Saturday, March 1, 2008

The Food Network has asked celeb chef Robert Irvine, host of "Dinner: Impossible," to pack his knives and go -- for now.

After reports surfaced last week that Irvine had embellished his r¿sum¿ -- claiming he had worked on Princess Diana's wedding cake, cooked for President Bush and graduated from the University of Leeds, all untrue -- Food Network President Brooke Johnson released a statement yesterday saying Irvine's contract has not been renewed for future seasons. The network will, however, continue airing old shows and producing the remainder of the current season with Irvine as host.

"We appreciate Robert's remorse about his actions, and we can revisit this decision at the end of the production cycle, but for now we will be looking for a replacement host," Johnson said in the statement.

In a statement of his own, Irvine apologized, saying he "will work tirelessly to regain your trust and continue to use my show and life to benefit the less fortunate."

Judith Jamison, artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for almost two decades, announced Thursday she plans to retire.

Jamison, 64, said she will step down in 2011. She joined the New York-based modern dance company in 1965 and became artistic director in 1989, shortly after founder Alvin Ailey's death, the Associated Press reports.

The troupe, which performs worldwide (and often at the Kennedy Center), has blossomed during Jamison's tenure. It has created a bachelor's degree program with Fordham University, expanded its performance schedule and built a $56 million headquarters in Manhattan.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has cleared two physicians who treated Heath Ledger-- one in Texas and another in California -- of any wrongdoing in the actor's Jan. 22 death, the New York Post reports.

In interviews earlier this week, both doctors told investigators they had met with Ledger, 28, and prescribed medications, but not OxyContin and Vicodin, the two most powerful drugs found in the actor's bloodstream after an accidental overdose in his Manhattan apartment. Autopsy results also showed traces of anti-anxiety drugs alprazolam, diazepam and temazepam, as well as the sleep aid doxylamine, in Ledger's system at the time of death.

The DEA's ongoing Ledger investigation aims to determine if medical conditions were behind all prescription drugs found in Ledger's apartment, People magazine reports.

Voted: In case you haven't had your fill of celebrity endorsements, Will.I.Am is here to help. The Black Eyed Peas rapper, who supports Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), has released another star-smattered Internet video to sing the candidate's praises. The black-and-white "We Are the Ones" features Jessica Alba, Ryan Phillip p e, John Leguizamo, George Lopez and Macy Gray discussing their support for Obama in English and Spanish over a loop of a crowd chanting, "O-BA-MA, O-BA-MA."

-- Marissa Newhall, from staff and wire reports