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Singer Meat Loaf Dies Aged 74

US singer Marvin Lee Aday, aka "Meat Loaf". Image Credit: AP
US singer Marvin Lee Aday, aka "Meat Loaf". Image Credit: AP
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Singer Meat Loaf Dies Aged 74

US singer Marvin Lee Aday, aka "Meat Loaf". Image Credit: AP
US singer Marvin Lee Aday, aka "Meat Loaf". Image Credit: AP

Meat Loaf, the flamboyant US rock star who rose to global fame with his debut "Bat Out of Hell" album, has died aged 74.

The singer and actor, otherwise known as Michael Lee Aday, had a career spanning six decades, and sold more than 100 million albums worldwide.

His hits included the near 10-minute long title track from "Bat of Hell", "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" from the same album, and "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" from the 1993 follow-up "Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell".

Born in Dallas, Texas, in 1947, Meat Loaf found success on the stage in the 1970s, performing in the Broadway musicals "Hair" and "The Rocky Horror Show".

He switched focus to rock music in the early 1970s and collaborated with Jim Steinman on a debut album that showcased his powerful voice and established his long- haired, leather-clad, motorcycle-riding rock persona.

"Like a bat out of hell I'll be gone when the morning comes; When the night is over, like a bat out of hell, I'll be gone, gone, gone," Meat Loaf sang in "Bat of Hell", with an intensity bordering on melodrama that became his hallmark and established him as a rock icon.

He later appeared in films including "Rocky Horror Show", "Wayne's World" and "Fight Club". British writer Stephen Fry, who appeared in a sketch with the rock star on Saturday Live, said. "I hope paradise is as you remember it from the dashboard light, Meat Loaf."

"He had the quality of being simultaneously frightening and cuddly." British producer Pete Waterman said: "It was his voice – you knew what you got with Meat Loaf. It was 100 per cent of everything."

A statement posted on Meat Loaf's Facebook page said: "From his heart to your souls ... don't ever stop rocking! "Our hearts are broken to announce that the incomparable Meat Loaf passed away tonight with his wife Deborah by his side."

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Entertainment

Actor and Activist Danny Glover Says He Has Alzheimer’s Disease

Danny Glover arrives at the Governors Awards on Friday, March 25, 2022, at the Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles. (AP)
Danny Glover arrives at the Governors Awards on Friday, March 25, 2022, at the Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles. (AP)
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Actor and Activist Danny Glover Says He Has Alzheimer’s Disease

Danny Glover arrives at the Governors Awards on Friday, March 25, 2022, at the Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles. (AP)
Danny Glover arrives at the Governors Awards on Friday, March 25, 2022, at the Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles. (AP)

Actor and activist Danny Glover, best known for starring as an easygoing police officer in the “Lethal Weapon” franchise, has revealed he has Alzheimer’s disease.

The four-time Emmy Award nominee, who turns 80 on July 22, told “Today” and People magazine that he was diagnosed with the progressive, memory-destroying disease three years ago.

“I’m still not accepting in my mind all parts of it,” he told People magazine. “There are the moments that you keep remembering that validate the fact that you can remember stuff. And there are moments I’ll never forget.”

More than 6 million people in the United States and millions more around the world have Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia.

Glover earned four Emmy Award nominations and an honorary Oscar in 2022. Other awards came from the NAACP and Black Entertainment Television, and he received nominations from the Screen Actors Guild.

Glover also served as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Program from 1998 to 2004. It focuses on poverty, disease and economic development in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Entertainment

Village People Singer Victor Willis Dies at 74

In this 2007 file photo released by Victor Willis World, former Village People lead singer Victor Willis is shown in costume. (AP Photo/Victor Willis World)
In this 2007 file photo released by Victor Willis World, former Village People lead singer Victor Willis is shown in costume. (AP Photo/Victor Willis World)
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Village People Singer Victor Willis Dies at 74

In this 2007 file photo released by Victor Willis World, former Village People lead singer Victor Willis is shown in costume. (AP Photo/Victor Willis World)
In this 2007 file photo released by Victor Willis World, former Village People lead singer Victor Willis is shown in costume. (AP Photo/Victor Willis World)

Victor Willis, lead singer of the disco group Village People whose hit "YMCA" became a fixture at rallies for US President Donald Trump, has died, his spouse said in a Facebook post on Wednesday. He was 74.

