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Beloved US broadcaster BARBARA WALTERS has named actor PATRICKDEMPSEY, fashion mogul ANNA WINTOUR, JAY-Z and STEVE IRWIN’s widow TERRI to her annual list of the 10 Most Fascinating People - but won’t reveal the winner just yet.
Walters will name the Most Fascinating Person of 2006 tonight (12DEC06) when the show airs.
Also among the top 10 are retired tennis ace ANDRE AGASSI, JOHN RAMSEY - the father of slain child beauty queen JONBENET RAMSEY, and US televangelist JOEL OSTEEN.

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SID RAYMOND, who voiced cartoon characters BABY HUEY and mischievous magpies HECKLE AND JECKLE, has died. He was 97.
Raymond died on 1 December (06) from complications of a stroke, according to his daughter CYNTHIA RAYMOND.
He was also a familiar face on television with a career spanning from THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW to THE OC.
Raymond was the subject of a 2002 documentary, SID AT 90.

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LATEST: Divorcing couple PAMELA ANDERSON and KID ROCK will fight it out for celebrity friends when they host New Year’s Eve (31DEC06) parties at rival Las Vegas clubs.
Rock was already confirmed to host and DJ an end of year celebration at JET nightclub before the couple split, and, not to be outdone, Anderson has confirmed she’ll host a rival bash at nearby Tao.

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EDWARD NORTON shocked former US President JIMMY CARTER on a talk show Monday night (11DEC06) by presenting him with a letter the FIGHT CLUB star wrote to him as an eight-years-old.
Norton appeared on THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO and announced that he had a connection to Carter and had a matter he needed to attend to.
He explained, "It’s a great honour to meet you in person. My grandfather and President Carter were great friends and colleagues in their commitment to trying to provide affordable housing to low-income Americans. They were very passionate collaborators on that issue. As you know, I’m not a very big sharer of my private life or dirty laundry or things like that, but I do have a bit of unfinished business with President Carter. I wrote him a letter when I was eight-years-old. I never got a response." Norton read the letter in which he asked the president to work on saving wildlife if he "wasn’t too busy." The actor then presented the letter to the president and the two shook hands, with Carter assuring him that he was going to go home and immediately start working on a response.

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Former BEVERLY HILLS, 90210 star TORI SPELLING and her husband DEAN McDERMOTT are expecting a baby boy next year (07).
Spelling, 33 and McDermott, 39 have been married since May (06) and McDermott has a son JACK, 8, from a previous marriage.
She tells American publication People, "We are thrilled to be having a son together. Little boys are a ton of fun. We love talking to him. We play tunes for him and watch him kick. "He already loves the DIXIE CHICKS! We went to their concert and he kicked the whole time." McDermott adds, "Now Jack will have the baby brother he’s been waiting for." Spelling has previously said that if she has a boy he will be given the middle name AARON after her late father, legendary TV producer AARON SPELLING, who died in June (06). They are still deciding on a first name. She adds, "Yes, his middle name will be Aaron. Dean and I feel it’s the perfect way to honour the memory of my father."

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Pop star GWEN STEFANI is looking forward to hitting the road for her forthcoming solo tour after struggling to perform last year (05) while she was pregnant.
Stefani released her first solo album LOVE ANGEL MUSIC BABY last year and was shocked to discover she was expecting before setting out on her promotional tour.
She explains, "If you’re going to go on tour don’t get pregnant. Not a good idea. But it was amazing. It was a really fun tour." The star insists that her fans helped her get power through her grueling concert dates and gave her the energy to keep on going.
She adds, "I was sick and I actually toured until I was four and a half months (pregnant), so it was pretty extreme.
"By the end I had these panels put into all my shorts. It was pretty amazing, but worth it!"

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LATEST: Tenor ROBERTO ALAGNA plans to sue the bosses of Milan’s famous La Scala opera house if his offer to return - after he was booed offstage - is refused.
The French opera star stormed offstage midway through his performance in VERDI’s AIDA on Sunday night (10DEC06) after a section of the audience started to heckle and boo him.
But now Alagna wishes to return to the FRANCO ZEFFIRELLI production, insisting, "I have not committed a crime, I’ve done nothing wrong." The tenor claims La Scala bosses are treating him "like a monster" following his tantrum, which left producers scrambling to find a replacement to finish the opera in Alagna’s absence.
Organisers later apologised to the public.
Alagna announced yesterday (11DEC06) he’s ready to return to the show, but claims the opera house had turned him down for breach of contract.
In a statement, he says, "They sent me a letter saying that the contract is annulled… So I went to my lawyer today and we are going to sue them."

