Oprah Winfrey and James Earl Jones Receiving Honorary Oscars

Oprah Winfrey, James Earl Jones and makeup artist Dick Smith have been picked to receive honorary Oscars.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says the three will be honored with Oscar statuettes at the Governors Awards in November. The academy's Board of Governors voted Tuesday to recognize the entertainment industry veterans.
Winfrey will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, which honors philanthropic and humanitarian contributions. The 57-year-old media mogul, who was nominated for a supporting actress Oscar for 1985's "The Color Purple," supports various charitable and educational causes, including her own namesake foundations and Academy for Girls in South Africa.
Jones and Smith will receive honorary Oscars for their outstanding careers.

World's Most Powerful Women-2010

Forbes released its latest list of the world's 100 most powerful women.  The list was interesting and full of surprises. They are heads of state and first ladies, bankers and cultural icons, CEOs and entrepreneurial athletes. Let's take a look at the top ten, a fresh look at power and creative influence:

(Rank, Name, Age, Country, Category and Title)

1	Michelle Obama First Lady	47	United States	Politics
2	Irene Rosenfeld Chief Executive, Kraft Foods

Fab Five Female Billionaires

In the spirit of the midnight release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, one might consider writing up a post on Joanne Kathleen Rowling and the creation of her billion dollar wizarding empire. Upon reading an article (ironically enough with Forbes) that mentioned J.K. is part of the top five self-made female billionaires in the world, I was curious to know who else rounded out the list. Being a self-made billionaire is the dream of all entrepreneurs. Have idea, will travel with it.

For many women and female business owners, it is difficult to sit with the knowledge that only five ladies make the cut in being worth billions. But I’d rather see five women than two or one or none. They made it. These five women defied the odds, created outstanding brands for themselves, and held a heavy hand in influencing lives with such an impact they might never know about.

Here are the others on this short list:

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

This week marks the start of the 50th anniversary of the civil rights "Freedom Riders", who traveled by bus to confront segregation in the South.  On a recent show, Oprah Winfrey honored 178 original Freedom Riders and retold personal stories and memories from some of them.

PBS will air a documentary on the Freedom Riders on May 16. I won't miss it and neither should you.

Related articles

• 178 Freedom Riders to be on 'Oprah Winfrey Show' (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• May Marks 50 Years Since Freedom Rides In South (newsone.com)
• Freedom Riders remembered 50 years later (cbsnews.com)
• Instruments Of Change: Music Of The Freedom Riders (rdvculture.wordpress.com)

Forbes LIst: World's Most Powerful Women

Forbes Magazine has released their picks for 2010's Most Powerful Women in the World -- and the First Lady is at the head of the class.  Michelle Obama was ranked as the world's No. 1 most powerful woman, while the queen of daytime, Oprah Winfrey, snagged the No.3 spot.

Women in entertainment scored big this year, with pop superstar Lady Gaga taking the seventh spot and music mogul/designer Beyonce ranking ninth. Comedian and talkshow host Ellen DeGeneres rounded out the list at No. 10.

The U.S. was the list's clear winner -- eight of the10 coveted spots were filled by American women, while Chicagoans dominated the mighty top three. In addition to Windy City natives Obama and Oprah, Irene Rosenfeld, CEO of Kraft Foods and another Chicago resident, was ranked No. 2. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (originally hailing from the Chicago suburb, Park Ridge) rang in at No. 5.

2010 Forbes Most Powerful Women In The World top 10:


1. Michelle Obama, US First Lady
2. Irene Rosenfeld, chief executive Kraft Foods
3. Oprah Winfrey, media mogul
4. Angela Merkel, German Chancellor
5. Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State
6. Indra Nooyi, chief executive, Pepsi
7. Lady Gaga, singer
8. Gail Kelly, chief executive, Westpac
9. Beyonce Knowles, singer and fashion designer
10. Ellen DeGeneres, talk show host




Source: Forbes; OMG.Yahoo.com

Related articles

• Forbes Post List of World's 100 Most Powerful Women (shoppingblog.com)
• Michelle Obama tops list of most powerful women (bbc.co.uk)
• Michelle Obama ranked world's most powerful woman (reuters.com)

Amazing Star Salaries

Ophrah Winfrey, Charlie Sheen, Hugh Laurie

I set out to find out the salary of contestants on "Dancing With the Stars" trying to find out what attracted participants.  It was plain that nonentities like Bristol Palin were looking for a paycheck and possible linkage to a regular hook-up. Stars in the declining years of fame like Florence Henderson and David Hasselhoff probably were looking for an additional fifteen minutes of attention and maybe a renewed interest leading to regular employment.


Each DWTS contestant is paid $200,000 for the season regardless of how long they remain on the show.  First, second and third place winners are paid an additional bonus and the ultimate winner receives a bonus of $100,000 dollars. Not bad for limited talent, a little publicity, and another line on the resume.

As always when surfing the internet, one click leads to another, so let me share some of the interesting information I found.

• Oprah Winfrey gets paid $315 million-a-year for her talk show topping a list of the highest paid talk show hosts in the US, with her staggering wage more than the combined total of the next four top earners, Judge Judy Sheindlin and David Letterman, who earn $45 million and $28 million respectively, ‘Tonight Show’ star Jay Leno on $25 million and Conan O’Brien, who gets paid $10 million.
• Jennifer Lopez will rake in $12 millon per season while Ryan Seacrest paycheck will be $15 million annually, triple his salary from last season.
• Charlie Sheen of "Two and a Half Men"  is paid $1.8 million per episode while co-star Jon Cryer nets $550,000 per episode.
• Law and Order SUV stars Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay both earn $395,000 while David Caruso, CSI: Miami rakes in $375,000.
• Hugh Laurie, Dr. Gregory House earns $400,000 in season five of the award winning series.
•  Jersey Shores Snooki will earn $30,000 pr episode, up from $2,200 in season one.
• NCIS star Mark Harmon makes $325,000 while Michael Weatherly makes under $100,000.

For more detailed information, see the related articles below.

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• 'Judge Judy' Topples 'Oprah' From Top Daytime Spot (abcnews.go.com)
• Oprah Winfrey Tops List of the Highest Paid Talk Show Hosts (inquisitr.com)
• TV's Highest Paid Performers - 2010 List (theoriginalwinger.com)
• Hugh Laurie highest paid actor in US TV drama (telegraph.co.uk)

World's Most Powerful Celebrities

The Celebrity 100 is a measure of power based on money and fame. Earnings estimates, which include income from films, television shows, endorsements, books, and other entertainment ventures, are calculated between June 2009 and June 2010. This year’s top five celebrities are:

1. Oprah Winfrey
2. Beyonce Knowles
3. James Cameron
4. Lady Gaga
5. Tiger Woods

Take a look at the Forbes List and get additional information about elements in the ranking.

http://omg.yahoo.com/news/the-worlds-most-powerful-celebrities/43057?nc