EXPECTING
Chris O'Donnell (The Company), 37, and his wife, former teacher Caroline
Fentress, 34, will welcome their fifth child in December.... In
America's Samantha Morton, 30, and her fiancé, filmmaker Harry Holm, 26,
are expecting their first child in January. Morton has a daughter, 7,
from a previous relationship.
MARRIED
Just six days after canceling their July 28 nuptials, pop star Usher,
27, and stylist Tameka Foster, 34, tied the knot on Aug. 3 in Atlanta.
Their first child is due this fall.
COURTS
On Aug. 1, a Chicago judge announced the child-pornography trial of R&B
star R. Kelly, 40, will begin on Sept. 17. The singer was charged with
multiple counts of child pornography in 2002 for allegedly videotaping
himself engaging in sex acts with an underage girl. Kelly, who could
face up to 15 years in jail if convicted, has pleaded innocent to all
charges.... On Aug. 2, a California judge ordered Lane Garrison, 27, to
prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation before sentencing. In May,
the Prison Break star pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and
drunken driving after an L.A. car crash killed a teenage passenger last
December. His sentencing is set for Oct. 31.... Former Marilyn Manson keyboardist Stephen Bier, 43, a.k.a. Madonna Wayne Gacy, sued Manson (né Brian Warner), 38, on Aug. 2 in L.A. for $20 million. Bier claims Manson
reneged on a partnership agreement the band signed in 1993 to share
profits, and says Manson used the money to purchase things for himself,
including a house and the skeleton of a 4-year-old Chinese girl. Manson
has called the suit ''ridiculous.''... Tony Angelotti, stunt double for
Johnny Depp in the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, sued the Walt
Disney Co. and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, 61, for negligence on July 20
in L.A. Angelotti claims the use of faulty equipment led to him being
severely injured while rehearsing a ''human yo-yo stunt'' for 2006's Dead
Man's Chest. Angelotti is seeking unspecified damages.
SIGNED
On Aug. 1, The View's Barbara Walters announced Oscar-winning comedian
Whoopi Goldberg, 51, will replace Rosie O'Donnell as moderator of the
daytime gabfest. She starts Sept. 4.... On Aug. 6, Fox announced that
Mike Darnell, the reality TV mastermind who helped launch hits such as
American Idol and Hell's Kitchen, has renewed his contract with the
network and has been promoted to the newly created position of president
of alternative entertainment.
DEATHS
Jacob Adams, 40, property caretaker to Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible
III), Aug. 3, in L.A. According to the coroner, Adams had been mauled by
some of Rhames' four dogs — three bull mastiffs and one English
bulldog — but the cause of death has not been determined. The dogs were
taken away by animal control.... Former MGM chairman-CEO Frank
Rosenfelt, 85, of lung cancer, Aug. 2, in L.A.... Oscar-winning makeup
artist William J. Tuttle (7 Faces of Dr. Lao), 95, of natural causes,
July 30, in Pacific Palisades, Calif. — Additional reporting by Stewart Allen
Lee Hazlewood (1929-2007)
Baritone-voiced singer-songwriter Hazlewood, 78, died of complications
from cancer on Aug. 4 in Henderson, Nev. He was best known for writing
and producing many of Nancy Sinatra's hits, including ''These Boots Are
Made for Walkin''' in 1966. ''Lee was adored by the public,'' Sinatra told EW via e-mail. ''He was my dear friend and
my mentor. I will miss him terribly.'' — Lindsay Soll
Eddie's Scary Baby Drama
While a June DNA test confirmed that Eddie Murphy, 46, is indeed the
father of Melanie ''Scary Spice'' Brown's now-4-month-old daughter, Angel
Iris, the he said/she said showdown has just begun. At an Aug. 1 press
conference, Brown's lawyer, Gloria Allred, attacked the Dreamgirls star,
claiming that the couple had planned the pregnancy and Murphy never paid
''one penny of child support.'' Reps for the usually private Murphy responded two days later with a statement saying he and Brown,
32, ''never made plans of ANY sort'' and that he ''has paid child support.''
When reached by EW after Murphy's statement was released, Allred did not
back down, but admitted that the actor is now offering ''some support.'' — Tanner Stransky
