Ellen DeGeneres leaving 'American Idol' after 1 season
Ellen DeGeneres is dancing off "American Idol" after one season, leaving Fox's hit show with two vacancies on its judging panel.
If the singing contest intends to revamp itself to stem a ratings slide, it has the opportunity to bring in two new faces for season 10 in January.
Fox has yet to announce a replacement for Simon Cowell, who left after the season finale in May to start a new talent show for the network.
"A couple months ago, I let Fox and the 'American Idol' producers know that this didn't feel like the right fit for me," DeGeneres said in a statement. The comedian-talk show host said she realized that while she "loved discovering, supporting and nurturing young talent, it was hard for me to judge people and sometimes hurt their feelings."
DeGeneres said she told the network she would delay any action until it had time to "figure out where they wanted to take the panel next."
A Fox statement contained no announcement of a replacement for DeGeneres. The network could make an announcement Monday, when it presents its 2010-11 programming schedule to members of the Television Critics Association meeting in Beverly Hills.
Judge Kara DioGuardi, who was brought in two years ago to replace Paula Abdul, is not under contract for next year, and Fox has not announced whether she'll return.
When DeGeneres joined the show, proclaiming herself a fan of "American Idol" and a pop aficionado, observers noted she didn't bring music industry expertise to her role. Some observers complained she proved more of a cheerleader than an incisive critic in the mold of Cowell.
She had a reported two-year contract.
Wahlberg gets Hollywood star
Rapper-turned-underwear model-turned-Oscar-nominated actor Mark Wahlberg has been enshrined in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The 39-year-old actor was presented with a star Thursday on Hollywood Boulevard's famed sidewalk monument.
Will Ferrell, who stars with Wahlberg in the action-comedy "The Other Guys" being released next week, was on hand for the ceremony. The comedian got in a couple of digs.
"I'm glad to be here," Ferrell said. "I first became a fan of Mark's when I bought his workout video. And I love all your 'Bourne' movies."
The "Bourne" films star Matt Damon, not Wahlberg.
Wahlberg first gained fame in the early 1990s, recording with the hip-hop group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch.
That was followed by a ubiquitous ad campaign featuring him in Calvin Klein underwear.
He then turned to acting and got attention with his breakout role as Dirk Diggler in 1997's "Boogie Nights." Wahlberg got a supporting actor Academy Award nomination in 2006 for "The Departed."
German fans treated to 'A-Team' VIP preview
Celebrity birthdays
Actor Edd "Kookie" Byrnes is 77.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig is 76.
Blues musician Buddy Guy is 74.
Former U.S. Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.) is 70.
Singer Paul Anka is 69.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is 63.
Blues singer-musician Otis Taylor is 62.
Actor Frank Stallone is 60.
Actress Delta Burke is 54.
Singer-songwriter Kate Bush is 52.
Actor Laurence Fishburne is 49.
Actress Lisa Kudrow is 47.
Director Christopher Nolan is 40.
Actor Tom Green is 39.
Actress Hilary Swank is 36.
Olympic gold-medal beach volleyball player Misty May-Treanor is 33.
(c) 2010 Herald; Rock Hill, S.C.. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.
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DeGeneres quits 'American Idol'
Jul 29, 10:04 PM
Ellen DeGeneres said via Twitter Thursday she won't be returning as a judge on "American Idol" next season.
DeGeneres, a comedian and talk-show host, joined "Idol" in its ninth season, but said she decided a couple of months ago not to return for its upcoming 10th.
"Dim the lights ... I've voted myself off American Idol," she tweeted.
"It was hard for me to judge people and sometimes hurt their feelings," she said. "I am very grateful for the year I had. I am a huge fan of the show and will continue to be."
Longtime "Idol" judge Simon Cowell left the show at the end of last season, leading to rampant speculation about who might take over for him. Now the show will have to replace two judges.
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Rhinebeck Redemption - Chelsea 'Father-in-Law' Lives Down Criminal Past
Jul 29, 02:19 PM
By REBECCA ROSENBERG; DAN MANGAN
Chelsea Clinton's future father-in-law said he's thrilled about her upcoming wedding - and very "grateful" to be part of it, despite a dark criminal past.
"I'm a proud papa," teary-eyed former Iowa Rep. Ed Mezvinsky told "Inside Edition" in a story broadcast last night about his son Marc's imminent nuptials with the former first daughter. "The family's excited."
"These are two wonderful human beings that have sensitivity about life and have a warm regard for family, and that's what it's really all about," said Mezvinsky, after getting a haircut in Rhinebeck, NY, where the star-studded wedding will be held Saturday at the Astor Courts estate.
Mezvinsky, 73, was convicted in 2003 of several acts of fraud. Prosecutors called him a one-man "crime wave" who routinely pulled business scams that netted him $10 million in ill-gotten loot.
He said that after his 2008 release from federal prison he rebuilt his relationship with Marc and the daughter of former President Bill Clinton and current Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
"I'm remorseful for what happened," Mezvinsky said. "It was a terrible time, and I was punished for that. And I respect that and accept responsibility for what happened, and now I'm trying to move on and am grateful I have the opportunity for that."
