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SESAME STREET’s executive producer has defended TV bosses’ decision to in vite KATY PERRY onto the iconic children’s show, despite the public uproa r her revealing outfit caused earlier this week (begs20Sep10).
The pop star shot a special guest segment for the programme, in which s he sings a child-friendly version of her chart hit Hot N Cold with belove d puppet character Elmo.
The clip, filmed as part of the upcoming 41st season of Sesame Street, recently hit the internet - sparking a wave of complaints from parents co ncerned Perry’s low-cut dress was too revealing for kids’ TV.
The deluge of criticism prompted TV executives to axe Perry’s New Year’ s Eve (31Dec10) appearance altogether - but top producer Carol-Lynne Pare nte admits she was surprised by the fuss the clip caused - because they d idn’t think the footage of Perry’s bouncing cleavage was that bad.
Parente says, "We would never produce anything we thought was inappropr iate. We were surprised not only by the amount of feedback, but how fast it came in. It was a lot." Parente insists not all comments were complaints but show bosses decide d to ditch the segment to avoid any further controversy.
She explains, "We have a great interactive relationship with our viewer s. They trust Sesame Street and we take that seriously. Parents’ opinions are very important to us." And Parente still stands by Perry’s talents as a singer, describing her as "a wonderful musical talent", adding, "We had a great time." Perry has since posted footage of her appearance on her official websit e so fans can judge for themselves.

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SUSAN BOYLE is set to repeat her end-of-2009 album success this year (10) - the Scottish singer’s new album has shot to the top of Amazon.com’s Be stsellers chart more than a month before its release.
The Gift won’t be released until 9 November (10) but the talent show se nsations is already assured of another big hit - fans are already despera te to pre-order the album.
Amazon’s director of music Craig Pape tells Billboard.com, "It’s the se ason of Susan and it’s a pretty significantly number one. The Gift has le apfrogged fourth-quarter efforts by Taylor Swift, Eric Clapton and Neil Y oung on the bestsellers tally, with only pre-orders of Bob Dylan’s The Wi tmark Demos coming close to Boyle’s sales." Boyle’s 2009 debut I Dreamed a Dream broke records as Amazon Music’s la rgest CD pre-order ever.
The new album will feature festive favourites O Holy Night and The Firs t Noel, as well as performances of Lou Reed’s Perfect Day - the song she was banned from performing recently on a U.S. TV talent show. (KL/WNWCBB/

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MICHAEL CRAWFORD, the king of the musicals, is set for a West End return - in ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER’s WIZARD OF OZ revamp.
The Phantom of the Opera and Barnum superstar will join the cast of the production when it opens in London next year (11), but he’s still unsure what part he’ll play opposite newcomer Danielle Hope, who won a TV talen t contest to find the show’s new Dorothy.
Crawford says, "Andrew had the idea about my being involved… and then I heard about two months ago from him about it. At the time, I was away travelling around Europe with my family and when I got back about three w eeks ago, I started having some initial meetings with Andrew and the crea tive team.
"I refreshed my memory and re-watched the movie… I’ll play one of the hopefully supportive and important sidekicks, who is also important to t he story. I think that there are six roles all on the side of being equal in terms of performance - the two Witches, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly L ion, the Tin Man and of course the Wizard. They’re all important characte rs to support the story." Crawford and Lloyd Webber first worked together in 1986, when Crawford originated the title role in the composer’s Phantom of the Opera. (KL/WNW

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CALISTA FLOCKHART will step in for her new husband HARRISON FORD on Frid ay night (24Sep10) when she accepts a major honour on his behalf.
A last-minute scheduling conflict prompted Ford to pull out of the nint h annual Smile Gala in Los Angeles - and Flockhart has agreed to lead his tribute.
The Operation Smile charity leaders will honour Ford and actor John Sta mos at the event, which will feature a performance by the cast of Glee.
Operation Smile is a worldwide children’s medical charity which has a n etwork of global volunteers who are dedicated to helping improve the heal th and lives of children and young adults.

