Author: business

Dolly Parton is speaking after the death of her husband.

In a statement posted Thursday on Instagram, the country music legend thanked fans for their support in the days since husband Carl Thomas Dean died at age 82.

“This is a love note to family, friends, and fans,” Parton wrote. “Thank you for all the messages, cards, and flowers that you’ve sent to pay your respects for the loss of my beloved husband Carl. I can’t reach out personally to each of you but just know it has meant the world to me.”

She closed, “He is in God’s arms now and I am okay with that. I will always love you.”

Parton shared news of her husband’s death on Monday. On her social media channels, the “9 to 5” singer said she and Dean “spent many wonderful years together,” and “words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years,” adding, “Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”

Dolly Parton’s husband, Carl Dean, dead at 82: ‘Words can’t do justice’

Parton and Dean, an asphalt paver, married in 1966. They did not share any children.

Dean was notoriously private during his marriage to Parton, rarely appearing with her in public. According to her 1994 autobiography “Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business,” he declared after attending an awards show with her in 1966, “I love you, and I will support you in your career any way I can, but I am not going to any more of these wingdings.”

But Parton spoke about her husband in interviews, and she told Knox News, part of the USA TODAY Network, in 2024, “There’s always that safety, that security, that strength. He’s a good man, and we’ve had a good life and he’s been a good husband.”

Dolly Parton’s rare quotes on husband Carl Dean – plus what she said just before his death

Dean also helped birth “Jolene,” one of Parton’s most famous songs. She told NPR in 2008 that the track was inspired by a bank teller who was flirting with her husband after they got married.

“She got this terrible crush on my husband,” Parton said. “And he just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention. It was kinda like a running joke between us — when I was saying, ‘Hell, you’re spending a lot of time at the bank. I don’t believe we’ve got that kind of money.’ So it’s really an innocent song all around, but sounds like a dreadful one.”

Contributing: Edward Segarra and Devarrick Turner

Paramount’s hugely popular series “Yellowstone” wrapped up in December in a finale described as “bloody but happy” by USA TODAY’s Bryan Alexander.

The highly anticipated finale drew 11.4 million viewers, according to data released by the Paramount Network.

While the makers managed to tie loose ends in the final episode of Season 5, the future of “Yellowstone” is still somewhat unknown. Multiple reports have suggested that the series will continue with a Rip and Beth-focused spinoff, though Paramount, creator Taylor Sheridan, and none of the actors have confirmed whether the series will be returning.

“Yellowstone” chronicles the Dutton family, owners of the largest ranch in the U.S., led by John Dutton, who was played by Kevin Costner before his departure before Season 5’s Part 2. The series, which has become one of the most popular shows on TV in recent years, follows the family as they battle to maintain the land, “amid shifting alliances, unsolved murders and open wounds,” according to Paramount. While the core show consists of five seasons, its popularity sparked a whole universe with spinoff prequels like 1883 and 1923.

The second half of Season 5 consists of six episodes that follow the Dutton family as they face “new challenges in the aftermath of a tragedy that rocks them to their foundations and creates a dangerous power vacuum in the state of Montana,” notes NBC.

If you’ve been planning to binge Season 5 Part 2 of “Yellowstone,” here’s what to know.

When will ‘Yellowstone’ Season 5, Part 2 be available on streaming?

According to NBC, the second part of Season 5 will be available to stream exclusively on Peacock beginning Sunday, March 16. All five seasons of the series will be available to watch on the streaming platform.

New episodes were aired on television only and were not released on Paramount’s streaming service, Paramount+, or on Peacock. Under streaming agreements, “Yellowstone” is available exclusively on Peacock. Paramount previously sold streaming rights to the series, which debuted in 2018, to Peacock, prior to the launch of Paramount+ in 2021.

Where to stream ‘Yellowstone’ prequels ‘1923’ and ‘1883’?

