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Legendary actor KIRK DOUGLAS is convinced the stroke he suffered 14 years= ago made him "a better person".
The Spartacus star fell ill in 1996 and had to re-learn how to talk aft= er the brain condition affected his ability to speak.
But the 93 year old insists his health battle had a positive outcome - = because it forced him to appreciate life and to make an extra effort to h= elp others.
In a posting on his Myspace.com page, Douglas writes: "It affected my s= peech. I couldn’t talk. Now talking is something we take for granted. We = think of something and we say it. We are not concerned with all the mecha= nisms that are involved in speaking, we don’t appreciate it. Like so many= things in life, we don’t appreciate what we have.
"My first reaction to my stroke was to say nothing. It was too much eff= ort to construct the words, the muscles in my tongue, my teeth, I couldn’= t coordinate them properly to say a word. It was easier just to say nothi= ng. But to say nothing is to withdraw from life. I was not ready for that= .. So, like a child I learned to speak again. It is still difficult and I = still have many moments when I want to give up, but I fight against it. T= he most important thing is that I find that my stroke has made me a bette= r person. I don’t take so many things for granted. I appreciate more and = that leads me to care more about others."

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WATCHMEN star MATTHEW GOODE is the latest actor to try out for the lead r= ole in the upcoming LORD OF THE RINGS prequel.
The British actor, who shot to fame in the 2009 superhero movie, admits= he recently auditioned for the coveted role of young Bilbo Baggins in Gu= illermo del Toro’s two-part epic The Hobbit.
Other stars rumoured to be in the running include Harry Potter actor Da= niel Radcliffe, James McAvoy and Spider-Man Tobey Maguire, who recently d= enied he has been approached to take the part.
But Goode is convinced his audition won’t be successful - because he is= too tall to play the diminutive hobbit.
He says, "Look at the size of me, for Christ’s sake!"

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JAKE GYLLENHAAL was left nursing a string of painful injuries while filmi= ng PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME - because he was determined to per= form his own stunts.
The actor plays sword-wielding Prince Dastan in the upcoming blockbuste= r, and he was intent on filming the fight scenes himself.
But the 29 year old found himself battered and bruised after the intens= e shoots.
He tells Britain’s Total Film magazine, "I pulled some shoulders and I = strained some backs and I screwed up my ankle a few times but nothing to = worry about.
"On one take, I actually punched a guy in the face by mistake. I spent = the rest of the takes trying not to punch him in the face."

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MARY-KATE OLSEN is single again after splitting from her boyfriend NATE L= OWMAN.
The former child star, 23, has been dating Lowman since 2008 and the re= lationship was rumoured to have turned serious last year (09), with repor= ts suggesting the couple was planning a 2010 wedding.
A rep for Olsen dismissed stories of an engagement at the time, and now= the pair has gone their separate ways.
A spokesperson for the star confirmed the break-up to Us Weekly magazin= e: "No, they are not (together any more). It’s been a while."

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The sister of missing actor ANDREW KOENIG is convinced her brother stoppe= d taking his anti-depressant medication in the weeks before his disappear= ance.
The former Growing Pains star hasn’t been seen since 14 February (10). = He disappeared during a trip to Vancouver, Canada and was reported missin= g by a friend after failing to show up for his flight home to Los Angeles= on 16 February (10).
Local police have been combing the area for the 42 year old and handing= out his picture in the hope of finding him, but the star’s sister Daniel= le is desperately worried for his safety because he has been failing to t= reat his depression.
She tells U.S. talk show host Larry King, "It’s just very upsetting. My= brother does suffer from depression. So we’re very, very worried about h= im. And we just want to find him.
"I know he was on anti-depressants. And I just found out, through a fri= end he was visiting, that he has not been on them for a while. I did not = realise that." Constable Tim Fanning, of the Vancouver Police Department, reveals ther= e has been a series of reported sightings of the star, whose father is fo= rmer Star Trek actor Walter Koenig, which leads them to believe he is sti= ll alive.
And he’s urging locals in Vancouver to be extra vigilant and contact au= thorities if they think they see Koenig. He says, "Tips are coming in, bu= t we’re pleading with the public, if you think you see him, go up, if it’= s possible, and try and talk to him and certainly alert us. If you think = you’ve seen him over the past few days, then give us a call. Call your lo= cal police department and have them help you."

