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Whitney Houston Plans HBO Special Houston will perform more than 20 songs in her third HBO special, including such hits as "I Will Always Love You" and "Step by Step." She will be backed by a 35-piece band and orchestra with an entire string section. DAR Constitution Hall will seat more than 2500 people for the performance, which will employ 14 cameras. In addition, the backdrop will feature images projected on five screens, setting an elegant and understated tone. Houston's special will be the first performance since the renovation of the legendary hall. Whitney and The Whitney Houston Foundation for Children will donate the proceeds from ticket sales to the Children's Defense Fund, a national non-profit organization devoted to providing a voice for all children of America, particularly poor, minority and disabled children. The private organization is supported by corporations, individuals and foundations, and has never accepted government funds. HBO and Time Warner will also make a substantial contribution to the CDF, which is marking its Silver Anniversary with a year-long celebration beginning in October. Houston's previous HBO specials are "Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston," a homecoming concert for the troops of Desert Storm, presented in March 1991, and "Whitney -- The Concert for a New South Africa," celebrating a new dawn for the country and its leader Nelson Mandela, presented from Johannesburg in November 1994. A superstar for more than a decade, Whitney Houston's records have amassed global sales of over 100 million copies. She has been honored with five Grammy Awards, 21 American Music Awards, 11 NAACP Image Awards, five People's Choice Awards, two Emmy Awards ,and six Soul Train Awards. Houston launched her recording career with the 1985 album "Whitney Houston," containing the hits "Saving All My Love for You" and "How Will I Know." In 1987, she became the first female artist to enter the Billboard album chart at 1 with "Whitney." The album produced seven consecutive 1 hits, surpassing the record previously held by the Beatles and the Bee Gees. Houston's other hits have included "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)," "The Greatest Love of All," "Count on Me," "I Have Nothing," "I'm Every Woman," "I'm Your Baby Tonight," "You Give Good Love," "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" and "I Believe in You and Me." Her 1992 film debut, "The Bodyguard," which co-starred Kevin Costner, was a box-office smash; the soundtrack, featuring six Houston songs, is the best-selling motion picture soundtrack of all time, with more than 33 million copies sold worldwide. It was followed by the smash film "Waiting to Exhale," whose soundtrack has sold more than 10 million copies. Houston also starred with Denzel Washington in the 1996 film "The Preacher's Wife" and sang on the hit soundtrack. Houston also serves as executive producer and stars in the November ABC network special "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella," which features Houston as The Fairy Godmother, Brandy as Cinderella, Whoopi Goldberg as The Queen, Bernadette Peters as The Wicked Stepmother, and Jason Alexander as The Prince's advisor. CLASSIC WHITNEY LIVE FROM WASHINGTON, D.C. is produced and directed by Marty Callner, who directed the recent hit HBO special "Garth Live from Central Park." His credits also include acclaimed, award-winning videos for Aerosmith, and HBO specials starring Bette Midler and Whitney Houston, among many others. CLASSIC WHITNEY LIVE FROM WASHINGTON, D.C. is executive
produced by Whitney Houston Enterprises. NEWSFILE: 3 OCTOBER 1997 |