The Times - UK (2022-01-13)

36 2GM Thursday January 13 2022 | the times

Wo r l d

Ronnie Spector, lead singer of the

1960s girl group the Ronettes, died

yesterday aged 78 after a brief battle

with cancer, her family said.

Spector, whose band’s hits included

Be My Baby and Walking in the Rain,

died peacefully in the arms of her

husband, Jonathan Greenfield,

according to a statement. Her family

added: “Ronnie lived her life with a

twinkle in her eye, a spunky attitude,

a wicked sense of humour and a smile

on her face. She was filled with love

and gratitude.”

Tributes flooded in. Brian Wilson,

the Beach Boys singer, said: “I loved

her voice so much and she was a very

Keiran Southern

Hollywood has been accused of

taking political correctness too far

and sidelining white men in pursuit

of diversity.

Writers, directors and producers

described a growing fear of damaging

their careers by speaking out against

liberal values.

Studios are increasingly reluctant

to hire white men, it is claimed, and

the problem is so severe it could result

in legal action.

Peter Kiefer and Peter Savodnik,

writing for the Common Sense Sub-

stack, a conservative-leaning news-

letter that often features articles

challenging liberal politics, said more

than 25 industry figures have com-

plained of a “woke” orthodoxy seiz-

ing control of Hollywood.

One prominent producer shared

emails from senior executives saying

hiring a white man would look bad

and studios were instead chasing

women and people of colour. The

producer predicted: “This is all going

‘Woke’ Hollywood is writing

us out, say white producers

to end in a giant class-action lawsuit.”

Mike White, the creator of HBO’s

class satire series The White Lotus,

said people across the industry were

reluctant to share their true feelings.

He said: “If you voice things in a

certain way it can really have nega-

tive repercussions for you and people

can presume that you could be racist,

or you could be seen as misogynist.”

Howard Koch, a prolific producer

and former president of the Academy

of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,

which oversees the Oscars, said: “I’m

all for LGBT and Native Americans,

blacks, females, whatever minorities

that have not been served correctly in

the making of content, whether it’s

television or movies or whatever, but

I think it’s gone too far.

“I know a lot of very talented

people that can’t get work because

they’re not black, Native American,

female or LGBTQ.”

Hollywood, which has long been

seen as a stronghold for American

liberalism, has not escaped the reck-

onings on race and gender that have

brought turmoil to American society

in recent years. In 2015 anger over a

lack of diversity among the Academy

Award nominees led to the viral

hashtag OscarsSoWhite. The contro-

versy forced the Academy to broaden

its membership — 92 per cent white

and 75 per cent male — to include

more women and people of colour.

The #MeToo movement took off in

October 2017 following allegations

that the producer Harvey Weinstein

had abused scores of women for

decades.

The perception that Hollywood

has overcorrected to make up for past

sins has been gaining ground. The

director Quentin Tarantino said a

trend had emerged in the industry

“where ideology is more important

than art”.

Supporters of the push towards

greater diversity argue it is overdue

and financially necessary. Franklin

Leonard, the influential founder of

The Black List, an annual collection

of the best unproduced scripts in

Hollywood, has said the industry’s

lack of diversity was costing billions

of dollars a year.

United States

Keiran Southern Los Angeles

A

former head

of an

international

sport hunting

group

murdered his wife

during a safari trip to

Zambia, claimed nearly

$5 million in insurance

and moved in with his

mistress, US federal

prosecutors allege

(Jacqui Goddard writes).

Lawrence Rudolph, a

dentist, who was

stripped of the title of

president of Safari Club

International in 2012

after a disagreement

with members, claimed

that his wife, Bianca,

shot herself by accident

while trying to pack

away a shotgun during a

trip to Kafue National

Park in 2016.

He had received an

ultimatum from his

mistress to leave his wife

but did not want to

divorce her for fear of

what it would cost, court

documents allege.

An affidavit said: “In

addition to the evidence

of motive — the

insurance proceeds and

the possible desire to

live openly with [a]

girlfriend — additional

evidence gathered

during the investigation

supports [the]

conclusion that there is

probable cause to

believe Bianca Rudolph

did not die by accident

and was, rather, killed

by Lawrence Rudolph.”

Lawyers for Rudolph,

67, told The Daily Beast,

which revealed the court

filings, that the murder

and fraud charges were

outrageous and he

would “demonstrate his

innocence” at trial.

The Rudolphs, who

married in 1982 and had

two children, went to

Zambia in September

2016, where Mrs

Rudolph’s goal was to

kill a leopard.

At 5.30am on

October 11, Rudolph

claimed he heard a

gunshot while in the

bathroom and

found his wife

on the floor

bleeding

from bullet

wounds.

The

police

inter-

viewed a

guide to

whom

Rudolph paid

$53,000 to help

him convince

officers it was an

accident, the FBI

alleges.

A US consular official

became suspicious over

Rudolph’s haste to

cremate his wife’s body

and leave the country.

Lawyers for Rudolph

said the government was

“seeking to manufacture

a case” against a “law-

abiding dentist”.

Dentist ‘killed wife’

on Zambian safari

Lawrence Rudolph, who

was having an affair, says

his wife, Bianca, below,

accidentally shot herself

gunshot wh

bathroom

found h

on th

blee

fro

wo

po

in

vie

gui

who

Rudo

$$$$5 3 , 00

hhhim conv

officers it w

accident, the FB

alleges.

Ronnie Spector was

the lead singer on

the hit Be My Baby

Ronette who married Phil Spector dies

special person and a dear friend. This

just breaks my heart. Ronnie’s music

and spirit will live for ever.”

Spector, who was born Veronica

Bennett in Spanish Harlem, New

York, formed the Ronettes with her

sister Estelle Bennett and cousin

Nedra Talley. They became one of

the biggest acts of the girl-group

era, powered by their distinctive

looks and powerful voices as well

as the producing genius of Phil

Spector, whom Ronnie mar-

ried in 1968. His “wall of

sound” technique propelled

the band to the top of the charts. They

were inducted into the Rock and Roll

Hall of Fame in 2007.

The Spectors’ marriage was not a

happy one, however, and they sepa-

rated in 1972. Spector claimed

she fled their California

mansion barefoot be-

cause her husband had

hidden her shoes. Phil

Spector died in prison

last year aged 81 after

being convicted of the

2003 murder of the

actress Lana Clark-

son. Ronnie Spector is

survived by her hus-

band and sons Jason

and Austin.