Photo Credit left: Eric CharbonneauPhoto Credit Right: Disney
Listen to the Anika Noni Rose Interview
Anika Noni Rose, the beautiful woman with the beautiful name, is among today’s brightest lights in acting and performance. She has moved elegantly from stage to movies to television, receiving significant accolades in the process.
From May of 2002 to August of 2004, Ms. Rose performed in the musical Caroline, or Change, garnering a Tony for her role. In 2006, she teamed up with, Beyonce Knowles and Jennifer Hudson in the Academy Award nominated movie Dreamgirls. In 2008, Anika returned to Broadway, as Maggie in Tennessee Williams’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. This year, 2009, HBO aired the first episodes of its series The Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency with Anika starring alongside Jill Scott, as a detective’s assistant. The program was shot on location in Botswana Africa.
Anika’s diverse resume will be capped off with her latest work – the lead, voiceover role as Disney’s first black princess in The Princess and The Frog – out in theaters Friday. The musical is Disney’s first animated movie in nearly six years. Rose beat out other performers vying for the role, including some who waged public relations campaigns to show how much they wanted to be Princess Tiana.
With her singing and acting talent, Anika brings much personality, strength, humor and a voice destined to be remembered for generations. Rose’s Princess Tiana, deemed a strong heroin, is likely to enter Disney’s pantheon of immortal characters.
2009 has been a year of momentous social progress. The United States of America is now led by a person of color, a prospect that a few short decades ago seemed highly unlikely. And now Disney – a company that has long held sway over the popular imagination – is introducing a major, holiday production with a black woman at the center of the story. The progress continues.
As for Anika Noni Rose, she’s now an acting quadruple threat. To star of stage, screen and television, she can add voice talent par excellence to her already impressive resume.
For Ms. Rose’s personal life, what of a prince for this princess? Anika confides to me that the only prince in her life, at the moment, is her four year old nephew, at least that is the only one she will mention.
A few years ago, Vincent “Vinny” Parco was featured in his own TV show on Court TV titled Parco P.I. The reality show focused around private investigation cases that Mr. Parco received through his private firm. Vincent is also no stranger to celebrity cases. He’s worked on both sides of the isle for and against the well known.
With the media focused on Tiger Wood’s personal life, Parco says he’s seen this kind of behavior before. He states that no matter how beautiful your wife is, sometimes you want variety. He believes Woods should have known sooner rather than later that someone was going to come forward and try to get their 15 minutes of fame. He compares the Woods situation to the recent White House party crashers of Tareq and Michaele Salahi and how anyone with a little fame can cash in big with TV shows and book deals.
Parco is surprised that no media outlet has hired him yet to further investigate different angles in Wood’s personal life since this kind of thing that has been up his alley many times before.
Serve, Volley Over Tiger Folly: Legal Bigs Continue Battle
Written by Chris Yandek
Attorney Roy BlackAttorney Gloria Allred
Yesterday, Gloria Allred sent us an email response to something Roy Black said in an interview we ran on Tuesday. We had asked Attorney Black why he thought Rachel Uchitel was meeting with Gloria.
Black said, “The only reason anybody meets with Gloria Allred is to work out your media strategy to be sure that you’re on every possible TV show 24 hours a day. Yeah. That’s not a good sign for Tiger Woods that she’s meeting with Gloria Allred cause Gloria is just there for Gloria. She’ll go on every TV show and God only knows what she’ll be selling on those shows."
Gloria Allred’s email response was, “He is talking about something that he knows nothing about. I wonder what his motives may be in making such a statement. Is he upset that Rachel chose my firm to represent her and not him? Is he upset because we choose to represent victims of crime while he has chosen to represent criminals and those accused of crimes? I wonder how he measures success. Does he celebrate if he gets a murderer or a rapist off to walk free on the streets again? He should do what he does best, which is crawling in the gutter to represent the dregs of society.”
