Paul McCartney Visits Pepe’s Pizza
GLASTONBURY, ENGLAND – JUNE 25:
Paul McCartney performs as he headlines the Pyramid Stage during day four of Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 25, 2022 in Glastonbury, England.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 05:
(L-R) Host Trevor Noah speaks with Nile Rodgers and ‎Terius “The-Dream” Gesteelde-Diamant, winners of the Best R&B Song award for “CUFF IT,†onstage during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
February’s celebrity news was headlined by Beatle Paul McCartney stopping into Pepe’s Pizza and Beyoncé’s Grammy win for song partially recorded in Westport.
Here are some of the famous people who visited or made the news in and around Connecticut in February:
INDIO, CA – OCTOBER 15:
Musician Paul McCartney performs during Desert Trip at the Empire Polo Field on October 15, 2016 in Indio, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Beatles icon Sir Paul McCartney visited Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana on Feb. 16 in New Haven after his event at the Yale Schwarzman Center. McCartney took to the stage at Yale’s Woolsey Hall to talk about his life and recent book “The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present.” During the Yale event, the musician said that he feels a magical and mysterious nature to songwriting. Interest in the event was so high, it crashed Yale’s ticketing system on Feb. 8.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 05:
(L-R) Host Trevor Noah speaks with Nile Rodgers and ‎Terius “The-Dream” Gesteelde-Diamant, winners of the Best R&B Song award for “Cuff It,†during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Timothy Norris/FilmMagic)
Nile Rogers, producer on Beyonce’s Renaissance album and owner of Le Crib studio in Westport, accepted Beyonce’s award for “Best R&B Song” on her behalf at the Grammys. The winning song, “CUFF IT” was recorded in part as Rogers’ Westport studio. Whether or not Beyonce herself recorded in Connecticut is unknown, but the studio is credited on the album and Rogers is credited on the track directly, according to the Grammys website.
Weslyan’s Lin-Manuel Miranda won his fourth Grammy with “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” and former Connecticut resident Stephen Sondheim, won a Grammy for “Best Musical Theater Album.”
Emmy award-winner, Sheryl Lee Ralph sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing” before kickoff at Super Bowl LVII Feb. 12. The Waterbury-born actor sang the hymn, known as the “Black National Anthem” and a gospel choir accompanied Ralph as she belted the lyrics of the tune in a black and red jumpsuit.
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” was written by former NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson in 1900 and was used as a rallying cry during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, according to the NAACP. Ralph was the first Black person to perform the song on the field before the Super Bowl.
Sheryl Lee Ralph, Brendan Fraser, Jamie Lee Curtis and Paul Dano have ties to CT.
The 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards recognized the best television and film performances of 2023 on Sunday. Often considered a forerunner of the Oscars, the ceremony presents accolades voted on by actors themselves.
Brendan Fraser, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Mike White and Meredith Tucker were among the actors with Connecticut connections that either won or were nominated at the 2023 SAG Awards.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 1:
Cyndi Lauper attends MusiCares Person of the Year honoring Joni Mitchell at the MGM Grand Marquee Ballroom on April 1, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
Award-winning singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper was nominated for the 2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame early February. Lauper, her husband, actor David Thornton and their son were long-time residents of North Stamford on Saddle Hill Road where they resided for over 30 years before moving to New York City.
While living in Connecticut, Lauper wrote several albums before creating the music for “Kinky Boots” on Broadway in 2010. She wrote the music for the Broadway show in a small wood-paneled loft above the garage. The “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” singer has won a total of two Grammy’s and has been nominated for 16. One of those nominations was for “best musical theatre album” for “Kinky Boots” in 2017.
Clueless star, Alicia Silverstone, featured on Rakuten’s Super Bowl LVII commercial.
As many were excited to watch the Eagles go against Kansas City during Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12, others looked forward to the commercials. Kevin Bacon, Christian Siriano and Martha Stewart are among that the recognizable celebrities with Connecticut connections that were featured in Super Bowl commercials.
Yale University graduate Jonathan Majors stepped into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with his portrayal of Kang the Conqueror in “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” which premiered Feb. 17. He plays the villain in the film. Majors made his entrance into the MCU in 2022’s “Loki” series on Disney+, where he played the mysterious He Who Remains, a variant of the character of Kang.
Majors attended the Yale School of Drama and graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree in 2016. While attending Yale, Majors starred in five different plays produced by the School of Drama. Majors was also featured in productions by Yale Repertory Theatre and Yale Cabaret.
Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul with the award for Best Original Song for City of Stars from La La Land in the press room at the 89th Academy Awards held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, USA. (Photo by Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images)
The Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globes winner “La La Land” is headed to Broadway, Deadline announced early February. The movie, which stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, is anchored by music from composer Justin Hurwitz and lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the latter of whom is a Westport native.
Paul attended the Music Theatre of Connecticut School of Performing Arts, Coleytown Middle School and Staples High School. Paul was born in St. Louis, Missouri, but was raised in Connecticut from a young age.
Tony Capasso of The J House in Riverside poses with actor/producer and Bedford, N.Y. resident Chazz Palmiteri.
Actor Chazz Palminteri and wife Gianna spent Valentine’s Day at Tony’s at The J House in Riverside. Palminteri is best known for “Modern Family,” “Bullets Over Broadway” and “A Bronx Tale,” co-starring Robert De Niro.
Andrew DaRosa is a web producer and reporter with Hearst Connecticut Media Group.
Andrew is an award-winning journalist and holds a degree in digital journalism from Fairfield University.
When he’s not writing, he is spending time with his dogs or going to see live music.
