American blues singer and budding actress Shonka Dukureh was found dead at her home in Tennessee, police said Thursday. She was propelled to international fame just months before she died, after playing Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton in Baz Luhrmann's movie “
The singer is portrayed by Shonka Dukureh, a gospel singer from Tennessee who did her own vocals for the film. You may have seen her performing with Doja Cat during the artist's Coachella set, on their collaborative song, “Vegas.” The video for the song, which Dukureh is included in, has over 15 million views.
Actress and singer Shonka Dukureh made her big-screen debut this year in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis, only to tragically die shortly after the film's release. Her death at 44 came as a shock, and now the cause has been revealed.
Shonka Dukureh, who made her movie debut as Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis biopic, has died.
Elvis actor Shonka Dukureh's cause of death has been revealed, after her passing in July. The actor played singer Big Mama Thornton in Baz Luhrmann's biopic Elvis. She died at the age of 44 on July 21.
Cooper Noriega died of an accidental drug overdose, coroner says.
Elvis Presley's last love is paying her respects to his daughter Lisa Marie Presley. Ginger Alden, Presley's former fiancée and final companion who found him dead in his bathroom in 1977, penned a tribute to the King of Rock and Roll's daughter, whom she had known for a short time before Elvis' untimely death.
Today, Presley might have received help for an eating disorder, but back then he was ridiculed and labelled “fat Elvis” in the press. He reportedly weighed an astonishing 158kg (350 pounds) at the time of his death, at age 42 – around 80kg, or 180 pounds, heavier than a decade before.
Shonka Dukureh, who sang 'Hound Dog' in 'Elvis,' dead at 44.
In the film, Luhrmann highlights artists such as Big Mama Thornton, who sang the original “Hound Dog”; Little Richard, an actual rock originator; Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the electric guitar pioneer; and B.B. King, the blues superstar who had a long, close friendship with Presley.
Elvis died of a heart attack on Aug. 16, 1977. The "preliminary autopsy findings" indicated that the cause of death was "cardiac arrhythmia," according to Dr. Jerry Francisco, the Shelby County coroner, who conducted a two-hour examination of the body.
But not everything in the film is entirely true to life. Having to compile four decades of life into a two-hour and 39-minute run time made for many details of Presley's career to blur together, while some were fictionalized entirely for the sake of entertainment.
Enjoyed this Elvis Presley film where he plays the role as Mike Edwards who is down on his luck and meets up with a sweet little girl named Sue-Lin, (Vicky Tiu) who likes Mike and he agrees to watch her while her uncle takes care of his business affairs.
“Hound Dog” Songwriter Says the Song Was Never Stolen from Big Mama Thornton for Elvis Presley. Mike Stoller, one of the original writers of Elvis Presley's 1956 hit “Hound Dog,” says the song was never stolen from blues singer and songwriter Big Mama Thornton.
He had a Basset Hound named Sherlock, Great Danes named Brutus and Snoopy, and Edmund, a Pomeranian he gave to his aunt Delta, because the two bonded so quickly. Get Lo, a Chow, was another of Elvis' dogs. He was once flown to Boston on Elvis' small Jetstar plane to get treatment for a kidney ailment.
Fontana agreed that Elvis had borrowed the Bellboys version after seeing them perform the song live. In 1992, Leiber and Stoller confirmed that Presley was familiar with Thornton's record of the song but "he didn't do her version"; he had learned the song from Freddie Bell & The Bellboys.
Did Elvis actually fire the colonel from the stage in Las Vegas? “No, he never would have done that,” Nash says. Nor did he ever suggest onstage that he knew of the colonel's immigration issues.
After Elvis died in 1977 at Graceland, Priscilla helped establish Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE), which launched Graceland into a top international tourist destination.
Although their marriage didn't last, Elvis and Priscilla had love for one another until the singer's death in 1977. Priscilla said they "never lost our friendship and our care for each other," and they would often talk on the phone.
The report said that Noriega's death was an accident after he consumed three substances: fentanyl, alprazolam and lorazepam. The two latter substances are used to treat anxiety and depression, while fentanyl has contributed to "an unpredictable pace" of overdose deaths in the state since about 2016.
Cooper Noriega burial
He has not been buried yet.
Cooper Noriega's Family and His Best Friend Nessa Barrett Release Heartfelt Statements Following His Death.
AUSTIN BUTLER MAY BE the man of the moment thanks to his titular role in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis, but his costar, Australian actor Dacre Montgomery, is one to watch.