Soap opera star Jeanne Cooper has died. She was 84. A network spokeswoman said Cooper's family told the network of her death. Her son Corbin Bernsen also confirmed Cooper's death via posts on Facebook and Twitter. "Mom passed this morning. She was in peace and without fear," he wrote on Wednesday. "U all have been incredible in your love. In her name share it 2 day with others." A California native who was born with the name Wilma Jeanne, Cooper had a flourishing career as a journeyman TV actor — she made countless appearances in shows that varied from Playhouse 90 and Twilight Zone to Gunsmoke and L.A. Law — when she was approached about a role on a daytime drama that was in development at CBS. Cooper played grande dame Katherine Chancellor on CBS's The Young and the Restless for nearly four decades. She earned repeated Daytime Emmy Award nominations and a trophy for best actress in a drama series in 2008. “Jeanne Cooper will be remembered as a daytime television legend and as a friend who will truly be missed by all of us here at the Network,” said Nina Tassler, President, CBS Entertainment, in a statement. “She was the longest-running cast member on daytime’s No. 1 show, bringing indelible charm, class and talent to every episode. On behalf of everyone at CBS, we send our condolences to Jeanne’s family, as well as the legions of fans she has amassed during her record 39 years on The Young and The Restless, and throughout her career.”Bernsen Tweeted in April that his mother faced an "uphill battle" for an undisclosed illness. In subsequent days he wrote of her gradual improvement and said that she'd been taken off breathing equipment.


RAPPER JA RULE LEAVES UPSTATE NY FEDERAL PRISON
Federal authorities say platinum-selling rapper Ja Rule has left federal prison. The Federal Bureau of Prisons says he left a correctional facility in New York's Adirondacks on Tuesday, though time remains on his sentence. The bureau says the release date for the 36-year-old rapper, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, technically remains July 28, with possible community-based supervision for the balance. his wife picked him up and he'll remain in home confinement until then. Ja Rule had served most of a two-year sentence in a New York state prison for illegal gun possession before his release in February and was subsequently transferred into federal custody in the tax evasion case. He admitted failing to pay taxes on more than $3 million earned between 2004 and 2006.
 Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder's showmance is over. The Vampire Diaries costars, who play Elena Gilbert and Damon Salvatore on the CW hit series, have called it quits after more than three years of dating. The couple, who first took their romance public in 2011, are "consummate professionals," the insider says, and "will continue to work together and remain best friends, which is where the relationship started."  The Vampire Diaries is currently in its fourth season on the CW. In February, the network renewed the supernatural drama for a fifth season. Filming will begin later this year; in the meantime, Dobrev, 24, will spend the summer shooting the Fox movie Let's Be Cops, which also stars New Girl's Jake Johnson and Happy Endings' Damon Wayans Jr.

 

Bethany Hamilton Is Engaged
Bethany Hamilton is getting married!  The championship surfer, who lost her arm at age 13 in a shark attack, shared the happy news on her blog Wednesday.  In a post titled "In Love," Hamilton, 23, describes her fiancé Adam. "The first thing we did was jump off a cliff together!" she writes, adding their first meeting last spring was something of a blind date. After her horrific injury in 2003 turned her into an overnight celebrity of sorts, Hamilton inspired people around the world with her return to surfing. She went pro in 2007, shared her story in a book, Soul Surfer, which eventually became a major motion picture and remains an inspirational figure to many.  "I'm so thankful for you and look forward to living life together! Adam, I love you and I'm here to stay!" Hamilton blogs.  Adds her fiancé on a guest blog post: "Right away I could tell she was pretty cool (I mean she jumped a 40 foot cliff into the ocean with me!), she's down to earth, and I could tell she understood my heart for The Lord and others; and I saw her heart as well."
 Surprise: Jane Levy got married! Second surprise: The Suburgatory star is getting divorced.  Levy, 23, managed to keep her marriage to Jaime Freitas a secret for two years. Court papers reveal that on April 16 she filed for divorce.  According to the Los Angeles Superior Court filing, the pair hardly spent time together: Levy and Freitas wed in March 2011 and separated only seven months later – in October 2011.

