Celebs feel Katrina's wrath
2005-09-02 07:13
New York - The suffering of New Orleans, long a culturally rich city, is being felt across the entertainment world.
Many celebrities with relatives or other ties to the flooded city and the Gulf Coast have voiced their empathy for those devastated by Hurricane Katrina; some have been directly affected.
Fats Domino was photographed being brought to safety by boat after the hurricane hit, his daughter Karen Domino White said on Thursday.
The 77-year-old R&B legend had been reported missing by his longtime agent, Al Embry, and his niece, Checquoline Davis.
White said late on Thursday that she saw a photo of her father that had been taken by the New Orleans Times-Picayune. The photo showed Domino, whose real name is Antoine Domino, in jeans and a blue-striped shirt being helped off a boat by rescuers.
"We're very relieved," White said by phone from New Jersey.
Master P, also a New Orleans native, told The Associated Press that his uncle, father-in-law and sister-in-law, among others, were unaccounted for. His father was missing until recently.
"We just got caravans of family members (evacuated)," Master P said on Thursday. "It's just devastating."
The rapper-producer, who also said his houses and those of his family members were under water, said he had created a foundation called Team Rescue and had helicopters searching for his missing family members.
'New Orleans is my essence, my soul...'
Blues legend BB King, a native of Mississippi, also said he had loved ones in the area.
"I have some friends and family down in New Orleans, and also on the Gulf coast of Mississippi," King said. "I've tried to call them several times but I can't get through to them so I don't know where they are."
Harry Connick Jun, who grew up in New Orleans, told NBC's Today show the city's residents are "freakishly strong" and would rebuild.
He compared the rejuvenating spirit of New Yorkers after the September 11 terror attacks to those in the hurricane-ravaged city.
Connick developed his music in jazz bands and at clubs in the French Quarter. His father, Harry Connick Sen, served as the city's district attorney for 29 years before retiring in 2003.
"It is hard to sit in silence, to watch one's youth wash away," the jazz musician said in a statement on his website. "New Orleans is my essence, my soul, my muse, and I can only dream that one day she will recapture her glory."
Patricia Clarkson said her mother, New Orleans councilwoman Jackie Clarkson, had stayed at the side of Mayor Ray Nagin while Katrina ravaged the city.
"She's all right, otherwise I wouldn't be here," Clarkson said at the Venice Film Festival in Italy, where she was promoting her new movie.
Rapper lost his home
Rapper Juvenile, who left New Orleans before the hurricane hit, lost his home, but counted himself lucky.
"I am obviously devastated by my personal loss but thank God that I was able to get my family out to safety while many families were not so fortunate," Juvenile said. "I have lost some friends and to their families I send my deepest condolences."
Soul Asylum frontman Dave Pirner said he was anxiously watching news reports on television, hoping to see if his house in New Orleans had escaped destruction.
"We are, you know, examining our silver lining and being very lucky that we're out of harm's way," said Pirner, who was visiting his hometown of Minneapolis when the hurricane struck. "Our place in Minneapolis might be filling up with New Orleans transplants."
Ellen DeGeneres, a Louisiana native, said her 82-year-old aunt's home in Pass Christian, Miss, had been destroyed.
"She has nothing," DeGeneres said. "She grabbed four pictures out of her house. She's lost her entire life."
Britney Spears, who was raised in Kentwood, Louisiana posted a message on her website saying her family was safe and that her "thoughts and prayers go out to everyone" on the Gulf Coast.
Morgan Freeman, whose Mississippi Delta home received only rain and high winds, helped organise an online auction to raise funds for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.
- AP