‘GOT TALENT’ TV FORMAT SETS GUINNESS RECORD
THINGS
WORTH TALKIN’ ABOUT
Tuesday, April 8, 2014 Section B Page 6
LOS ANGELES – The producers of the “Got Talent” franchise said the TV talent contest is a winner in its own right. Syco Entertainment and FremantleMedia said Monday that Guinness World Records has deemed the series the most successful reality TV format worldwide. The format that was launched as “Britain’s Got Talent” has been adapted for broadcast in 58 countries, the producers said. The latest versions to air include those in Iceland and Brazil. Alistair Richards, president of Guinness World Records, said in a statement that “Got Talent” was the new record holder. It displaced “Strictly Come Dancing,” another British format that’s sold to more than three dozen countries. The “Got Talent” format was created by music and reality TV entrepreneur Simon Cowell.
BUZZWORTHY
Man charged with felony stalking of Selena Gomez
LOS ANGELES – A man arrested twice in one week at Selena Gomez’s house was charged Monday with felony stalking and violating a court order to stay away from the singer-actress. Che Cruz, 20, was scheduled to have an initial court appearance Monday afternoon on the charges. He was arrested Friday after he returned to Gomez’s home just hours after he was released from jail in a case in which he was ordered to stay away from her. The Los Angeles district attorney’s office said Cruz jumped the fence at Gomez’s home before his second arrest. If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison.
Judge rejects request to dismiss Chris Brown case
NEW YORK – With Jimmy Fallon doing so well as “Tonight” show host, NBC’s boss expressed no fear Monday about who will replace David Letterman upon the late-night comic’s planned retirement from CBS sometime next year. Fallon “is the best and no matter who CBS puts in that place, I think he’ll still be the best,” NBC Universal CEO Steve Burke said. The NBC chief said he didn’t think Tina Fey or Jay Leno, two people with NBC ties who have been mentioned as potential Letterman replacements, would be in the running. Fey seems happy making movies and shows for NBC, Burke said. Fey, who made and starred in “30 Rock,” has a production deal with NBC. Former “Tonight” host Leno is still talking with NBC about a deal where he will do occasional specials, he said. Fallon has topped the late-night ratings since taking over for Leno in February, and is particularly strong among the young audience NBC seeks. While the network was always confident in Fallon, Burke said the new host has easily exceeded expectations, and is even bringing viewers back to the 11:30 p.m. time slot. “He has turned out to be, I think, exactly what America is looking for,” Burke said. CBS was not talking Monday about candidates to replace Letterman, which have ranged from Stephen Colbert to Conan O’Brien to Neil Patrick Harris. The network isn’t giving a timetable for when a selection will be made, and a day hasn’t been set for Letterman’s last show, either.
Peaches Geldof dies unexpectedly at age 25
LONDON – Peaches Geldof, the wild-child second daughter of concert organizer Bob Geldof who worked as a model, a TV presenter and a fashion writer and filled the pages of British tabloids with her
Barbara Walters sets May 16 for exit
NEW YORK – Barbara Walters plans to make her final appearance on “The View” May 16, part of a day-long retirement celebration that will include ABC News naming its New York headquarters after her. Later that night, ABC will air a two-hour prime-time special on her career. Walters, who is 84, began in TV in 1961 and became the medium’s best-known interviewer. She announced last year that she will retire from regular TV appearances.
Iconic actor Rooney dies at 93
LOS ANGELES – Mickey Rooney’s approach to life was simple: “Let’s put on a show!” He spent nine decades doing it, on the big screen, on TV, on stage and in his extravagant personal life. Pint-sized, precocious, impish, irrepressible – perhaps hardy is the most-suitable adjective for Rooney, a perennial comeback artist whose early blockbuster success as the vexing but wholesome Andy Hardy and as Judy Garland’s musical comrade in arms was bookended 70 years later with roles in “Night at the Museum” and “The Muppets.” Rooney died Sunday at age 93 surrounded by family at his North Hollywood home, police said. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s office said Rooney died a natural death. There were no further details immediately available on the cause of death, but Rooney did attend Vanity Fair’s Oscar party last month, where he posed for photos with other veteran stars and seemed fine. He was also shooting a movie at the time of his death, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” with Margaret O’Brien.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS Comedian Shecky Greene is 88. Original Mouseketeer Darlene Gillespie is 73. Singer J.J. Jackson is 73. Singer Peggy Lennon of the Lennon Sisters is 73. Songwriter Leon Huff of Gamble and Huff is 72. Guitarist Steve Howe of Yes and of Asia is 67. Bassist Mel Schacher of Grand Funk Railroad is 63. Singer-actor John Schneider is 54. Guitarist Izzy Stradlin of Guns N’ Roses is 52. Singer-gui-
tarist Donita Sparks of L7 is 51. Singer Julian Lennon is 51. Actor Dean Norris is 51. Rapper Biz Markie is 50. Actress Robin Wright is 48. Actress Patricia Arquette is 46. Singer Craig Honeycutt of Everything is 44. Drummer Darren Jessee of Ben Folds Five is 43. Actor Taylor Kitsch is 33. Singer-guitarist Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend is 30. Actor Taran Noah Smith is 30.
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NBC boss isn’t worried about David Letterman successor
WASHINGTON – Singer Chris Brown’s assault case is going forward after a judge in Washington on Monday rejected a request to dismiss it. Lawyers for the Grammy award-winning singer had argued the case should be dismissed because prosecutors abused the grand jury process to prepare for trial. Brown’s lawyer, Mark Geragos, said prosecutors used the grand jury to “freeze” the testimony of the alleged victim in the case, a man who said Brown and his bodyguard punched him outside a Washington hotel in October. Geragos called the incident “the most investigated misdemeanor of all time.” But Judge Patricia Wynn agreed with prosecutors that they had a right to use the grand jury to assess the strength of their case. Wynn also on Monday ordered that Brown and his bodyguard be tried separately. Brown’s bodyguard, Christopher Hollosy, will start his trial April 17. Brown’s trial will begin after Hollosy’s ends. Both cases will be decided by a judge, not a jury.
late-night antics, has died at age 25. There was no immediate word on the cause of death at her home in Wrotham, Kent, southeast England. Her father said in a statement Monday: “Peaches has died. We are beyond pain.” Kent police declined to name Geldof, but when asked about her death they said in a statement that officers were called to a house near Wrotham following a report of concern for a woman’s welfare Monday afternoon. They said the 25-year-old woman was pronounced dead by emergency officers, and that the death is being treated as “unexplained and sudden.”