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Legendary daredevil EVEL KNIEVEL is suing rapper KANYE WEST for portraying him without permission in his TOUCH THE SKY video.
West plays Evel Kanyevel in the quirky promo but the real Knievel, 68, failed to see the funny side of the tribute.
Knievel, real name ROBERT CRAIG KNIEVEL, has filed a lawsuit claiming infringement on his trademark name and likeness.
The stuntman, famous for his death-defying motorcycle jumps, also claims the "vulgar and offensive" images depicted in the video damage his reputation.
Angry Knievel fumes, "That video that Kanye West put out is the most worthless piece of crap I’ve ever seen in my life, and he uses my image to catapult himself on the public." The lawsuit asks for damages and seeks to halt distribution of the video, in which West plays a Knievel lookalike attempting to jump the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

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Celebrated author SALMAN RUSHDIE has been hailed a lady magnet by his own son, who regularly uses the writer to attract women.
ZAFAR RUSHDIE, 27, often accompanies his father on nights out because the pair are usually swamped by attractive girls keen to impress the literary genius.
He says, "Most people who go to a party with their parents try to run away from them. Not me. If I want to meet girls, I just stand near him.
"All the beautiful women want to talk to Dad, so I stand close and bask in the sunlight. Beauty loves brains." But the bespectacled SATANIC VERSES writer, happily married to his fourth wife, topless model and actress PADMA LAKSHMI, insists his son is quickly learning the tricks of the trade.
The 59-year-old says, "Every time I see a picture of him in the paper, he has four girls around him, so I think he’s not doing badly.
"He’s absurdly charming - lethally, disgustingly charming. He has it like a weapon."

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Actress SIENNA MILLER got a shock when she began researching her role for FACTORY GIRL, set in the 1960s - because drugs had impaired the memories of the people involved.
The British star plays icon EDIE SEDGWICK in the movie, but admits the crowd her character partied with couldn’t help her prepare for the role.
She says, "They were on so many drugs at the time they couldn’t remember what had actually happened."

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Writer SALMAN RUSHDIE’s infamous fatwa in 1988 intrigued his young son, who thought the death threats were "fun" and "cool".
The acclaimed author provoked outrage from extremist Muslims around the world when he published controversial novel THE SATANIC VERSES, and the allegedly "blasphemous" text saw Iran’s rulers put a bounty on his head.
But the severity of the situation was lost on Rushdie’s child ZAFAR, now 27, who found the experience amusing at first.
He recalls, "The fatwa was fun for me at first. I was nine, and I came home one day to find police in the house.
"It was really cool to be around these big guys with guns. But I soon found out enough to realise there was a big deal going on, and it wasn’t good.
"I’d answer the phone and this voice would say: ‘We’ve got your number. We know where you are and we’re going to come and kill you’ I lost my childhood innocence early."

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Hollywood star JADA PINKETT SMITH has donated $1 million (£510,000) to her high school, Baltimore School for the Arts.
Smith, who is married to actor WILL SMITH, will have the new school theatre named after her, despite the actress wishing it to be christened after fellow classmate TUPAC SHAKUR, who was murdered in 1996.
Head of the school’s theatre development DONALD HICKEN says, "It means a lot when you’re a teacher and your most famous alumnus comes back to give a donation "It really says a lot to the community that the school matters in people’s lives." The donation from the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation, which is based in Baltimore, will be used for renovation and expansion.

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A new rule put in place by the British Academy Of Film And Television Arts (BAFTA) is preventing high-profile movies including CLINT EASTWOOD’s LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA from being entered into the organisation’s 2007 ceremony.
In previous years, any film released before the end of March in the UK was eligible for BAFTA consideration.
However, bosses have now decided all movies must come out before the ceremony, to be held on 11 February (07) in London.
This ruling means Oscar hopeful Letters From Iwo Jima and ROBERT DE NIRO’s second film as director, THE GOOD SHEPHERD, in which he also stars, can not be considered, as both have a scheduled 23 February (07) release.
The GEORGE CLOONEY-starring THE GOOD GERMAN, with a 9 March (07) release date, will also miss out.
ADAM DAWTREY, of industry magazine VARIETY, says, "This strikes at the very heart of the question of what commercial impact BAFTA actually has for distributors.
"On the whole, there’s a belief that the awards season overall has a significant commercial impact - not just the Oscars but the hype for months about the race, and clearly BAFTA is a part of that.
"But if you take the BAFTAs out of that mix, do you not just have the same impact anyway, as far as a British audience is concerned?"

