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Artist Angus Fairhurst dead at 41

LONDON, April 1 (UPI) -- Angus Fairhurst, one of the founding members of the Young British Artists group of conceptual artists, has hanged himself from a tree, police said.

He was 41.

Fairhurst's representative told The Daily Telegraph newspaper the artist committed suicide Saturday on the last day of his third solo show at a London gallery.

Strathclyde Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Fairhurst's death.

His body was found in a remote Highland woods near the Bridge of Orchy, the newspaper said.

"He always supported me, in fair weather and foul," Fairhurst's fellow artist Damien Hirst said. "He shone like the moon and as an artist he had just the right amount of 'slightly round the bend.' I loved him."

Fairhurst's latest solo exhibition of sculptures and large-scale paintings was at Sadie Coles HQ in London.

"Angus was funny, ridiculously charming, a wonderful cook and great host, a crazy dancer, a radical gardener, a nature lover and an intensely intelligent artist," Coles and her fellow director Pauline Daly said in a joint statement.

Fairhurst is survived by his mother, Sally, and brother, Charles.

Ebert cancer-free, ready to write again

CHICAGO, April 1 (UPI) -- Film critic Roger Ebert wrote a letter to his readers in the Chicago Sun-Times saying he is cancer-free and ready to get back to reviewing movies.

"I am at last returning to the movie beat," Ebert announced in the letter published Tuesday. "I'm looking forward to opening night of my annual film festival at the University of Illinois on April 23, and I will resume writing movie reviews shortly thereafter."

The critic said he underwent his third surgery in January but revealed his ability to speak wasn't restored; that would require another operation.

"But I still have all my other abilities, including the love of viewing movies and writing about them," Ebert said. "It was (Paul) Schrader's line from his screenplay for Martin Scorsese's 'Raging Bull' that inspired my acceptance of my bandaged appearance: 'I ain't a pretty boy no more'. ... I am still cancer-free, and not ready to think about more surgery at this time. I should be content with the abundance I have. So that's the latest. I have been so moved by the messages I've received from so many of you. Thank you. Now let's go to the movies."

'Road House' co-star wishing Swayze well

NEW YORK, April 1 (UPI) -- U.S. actress Kelly Lynch said she is praying for her former "Road House" co-star, Patrick Swayze, who is undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer.

"If anyone can get through this, it's him," Lynch told People.com, describing the 55-year-old actor as "the most determined, positive, forward-thinking person I've ever met."

"I say my prayers for him but I have a lot of hope that he'll get through this," she added.

Swayze is best known for his roles in "The Outsiders," "Dirty Dancing," "Point Break" and "Ghost."

Simon to perform 'Capeman' songs in N.Y.

NEW YORK, April 1 (UPI) -- U.S. recording star Paul Simon is to perform a series of concerts featuring songs from his failed 1998 Broadway musical "The Capeman."

The controversial musical was inspired by Salvador Agron, a young Puerto Rican man who mistook two New York teens for gang members and stabbed them to death nearly half a century ago. Singer Marc Anthony played Agron in the short-lived musical.

The concert series is to take place at the Brooklyn Academy of Music starting Tuesday night and running through Sunday, the New York Daily News said.

Guest stars include Oscar Hernandez and his Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Luba Mason, Danny Rivera, Frankie Negron and Little Anthony and the Imperials, the newspaper said.