Compiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 16, 2001
He didn't survive
After telling his teammates he was ready to go, singer/songwriter Mitchell Olson was the fourth to leave the game Thursday night on Survivor: The Australian Outback. Balloting deadlocked twice -- it was between him and Keith Famie -- before past votes were used to break the tie.
Meanwhile, CBS is accepting applications for future installments of Survivor. The network planned to make application forms available on its Web site, http://www.cbs.com. The third version of the reality show will air this fall, again set in a remote area and with a $1-million prize. Applicants must submit a three-minute videotape demonstrating why they believe they can prevail in the game, CBS said. The deadline is April 13.
Star Trek actor William Shatner and a one-time high school homecoming queen got married this week in Lebanon, Ind., the Indianapolis Star reports.
Shatner, 69, and Elizabeth J. Martin, 42, had been the talk of the town since the pair walked into the Boone County Courthouse on Monday to pick up their marriage license.
The couple tied the knot on Tuesday, said Martin's sister, Gayle Anderson. "It's absolutely true. That's all we're saying."
This is the fourth marriage for Shatner, who starred as Capt. James T. Kirk in the Star Trek television series and movies.
His third wife, model Nerine Kidd, died Aug. 9, 1999, when she drowned in the swimming pool at the couple's Los Angeles home. Shatner's first two marriages ended in divorce.
Phylicia Rashad has filed for divorce from her sportscaster husband, Ahmad. Though the grounds for the action in Manhattan Supreme Court are "abandonment," the split is said to be amicable, says the New York Daily News, which added that no third party is involved.
Tom Cruise "is playing hardball" in filing for divorce against Nicole Kidman, family-law lawyer Lynn Soodik told People magazine, citing his plea, in which Cruise, who did not have a prenuptial agreement with Kidman, states that the marriage ended in December and lasted precisely nine years and 11 months. (California judges look differently upon marriages that last at least a decade when it comes time to divvy up the estate.)
The fact that the pair seemed to be together after their 10th anniversary on Dec. 24 -- even taking in a thrill ride in Las Vegas on Dec. 28 -- might come into consideration, should Kidman decide to challenge Cruise. Meanwhile, Cruise is asking the court to not even consider his paying alimony.
Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show, has come to the rescue of the Grammys. The comic has agreed to host Wednesday's 43d annual Grammy Awards. Producers of the show had been frantically scrambling to find a host. Cher and Jim Carrey both passed and Whoopi Goldberg is said to have had health concerns. And, in a real understatement, Jennifer Lopez was said to be too busy. As for Garry Shandling, who did the job last year and just hosted the Emmy Awards, he said he had OD'd on awards shows. No word on whether there's a 12-step program for that.