Entertainment & Celebrities
Police informant says Las Vegas 19-year-old was 'driving force' behind celebrity burglary case. Investigators cracked a youthful burglary ring that preyed on Hollywood's rich and famous, often brazenly walking into their unlocked homes to make off with cash, jewels and family heirlooms, authorities said.
Honolulu Symphony cancels concerts for rest of year, plans to file for bankruptcy. The Honolulu Symphony said Friday it's canceling concerts for the rest of the year and filing for bankruptcy, citing a big drop in donations.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - R&B singer Rihanna broke her silence on Friday about the night her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown attacked her, saying he had bitten her, put her in a headlock and left her bleeding and swollen.
Negotiator and former president of Hollywood producers' group, Nick Counter, dead at 69. Nick Counter, a longtime negotiator for Hollywood producers who led the studios through two grueling writers' strikes last year and in 1988, has died. He was 69.
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - An unseasonal gust of wind greets Alicia Keys as she steps out of a doorway behind a Beverly Hills hotel on a late October afternoon. Decked out in a black leather vest and black leggings brightly accented by turquoise suede knee-high boo a hint of matching eyeliner, the Grammy Award-winning singer is surprised by the chilly blast before she ducks into a waiting black sport utility vehicle. Commenting on the wind's force, she laughs when it's suggested the quick dust-up is a forecast of the whirlwind activity cranking up on behalf of her latest studio album, "The Element of Freedom."
Art D'Lugoff, owner of NYC's Village Gate club, dies at 85; performers included jazz greats. Art D'Lugoff (Duh-LOO'-guhf), who owned the famed Village Gate nightclub in New York City, has died. He was 85.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Joe Jackson, the elderly father of late pop star Michael Jackson, on Friday filed a court petition seeking an allowance from the singer's estate, saying his son had supported him for many years.
Two-time Oscar-nominated actor James Woods has sued a Rhode Island hospital over the 2006 death of his younger brother.
Actor James Woods sues hospital in RI over brother's 2006 death, case to go to trial Monday. Two-time Oscar-nominated actor James Woods has sued a Rhode Island hospital over the 2006 death of his younger brother.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Cable television network A&E on Friday unveiled plans for a new reality TV show starring four brothers of late pop star Michael Jackson depicting them dealing with his death and rehearsing for an upcoming concert.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - No one knows better than Yoko Ono how far celebrity activism has come in the last 40 years.
Sacramento mayor, Washington, D.C. schools superintendent engaged. Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and Washington schools superintendent Michelle Rhee are engaged.
Federal judge blocks 2 Web sites from selling Beatles songs and others for 25 cents apiece. A federal judge has temporarily blocked two music-sharing Web sites from selling songs by The Beatles and other artists for 25 cents apiece.
'Girls Gone Wild' founder sentenced to time served, probation for filing false tax returns. A judge sentenced "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis on Friday to 301 days already served and a year of probation for filing false income tax returns and bribing Nevada jail workers.
Augusten Burroughs shares his somewhat horrific holiday stories in 'You Better Not Cry'. It's not uncommon for people to say that their holidays don't live up to a Norman Rockwell painting, but Augusten Burroughs says his holidays have been "hideous."
Berlin inaugurates repainted stretch of Wall, bringing new life to historical remnant. The Berlin Wall's longest remaining stretch has been restored to its state of nearly two decades ago after artists repainted the colorful murals they created in the aftermath of the notorious barrier's opening.
Miami Book Fair International: thousands of readers to throng literary fest even in recession. Poetry and music have been cut and there will be no parade to kick off the Miami Book Fair International as in years past. But one of the nation's leading literary festivals isn't giving up on readers in a bad economy.
Book review: In Mark Arsenault's 'Loot the Moon,' a reporter reveals a judge's secret life. "Loot the Moon" (Minotaur), 276 pages, $24.99, by Mark Arsenault: Billy Povich, former investigative reporter, has been reassigned to write obituaries ? his newspaper's way of encouraging him to quit.
LONDON (Reuters) - Seven black-and-white photographs of the Beatles sitting on a grassy field, taken by a teenage girl on the last day of filming for their movie Help!, will be sold next week, the auctioneer said.
LONDON (Reuters) - British singer Elton John left hospital on Thursday after being treated for a serious case of e-coli bacterial infection and influenza that forced him to cancel a string of concerts, his representative said on Thursday.
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Puerto-Rican hip-hop duo Calle 13 won five Latin Grammy awards on Thursday, including the coveted Album of the Year, helping cement their reputation as being among the vanguard of alternative reggaeton music.
LONDON (Reuters) - Beauty pageant winner Miss England gave up her title on Friday after reports she had been involved in a nightclub brawl with another beauty queen.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST-SELLERS. HARDCOVER FICTION
LONDON (Reuters) - London-based record label EMI has won an injunction against music website BlueBeat.com which it said was selling Beatles songs without its permission.
