Beloved Entertainer Raffaella Carra’ Dies

Raffaella Carra' is shown in this May 14, 2011 photo. (AP)
Raffaella Carra' is shown in this May 14, 2011 photo. (AP)
TT

Beloved Entertainer Raffaella Carra’ Dies

Raffaella Carra' is shown in this May 14, 2011 photo. (AP)
Raffaella Carra' is shown in this May 14, 2011 photo. (AP)

Raffaella Carra’, for decades one of Italian television’s most popular and beloved entertainers, died on Monday at age 78 after a long illness, Italian state TV quoted her family as saying.

Rai state TV read a statement from the star’s family, announcing that she died at home after a long illness. It said that in keeping with her wishes medical details weren’t being released.

With her energetic presence and strong singing voice, the petite Carra’ was a beloved staple in the early heyday decades of Rai, especially when it was the only nationwide broadcaster.

With often sexy costumes — daring by state TV’s standards in a country where the Vatican wields considerable influence — Carra’ also was credited with helping Italian women be more confident with themselves. Once, in a then daring move, she barred her belly button during one TV performance. But she could also be devastatingly elegant and classy in her dress and manners.

Her trademark bouncy, blond haircut and bangs — the helmet look, it was dubbed — were imitated by many fans.

“She was the lady of Italian television,” Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said, expressing sorrow for her passing.

Affectionately known as Raffa, Carra’ was born Raffaella Maria Roberta Pelloni in Bologna on June 18, 1943. She started her career as a singer, dancer, TV presenter and actress when still a child.

She wasn’t married, although she had a longtime companion. She had no children, but her former companion, Sergio Japino, a TV director and choreographer, quoted her as often saying, “I didn’t have children but I had thousands of them,” Corriere della Sera quoted Japino as recalling. The reference was to some 150,000 children over the years she helped sponsor financially on one of her TV programs, called “Amore.”

She was also widely popular in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries.



Rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs Returns to Jail as Judge Considers Bail Bid

Family members enter the federal court in Manhattan on the day of music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs’s hearing on his request to be released from jail pending trial in New York City, New York, US, November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Kent J. Edwards
Family members enter the federal court in Manhattan on the day of music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs’s hearing on his request to be released from jail pending trial in New York City, New York, US, November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Kent J. Edwards
TT

Rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs Returns to Jail as Judge Considers Bail Bid

Family members enter the federal court in Manhattan on the day of music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs’s hearing on his request to be released from jail pending trial in New York City, New York, US, November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Kent J. Edwards
Family members enter the federal court in Manhattan on the day of music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs’s hearing on his request to be released from jail pending trial in New York City, New York, US, November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Kent J. Edwards

Sean "Diddy" Combs will remain in custody for at least several more days as a US judge considers his bid to be released on $50-million bail from the Brooklyn jail where the music mogul has been held for 10 weeks.
After a nearly two-hour hearing in Manhattan federal court, US District Judge Arun Subramanian said on Friday he would rule on Combs' bid for home detention "promptly."
Combs' lawyers this month proposed a bail package backed by his $48-million Florida mansion. It also called for Combs to be monitored around the clock by security personnel and to have no contact with alleged victims or witnesses.
Combs has been denied bail three times since his arrest, with multiple judges citing a risk he might tamper with witnesses. The rapper and producer pleaded not guilty on Sept. 17 to charges he used his business empire, including his record label Bad Boy Entertainment, to sexually abuse women.
During the hearing, defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo disputed prosecutors' contention that a 2016 hotel surveillance video of Combs assaulting former girlfriend Casandra Ventura, known as Cassie, showed there was a risk he would act violently if released.
"There's a zero percent chance of that happening," Agnifilo said.
Combs apologized in May after CNN broadcast the video showing him kicking, shoving and dragging Cassie in a hotel hallway. Agnifilo said he had never denied the incident, but said the video was not evidence of sex trafficking.
"It's our defense to these charges that this was a toxic, loving 11-year relationship," Agnifilo told the court.
Earlier, prosecutor Christine Slavik said Combs tried to bribe hotel staff to delete the surveillance footage - demonstrating he was committed to concealing his crimes by illegal means.
Even from behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Combs had communicated with his lawyers through unauthorized channels, and sought to run a social-media campaign to sway potential jurors, Slavik said.
"The defendant here has demonstrated that either he cannot or will not follow rules," Slavik said. "The defendant, simply put, cannot be trusted."
Regarding Combs' attempted social-media campaign, defense lawyer Alexandra Shapiro said he had a right to respond to news coverage of the case that could paint him unfavorably for potential jurors.
Upon being led into the hearing by the US Marshals service, Combs, wearing a beige jail-issued outfit, blew kisses toward his family seated in the second row of the courtroom's audience.
COMBS DENIES WRONGDOING
Prosecutors said the abuse included having women take part in recorded sexual performances called "freak offs" with male sex workers who were sometimes transported across state lines. Combs, 55, has denied wrongdoing, and his lawyers have argued the sexual activity described by prosecutors was consensual.
Combs' lawyers questioned why jail was needed when federal prosecutors in Brooklyn last month allowed the pre-trial release on a $10-million bond of former Abercrombie and Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, who has pleaded not guilty to sex-trafficking.
The US Attorney's office in Manhattan, which brought the charges against Combs, countered that Jeffries is 80 years old with no criminal history, whereas Combs has prior arrests.
They also said federal agents recovered rifles with defaced serial numbers from Combs' residences. This week, Subramanian ordered prosecutors to destroy their copies of handwritten notes that Combs took in jail, pending a decision on whether they were subject to attorney-client privilege.
A government investigator photographed the notes during a sweep of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where Combs has been jailed.