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Articles by Eric Althoff

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers perform on the 40th Anniversary Tour at Wrigley Field on Thursday, June 29, 2017, in Chicago. (Photo by Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP)

Tom Petty legendary Heartbreakers singer dies at 66

Tom Petty's music, birthed from his formative years in Gainesville, Florida, and refined and perfected among the clubs and streets of Los Angeles, was an American celebration of rock, love and communal spirit -- be it through music, drug use or, best of all, with music. Mr. Petty was as known for his spectacular compositions as for letting his audiences fill in lyrics for him, most notably on "Learning to Fly," during the final chorus of which at his live shows he would vamp on an improvised vocal line as audiences sang: "I'm learning to fly, but I ain't got wings; coming down is the hardest thing."

October 2, 2017
Washington police secure the vicinity around the fire-damaged multimillion-dollar home in northwest Washington, Wednesday, May 20, 2015, where four people were found dead May 14. Washington Police Chief Cathy Lanier earlier identified two of the victims found dead as 46-year-old Savvas Savopoulos and his 47-year-old wife, Amy Savopoulos. Police believe the other two victims are the couple's 10-year-old son and a housekeeper. Police say the deaths are being investigated as a homicide. .   (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Savopoulos murders of D.C. to be explored in Fox 5 podcast

Hosted by Sarah Fraser, "The Mansion Murders: FOX 5 True Crime Podcast" will take a look back at the notorious murders of the Savopoulos family and their housekeeper, Vera Figueroa. The bodies of Figueroa, Savvas Savopoulos, Amy Savopoulos and their son Philip were discovered Mary 14, 2015, at their home in Northwest after their killer fled with $40,000 in ransom money, but not before setting the house on fire.

October 2, 2017
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said removing the Taney statue was "the right thing to do." (Associated Press/File)

Fox 5 in Washington, D.C., to relocate to Bethesda, Maryland, in 2021

The District's Fox affiliate, WTTG, and WDCA Fox 5 Plus have entered into a letter of intent with Carr Properties to relocate their television facilities and operations from the Friendship Heights section of the capital to 7272 Wisconsin Ave. in Bethesda, Maryland -- a distance of less than 2 miles -- by 2021.

September 24, 2017
This image released by Fox Searchlight Pictures shows Emma Stone, left, and Steve Carell in a scene from "Battle of the Sexes." (Melinda Sue Gordon/Fox Searchlight Pictures via AP)

‘Battle of the Sexes’ actors Bill Pullman, Elisabeth Shue on Billie Jean King, Bobby Riggs matchup

Some 90 million people worldwide tuned in May 13, 1973, to watch 29-year-old Billie Jean King accept a challenge from 55-year-old Bobby Riggs, the loudmouth former men's champ who claimed he could beat any woman in a tennis match -- even the best one. The story of that fateful contest is recreated in the new film "Battle of the Sexes," starring Oscar-winner Emma Stone as Ms. King and Steve Carell as the conceited, self-aggrandizing Riggs.

September 21, 2017
In this Sept. 10, 2017 photo, Jake Gyllenhaal, left, poses for portrait with Boston Marathon bombing survivor Jeff Bauman during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto. Gyllenhaal portrays Bauman in the film "Stronger." (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Jake Gyllenhaal, Jeff Bauman discuss ‘Stronger,’ based on Boston Marathon bombing book

"There was a huge responsibility in trying to get his journey right, and by right I mean what he went through emotionally, physically, sort of recalibrating his entire life after the event," the actor Jake Gyllenhaal said of portraying Jeff Bauman in "Stronger," the film adaptation of Mr. Bauman's book that comes out Friday in the capital.

September 21, 2017
Karen Allen in a scene from "Year by the Sea."  (Los Angeles Times)

Indiana Jones actress Karen Allen discusses new film ‘Year by the Sea’

The actress Karen Allen is no stranger to the nation's capital. She studied at George Washington and lived in Dupont Circle while trying her hand on the District's numerous professional theaters as an aspiring actor. She found a plum role in "Year by the Sea," a new film based on the writings of Joan Anderson that bows in the District this weekend.