The prequel spinoff series “1883” and “1923” are available to stream on Paramount+.

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at [email protected].

The investigation into the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa continued Thursday, over a week after their bodies were discovered at a New Mexico estate shared by the couple.

Officials at the Santa Fe sheriff’s department declined to share an update Wednesday but did announce a joint press conference with the state’s medical investigator and department of health offices, set to take place Friday.

Hackman and Arakawa were discovered dead on Feb. 26, alongside one of their dogs. As Hollywood poured out with messages of mourning for the legendary actor, troubling details began to emerge surrounding his death.

Tough guy, everyman. Gene Hackman pursued anonymity and a private artist life in Santa Fe

Data from Hackman’s pacemaker indicated that he may have died more than a week before he was found, the Sheriff’s Office reported, while a search warrant revealed Arakawa was found in an open bathroom near a space heater, with an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on the nearby countertop. 

Santa Fe Fire Chief Brian Moya told Fox News digital Wednesday that it is likely the couple died within a close timeframe. “Both bodies are in a similar manner, that it could be a similar timeframe,” he said.  

The sheriff’s department also originally misidentified the dog found deceased alongside the couple. On Monday, USA TODAY confirmed that while a previous report had stated a German shepherd had been found, that dog was in fact safe while one of the other pair’s canines − a 12-year-old reddish Australian Kelpie named Zinna − was the pet that had been found dead.

Hollywood news to know now: Sign up for USA TODAY’s Entertainment newsletter.

Gene Hackman nephew speaks out

As authorities have struggled to cobble together a timeline, Hackman’s family is trying to stay away from conjecture.

“We’re waiting on toxicology. That will tell us everything,” the actor’s nephew, Tim Hackman, told Us Weekly Tuesday. “It’s hard to theorize. There are lots of theories out there and I don’t want to speculate. It’s easy to speculate negative theories.”

“The family wants to keep it positive for now and when we know the truth we will deal with it.”

In a statement to USA TODAY last week, Hackman’s daughters – Elizabeth and Leslie Hackman – and granddaughter Annie said they were “devastated by the loss.”

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy,” they said. “He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa. We will miss him sorely.”

‘Villains are always the best roles’: Best quotes from late Actor Gene Hackman

Gene Hackman’s quiet life in Santa Fe

In the final years of his life, Hackman retreated alongside Arakawa to a quiet life in Santa Fe. Joining a rich community of artists, the Oscar-winning talent honed his painting and writing skills and wove himself into the fabric of the community.

He and Arakawa, an accomplished pianist, settled into a home just a few miles north of the city, rebuilt from the studs to blend Santa Fe’s classic styles with a twist of their own artistic flare.

As fans and family alike await more details, authorities have already ruled out a gas leak, and noted that while the circumstances do appear “suspicious,” there is “no foul play” suspected at this time.

Contributing: USA TODAY Entertainment staff

Producers of “Hamilton,” the hugely popular musical created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, have canceled a planned 2026 engagement at the Kennedy Center, citing the “recent purge” by the Trump administration of the center’s leadership.

In a statement from producer Jeffrey Seller released on Wednesday afternoon, the Lin-Manuel Miranda-penned musical announced that a third engagement of the show’s national tour, set for March 3 to April 26, 2026, would be canceled.

Among the shows recently canceled by the Kennedy Center are the children’s musical “Finn” and an appearance by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington. Both will appear as part of a Stars in the House fundraiser in New York City on March 17.

“The recent purge by the Trump Administration of both professional staff and performing arts events at or originally produced by the Kennedy Center flies in the face of everything this national cultural center represents,” Seller’s statement reads.

“The spirit of nonpartisanship ended on February 7, 2025, with the firing of Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter, the Chairman of the Board David Rubenstein, and numerous other Kennedy Center board members, as well as the cancellation of important programming.”

