Top Story: Kinks Singer Shot in Leg
Ray Davies, former lead singer of the ’60s British rock group The Kinks, was shot in the leg while chasing a man who stole his girlfriend’s purse, Reuters reports. The incident occurred Sunday night as Davies and his unidentified girlfriend strolled along Burgundy Street in the famous French Quarter district of New Orleans. Two men pulled up alongside the couple then jumped out and, brandishing a gun, demanded the woman’s purse. The thief, purse in hand, ran off down the street with the 59-year-old singer chasing behind. The thief then turned and shot Davies in the thigh. A suspect in the case has been apprehended though the driver of the car remains at large. Davies, recently honored as a Commander of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II, was released from the hospital Monday and is expected to be “up and about in a day or so” his manager Deke Arlon told CNN.
Jury Selection Begins in Martha Stewart Case
Jurors who will hear the securities fraud and obstruction of justice case against lifestyle maven Martha Stewart filed into the courtroom today in the first phase of jury selection, Reuters reports. Prosecutors and defense attorneys will winnow down the pool of hundreds of potential jurors though a questionnaire designed to eliminate jurors with a bias either way about the trial. Stewart, who built her company from catering business to publicly traded giant, is accused of making misleading comments regarding the sale of nearly 4,000 shares of ImClone. The day after Stewart sold the stocks, ImClone’s stock price plummeted due to the rejection of a drug patent application. Stewart’s trial begins January 12th.
Curb Your Enthusiasm – It’s Only a Seinfeld Cameo
Jerry Seinfeld will make a cameo appearance on Larry David’s HBO improvised comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm, Associated Press reports. Seinfeld, who co-created the hit Seinfeld with David, showed up on the Enthusiasm set one day and was incorporated into the show. But don’t expect a show about Jerry. Says David of Seinfeld’s time on screen: “Don’t blink.” The fourth season of the critically acclaimed show kicked off Sunday.
Boy Band B2K Calls It Quits
A mere fortnight after the release of their third album, the platinum-selling quintet B2K is disbanding citing internal disagreements, Billboard reports. The group had a hit in 2002 with their debut single, “Uh Huh” off their self-titled album, which sold 861,000 copies. Their follow-up Pandemonium! sold well over a million units. The band’s remaining album is the soundtrack to their film, You Got Served which has already sold 103,000 units. The film will be released January 30th.
Michael J. Fox To Play Doc
Years after his starring role as a doctor in the comedy Doc Hollywood, Michael J. Fox is pulling on his scrubs once more with a guest starring spot on the NBC hit, Scrubs, AP reports. Fox has remained out of the spotlight since revealing his struggle with Parkinson’s disease and quitting his show Spin City. His appearance on Scrubs will reunite him with Bill Lawrence, creator of Spin City and executive producer of Scrubs. Fox will appear on two episodes as a doctor with obsessive-compulsive disorder. The shows will air next month.
Sopranos Star Gets Radio Show
Vincent Pastore of the HBO mob drama The Sopranos will host a talk show in Westchester, NY, reports AP. Pastore played Big Pussy, a mobster bumped off several seasons ago on the hit show. His character has resurfaced now and again in flashbacks. The radio show titled, What’s Goin’ On? will air weekly on WVOX, 1460 AM. Station owner Bill O’Shaughnessy claims he made Pastore, “an offer he couldn’t refuse,” though according to a WVOX spokesman the actor will do the show for free.
Producers Produces Big Revenue for Broadway
The Broadway musical version of the Mel Brooks film The Producers played to packed houses over the Christmas though New Year’s Eve holiday, bringing the week’s gross to a record breaking $1,600,243 over the eight performances, AP reports. Stars Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick returned December 30th after leaving the show earlier that year. A spokesman for the show gives partial credit to the inflated New Year’s Eve top ticket price of $600 for the huge year-end returns. Lane and Broderick will be paid $100,000 a week for the rest of their nearly sold-out run that ends in April.
Role Call: Lew Wasserman Documentary Set for Spring Production
Canadian documentarian Barry Avrich will shoot, The Last Mogul: The Life and Times of Lew Wasserman, the story of the late great media mogul who ran MCA-Universal for decades. The film will be shot in New York and Los Angeles and tell the story of Wasserman‘s life and and times though the golden age of Hollywood until his death in 2002 at the age of 89. Says Avrich, “Power began and ended with Lew Wasserman. There’s powerful people in Hollywood, but there’s not one powerful person anymore.”
Love In Air For Hanks
Tom Hanks‘ Playtone Productions and HBO will partner on a drama about a polygamist and his three wives, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Hanks has worked with HBO in the past on such high profile projects as the miniseries From the Earth to the Moon and Band of Brothers. This would be his first foray into series television for the network.