Latin singer Alejandro Sanz teams up with Alicia Keys for a track on his new album. Whenever Latin pop sensation Alejandro Sanz writes music, he sets off on a "long mental journey" to find inspiration. But when Alicia Keys surprised the singer at a party in New York by joining him in an impromptu jam session, Sanz knew then that he'd found his muse.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. And judging by what's in theaters this holiday movie season, his name is George Clooney.
New biography offers fascinating picture of President Woodrow Wilson's life and times. "Woodrow Wilson" (Knopf, 704 pages, $35), By John Milton Cooper Jr.: Soon after he was elected president in 1912, Woodrow Wilson told a former colleague at Princeton University that all of his preparation for office was in the domestic sphere and it would be "an irony of fate" if his administration were to be consumed by concerns over foreign policy.
Elton John released from hospital; plans to resume US shows with Billy Joel. Elton John has been released from a London hospital after being treated for flu and an E. coli bacterial infection.
BERLIN (Hollywood Reporter) - Twenty-year-old Emilia was desperately trying to get a ticket to the MTV Europe Music Awards Thursday, shivering outside the O2 World stadium on a chill grey evening in what used to be East Berlin.
Singer Estelle, rapper Ludacris and family members pay tribute to soul-singer Otis Redding. Grammy-winning singer Estelle remembered when she used to strut in the living room when she was younger, singing many of soul legend Otis Redding's classic songs like "Sittin' On The Dock of the Bay."
Partial list of winners at the 9th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Partial list of winners from the 2008 Latin Grammy Awards in Houston, Texas:
Oprah Winfrey keeps singer BeBe Winans off show until domestic charges against him are resolved. Oprah Winfrey is removing gospel singer BeBe Winans from her show's "karaoke challenge" until charges against him for allegedly pushing his ex-wife to the ground are resolved.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Anyone approaching Harlan Werner's multi-level Hollywood home during a weekday morning is likely to be greeted by the rousing sounds of a classically trained tenor exercising his unique voice.
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Hal Holbrook continues his late-career renaissance, begun so vividly with his Oscar-nominated turn in "Into the Wild," with this elegiac drama about an octogenarian who still has a lot of fight left in him.
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Carrie Underwood is on track to achieve her second No. 1 album on the U.S. pop chart next week, although sales will be sharply lower than for the country star's previous effort.
Band will appear at KrampusNacht 2009. The boogie-rock trio, the Electric Boogie Dawgz are scheduled to perform on December 6th at this year's KrampusNacht party in San Francisco. The Electric Boogie Dawgz split 2 years ago when singer, guitar player Bret Hagen moved from the San Francisco Bay Area.The Electric Boogie Dawgz gained some noteriety from the Village Voice for their irreverant and fun songs about drinking and their taste for the boogie. Ironically, the band never played in New York - but were discovered online by the editorial staff at the Village Voice.The Electric Boogie Dawgz will take the stage at 8:00 pm on December 6th at Cafe Du Nord, to kick off KrampusNacht 2009.
Oscar-winner Morgan Freeman has settled a lawsuit involving a female passenger traveling in his car when it crashed last year, the woman's lawyer confirmed Friday.
Monaco's royal palace said Friday it has filed suit against an American who claims to have run a private spy agency for Prince Albert II to keep tabs on powerful local personalities and media.
An exhibition on Leon Trotsky, one of the architects of the 1917 Russian Revolution, opened in Saint Petersburg on Friday -- the eve of the uprising's 92nd anniversary.
Former Bond actor Roger Moore has kicked off poster a campaign calling on Selfridges to stop selling foie gras.
Britney Spears' Australian tour ran into controversy before it even began, with an official suggesting concert goers should be told if the pop icon would be miming her songs.
Britney Spears' Australian tour ran into controversy before it even began, with an official suggesting concert goers should be told if the pop icon would be miming her songs.
Britain's music industry almost universally applauded Manchester band Elbow's 2008 Mercury Awards victory, and a year on the band are back in the studio saying life has changed "dramatically".
In a dark space in a new exhibition at Arles museum in southern France, underwater sounds play over looped video footage of scientists on underwater digs along the Rhone riverbed.
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The holiday season starts early this weekend, as Disney opens director Robert Zemeckis' 3D animated feature "A Christmas Carol."
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oscar winner Morgan Freeman has reached an out-of-court settlement with a woman who was his passenger in a car crash and later sued him, court documents showed on Thursday.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Singer Beyonce scooped three prizes at the MTV Europe Music Awards on Thursday at a ceremony in Berlin marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall that once divided the city.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oprah Winfrey has not yet made a decision on a possible move of her syndicated chat show -- one of the TV industry's biggest money makers -- to her new cable network OWN, her production company said on Thursday.
Beyonce bountiful in Berlin at MTV Europe Awards with 3 wins. Berlin loves Beyonce.
Winners of the 16th annual MTV Europe Music Awards. Winners of the 16th annual MTV Europe Music Awards, presented Thursday: