L.A. police investigate Paris Hilton car crash
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles police are investigating a car crash and traffic stop involving heiress Paris Hilton to determine if officers allowed her friend to drive while drunk, a police spokeswoman said on Wednesday. A videotape released by celebrity Web site TMZ.com shows what appears to be Hilton's companion, Greek shipping heir Stavros Niarchos, slamming a Bentley into the back of a truck as the couple left a Hollywood nightclub early with at least two other people.
Victoria's Secret show struts back after hiatus
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Victoria's Secret fashion show staged an exuberant return on Wednesday evening as the lingerie retailer brought back its sexually-charged runway extravaganza for the first time in two years. The fashion show, a multimillion dollar televised showcase of lacy titillation, was scrapped last year amid a wave of broadcasting modesty that followed singer Janet Jackson's breast-baring Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction" in 2004.
'Desperate Housewives' actor fired
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The actor who plays the mysterious man chained in a basement by Alfre Woodard's character on the ABC hit show "Desperate Housewives" has been fired from the series, the network said on Tuesday. No reason for last Friday's dismissal of the actor, Page Kennedy, was given. But sources close to the production who spoke on condition of anonymity said he was fired for some unspecified misconduct that involved no other cast members.
k.d. lang files suit against former manager
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Singer k.d. lang is suing her former business manager, alleging that hundreds of thousands, or possibly millions, of dollars in excessive fees were fraudulently drawn from the musician's account. The Grammy-winning Canadian vocalist filed suit Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court against Annabel Lapp, her company the Annabel Lapp Group and Lapp Group employee Dina Correale. The action seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
Lennon's solo catalog to be offered for download
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - John Lennon's entire solo catalog will be made available for Internet download next month, making him the first of the Beatles whose complete body of work outside the Fab Four can be delivered online, his label said on Wednesday. Material ranging from Lennon's first solo album with the Plastic Ono Band to "Imagine" and "Double Fantasy" will be sold by online services like Napster, Rhapsody, MSN Music and Yahoo Music Unlimited, EMI Music said.
Auction of JFK memorabilia planned in New York
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A treasure-trove of John F. Kennedy memorabilia will be auctioned next month ranging from the watch he wore to his 1961 presidential inauguration to his doodles during talks on the Cuban missile crisis. The private collection of Robert White, who began collecting Kennedy artifacts in the 1950s, represents most of the nearly 2,000 items that will be put up for sale from December 15 to 17 at the Park Avenue Armory by Guernsey's auctioneers.
Singer Chuck Berry sues karaoke distributors
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rock 'n' roll pioneer Chuck Berry has sued three leading karaoke music distributors, claiming they sold sing-along versions of his most popular hits without paying royalties or obtaining licenses. If he prevails in court, Berry, 79, stands to gain several hundred thousand dollars for each of his songs, including such hits as "Johnny B. Goode," "Maybellene" and "My Ding-A-Ling," his lawyer, Peter Haviland, told Reuters on Wednesday.
'NOW 20,' Santana lead pop charts with lower sales
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - With a little help from acts like Franz Ferdinand, Coldplay, Weezer and the Backstreet Boys, the 20th installment of the "NOW! That's What I Call Music" series took the top slot on the U.S. pop album charts Wednesday. The collection sold 378,000 copies in the week ended November 6, according to Nielsen SoundScan, putting it ahead of new albums from Santana, Blink-182 and Third Day.
Trump tour to net "The Donald" $15 million
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Donald Trump draws crowds like a rock star, so he might as well go on tour and get paid like one, too. Fresh off two $1.5 million speaking engagements before admiring throngs of wealth seekers, Trump has agreed to continue as headliner of The Learning Annex Real Estate Wealth Expo Tour of 2006, the center said on Wednesday.
Sculpture breaks day-old modern-art price record
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A red-hot contemporary-art market notched another new price record on Wednesday, when a sculpture by David Smith sold at auction for $23.8 million and broke a mark for postwar art set just 24 hours earlier. The American artist's large stainless-steel sculpture "Cubi XXVIII" was billed as the highlight of Sotheby's post-war and contemporary-art auction, but it surpassed expectations when bidders drove the price to $23.8 million, including commission.