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Sexy pop chart toppers THE PUSSYCAT DOLLS confess they all have a crush on British movie star HUGH GRANT.
The pair have spent a lot of time in the UK in 2006 and admit they have developed a passion for British men, and Grant in particular.
Singer NICOLE SCHERZINGER says, "One thing we’ll miss about the UK is the men. The British have the sexiest accents. We all want a piece of Hugh Grant." (IG/OPN/MEH) WENN - FIFTH - HOLLYWOOD, SHOWBIZ & PEOPLE NEWS - 12 DECEMBER 2006

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Late NIRVANA rocker KURT COBAIN started divorce proceedings against his wife COURTNEY LOVE shortly before his suicide, according to a new book.
EVERETT TRUE, who is an old friend of the SMELL LIKES TEEN SPIRIT star, reveals in his new book NIRVANA: THE BIOGRAPHY that Love and Cobain had a particularly nasty fight, which resulted in him calling his lawyer. True interviewed the couples daughter FRANCES BEAN’s nanny EVERETT TRUE, who says of the fight, "In the classic Kurt way of saying f**k you, he put a cigarette out in the middle of his forehead. If you watch the video (HEART-SHAPED BOX), there’s a lot of makeup on his forehead because it was a really bad scab." True adds, "(Cobain) phoned Courtney, got into a fight, and immediately called his lawyer, ROSEMARY CARROLL, to tell her he wanted a divorce." Asked if she could recollect the phone call, Carroll says, "Did he ever say that to me? Yes, he did, but I don’t know how serious he was."

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Cult rockers GIANT DRAG are in disarray after drummer and keyboard player MICAH CALABRESE quit the band.
Calabrese left after the US group played its last concert on 9 November (06) in Paris, France.
However, frontwoman ANNIE HARDY has vowed to continue recording and performing under the band’s name - and reveals Calabrese has been working as a freelance computer programmer since he left.
She says, "Micah quit the band about a week after we came back from France.
"Micah never wanted to be in a band in the first place. He likes playing music and he likes recording but he never wanted to do this as a career.
"He had a real job before and he was making money. He had a house and everything.
"But when he joined the band full time it was like he didn’t have a house anymore, he doesn’t have a nice car anymore.
"I’d imagine that if you weren’t passionate about doing this then it makes dealing with the other bullshit that comes along with it, like touring and f**king being in the music industry and not making any money hard to put up with. Not to mention being in a band with me, which is struggle enough!"

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A celebrity concert celebrating British royal DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES has been officially announced by her sons PRINCE WILLIAM and PRINCE HARRY.
The princes, who are organising the concert, have revealed the event will go ahead next year (01JULY07) at London’s Wembley Stadium - 10 years after she was killed in a car crash in Paris - on what would have been her 46th birthday.
SIR ELTON JOHN, DURAN DURAN, JOSS STONE, BRYAN FERRY and PHARRELL WILLIAMS will perform at the event, with more artists to be confirmed. There will also be a memorial service on the day.
Prince William says, "We (Prince Harry) both wanted to put our stamp on it.
We want it to represent exactly what our mother would have wanted. "So therefore the church service alone isn’t enough. We wanted to have this big concert full of energy, full of the sort of fun and happiness, which I know she would have wanted." Sir Elton John, who performed his song CANDLE IN THE WIND at Diana’s funeral, says, "I applaud Princes William and Harry for choosing to honour their mother with this concert. I am absolutely thrilled to be performing at this great event. "Diana was a personal friend and someone I greatly admired for her tireless and enthusiastic work for charity." The tickets will go on sale tomorrow (13DEC06)

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The ‘Ocean’s Thirteen’ actor hates going to the hairdressers and snips his own locks whenever he feels he needs a trim.
He said: "I always cut my own hair with kitchen scissors. My motto is, ‘If something sticks out then you snip it!’ Though once in a while a friend will come up to me and say, ‘Dude, you really need to get someone else to cut your hair for you!’ George - who was recently voted the Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine - also revealed he hates fancy skincare products and doesn’t bother with a strict beauty regime like many other actors.
He told Newsweek magazine: "I don’t bother with all that skincare. I just wash my face with a bar of soap and I’m done!"

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