'BIGGEST LOSER' COUPLE SAM POUEU, STEPHANIE ANDERSON SPLIT BEFORE BABY'S BIRTH
The "Biggest Loser" couple Sam Poueu and Stephanie Anderson aren't getting the happy ending they wanted. Just two months before the birth of their first child, the NBC reality stars have separated and are in the process of filing for divorce, their rep says. "It is with great sadness that my marriage to Sam Poueu is ending," Anderson, who is 7-months-pregnant with Poueu's child also says. "Thank you in advance for respecting our privacy during this difficult time." It's been a long road for the couple, who fell in love while filming the third season of "Biggest Loser," which aired in 2010. (Collectively, the pair lost a total of 241 pounds.) Poueu proposed on the show's ranch in Calabasas, Calif., in October 2010. Nearly one year later, in September 2011, Poueu survived a terrifying 54-foot fall from a friend's roof deck, but had to endure multiple, serious injuries. Anderson stayed by his side during the grueling 3-month recovery, and they wed in April 2012. The couple announced that they were expecting their first child this past January. "Just from the experience of her being my caretaker post-accident, it was a dead giveaway that she'd be a fantastic mother," the 27-year-old trainer said. "That was an early sign for me that our child is going to have the best mother ever."
 Rachael Leigh Cook‘s perception of parenting is about to change — she’s pregnant! The Perception star, 33, and husband Daniel Gillies are expecting their first child. “Thanks for the love you guys,” the actress Tweets, while The Vampire Diaries actor adds, “Thank you everyone. We are delighted.” Cook — best known for her role in She’s All That — and Gillies, 37, will celebrate their ninth wedding anniversary in August, after tying the knot in 2004. In addition to their television roles — including the dad-to-be’s upcoming performance in The Originals, a spinoff of the Vampire series – the couple are also preparing for the May 15 premiere of Broken Kingdom, which Gillies both produced and stars in alongside Cook.

'Charlie Brown' actor to serve sentence in rehab
The man who was the original voice of Charlie Brown in "Peanuts" television specials was sentenced Wednesday to a year in jail for threatening his former girlfriend and stalking her plastic surgeon, then immediately released to a residential drug treatment center. A judge warned Peter Robbins that he could be sent to prison for nearly four years if he violates the terms of his probation. "Don't be a blockhead," Superior Court Judge Dwayne Moring told Robbins, borrowing a line from Charlie Brown's friend Lucy. Robbins, 56, choked back tears as he told the judge that treatment for alcoholism and addiction to prescription medications would be a first step toward becoming "the fun-loving person" he was. He said he loved his former girlfriend, and he apologized to her and her plastic surgeon "for any fear that I caused." Robbins, who has been in jail since his arrest in January and pleaded guilty in April, received five years' probation and must undergo treatment for domestic violence and stalking. He was ordered to pay the plastic surgeon $15,082 in restitution and to avoid contacting her for 10 years. Prosecutors have said Robbins called the former girlfriend as many as 37 times over 24 hours, threatening to kill her and her son if she didn't return his dog and car. He allegedly followed the plastic surgeon, calling her office so frequently that she moved to a hotel and hired an armed guard. Prosecutors said he demanded a refund for his ex-girlfriend's breast enhancement. The plastic surgeon wrote to the judge that Robbins wrote a note on her office door, threatening to break her "in half." Robbins starred as Charlie Brown in the 1965 debut "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and held the role in five other television specials, including "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" in 1966.
 Proudly baring her seven-month bump in a series of trendy two-pieces, the 32-year-old reality star soaked up the sun on the island of Mykonos, where she and her famous family spent several days at the end of April.

Rob Kardashian charged with battery, theft; pleads not guilty
Rob Kardashian, charged Friday with misdemeanor battery and petty theft, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to the charges stemming from a scuffle with a photographer in March. While prosecutors had asked that bail be set at $21,000, L.A. Judge Marsha Revel (one of the many judges Lindsay Lohan appeared before) let Kardashian go on his own recognizance. Now maybe the weight-challenged reality star can get back to working out, which is kind of what got all this started in the first place: Kardashian, who's been working to drop the pounds, wasn't cool with surprise photos being taken of him shirtless in the parking garage of a West Hollywood gym. Kardashian was already sued in civil court over the incident, in which he is accused of roughing up the paparazzo who took said pictures while grabbing her camera and taking out the memory card to prevent the pics from ever seeing the tabloid light of day. Photographer Kassandra Perez, real name Andra Viak, alleged that she was hit in the face and suffered injuries to her arm and chest and said her memory card was worth approximately $30,000, according to April 30 court documents obtained by E! News. The card contained 1,200 pictures of celebs and about 300 freelance photos, the docs stated. It looks as if Rob's taking the criminal proceedings seriously: He was represented Wednesday by Robert Shapiro,  one of the attorneys in the O.J. Simpson murder case, on which Kardashian's late father also worked back in the day.
 It’s boy number two for Phaedra Parks. The “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star gave birth to her second son on Wednesday. The entertainment attorney, reality star and mortician announced her pregnancy in December. She is already a mother to son Ayden, 2, with husband Apollo Nida. The couple married in 2009 after meeting in 1996. Additionally, her reality stardom has launched a spin-off to the “Housewives” show where she’ll focus exclusively on her legal career. The show’s tentative title is “Rich People Problems.”