Today, Roy knocked the ball back into Gloria’s court – hmmm, maybe we should search for a golf analogy instead – with an email of his own stating, “I have no interest in representing gold diggers (or perhaps I should use the epithet dregs as Gloria does) who want to sell their sordid stories about celebrities and thus Gloria can keep them all. And yes I do represent citizens charged with crimes which is at least an honorable part of the legal profession. Gloria two questions: Why is it every time you represent someone it is in the glare of the TV cameras? How do they know just where to show up to film you?”
See email below:
Law Tigers Tangle Over Woods Mess; Black, Allred Opine
Written by Chris Yandek
Attorney Gloria Allred Attorney Roy Black
On Monday, prominent, Florida Attorney Roy Black spoke with us about the Tiger Woods situation. He also told us why he thinks Rachel Uchitel – who has denied being Tiger’s mistress – reached out to powerhouse, feminist attorney Gloria Allred.
Here is what Black said when I asked him about Attorney Allred and Ms. Uchitel:
CY: It’s been reported by the National Enquirer that Rachel Uchitel is the alleged mistress of Tiger Woods. Earlier this week, Ms. Uchitel met with attorney Gloria Allred. Why do you think she would meet with Gloria Allred at this given point and time?
Roy Black: “The only reason anybody meets with Gloria Allred is to work out your media strategy to be sure that you’re on every possible TV show 24 hours a day.”
CY: Any final thoughts on this matter?
Roy Black: “Yeah. That’s not a good sign for Tiger Woods that she’s meeting with Gloria Allred cause Gloria is just there for Gloria. She’ll go on every TV show and God only knows what she’ll be selling on those shows.”
I touched base with Gloria Allred yesterday, via email, to see what response she might have to what Attorney Black said. Ms. Allred sent me the following, in an email early this morning:
Gloria Allred (via email): “He is talking about something that he knows nothing about. I wonder what his motives may be in making such a statement. Is he upset that Rachel chose my firm to represent her and not him? Is he upset because we choose to represent victims of crime while he has chosen to represent criminals and those accused of crimes? I wonder how he measures success. Does he celebrate if he gets a murderer or a rapist off to walk free on the streets again? He should do what he does best, which is crawling in the gutter to represent the dregs of society.”
See email below:
Michael Lohan: Advice to Rachel Uchitel & Didn’t Tweet, Won’t Dive
Written by Chris Yandek
Listen to the Michael Lohan Interview
The father of Lindsay Lohan says Rachel Uchitel – who has stated that she is not Tiger Woods’s mistress – needs to take things for what they’re worth, not back down and be herself. Michael Lohan tells us that he’d be happy to give Ms. Uchitel advice based on his experience. Father Lohan has been in the media spotlight because of daughter Lindsay, as well as his own doings.
On another note, Michael sets the record straight about allegations he tweeted on his Twitter account saying he was going to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge. Daddy Lohan says someone created a Twitter account in his name, without his authorization. And no, he is not planning to take a dive.
Michael tells us he only has a Facebook page for close friends and is not a member of any other social networking community.
Legal Ace Roy Black On: Tiger Woods, Rachel Uchtiel, Gloria Allred and David Letterman
Written by Chris Yandek
Listen to the Roy Black Interview
Legendary Florida-based attorney Roy Black, who has represented the likes of William Kennedy Smith and Rush Limbaugh, gives his views on the Tiger Woods brouhaha.
Black, who spoke with us about Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton back in July 2007, gives his views on Rachel Uchtiel lawyering up with feminist, powerhouse attorney Gloria Allred. He also draws a comparison between Tiger’s situation and David Letterman’s recent woes.
Shontelle Gets Ready for Thanksgiving Day Performance
Written by Chris Yandek
Listen to the Shontelle Interview
A tribute to the music of Motown will commence in Detroit during halftime of the Thanksgiving Day NFL game between the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions. Some of today’s newest artists on the Universal Motown label including CYInterview.com friend Shontelle Layne will perform the tribute. Over the summer she was the opening act for Beyonce’s tour in the UK and Ireland. Sports halftime shows are legendary and can introduce a performer to millions of new people who’ve never heard or seen their music. Plain and simple, this Barbados artist is going to give it her all.
