Family, friends bury Anna Nicole Smith
NASSAU, Bahamas, March 2 (UPI) -- A pink shroud of feathers, ribbons and rhinestones draped the casket of Anna Nicole Smith in the Bahamas church where friends and family said goodbye Friday.
After the service the body was taken to Lakeview Memorial Gardens to be buried beside her son, Daniel, who was buried in September, The Miami Herald said.
Nearly three weeks after her death, Smith was finally buried. She died Feb. 8 of unknown causes in a Florida hospital. Because her 2001 will left no burial directives, three people went to court to seek custody of her body, which was awarded to her 5-month-old daughter, Dannielynn, and her court-appointed guardian.
Smith's estranged mother, Virgie Arthur, asked a judge in the Bahamas Friday morning to stop the funeral and exhume Daniel's body for burial in Texas. Bahamas radio station GEMS 105.9 reported that her request was denied.
In Florida, Arthur appealed -- and lost -- a judge's decision to award Smith's remains to her daughter and guardian.
Arthur, Smith's ex-lover Larry Birkhead and Howard K. Stern, Smith's companion at the time she died, each could invite about 100 guests to the memorial. About 30 family and close friends attended the interment.
Warner Bros. developing Valerie Plame film
HOLLYWOOD, March 2 (UPI) -- A film about ex-CIA officer Valerie Plame, her husband Joseph Wilson and the scandal in which her identity was made public may get the Hollywood treatment.
Warner Bros. studio said it is developing a feature on the lives of Plame and Wilson, securing the life rights of the couple, Variety reported Friday.
The studio said it would use Plame's memoir, "Fair Game," if the CIA permits her to publish it, adding that the film's fate won't depend on the book.
"Almost everything that we need for the movie is available from print outlets, and obviously we haven't read the book yet because it hasn't been approved by the CIA," said Jerry Zucker, one of the project's co-producers.
The hook of the movie, Zucker said, "the story of two people who spent their lives in service of their government, and were then betrayed by that government."
Plame's status as a CIA official was leaked by White House officials allegedly seeking to discredit her husband after he wrote a 2003 op-ed piece in The New York Times saying that the Bush administration manipulated intelligence about weapons of mass destruction to justify the invasion of Iraq.
So, you got those dancin' shoes, Cliffy?
LOS ANGELES, March 2 (UPI) -- TV mailman Cliff Clavin will swap postman's duds for a tux as actor John Ratzenberger joins ABC's "Dancing with the Stars," the Los Angeles-based show said.
Ratzenberger, who played fictitious Boston mail carrier on the popular sitcom "Cheers," replaces "The Sopranos" actor Vincent Pastore, who dropped out of the competition because of the strenuous preparation, People magazine said
"Vincent just turned 60 and he had a heart condition last year," show producer Conrad Greene told People. "Once he started training he said, 'Wow. What have I got myself into?'"
Ratzenberger, despite having only three weeks to rehearse before the show's March 19 premiere, plans to deliver on the dance floor, his representative said.
"He likes to cut a rug. People will be surprised," his publicist said.
Ratzenberger, 59, will be paired with professional dancer Edyta Sliwinska. He had been invited by producers earlier this year to participate in the show, but couldn't commit due to a scheduling conflict.
Radio station foots Brown's support bill
WASHINGTON, March 2 (UPI) -- A Washington radio station posted the back child support that freed singer Bobby Brown from jail in exchange for the rapper working at the station.
WIHT-FM said in a statement the deal was brokered by morning DJ Kane and Brown's lawyers. E! News said. Kane says Brown will work at the station for a week beginning Monday, discussing his transgressions on-air and promoting the station at other times.
Brown owed about $19,000 in back child support.
"Bobby deserves a clean slate," said Kane. "He has agreed to be a positive role model for the Washington, D.C., community and we look forward to welcoming Bobby to the staff at Hot 99.5."
Brown, 38, was taken into custody Sunday after arriving in his home state of Massachusetts to watch his daughter's cheerleading event. A warrant had been issued last October after he failed to show for child-support hearing regarding the care of his two children with ex-girlfriend Kim Ward.
