THE MONTHLY GLEANER | JULY 6 - AUGUST 2, 2023 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | NEWS 10 THE LATEST set of stars to receive the sidewalk tribute in Los Angeles has been revealed, with the late Marvel star, Chadwick Boseman, who died following a secret battle with cancer aged 43 in 2020, to posthumously receive a star. Pop star Gwen Stefani, action star-and-stuntwoman Michelle Yeoh, Star Trek actor Chris Pine, and heavy metal band Def Leppard are also set to be cemented in Hollywood history. ALONGWITH Ralph anHollywood A-listers Sheryl Lee Ralph and Kerry Washington, both of whom proudly boast their Jamaican ties, will be recipients of stars on The HollywoodWalk of Fame for 2024. dWashington, TV stars Ken Jeong, Eugene Levy, Mario Lopez, Jim Nantz, Michael Schur, Raul De Molina and Lili Estefan are the recipients in the small screen category. Also joining them in the motion picture category are Gal Gadot, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Christina Ricci, plus Marvel boss Kevin Feige, and producer Chris Meledandri. Hip hop icon, Dr Dre, will be joining Stefani and Def Leppard in the recording category, along with Glen Ballard, Toni Braxton, Charles Fox, former Van Halen vocalist Sammy Hagar, Brandy Norwood and Darius Rucker. Late soul legend Otis Redding is also set for a posthumous star in the live theatre/live performance category, along with 30 Rock star Jane Krakowski. The class of 2024 was unveiled by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Chairwoman Ellen K said in a statement: “The selection committee, which is made up of fellowWalk of Famers, carefully hand-picks a group of honourees each year that represent various genres of the entertainment world. “The committee did an amazing job choosing these very talented people. We can’t wait to see each honouree’s reaction as they realise that they are becoming a part of Hollywood’s history with the unveiling of their star on the world’s most famous walkway.” Sheryl Lee Ralph, Kerry Washington getting Walk of Fame honour Sheryl Lee Ralph PHOTO BY RUDOLPH BROWN ACTOR EMILIO Evans, co-star of the TV series Makeup and Breakup (aka Makeup X Breakup), will return to the screen, starting July 6, when the halfhour drama premieres its second season on the popular streaming platform Allblk.tv (All Black TV). Set in NewYork City, the series is written and directed by series creator Eric Dickens, and follows the complicated romantic relationships of a group of young African American friends with their present and former lovers. The ensemble cast also features Nicolette Ellis, Omar Salmon, Kamel Goffin, Olivia Gray, Karmie Berry and Sean Dominic. Evans, a Harlem-based actor of Jamaican parentage, plays the role of Bryce Grove, a marketing executive who has gone through hardships in his life and “can be pretty naïve and aloof in his approach to, and relationships with women, and consequently things don’t always go well for him in his dating world”. Evans is proud of the years-long journey the series has taken before arriving at its new home on Allblk, which is a subsidiary of AMC Networks. Responding to an open casting call back in 2016, his audition led to himbecoming an original cast member when the show premiered later that year on YouTube as a series of 10-minute episodes. The popularity of the series led to a pickup by BET for their online streaming platform and ultimately, a new home at Allblk as of 2022. Season two, he says, will be interesting because it is actually a ‘prequel’ to season one, meaning audiences will be reintroduced to the show’s characters at a younger age, prior to how they were presented in the first season. “Audiences can expect to see some really great storytelling with people of colour as the focus, and that’s very exciting for me, based on what my own plans are for the future.” Ultimately, Evans, whodecided tobecome an actor at age seven toget over his shyness, and who later studied theatre at Borough of Manhattan Community College, intends to establish his own production company. He hopes to write, produce and appear in content that will createmore opportunities for artists of colour and bring his Jamaican roots fully to the fore. “My mother is from Tivoli Gardens and my father is from Portland,” he shared. “They immigrated here quite young, so I was born in New York and raised mostly in the deeply Jamaican part of the Bronx. But [I] am still very close to my large family back in Jamaica. I’m very proud of my Jamaican heritage and would love to give Jamaicans another reason to be proud by telling some of our own stories. We haven’t truly tapped the full potential of Jamaicans and Jamaican stories on TV or film in an interesting way just yet. I’m definitely hoping to change that, though.” Evans, who has also appeared on Power: Book Two and Law and Order: Organized Crime, was last seen on stage in BREAKZ at the Nimbus Arts Center in New Jersey. Actor Emilio Evans celebrates Jamaican roots
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