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LINDSAY LOHAN’s MACHETE co-star ELECTRA AVELLAN tried to keep the trouble d star out of jail on Friday (24Sep10) - by writing a heartfelt note to S uperior Court Judge ELDEN S. FOX.
The actress, who also appeared in her uncle Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhou se movies, pleaded with Fox to spare her pal from another spell behind ba rs.
In the letter, which was also signed by other Lohan friends, Avellan wr ote, "I have had the pleasure to get to know her (Lohan) very well and ha ve endured the past year with her through her highs and lows.
"I am desperate to get this message to you. She is working really hard to be better and has done everything possible to stay healthy and clean. We (family members and loving friends) have separated her from anyone who can harm her or deviate her from her goals which are to be a model citiz en.
"She is aware of her impact in this world and wants to rise from this. A few days ago she had a very low moment and made a mistake that has her so terrified it is breaking my heart. I am truly concerned for her well b eing." But Avellan’s letter, which has been obtained by TMZ.com, failed to kee p Lohan from jail - Judge Fox sentenced her to 30 days in custody without bail for violating the terms of her freedom.
The actress, who spent 13 days behind bars and another 23 days in a loc k-down rehab centre this summer (10), failed mandatory drug tests earlier this month (Sep10).

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British actress DAME HELEN MIRREN is still sore about a 30-year-old TV in terview, during which she was quizzed about her body and the nude scenes she showed it off in.
The Queen star’s 1975 meeting with beloved British TV personality Micha el Parkinson was one of her first chat show appearances - and his line of questioning left her shaken and upset.
But instead of showing the host how she felt, she turned the interview on him and made it a very awkward encounter.
And when Parkinson quizzed her about her "physical attributes" - referr ing to her breasts - the actress help up her hands and asked, "My fingers ?" Recalling the TV moment in the new issue of feminism publication Bust, Mirren says, "It was enraging but it was par for the course to a certain extent. It was fairly common, that kind of attitude. Looking back, I thin k I handled it really well.
"It was the first time I had ever done a talk show, ever. I’d only done Shakespeare (plays) before, and I was terribly nervous, and I was mortif ied by the end of it (interview)… but I wasn’t taking it." And the Oscar winner is delighted that modern young stars don’t have to accept bad behaviour from chat show hosts: "At least now young actresses can say, ‘F**k off,’ and still work again."

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Former E.R. star MAURA TIERNEY is laughing through her breast cancer batt le, insisting her new boobs feel like Gummy Bears.
The actress has undergone breast reconstruction surgery - and she’s mor e than happy with the results.
Speaking out about the work she has had done for the first time, Tierne y tells U.S. talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, "I had to get reconstruction done and there are different kinds of breast implants these days. I don’ t know if you know, but there is standard silicon and there is something called a Gummy Bear.
"They have a sour patch one too… No, but they’re different consistenc ies and there shape is a little different." And the actress’ "amazing doctor" made sure his patient was totally com fortable with her new breasts - by letting her touch and feel those of ot her breast cancer sufferers.
She adds, "He said, ‘I have two patients and they each have a different kind of implant and they will be happy to come in so you can see them an d touch them.
"So these two women that I never met before came into his office and to ok off their tops and I took off my top and I got to, like, touch their b reasts."

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INCEPTION star TOM HARDY has proposed to his WUTHERING HEIGHTS co-star CH ARLOTTE RILEY, according to new reports.
The 33-year-old Brit is hoping to wed the actress/singer next year (11) ..
The couple met and fell in love on the set of the British TV adaptation of the classic Emily Bronte story last year (09).

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LINDSAY LOHAN will have to serve out a full 30 days behind bars for viola ting probation - thanks to the terms of the sentence handed to her on Fri day morning (24Sep10).
The actress and her legal team were confident she would be given the op tion of posting bail and walking away from a Beverly Hills court a free w oman after failing two court-imposed drug tests.
But Judge Elden S. Fox had other plans and he remanded the Mean Girls s tar in custody until her next hearing on 22 October (10) without bail.
Lohan was handcuffed and led away to start her sentence at the all-fema le Lynwood jail in California.
The actress has twice served time behind bars there, including a 13-day spell earlier this summer (10), but both times her jail stint was slashe d due to overcrowding and cost issues. This time she’ll serve the full se ntence.
L.A. Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore says, "Ms. Lohan cannot be rele ased early because this isn’t a jail sentence. She’s being held by court order until her hearing." But she won’t mix with other inmates: "She will be held in the same con ditions as her last stay, in a keep-away unit… for the safety and secur ity of the entire jail system." Whitmore tells People.com that Lohan has been "very co-operative, very demure, very quiet" since she arrived at Lynwood on Friday, adding, "Once again she’s doing everything that is asked of her." Meanwhile, Lohan’s lawyer, Shawn Chapman Holley, has protested her clie nt’s treatment, insisting the actress does not belong in jail.
She says, "The case law is clear she is entitled to bail." Holley has filed legal papers appealing the judge’s ruling. (KL/WNWCPL&

