Shemar Moore: Don Cornelius may have had dementia

Cornelius, the creator and host of Soul Train, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in his Sherman Oaks home this week. He was 75. Cops in Los Angeles say they arrived at Cornelius' Mulholland Drive home around 4 a.m. on Wednesday. Officers were dispatched to the estate after receiving a call from one of the host's sons, who became worried after a despondent Cornelius called him. "He and his son had a conversation earlier and the son came over and found his father in that state," said Officer Sara Faden. Don was transported to nearby Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. There was no suicide note.  Sudster stud Shemar Moore hosted Soul Train for five years after Cornelius retired from his hosting gig in 1993. The Criminal Minds star was once close to Don and his family and believes his late mentor may have been dealing with the effects of dementia or Alzheimer's disease when he pulled the trigger. "I don't know what his health was like. I had heard rumors that it was early [onset] dementia, Alzheimer's, things like that," Moore said. "I'd heard that he was sick." In 1982, Cornelius underwent a 21-hour operation to correct a congenital malformation in blood vessels in his brain. "You're never quite the same afterward," he said at the time. "Travel is always a real test." The former Chicago DJ also suffered at least one stroke sometime over the past few years. During a 2009 court hearing related to his nasty divorce from Russian model Viktoria Chapman, Cornelius told an L.A. judge that he was plagued by "significant health issues" and wanted to "finalize this divorce before I die." Cornelius' still-unconfirmed health problems had become "unbearable" in recent months, ultimately driving the media mogul to suicide.

 Singer David Peaston, who had a string of R&B hits in the late 1980s and early 1990s, has died.  Peaston, 54, died of complications from diabetes, his niece, Neuka Mitchell said. Peaston was born into a St. Louis family with deep musical roots. His mother, gospel singer Martha Bass, was one of the Clara Ward Singers. His older sister, Fontella Bass, is a noted singer whose single "Rescue Me" reached No. 1 on R&B charts and No. 4 on pop single charts in 1965. Peaston's highest-charting song was "Two Wrongs (Don't Make It Right)," which reached No. 3 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1989. "Can I?" got to No. 14 on the R&B chart that year, and "We're All in This Together" reached No. 11 on R&B chart and No. 45 on the dance chart in 1990. His first album, "Introducing ... David Peaston," reached No. 7 on the Billboard R&B albums chart in 1989. Survivors include his wife of 24 years, his high school sweetheart Marilyn, and two sons.


Bruce Willis Urged Demi Moore to Seek Help
Shortly before Demi Moore split with Ashton Kutcher, her previous husband Bruce Willis went to her house to ask her to get help for her worsening health. "He was worried about her and wanted her to get better," says the source. "Many of her friends did the same thing, but she just wouldn't listen." Willis, 56, is the father of their three daughters, two of whom – Rumer, 23, and Tallulah, 18 – are now staying with him while Moore, 49, seeks treatment. (Scout, 20, is away at college). Moore had been especially close to Rumer since the marriage collapse. "It's hard for Ru right now to see her mom in this situation," another source says. Kutcher, meanwhile, stopped by Moore's Los Angeles house Wednesday. After a trip to Brazil, he is back in L.A. working on Two and a Half Men.

 Leslie Carter Suffered Apparent Overdose
Leslie Carter, the 25-year-old sister of Nick and Aaron Carter, suffered an apparent overdose and had been taking medication for depression, according to a police report released Thursday. Leslie, who was an aspiring singer, died on Tuesday in upstate New York. An official cause of death is pending toxicology tests. Her stepmother, Ginger Carter, told authorities that Leslie had "a long history of mental illness" and seemed depressed the morning before she died, according to an incident report from the Chautauqua County sheriff. Leslie was staying at her father's house with her 10-month-old baby. She had coffee that morning on the porch with her stepmother and complained that she was "not feeling great," the report says. She then went to the bathroom and stayed in there so long that Ginger became concerned. Ginger spoke to Leslie through the door and found out that Leslie had fallen in the shower. Ginger then helped Leslie lie down in bed and Leslie appeared to fall asleep. "Ginger stated that [Leslie] did not wake up but seemed to be okay and just sleeping," says the report. "Ginger states that she looked at [Leslie] and she had all the color to her skin and was breathing. Authorities had found near Leslie medication to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and anxiety, as well as a muscle relaxant. Authorities later interviewed Ginger, who "appeared to be under the influence of an unknown drug" and had "slurred speech, pin-point pupils, glassy eyes and kept falling asleep." Ginger said she had taken as many as six pills, including possibly Xanax, and as her police interview continued the officer became concerned that Ginger was at risk of an overdose.
 
