In the news
By TIMES WIRES
Published September 8, 2006
Refunds may be coming over embellished memoirs
It's payback time for disgraced memoirist James Frey and his publisher, Random House Inc.
Under a tentative legal settlement, readers who said they were defrauded by Frey's bestseller, A Million Little Pieces, can claim refunds.
"However, it requires court approval and may take several weeks and even months," David Drake, a spokesman for Random House imprint Doubleday, said Thursday.
Readers who bought A Million Little Pieces on or before Jan. 26, the day Frey and his publisher acknowledged that he had made up parts of the book, would be eligible for a refund of the full suggested retail price, regardless of discounts or special sales.
Under terms of the agreement, neither Frey nor the publisher have admitted wrongdoing.
Report: Letterman to host 'Late Show' through 2010
David Letterman is planning to outlast Jay Leno in late-night television.
CBS Corp. and Letterman have agreed to a four-year contract extension that will keep the comic on the Late Show through the 2009-10 television season, according to two executives familiar with the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because the deal wasn't fully done.
That would keep Letterman, 59, on the air past NBC's planned 2009 hand-off of the Tonight show job from Leno to Conan O'Brien.
Leno and Letterman have been competing in late-night since 1993, after NBC chose Leno for Tonight and Letterman jumped to CBS.
Spokesmen for CBS Entertainment and Letterman would not comment on negotiations. The agreement was first reported Thursday in the Hollywood Reporter.
Steve Irwin's family declines state funeral
The father of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin has declined the offer of a state funeral in Australia, saying it wouldn't be in keeping with his son's Outback style.
"The state funeral would be refused because he's an ordinary guy, he's just an ordinary bloke," said Bob Irwin, 66, who taught his son how to wrestle giant crocs.
The Australia Broadcasting Corp. reported that Terri Irwin, Steve's wife, also had decided against a state funeral.
Steve Irwin, 44, was killed Monday in a stingray attack. The elder Irwin said he was proud that his son died doing what he loved. "That's a lot better than getting hit by a bus," he said.
DeGeneres to host Oscars
Ellen DeGeneres has been tapped to host next year's Oscars, the Academy of Motions Pictures Arts and Sciences said Thursday.
It will be the comedian and TV talker's first time hosting the Oscars show and first appearance on the award show. She has hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards telecast twice and co-hosted it once, and hosted the Grammys twice.
The 79th Annual Academy Awards are scheduled to be broadcast live from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on ABC on Feb. 25.