September 20, 2017
(Twitter)

Prophets of Rage and Arcade Fire among artists releasing new music

Fall is a magical time of year -- to fall in love, to contemplate the accomplishments and mistakes of the summer, to set new goals. The changing of the leaves and the falling temperatures cannot help but make one contemplative this time of year, and self-inquiry always could use a decent soundtrack. Fortunately, we have the goods to fire up as the seasons change, from artists new and up-and-coming, angry and calming, surprising and even more surprising.

September 14, 2017
Nicholas Hoult portrays J.D. Salinger in a scene from "Rebel in the Rye."  (Fandango)

‘Catcher in the Rye’ author J.D. Salinger’s life explored in film ‘Rebel in the Rye’

We all had to read the book, but almost no one knows the story behind "The Catcher in the Rye." The new film "Rebel in the Rye" begins with Salinger (Nicholas Hoult) carousing about in New York's nightlife by dark and, by day, studying at Columbia under the tutelage of a professor (Kevin Spacey), who encourages his young student to find his writer's voice. Salinger enlists when the U.S. enters World War II, and it is these experiences that will haunt his writing on "Catcher in the Rye" when he returns stateside.

September 13, 2017

Prophets of Rage member B Real discusses new CD and keeping people woke in age of Trump

The election didn't go the way Prophets of Rage had hoped, but thereafter, band member B Real says, the work has continued. The Prophets, who are releasing a new self-titled album Friday, will perform at the District's 9:30 Club Thursday evening. Prior to the gig B Real spoke with The Washington Times about keeping people woke.

September 12, 2017
Filmmaker Ken Burns said he hopes his 10-part documentary about the War, which begins Sunday on PBS, could serve as sort of a vaccine against some problems that took root during the conflict, such as a lack of civil discourse in America. (Associated Press/File)

Ken Burns: Vietnam War documentary tells story from all sides

Ken Burns had promised himself there would be no more war films. After documentaries on the Civil War and World War II, the filmmaker famous for his exhaustive, multipart deep dives into history was looking forward to more films along the lines of his "Jazz" and "Baseball" works.

September 12, 2017

‘Bar Rescue’ host Jon Taffer discusses upcoming sixth season

If you're a bar owner and Jon Taffer yells at you, there's a very good chance you're doing something wrong. The host of "Bar Rescue" on Spike has spent decades turning around failing watering holes, a process that not only entails refashioning the interior and exterior of the establishment itself, but typically -- and volubly -- dressing down the establishment's owner and staff with a thorough tongue-lashing.

September 10, 2017
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Bill Skarsgard in a scene from "It." (Brooke Palmer/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

MOVIE REVIEW: ‘It’ has the blood but little of actual scares

I think the biggest problem with it -- and "It" -- is that the remake is a straight-up horror flick that forgot to include the epic feeling of backstory that is inherent in all of Stephen King's writing, to say nothing of the well-realized character complications that made the 1990 miniseries breathe beyond its material.

September 9, 2017

9/11 commemorated with flags installation at New Jersey high school

For the third consecutive year, Cedar Grove High School in Cedar Grove, New Jersey, will install "Cedar Grove Waves," a display of 2,977 flags on the school's campus to honor the victims of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Each victim is commemorated with a nameplate next to the flag of his or her home country.

September 5, 2017

Michael Nichols ‘Wild’ photography exhibit shows at Philadelphia Museum of Art

Michael Nichols has seen the entire world through an extremely unique lens. Over decades of work for such publications as "National Geographic," Mr. Nichols has traveled the planet to film -- in stills and video -- nature, peoples and otherwise capture images of our planet in a way rarely seen. An exhibition of his impressive catalog of work, "Wild: Michael Nichols," is now open at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 17, the first major exhibition of the photographer's work.

August 20, 2017