an acting scholarship to Northwestern University in 1941. He excelled in campus plays and appeared on Chicago radio. In 1943, he enlisted in the Army Air Force and served as a radio-gunner in the Aleutians.
In 1944 he married another Northwestern drama student, Lydia Clarke, and after his army discharge in 1947, they moved to New York to seek acting jobs. Finding none, they hired on as codirectors and principal actors at a summer theater in Asheville, N.C.
Back in New York, both Hestons began finding work. With his strong 6-feet-2 build and craggily handsome face, Heston won roles in TV soap operas, plays ("Antony and Cleopatra" with Katherine Cornell) and live TV dramas such as "Julius Caesar," "Macbeth," "The Taming of the Shrew" and "Of Human Bondage."
Heston wrote several books: "The Actor's Life: Journals 1956-1976," published in 1978; "Beijing Diary: 1990," concerning his direction of the play "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial" in Chinese; "In the Arena: An Autobiography," 1995; and "Charlton Heston's Hollywood: 50 Years of American Filmmaking," 1998.
Besides Fraser, who directed his father in an adventure film, "Mother Lode," the Hestons had a daughter, Holly Ann, born Aug. 2, 1961. The couple celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1994 at a party with Hollywood and political friends. They had been married 64 years when he died.
In late years, Heston drew as much publicity for his crusades as for his performances. In addition to his NRA work, he campaigned for Republican presidential and congressional candidates and against affirmative action.
He resigned from Actors Equity, claiming the union's refusal to allow a white actor to play a Eurasian role in "Miss Saigon" was "obscenely racist." He attacked CNN's telecasts from Baghdad as "sowing doubts" about the allied effort in the 1990-91 Gulf War.
At a Time Warner stockholders meeting, he castigated the company for releasing an Ice-T album that purportedly encouraged cop killing.
Heston wrote in "In the Arena" that he was proud of what he did "though now I'll surely never be offered another film by Warners, nor get a good review in Time. On the other hand, I doubt I'll get a traffic ticket very soon."
Here is a partial list of some of Charlton Heston's films:
"Peer Gynt," 1942
"Julius Caesar," 1949
"Dark City," 1950
"The Greatest Show on Earth," 1952
"The Savage," 1952
"Ruby Gentry," 1952
"The President's Lady," 1953
"Pony Express," 1953
"Arrowhead," 1953
"Bad for Each Other," 1953
"The Naked Jungle," 1954
"Secret of the Incas," 1954
"The Far Horizons," 1955
"The Private War of Major Benson," 1955
"Lucy Gallant," 1955
"The Ten Commandments," 1956
"Three Violent People," 1957
"Touch of Evil," 1958
"The Big Country," 1958
"The Buccaneer," 1958
"The Wreck of the Mary Deare," 1959
"Ben-Hur," 1959
"El Cid," 1961
"The Pigeon That Took Rome," 1962
"Diamond Head," 1963
"55 Days at Peking," 1963
"The Greatest Story Ever Told," 1965
"Major Dundee," 1965
"The Agony and the Ecstasy," 1965
"The War Lord," 1965
"Khartoum," 1966
"Counterpoint," 1968
"Planet of the Apes," 1968
"Will Penny," 1968
"Number One," 1969
"Julius Caesar," 1970
"Beneath the Planet of the Apes," 1970
"The Hawaiians," 1970
"The Omega Man," 1971
"Call of the Wild," 1972
"Antony and Cleopatra," 1972 (also director)
"Skyjacked," 1972
"Soylent Green," 1973
"The Three Musketeers," 1974
"Airport 1975," 1974
"Earthquake," 1974
"The Four Musketeers," 1975
"The Last Hard Men," 1976
"Midway," 1976
"Two-Minute Warning," 1976
"The Prince and the Pauper" (or "Crossed Swords)," 1977
"Gray Lady Down," 1978
"Mountain Man," 1980
"The Awakening," 1980
"Mother Lode," 1982 (also director)
"Solar Crisis," 1990
"Almost an Angel," 1990
"Wayne's World 2," 1993
"Tombstone," 1993
"True Lies," 1994
"In the Mouth of Madness," 1995
"Alaska," 1996
"Hamlet," 1996
"Hercules," 1997