In the world of broadcasting, some talents take chances and others play it safe. Kenny Mayne is the example of a man who has done everything in his career but follow the historic trend of many of his colleagues at ESPN that he says are funny, but fear showing it because of possible failure.
His unique sense of humor has led to a web series on ESPN.com titled Mayne Street that features him in a fictional portrayal of his real life job at the worldwide leader. In the webisodes, Mayne comes to terms with the highs and lows of being a veteran sports broadcaster. So far celebrities including Ben Stiller, cast members of The Sopranos, Jimmy Kimmel and every ESPN personality you can think of have appeared in the series in one way or another.
During his college years at UNLV, he played quarterback alongside retired NFL star Randall Cunningham of the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings. To set the record, Randall backed up Mayne. Not the other way around. An ankle injury, which he recently just had surgery on for the eight time killed his chances of an NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks.
While working at the local sports level and freelancing for ESPN, Mayne credits his persistence for the position he has today. If ESPN wanted him to go get an interview with an athlete he’d also write the entire story to show what he could do if he was working for ESPN full time. After finally getting hired the rest is history. His biggest victory in 15 years was during an unplanned trip to Philadelphia during the MLB All Star game events to get music legend Stevie Wonder to say, “‘I can’t be at the All Star Game. I have a high ankle sprain.” Kenny still provides his weekly Mayne Event segment during NFL season on the network’s pregame show NFL Live.
For those not following sports, you might remember him as one of the most famous first week exits on ABC’s highly popular Dancing with the Stars. Mayne believes that his dancing instructor wanted them to do too much and that is what cost him an early exit. He now comes back every season to provide a special segment called Dance Center where he talks about the season’s cast. Today, his biggest priority is making sure he’s getting paid every two weeks, if he has a new contract and taking care of his family. You won’t find him watching the generic sporting event on TV on a Tuesday night.
Listen to Shontelle discuss Rihanna and role models
This past week, singing sensation Rihanna spoke with ABC’s Diane Sawyer about what happened between her and ex-boyfriend Chris Brown. The pop star wishes she would’ve never seen Brown after being assaulted by him prior to the 2009 Grammys. The singer expressed regret and disappointment, since she views herself as a role model.
That incident caused the cancellation of Rihanna’s appearance at the awards ceremony and raised questions about her judgment.
I had the opportunity to catch up with Shontelle Layne, an increasingly popular singer from Rihanna’s island homeland of Barbados and a childhood acquaintance of Riri’s. As Shontelle – a friend of CYInterview.com – sees it, celebrities influence society, whether it reflects in the behavior of a million people or just one individual.
The phrase “role model” is one Shontelle believes is something, for better or for worse, that a person in the public eye is tied to; they have a responsibility to live up to that concept. She says Rihanna, who is a few years younger than her, is a very smart girl who is, no doubt, learning and growing from suffering domestic abuse – something that unfortunately touches the lives of many women, each and every day.
Ms. Layne believes, that in the grand scheme of things, there is no denying a person can influence someone else, be it for a brief moment, or even a lifetime; it doesn’t mean, however, they have to be a celebrity.
How many young people will change their views or learn something from what Rihanna said this week? Whatever the case, Shontelle wants to spread positive messages.
RIP Captain Lou Albano: The Interview That Never Was
Written by Chris Yandek
Listen to my brief conversation with Captain Lou Albano from October 2003
Captain Lou Albano was one of the greatest professional wrestlers, managers and entertainers of his era. He collaborated with musician Cyndi Lauper on numerous entertainment projects that would later become known as the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection. On October 24, 2003, I was scheduled to do an interview with Mr. Albano to talk about the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame Dinner on my wrestling radio program at the time.
Much to my disappointment and frustration that you can hear in the conversation, there were some phone and connection issues the evening of the program. I tried speaking up to the wrestling legend but nothing was working. We quickly ended the conversation and I never did get a chance to do that long running interview with him.
