Tragedy Touches Gulf Coast Celebs

(CBS/AP)  The suffering of New Orleans, long a culturally rich city, is being felt on a personal level by the many celebrities with relatives or other personal ties to the flooded city and the Gulf Coast have voiced their empathy for those devastated by Hurricane Katrina; some have been directly affected.

R & B legend Fats Domino, whose agent and niece reported him missing at midday Thursday, is reported to have been rescued. That's according to his agent, Al Embry, who quotes Domino's youngest son as saying the musician got a helicopter ride to safety, along with some family members, from his home in a flooded section of New Orleans.

Relatives who weren't a part of that ride had four tense days waiting for news of the fate of the 77-year-old entertainer, who is famed for unwillingness to leave New Orleans and had intended to ride out the storm in his home.

The first glimmer of hope for daughter Karen Domino White, tracking events from New Jersey, came in the form of a newspaper photo of Domino apparently being helped to safety.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune photo, says White, shows her dad, whose real name is Antoine Domino, in jeans and a blue-striped shirt being helped off a boat by rescuers.

"We're very relieved," says White.

Rapper and producer Master P, also a New Orleans native, told The Associated Press that his uncle, father-in-law and sister-in-law, among others, are unaccounted for. His father was missing until recently.

"We just got caravans of family members (evacuated)," he said. "It's just devastating."

Master P, whose houses and those of his family members are underwater, said he had created a foundation called Team Rescue and had helicopters searching for his missing family members.

Blues legend B.B. King, a native of Mississippi, also has loved ones in the area.

"I have some friends and family down in New Orleans, and also on the Gulf coast of Mississippi," said King. "I've tried to call them several times but I can't get through to them so I don't know where they are."

Harry Connick Jr., who grew up in New Orleans and is one of many musicians participating in benefit concerts for hurricane victims, told NBC's "Today" show the city's residents are "freakishly strong" and would rebuild.

He compared the rejuvenating spirit of New Yorkers after the Sept. 11 terror attacks to those in the hurricane-ravaged city.

Connick developed his music in jazz bands and at clubs in the French Quarter. His father, Harry Connick Sr., served as the city's district attorney for 29 years before retiring in 2003.

"I haven't slept in days. Although I now finally know that my immediate family in New Orleans is safe, I have not heard from many, many friends and other family members," said Connick, in a statement on his Web site. "It is hard to sit in silence, to watch one's youth wash away. New Orleans is my essence, my soul, my muse, and I can only dream that one day she will recapture her glory."

Actress Patricia Clarkson, whose credits include "The Green Mile," "Jumanji," and "The Untouchables," was relieved to know that her mom was safe.

Clarkson says her mother, New Orleans councilwoman Jackie Clarkson, was with Mayor Ray Nagin during the hurricane.

"She's all right, otherwise I wouldn't be here," Clarkson said at the Venice Film Festival in Italy, where she was promoting her latest movie.

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