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SNOOP DOGG is in trouble with U.S. tax officials again after allegedly fa= iling to hand over half a million dollars in back payments.
The rapper had a tax lien filed against him and his wife earlier this y= ear (10), which accused them of owing $598,309 (=C2=A3373,943).
The demand was submitted by Internal Revenue Service (IRS) bosses at th= e Los Angeles County Recorder of Deeds on 19 January (10), reports the De= troit News.
It emerged last April (09) Snoop had fallen foul of California tax offi= cers after allegedly racking up debts of more than $284,000 (=C2=A3177,50= 0).

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JOELY RICHARDSON, KATE MOSS and ELIZABETH HURLEY were evacuated from a Lo= ndon Fashion Week event on Tuesday night (23Feb10) after a fire scare.
Bryan Ferry, Stella McCartney and Razorlight singer Johnny Borrell were= also at the Love Ball London bash at the U.K. capital’s Roundhouse venue= , enjoying a night of music and fashion in aid of the Naked Heart Foundat= ion.
Leona Lewis performed at the fundraiser - and was stunned when fire ala= rms went off just minutes after her set and partygoers were forced to lea= ve the building.
In a post on her Twitter.com page, she writes, "Wow fire alarms gone of= f at the ball! We all had to evacuate! Standing outside now loads of peop= le on the street, fire trucks and all!" But after an hour and a half, the stars were allowed back inside - it w= as dry ice inside the venue which set off the alarms, according to Britai= n’s Daily Mail newspaper.

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LEONA LEWIS was left stunned at this year’s (10) Golden Globes when she d= iscovered her acting idol SAMUEL L. JACKSON is a huge fan of her music.
The singer attended the glitzy awards bash in Los Angeles last month (J= an10) after her track I See You, from blockbuster hit Avatar, was nominat= ed in the Best Song category.
She missed out on the award - but Lewis was delighted to find out about= her famous fan.
She tells Britain’s Closer magazine, "I went to the Golden Globes this = year and it was so surreal! "Samuel L. Jackson came up to me and said: ‘Are you who I think you are= ?’ I was like: ‘I hope so because it’d be so embarrassing if I’m not!’ "He said: ‘You’re Miss Lewis, I love your stuff. I don’t mean to be a c= heeseball, but I do!’ He was so lovely."

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Pop star PINK and her husband CAREY HART were shocked on Tuesday (23Feb10= ) when the motocross racer’s bike caught fire outside their home.
The pair was at its Los Angeles property when the So What! hitmaker not= iced a bad smell wafting through the air.
They went outside to investigate - and discovered the sports star’s bel= oved motorcycle was in flames.
In a post on her personal Twitter.com page, the singer writes, "Carey’s= motorcycle caught on fire in our driveway today. He was mad. I just thou= ght it smelled bad."

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THE WHO frontman ROGER DALTREY is desperate to collaborate with JIMMY PAG= E - he wants to form a supergroup with the LED ZEPPELIN star.
The singer is a longtime fan of the legendary guitarist and admits he w= ould happily offer his services to Page if he wanted to team up for a new= side-project.
Daltrey tells BBC 6 Music, "I’d love to do something, I’d love to do an= album with Jimmy Page. He needs a singer to drive him. I’m a great blues= singer. I don’t sing the blues with The Who, but that’s what I used to b= e before Townshend started writing. I used to be a great blues singer." Page’s Led Zeppelin bandmate John Paul Jones already has his own superg= roup - he’s playing with Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and Queens of t= he Stone Age singer Josh Homme as Them Crooked Vultures.

