NEW YORK (AP)—R&B legend Teddy Pendergrass, who had been one of the most electric and successful figures in music until a car crash 28 years ago left him in a wheelchair, has died of colon cancer. He was 59.

Pendergrass died Jan. 13 in suburban Philadelphia, where he had been hospitalized for months. The singer’s son, Teddy Pendergrass II, said his father underwent colon cancer surgery eight months ago and had “a difficult recovery.”

TEDDY PENDERGRASS

“To all his fans who loved his music, thank you,” his son said. “He will live on through his music.”

Pendergrass left a remarkable imprint on the music world as he ushered in a new era in R&B with his fiery, sensual and forceful brand of soul, and his ladies’ man image, burnished by his strikingly handsome looks.

The Screen Actors Guild, and Oscar awards are right around the corner, and soon, elated actors and actresses will be graced with a shiny, coveted statue to prominently feature on their mantles. The breakout film of the season is “Precious,” directed by Lee Daniels. (The Golden Globes were held Sunday. Mo’Nique won for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Precious”), and the movie will likely be nominated for an Oscar as well. Perhaps a lesser known fact is that the character “Joann,” one of the students in Precious’ writing class, is played by actress Xosha Roquemore, the daughter of Shay Wafer, vice president of Programs at the August Wilson Center for African-American Culture.

Xosha Roquemore

Comedian Earthquake is looking forward to be coming back to Pittsburgh.

“I love Pittsburgh, I’m very fond of it. WAMO went out of business and a lot of entertainers don’t come to Pittsburgh, but I love Pittsburgh so much that I wanted to take on the financial responsibility of coming there. I love Pittsburgh because of the down home of it. It embodies who we are as a race. Pittsburghers work hard and they don’t need material things to make them who they are,” said the 48 year old whose real name is Nathaniel Stroman.

EARTHQUAKE

This week I visited a new hot spot called Pharaoh in the Strip District, CJ’s in the Strip District, Matrix in Station Square and Krobar in the Strip District.

My first stop was at Krobar in the Strip District where DJ GQ and Mike Dean held an event called Polo and Pumps, featuring the hottest ladies in the city of Pittsburgh.

My next stop was at the new hot called Pharaoh in the Strip District where Royal Tribe and Wyld Chyld Entertainment came together for a great event. You definitely need to come out and check it out because it’s off the chain.

Kickin’ it at the new hot spot called Pharaoh in the Strip District.