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JACKASS prankster JOHNNY KNOXVILLE has pulled the ultimate stunt - he’s a married man.
Reports suggest the Dukes of Hazzard star wed longtime girlfriend Naomi Nelson on Friday (24Sep10).
Sources tell Life & Style magazine Knoxville, real name Phillip John Cl app, and Nelson picked out an engagement ring in Los Angeles on Wednesday (22Sep10) and then decided to get married.
Nelson, who is the mother of Knoxville’s son Rocko, has been dating the star for just over two years.
It’s the Jackass star’s second marriage - he wed Melanie Lynn Cates in 1995 and the union lasted 13 years. They divorced last year (09). (KL/LS/

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Hip-hop star RICK ROSS has laughed off reports he’s featured in a sex tap e circulating around the internet.
The heavyweight Hustlin’ rapper was alleged to be the man cavorting wit h a semi-nude woman in the explicit footage, which was reportedly filmed before Ross found fame.
50 Cent fuelled the sex tape rumours by instructing his online readers to check out the adult footage purportedly starring his foe - but Ross ha s spoken out to deny he’s the man featured, insisting the sex tape star i s a look-a-like who doesn’t share his love of skin art.
Taking to his Twitter.com page on Thursday (23Sep10), Ross wrote, "Just saw the so called sex tape… the n**ga had a louie (Louis Vuitton) flag in back pocket but forgot the tattoes (sic)."

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Swedish heavy metal band KATATONIA are breathing a sigh of relief after t wo guitars stolen during a concert in Minnesota were handed in to police.
The rockers were stunned to find the Mayones instruments they had inten ded to give away to fans as part of a contest had been swiped from the ba ckstage area while they performed in St. Paul last weekend (18Sep10), and they reported the crime to cops.
But the thieves didn’t hold on to the guitars for long - they have sinc e been turned over to local authorities.
In a post on Katatonia’s Facebook.com page, the band writes, "We won’t get into the murky ugly details right now as the priority was and is that we get them back on the road for our shows and then on to the competitio n winners, so let’s celebrate that for now while the police continue to d o their job."

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Rap veteran ICE CUBE was forced to drop plans to include a collaboration with DR. DRE on his new album because the superproducer just disappeared halfway through recording.
The hip-hop star had previously revealed he had reunited with his forme r N.W.A. bandmate and had hit the studio to record a track for his upcomi ng project I Am The West - but the songs were never completed and Ice Cub e has failed to reach Dre ever since.
He tells Rap-Up.com, "Dre went M.I.A. (missing in action), I don’t know where he at. If ya’ll find him, tell him to give me a call." But Cube isn’t the only old pal Dre has reportedly turned his back on - Snoop Dogg suffered too.
He continues, "It’s cool, he went M.I.A. on Snoop too. Everybody wanna work with him, so it’s up to him on who he wants work with, who he don’t wanna work with. We did the records, but we didn’t finish them. So, I fel t like I didn’t wanna put them out unless they was finished. Or, what’s t he use? I’ll get ‘em finished sooner or later, and put ‘em out." And Cube admits the relationship he has shared with Dre in recent years is a far cry from their tight friendship during their N.W.A. days in the late ’80s: "It’s a distant relationship. It’s been distant ever since I left N.W.A., so I don’t expect that to change.
"We all went out separate ways back then, we was youngsters. We’re grow n now. That is what it is. It reminds me of, like, somebody I hung out (w ith) in high school a lot, but now that you grown, you talk to every now and then. That’s kind of how I look at it."