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Jazz singer NINA SIMONE was honoured posthumously in her North Carolina h= ometown on Sunday (21Feb10) - to mark what would have been her 77th birth= day.
A life-size bronze statue depicting the Feeling Good hitmaker sitting a= t a piano was erected in Tryon, where she was born, as part of an officia= l ceremony commemorating Simone.
The star’s daughter Lisa Simone Kelly also donated some of her mother’s= ashes to encase in the statue.
Sculptor Zenos Frudakis, who spent two years creating the piece, says, = "It’s not something very often done, but I thought it was part of the ide= a of bringing her home." Simone died in France in 2003 at the age of 70.

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British rockers MUSE are fuming after bosses at their record company deci= ded to withdraw free songs from the internet, branding the move "disappoi= nting".
Executives at Warner Music announced earlier this month (Feb10) they we= re withdrawing permission for their artists’ songs to be used by sites in= cluding Spotify, We7 and Last.fm - which offer free access to millions of= tracks.
Instead chiefs at Warner are throwing their support behind paid downloa= d sites such as iTunes, and streaming services which charge for content.
Muse are one of the most popular acts on the label - and bassist Chris = Wolstenholme thinks Warner chiefs are "clutching at straws" with the move= ..
He tells BBC’s Newsbeat, "It’s like taking your song off the radio, isn= ‘t it? You’re instantly taking your song away from a group of potential l= isteners.
"The corporations are setting the rules on these things because they’re= clutching at straws. They’ve lost so much money on record sales because = of the internet.
"I do sometimes feel that this whole restriction that’s been set on how= your music can get out there these days - that doesn’t ever really come = from the bands. It’s coming from the corporations behind everything. As f= ar as bands are concerned you just want people to hear your music whichev= er way they can."

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LADY GAGA walked out on a recent magazine photoshoot after bosses at the = publication refused to let her strike a controversial pose on the cover -= in a desperate bid to address rumours she is a hermaphrodite.
Internet footage of the Poker Face hitmaker onstage last year (09) spar= ked fresh debate as to whether or not she had both female and male reprod= uctive organs.
The singer dismissed the rumours as "ridiculous," but decided she wante= d to comment on the story by setting up a shocking pose for the new issue= of Britain’s Q magazine.
She told the publication, "What I would like to do is make beautiful ph= otography out of the most humorous rumour of my life, thus far, that I ha= ve a penis. I want to wear a d**k strapped to my vagina. We all know that= one of the biggest talking points of the year was that I have a d**k, so= why not give them what they want? "I also carry myself onstage in a masculine way and sing in a low regis= ter. This is not of nowhere, right? I want to comment on that in a beauti= ful, artistic way. How I wanna show it. It would be a real, f**king story= , right? Come on, come see me try to persuade everyone to let me wear a p= enis." But editors weren’t impressed with her demands, and following a series = of tense negotiations, the star burst into tears and walked out.
Bosses at Q eventually rearranged the shoot and the final pictures, whi= ch feature Gaga posing topless in just a pair of leather trousers, appear= in the magazine’s latest issue.
Gaga admitted she often struggles with pictorial spreads, telling the m= agazine, "We always laugh when we get to major magazines and (they say) ‘= We want to see the real you.’ And I’m sitting there thinking, ‘These f**k= ing people don’t get it at all.’ You don’t really want to get to know me = at all, or photograph my soul, you want to do some version of what you al= ready think I am. When the truth is my and my big f**king d**k are all ou= t there for you. But I’m not angry, I’m laughing. The joke is not on me, = it’s on you."