Trump presidency: President Trump preps executive order to dismantle Education Department

The Kennedy Center leadership shakeup

President Donald Trump announced last month a massive overhaul at the Kennedy Center that included the termination of multiple board of trustees members, including Chairman David Rubenstein. And Trump named Rubenstein’s replacement: himself.

The reason for the changes, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post last month, was the center’s decision to host drag show performances at its venue.

“THIS WILL STOP,” Trump wrote.

“The Kennedy Center is an American Jewel, and must reflect the brightest STARS on its stage from all across our Nation,” he continued. “For the Kennedy Center, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!”

Kennedy Center under President Donald Trump as chairman

President Donald Trump took over the Kennedy Center as its chaiman after firing several board members.

In his statement, Seller said the show “cannot, in good conscience, participate and be a part of this new culture that is being imposed on the Kennedy center,” while adding that “Hamilton” was performed at the Kennedy Center in 2018 during Trump’s first term in office.

“We are not acting against his administration, but against the partisan policies of the Kennedy Center as a result of his recent takeover,” Seller’s statement reads.

The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to a USA TODAY request for comment.

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New Kennedy Center leadership hits back at ‘Hamilton’ producers

Richard Grenell, the interim president of the Kennedy Center, hit back at Seller and Miranda on social media Wednesday.

“Seller and @Lin_Manuel first went to the New York Times before they came to the Kennedy Center with their announcement that they can’t be in the same room with Republicans,” Grenell said on X. “This is a publicity stunt that will backfire.”

“The Arts are for everyone – not just for the people who Lin likes and agrees with,” Grenell’s statement continued. “The American people need to know that @Lin_Manuel is intolerant of people who don’t agree with him politically. It’s clear he and Sellers don’t want Republicans going to their shows.”

“Americans see you, Lin,” Grenell’s statement concluded.

Let’s be clear on the facts.

Seller and @Lin_Manuel first went to the New York Times before they came to the Kennedy Center with their announcement that they can’t be in the same room with Republicans.

This is a publicity stunt that will backfire.

The Arts are for everyone -… https://t.co/K56LjofULp

— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) March 5, 2025

Contributing: Savannah Kuchar, USA TODAY

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at [email protected].

• On Tuesday, Steve Carell surprised hundreds of California high school students, promising free prom tickets, paid for by Virginia charity Alice’s Kids.
• Alice’s Kids provides anonymous financial assistance to children, K-12, across the country.
• Alice’s Kids will pay for the prom tickets of about 800 seniors at six Altadena high schools.

Steve Carell surprised hundreds of high schoolers this week by promising free prom tickets to those affected by the California wildfires.

“Attention all seniors. This is Steve Carell with a very special announcement,” the actor said in a video projected in six high school auditoriums throughout Altadena, California on Tuesday.

“I work with a wonderful charity … Alice’s Kids, and Alice’s Kids wanted me to let you know that they will be paying for all of your prom tickets, and if you’ve already paid for your prom tickets, they will reimburse you,” the actor said.

Alice’s Kids will pay for the prom tickets of about 800 seniors at six high schools in Altadena, according to Alice’s Kids founder and executive director Ronald “Ron” Fitzsimmons. He estimated that Alice’s Kids will donate about $175,000 in total.

Watch as students get the news:

Based in Virginia, Alice’s Kids is a nonprofit that provides anonymous financial assistance to children in need across the country. Teachers, social workers, guidance counselors, police officers and other officials may request a grant through Alice’s Kids for the needs, or even the wants, of a child. Alice’s Kids has funded new glasses, sporting equipment and GED exam fees, Fitzsimmons told USA TODAY.

Alice’s Kids most often works with one student at a time, but over the years, the nonprofit has given group donations. For example, after the EF4 tornado that hit western Kentucky in 2021, Alice’s Kids donated 100 Walmart gift cards to graduating seniors at an affected high school.

