SPLITS
Swept Away no more: Madonna, 50, and director Guy Ritchie (RocknRolla),
40, are divorcing after nearly eight years of marriage. They have two
sons, Rocco, 8, and David, 3. (She also has a daughter, Lourdes, 12,
with ex-flame Carlos Leon, 42.) This past summer, the singer was hit
with rumors of a fling with baseball player Alex Rodriguez, 33 (which
she denied).... On Oct. 15, David Duchovny, 48, and Téa Leoni, 42,
announced their separation. They've been married for 11 years and have
two kids. Californication star Duchovny recently finished a stint in
rehab for sex addiction.
INJURED
Desperate Housewives' Gale Harold, 39, is in ''critical but improving''
condition after an Oct. 14 motorcycle accident. Harold plays Teri
Hatcher's beau, Jackson, on the ABC hit.
COURTS
Thanks to a deadlocked jury, Britney Spears, 26, won't be punished for a
2007 fender bender. On Oct. 21, an L.A. judge declared a mistrial in her
driving-without-a-license case.... Speaking of stars and cars, on Oct.
14 in Santa Monica, three men filed a suit against Lindsay Lohan, 22.
They say their lives were endangered on July 23, 2007, when Lohan
hijacked their SUV. She then drove to a police station and was arrested
for DUI and drug possession.
DEATHS
Four Tops frontman Levi Stubbs, 72, who harmonized with the Motown
quartet on hits like ''Reach Out I'll Be There,'' died of natural causes,
Oct. 17, in his Detroit home. He's also remembered as the singing,
man-eating plant Audrey II in 1986's Little Shop of Horrors film. ''He
was as nice a gentleman as he was ferocious a performer,'' recalls Little
Shop composer Alan Menken.... Soap opera writer James E. Reilly (Days of
Our Lives), 60, passed away while recovering from cardiac surgery, Oct.
12, in NYC. The creator of the supernatural sudser Passions told EW in
2004: ''I want people to come on a ride. I want someone to say, 'You've
entertained me. I don't regret giving one hour of my life every day to
you.'''...Tony winner Edie Adams (Li'l Abner), 81, died of pneumonia,
Oct. 16, West Hills, Calif.... Dee Dee Warwick, 63 — 1960s soul singer
(''Foolish Fool'') and sister to Dionne — passed away of undisclosed causes,
Oct. 18, in South Orange, N.J.... Comic Rudy Ray Moore, 81, who starred
in such blaxploitation films as Dolemite, died of diabetes, Oct. 19, in
Akron, Ohio. — with additional reporting by Stewart Allen
LEGACY
Mr. Blackwell (1922 - 2008)
He made his name zinging Hollywood's sartorial flops in an annual ''worst dressed'' list. But during four decades in fashion, designer and critic Mr. Blackwell (né Richard Selzer), who died Oct. 19 in L.A. of complications from an intestinal infection, never went out of style. After stints as an actor and agent, Blackwell found his calling dressing up celebs for events (Peggy Lee and Nancy Reagan were fans) and dressing them down for missteps. He recently dubbed Amy Winehouse ''part '50s carhop horror'' and Jessica Simpson ''a global fashion curse.'' Says actress and pal Jo Anne Worley: ''Every time I'd see him, it would make me smile — and be very concerned about what I was wearing.'' — Adam Markovitz
Add your comment
The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject or we might delete your comment. If you see inappropriate language, e-mail us. An asterisk * indicates a required field.