Latest news with #CarmenJones
BBC News
20-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Deaf people still struggle, Brighton TikTok star's inquest hears
A nurse involved in the care of a deaf TikTok star has told an inquest into her death there is a "huge shortage" of British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters and she still sees people Jones, a nurse involved in Imogen Nunn's care, said "it would be very difficult" for a deaf person to communicate the crisis they were in without an Nunn, known as Immy, died in Brighton, East Sussex, on New Year's Day 2023 after taking a poisonous substance she had ordered 25-year-old, who was born deaf, raised awareness of hearing and mental health issues on her social media accounts, which attracted more than 780,000 followers. On Tuesday, the inquest at West Sussex Coroner's Court in Horsham heard from Ms Jones, a nurse for the deaf adult community team (DACT) at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS through a BSL interpreter, she said: "Even in my current job I still struggle to get interpreters for my role in my work and because I've seen deaf patients requiring access to mental health teams, I see that they are also struggling."Just days before Ms Nunn's death, she received a check-in visit at her home from care professionals after sending a text message saying she had had an increase in suicidal BSL interpreter was brought to the meeting as there was not enough time to arrange it, the court was told in March. Consultant psychiatrist Simon Baker, who visited Ms Nunn on 29 December 2022 at her home, previously told the court he was "surprised" how well the meeting had inquest into Ms Nunn's death was previously adjourned for two months because there were no BSL interpreters available to translate for two members of DACT."It's based around language, how can anyone understand another person if they don't share a language?" Ms Jones added. Senior coroner Penelope Schofield's prevention of future deaths report regarding Ms Nunn's care also highlighted the lack of availability of BSL interpreters to support deaf patients being treated with mental health said: "This was particularly apparent when mental health staff were seeking an interpreter at short notice for a patient who was in crisis."The lack of interpreters available has meant that urgent assessments are being carried out with no interpreters present."The inquest continues on Wednesday.
The Independent
20-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Deaf TikTok star ‘had no translator for care check-up' three days before death
A nurse involved in the care of a deaf TikTok star who died after ingesting poison warned of a 'huge shortage' of British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters during an inquest into the death. Imogen Nunn, 25, died in Brighton, East Sussex, on New Year's Day 2023 after taking a poisonous substance she ordered online. Ms Nunn, who was born deaf, raised awareness of hearing and mental health issues on her social media accounts, which attracted more than 780,000 followers. On Tuesday, the Inquest at West Sussex Coroners Court in Horsham were informed of a 'huge shortage' in BSL interpreters from Carmen Jones, a nurse for the deaf adult community team (DACT) at South West London and St George's NHS Trust. Just days before Ms Nunn's death, she received a check-in visit at her home from care professionals after sending a text message saying she had had an increase in suicidal thoughts. No BSL interpreter was brought to the meeting as there was not enough time to arrange it, the court was told in March. Communicating through a BSL interpreter on Tuesday, Ms Jones said: 'There is a huge shortage of BSL interpreters. 'Even in my current job I still struggle to get interpreters for my role in my work and because I've seen deaf patients requiring access to mental health teams, I see that they are also struggling.' She told senior coroner Penelope Schofield 'it would be very difficult' for a deaf person to communicate the crisis they were in without an interpreter. 'It's based around language, how can anyone understand another person if they don't share a language?' Ms Jones added. Consultant psychiatrist Simon Baker, who visited Ms Nunn on 29 December 2022 at her home, previously told the court he was 'surprised' how well the meeting had gone. The inquest into Ms Nunn's death was previously adjourned for two months because there were no BSL interpreters available to translate for two members of DACT. This correlated with concerns noted in a prevention of future deaths report written by Ms Schofield regarding Ms Nunn's care. It reads: 'During the course of the inquest (which has yet to be concluded), I heard evidence that there was a lack of availability of British Sign Language Interpreters able to help support deaf patients in the community who were being treated with mental health difficulties. 'This was particularly apparent when mental health staff were seeking an interpreter at short notice for a patient who was in crisis. 'The lack of interpreters available has meant that urgent assessments are being carried out with no interpreters present.' The inquest continues on Wednesday morning.
