'Golden Girls' : 'Getty not on deathbed'
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Estelle Getty, from the U.S. TV series, "The Golden Girls," is suffering from dementia but is not near death, as has been reported, say her former castmates.
Bea Arthur, Betty White and and Rue McClanahan were in Beverly Hills, Calif., Thursday for the DVD release of their popular show, where the actresses dismissed reports of Getty's impending death, "Entertainment Tonight" reported Friday.
Getty, who played Sophia on the long-running series, is "not near death ... not near death at all," the actresses said.
"I went over there not too long ago and after I left, she told her caregiver that I was a nice lady. It's just heartbreaking," said White, who played Rose.
Arthur, who played Getty's daughter, Dorothy, on the show, said they had seen signs of the actress' dementia while working together.
"She had terrible trouble retaining her lines," Arthur said.
The three-disc DVD set will be in stores Tuesday.
Ailing Elizabeth Taylor unfraid to die
LONDON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Actress Elizabeth Taylor has added congestive heart failure to her list of medical woes, but she says she's not afraid to die.
"I consult with God, my maker. And I don't have a lot of problems to work out. I'm pretty squared away," Taylor, 72, told Britain's Daily Mail.
The British-born Hollywood legend recently was diagnosed with heart disease that leaves her short of breath and is in constant pain from scoliosis, a spinal condition that affected her throughout her life.
"I was born with it but it has finally caught up with me. My body's a real mess. If you look at it in the mirror, it's just completely convex and concave. I've become one of those poor little women who's bent sideways. My X-rays are hysterical," Taylor said.
Taylor, who has a full-time nurse living at her Bel Air, Calif., mansion, doesn't often go out in public.
"I feel so stupid and feeble, that I can't do the work I was meant to do because of my bloody body," she said.
Sheryl Crow's alleged stalker on trial
NEW YORK, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- A former Navy SEAL who allegedly pursued singer Sheryl Crow for years is on trial in New York facing burglary, harassment and stalking charges.
Ambrose Kappos' trial began Thursday, 13 months after the 38-year-old man was arrested when he attempted to jump inside Crow's limo outside a New York club, E! Online reported Friday.
Prosecutors say Kappos had a "dangerous obsession" with the rock singer that lasted for years.
Kappos allegedly tracked down Crow's family in early 2003, then flew from his Virginia Naval base to Missouri, where he asked Crow's father if he could date the singer.
"I spoke to her father. I'm her twin. We're spiritually connected. I am going to meet her. I'm Ambrose," the police report said about Kappos' conversation with Crow's dad.
Kappos allegedly told Crow's father he had found the family by following a bird.
Kappos' attorney insists his client is only infatuated with Crow and has committed no violent acts.
British TV execs dislike reality TV
LONDON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- A quarter of British TV officials, who commission scores of reality shows, prefer U.S. dramas, such as HBO's "The Sopranos," to non-scripted TV fare.
The hypocrisy in what TV executives schedule for programming and what they actually watch was revealed in a survey by Mediawatch U.K., a British watchdog group, the Scotsman reported Friday.
"This shows just how cynical these people are. They are quite happy to make cheap, low-budget, off-the-shelf stuff which is dressed up as something fabulous, but they don't want to watch it themselves," said John Beyer, director of Mediawatch UK.
"I think it also shows how out of touch they are with their audience when they simply churn out stuff they don't actually like. There are a lot of good programs on TV as well as a lot of bad ones, but they sit in their offices thinking that all we want are reality shows," Beyer said.
The executives voted "The Sopranos" as the top TV show.
