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Published: March. 31, 2008 at 2:00 PM

R&B singer Sean Levert dead

CLEVELAND, March 31 (UPI) -- Singer Sean Levert died in a hospital after he collapsed in a Cleveland jail where he was serving time for failing to pay child support, jail officials said.

Sean Levert, who appeared in the film "New Jack City," was the son of O'Jays singer Eddie Levert and the brother of late R&B icon Gerald Levert.

Sean performed with Gerald in the R&B group LeVert in the 1980s and 1990s. The band is best known for its songs "Casanova" and "Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop (Goes My Mind.)"

The Cleveland Leader said Sean Levert was 39. He died at Lutheran Hospital.

TMZ.com said he was taken to the hospital after he collapsed in the Cuyahoga County Jail late Sunday night. The warden for the jail told the entertainment news Web site officials were unaware of any medical condition from which Levert may have been suffering.

The Cuyahoga County Coroner's office is investigating the cause of death, TMZ.com said.


Ledger may have fathered another child

PERTH, Australia, March 31 (UPI) -- Two of Heath Ledger's relatives told an Australian newspaper the late actor may have fathered a child when he was 17 and dated a 25-year-old woman.

Ledger died in January at the age of 28. At that time, he was publicly known to have been the father of 2-year-old Matilda, his daughter with his ex-girlfriend, actress Michelle Williams.

The actor's parents have declined to comment on reports Ledger also fathered an older daughter, Britain's Telegraph said Monday.

The newspaper said the mother of the older child discovered she was pregnant after her affair with Ledger had ended and she was living with another man.

"There is a very real possibility that Heath was the father," the actor's uncle, Haydn Ledger, told Sydney's Daily Telegraph.

Haydn Ledger has been locked in a bitter feud with his brother Kim, Heath's father, and has ignored pleas from the family not to speak to the media about Heath's death.

"(The former girlfriend) had the baby. Everyone lived under the assumption that she was the daughter of the mother's boyfriend and that is how she has been brought up," a second family member told the newspaper.


Heather Mills to judge Miss USA contest

BURBANK, Calif., March 31 (UPI) -- Former model and "Dancing with the Stars" contestant Heather Mills has been selected to judge the 2008 Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas, NBC announced Monday.

Mills most recently made headlines for her high-profile divorce from British rock 'n' roll icon Paul McCartney.

Comedian Rob Schneider, singer Joey Fatone, actress Kristian Alfonso, Olympic gold-medal swimmer Amanda Beard and "Project Runway" winner Christian Siriano have also been tapped to be judges.

The panel includes San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne "Lights Out" Merriman, celebrity hairstylist Ken Paves, actress Kelly Carlson and Vanity Fair celebrity journalist George Wayne, as well.

Donny and Marie Osmond are to preside over the 57th Annual Miss USA Pageant from the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino April 11.

"Nothing could be better than two iconic hosts, a 'paralyzing' performance and world-class judges in Las Vegas with the hottest women in the country," Paula Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization, said in a statement. "A perfect combination that will make this live telecast the sexiest and most exciting in our 57-year history!"


Stones film heads for IMAX screens

NEW YORK, March 31 (UPI) -- The Rolling Stones concert film "Shine a Light," which was shot at New York's Beacon Theatre, is to be released on IMAX, as well as conventional movie screens.

Asked how the IMAX experience will be different for the band's fans, Mick Jagger, frontman for the aging rock band quipped, "It will be very large."

"Some slight imperfections might be revealed," Jagger warned reporters in New York Sunday. "The funny thing is though, really, that (director Martin Scorsese,) after looking at all of the options, decided he wanted to make this small, intimate movie and I said, 'Well, the laugh is that, Marty, in the end, it's going to be blown up into this huge IMAX thing, so the intimate movie is done in IMAX.' But it looks good in IMAX."

Since the film shows the longtime band mates still exude loads of energy on stage, one journalist pressed the rockers to reveal what vitamins they take and workout regimen they embrace.

"No gym, no vitamins," Jagger said. "We just do it. We just get out there."

"Shine a Light" is due in theaters Friday.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

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