He called the lavish wedding, which could cost an estimated $3 million or more, "a rather special occasion and I'm grateful I can be part of it."
Rhinebeck locals also are grateful that Saturday's shindig is being held in their pretty, upstate town along the Hudson River - although anyone associated with it is under strict orders not to talk to the press.
"It's wonderful, it's great," said John Tisch, a museum curator who lives in town. "It brings a lot of excitement to the community at a time when we can use it.
"Everyone is smiling, except those folks caught in the traffic jams."
Shopkeepers are happy about what's causing those traffic backups - potential customers - and are looking to cash in on the craze for anything Clinton. Many stores were displaying well-wishing signs with messages such as "Congrats" or "Mazel Tov, Marc and Chelsea."
At Rhinebeck Deli yesterday, counterman Rick Newkirk was offering several newly created sandwich specials: Chelsea's Choice, Bill's All-American and Hillary's The Secretary of State.
"My boss came up with the idea while drinking a beer," Newkirk said. "He wanted to do something to commemorate the wedding of the decade."
Originally published by REBECCA ROSENBERG in Rhinebeck, NY, and DAN MANGAN in NY.
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Talking 'The Talk' on CBS
Jul 29, 05:00 AM
By Gary Levin
BEVERLY HILLS -- Ladies of The View, CBS is coming after you.
The Talk, due this fall, is a panel show constructed similarly to ABC's daytime chatfest. It features five women sitting around a long table gabbing about the day's news and about being moms.
Sara Gilbert (Roseanne) developed the show two years ago and helped recruit fellow panelists Leah Remini (The King of Queens), Sharon Osbourne, Holly Robinson Peete (21 Jump Street) and Julie Chen, who hosts Big Brother and The Early Show and is married to CBS CEO Leslie Moonves. (Hairspray's Marissa Jaret Winokur, a sixth host, will function mostly as a field correspondent.)
The daily show, due weekdays at 2 ET/PT starting Oct. 11, replaces canceled soap As the World Turns.
Gilbert told TV critics gathered here Wednesday for the opening day of their semiannual Press Tour that as a new mother, "I was feeling overwhelmed" and wondered whether she was giving her child (or herself) enough attention. "People need this kind of support, so I thought, 'What if there were a bunch of women who sat together and talked about that world?' "
Gilbert, who is gay and raises her child with a partner, says that as an actor, "I've never really discussed my personal life." She will now; it's "a whole new world for me."
Talk will travel to the stars' homes as they interact with their kids. In test footage, Chen confides she wears a corset to hide baby fat from giving birth to Charlie, now 10 months old; Osbourne confronts parents of little girls who dance provocatively in Web videos.
But "this is not a show just for moms," Chen says. "This is six women from different walks of life who talk about what everyone is talking about." (Chen will stay on at Big Brother but give up Early Show hosting duties for occasional taped segments.)
Meanwhile, CBS is preparing a new season that hits what programming chief Nina Tassler calls the network's "sweet spot," traditional sitcoms and stand-alone crime or law shows. "Having episodic, closed-ended shows resonates with our audience."
A remake of Hawaii Five-0 is a top priority. The biggest risk? Moving The Big Bang Theory to Thursdays at 8 ET/PT, Tassler says. "We don't expect it to do the numbers it's done on Monday just yet, but I think the show has distinguished itself. We haven't seen a comedy like this in a while."
Survivor, which returns to Wednesdays, is dividing teams by age for its 21st season, set in Nicaragua and due Sept. 15. One tribe will be ages 40-plus, the other, under-30. The pitch: whether "youth and vitality" can outplay "life experience and knowledge." And new hit Undercover Boss has tapped execs at DirecTV, NASCAR, Chiquita and Great Wolf Resorts for early-season episodes.
(c) Copyright 2010 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
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Pix Suit Over 'Fela!' Vision
Jul 28, 12:56 PM
By BRUCE GOLDING
A Brooklyn photographer is suing producers of the Broadway smash "Fela!" for allegedly ripping off a picture that's featured prominently in the Tony-winning musical.
Marilyn Nance says her shot of the late musician Fela Kuti's Nigerian nightclub is being used without permission as part of the production design for the critically acclaimed hit, which is set inside the club, called The Shrine.
Nance's Manhattan federal court suit - which seeks at least $150,000 in damages for copyright infringement - alleges that her photo is projected "onto or above" the stage and "effectively serves as the backdrop for the 'Fela!' set."
A chart attached to the filing calculates that the image was displayed during 40 percent of the June 27 performance of "Fela!," including the entire 16-minute intermission.
The photo also appears in the show's $10 souvenir program book with a bogus attribution to "Monique Carboni," the suit alleges.
"Fela!" publicist Richard Kornberg called Nance's suit "without merit," noting that her shot is of a "public building in Lagos, Nigeria."
"Unfortunately, this photographer waited two years to voice an objection to our use of this image," he said. "Had she notified us earlier, we would have replaced it then."
Originally published by BRUCE GOLDING.
(c) 2010 The New York Post. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.