Following the wildfires that raged through California earlier this year, Fitzsimmons knew he wanted to help in some way. The Eaton Fire, specifically, tore through more than 14,000 acres in Los Angeles County. The six schools Alice’s Kids is working with remain standing, but students who attend the schools may have lost their homes.

Fitzsimmons said he made phone calls to schools in the affected areas and was told they were overwhelmed with charitable donations.

“That’s when I thought, ‘Well, let’s do something later on. Later on, all the charities will be gone. The kids who are seniors will be going off somewhere,’” Fitzsimmons said. “So that’s when I thought, ‘What can we do to lift them a little bit in a few months from now?’”

“That’s when the idea of prom tickets came up.”

Steve Carell’s connection to Alice’s Kids

About seven years ago, Alice’s Kids received a “very generous donation” from Nancy Carell, Steve’s wife, Fitzsimmons said.

“I looked at it and it just didn’t register to me. I passed it along to my finance person and she called back and she’s like, ‘Ron, do you know who that donation’s from?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, Nancy Carell?’ And before she said it I went, ‘Oh my god.’ She said, ‘That’s Steve’s wife,’” Fitzsimmons recalled.

About two years after the initial donation, Fitzsimmons was planning a trip to Los Angeles and asked Nancy if she and Steve would be available to meet for lunch, to finally meet in person. They made it happen.

Over the years, Fitzsimmons has kept in regular contact with Nancy.

Fitzsimmons said he doesn’t like to ask a lot of Steve, as he knows he’s a busy guy, but after learning that high school students are fans of “The Office,” in which Carell plays the lead, Michael Scott, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to ask if he’d be interested in helping share the news.

Within 10 minutes of asking Nancy if Steve would be interested, she responded with a yes. And the next day, Fitzsimmons had the video.

Funding coming soon, director says

Details on how the high schools will receive the funding will be ironed out the coming weeks, Fitzsimmons said.

High schools receiving funding include John Muir High School, Aveson Global Leadership Academy, Blair High School, Marshall Fundamental Secondary School, Pasadena High School and Rose City High School.

How does Alice’s Kids work?

Alice’s Kids serves children grades kindergarten through 12th grade and only receives grant requests from professionals who work directly with children, not requests from the general public.

In 2024, Alice’s Kids helped more than 10,000 children in need, Fitzsimmons said.

When the nonprofit receives a completed request form, available on the Alice’s Kids website, a team member then reviews the request. If the request is for a gift card donation, Fitzsimmons said a gift card is typically sent out within 48 hours or less of the request coming in. On average, Alice’s Kids receives about 800 requests per month, he added.

Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at [email protected].

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The GoFundMe page reportedly obtained more than $12,000 in donations before being taken down.

A fake GoFundMe created following Grammy-nominated singer Angie Stone’s death has been taken down and its organizer has been banned from any future fundraising, the for-profit crowdfunding platform confirmed.

The GoFundMe claiming to “Support Angie Stone’s Legacy After Tragic Loss” was taken down, but not before it fraudulently obtained more than $12,000 in donations, TMZ reported. Stone died in a car crash early Saturday near Montgomery, Alabama at the age of 63.

In a statement emailed to USA TODAY on Thursday, a GoFundMe spokesperson said, “The fundraiser has been removed from the platform, all donations have been refunded, and the organizer has been banned from any future fundraising.

“At no point did the organizer have access to any of the donations. GoFundMe has zero tolerance for the misuse of our platform and takes swift action against those who seek to take advantage of the generosity of our community,” the statement continued.

According to the GoFundMe spokesperson, “cases of misuse are rare,” nonetheless, donors and beneficiaries are fully protected by the platform’s “Giving Guarantee.” GoFundMe is also closely monitoring its platform for any other fundraisers related to Stone’s death and will subsequently remove them if they violate terms of service, the statement reads.

More entertainment news: ‘Hamilton’ producers cancel shows at Kennedy Center after Trump administration takeover

What happened to Angie Stone?

