President Donald Trump Mourns Village People Singer Victor Willis, Praises His Legacy
- US President Donald Trump took a moment to pay tribute to Village People singer Victor Willis
- Trump praised his lasting musical legacy following news of his sudden death and highlighted one of Willis’ songs as his favourite
- Recall that Willis' family confirmed his passing after a brief illness, leaving fans and the entertainment world in mourning
President Donald Trump has paid tribute to Victor Willis, the lead singer of the disco group Village People, who died on Tuesday at the age of 74.
Willis, best known as the voice behind the band’s global hit “Y.M.C.A.,” passed away after what his wife described in a Facebook post as “a short, but aggressive illness.”
Source: Instagram
Trump, who frequently used “Y.M.C.A.” at his campaign rallies, credited those events with reviving the “‘monster’ hit.” In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, he wrote:
“They loved the action, and we loved them and their great and uplifting song. We will think of Victor every time YMCA is played, like today, and all throughout this July Fourth Birthday week. My condolences to his wonderful family and group, Victor Willis will be sorely missed, God Bless Him!!!”
Willis and the Village People performed at Trump’s second inauguration last year, underscoring the connection between the band and the president’s political events.
Born in Dallas in 1951, Willis grew up singing in his father’s Baptist church in San Francisco before moving to New York, where he joined the Neegro Ensemble Company.
In the late 1970s, he teamed up with French producer Jacques Morali to form the Village People, co-writing “Y.M.C.A.” in 1978. The song has since been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry.
Willis left the group in 1980 to pursue a solo career and later fought successfully for royalties on the band’s hits. He also struggled with drug addiction but underwent treatment for substance abuse.
He is survived by his wife, Karen Huff-Willis, who has asked for privacy during this time.
Source: Instagram
Legit.ng earlier reported that Ann Blyth, one of the last surviving stars from Hollywood’s Golden Age, died at the age of 98. ABC’s George Pennacchio reported her passing on Thursday, June 25, noting that she died the previous day from natural causes.
Born Anne Blythe in Mount Kisco, New York, in 1928, she dropped the “e” from her name as her career blossomed.
After her father left the family, Blyth’s mother moved her and her sister to New York City, where Blyth began acting on the radio at just five years old. By nine, she had joined the New York Children’s Opera Company.
“Life was one big struggle then, but mother managed somehow to keep me in parochial school and later in professional school,” Blyth recalled in a 1952 interview with The New York Times. “She provided me with singing and dramatic lessons besides.”
Her Broadway debut came in 1941’s Watch on the Rhine, which toured nationally and even performed for President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
That tour brought her to Los Angeles, where she signed with Universal and made her film debut in 1944’s Chip Off the Old Block, The Hollywood Reporter reports.
The following year, Blyth was loaned to Warner Bros. for Mildred Pierce, starring opposite Joan Crawford. At just 16 years old, she played Veda, the manipulative daughter whose performance earned her an Academy Award nomination.
“She just blew everybody away,” film noir historian Alan Rode told the Los Angeles Times in 2013. “It’s certainly Joan Crawford’s movie, but she is really the spine of the movie. She is the epitome of the film noir daughter from hell. It’s just an amazing performance that stands the test of time.” Blyth herself once explained her approach: “I always had a terrific imagination and the ability to be somebody else.”
Though a back injury briefly slowed her career, Blyth went on to star in more than two dozen films over the next decade, including The Great Caruso (1951), Rose Marie (1954), and Kismet (1955). She also charmed audiences in Mr Peabody and the Mermaid (1948), playing the mute mermaid.
Hollywood icon James Handy dies at 81
Legt.ng earlier reported that renowned actor James Handy was announced dead after a frightening incident in his home.
Handy was known for his iconic appearances on Top Gun: Maverick, Logan, Jumanji, The Rocketeer and Arachnophobia.
Details surrounding the death of the veteran star left both fans and celebrities in shock as they mourned him.
Source: Legit.ng
