NAMES & FACES

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Arrested Developments

Rap music mogul Marion "Suge" Knight was arrested and jailed in Las Vegas on drug and assault charges yesterday after he was accused of beating his girlfriend while brandishing a knife.

Responding to a report of a car hitting a curb near the Las Vegas Strip, police said they found Knight, 43, standing over his longtime girlfriend with a knife in his hand. Police say the woman tried to run from the car but Knight grabbed her, the Associated Press reported.

The charges against him include assault with a deadly weapon, battery, domestic violence and drug possession -- police allege that they found ecstasy and hydrocodone on him. Lawyers for Knight, who co-founded the hip-hop label Death Row Records, declined to comment.

Meanwhile, actress Mackenzie Phillips (of "One Day at a Time" fame) was arrested yesterday on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance after she was allegedly found carrying drugs at Los Angeles International Airport.

Airport police said Phillips, 48, was heading to New York when she failed to pass a security screening. A secondary search turned up a small amount of cocaine and heroin.

Phillips is the daughter of John Phillips, the late leader of the singing group the Mamas and the Papas. She has struggled with drug addiction in the past and was fired from "One Day at a Time," which ran from 1975 to 1984, for drug-related causes.

She went on to star in the Disney Channel series "So Weird" and has made intermittent TV appearances in recent years.

Hoarse Trade

Disappointed Neil Diamond fans can request a refund after attending a concert at Ohio State University in which the 67-year-old singer's voice sounded too raspy.

Some fans left the Monday concert early, the AP reports. Those who stayed said Diamond finished the concert without mentioning anything to the audience about his voice.

In a statement, Diamond said a doctor has diagnosed him with acute laryngitis. On his Web site, Diamond apologized, adding: "I haven't let you down before and I won't let you down now." The crooner's rep said Diamond is offering a refund to those who place a request before Sept. 5. In the meantime, several Columbus showgoers have taken to the comments section on Diamond's site, commending his performance and assuring him that only a small number of fans had taken umbrage.

According to his site, the laryngitis forced Diamond to reschedule yesterday's show in Green Bay, Wis., and tomorrow's show in St. Louis.

End Notes

Splitsville: "Desperate Housewives" actress Nicollette Sheridan and singer Michael Bolton have called off their engagement, seemingly reaching the same loggerheads that ended their first romantic foray in the late 1990s. Bolton, 55, and Sheridan, 44, started dating in 1992 (you know, when Bolton had that hair) but broke up five years later. They revived their relationship three years ago and announced their engagement in 2006. No word on what prompted the split.

Quoted:"I stay at 165 pounds and cook everything out of Cooking Light magazine. I only eat irresponsibly on Saturdays, which means bacon and candy." -- Baltimore's own John Waters, 62, telling the London Observer how he stays fit and youthful. What about plastic surgery? "I am against it," the director said. "If you have bad plastic surgery, it looks like you were brought up poor, moved to L.A. and didn't make it. If it's good, you just look like somebody else."

-- Marissa Newhall, from wire and Web reports