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Prince died earlier today (April 21) at age 57 at his Paisley Park home and studiO

  Prince died earlier today (April 21) at age 57 at his Paisley Park home and studio, according to TMZ.   TMZ reported earlier that police had been investigating a fatality there. Gone But Not Forgotten: In Memoriam 2016 Prince was hospitalized last week after his plane for was forced to make an emergency landing in Moline, Ill. Released a few hours later, a rep told TMZ that he had been battling a bad case of the flu. One of the most iconic musicians in music history, Prince's extensive career grew out of the music scene of his native Minneapolis, where he lived his entire life. His 1978 debut album For You and self-titled second LP, released in October 1979, kicked off an incredibly prolific run of albums that included 1999, Purple Rain, Around The World In A Day, Sign O The Times and Batman, among others, throughout the 1980s at a clip of nearly one per year, evolving with each release.     It was 1984's Purple Rain -- his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 -- released in conjunction with the film of the same name, that cemented him as one of the greatest artists of his generation, earning him two Grammys, and Oscar and a victory over Michael Jackson's Thriller for Favorite Pop/Rock Album at the 1985 American Music Awards. Along the way, he worked with several bands under a series of pseudonyms, including The Time, the New Power Generation and The Revolution, as both frontman and producer.     Prince was also known for his eponymous Love Symbol, created in protest against his longtime record label Warner Bros., under which he released an album in 1992. His 18th and final album for the label, 1996's Chaos and Disorder, finally released him from his contract.     As a recording artist, Prince was legendary for his prolific and perfectionist nature which allowed him to release a steady slew of material as he experimented in the studio; as a result, unreleased b-sides and bootlegs have become highly sought-after collectibles for die-hard fans, and his infamous "vault" of recordings has become the stuff of legend. Yet he was also truly transcendent as a performer, regularly stretching his shows beyond the three-hour mark and showcasing his stunning guitar work, which became an underrated part of his legacy, often overshadowed by his iconic singing voice and abilities as a songwriter and bandleader.     Over his 35-plus-year career, he released 39 solo studio albums and never stopped releasing new material; since September 2014, he put out four new full-length records with his latest band, 3rd Eye Girl, continuously experimenting with psychedelic rock and intergalactic funk. Story developing

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Gene Wilder Biography Author, Actor, Comedian (1933–)

Synopsis

Gene Wilder began his movie career in 1967's Bonnie and Clyde, but he became famous as a favorite of writer/director Mel Brooks. His wacky roles in films such as Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory made him an unforgettable comedy icon. In his later years, Wilder has become a serious novelist, writing a memoir and several novels.

Early Life

Gene Wilder was born Jerome Silberman in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on June 11, 1933, to a Jewish family. His father, William, had emigrated from Russia. His mother, Jeanne, was often ill from complications from rheumatic heart disease, and a doctor warned the 8-year-old Jerome, "Don't ever argue with your mother... you might kill her. Try to make her laugh." These circumstances began Wilder's lifelong calling to acting, as he made his mother laugh by putting on different accents. After a brief stint in a California military academy, Wilder moved back to Milwaukee and became involved with the local theater scene, making his stage debut as Balthasar in a production of Romeo and Juliet. After graduating from high school, Wilder studied communication and theater arts at the University of Iowa, following that with a year studying theater and fencing at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, United Kingdom. He returned to the United States to study the Stanislavski method of acting but was promptly drafted into the U.S. Army for two years, during which time he worked as a medic in Pennsylvania. Next, Wilder moved to New York City, where he took a variety of odd jobs, including a position as a fencing teacher, to support himself while he studied acting.

Early Career

At age 26, Wilder decided that he "couldn't quite see a marquee reading 'Jerry Silberman as Macbeth'" and took the stage name Gene Wilder. He took his new first name from a character in a Thomas Wolfe novel, and his last from the playwright Thornton Wilder. He started appearing with some regularity in off-Broadway and Broadway shows. In a 1963 production ofMother Courage and Her Children, he met Anne Bancroft, who introduced him to her boyfriend, Mel Brooks. Wilder and Brooks became fast friends, and Brooks decided he wanted to cast Wilder in a production of the screenplay he was writing, The Producers.

Film Career

Wilder made his film debut with a minor role in 1967's Bonnie and Clyde. He took on his first major role in The Producers, playing Leo Bloom against Zero Mostel's Max Bialystock. The film was a box office flop and received mixed reviews, but Wilder earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He quickly became an in-demand commodity in Hollywood, taking parts in several comedies, including the idiosyncratic title character inWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

Willy Wonka brought to life the weird and wild Roald Dahl book of the same name, and it thoroughly established Gene Wilder as a leading man who could hold his own in any comedic situation. As the enigmatic Wonka, Wilder chewed the scenery right into a Golden Glove nomination for best actor and became known to a legion of young film-goers.

