Don Knotts, best known as the quirky deputy in “The Andy Griffith Show,” now has his own little star.
The 75-year-old actor was honored Wednesday with the 2,152nd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Knotts, who has won five Emmys for his portrayal of Deputy Barney Fife on the show, also starred in films such as “The Incredible Mr. Limpet,” “The Reluctant Astronaut” and shows such as “Three’s Company” and “The Don Knotts Show.” John Ritter, Knotts‘ “Three’s Company” co-star, was in attendance.
“I can’t believe I have my own star. I’m gonna come down here every morning and shine that sucker up,” Knotts said.
NO JEALOUSY FOR JOLIE: Angelina Jolie, who’s currently creating Oscar talk for her role in “Girl, Interrupted,” is quite excited about her next role. She’ll be co-starring in “Dancing in the Dark” with Antonio Banderas. “I’ve never been with a swarthy Latin man on camera or off, so I’m looking forward to our pairing,” Jolie tells the Calgary (Alberta, Canada) Sun. But don’t read too deeply into the implications of her quote; Jolie isn’t looking to break up the actor’s marriage to Melanie Griffith. Regardless, Melanie needn’t worry; the 24-year-old actress, who recently divorced Jonny Lee Miller and has many times declared she finds women attractive, provides her own solution for jealousy.
“Maybe if I sleep with Melanie first, I’ll be fine,” Jolie joked.. We won’t touch that one.
HE’S ALL HEART: David Letterman departed New York-Presbyterian Hospital on Wednesday, five days after undergoing quintuple-bypass surgery. He will continue recuperating at an undisclosed location, according to hospital spokesman Howard Rubenstein. Letterman, 52, joked, “I think there must be some kind of mix-up. I went to the hospital to get a face-lift.” The talk-show host had emergency surgery Jan. 14 after tests showed that one of his arteries was blocked. There’s no word on when he’ll return to his late-night show, but we’ll predict one thing: some sort of quintuple-bypass Top 10 list.
QUICK TAKES: You’d never expect to see Hollywood powerhouse Mike Ovitz on the turntables. But the former CAA head is going into rap music, forming an urban-entertainment division under his management-production company and looking to crossover into films, sports and the like. …
… The first Latin Grammys will take place in Los Angeles rather than Miami, because the Florida city’s ordinance refuses to permit Cuban performers, according to officials. The awards will have 40 categories covering Spanish and Portuguese music and will air Sept. 15 on CBS. …
… Sandra Bullock can breathe a sigh of relief — for now. A low-budget exploitation film she made in her pre-“Speed” days looks like it won’t be released into theaters as its producer, Roger Corman, had hoped. “Fire on the Amazon” was tagged with an NC-17 rating for the extra five seconds of a sex scene Corman added, and the producer is now re-submitting it with changes, hoping the MPAA will give it an R rating. For those who are wondering, the scene involved Bullock and Craig Sheffer “drinking from a hallucinogenic liquid drug from an Indian ceremonial bowl. This spawns the couple’s passionate canine-style lovemaking in the jungle.” Again, we won’t touch that one. …
