Connect with us

Published

on

Singer Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of rock and roll legend Elvis, has died, her mother has said in a statement.

The 54-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest at her home in Calabasas, California, on Thursday morning.

Her mother, Priscilla Presley, said: “It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us.

“She was the most passionate, strong and loving woman I have ever known.”

FILE PHOTO: Lisa Marie Presley and her mother Priscilla Presley place their handprints in cement at TCL Chinese theatre in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 21, 2022. REUTERS/Ringo Chiu/File Photo
Image:
Lisa Marie and Priscilla Presley place their handprints in cement at LA’s Chinese theatre last summer

It followed an earlier statement in which the 77-year-old asked people to “keep her and our family in your prayers”.

She said her daughter had been “rushed to hospital”, with paramedics called shortly before 10.40am.

Presley’s family, including Priscilla and daughter Riley Keough, were pictured outside a hospital in Los Angeles before her death was announced.

Lisa Marie Presley (C), with her children Riley and Benjamin Keough (R), attend the 75th birthday celebration for Elvis Presley in Memphis, Tennessee January 8, 2010. Presley, who died in August 1977 aged 42, is one of the top earning dead celebrities, bringing in $55 million in 2009 according to Forbes.com and marketed by Elvis Presley Enterprises which entertainment mogul Robert Sillerman revitalized in 2005. REUTERS/Nikki Boertman (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT ANNIVERSARY OBITUARY) FOR
Image:
Lisa Marie Presley with her children Riley and Benjamin Keough in 2010

Her cardiac arrest came just two days after she attended the Golden Globes in Beverly Hills, where she celebrated Austin Butler winning best actor in a drama film for playing her father in the biopic Elvis.

She gave interviews on the red carpet, where she told Entertainment Tonight she had been left stunned by the star’s “mind-blowing” performance.

And just last weekend, Presley was at her father’s old Graceland Mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, to mark the anniversary of his birth on 8 January 1935.

Elvis, widely considered to be the greatest rock and roll artist in history, died on 16 August 1977, aged just 42.

His daughter was nine years old at the time. She was four when Elvis and Priscilla Presley were divorced in 1972.

FILE -Elvis Presley poses with wife Priscilla and daughter Lisa Marie, in a room at Baptist hospital in Memphis, Tenn., on Feb. 5, 1968.  Lisa Marie Presley, a singer, Elvis... only daughter and a dedicated keeper of her father...s legacy, died Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023 after being hospitalized for a medical emergency. (AP Photo/File)
Image:
Elvis with wife Priscilla and daughter Lisa Marie in 1968

Three albums

Lisa Marie Presley followed in her father’s footsteps by pursuing a music career, starting in 2003 with her debut album: To Whom It May Concern.

It charted in the top 10 on the US Billboard album chart, as did follow-up record Now What in 2005.

Fans had to wait seven years for her third album, Storm And Grace, which released to positive reviews.

Her solo career bad begun eight years after she appeared in her then-husband Michael Jackson’s music video for the 1995 song You Are Not Alone.

U.S. singer Lisa Marie Presley performs during a rehearsal at the M Bar in London, May 12, 2003. Presley, daughter of music legend Elvis and former wife to Michael Jackson, is in the UK launching her first solo album entitled 'To Whom It May Concern', due to be released on July 12. REUTERS/Peter Macdiarmid
Image:
Presley performs at the M Bar in London in 2003

Four marriages

Presley’s marriage to Jackson ended in divorce in 1996.

It was her second marriage, having been married to musician Danny Keough from 1988 to 1994.

They had two children together – daughter Riley Keough, who became an actress and model, and son Benjamin – and remained close friends.

She got married to Jackson within three weeks of divorcing Keough.

Her third marriage was to actor Nicolas Cage, which lasted from 2002 until a divorce in 2004.

Presley married again in 2006, to her guitarist and producer Michael Lockwood. They had twin daughters together, named Finley Aaron Love Lockwood and Harper Vivienne Ann Lockwood.