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A representative for SEAN ‘DIDDY’ COMBS has dismissed reports the rapper = was targeted in a vicious robbery at his house in Los Angeles this weeken= d (20-21Feb10), insisting the hip-hop mogul is not connected to the incid= ent.
A house in the city’s exclusive Mulholland Drive was raided by thieves = in the early hours of Sunday (21Feb10), with a gang of four armed suspect= s allegedly forcing their way into a party and robbing guests at gunpoint= ..
Several people were allegedly pistol-whipped, while money and jewellery= was taken.
Subsequent news reports alleged the property is owned by Combs, and use= d to house aspiring rappers and R&B performers connected to his Bad Boy R= ecords label, according to the Los Angeles Times.
But Combs’ publicist, Keesha Johnson, is adamant the star is not linked= to the house, calling the reports "completely inaccurate." She adds, "Sean is not affiliated with the property in any capacity." Yvette Gayle, a representative for music label Interscope, also insists= the company and its artists are not connected to the property which was = robbed: "As far as we have been able to tell in this short time, we have = never owned or rented a house at this address for any purpose." (LR/LT/ZN=

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WYCLEF JEAN has been named Artist of the Year by America’s prestigious Ha= rvard University.
The former Fugees star will be presented with an award for his contribu= tion to music and his philanthropic efforts at the Massachusetts institut= ion’s Cultural Rhythms ceremony on Saturday (27Feb10).
Jean has been tirelessly campaigning and fundraising to help Haiti afte= r an earthquake devastated the country last month (Jan10) - and the Harva= rd Foundation director, S. Allen Counter, has praised the musician’s dete= rmination to aid relief efforts in his homeland.
He says, "His contributions to music and distinguished history of creat= ivity have been appreciated by people throughout the world. He is admired= worldwide for his humanitarian efforts on behalf of the people of Haiti.= " Previous recipients of the award include Will Smith, Sharon Stone, Denz= el Washington and Halle Berry.

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MICHAEL SHEEN, DEV PATEL and NICHOLAS HOULT have unleashed their artistic= sides to raise money for charity.
The actors, along with others including Gillian Anderson, Sir Ben Kings= ley and Geri Halliwell, have all drawn pictures to auction off to help th= e Epilepsy Action and The Neurofibromatosis Association.
Sheen has doodled a record player, Hoult’s picture shows a man fishing,= while Patel’s drawing depicts an end to global warming.
The auction begins on 5 March at www.nationaldoodleday.org.uk. (CL/WNWT=

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AMERICA FERRERA is dreading the end of hit U.S. TV show UGLY BETTY - beca= use she’s been on the series for almost her "entire adult life".
The 25 year old has starred as lead character Betty Suarez in the comed= y since it began in 2006.
She was stunned when ABC executives announced last month (Jan10) the pr= ogramme’s current fourth season will be its last - and admits she’ll find= it hard to leave the show.
She tells ETOnline.com, "(I’ve been on the series) almost my entire adu= lt life and it’s been an enormous blessing and I love my cast and my crew= and I love this character.
"It’s a big transition to say goodbye to something that’s been this big= a part of your life for so long so I think a pause is in order and I’ll = let the next step come naturally." But Ferrera hopes to snatch some props to take as souvenirs of her time= on the show: "I’ve been thinking about it, there are a few things that I= want. I don’t want to keep the braces - those can go to the Museum of TV= or something."

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JACKIE CHAN has launched an internet campaign to help secure a bone marro= w donor for an eight-year-old girl suffering from leukaemia.
The martial arts star was so moved when he heard about the plight of Na= talie Nakatani, from San Francisco, California he was determined to help.
The movie star has posted a short film on the web, pleading with the pu= blic to register with a bone marrow donor centre in a bid to find a suita= ble match for Natalie, who needs a transplant within the next few weeks i= n order to survive.
In a post on his Facebook.com page, Chan writes, "I recently found out = about an eight-year-old girl who has leukaemia and needs a bone marrow tr= ansplant. I recorded a public service announcement to appeal for your hel= p and now I am asking all my Facebook fans to do what they can. Please he= lp!"

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