Despite Wilder's personal success, though, none of his films of this period met with much commercial success. He finally broke that streak with a role in Woody Allen's 1972 film Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask). He then took a last-minute role in Mel Brooks' 1974 comedy Blazing Saddles, a decision that would help define his career.

Blazing Saddles was a western like no other, and it set out to offend every viewer equally. Now a cult classic, the movie set Wilder on a path through his other classic films, including four with Richard Pryor: Silver Streak (1976), Stir Crazy (1980), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) and Another You (1991).

Stir Crazy, in which Wilder and Pryor played prison inmates, was a notable hit, and like Blazing Saddles before it, the film helped to cement Wilder's reputation as a comedy legend.

Wilder began writing and starring in more films in 1974, starting with Young Frankenstein (in which he played Dr. Frederick Frankenstein). Like Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein set out to turn an established genre, this time horror, on its head. Starring Wilder as the infamous Dr. Frankenstein's grandson, the movie is unrelenting in its jokes and sight gags, and audiences have been connecting with it since the day it hit theaters.

Wilder also wrote, directed and starred in 1975's The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother and 1977's The World's Greatest Lover. WhileYoung Frankenstein was a hit and achieved a huge cult following, the others failed to gain positive critical response and were commercially unsuccessful.

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Tim Curry appearance after suffering stroke

Tim Curry makes rare public appearance after suffering stroke as he accepts Lifetime Achievement Award at Tony Awards party

Nearly three years ago actor Tim Curry suffered a stroke that continues to affect his speech.

But despite the health woes, the 69-year-old was in good spirits as he was honored with The Actors Fund Lifetime Achievement Award on Sunday at the Tony Awards Viewing Party in Los Angeles.

Speaking to Los Angeles magazine, he said that he has been 'doing well' and was 'looking forward' to receiving the honor.

Honored: Tim Curry made a rare public appearance as he was honored with The Actors Fund Lifetime Achievement Award on Sunday at the Tony Awards Viewing Party in Los Angeles

'I’ve done a few benefits for the Actors Fund and I think it’s a marvelous organization. I hope not to have to use it,' the acclaimed character actor quipped.

The Actors Fund provides assistance with the cost and arrangements of funerals and burials.

And it is the Legend star's sense of humor that has helped helped him to remain optimistic since his July 2012 stroke when he collapsed at his Los Angeles home.

Acclaim: The character actor received a Tony nomination in 1981 for his role as Mozart in Amadeus

'It’s not tough to maintain,' he explained. 'It is just part of my DNA.'

The magazine noted that his 'speech is slowed a bit.'

In December last year, he made an appearance for a Christmas Eve dinner at Ago restaurant in Los Angeles with a friend, who pushed the It actor in a wheelchair.

Tim is best known for his role as the brilliantly mad transvestite scientist Dr Frank N Furter in the The Rocky Horror Show.

He first starred in the original 1973 London production, and continued to play the part on Broadway before playing the same character in the 1975 film.

On the role that catapulted him to stardom, he told Los Angeles magazine that he looks at the film's success 'with a sort of bemused tolerance.'

He continued: 'It’s neither a blessing nor a curse. I was lucky to get it.'

For many years he rarely discussed the movie, fearing he would be typecast.

Tim recalled opening night during his Broadway debut in The Rocky Horror Picture Show as 'very exciting' but found its critics to be far too harsh.

'I had to go on the Today Show the next day and they read the reviews - which were appalling,' he explained. 'That brought me down. It was very cruel.'

The reviews described his performance as ‘a mixture of Joan Crawford and Burt Lancaster’ and ‘Mick Jagger, David Bowie and Marc Bolan all in one.'

However, he won over the Broadway community in 1981 when he was nominated for a Tony Award for the lead role in the play Amadeus.

'It was a brilliant play and a terrific production. And a wonderful part,' he said of portraying Mozart.

'The big problem is not to make him as loony as he is, but to make him sympathetic as well.'

Between 2004 and 2007 he played King Arthur in the Monty Python musical Spamalot on stage in Chicago, Broadway and the West End.

Some of his stage credits include What About Dick? My Favorite Year and Travesties, among others.

In 2011 he was scheduled to appear in Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead, however he withdrew from the production at the last minute citing ill health.

Meanwhile, at the viewing party, the veteran actor arrived in a black suit and was seated in a wheelchair.

He joins Theodore Bikel, Alfred Molina and Joe Morton as recipients of the same lifetime achievement award.

'It means that it just sort of solidifies the kind of work the American acting community has given me for years now,' he said of the honor.

'It’s very gracious of them, I think. I was thrilled when they told me and I am thrilled now.'

When asked what life would be like for him if it reflected the theater, he said: 'Scary. Well the theater is scary. And the longer the time in between the periods in the theater, the scarier it gets.

Adding: 'Life isn’t meant to be scary. It’s to be celebratory. In which case, it would be like the theater. I think of that as a celebration of life.'