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Gary Glitter freed, heads for Britain HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Former British rock star Gary Glitter has been released from a Vietnamese prison where he served time on a child sexual abuse conviction, his attorney says.
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Attorney Le Thanh Kinh told The Times of London Tuesday the 64-year-old 1970's glam rocker, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, was released from Thu Duc prison, 90 miles northeast of Ho Chi Minh City and was driven to Tan Son Nhat airport.
The newspaper said Glitter was on his way back to London. He was arrested in Ho Chi Minh City in 2005 and charged with committing obscene acts with two girls, aged 11 and 12. He was released early from his three-year sentence.
If he returns to Britain, Glitter will be met at the airport by police and required to sign an official sex offender registry, The Daily Telegraph reported. By law, he would have to notify police if he planned to move or change houses and would be banned from owning a computer, surfing the Internet or going near children, authorities said.
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is urging the government to bar Glitter from going on any sex tourism trips if he returns to the country.
Phil Collins divorce settlement at $46.5M
LONDON, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Rock star Phil Collins' $46.5 million divorce settlement shows London courts have become a haven for wives seeking favorable rulings, legal analysts say.
Documents revealed Monday detailed Collins' hefty pay-out to third wife Orianne Cevey, a native of Switzerland, after an eight-year marriage. The news prompted some observers to say Britain's divorce laws are making its courts popular with foreign women who "shop" for sympathetic venues, The Times of London reported Tuesday.
"It's generally accepted that London is the divorce capital of the world," James Turner, a lawyer involved in family law cases, told the Times. "More foreign claimants than ever are 'forum shopping' for the best divorce jurisdiction -- and that tends to be England."
Turner said the phenomenon began in 2000 when the House of Lords ruled that marital assets should be split equally.
The newspaper said the divorce was the third for Collins, 57, who also had to pay $32 million to second wife Jill Tavelman, whom he notoriously dumped via fax message. Some Collins fans were wondering why the musician never got a pre-nuptial agreement when he married Cevey in 1998, the Times said.
Cruise attached to superhero pic 'Sleeper'
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. actor Tom Cruise has teamed with producer-director Sam Raimi on plans to make a big-budget adaptation of DC Comics' "Sleeper," sources say.
The Hollywood Reporter, citing unnamed sources, says Cruise may appear in the Warner Brothers movie, which would also involve Star Road Entertainment's Josh Donen as a co-producer. "Sleeper" is based on a comic book that ran from 2003-05 about a spy with alien abilities to resist pain and to pass those abilities to others.
Cruise remains at United Artists but is not tied exclusively to that company, the entertainment industry newspaper said, adding that his next acting role is likely to be the thriller "Tourist." His last appearance was in United Artists' box office bomb "Lions for Lambs," and he also has an upcoming role in the studio's World War II period adventure movie "Valkyrie." In that film, Cruise will play German Nazi officer Claus van Stauffenberg, who attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944.
Sources told the newspaper "Sleeper" is being considered as a possible superhero movie franchise for Warner Bros. in addition to a possible starring vehicle for Cruise.
Stars turn out for Isaac Hayes funeral
MEMPHIS, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- A star-studded turnout of mourners remembered U.S. singer-musician Isaac Hayes as a larger-than-life influence on many forms of popular music.
Among the hundreds of people who attended Hayes' funeral Monday in Memphis, Tenn., were his longtime songwriting partner David Porter; soul singer William Bell; Al Bell, former co-owner of Stax Records; and such other Stax figures as Eddie Floyd, Mable John, J. Blackfoot, Deanie Parker and Booker T. Jones of Booker T. & the MG's, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported.
Despite the music stars at the funeral, "It's the fans that really made my dad larger than life," daughter Veronica Hayes told the congregation.
Hayes, a member of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and probably best known for his soundtrack for the 1971 movie "Shaft," died of an apparent stoke Aug. 10 at age 65. The newspaper said other celebrities at his funeral included actress Anne Archer; rapper Doug E. Fresh; rapper Chuck D. of Public Enemy; Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire; 1970s funk master Bootsy Collins and jazz musician Chick Corea.
Stevie Wonder described Hayes as "a griot of music" in a telegram.