She filed for divorce 10 years later, and it was finalised in 2021.

Popstar Michael Jackson and his bride Lisa Marie Presley-Jackson hold each others hands August 6
Image:
Michael Jackson and his bride Lisa Marie Presley-Jackson in 1994
Actor Nicolas Cage arrives with girlfriend Lisa Marie Presley at the Los Angeles premiere of his new film "Windtalkers" in Hollywood June 11, 2002. "Windtalkers" opens June 14 in the United States. REUTERS/Fred Prouser FSP/SV
Image:
Nicolas Cage with then-girlfriend Lisa Marie Presley in 2002

Dealing with grief

In 2018, Presley featured on a new record, titled Where No One Stands Alone, which was released to celebrate her father’s love of gospel music, and featured 14 original performances recorded by him.

The title track was a reimagined duet, in which Lisa Marie performed a duet with her father.

Last year, she wrote an essay for People magazine about the death of son Benjamin, who took his own life in 2020.

“I’ve dealt with death, grief and loss since the age of 9 years old,” she said.

“I’ve had more than anyone’s fair share of it in my lifetime and somehow, I’ve made it this far.”

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Tom Cruise leads moment of silence in tribute to ‘dear friend’ Val Kilmer

Published

on

By

Tom Cruise leads moment of silence in tribute to 'dear friend' Val Kilmer

Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.

Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.

Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.

Tom Cruise, star of the upcoming film "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning," leads a moment of silence for late actor Val Kilmer during the Paramount Pictures presentation at CinemaCon at Caesars Palace on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Image:
Tom Cruise said ‘I wish you well on the next journey’. Pic: AP

Val Kilmer in 2017. Pic: AP
Image:
Val Kilmer in 2017. Pic: AP

His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.

Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.

“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.

“I wish you well on the next journey.”

The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.

Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.

Tom Cruise takes part in the Paramount Pictures presentation at CinemaCon at Caesars Palace on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Image:
Tom Cruise at Caesars Palace on Thursday. Pic: AP

Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.

He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.

Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.

Read more from Sky News:
Tributes to ‘genius’ Kilmer
Richest billionaires named
Springsteen’s seven new albums

He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.

In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.

The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Bruce Springsteen: The Boss to release seven ‘lost’ albums

Published

on

By

Bruce Springsteen: The Boss to release seven 'lost' albums

Bruce Springsteen is to release seven albums of mostly unheard material this summer.

The US singer said the songs, written and re-recorded between 1983 and 2018, were being made public after he began completing “everything I had in my vault” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a short video posted on Instagram, Springsteen said the albums were “records that were full records, some of them even to the point of being mixed and not released”.

The 83-song collection is being released in a box set called Tracks II: The Lost Albums and goes on sale on 27 June.

Some 74 of the tracks have never been heard before.

Springsteen first teased the release on Wednesday morning with a short social media video accompanied by text which said: “What was lost has been found”.

Tracks II is the follow-up to the star’s first Tracks volume, a four-CD collection of 66 unreleased songs, released in 1998.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 26, 2025: Bruce Springsteen took the stage at Carnegie Hall for People Have the Power: A Celebration of Patti Smith, an electrifying tribute to the legendary artist. The event, presented by Michael Dorf, honored Smiths profound impact on music, poetry, and activism, bringing together an all-star lineup to perform her most iconic songs. (Photo: Giada Papini Rampelotto/EuropaNewswire). Photo by: Giada Papini Rampelotto/EuropaNewswire/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
Image:
Bruce Springsteen at New York’s Carnegie Hall at a tribute to Patti Smith last month. Pic: PA

The New Jersey-born rocker, nicknamed The Boss, last released a studio album in 2022.

Only the Strong Survive was a collection of covers, including songs by Motown and soul artists, such as the Four Tops, The Temptations, The Supremes, Frankie Wilson and Jimmy Ruffin.