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T.I. was forced to laugh at his own mistakes on Tuesday (21Sep10) when D.
L. HUGHLEY poked fun at the star’s legal troubles - as the rapper sat in the audience at an Atlanta, Georgia comedy show.
The Live Your Life hitmaker, who completed a prison sentence for weapon s possession last December (09), is facing a return to jail if Hollywood police decide to press charges against him and his wife Tameka ‘Tiny’ Cot tle following their drug arrest earlier this month (Sep10).
And T.I. found himself the butt of Hughley’s jokes when the comedian sp otted him in the audience at the Uptown Comedy Corner.
But the hip-hop star refused to let the embarrassment spoil the couple’ s date night, and the pair smiled as they endured Hughley’s taunts from t he stage, according to AllHipHop.com.

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DONNY and MARIE OSMOND look set to swap one gambling mecca for another - they’re in talks to take their Las Vegas variety show to New Jersey’s Atl antic City for a summer residency next year (11).
The sibling stars have been performing regular shows at the Flamingo Ho tel in Sin City since 2008 and their gigs have proven so popular, they re cently extended their three-year contract until October 2012.
But the Osmonds could soon be entertaining audiences on America’s East Coast too - with summer shows at Harrah’s Concert Venue.
The New York Daily News reports the brother and sister duo are working out a deal with Harrah executive Donald Marrandino - the mastermind behin d their hugely successful Vegas residency.

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Comedienne AMY POEHLER was hobbling around in pain at this year’s (10) Pr imetime Emmy Awards afterparty after breaking her toe in a silly accident ..
The Baby Mama star gave birth to her second son with husband Will Arnet t shortly before the August (10) event and was looking forward to her fir st night out since welcoming the newborn.
But in all the excitement of the afterparty and catching up with old pa ls, Poehler stubbed her little toe and ended up breaking it - leaving her in agony for the rest of the night.
She explains, "We got a little wild, it was kind of crazy, so much fun.
But I broke my little toe. Just picture this: three week old, first nigh t out, Emmys, so excited, us all dancing on a… booth.
"I ran over to say hi to somebody and I hit my toe on the end of the ta ble and I immediately leaned in and was like, ‘Hey you guys, I broke my t oe!’ It’s like 4am so I had to go to the airport the next day to fly back to my children, and I had a baseball cap on and I was walking like this (hobbling) and it was all… ‘Whatever, that’s how I roll!’" (MT/WNVFAL/K

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Recovering pot addict ERIC ROBERTS is enjoying the most peaceful nights’ sleep he has had in years after discovering his marijuana habit had done nothing to cure his long-running problems with insomnia.
The Expendables star, who is Julia Roberts’ brother and the father of a ctress Emma Roberts, entered a drug rehabilitation facility over the summ er (10) in a bid to kick his 16-year weed addiction once and for all.
His treatment was documented for the new season of celebrity counsellor Dr. Drew Pinsky’s reality show Celebrity Rehab and Roberts has now been sober for over two months.
He says, "I started smoking pot at 13 years old and I took a hiatus fro m it for 10 years when I did cocaine. Then I started smoking pot about 16 years ago and I smoked pot pretty much every day since (until rehab)." And Roberts admits he has already seen a dramatic difference in his lif estyle - because he hasn’t had a sleepless night since kicking the drug: "I started smoking pot for anger management and for sleep and it ends up getting in the way of sleep and it ends up making you cranky, so, yes, I’ m sleeping now and I’m a lot sweeter."

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Facebook founder MARK ZUCKERBERG is celebrating his top 40 spot on Forbes magazine’s new U.S. rich list by handing out $100 million (=C2=A366 mill ion) to the New Jersey public school system.
Zuckerberg will make the "challenge grant" announcement during an appea rance on The Oprah Winfrey Show on Friday (24Sep10).
The Internet pioneer, who has an estimated net worth of $6.9 billion, w ill tell the TV host, "Every child deserves a good education, and right n ow it’s not happening." The 26 year old’s donation will be the first grant handed out by his ne w Start Up Education Foundation.
The cash handout announcement comes a week ahead of the release of The Social Network - a highly-anticipated movie about the early years of Face book.

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