Top Stories
Clint Black, Taylor Dane and former MTV personality “Downtown” Julie Brown will join The Citizen Patriot Tour organized by Janet Langhart Cohen, a former television personality and wife of former Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, The Associated Press reports. The group will head overseas this weekend to entertain troops at undisclosed military bases.
Twisted Sister will headline a Nov. 28 concert benefit concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, AP reports. KISS guitarist Ace Frehley, former Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach, Overkill and Anthrax will also perform. Twisted Sister guitarist Jay Jay French said he hopes to raise $100,000 for the victims of last month’s attack on the World Trade Center.
The Beastie Boys have also organized and will headline the New Yorkers Against Violence benefit concert on Oct. 28 at the Hammerstein Ballroom. According to Billboard.com, up-and-coming New York-based rock groups Rival School and the Strokes as well as the B-52s, Cibo Matto, Saul Williams and Pakistani vocalist Rahat Fateh Ali Khan will perform. Proceeds will benefit the New York Association for New Americans and the New York Women’s Foundation.
Jay Leno‘s celebrity-autographed motorcycle and matching truck drew a top bid of $360,200 Wednesday on eBay, Reuters reports. The winner of the limited-edition Harley-Davidson motorbike will be announced Friday. Proceeds from the sale will benefit the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Weddings
Natalie Cole married a local minister, Kenneth Dupree, in a private ceremony last Friday at Victory Baptist Church in Nashville, Tenn., AP reports. Guests included Dionne Warwick, Star Jones, Jennifer O’Neill and producer David Foster.
Deaths
Virginia Sate Senator Emily Couric died from pancreatic cancer Wednesday, People.com reports. Couric’s sister Katie has been on leave from her NBC show Today this week.
In Courts
The two sides in O.J. Simpson’s road-rage trial in Miami offered different versions of the encounter between Simpson and Jeffrey Pattinson, The Miami Herald reports. While the prosecution claims Pattinson was inside the vehicle when he was confronted and scratched by the retired football star, Simpson’s defense attorney said both drivers got out of their SUVs. Testimony is expected to last about two days. If convicted, Simpson could face up to 16 years in state prison.
In General
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring will premiere in London on Dec. 10, Reuters reports. The Fellowship of the Ring, the first film in the trilogy made back-to-back in New Zealand, is expected to be one of the biggest of the year.
Former Seinfeld star Julia Louis-Dreyfus is getting her own sitcom, Reuters reports. NBC said on Thursday it had ordered 12 episodes of the series 22 Minutes with Eleanor Riggs, which will likely air early next year as a mid-season replacement. The show will feature Louis-Dreyfus as a nightclub singer in Los Angeles.
Britney Spears is pairing up with AOL Time Warner to promote her albums and tours, Reuters reports. In exchange, every copy of Spears‘ upcoming album will come with the latest version of AOL software. AOL members will also have advance access to Spears concert tickets.
CBS’ The Guardian and NBC’s Scrubs have been picked up for the full season. According to the The Hollywood Reporter, NBC also plans to give full-season pickups to Crossing Jordan, UC: Undercover and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
The Screen Actors Guild ‘s board of directors has expelled three members who worked on or auditioned for commercials during the union’s strike against advertisers last year, AP reports. Gerry Donato, Mario Barbieri and Robert Kalomeer were all kicked out following a trial board hearing.
