Entertainment Today: Showbiz News

'ROSEANNE' ACTOR DEAD AT 32

Glenn Quinn, the handsome Irish actor who played Mark Healy on the sit-com "Roseanne," has died in Los Angeles of an apparent drug overdose.

E! Online reports Quinn's body was found Dec. 3 at a North Hollywood home.

Authorities over the weekend blamed his death on a "suspected overdose" but said the coroner will make an official determination following an autopsy and toxicology tests. A final report is expected to take a few weeks to compile.

Quinn, 32, was born in Dublin but moved to the United States with his family in 1988. He played Becky Connor's dopey mate from 1990 until the show went off the air in 1997. His next major acting break came in 1999 playing the half-demon, all Irish, Doyle, on the popular WB drama, "Angel."

Quinn's character was written out of the supernatural show after the first season without much explanation from series creator Joss Whedon, causing the show's rabid fans to beg for his return.

The actor's publicist says he was memorialized during a private funeral service Saturday. He is survived by his mother, Bernadette, and two sisters, Sonya and Louisa.

SPLITSVILLE FOR TONY AND CARMELA

The only casualty on last night's season finale of "The Sopranos" was Tony and Carmela's marriage.

An estimated 10 million fans of the hit HBO mob series eagerly watched the final installment of season four to see which characters would get whacked and which ones might suddenly reappear. Although a miraculous resurrection for decapitated Ralphie was not expected, Furio returning from Italy to sweep Carmela off her feet, or the fired Dr. Melfi setting the philandering Tony straight, did not seem out of the realm of possibility. Yet, none of that happened.

Viewers tuning in saw Carmela throw her husband out of the house after an irate ex-girlfriend phoned and ratted Tony out. Although Carmela has caught the don straying before, the fact his mistress had the guts to confront her was apparently too much to bear.

Outraged by Tony's infidelity, Carmela hysterically revealed she has been in love with her husband's absent underling, Furio, for almost year.

The split with Carmela so vexed Tony that he phoned Dr. Melfi, the psychiatrist he fired a few episodes back. Although they do not speak, the scene indicates Melfi probably will re-appear next season.

Speaking of next season, the show's producers vow fans will not have to wait another 16 months for season five to start.

EMINEM AND WIFE REUNITE

Eminem's grandmother tells reporters the rapper has gone back to his ex-wife, Kim.

Betty Kresin told the New York Post in a phone interview Kim has moved back into the singer's mansion in suburban Detroit.

"They're back together," Kresin said, "and I think Marshall (Eminem's real name) is very happy about it. He loves Kim and Hailie (their daughter), and Kim is the mother of his child. Marshall is a terrific father and very family oriented. I'm not surprised he'd want that stability."

Family-oriented, huh?

The chart-topping rapper's relationship with his ex is the subject of several of his most popular and disturbing songs, including the ditty with the lyrics, "Dada made a nice bed for Mommy at the bottom of the lake."

High-school sweethearts, Eminem and Kim were married in 1999 but divorced the following year after Kim reportedly tried to kill herself in their home. The two have been sparring publicly ever since -- he by penning hateful song lyrics about killing her and sporting a tattoo that says, "Kim: Rot in Pieces" and she by threatening to sue him.

CAGE: DIRECTING FIRST FILM WAS DAUNTING

Actor Nicolas Cage admits he was gripped with "terror" when he began directing his first film, "Sonny," due out later this month.

"I had never done this before," recalls the nephew of famed filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. "The ace in the hole was I think I can talk to actors. There was terror like, 'Oh my God. I'm actually doing this. The train has left the station and here we go!' I'm there at 5 a.m., feeling like a scared kid going to school for the first time. It was daunting."

Although he greatly enjoyed directing the gritty drama, Cage told reporters in New York he quickly realized he had a lot more responsibilities as a director than he ever had as an actor.

"As an actor, I'm only responsible for my own character's trajectory," he said. "As a director, I was responsible in some way for all these characters' trajectories. And so, I'd be awake at night trying to figure out what would be good for Jewel's character or what would be good for Henry's character..."

He added: "And then the editing is a very long process where you have to watch the movie hundreds of times and invite people whose opinions you trust and get their views on it."

"Sonny," Cage's exploration into the seedy side of New Orleans circa 1981, stars James Franco, Brenda Blethyn and Mena Suvari. It opens Dec. 27.