Mount Pleasant, NY
Lifestyle
Casting Call: HBO Series Looking For Extras, Actors From Area Casting Call: HBO Series Looking For Extras, Actors From Area
Casting Call: HBO Series Looking For Extras, Actors From Area HBO isn't finished looking for locals to appear as extras and actors in its upcoming TV series,  “I Know This Much Is True” starring Mark Ruffalo that's been produced in the Hudson Valley. Only this time they aren't looking for babies or teens. Instead, they are looking for men with beards, the longer the better. Oh, and with no visible tattoos or modern haircuts, said officials with Rita Powers Casting Agency, who is handling the casting for the series. The men selected will be playing characters from the 1900s to the 1930s. Powers said that any man who thinks they might fill the bil…

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by Kathy Reakes
Mount Pleasant, NY
Lifestyle
Video: Local Singing Sensation Grace VanderWaal Starts 'Ur So Beautiful' Tour Video: Local Singing Sensation Grace VanderWaal Starts 'Ur So Beautiful' Tour
Video: Local Singing Sensation Grace VanderWaal Starts 'Ur So Beautiful' Tour Many might remember her as the little sprite strumming her ukelele when she won "America's Got Talent." But now, Hudson Valley's Grace VanderWaalcis all grown up and is dropping her newest single before kicking off her huge 23-date tour that begins August 10 in Kentucky. The new single, which premiered Friday, June 28, shows off the singing and songwriting talents of the 15-year-old from Suffern with romantic lines and a beat you can definitely get your groove on with.  Grace says on Facebook that she made the video for the song by carrying around a camera for months as she hung out w…

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by Kathy Reakes
Jersey City, NJ
News
Matthew Broderick's Pastor Sister Who Helmed Jersey City Church Leaving For Beverly Hills Matthew Broderick's Pastor Sister Who Helmed Jersey City Church Leaving For Beverly Hills
Matthew Broderick's Pastor Sister Who Helmed Jersey City Church Leaving For Beverly Hills Former Grace Church Van Vorst pastor Janet Broderick is returning to her family roots in California where she will be at the helm of the All Saints' Beverly Hills Church Broderick, the sister of actor Matthew Broderick, has been the pastor of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Morristown for nearly a decade. St. Peter's had not announced a new rector as of Thursday morning. The California church welcomed Broderick in a video posted on its website. A New York City native, Broderick grew up an actress and was the teen host of NBC's "Talking With a Giant." She said certain acting tricks len…

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by Cecilia Levine
Mt. Kisco, NY
Lifestyle
Actor, Pound Ridge Native Matt Del Negro Hasn’t Let 10,000 No’s Stop Him Actor, Pound Ridge Native Matt Del Negro Hasn’t Let 10,000 No’s Stop Him
Actor, Pound Ridge Native Matt Del Negro Hasn’t Let 10,000 No’s Stop Him Blame Shonda Rhimes. Pound Ridge native and John Jay-Cross River High School grad, Class of ’90, Matthew Del Negro was looking forward to his role on the ABC hit show "Scandal" amping up in 2017. Then the storyline changed. “I went from 16 episodes that season to 3,” said Del Negro. “It got really slow, excruciatingly slow. I couldn’t just wait for the phone to ring.” Never one to sit around between acting jobs–you may recognize him from "The Sopranos," "Teen Wolf" and "Goliath," to name but a few shows he's done–Del Negro decided to pursue a passion project, a podcast about perseverance a…

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by Vira Mamchur Schwartz
Paterson, NJ
Lifestyle
'I Am An Actor': Geoffrey Owens References Clifton Trader Joe's Stint In SAG Award Opening 'I Am An Actor': Geoffrey Owens References Clifton Trader Joe's Stint In SAG Award Opening
'I Am An Actor': Geoffrey Owens References Clifton Trader Joe's Stint In SAG Award Opening The camera panned over to Geoffrey Owens Sunday night at the SAG Awards and the audience broke out in applause. It's not the first time Hollywood has shown support for the former "Cosby Show" star, who last year was shamed by a shopper at Trader Joe's Clifton location, where Owens had been working. Owens recalled his hardships during the award show's opening montage, exclaiming proudly: "I am an actor. “So somewhere in the middle of the road in my life, I found myself in the dark wood of unemployment and death but instead of switching careers like a sane person, I took a job at the local T…

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by Cecilia Levine
Hackensack, NJ
Lifestyle
'Dream Big': Hackensack Actor Aims To Inspire 'Dream Big': Hackensack Actor Aims To Inspire
'Dream Big': Hackensack Actor Aims To Inspire In front of the camera is where Juan Carlos "JC" Merino of Hackensack says he feels best. If you've seen his work, you might agree his grace is undeniable -- almost like he's been acting his whole life. But he hasn't.  Merino had just graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2008 with a degree in political science when he says he had a change of heart. More than a decade after completely flipping the trajectory of his life, Merino has been featured in independent films, television commercials and music videos -- most recently a promo for WNBC, airing imminently. In turn,…

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by Cecilia Levine
Beekman-Poughquag, NY
Lifestyle
Kiefer Sutherland To Showcase Musical Skills In Sold-Out Daryl's House Show Kiefer Sutherland To Showcase Musical Skills In Sold-Out Daryl's House Show
Kiefer Sutherland To Showcase Musical Skills In Sold-Out Daryl's House Show Kiefer Sutherland has been a professional actor for more than 30 ears, starring in movies like ‘Stand By Me’, ‘The Lost Boys’, ‘Young Guns’, Flatliners’, ‘A Few Good Men’, ‘A Time to Kill’, ‘Dark City’, ‘Melancholia’ and most recently, a western called ‘Forsaken,’ as well as the TV series ‘24.’But unknown to many during the course of his career, he has taken on other vocations with the same kind of dedication and commitment. The first one, beginning around 1992, was that of a cattle rancher and competitive cowboy (roper) in the USTRC team roping circuit. He ran a successful ranch with partner…

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by Jon Craig
Englewood, NJ
Obituaries
Englewood Novelist Barbara Wersba Dies, 85 Englewood Novelist Barbara Wersba Dies, 85
Englewood Novelist Barbara Wersba Dies, 85 Author Barbara Wersba died on Feb. 18 at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood. She was 85 years old. Wersba has written more than two dozen novels for both children and teens/young adults. She also reviewed children's literature for the New York Times, written play and television scripts and taught writing.  Born in Chicago on August 19, 1932, Wersba later moved with her family to California. After her parents' divorce, she moved with her mother to New York City, later in Sag Harbor, New York.  When she was 11 years old, in answer to a family friend's inquiry, she impulsively declare…

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by Cecilia Levine