"It is with profound sadness that I must announce the death of my husband, VICTOR WILLIS. Victor passed away on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, as a result of a short, but aggressive illness," the post on Willis's official page said.

Entertainment

New Minions Film Heads to 1920s Hollywood in Franchise Refresh

Chris Meledandri, Zoey Deutch, Pierre Coffin, Jeff Bridges, Allison Janney, Bobby Moynihan, and Jesse Eisenberg attend the "Minions & Monsters" premiere in Los Angeles, California, US, June 28, 2026. (Reuters)
Chris Meledandri, Zoey Deutch, Pierre Coffin, Jeff Bridges, Allison Janney, Bobby Moynihan, and Jesse Eisenberg attend the "Minions & Monsters" premiere in Los Angeles, California, US, June 28, 2026. (Reuters)
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New Minions Film Heads to 1920s Hollywood in Franchise Refresh

Chris Meledandri, Zoey Deutch, Pierre Coffin, Jeff Bridges, Allison Janney, Bobby Moynihan, and Jesse Eisenberg attend the "Minions & Monsters" premiere in Los Angeles, California, US, June 28, 2026. (Reuters)
Chris Meledandri, Zoey Deutch, Pierre Coffin, Jeff Bridges, Allison Janney, Bobby Moynihan, and Jesse Eisenberg attend the "Minions & Monsters" premiere in Los Angeles, California, US, June 28, 2026. (Reuters)

Illumination's latest Minions film is going back to 1920s Hollywood, a departure that French animator Pierre Coffin hopes will freshen a long-running animated franchise that has grown into one of Universal's biggest film, theme-park and merchandising brands.

When Illumination animation studio CEO Chris Meledandri pitched the animated prequel comedy “Minions & Monsters,” Coffin immediately looked for ways to expand the story.

"It was just me trying to make everything more interesting to me because I didn't want to do another 'Minions' movie," Coffin told Reuters.

The initial concept for the film, which debuts in theaters on Wednesday, featured the fictional yellow, pill-shaped creatures — the ‌Minions — embarking on ‌a search for monster masters.

But Coffin saw an opportunity to ‌add ⁠a more distinctive setting.

"I ⁠came up with the idea of, like, 'Oh, wouldn't it be cool to have it happen in the '20s in Hollywood, in the '20s, because that would give them a great backdrop,'" Coffin recalled.

The combination of Meledandri's producing vision and Coffin's creative input ultimately led to "Minions & Monsters" being set in 1920, 48 years before the events depicted in the 2015 film "Minions."

The Minions franchise grew out of the successful 2010 animated film "Despicable Me," which went on to ⁠spawn three sequels and three spinoff prequels, all distributed by Universal.

Beyond ‌the screen, the franchise has also inspired Minion-themed rides, ‌dining experiences, merchandise and meet-and-greets at Minion Land in Universal Studios parks in Orlando and Los ‌Angeles.

Daniel Loria, senior vice president of content strategy and editorial director at Boxoffice ‌Pro, forecasts the full five-day opening weekend will generate between $80 million and $95 million at the box office, making it the top film of the weekend.

In "Minions & Monsters," the story follows the Minions as their search for a monster master evolves into an unexpected venture — making a monster movie of their ‌own in Old Hollywood.

The film's voice cast includes Coffin as the Minions alongside Allison Janney, Jeff Bridges, Jesse Eisenberg, Zoey Deutch ⁠and Bobby Moynihan.

Eisenberg ⁠said that although the film is aimed at younger audiences, it offers something for viewers of all ages.

"My kid was laughing at all the kid things, but then I found myself just really admiring the old film references," Eisenberg said.

For Deutch, the enduring appeal of the Minions lies in their universal charm — their mix of cuteness, humor and oddness, combined with their unique language known as Minionese.

While she acknowledged not speaking the language herself, Deutch said she admires content creators who have mastered it. Also nicknamed Banana language, Minionese incorporates words and phrases from real-world languages.

"You see some of these influencers who sing in Minionese," Deutch said.

"There's one girl who I am dying to meet. She is a genius. She put together a dictionary of this, she can speak it, and she's so funny. She puts videos together and sings," Deutch added.