 

Insider: 'Idol' to axe all 4 judges as part of massive makeover
None of the four judges on the singing competition will be asked to return next season, an individual with knowledge of Fox's plans said. Longtime producer Nigel Lythgoe is expected to get the boot. And despite reports to the contrary, Fox isn't even considering bringing former judge Jennifer Lopez back as a lifesaver for next season. "All four are gone," the insider said. "They feel they've lost their core audience and they want it back." A Fox spokesperson declined to comment for this story. Driven by this belief and the need to attract younger viewers, Fox is set to make major on-air changes to "Idol," the most notable of which will be an entirely new judging panel. New judges pop icon Mariah Carey, rapper Nicki Minaj and country star Keith Urban won't be back. Even original judge Randy Jackson won't survive the blood bath this time around. All four judges have options to return for another season, but Fox won't be picking them up, according to the knowledgeable individual, who said: "No more big checks for divas." The network has resolved to stop paying the huge salaries it has been shoveling out for its big name talent, i.e. Carey's reported $18 million package, Minaj's $12 million salary and former judge Jennifer Lopez's $15 million. "Idol" is still the No. 1 revenue generator for Fox, bringing in $836.4 million in ad revenue last year, according to Kantar Media. Plus, it has nothing to replace it. Simon Cowell's "The X Factor" is far from being "Idol's" heir apparent after failing to meet ratings expectations over its first two seasons. It, too, is undergoing another round of changes for Season 3, with pop star Britney Spears and record executive L.A. Reid not returning.

'The Voice' admits to voting snafu on the air

Fans of "The Voice" were in for a shock when they tuned in to Wednesday's (May 8) episode of the NBC singing competition, ready to learn which of their favorite artists were advancing to the Top 12, only to be informed that the show had a glitch with their voting this week. While it didn't derail the show, fans who tried to vote online and via text message had trouble casting their votes using the show's vote-tallying company, Telescope, which also manages voting for FOX's "American Idol" and "The X Factor." The network says that the issues would not have altered the outcome of the vote. Host Carson Daly opened the show with the admission, introducing Telescope CEO Jason George. "Tonight we'd like to be completely upfront with you," Daly said. "We noticed some inconsistencies with this week's texting and online voting." "Our system caught an inconsistency in a portion of this week's voting data," George explained in a statement. "For fairness, those votes have been removed from Monday and Tuesday's results, but we want to assure fans and artists alike that this in no way affected the outcome for any team." The network added, in a statement, "On this week's episodes of The Voice, we encountered issues with the systems used for online and SMS voting. We are addressing both issues, and in an abundance of caution are not counting the votes that may have been affected. Telescope, the independent company that administers voting for the show, has certified that removing those votes does not affect the outcome for any team."


TV NEWS
NBC has canceled "Deception" and passed on seven pilots, including the Charlize Theron-produced pilot "Hatfields & McCoys. " "Deception" premiered in January. With upfront presentations to advertisers days away, NBC passed on "Hatfields" as well as "Night Shift," "Joe, Joe and Jane," "Drop Off," "Holding Patterns," "Bloodline" and "Sixth Gun." It will unveil its schedule Sunday.

The Borgias may conclude its run with a two-hour movie in lieu of a fourth season. with a renewal looking unlikely, the Showtime drama’s creator Neil Jordan is looking to wrap things up with a telepic.


American Idol alumna Carrie Underwood has been tapped to perform “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night,” the opening number for NBC’s Sunday Night Football. She replaces country superstar Faith Hill.


MTV has announced the 2014 premiere dates for its pair of awards shows: the MTV Movie Awards will bow April 13, while the MTV Video Music Awards will air August 24.

Fox has greenlit four new dramas for the 2013-14 season, including J.J. Abrams‘ futuristic cop thriller Almost Human (pictured, right) and a modern-day take on Sleepy Hollow. Also receiving series orders from the network are Gang Related and Rake.


Clark’s bride will have plenty of opportunity to keep on blushin’ — and maybe start to realize she’s secretly wed to a Russian! — now that The Americans has promoted Alison Wright to a series regular for Season 2. FX also announced on Tuesday that Annet Mahendru, who plays gorgeous triple-agent Nina, also has been upgraded for the retro spy drama’s sophomore run, which will premiere in January 2014.