While traveling from Mobile, Alabama to Atlanta on Saturday, the van Stone and her band members were in collided with a semi-truck on Interstate 65 five miles south of Montgomery, Lt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency told USA TODAY.

The Mercedes Benz Sprinter flipped over on the road before it collided with the truck, Burkett said. Stone, who was a passenger in the van, was declared dead at the scene, he added.

The other eight passengers of the van were injured and taken to hospitals for treatment, according to Burkett.

“Never in a million years did we ever expect to get this horrible news. Our mom is and will always be our everything. We are still trying to process and are completely heartbroken,” Stone’s children, Diamond Stone and Michael Archer, said in a statement shared by her label, the SRG-ILS Group.

Stone had performed at a Mardi Gras event in Mobile, Alabama on Friday night, the Mobile-Area Mardi Gras Association said on Facebook.

Angie Stone honored by Beyoncé, Tyler Perry and more

Stone’s death left a lot of people mourning, including her close friends, family and her peers. One of them, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, paid tribute to Stone with a message on her website.

“Thank you for your voice, your strength, and your artistry. Your incredible legacy will live on forever. Rest in peace, Angie Stone,” Beyoncé’s official site now reads.

In addition to being musical peers, Stone and Beyoncé were co-stars in the 2003 film “The Fighting Temptations.”

Other high-profile celebrities, singers, entertainers and figures honored Stone following her death, including Tyler Perry, Jennifer Hudson, Sherri Shepherd, Rev. Bernice King, Rickey Smiley and Patrice Lovely.

“When I write a movie, I usually choose an artist to listen to that helps me see the world I’m creating,” Perry said in a Facebook post. “I’ve always loved Angie and her music… I don’t know what’s going on with so many people leaving this planet, but what I do know is that death is a door that we all will face one day. And I pray that my life has touched folks the way she touched so many.”

Contributing: Jay Cannon and Caché McClay/ USA TODAY & Shannon Heupel/ Montgomery Advertiser

Spring has come early in Barcelona. Perched on a balcony overlooking Passeig de Gràcia, I watch as Casa Batlló, Gaudí’s 1904 organic Art Nouveau masterpiece, comes alive with green shoots, bright blossoms and blooms. All digital, algorithmic, new growth. Quayola, an Italian contemporary artist who works with new technology, has mapped “Arborescent” — which he describes as a “digital tribute to nature” — on to the facade. It’s an artwork on an artwork that was once a family home. “I wanted to use the facade as a gate to somewhere else,” says Quayola. The 10-minute projection features various tree species spread across Gaudí’s skeletal framework of stone balconies and mosaics, to a pounding soundtrack. Waves of smartphones sparkle on the street below.  

A number of curators, custodians and communities have recently been reminding us of the multi-faceted value of turning houses into canvases. But how does it change the tenor of the building? And the area? And what do residents make of it? Especially if the art is here today and gone tomorrow. 

In Barcelona, the Batllós are long gone. But in 1993, when this Unesco World Heritage site was bought by its current owners, the Bernat family, two elderly sitting tenants were still living on the third floor (the last one passed away in 2019). They were profoundly unimpressed by the transformation of the building into a museum — and tourist attraction drawing more than a million visitors a year. “Living at Casa Batlló is noisy,” acknowledges Gary Gautier, chief executive of the cultural institution. “You’re going through a gate with a flood of people. It’s not comfortable to live in a place that has become a museum or a monument.” 

Gautier says that since the museum’s most recent renovations, which began in 2018, it has collaborated with artists from different disciplines, both popular and avant-garde, who “share Gaudí’s innovative, humanistic and visionary mindset” to create interactive and immersive experiences.

This external projection takes those experiences to a broader audience: over two evenings, it draws 110,000 visitors. Previous editions have seen the building mapped by Refik Anadol in 2022 and 2023, and Sofia Crespo in 2024. In 2022, an NFT (non-fungible token) work of Anadol’s mapping “Living Architecture: Casa Batlló” sold at Christie’s for $1.38mn. Regular annual projects are planned.

