TV on the Radio musician dead of lung cancer at 36

The bass player with alternative rock band TV on the Radio died after a battle with lung cancer, the group said. Gerard Smith was 36. "We are very sad to announce the death of our beloved friend and bandmate, Gerard Smith, following a courageous fight against lung cancer," said a message posted on its Web site. "We will miss him terribly." Smith's illness was disclosed five weeks ago, with the band noting in an upbeat statement that given Smith's "legendarily willful disposition ... it might just be cancer that has the problem." He was diagnosed with cancer after the band had finished recording its new album "Nine Types of Light," which coincidentally debuted at No. 12 on the U.S. pop chart Wednesday.

'Bewitched' creator, Sol Saks, dies

Screenwriter Sol Saks, who created iconic TV show "Bewitched," has died at the age of 100. Saks came up with the idea of a nose-twitching witch who marries a mortal for the pilot episode of "Bewitched," entitled "I, Darrin, Take This Witch, Samantha." Elizabeth Montgomery played the lead role of Samantha until the show ended in 1972. Saks also wrote a series of radio comedies and TV shows, including "I Married Joan" and "My Favorite Husband."

Catherine Zeta-Jones signs on to 'Rock of Ages'

Catherine Zeta-Jones, who proved her song-and-dance chops with her Oscar-winning role in "Chicago," is returning to musicals. The "Ocean's Twelve" actress will play the mayor's wife in New Line's "Rock of Ages," an adaptation of the Broadway musical. She'll play a villain who wants to keep rock 'n' roll out of Los Angeles. Adam Shankman is directing a cast that includes Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Mary J. Blige and Russell Brand.

MLB to take over Dodgers operations

Major League Baseball is performing an intervention on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Commissioner Bud Selig will appoint a representative to oversee the club. Selig declined to identify the representative Wednesday, but he announced that the person would “oversee all aspects of the business and day-to-day operations of the Club.” Dodgers owner Frank McCourt does not plan to go down without a fight. He intends to take legal action against baseball for appointing a representative to oversee the Dodgers, major league sources say. An owner is permitted to sue baseball, one source said, and those who know McCourt have said for weeks that he would mount a vigorous legal fight to maintain control of the team, if necessary. Selig said in a statement that he took action because of “deep concerns regarding the finances and operations of the Dodgers and to protect the best interests of the club.” Those concerns include security in the aftermath of an attack on San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow at Dodger Stadium, an attack that left Stow in a medically induced coma. However, McCourt also is in the middle of a costly divorce from his wife, Jamie, and is running short on funds, sources say.  Jamie McCourt released a statement Wednesday afternoon responding to the earlier news that MLB is taking control of day-to-day operations of the Dodgers: “As the 50% owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, I welcome and support the Commissioner’s actions to provide the necessary transparency, guidance and direction for the franchise and for Dodgers fans everywhere.”



TV NEWS
First Justin Timberlake, now Lady Gaga?! ‘Tis true, the pop phenom will serve as musical guest when the Social Network star hosts the Saturday Night Live season finale on May 21.


Bachelor, Brad Womack and his fiance, Emily Maynard have split up.  Emily reportedly told Brad that she can't picture them getting married"  and knows in her heart of hearts that the relationship is done for.  Emily was supposed to move to Austin, Texas at the end of the school year. The reason for the split reportedly stems from Brad's hurtful and erratic behavior.


The Peacock announced Wednesday that an extended 12-minute sneak peek of its new singing competition series will air Thursday from 11:35-11:47 pm and lead into The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.


TNT’s Dallas reboot is starting to look more and more like the original series, now that Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing) and Steve Kanaly (Ray Krebbs) are on board. They will join fellow Dallas alums Patrick Duffy, Larry Hagman, and Linda Gray in the series’ pilot episode.


FX’s summer premiere dates are finally here, so jot these babies down: Wilfred (starring Elijah Wood) makes its debut Thursday, June 23 at 10/9c; Louie‘s second season premieres Thursday, June 23 at 10:30; and the final season of Rescue Me begins Tuesday, July 12 at 10 pm.


Khloé Kardashian Odom will appear in the Monday, April 25 episode of NBC’s Law & Order: LA, as a fictitious version of herself.


The next season of "Jersey Shore" will be filming in Florence, Italy.  Reportedly Florence was chosen over other cities because "it's young, walkable, fashionable, and beautiful in springtime".   Not everyone in Florence is happy about the show filming there.  They have just started getting season one of "Jersey Shore" there and many Italians are offended by the stereotypes.  The city's newspaper, Corriere Della Sera has published an article that lists the do's and don'ts for the filming.

The rules, listed in the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera, are:

-- The cast will not be filmed in bars and clubs that serve alcohol.

-- The cast will not be filmed drinking in public.

-- The show will not be filmed to promote Florence as a drinking town.

-- The show should be filmed in a manner to promote Italy (not Americans visiting Italy) and feature it’s culture and good food.

In addition to these strict guidelines, Renzi has banned the show from filming in the city's historic buildings, but admitted that he could not ban them from using the city as a set.

Lindsay Lohan Back on for Gotti Movie

Just a few hours after the producer of Gotti: Three Generations said that Lindsay Lohan was "no longer being considered" for a role in the film, he's changed his mind. "She was definitely out as of earlier today, but she really wanted the part," Marc Fiore says. In fact, you could say Lohan made Fiore an offer he couldn't refuse. "She not only is back in the movie, but she single-handedly put it all together," says the producer. "She called me personally and put her team on it and we came to an agreement." He added that Lohan, 24, was "no nonsense," when it came to making the deal happen. "She played a real leadership role." But Lohan will not play Victoria Gotti as had originally been reported. Instead, she will play Kim Gotti, the wife of John Gotti Jr., in the flick, which stars John Travolta. Fiore calls the Kim character "a very important role" and says Lohan is "very excited about the part."

Charlie Sheen Loses Custody Battle
Charlie Sheen's attempt to gain full custody of his twin boys has failed.  Sheen wanted to remove his ex, Brook Mueller's legal and physical custody of their 2-year-old sons, Bob and Max because she is back in rehab after refusing to take a drug test. In the hearing on Tuesday, judge Hank Goldbert decided to keep the couple's private custody agreement the same. Sheen and Mueller's divorce was finalized in February and becomes official May 2nd.