EXPECTING
Oscar-winning actress Jodie Foster, 35, her first
child, in September. Foster won't reveal the other half of the
production team.... Three-time Grammy winner Shawn Colvin, 42,
and her husband, photographer Mario Erwin, 42, are expecting
their first child, a girl, in August.
SPLITS
After 16 months of marriage, singer Paula Abdul, 35, filed for divorce from clothing manufacturer Brad Beckerman, 31, March 9, in L.A. Abdul cited irreconcilable differences.... Mariah Carey, 28, ended her five-year marriage to Sony Music
Entertainment chief Tommy Mottola, 49, March 4, in the Dominican
Republic. Carey's publicist won't say why the couple, who separated last May, divorced in the Caribbean.
RECOVERING
Talk-show host Morton Downey Jr., 64, following
surgery to remove a tumor and the remaining portion of his right
lung, March 4, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A. Downey was
diagnosed with lung cancer in 1996.
CONVICTED
Former talent agency receptionist Jonathan Norman, 31,
was found guilty of stalking director Steven Spielberg, March 4,
in Santa Monica. Last July, Norman was detained by police when
he was found near the director's Pacific Palisades home carrying
a list of Spielberg's family members, duct tape, handcuffs, and
a razor. Sentencing is set for April 22. Prosecutors are seeking
25 years to life.
LAWSUITS
Brillstein-Grey exec Brad Grey, 40, filed a $10 million
breach-of-contract countersuit, March 4, against his former
client Garry Shandling, 48. In court papers, Grey claims
Shandling -- who filed a $100 million conflict-of-interest suit
against Grey in January -- displayed ''improper conduct,'' resulting
in production delays and the loss of staffers from HBO's The
Larry Sanders Show. ''I'm relieved,'' says Shandling. ''I thought
he was going to say I wasn't funny.''
DEATHS
Actor Lloyd Bridges, 85, of natural causes, March 10, in
L.A. (see Legacy on page 67).... TV journalist Eric Breindel, 42,
of complications due to a liver ailment, March 7, in New York
City. Breindel, a former New York Post columnist, had been the
host of Fox News Channel's News Watch since April 1997....
Legendary newsman Fred Friendly, 82, after a series of strokes,
March 3, in New York City. With partner Edward R. Murrow,
Friendly created the pivotal '50s documentary series See It Now,
and was president of CBS News from 1963 to 1966.
-- Suna Chang and Matthew McCann Fenton