Vogue
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Vogue
At the 2025 Met Gala, Keke Palmer Channels the First Black Oscar Nominee for Best Actress
Keke Palmer always knew what she wanted her 2025 Met Gala look—designed by Vera Wang—to be. First and foremost, the actor was resolute in her desire to pay tribute to Dorothy Dandridge, who, in 1954, became the first-ever Black Academy Award nominee for best actress for her role in Carmen Jones. 'Much of [the look] was about the weight of Black dandyism and how it has been used to activate and reshape narratives,' Palmer tells Vogue. 'I wanted to zero in on an inspiration of someone who did that in media from the start, and that was Dorothy Dandridge.' Not only was Dandridge a talented actor (she also earned a Golden Globes nomination for her role in Porgy and Bess), she was also a regular performer at some of New York City's most legendary venues, including the Apollo Theater and the Cotton Club. But during her life, Dandridge was subject to racism within the entertainment industry—including losing Black roles to white actors who performed them in blackface, and being passed over for lead roles opposite white men—prompting her to get involved with the NAACP and the National Urban League. 'After seeing her in Carmen Jones, I completely related to Keke's fascination with her,' Wang says. 'Dorothy represented, in parallel, a true moment for African American success and recognition in Hollywood, and this concept felt entirely authentic to both of us.' WWD/Getty Images Courtesy of Vera Wang Palmer was keen on honoring Wang's house codes in her sartorial homage to Dandridge, allowing the two to land on a feminine interpretation of men's suiting—with embellishments galore. 'From the start, it was truly a meeting of the minds,' Wang says. The look is composed of four separate pieces: a fitted ivory silk faille bodice was outfitted with a lapel neckpiece, which she wore with a pair of black pinched-seam tuxedo pants fabricated in Italian silk and wool radzmire. Over the trousers, she wears a sweeping, bubble-hemmed ball skirt, embroidered with Swarovski crystals and glass pearls. 'Story-wise, it's about a Black beauty who used said beauty and fashion to open doors. That, to me, is Black dandyism at its core from an impact standpoint,' Palmer says of the look. 'We also took the tailoring into account and paid homage to the male tuxedo, which was fun because I love playing with the masculine and feminine.'
New York Times
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Olga James, a Star of ‘Carmen Jones' and ‘Mr. Wonderful,' Dies at 95
Olga James, an actress and operatic soprano whose career highlights occurred nearly back to back in the mid-1950s — as Harry Belafonte's jilted girlfriend in the all-Black musical film 'Carmen Jones' and as Sammy Davis Jr.'s love interest in the Broadway show 'Mr. Wonderful' — died on Jan. 25 in Los Angeles. She was 95. Her death, in an assisted living facility, was confirmed by her niece Janet Adderley. Ms. James had performed with an opera company in France and in a popular musical revue in Atlantic City, N.J., when her manager, Abe Saperstein — the basketball impresario behind the Harlem Globetrotters — landed her an audition in 1954 for 'Carmen Jones,' the movie version of Oscar Hammerstein II's hit 1943 Broadway update of Georges Bizet's opera 'Carmen.' The opera is set in 1820s Spain; the setting of the film, like that of the Broadway musical, is the American South during World War II. Auditioning for the role of Cindy Lou, whose boyfriend, Joe (played by Mr. Belafonte), a soldier headed for flight school, is seduced by Carmen (Dorothy Dandridge), a worker in a parachute factory, Ms. James sang an aria at the Alvin Theater (now the Neil Simon Theater) for Otto Preminger, the film's imperious director. 'It wasn't a stretch for me,' she was quoted as saying in 'Otto Preminger: The Man Who Would Be King' (2007), by Foster Hirsch. 'I was that character, a country-looking girl. I was just a little ingénue.' Ms. James with Harry Belafonte in a publicity photo for 'Carmen Jones.' She did her own singing; his singing voice and Dorothy Dandridge's were dubbed because they could not sing in an operatic range. Credit... 20th Century Fox, via MichaelShe won the role. 'Carmen Jones' would be her first movie — and her last. Of the film's three lead performers, only Ms. James did her own singing; Mr. Belafonte's and Ms. Dandridge's songs were dubbed because they could not sing in an operatic range. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Khaleej Times
05-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Actress-singer Olga James passes away at 95
Actress-singer Olga James, who portrayed the jilted sweetheart of Harry Belafonte's character in the landmark Otto Preminger-directed film musical Carmen Jones, has died. According to The Hollywood Reporter, James passed away on January 25. She was 95. She died of complications from "a fall in which she broke her pelvis." James also portrayed the fiancee of Sammy Davis Jr.'s struggling showbiz entertainer in the 1956-57 Broadway musical Mr. Wonderful, and she recurred as Verna Kincaid, the sister-in-law of Bill Cosby's high school gym teacher, on the comedian's eponymous 1969-71 NBC sitcom. James had attended the Juilliard School of Music and was a trained opera singer when she was cast as the heartbroken Cindy Lou, who loses her troubled man, Joe (Belafonte), to the bewitching title character (Dorothy Dandridge) in 20th Century Fox's Carmen Jones (1954), filmed in CinemaScope. Carmen Jones transformed her into a sought-after nightclub performer, and in 1955, she made her first television appearance when Saperstein had her sing at halftime of a Globetrotters-Washington Generals game.
