Closer Weekly

He was a powerful actor of stage and screen, but James Earl Jones — who died on Sept. 9 at age 93 — will be perhaps best remembered for his remarkable baritone voice. From Star Wars’ menacing Darth Vader to The Lion King’s gentle Mufasa, James gave voice to some of film's most iconic characters. “When I'm asked, did I always have that kind of voice, the answer is no,” admitted the star, who stuttered so badly as a child he stopped talking from first grade through his freshman year of high school. With the help of an English teacher, James overcame his speech impediment and discovered his life's passion. “It wasn't acting. It was language. It was speech,” said the two-time Tony winner. “It was the thing that I'd…

LIEV SCHREIBER & NICOLE KIDMAN Watts Doing Attending the LA premiere of their new series The Perfect Couple on Sept. 4, Liev and Nicole looked perfectly at ease with each other. But at first Nicole wasn't so sure about portraying a married couple — since Liev is the ex of her bestie, Naomi Watts. “She asked Naomi first if it was OK [to take the part],” Liev revealed. “Isn't that amazing? That's how close they are.” TIM BURTON First Rate With pals Michael Keaton, Monica Bellucci, Winona Ryder and Danny DeVito by his side, the Beetlejuice director got “very emotional” about receiving the 2,788th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — and for good reason. “I used to spend my life here,” Tim shared. “As a child, I used to come down…

Veteran television stars Patrick Duffy and Linda Purl had been crossing paths for decades, but it took the COVID lockdown to help them fall in love. Four years later, they remain one of show business’ happiest — and most grateful — couples. “It's thrilling to pull someone into the weave of your life at this stage,” Linda tells Closer. “After all, we're not in our 20s.” But sometimes fate has a timeline and a logic of its own. “This was the only time I think it would have worked,” Patrick, 75, tells Closer. The Dallas alum first met Linda, 69, best known for her role on Happy Days, in 1980 at the reading of a play, but both were married at the time. “[After that] Patrick and I met every 20…

The first time American horse whisperer Monty Roberts met Queen Elizabeth II, he didn't recognize her. “She was in the stable grooming a horse, and I thought she was a lady groom,” he tells Closer. “I was talking to her for a while, and I realized that the people around were sort of acting in a different way. Then I took a hard look at her, and I realized, ‘My God, this is the queen!’” That moment in 1989 would become the start of a warm but unlikely friendship that would last until the monarch's 2022 passing. A new documentary, The Cowboy and the Queen, explores their relationship and how Monty and Elizabeth's love of animals has helped change the world. (The film is in theaters now and is available to…

Weekly Bonus Section Starts Here! WORD SEARCH Each of these clues can be found within the grid horizontally, vertically, diagonally, backward or forward. Circle them all to solve the puzzle. WILLY WONKA AUGUSTUS BEAUREGARDE BLUEBERRY BUCKET CANDY MAN CANE CHARLIE CHEWING GUM CHILDREN CHOCOLATE ELEVATOR FACTORY FIZZY LIFTING DRINK GENE WILDER GOBSTOPPER GOLDEN TICKET GRANDPA JOE GREED HORNSWOGGLER JUICING ROOM LICKABLE WALLPAPER MIKE TEAVEE MUNICH OOMPA LOOMPA PURE IMAGINATION ROALD DAHL SLUGWORTH SNOZZBERRY SOMERSAULT TOP HAT VERMICIOUS KNIDS VERUCA SALT VIOLET WINKELMANN WONKAVISION SUDOKU There are nine sections of nine squares in each puzzle. Fill in all blank spaces with numbers 1 to 9. The numbers can be in any order but can not be repeated. MEDIUM HARD EXPERT For the answers to this week's puzzles, turn to page 25.…

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Don't believe it 5 Genetic letters 8 Sugar portions 12 “Beat it!” 16 Post-op program 18 Portion of corn 19 Above 20 “Tall” story 21 Mall unit 22 Camp bed 23 Hunted 24 Desktop symbol 25 Jeans material 27 Exhausted 28 Choir voices 29 Muscles to crunch (abbr.) 32 “Farewell, mon ami” 34 Kind of animal 5 preserve 36 Make a seam 37 Sensitive subject, to some 38 Arid 40 Cloak-and-dagger org. 41 Places for fans 43 Burgundy grape 45 The _ _ Strikes Back 50 Not allowed 51 Pays, as a bill 53 Takes notice (2 wds.) 54 Stirrers 56 Set aside 58 “If all __ fails” 59 Carpentry tool 62 Butter holder 63 Jay-Z's genre 65 Filmmaker Spike 66 Boyardee, for one 68 Marketing leader? 71 Not…