Queen Mum of Pop not amused | Kids in the Hall filming series
Published Tuesday August 18th, 2009
Michael Jackson's mother will challenge the trusteeship of his estate in court because she believes financial handlers have been fleecing the pop icon for the last 20 years, says the author of a book on the singer's final days.
Biographer Ian Halperin cited unidentified sources in Jackson's family and the Los Angeles Police Department as he described that development at a news conference on Monday.
Katherine Jackson's lawyer, L. Londell McMillan, has asserted that she should given "a seat at the table" in executing deals for the estate, powers that are now exclusive to the special administrators. He has said there could be a conflict of interest that could compromise co-executors John Branca and John McClain.
"Katherine Jackson is contesting officially Branca and McClain as being executors of Michael Jackson's will," Halperin said, adding that he had confirmation that at the time of Michael Jackson's death Branca and McClain "were not his choice to run his estate."
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The Kids in the Hall are venturing to North Bay, Ont., for a goofy murder-mystery miniseries that's set to air in January on CBC. Producers say cameras started rolling Monday for Death Comes to Town, a suspenseful, eight-part comedy starring members of the comical Toronto troupe.
Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thomson also co-wrote the program, about the murder of a high-profile citizen in Shuckton, Ont.
McCulloch is an executive producer for the project and also conceived the idea for the program, the troupe's first together in 15 years.
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A relative says the actor who told television viewers "you're in good hands with Allstate" for decades has died in upstate New York. Ed Reimers was 96.
Dean Lindoerfer, Reimers' nephew by marriage, says the actor died Sunday at his daughter's home in Saratoga Springs. The cause wasn't immediately clear.
Reimers was best known as the Allstate Corp.'s TV spokesman for 22 years, starting in 1957. He also was an announcer for television programs including the 1950s-era Western Maverick and appeared in shows including an episode of the original Star Trek series.
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It's not your ordinary book tour.
To promote her new novel, The Year of the Flood, acclaimed author Margaret Atwood has written a one-hour theatrical performance based on the book. The piece will include three actors and a choir, with Atwood serving as narrator.
The author is scheduled to present the show in six Canadian cities, as well as in the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany and Sweden.
"There have been many challenges, but it's a chance to break free from the traditional structure of a book tour," Atwood said in a statement.
"I felt this particular novel deserved a more complex presentation. It's also a great chance to work with other creative minds and see their interpretation of the story come to light."
Local actors and choirs will be used for each performance, a move the author's publisher says is designed to reduce "the carbon footprint of a travelling cast."
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Rock legend Bob Dylan was treated like a complete unknown by police in a New Jersey shore community when a resident called to report someone wandering around the neighbourhood.
Dylan was in Long Branch, about a two-hour drive south of New York City, on July 23 as part of a tour with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp that was to play at a baseball stadium in nearby Lakewood. A 24-year-old police officer apparently was unaware of who Dylan is and asked him for identification, Long Branch business administrator Howard Woolley said Friday.
The incident began at 5 p.m. when a resident said a man was wandering around a low-income, predominantly minority neighbourhood several blocks from the oceanfront looking at houses.
The police officer drove up to Dylan and asked him his name. According to Woolley, the following exchange ensued:
"What is your name?" the officer asked.
"Bob Dylan," Dylan said.
"OK, what are you doing here?" the officer asked.
"I'm on tour," the singer replied.
A second officer, also in his 20s, was also apparently unfamiliar with Dylan. The officers asked Dylan for identification. The singer said he didn't have any ID with him, that he was just walking around to pass some time before that night's show.
The officers asked Dylan, 68, to accompany them back to the Ocean Place Resort and Spa, where the performers were staying. Once there, tour staff vouched for Dylan.
The officers thanked him for his cooperation.
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