Discovery announces Irwin Fund
SYDNEY, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. Discovery Networks announced it will continue the legacy of it's biggest star, Australian Steve Irwin, by creating The Crikey Fund.
Discovery Networks, which owns the Discovery channel and Animal Planet, made Irwin a household name in the United States and one of Australia's richest entertainers, Radio New Zealand reported Tuesday.
The official name of the new fund created in Irwin's memory is the Steve Irwin Crocodile Hunter Fund, it will "honor Steve's passion and exuberance for conservation and the animal kingdom" and will fund programs around the world, Discovery said.
It will also provide educational support for Irwin's children as well as aid his Zoo in Beerwah, Australia.
Irwin, 44, died Monday after being struck through the heart by a stingray on the Great Barrier Reef while filming a segment for his show.
"He came over the top of a stingray and a barb, the stingray's barb went up and put a hole into his heart," Irwin's manager John Stainton told the BBC.
Irwin is survived by his wife, Terri, and two children; Bindi, 8, and Bob, 3
'Dangermouse' heading to the BBC
LONDON, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- The BBC is bringing back the cartoon secret agent "Dangermouse," marking the 25th anniversary of the character and his sidekick, Penfold.
The company that owns the distribution rights to the cartoon, Fremantle Media, said the show has been seen in more than 80 countries, the BBC reported Tuesday.
The show was successful due to the "bizarre scenarios in which the pair found themselves," said Mark Hall, co-founder of production company Cosgrove Hall, which produced the show for Thames TV.
"The adults watched because of that kind of anarchy," he told the BBC earlier this year. "The kids watched it because they just loved the stories and the absolutely stupid gags."
Star signed Lamborghini sells for $500,000
AUBURN, Ind., Sept. 5 (UPI) -- A "Lamborghini Gallardo" signed by 33 top stars was sold Tuesday in Angola, Ind., to John O'Quinn for a record price of $500,000.
The vehicle was sold to benefit the Child Safety Network, a charitable trust that has been dedicated to preventing child abuse, abduction and injury for the last 17 years, stated a news release from the Child Safety Network.
The Celebrity Gallardo broke the record for the most money ever paid for a new Lamborghini.
The 33 stars who signed the car included this year's Emmy winner for Best Actor, Keifer Sutherland and actors and actresses, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Jon Voight, Ben Affleck, Dakota Fanning, Paula Abdul, Samuel L. Jackson, James Caan, Hugh Hefner, Deborah Messing, Will Ferrell, Randy Travis, Regis Philbin and others.
"Although only a handful of people could afford to bid on this fabulous dream car," said Ward Leber, chief executive officer of CSN, "the media exposure will bring attention to our Web site, www.csn.org, where every parent can receive free vital information and resources on over 30 child safety topics. The funds will help us continue our 17-year mission to make America a safer place for children to live."
Dana to star in Season 1 of 'Kidnapped'
NEW YORK, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Hollywood actress Dana Delany says she and Timothy Hutton will only appear in the first season of the new NBC drama, "Kidnapped."
In the show, set to premiere in the United States on Sept. 20, Delany and Hutton play the wealthy Manhattan parents of an abducted teen (Will Denton.)
Delroy Lindo and Jeremy Sisto play the investigators trying to bring him home, while also unraveling the mystery surrounding his disappearance.
Given the very specific circumstances of the plot, it would be unlikely for Delany and Hutton's characters to find themselves in similar peril in a second season, should the show be renewed.
"Tim Hutton and I are only on for the first season," Delany told UPI in New York recently. "This year, it's a child being kidnapped. Next season, it could be an industrial kidnapping. It could be a terrorist kidnapping. It will take place in a different city or a different country. It will be completely different next year and, hopefully, it will just be Jeremy Sisto and Delroy Lindo continuing as a team."
