Madame Tussauds Las Vegas chose Jamie Foxx, one of the most notable performers of our time, to officially open Black History Month in the attraction's Spirit of America Room, with the official unveiling of his life-like wax figure (
click picture on the left). The Foxx unveiling kicked off the "Madame Tussauds Black History" month-long celebration. Foxx joins other famous notable African-American figures already on display as part of the exhibit. Figures included are Muhammad Ali, Louis Armstrong, James Brown, Whoopi Goldberg, Jimi Hendrix, Michael Jordan, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Oprah Winfrey. "Jamie Foxx was a natural choice for us. He not only embodies the upper echelon of celebrity that we look to celebrate, but what he represents to the Black community, and Americans as a whole, is the ability to take born-talent, drive and commitment and transform them into something magical," commented Adrian Jones, General Manager of Madame Tussauds Las Vegas.
Foxx participated in a 2-hour private sitting where Tussauds Studio artists from London took precise measurements, matched eye/skin/hair coloring and experienced his personality, which are paramount in the making of his $300,000 wax likeness. According to sculptor, David Sharpe, "Mr. Foxx was extremely gracious with his time and actually entertained us with his upbeat, positive and charming personality."
Below are several more candid pics of Jamie on the set of his new film,
The Soloist.
CONTINUE READING THIS STORY AFTER THE JUMP, PLUS PEEP MORE PICTURES OF JAMIE FOXX ON THE SET OF HIS NEW MOVIE, 'THE SOLOIST.'Foxx is the second male, and the first African American, in history to receive two Oscar nominations in the same year for two different movies, Collateral and Ray.
Foxx was born in Dallas, Texas December 13, 1967 as Eric Marlon Bishop. At his grandmother's urging, Foxx began piano lessons at age five and soon thereafter his many talents surfaced! Foxx changed his name while doing stand-up comedy upon discovering that female comedians were often called first to perform on stage. He felt "Jamie" was an ambiguous enough name to disallow any biases. His last name was chosen as a tribute to Redd Foxx.
READ MORE AFTER THE JUMP!
Jennifer Lopez and her husband Marc Anthony have denied reports they've hired six new bodyguards at a cost of $600,000 to protect their newborn twins. Lopez gave birth to a boy named Max, and a girl named Emme in Long Island, New York on February 22, 2008. The Chicago Sun-Times claimed the couple had employed six security guards to guard the babies at an annual cost of $600,000 because Lopez is "paranoid about a possible kidnapping". However, the Latina's representative says, "This story is ridiculous and without merit."
Evander Holyfield said he and Mike Tyson are discussing the possibility of fighting each other for a third time, the Guardian newspaper reported, citing an interview with the four-time heavyweight boxing champion. Holyfield, 45, said Tyson approached him via an intermediary to discuss a rematch, the Guardian reported. Their second fight in 1997 ended in controversy when Tyson was disqualified for twice biting Holyfield, on one occasion tearing off a chunk of his ear. 
A spokesperson for Juvenile (real name Terius Gray) whose four year old daughter was shot and killed alongside her mother and half-sister says the rapper is, needless to say, 'devastated.' As previously reported, the bodies of Juvenile's daughter Jelani; her mother, Joy Deleston, 39; and Deleston's daughter Micaiah, 11, were found Thursday night in their home in Lawrenceville, Georgia, which is near Atlanta. Deleston's 17-year-old son, Anthony Tyrone Terrell Jr., is being charged with the murders. He was arrested Friday. "It really shocked him and devastated him to the point where I've never seen him before," Francis said of the rapper, according to the Associated Press. "Right now he is relaxing and trying to grasp everything of what has happened." Deleston, 39, was an actress who appeared in locally produced films, as well as a seven-and-a-half-year veteran of the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Police have not announced a motive in the killings.
Several activists are coming out in force to express outrage with Charles Knipp, a 45-year-old, gay, drag comedian best known for performing in blackface as his alter ego character, Shirley Q. Liquor – nicknamed "the Queen of Ignunce." Knipp describes Liquor as being “an illiterate welfare mother with 19 kids who guzzles malt liquor and drives a Caddy.” Her conversation is saturated with malapropisms. For example, she says her cat needs to get "sprayed," and she pronounces K-Mart and Wal-Mart "K-Mark" and 'Wal-Mark." The character attends Mount Holy Olive Second Baptist Zion Church of God in Christ of Resurrected Latter-Days AME CME (a reference to historically African-American churches). Knipp’s is also known for mocking the black American holiday Kwanzaa and makes fun of stereotypical-sounding black names in a music video entitled, Who Is My Baby’s Daddy, where his character Shirley Q. Liquor tries to recollect the names of her "chirrun," “…Cheeto, Orangello, Chlamydia, and Kmartina...”
Madame Tussauds Las Vegas chose Jamie Foxx, one of the most notable performers of our time, to officially open Black History Month in the attraction's Spirit of America Room, with the official unveiling of his life-like wax figure (click picture on the left). The Foxx unveiling kicked off the "Madame Tussauds Black History" month-long celebration. Foxx joins other famous notable African-American figures already on display as part of the exhibit. Figures included are Muhammad Ali, Louis Armstrong, James Brown, Whoopi Goldberg, Jimi Hendrix, Michael Jordan, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Oprah Winfrey. "Jamie Foxx was a natural choice for us. He not only embodies the upper echelon of celebrity that we look to celebrate, but what he represents to the Black community, and Americans as a whole, is the ability to take born-talent, drive and commitment and transform them into something magical," commented Adrian Jones, General Manager of Madame Tussauds Las Vegas.
