Deal predicted for Marion Barry TV series
WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- A former staffer for Marion Barry says the former Washington mayor's reality series project is still being shopped around to television networks.
Andre Johnson, Barry's former communications director, told The Washington Post he expected a deal for "Mayor for Life" to be nailed down in the near future.
The program would examine Barry's current role as a city councilman and, unlike Sarah Palin's popular reality series, would revolve around politics more than Barry's personal life, the New York Daily News said Saturday.
A 30-minute pilot episode posted on YouTube includes scenes in which a panicky City Hall staff member is subpoenaed over the awarding of city contracts that could result in censure for Barry.
Barry gained notoriety for smoking crack in 1990 and winning re-election in 1994. His more recent scrapes involved taxes and stalking allegations.
Billy Ray Cyrus saddened by Miley's partying
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Miley Cyrus' father says he was stunned by the recently surfaced video of his teenage daughter smoking from a bong at a Los Angeles party.
Cyrus fired off on Twitter Friday, saying he had just seen the images for the first time and "had no idea" the partying had taken place.
"Im so sad," the tweet said. "There is much beyond my control right now."
The New York Daily News said video cropped up a couple of months after the 18-year-old pop princess' parents, Billy Ray and Tish, announced their divorce.
A source told TMZ that despite her giggling and sometimes incoherent conversations, Miley was not smoking marijuana but rather Salvia, an herb that can have hallucinogenic effects.
Oprah ranked most-generous celebrity
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Oprah Winfrey tops the list of charitable celebrities with more than $40 million given away to various programs last year, an analysis of public records shows.
Novelist Nora Roberts was a distant second on the list compiled by The Giving Back Fund, followed by actress Meryl Streep.
Streep donated $4 million to the Silver Mountain Foundation for the Arts and Roberts parceled out $4.45 million to literacy programs through her Nora Roberts Foundation.
Oprah also went the foundation route in supporting a number of causes, including education programs for women and children. "There are many generous celebrities, but when you can top a list of celebrity philanthropists three out of four years, as Oprah has, that is saying something," said Marc Pollick, president of The Giving Back Fund.
The Giving Back Fund organizes and manages foundations and other philanthropic programs on behalf of celebrities who want to turn some of their fortunes back to the community, People magazine said Saturday. The group compiled its rankings by analyzing tax returns, media reports and other public information. The list does not include private donations.
Fans try to halt Jackson autopsy program
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- A group of Michael Jackson fans is calling on the Discovery Channel to cancel plans to air a documentary on the late pop star's autopsy.
A petition drive has collected nearly 1,500 signatures from people who don't want the television special "Michael Jackson's Autopsy" to air as scheduled Jan. 13 in Britain.
TMZ said Saturday the organizers of the petition were disturbed by the program's graphic nature. The petition states, "We ask the directors of the Discovery Channel programming to proceed with the outright cancellation of this indecent documentary."
Jackson died suddenly in 2009 of cardiac arrest following an injection of painkillers and sedatives.