President Roseanne? Comedian running as Green Party candidate
Some celebrities are always rumored to be running for office (file under: Alec Baldwin, George Clooney). Some threaten and retreat (Kelsey Grammar, Donald Trump). And some actually go through with it (Fred Thompson, Arnold Schwarzenegger). Count Roseanne Barr in that last group, as today the actress and comedian filed the necessary paperwork to run for the Green Party nomination for President of the United States. Barr has long been an activist and recently a vocal supporter of the Occupy Wall Street movement. In a candidate questionnaire submitted to the Green Party, Barr voiced her platform as supporting the 99 percent and as an alternative to the two major political parties in the U.S. The Green Party convention in Baltimore in July will officially select the nominee. “I will barnstorm American living rooms,” Barr said. “Mainstream media will be unable to ignore me, but more importantly they will be unable to overlook the needs of average Americans in the run-up to the 2012 election.” But she put it more bluntly on Twitter: @therealRoseanne: vote for me, I’ll fix this s—! -Barr 2012. On her Twitter account, Barr has consistently spoken out about her support of gay rights, health care, and other issues — including her plans to run, even noting that the likely Green Party nominee will be Jill Stein, but saying “until then I’ll serve.”

Billy Ray Cyrus to release memoir through Amazon

Billy Ray Cyrus is the latest celebrity to sign up with Amazon.com. The singer of "Achy Breaky Heart" and father and former co-star of Miley Cyrus has a memoir, "Hillbilly Heart," coming in spring 2013. Amazon.com, which has been aggressively expanding its publishing operation, announced that Cyrus would discuss with "great candor" everything from his early years to life as the parent of a teen superstar. Cyrus and his daughter starred together in the hit TV series "Hannah Montana." Others with Amazon deals include actress-director Penny Marshall and actor James Franco. Those books, however, will not be available everywhere. Barnes & Noble Inc. announced earlier this week that it would not stock releases from its rival retailer.


TV NEWS
Fox is making some springtime schedule tweaks that will “extend” Alcatraz‘s sentence and give two veteran shows the chance to finish their seasons strong. J.J. Abrams’ Alcatraz — which was to finale in mid-March, thanks to a series of doubled-up outings — now will only air back-to-back hours on March 5. Then, starting March 12, it will move to Mondays-at-8, where it will spell House and tee up Kiefer Sutherland’s Touch. Alcatraz will now air its season finale on March 26. House then reclaims its Mondays-at-8 berth on April 2, airing 100-percent originals for the remainder of Season 8.


TV Land has renewed its freshman comedy The Exes for a second season to premiere in June.


Bravo has renewed its Emmy-winning culinary competition Top Chef for a 10th season.
Open casting calls for future “cheftestants” begin Tuesday, Feb. 21 in New York, and will continue throughout the country until March 2 in Los Angeles.


Henry Winkler is in talks to play the “grounded and warm” father of Maya Rudolph’s Ava on NBC’s Up All Night.


Lost‘s Ken Leung has found his funny bone. The mostly-dramatic actor has joined the cast of NBC’s Untitled Sarah Silverman Project, a sitcom pilot starring Silverman and based on her own experiences as a woman readjusting to the single life after a decade-long live-in relationship.


Tori Spelling and Tia Mowry have been cast in the 25 Days of Christmas movie The Mistle-Tones.


ABC Family has renewed The Secret Life of the American Teenager for a fifth season. The pickup makes the teen drama starring recent Golden Globe nominee Shailene Woodley (The Descendants) the longest-running show in the cabler’s history. Season 4.5 of Secret Life debuts Monday, March 26 at 8/7c, followed by the Season 3 premiere of Make It or Break It.


Better With You‘s Jennifer Finnigan has landed a role as one of five surgeons on David E. Kelly’s TNT drama pilot Chelsea General.


Fox has picked up Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares for a fifth season. Season 4 is currently airing Fridays at 8 pm.


ABC Family has picked up Beverly Hills Nannies, which is a reality series, and Baby Daddy, a comedy about a guy (yet to be cast) who must raise a baby girl with the help of his brother (90210‘s Derek Theler) and friends (JONAS‘ Chelsea Kane and The Game‘s Tahj Mowry) after his ex leaves the child on his doorstep.


FX is developing a rock band comedy with Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl. Comedian Dana Gould would star in the half-hour series, which centers on a group on the verge of super-stardom — and also on the verge of breaking up.


CBS’ The Talk delivered its largest audience ever (2.5 million viewers) and matched its all-time best women 18-49 rating (with a 0.9) for the week ending Jan. 27. In head-to-head competition, the CBS talker is besting ABC’s The Revolution by 60 percent (!) in total audience and by 80 percent(!!) in W18-49.