Billy Bob Gives Angry, Strange Interview

Who knew Jada Pinkett Smith had a fondness for metal?

(NEWSER) - The news that House star Hugh Laurie is recording a blues album prompted Time to reminisce over 10 other unlikely actors who turned to singing…often with hilarious results:

• David Hasselhoff: Shockingly, he managed to top the German charts even though he recorded songs like the super-creepy “Jump in My Car.”
• Billy Bob Thornton: He once took down a radio interviewer who mentioned his acting career while they were supposed to be discussing his musical career with his band, the Boxmasters.

'He is out of control and must be stopped,' woman tells tabloids

(NEWSER) - The sister of Billy Bob Thornton's fourth wife says the star has been stalking her for a decade, the New York Daily News reports. The actor's former sister-in-law—who offers up no proof—also accuses him of wife-beating, drug abuse, and bugging her home. A spokesman for Thornton said the allegations are completely untrue and the woman has a history of making false claims. More»

British actor suffers from macular degeneration

(NEWSER) - Actor Judi Dench revealed in an interview with the Mirror that she can no longer see people's faces because her eyesight is deteriorating. But the 77-year-old is in treatment to stop her condition—macular degeneration—before it steals her sight altogether. "They had to do these injections and I think it’s arrested it," she says. "I hope so.” Nowadays she has friends read scripts to her so she can remember her lines. More»

He was a longtime presence on Broadway, TV, and the big screen

(NEWSER) - Actor Ben Gazzara died of pancreatic cancer today, reports the New York Times . The obituary recounts a long and varied career on stage (a starring role in the original Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), television (Run for Your LIfe in the early '60s), and film (especially with director John Cassavetes in movies such as The Killing of a Chinese Bookie). He may be best known, however, for a wide range of supporting roles in movies such as Summer of Sam, Bandits, and the Big Lebowski. More»

Ahead of primary, Marianne Gingrich gives reminder of Newt's romantic past

(NEWSER) - Two days before South Carolina heads to the primary polls, ABC News will air a piece of Newt's past—an interview with his second wife, Marianne. The interview could remind the state's many religious conservatives of Gingrich's rocky romantic history, the AP notes. Gingrich, Marianne has said, proposed before finalizing his divorce from his first wife; he later acknowledged beginning a relationship with Callista Bisek before divorcing Marianne. So far, ABC is mum on what Marianne revealed in the interview, but the Drudge Report calls her revelations "explosive" ones that "are set to rock the trail." More»