Stowe helps bury the dead in Haiti
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Hollywood actress Madeleine Stowe says she has been helping volunteers bury unclaimed bodies in Haiti.
The "Revenge" and "Last of the Mohicans" star blogged for People.com about a recent trip to the country, which is still trying to recover two years after it was devastated by an earthquake.
Much of the actress' time was spent at the General Hospital morgue, working alongside the Rev. Rick Frechette, a Catholic priest and doctor who has dedicated his life to caring for the poor.
"We're about to pull out as many bodies from the morgue's lockers as we can possibly carry in three trucks," Stowe wrote in her blog, which was posted during the weekend on People.com.
"It's a devotion the team performs because of their belief in all human dignity -- where the dead are lost or forgotten with no one to claim them, Rick and his men retrieve their broken bodies and give them a proper burial," she continued. "Raphael and Conan open the first locker, bodies spill across the room, their limbs in all directions, resting atop one another. Each man and woman, some with IVs still in their veins, has a story we'll never know. The babies are the toughest to take in. They rest there, unclaimed, no one to give them passage to the next world. ... For 2 hours we work away, lifting bodies, placing them in clean linen, a new rosary on each chest, then zip their bags. The men beat a rhythm on the walls, singing, willing the dead to be lifted from this earth and sent to a better place. For incomprehensible reasons, I don't want our work to end. There are two more lockers and it seems wrong to stop before each body is pulled away to safety."
'Artist,' 'Descendants' take top Globes
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- "The Descendants" and "The Artist" won the top-film prizes at the Golden Globe Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.
The Hawaii-set family drama "The Descendants" won the Best Drama title, while its star, George Clooney, was named Best Actor in a Drama at the Sunday night event .
"We had an extraordinary ensemble cast of younger and older actors, veterans and newcomers, but our quarterback was George Clooney. Aside from a career best performance in my mind, he was a generous actor who helped everyone do their very best. Thanks, George," "Descendants" producer Jim Burke said as he accepted the Golden Globe for Best Drama.
"If this movie becomes a timeless movie, which it feels like it will be to me, it's all because of our filmmaker and friend, Alexander Payne. I just want to say from everyone how much we admire you and how proud we are of you."
The black-and-white ode to Hollywood's silent film era "The Artist" was declared Best Musical or Comedy. Its leading man Jean Dujardin took home the Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy trophy, and the movie won for Best Score.
Meryl Streep won Best Actress in a Drama for her portrayal of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady."
"This is such a thrill," a visibly shocked Streep said, praising her fellow nominees and declaring 2011 a great year for strong female performances.
After thanking God, whom Streep joked was really film producer Harvey Weinstein, she said she wanted to express her gratitude to "everybody in England who let me come and trample all over their history."
Michelle Williams picked up the Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy statuette for playing screen icon Marilyn Monroe in "My Week with Marilyn."
Williams gave a shout out to Matilda, her 6-year-old daughter with the late actor Heath Ledger, "for suffering through six months of bedtime stories where all of the princesses had a Marilyn Monroe-sounding voice."
Williams also thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which presents the Globes, "for putting in my hands the same award Marilyn Monroe herself won over 50 years ago.
"I'm honored. Thank you," she said.
Octavia Spencer won the Best Supporting Actress title for her performance of a fictional housemaid working in Mississippi during the civil-rights movement in "The Help."
"With regard to domestics in this country now and then, I think Dr. [Martin Luther] King said it best -- all labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and I thank you for recognizing that with our film," Spencer said.
Christopher Plummer earned the Best Supporting Actor Globe for his role as a senior citizen who finally comes to terms with his homosexuality in the movie "Beginners."
Martin Scorsese won the Best Director honor for "Hugo" and Woody Allen the award for Best Screenplay for "Midnight in Paris."
"The Adventures of Tintin" was named Best Animated Movie and Iran's "A Separation" Best Foreign Language Film.
Grammer's wife pregnant with twins
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Kelsey Grammer's publicist has confirmed the Hollywood actor's wife Kayte is pregnant with twins.
When she is due to give birth or what the babies' genders are were not immediately announced.
Grammer, 56, has four other children from previous relationships.
The twins will be his first children with 30-year-old flight attendant Kayte, whom he married in February 2011 shortly after divorcing Camille, his wife of 14 years.
"I am really looking forward to meeting these arrivals," UsMagazine.com quoted Grammer as saying of the twins after he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a TV Drama Sunday night for his work in "Boss."
Grammer is best known for his work on the sitcoms "Frasier" and "Cheers."
Elton's hubby blasts Madonna Globe grab
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- David Furnish, the husband of British pop star Elton John, expressed his outrage regarding Madonna's win for Best Original Song at the Golden Globe Awards.
Madonna picked up the prize Sunday for her song "Masterpiece" from "W.E.," a film she also wrote, directed and produced. John was nominated for "Hello, Hello," which appeared in the movie "Gnomeo & Juliet."
"This is a surprise," Madonna said as she collected the award.
She thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which presents the Globes, and showed her appreciation for the efforts of her co-writers, Jimmy Harry and Julie Frost, the film's producer Harvey Weinstein,and its star Andrea Riseborough.
"I would also like to thank my manager, Guy Oseary, who I spend most of my time beating up on," Madonna said. "But seriously, he harangued me for the entire time I was filming and editing my movie to write a song. And I said, 'Please, Guy, I'm trying to focus on being a director and I want people to pay attention to the film and I don't have time.' So then I finished the film and I started making my record and somehow magically and miraculously the song emerged, 'Masterpiece,' so thank you, Guy Oseary, for being so irritating."
Furnish took to Facebook shortly after to condemn Madonna's win and her acceptance speech, TMZ said.
"Madonna. Best song???? [expletive] off!!!" Furnish wrote.
"Madonna winning Best Original Song truly shows how these awards have nothing to do with merit. Her acceptance speech was embarrassing in its narcissism. And her criticism of [Lady] Gaga shows how desperate she really is."
Madonna recently said in an interview she feels Lady Gaga emulates her style in music and dress.