The late soul legend Sam Moore, who died in January and was a frequent Springsteen collaborator, sang on two of the tracks.

Read more from Sky News:
Tributes to ‘genius’ Kilmer
Penguin island facing tariffs
Richest billionaires named

Springsteen is coming to the UK in May to launch a two-month tour of Europe with his E Street Band.

The shows will include performances at the Co-op Live in Manchester and Liverpool’s Anfield stadium.

The singer-songwriter has sold more than 140 million records since his debut on the music scene in 1973, according to his website.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Stalker who believed Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas was his aunt avoids jail

Published

on

By

Stalker who believed Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas was his aunt avoids jail

A man who stalked Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas for six years has avoided jail.

Kyle Shaw, 37, got a 20-month suspended sentence and a lifetime restraining order on contacting Ballas, her mother, niece, and former partner.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that he thought Ballas was his aunt and “began a persistent campaign of contact”.

“He believed, and it’s evident from what he was told by his mother, that her late brother was his father,” said prosecutor Nicola Daley.

The court heard there was no evidence he was wrong, and “limited evidence” he was correct.

Ms Daley said Shaw’s messages had accused Ballas of being to blame for the death of her brother, who took his own life in 2003 aged 44.

He also set up social media accounts in his name.

Shaw had pleaded guilty to stalking the former dancer between August 2017 and November 2023 at a hearing in February.

Incidents included following Ballas’s 86-year-old mother, Audrey Rich, while she was shopping and telling her she was his grandmother.

The court heard in messages to Mrs Rich, Shaw had asked: “Where’s my dad?”

Ballas was so worried for her mother’s safety that she moved her from Merseyside to London.

Shaw outside court on the day of his sentencing. Pic: PA
Image:
Kyle Shaw outside court on the day of his sentencing. Pic: PA

In October 2020, Ballas called police after Shaw messaged her and said: “Do you want me to kill myself, Shirley?”

Posts on X included one alongside an image of her home address that warned: “You ruined my life, I’ll ruin yours and everyone’s around you.”

Another referenced a book signing and said: “I can’t wait to meet you for the first time Aunty Shirley. Hopefully I can get an autograph.”

The court was told Ballas’s niece Mary Assall, former partner Daniel Taylor and colleagues from Strictly Come Dancing and ITV’s Loose Women were also sent messages.

‘I know where you live’

On one occasion in late 2023, Shaw called Mr Taylor and told him he knew where the couple lived and described Ballas’s movements.

The court heard the 64-year-old TV star become wary of socialising and stopped using public transport.

Prosecutor Ms Daley said: “She described having sleepless nights worrying about herself and her family’s safety and being particularly distressed when suggestions were made to her that she and her mother were responsible for her brother taking his own life.”

Man accused of stalking Shirley Ballas
Image:
Ballas has been head judge on Strictly Come Dancing since 2017. Pic: PA

Shaw cried and wiped away tears as he was sentenced on Tuesday.

The judge said the stalking stemmed from his mother telling him Ballas’s brother, David Rich, was his biological father.

“I’m satisfied that your motive for this offending was a desire to seek contact with people you genuinely believed were your family,” he said.

“Whether in fact there’s any truth in that belief is difficult, if not impossible, to determine.”

Kyle Shaw leaves Liverpool Crown Court, where he is charged with stalking Strictly judge Shirley Ballas.
Pic: PA
Image:
Shaw pictured at court in February. Pic: PA

Read more from Sky News:
Cast of Beatles films revealed

Tractor crashes into houses in Cheshire

Defence lawyer John Weate said Shaw had been told the story by his mother “in his mid to late teens” and had suffered “complex mental health issues” since he was a child.

He added: “He now accepts that Miss Ballas and her family don’t wish to have any contact with him and, importantly, he volunteered the information that he has no intention of contacting them again.”

Shaw, of Whetstone Lane in Birkenhead, also admitted possessing cannabis and was ordered to undertake a rehab programme.

Continue Reading

Trending