Iconic murals and graffiti are to millennials what the blue plaque was to boomers

The scale and prominence of a house is increasingly alluring for artists as the popularity of public art — and outdoor murals — grows. Banksy, the pseudonymous icon of British graffiti who has been celebrating (or exploiting) buildings as canvases since the 1990s, “rarely paints on a private home, but when he does, he goes big. It is as though he has seen a ‘canvas’ so tempting he just can’t resist,” says Will Ellsworth-Jones, author of Banksy’s Lost Works, a new survey of the artist’s works that have been destroyed or removed. 

Banksy’s work presents a curious conundrum for the art world: “First, the wall of a house is an enormous piece of art for anyone to want to buy,” says Ellsworth-Jones. “Second, Banksy will not authenticate it, because he thinks his pieces should stay in context, where he painted them.” The latter speaks to the power of a house as a canvas — in situ. Out of context, what are they? “The two biggest walls which have been taken down, a ‘battered wife’ in Margate and a ‘hungry seagull’ in Lowestoft, are still for sale,” says Ellsworth-Jones — “the Margate piece [“Valentine’s Day Mascara”] for an ambitious £6mn and Lowestoft with an asking price of £3.5mn.”

Paintings on properties are often caught in a push-pull between capitalism and altruism, but “a well-placed, well-loved mural can shift perceptions of an entire neighbourhood”, says Lee Bofkin, chief executive of advertising agency Global Street Art, which organises the London Mural Festival. The event launched in 2020 and this September presents some 100 artworks on buildings across the city. “The main challenge is getting buy-in from the people who live there. If the landlords aren’t on board, it’s a non-starter. And even if the landlords are on board in principle, they still need to be comfortable with the artist and artwork.”

Often, there are more stakeholders, such as residents’ associations and local councils. “The overall level of consultation can vary widely,” says Bofkin. “But trusted local champions can streamline the process.” Councils and housing associations are increasingly open to murals as a way of shifting perceptions of neighbourhoods, Bofkin notes. 

In west London, a street art initiative called Acton Unframed is turning the walls of homes into features that foster social and commercial regeneration. One such is a bold, geometric piece created by abstract painter Remi Rough on a block of flats at the end of Goldsmith Avenue. “We often see people taking selfies, pictures or just looking at it,” says Fidel Angueira, a resident. “It is a dynamic splash of colour in the community.” The avenue was recently chosen by a national newspaper as one of the 50 best streets to live on in Britain. 

On the other side of London, the Hackney Peace Carnival Mural on Dalston Lane celebrates 40 years. Designed by muralist Ray Walker in 1983, and unveiled in 1985, the artwork features Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela marching for peace alongside local workers and landmarks. Restored around a decade ago, it celebrates the Greater London Council’s (GLC) Peace Year and was funded by Hackney Council, the GLC and Tony Banks MP. Like many long-standing, much-loved public murals, its message is one of unity and togetherness. 

“Iconic murals and graffiti are to millennials what the blue plaque was to boomers,” says Becky Fatemi, executive partner at Sotheby’s International Realty. They add cultural kudos and value, symbols of not just the artistic vibrancy of a community, but its street level, publicly shared beating heart. 

Many murals such as this are preserved and protected. But many aren’t. In Berlin — that lodestar of graffiti — works can disappear overnight. But the erasure of an artwork can be an expression in itself. Ellsworth-Jones notes that Banksy is uncertain whether his art is “the graffiti or the events that unfold around it”.

Last year, The Banksy Museum opened in New York, the city where murals have long become a celebrated part of the urban landscape. Other British street artists are also generating buzz: Stik has created several monumental works, the most high profile of which was “Migrant”, a figure standing seven stories tall on the corner of Allen and Delancey Streets on an apartment block on the Lower East Side; a collaboration with the city’s Tenement Museum — now since painted over.

