People
Pete Postlethwaite may hand back his OBE
Pete Postlethwaite, supposedly Steven Spielberg’s favourite English actor ever since he appeared in Jurassic Park, is threatening to hand back the OBE he received in 2004 if the Government gives the go-ahead to the controversial Kingsnorth coal-fired power station in Kent. Speaking after the London premiere of... [continued]
Michelle Obama’s comic book
When a toy company manufactured two dolls that bore an uncanny likeness to Michelle Obama's two daughters, Malia and Sasha, the First Lady managed
to get them withdrawn from the shops. She has no such qualms, however, about a comic book (right) that tells her life story in terms that... [continued]
People: Michelle Obama wins battle of dolls 
The Obama Whites House: news and comment
Gene Kelly’s ‘teenage bride’ Betsy Blair dies, aged 85
The American actress Betsy Blair, who rose from New Jersey chorus girl to become the teenage bride of Gene Kelly, went on to star in one of the classic Hollywood
films of the 1950s, and later became a Londoner when she married the film-maker Karel Reisz, has died in London... [continued]
An American in London: the 2001 Guardian interview in full
Rupert Everett’s Blithe Spirit wows Broadway
The English actor Rupert Everett, one of the most erratic talents in showbusiness, has become the toast of Broadway for his performance in a revival of Noel Coward’s
1941 comedy Blithe Spirit, his first ever US stage role. A starry crowd turned up at Manhattan's Shubert Theatre, among them Allegra... [continued]
People: Everett berates Harman over sex laws
In brief: Chris Tarrant arrested
It has been revealed that Chris Tarrant (pictured), the presenter of ITV's Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, was arrested on suspicion of assault following a 'domestic incident' at his home in Esher, Surrey, last Thursday.............Award-winning actor and activist Ron Silver, who received an Emmy nomination for his role on... [continued]
BBC Radio says no to ‘anti-Semitic’ play
It seems the BBC is in a tangle over Israel again. In January, the Corporation controversially refused to run an emergency fund-raising appeal for the victims of Israel's incursion into Gaza,
claiming that it might open them up to criticisms of bias. Now it risks a similar furore by declining... [continued]
Israel - not the BBC – is the villain of Gaza
Peter Cook and Dudley Moore faced prosecution for Derek and Clive
Files from the Director of Public Prosecutions released this week reveal that Harold Wilson’s Labour Government considered prosecuting the comics Peter Cook
(left) and Dudley Moore (right) over their expletive-driven comedy record Derek and Clive (live) in 1975. Recorded in ad-libbed late-night sessions in New
York in 1973, the... [continued]
People: Peter Cook’s widow snubs heritage honour
People: Brand to follow Dudley Moore in Arthur
Putin’s cheerleader: Maria Sergeyeva
Vladimir Putin has a new cheerleader. Step forward Maria Sergeyeva, a 24-year-old model and leading light of the Young Guards, a band of political zealots who believe that the Russian Prime Minister is nothing short of a living deity. While some fanciful commentators claim that her hero... [continued]
Steve Martin defends his banned play
The comic actor and writer Steve Martin has stepped in to stop a school production of one his plays being banned after the parents of the child performers complained about its adult themes. The 1993 play, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, depicts a meeting between Picasso and Albert Einstein in... [continued]
Cherie Blair appears naked at art gallery
The public are to get the chance to see an art work that shows the young Cherie Blair (pictured) semi-naked. The drawing, which will be displayed this week at the Browse
& Darby gallery in Mayfair, is the work of the celebrated Scottish painter Euan Uglow, who famously used Cherie... [continued]
People: Cherie Blair compares Tony to Churchill
Barack Obama snubs Gridiron Club dinner
Barack Obama has upset a group of distinguished American journalists by becoming the first US president since Grover Cleveland in the 1880s to turn down an invitation to the annual
dinner of the Gridiron Club in his first year in office. The hacks are insulted - and the word among... [continued]
Read the Politico story in full
Barack Obama is a teleprompter addict, not a master orator
Recession will force Obama to swerve left
Michelle Obama, comic book superhero
Bernard Madoff’s luxury lifestyle revealed
If you've ever wondered how the other half live, here are the wages of sin: documents filed by convicted fraudster Bernard Madoff's lawyers show that he and his wife's wealth is put
at $823 million - though $700 million of that is attributed to his business, for... [continued]
Penney reverses her Madoff losses
