NAMES & FACES

Monday, April 3, 2006

Bono's Beef With Berlusconi

Philanthropic rocker Bono has written a letter to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to complain that his picture was used to promote Berlusconi's reelection bid next week.

The U2 frontman's photo appeared in a glossy, 161-page magazine published by Berlusconi's Forza Italia party that was sent to millions of Italian households.

Bono, who has led a campaign to persuade the leaders of G-8 nations to double aid to Africa, is pictured in the brochure with a caption that reads, "The Irish star is grateful to the prime minister for the actions promoted by the Italian government toward poor countries."

"Mr Berlusconi, as flattered as I can be of appearing in your brochure, I also feel a bit exploited," Bono said in the letter, which was printed on the front page of the Italian daily paper Corriere della Sera yesterday.

The letter then calls on Berlusconi to fulfill the promises made by the Group of Eight in Gleneagles, Scotland, last year, pointing out that Italy would need to double its contributions by 2010 to honor its pledge.

Berlusconi's government replied in a statement yesterday: "The difficulties we are going through -- and we are not the only ones -- due to the unfavorable economic context, are visible to all and can cause some delays, but certainly not the non-fulfillment" of Italy's commitments, it said. "We will show with the facts the strength of our commitment to the poorest countries."

Death Row's Number May Be Up

It could be curtains for Suge Knight 's Death Row Records: The hip-hop mogul missed a Saturday court hearing regarding his assets, which cleared the way for authorities to take control of the label. Death Row has released music by Snoop Dogg , Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre , among others.

Last year Knight lost a $107 million judgment to Lydia Harris and her ex-husband, Michael Harris, who say they helped start Death Row. Knight, who denies the couple's claim, has missed several court hearings since then. On March 23 a judge ordered the record label into receivership if Knight did not appear at Saturday's hearing. Under the ruling, a court-appointed receiver would take control of all of the label's assets, according to the Associated Press.

Another hearing is scheduled for tomorrow in Los Angeles to finalize the receivership and address a request from the Harrises that Knight be held in contempt and jailed until he discloses his assets to the court.

Knight's attorney, Dermont Givens , said, "We try our cases in the court and not in the press."

Slimed at the Nick Picks

You might have thought it was the Oscars, except that some celebrities were sprayed with green slime and -- oh, yeah -- most of the 10,000 attendees were kids. Nickelodeon's 19th annual Kids' Choice Awards took place Saturday in Los Angeles and were given a raucous start when host Jack Black took the stage in a white Elvis-style jumpsuit and sang Elton John 's "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting."

"Are you ready to have your mind blown apart by the most awesome show in the universe? . . . Tonight is your night to rage against the machine," Black told the appreciative crowd.

Winners included Green Day , which took home two orange blimp trophies for favorite music group and favorite song ("Wake Me Up When September Ends").

Drake Bell won the award for favorite TV actor and shared a second blimp for his role in "Drake & Josh," which won for favorite TV show. The winner for favorite TV actress was Jamie Lynn Spears , star of "Zoey 101" and younger sister of Britney Spears .

Chris Rock claimed the dubiously titled "Wannabe Award" -- meaning the celebrity kids most want to be like. Past winners have included Will Smith and Queen Latifah .

End Notes

· A single by Gnarls Barkley , "Crazy," made U.K. pop chart history yesterday when it became the first song to reach No. 1 based solely on sales of computer downloads, the Official UK Charts Co. reported. The song by Barkley, a fictional character (in reality a collaboration between U.S. hip-hop producer Brian Burton and singer Thomas Calloway ), entered the charts at the top spot even though it wasn't released on CD until today, according to Reuters.

· Actor Edward Norton ("25th Hour," "Fight Club") will speak at the Dirksen Senate Office Building today at noon, part of a briefing sponsored by the American Public Health Association to kick off National Public Health Week.

-- Compiled by Michael Cotterman from staff and wire reports