Saturday, July 19, 2008

Barry Manilow special gets Emmy nod




Barry Manilow's PBS television special, “Barry Manilow: Songs From The Seventies,” received an Emmy nomination earlier this week for Outstanding Music Direction.

But Manilow said the credit belongs to his music director.

“I just want to say how proud I am of Ron Walters that he got the nod,” Manilow said in a statement from a publicist.

Manilow, whose primary residence is in Palm Springs, is staying at his Malibu home while recording his latest greatest hits album focusing on the 1980s.

A report in the Globe newspaper said he was ill and weighing just 100 pounds, but publicist Stephenie Hope denied that.

She called to get Manilow's reaction to the Emmy nomination Friday, and, upon asking how he was, she said he jokingly replied, “Didn't you hear? I'm dying!”

Actually, he's also rehearsing his new Las Vegas show, planning an arena show and enjoying the beach, Hope said.

“Granted, he's pretty trim,” she said. “But 100 pounds? Give us a break. Even Mary Kate and Ashley weigh more than 100 pounds. And no, he's not ill.”

Manilow won an Emmy in 2006 for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program for his PBS special “Barry Manilow: Music and Passion.”

http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080719/LIFESTYLES01/807190308/1050/lifestyles01