Gap Band singer's family loses patriarch

In Mourning: R&B singer Charlie Wilson and his family lost their patriarch, Bishop Oscar W. Wilson, to a battle with prostate cancer on Father’s Day. According to Wilson’s spokeswoman, Juanita Stephens, the former Gap Band front man was on his way to hosting Steve Harvey’s nationally syndicated radio show when he learned of the news. “Like a trooper, he continued his commitment to the radio show for four hours nonstop,” Stephens said. The singer was himself diagnosed with the male-reproductive disease last fall and has been a staunch advocate for the Prostate Cancer Foundation to help raise awareness and money for research. “When I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in September, I thought to myself ‘I’m too young… this isn’t a cancer I should be getting,’” he previously said. “While I was surprised to discover that this disease strikes one out of every six American men, I was astounded to learn that African American men are 1.6 times more likely than others to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. My wife, Mahin, and I are very fortunate. I was lucky to be diagnosed and begin treatment early. My prognosis is excellent. My father was an incredible man who had a profound effect on our family both as a father and a spiritual guide,” Wilson said. “I made a commitment to spread the word about prostate cancer, and with the passing of my dad, that commitment is even stronger.” In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Prostate Cancer Foundation at Unclecharliewilson.com.

Giving Back: Snoop Dogg is reportedly trying to raise $5 million toward a $140 million youth center being built and run by the Salvation Army in his hometown of Long Beach. According to Allhiphop. com, the rapper plans to record a song and donate the proceeds to The Kroc Center, which will sit on 19 acres of land and include a two-story, 84,000 squarefoot recreation center with a gymnasium, a fitness center, gardening areas, walking trails, pools and other facilities to train future athletes and Olympians.

In Reprint: Four books that have been long out of print by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. will be published again under a new deal with Beacon Press brokered by King’s youngest son. Dexter King called it a historic partnership that will bring his father’s words to a global audience. Beacon, a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association, publishes books on social justice, human rights and racial equality. The Boston-based publisher will release new editions of “Stride Toward Freedom,” “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” “Trumpet of Conscience” and “Strength to Love” in 2010.

Briefly, Fox Searchlight has tapped two rapper-turned-actors, Common and Queen Latifah, for a sports-themed romantic film titled “Just Wright.” Directed by Sanaa Hamri, the film revolves around a sports trainer who finds herself falling in love with a professional basketball player while rehabilitating him from a career-threatening injury. Shooting starts in mid-July in New York for a release next year.… Andre Braugher, the Emmy-winning alum of TV’s “Homicide,” will guest star on the two-hour season premiere of “House,” the show’s producers revealed at a Paley Center for Media event in LA. The actor will play a doctor at the psychiatric facility that Dr. Greg House (Hugh Laurie) checked himself into at the end of last season. Braugher’s character takes it as his challenge to get inside House’s head.

Finally, Etta James’ recording of “At Last,” the unofficial theme song of the Obama administration, is one of 25 recordings to be preserved for posterity by the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress.

This is part of the July 1, 2009 online edition of Frost Illustrated.

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