Conversely, London-based French artist Camille Walala’s 40-metre-high graphic mural, titled “Pop City”, on an early 20th-century building in Brooklyn, was commissioned for the 2018 NYC Design festival — and has stayed.

For developers, murals can be a way of engaging community support for a project. US company WXLLSPACE connects organisations, communities and property developers with mural artists. In Queens, it orchestrated the transformation of the side of an apartment block in Rego Park into “Lionheart”, a vast mural by Sonny “Sundancer” Behan. The work was the result of a partnership with the non-profit housing developer Westhab. 

In London, as part of the 8-acre Camden Goods Yard development, adjacent to Camden Market — a project that will bring 644 new homes to the area — St George (part of Berkeley Group) commissioned a mural by Mr Doodle, an artist known for his “graffiti spaghetti” style, for the Regent’s Park Road footbridge. The 2024 mural — a composition of doodled characters, objects and patterns — was completed in partnership with Camden Council and Network Rail. “This new mural will bring joy to the residents of Camden Goods Yard and all who pass the bridge each day,” says Marcus Blake, managing director of St George. 

Joy is often the MO. Another figure who embraced the creative potential of walls was Tove Jansson, the Finnish creator of the Moomins. A new exhibition, In Tove Jansson: Paradise, currently showing at Helsinki Art Museum, brings the artist’s fantastical murals to the fore. A 1934 snapshot of 19-year-old Jansson pictures her painting a mural on the outside of her uncle’s apartment in Velbert, West Germany.

In a letter to a friend, the artist describes how she added details according to the wishes of family members: “If they want a parrot, voilà, they get a parrot. If they ask for a pond, or a rosebush — ha! I conjure it all like magic!” The mural’s fate is unknown. It might have been demolished or painted over, or perhaps someone in Velbert enjoys their breakfast under a forgotten 20th-century masterpiece. 

Artworks on buildings are tantalising, ephemeral. Gautier at Casa Batlló suggests that the transient quality of digital mappings only adds to their mystique. But a more permanent work that resonates will be embraced and protected, says Bofkin. “That is what makes murals on residential buildings special: they are not just for the city; they are for the people who wake up and see them every day.”

Find out about our latest stories first — follow @ft_houseandhome on Instagram

Pamela Bach, an actress who appeared on “Baywatch” and was married to its star David Hasselhoff for almost 20 years, has died. She was 62.

Bach was found dead in a home on Wednesday, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed. The manner of death was ruled a suicide.

USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Bach, Hasselhoff and the Los Angeles Police Department.

Bach starred as Kaye Morgan on “Baywatch” throughout the series’ run and appeared in an episode of Hasselhoff’s show “Knight Rider” in 1985, according to IMDb. The actress also had roles on shows like “The Young and the Restless,” “Cheers,” “The Fall Guy” and “Sirens.”

According to Hasselhoff’s 2007 autobiography “Don’t Hassel the Hoff,” Bach grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with two sisters, and began performing at age 9. She got her start in plays in Los Angeles before she was approached by an agent and decided to pursue acting as a career.

David Hasselhoff marries model Hayley Roberts

Hasselhoff married Bach in 1989 after he split from his first wife, Catherine Hickland. He and Bach shared two children, Taylor and Hayley.

During their divorce in 2006, Bach leveled allegations of domestic violence against Hasselhoff. The actor went on to marry his current wife, Hayley Roberts, in 2018.

In a statement posted to social media, Hasselhoff wrote: “Our family is deeply saddened by the recent passing of Pamela Hasselhoff. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and support during this difficult period but kindly request privacy as we grieve and navigate through this challenging time.”

In his autobiography, Hasselhoff recalled meeting Bach, a “beautiful blonde with green eyes,” when she was a guest star in an episode of his show “Knight Rider.”

