In this Wednesday, June 21, 2006, file photo, Bill Wittliff, a writer, photographer and producer, poses with some of his collection in his office in Austin, Texas. Wittliff, a prolific screenwriter who co-wrote the script for the 1989 miniseries “Lonesome Dove,” died Sunday, June 9, 2019, at the age of 79. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) --
Bill Wittliff, a prolific screenwriter who co-wrote the script for the 1989 miniseries "Lonesome Dove," has died at the age of 79.
His death was announced by Texas State University, where Wittliff had founded The Wittliff Collections with his wife, lawyer Sally Wittliff. Collections Music Curator Hector Saldana tells The Hollywood Reporter that Wittliff died Sunday of a heart attack.
Besides "Lonesome Dove," Wittliff was the writer and director of the 1986 film "Red Headed Stranger," shared screenplay credit on the 1979 film "The Black Stallion" and 1994's "The Legends of the Fall," and wrote the screenplays for the 1981 film "Raggedy Man" and 2000's "The Perfect Storm."
In a statement on the Collections' website, University President Denise Trauth called Wittliff and "inspiration" and "a Texas State hero."
Cynthia Erivo attends the National Board of Review Awards gala at Cipriani 42nd Street on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
Cynthia Erivo, who is starring in the hit musical "Wicked," was named Tuesday as the 2025 Woman of the Year by Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals.
The theater group, which dates to 1844 and claims to be the world's third-oldest still operating, said Erivo will receive her Pudding Pot award at a celebratory roast Feb. 5. Afterward, she will attend a performance of Hasty Pudding Theatricals' 176th production, "101 Damnations." Actor Jon Hamm, who came to fame starring as ad executive Don Draper on the AMC series "Mad Men," is the 2025 Man of the Year. He will receive his Pudding Pot Jan. 31.
"We are holding space for Cynthia Erivo's arrival," Man and Woman of the Year Events Coordinator Hannah Frazer said in a statement. "We're sweeping out our broomstick closets and prepping some wicked smart humor as we eagerly await her in February. Before she flies off with her Pudding Pot, she'll have to work a little magic to earn it."
Along with starirng in the smash hit musical, the British entertainer is a two-time Oscar nominee and an Emmy Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award winner.
Erivo burst onto the scene with her brilliant performance in the Broadway revival of "The Color Purple." winning her the 2016 Tony for best actress in a musical. She performed songs from the play on the "Today" show, earning the Daytime Emmy for outstanding music performance in a daytime program. And the show's soundtrack won best musical theater album at the 2017 Grammys.
Last year, Erivo starred in and produced "Drift," which follows a young Liberian refugee who has escaped her war-torn country to a Greek island. In 2021, Erivo was nominated for an Emmy for her portrayal of Aretha Franklin in the National Geographic series "Genius:... Read More
