Advertisement

People in the news

By United Press International
American singer Michael Jackson announces his summer concert dates at a press conference at O2 Arena in London on March 5, 2009. (UPI Photo/Rune Hellestad)
American singer Michael Jackson announces his summer concert dates at a press conference at O2 Arena in London on March 5, 2009. (UPI Photo/Rune Hellestad) | License Photo

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

PATRICIA MEDINA: British-born actress Patricia Medina has died of natural causes, a close friend told the Los Angeles Times. She was 92.

Advertisement

The Westwood, Calif., resident died last Saturday at Los Angeles' Barlow Respiratory Hospital, The Hollywood Reporter said this week.

No other details regarding the circumstances of her death were immediately reported.

"She was a stunning woman," close friend Meredith Silverbach told the Times after hearing Medina died. "In her youth, they called her 'the most beautiful face in England.'"

The Liverpool native appeared in more than 50 films, including "Botany Bay," "Plunder of the Sun," "Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion," "Sangaree," "Phantom of the Rue Morgue" and "Mr. Arkadin." Her TV credits include "Rawhide," "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" and "The Man From Uncle."

She married Hollywood actor Joseph Cotten in 1960. He died in 1994.

Advertisement


MICHAEL JACKSON: U.S. beverage company Pepsi says it has made an exclusive deal with the estate of Michael Jackson as part of its new "Live for Now" ad campaign.

The partnership coincides with the 25th anniversary of the late pop star's multiplatinum "Bad" album and record-breaking concert tour.

Jackson died June 25, 2009. He was 50. His personal physician was convicted last year of administering lethal levels of sedatives and anesthesia to the singer in an effort to help him sleep.

"Pepsi has always been at the forefront of pop culture, helping to shape the music landscape," Brad Jakeman, president of Global Enjoyment Brands and chief creative officer of PepsiCo Global Beverages Group, said in a statement Thursday. "This unique global partnership, around such a legendary music milestone, invites Pepsi fans from around the world to experience Michael Jackson's music in an engaging and very 'now' kind of way -- it's a model example of how Pepsi's 'Live for Now' campaign can manifest itself in a way that resonates the world over."

Pepsi said it will feature iconic silhouette imagery of the King of Pop on cans and will run contests for which winners will receive Jackson-themed merchandise and tickets to "Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour," a stage show by Cirque du Soleil.

Advertisement

"We are thrilled to bring Michael and Pepsi back together, as they were in 1988, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 'Bad' album and tour and to put Michael on 1 billion Pepsi cans -- perhaps a Guinness record," John Branca and John McClain, co-executors of the estate of Michael Jackson, said in a statement. "We're excited to see it all come to life."

Jackson famously sustained burns to his scalp when pyrotechnics went awry and his hair caught on fire while he was filming a Pepsi commercial in 1984, however, he continued working with the company after the incident.


BURT BACHARACH AND HAL DAVID: U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are to preside over a White House concert honoring songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

Wednesday's show in the East Room will be part of the first couple's "In Performance at the White House" series. Bacharach and David will be awarded the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The program will include performances by Sheryl Crow, Michael Feinstein, Diana Krall, Lyle Lovett, Mike Myers, Rumer, Arturo Sandoval, Shelea and Stevie Wonder.

Advertisement

The show is to be broadcast May 21 on PBS stations nationwide as "Burt Bacharach & Hal David: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song In Performance at the White House."


ROB LOWE: Rob Lowe is to play Jeff Ashton, the Florida prosecutor who tried to prove Casey Anthony killed her toddler daughter, in a TV movie, Lifetime announced.

Anthony was acquitted last July of murdering Caylee, 2, in 2008. The child's skeleton was found in a wooded area near Anthony's home several months after Anthony reported she had been kidnapped, a claim she later recanted.

The cause of Caylee's death was not determined due to the condition of her remains.

No one else has been arrested in the case.

Ashton wrote the book "Imperfect Justice: Prosecuting Casey Anthony" after the trial ended.

"We're thrilled to have Rob returning to our network, after his amazing star turn as [accused wife killer] Drew Peterson. He's one of those rare stars who can do it all -- comedy, drama, heroes and villains," Rob Sharenow, executive vice president of programming at Lifetime Networks, told The Hollywood Reporter. "There are very few actors in the history of our business who have been able to have such success on such a broad range."

Advertisement

Lowe was a popular film star of the 1980s who later became a small-screen leading man in the TV shows "The West Wing," "Brothers & Sisters" and "Parks and Recreation," as well as the miniseries "The Stand."

Latest Headlines