Going into my archives today and listening to the short conversation, as brief as our conversation might've been, I do feel fortunate to have spoken to an entertainment legend that is now gone. It is always a hard day for the professional community when one of its stars passes away.
Gloria Allred: L’affaire Polanski – The Polanski Affair
Written by Chris Yandek
Listen to the Gloria Allred interview
A number of Hollywood big shots have signed a petition supporting Academy Award winning director Roman Polanski’s bid to avoid extradition to the U.S. where authorities want him to face the music for a crime he copped a plea to in 1977. Polanski had pled guilty to having sexual intercourse with a minor and, prior to his sentencing, fled the States for Europe.
Perp Polanski – hailed for such movies asRosemary’s Baby, Chinatown and The Pianist – sits in a Swiss pokey as he tries to hokey out of the American extradition request.
The director was the husband of the late actress Sharon Tate. Tate was brutally murdered in the summer of 1969, by followers of Charles Manson. One of the murderers, Susan Atkins, died in a California prison last week.
Polanski, widely recognized for his directorial brilliance, has been lamming it mostly in France. He holds both French and Polish nationalities.
I caught up with top attorney and zealous advocate for women’s rights Gloria Allread – who unbeknownst to many represented Mackenzie Phillips in her divorce and was on Michael Jackson’s enemies list – to get her take on L'affaire Polanski.
Legendary Wrestler Jake The Snake on Linda McMahon
Written by Chris Yandek
Jake Roberts with Chris Yandek at Yandek’s graduation from the University of Florida – August, 2009
We’ve been down this road before with the former governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura. The ex professional wrestling bad guy shocked the world in 1998 when he became governor of the gopher state. Now former WWE CEO Linda McMahon has thrown her hat into the U.S. Senate race in Connecticut.
For many years, Jake the Snake Roberts worked for the WWE as one of the biggest stars professional wrestling has ever seen. He also worked behind the scenes helping to create storylines, with the McMahon family.
Linda McMahon’s announcement to run is no shock to Jake.
“I’ve always thought that one of the McMahon’s would [run for political office].”
Listen to Mya's First Interview Since Being Announced for the cast of Dancing with the Stars
She’s ready for lift off in one of the biggest challenges where many celebrities have come up short. Singer and Actress Mya has joined the cast for the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars. Alongside Donny Osmond, Kathy Ireland and Macy Gray among others, she will have the chance to show the world her progression if she can survive the weekly eliminations.
It was 1998 when Mya released her self-titled debut album. The compilation featured successful singles including It’s All About Me, Movin On and My First Night With You. Fear of Flying would be the singer’s second studio album in 2000. It went certified platinum in 2001 and became a commercial success even though it received mixed reviews.
In 2001, everything came together for herself, Christina Aguilera, Pink and Lil Kim. A collaboration and remake of the song Lady Marmalade for the movie Moulin Rouge along with a music video led to nonstop play on MTV, VH1 and everywhere else you turned. Mya and her fellow female artists ruled the universe. The duo would win numerous MTV awards for the video and a Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.
After all the success with a song America couldn’t stop hearing, Mya crossed over into acting in 2002 with a supporting role in the Academy Award winning movie Chicago and in 2004 with a supporting role in the movie Shall We Dance that started the ballroom dancing craze in America.
In recent years, she has been going through a transition musically in the states. In other parts of the world, she’s released a few Japanese albums. On September 29th, Beauty & The Streets Vol 1 will be released to her fans in the United States.
She’s currently taken up a commitment as a vegetarian, which she says was her resolution for this year and might take it into 2010. Space, the universe and the stars are something she takes great pleasure in whenever she needs to get away from some of the things of everyday life. Her ultimate dream is to travel in space.
In her first interview since being announced as part of the cast of Dancing with the Stars, she notes she’s most concerned about her physical self. Last year she suffered a foot fracture that has made her a little concerned going into the show. She said she’s going to take all the proper precautions during rehearsals. Mya is the woman next door with a yard that is full of kindness, laughs and most importantly in a happy place personally with the stars shining down.
Interviews 
