Names and faces

Roger Waters

honored wounded veterans in New York by performing with them at the annual Stand Up for Heroes benefit late last week. The founding member of the band Pink Floyd took to the stage of the Beacon Theater with 14 wounded veterans he met recently at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He rehearsed with them at the hospital and for a few days before the concert in New York. The event benefited the Bob Woodruff Foundation, which helps returning veterans and their families, and featured Waters, Bruce Springsteen, Ricky Gervais, Robin Williams, and others. Before the show, Waters chatted with veterans and called the experience “fantastic.” He says he’s “looking forward to pulling for the rest of these guys with their comrades” during the healing process. “I lost my grandfather in 1916 and my father in 1944, so I’ve been around the sense of loss and what loss from war can do to people,” Waters said. “I never talk about the politics because it’s not relevant to me. I’m not interested in it,” he said. “What I am interested in is the burdens these guys bear and would never question motive or even dream of talking about any of the politics.” Waters said he rehearsed with many of the veterans at the hospital in between their medical procedures. He performed three songs with them at Thursday’s benefit, including the Pink Floyd classic, “Wish You Were Here.”

Kenneth Branagh, who has played royalty on stage and screen, has been made a real-life knight by Queen Elizabeth II. The British actor said he was pleased to be honored in the year of the queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics. He said that “it’s been a hell of a year for the U.K. and I feel very honored to be a tiny part of it.” Belfast-born Branagh was knighted at a Buckingham Palace ceremony Friday for services to drama and for his charity work in Northern Ireland. Best known as a Shakespearean actor and as TV detective Wallander, Branagh joins the pantheon of theatrical knights alongside the late Sir Laurence Olivier - whom Branagh played in My Week With Marilyn. He has also directed films including Henry V.

Front Section, Pages 2 on 11/12/2012

Upcoming Events