Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 2, 1991 TAG: 9102020390
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Jim Luce, founder of Fundamentalists Anonymous, denounced Rushdie's decision to not publish a paperback edition of "The Satanic Verses," the book that sent him into hiding in 1989 after Islamic fundamentalists put a price on his head.
"This spineless and shameless capitulation is a serious setback for free speech. It will only encourage more fundamentalist attempts, whether Christian or Islamic, to censor literature and art," Luce said Thursday.
Jimmy Swaggart, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and Oral Roberts are among past recipients of the award.
Fundamentalists Anonymous, which claims to have 26,000 members nationwide, is made up of former fundamentalist adherents.
Shenandoah, the country music band, has filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in Nashvville, Tenn., because of debts arising from three years of trademark litigation over the name.
The five-member group from Muscle Shoals, Ala., is nominated for a Grammy award this year for their song "Ghost in This House."
Bill Carter, manager for the band, said Thursday there are four other acts working under the name "Shenandoah" in the country and lawsuits over the trademark left the band with insurmountable debts.
\ Pat Boone's concert scheduled for last Saturday in Jakarta, Indonesia had to be postponed for an undetermined time because of the Persian Gulf war, the organizer said.
The singer, who was in Hong Kong, advised that the decision to postpone was made following consultations with his manager, Tim Swift, said Ary Sudarsono, president of Apro Ltd., sponsor of the concert.
Sudarsono promised that his company would soon repay those who bought tickets for the concert.
\ John McLaughlin, host of the hourlong cable talk show "McLaughlin," has been signed to a long-term contract.
The agreement with CNBC cable network calls for McLaughlin, one of television's most prominent public affairs commentators, to be host of two episodes per week of "McLaughlin" plus special programming to cover breaking news or major world events, said Andy Friendly, a CNBC vice president.
McLaughlin also is producer and host of "The McLaughlin Group," a weekly public affairs discussion program entering its 10th year, and "John McLaughlin's One on One," a weekly interview program now in its seventh season. Both are seen on public television stations and some NBC affiliates.
CNBC is a joint venture of NBC and Cablevision Systems Corp.
\ Gene Autry was presented with a recently discovered letter written in 1938 saying he had no future in Hollywood.
The letter, by producer Al Levoy, was found in the Republic Pictures archives. It said the young Autry needed to improve his acting, that a preliminary acting course was "evidently wasted" and that the actor needed darker makeup to "give him the appearance of virility."
"A lot of that is true," the 83-year-old Autry said. "I got better as I went along. I couldn't get any worse."
Autry went on to become one of Republic's biggest stars. He starred in 93 motion pictures, including "South of the Border" in 1939, "The Last Roundup" in 1947 and "Riders in the Sky" in 1949.
by CNB