‘After Baywatch’ docuseries reveals secret life, home videos of lifeguard megastars

“We didn’t have any scenes together, but I had seen her on the set and, as a joke, a crew member had sent her an invitation to join me in my trailer,” he wrote. “Pamela, however, had a boyfriend, a well-known comedian, and she politely ignored the invitation.”

Hasselhoff said he and Bach met again in 1988 at the opening of a club, by which point he was no longer with his first wife, and she was no longer dating the comedian. The two quickly hit it off, he said.

“That night, we talked and talked,” Hasselhoff wrote. “I rang Pamela early next morning and we talked some more. We talked every day for a week. On Friday night I asked her out for a date. We decided to hang out. We jogged together and became friends. The last thing I wanted was to get into another long-term relationship but she was beautiful and, as she liked to say, ‘all girl.”

Suicide Lifeline: If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, please call, text or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit 988lifeline.org for 24/7 access to free and confidential services.

Celebrities like Halle Berry, Timothée Chalamet, Miley Cyrus and Chris Rock attended Sunday’s glamour-defining Vanity Fair Oscars Party. But Selma Blair’s tawny-haired Labrador – her service dog – is the star that shone brightest.

Patricia Clarkson lay on the floor in her gown gleefully cuddling Scout. The “Legally Blonde” actress says she “didn’t get one word” from acquaintance Michael Keaton. “He’s just like, ‘Hey, can I get a picture with Scout?’ The next thing I know, they’re kissing, and Batman’s gone in the night. And all I have is my dog to prove that he kissed Batman.”

Scout, who Blair jokes is “the best boyfriend, strictly platonic,” helps her manage symptoms of her Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a disease in which the immune system attacks the central nervous system. Symptoms can manifest differently in each person, and there are multiple types. Blair has relapsing-remitting, which can result in a flare-up of symptoms for a period of time. Those with relapsing-remitting MS can experience trouble with their vision, extreme fatigue and numbness, according to Johns Hopkins.

Blair, 52, has partnered with pharmaceutical company EMD Serono on Express4MS, an effort from the pharmaceutical company to build a community where those with MS can share their experiences.

Christina Applegate, Selma Blair and John King have it. MS is more common than you think.

Connecting with others who have MS has proved ‘really cathartic’

Scout assists with Blair’s balance and eases her nerves about being in public. “When I have to kneel down to be able to talk more clearly or to just kind of get my circulation on track, it made a lot more sense to have a dog by my side than constantly just dropping and squatting and talking to people,” she says. “He helps me just move forward, past it because once I start getting nervous or self-conscious, it all kind of devolves.”

In the early days of Blair’s diagnosis, she’d research her symptoms online or attempt to connect with others who have the disease to no avail.

“It was actually really cathartic for me to hear other people’s stories and to make sense of my own because I wasn’t even connecting some dots,” she says.

Once when Blair had difficulty swallowing, she panicked. “It started snowballing, like, ‘Oh, God, I’ll never swallow again. It’s just going to get worse,’” she says. Hearing that others experienced the same symptom for a period helped quell her frenzy. “I couldn’t understand why (being in) the sun would take away my speech and give me the dystonia,” Blair says. “And it was through other people that I had found that.”

Moving from ‘a crisis space’ to being ‘relapse-free’: ‘I have really built stamina’

Blair talked to USA TODAY in 2021 for her documentary “Introducing, Selma Blair” that chronicled a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation performed in the summer of 2019. By removing and replacing stem cells and providing chemotherapy in between, the process aims to reset one’s immune system.

“Before I had gone in for that aggressive treatment in Chicago, I was really in a crisis space,” Blair says. But “that treatment didn’t work as well as I had hoped. It definitely slowed the progression and allowed me to catch my breath,” but when Blair switched doctors her new physician told her she’d relapsed.

Today she’s “doing really well,” she says, “and I’ve had so much time relapse-free that now I have really built stamina.”