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By United Press International
Bobby Cannavale arrives for the Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon at The Mariott Marquis Hotel in New York on May 20, 2011. UPI/Robin Platzer
Bobby Cannavale arrives for the Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon at The Mariott Marquis Hotel in New York on May 20, 2011. UPI/Robin Platzer | License Photo

The latest news on today's hottest celebrities ...

WYATT KNIGHT: Wyatt Knight's wife confirmed Thursday the "Porky's" actor committed suicide in Hawaii last week. He was 56.

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E! News said Knight's body was discovered Oct. 26 in an isolated area near the house where he had been staying.

No other information regarding the circumstances of his death was immediately available.

"I can confirm that Wyatt Knight did, in fact, end his life on Oct. 25, in Maui, Hawaii," E! News quoted his wife, Silvina, as saying in a statement. "The family is choosing to keep the details private."

In addition to starring in three "Porky's" sex comedies during the 1980s, Knight also appeared on the TV shows "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Chicago Hope," "Pacific Blue" and "Profiler."


CONRAD MURRAY: A prosecutor in Conrad Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial said Thursday Michael Jackson's doctor lied repeatedly about what happened to the pop star.

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Jackson died June 25, 2009, at age 50. Lethal levels of sedatives and the anesthesia propofol were found in his system.

"Unfortunately [Murray's] version doesn't match up with any of the evidence, to the phone records or the text messages or the emails," the Los Angeles Times quoted District Attorney David Walgren as saying in his closing arguments.

Murray, the singer's personal physician, is accused of causing Jackson's death by giving him the drugs to help him sleep, and then failing to come to his aid when he was in distress. He has been criticized for not having emergency equipment on hand or keeping records of his treatment of the recording artist.

Murray has denied any wrongdoing and his legal team suggested during the trial Jackson may have administered the fatal doses of drugs to himself when Murray was briefly out of the room.

Walgren said the circumstances leading up to and immediately following Jackson's death will remain a mystery because Murray has not been truthful.

"How long Michael Jackson was there by himself abandoned, not breathing? We'll never know," the Times said Walgren challenged those gathered in the courtroom Thursday. "Did he gasp, did he choke? Were there sounds? We don't know, and we'll never know."

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'FUNNY GIRL:' The producers of the planned first Broadway revival of "Funny Girl" said Thursday they have postponed the staging indefinitely.

Set to star Lauren Ambrose and Bobby Cannavale, the production was to go to Broadway in April following an engagement at Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles.

"We have made the extremely difficult decision today to postpone our production of 'Funny Girl,'" Bob Boyett, speaking on behalf of the show's producing team, said in a statement. "Given the current economic climate, many Broadway producing investors have found it impossible to maintain their standard level of financial commitment. Our desire to produce 'Funny Girl' on the scale it deserves required a capitalization of $12 million making it one of the most expensive revivals in Broadway history."

Boyett said he is "deeply saddened by this decision," but feels "this was not the right time to bring 'Funny Girl' to the stage."


KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS: The film adaptation of Tatiana de Rosnay's novel "Sarah's Key" is headed back to U.S. theaters in time for awards season, The Weinstein Co. said.

The drama is to re-open on 300 screens Friday, TWC President of Distribution Erik Lomis announced Wednesday. The movie initially opened in late July and has grossed more than $7 million domestically.

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"Audiences responded to 'Sarah's Key' for its great story, its emotional impact, and its historical importance; and the power of that word-of-mouth made it one of the most successful indie releases of the summer. We know there's an even bigger audience for the movie, and that's why we're re-releasing it now, in a wider pattern, and just in time for awards consideration," Lomis said in a statement.

The movie stars Kristin Scott Thomas as an American journalist living in Paris, whose research for an article about the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup in 1942 France turns her own world upside-down.

"I wanted to direct a movie that made this relatively unknown period of French history accessible," said director Gilles Paquet-Brenner.

"I'm so happy that audiences in the United States have responded to the emotional core of 'Sarah's Key' and to the idea of our individual sense of responsibility towards history, regardless of our own cultural heritage. I'm also delighted with the critical support Kristin Scott Thomas has received for her restrained performance which helped steer the film clear of the trap of sentimentality. She becomes the audience's conscience."

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