IS THAT RED? One evening last month, 17-year-old Emma Tlapek was collecting canned food and money in her Little Rock neighborhood for the annual Mount St. Mary Robin Hood Days.
No biggie, just doing her duty as a Mount St. Mary senior and student council member to help groups like the Arkansas Food Bank and The Helping Hand of Greater Little Rock.
Then she met Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman.
Tlapek was on her Robin Hood Days rounds when she saw that there was a gathering at a neighbor's house. She didn't know them, but figured they would be a good source to hit up for a donation.
She knocked on the door and was welcomed in.
"He was the first person I noticed, and I was like, 'Hmmmm ... is that ... ?'"
It was. The star of Seven, Driving Miss Daisy, Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby (he won a Best Supporting Oscar for that one) and more was just chilling in this west Little Rock home.
Still, Tlapek kept quiet. She wasn't totally sure it was him and didn't want to be rude.
"They all said, 'Don't you know who that is?' And I said: 'Aren't you Morgan Freeman?' And he just looked at me ... and he said, 'Yes, I am.'"
Freeman donated $5 to Robin Hood Days (which pulled in a record 63,328 cans and cash equivalent), and took a picture with Tlapek.
She never found out why the man who so movingly played Red in Shawshank Redemption was here (we made a few phone calls but hadn't gotten anything confirmed before deadline Friday).
"There were cheese and crackers on the table. I guess they were just hanging out and talking," she says.
A TOUGH CROWD Evanescence, the rock band led by vocalist Amy Lee, who grew up in Maumelle, had some trouble at a Nov. 30 Mexico City gig.
The band was set to play mega-festival Knotfest, but damage to the stage barricades forced them and headliner Slipknot to cancel, according to Revolvermag.com. Footage showed fans storming the stage and what was said to be drummer Will Hunt's kit on fire.
Lee kept her sense of humor, though. The band's latest single is a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain." On the day after the ruckus, she tweeted: "Now I find myself wondering if we need a flaming drum kit in The Chain video."
VOICE OF CHOICE Marybeth Byrd of Armorel squeaked by last week on NBC's The Voice and is now among the final eight contestants. The show returns tomorrow at 7 p.m.
Email: sclancy@arkansasonline.com
SundayMonday on 12/08/2019