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Archive: December 2011 (71-80 of 80)

Dec 6 2011 06:29 PM ET

Mindy McCready a 'happy girl' after closed child-welfare hearing

Mindy McCready told reporters after a closed-door child welfare hearing in Arkansas on Tuesday that she was a “happy girl” with the result, reports People. The hearing was called after McCready’s five-year-old son Zander was found hiding with his mother on Friday; Zander’s maternal grandmother Gayle Inge had been his legal guardian. The court’s findings were sealed, but McCready reportedly texted “WE WON!!! ZAN STAYS” to HLN’s Jane Velez Mitchell.

Dec 6 2011 10:46 AM ET

'Biggest Loser' contestant Vinny Hickerson engaged

by Lanford Beard

Categories: Weddings

Country singer and current Biggest Loser contestant Vinny Hickerson is engaged, reports People. Hickerson, half of country outfit Trailer Choir, planned a surprise proposal at the Grand Ole Opry for long-time girlfriend Lori Diaz. Hickerson chose the iconic performance venue because “it’s a place where so many dreams have come true…. My biggest dream is to be a great husband and a great father, and fall in love.”

While cameras filmed the big moment for tonight’s episode of The Biggest Loser, Hickerson dropped to one knee and presented his girlfriend with a ring evoking the romantic Eiffel Tower. They celebrated their ‘yes’ moment with a private concert by country stars Thompson Square. “I’ll never forget that night for as long as I live,” gushed Diaz. “It was so perfect, even more perfect than if I had planned it myself!”

Hickerson signed on for Biggest Loser to set a good example for his future stepson, Diaz’s 9-year-old son Brennon, and has lost 112 pounds so far.

Dec 6 2011 10:07 AM ET

Polish opera star Violetta Villas dead at 73

by Associated Press

Categories: In Memoriam, Music

She was a coloratura soprano who spurned opera for popular music, a Polish singer who became a caberet star in Las Vegas, an artist trapped for years behind the Iron Curtain when she flew home to tend to her dying mother. Singer Violetta Villas, 73, died late Monday at her home in Lewin Klodzki, a village in southern Poland, local police spokesman Pawel Petrykowski told the Associated Press. Prosecutors have ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of death, he said Tuesday.

Villas was born Czeslawa Cieslak in 1938 to a Polish coal miner’s family in Belgium. A unique talent with a trademark cascade of curly blond hair, Villas had a voice that spanned four octaves. Rather then pursue an operatic career, she preferred popular music, a genre that brought her wide popularity in Poland — where the family returned in 1948 after the World War II — and abroad. READ FULL STORY »

Dec 6 2011 08:33 AM ET

Rita Hayworth's grandson found dead in suspected suicide

by Associated Press

Categories: In Memoriam

A grandson of the late screen actress Rita Hayworth has been found dead in an apparent suicide in New York City. Police say 25-year-old Andrew Embiricos was discovered in his Manhattan apartment Sunday night with a bag over his head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. No crime is suspected. A spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office says the cause of his death is pending autopsy results.

Embiricos was the son of Hayworth’s daughter Yasmin Aga Khan, a philanthropist known for publicizing the plight of those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Hayworth was a legendary beauty who rose to fame in the 1940s and ’50s in movies such as Cover Girl and Gilda. She died in 1987 of Alzheimer’s disease at age 68.

Dec 5 2011 04:52 PM ET

Rosie O'Donnell engaged

by Lanford Beard

Categories: Weddings

Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com

Rosie O’Donnell is engaged to girlfriend Michelle Rounds, EW has confirmed.

O’Donnell and Rounds, a New York headhunter, went public with their relationship this September. No date has been set for the wedding yet, according to O’Donnell’s publicist.

It will be the second marriage for O’Donnell, who split from wife Kelli Carpenter in 2010. O’Donell has four children with Carpenter.

Dec 5 2011 02:35 PM ET

'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Kim Richards enters rehab

by Lanford Beard

Categories: Health, Television

Kim Richards of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills has entered rehab for a second time for undisclosed reasons, reports People. The former child star — aunt of Paris Hilton and sister of fellow former child star and Housewives castmate Kyle Richards — previously spent a short stint in rehab after allegations of alcoholism on last January’s Beverly Hills finale. This season, she has abstained from alcohol on air, but did admit that she is taking several different prescription medications for anxiety and depression, plus an anti-seizure medication which can be used to treat alcoholism.

Dec 5 2011 06:33 AM ET

Brooke Mueller arrested in Aspen

by Associated Press

Categories: Crime

Police say Charlie Sheen’s ex-wife, Brooke Mueller, has been arrested in Aspen on suspicion of third-degree assault and cocaine possession with intent to distribute.

Authorities say officers arrested Mueller early Saturday at a nightclub after a woman reported being assaulted by her.

Mueller posted $11,000 bond and was released from custody. She’s scheduled in court Dec. 19. Aspen police spokeswoman Blair Weyer says additional details are not immediately available.

Her attorney, Yale Galanter, had no comment.

Sheen and Mueller divorced earlier this year, citing Christmas Day 2009 as the day of their breakup. Charlie Sheen was arrested in Aspen on that day on suspicion of assaulting Mueller. He completed his probation in that case last November.

Dec 2 2011 08:32 PM ET

Michael Jackson doctor files appeals notice in LA

by Associated Press

Categories: Industry News, Lawsuits, Music Biz

The doctor sentenced to four years behind bars for causing Michael Jackson’s death has filed a notice that he intends to appeal the conviction.

Conrad Murray signed a one-page document that was filed in Los Angeles on Friday seeking all records and transcripts from the case. The filing does not indicate the basis on which Murray will argue to overturn his conviction or sentence.

The 58-year-old was sentenced Tuesday to four years in jail for his involuntary manslaughter conviction, but the term will be automatically cut in half.

Murray’s challenge will be heard by a state appeals court in Los Angeles, assuming he files an opening brief at a later date.

Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor blasted Murray’s conduct on Tuesday, calling him a disgrace to the medical profession.

Dec 1 2011 04:35 PM ET

Judy Lewis, secret daughter of Clark Gable and Loretta Young, dies

by Lanford Beard

Categories: In Memoriam

Judy Lewis, the illegitimate daughter of film legends Loretta Young and Clark Gable, has passed away at the age of 76. Throughout her childhood, Lewis believed Young had adopted her. She only found out as an adult that Young was her biological mother and Gable her father. The two stars were involved during the filming of 1935′s Call of the Wild.

Dec 1 2011 01:22 PM ET

Zach Gilford engaged to 'Lost' actress

by Kate Ward

Categories: Weddings

Friday Night Lights star Zach Gilford is preparing for some wedding day bells: The actor is engaged to The Glades actress Kiele Sanchez, known to Lost fans as Nikki Fernandez.

The couple has been dating for over a year, according to People. A wedding date has not yet been reported.