Sherman Hemsley dispute continues to delay burial for actor

Actor Sherman Hemsley of "The Jeffersons" and "Amen" died at his Texas home three months ago. But he has still not been laid to rest. It is because both the beneficiaries of his will and his cause of death have been called into question. An employee from the San Jose Funeral Home in El Paso says that Hemsley's body is still at their facility and that they await a court order telling them what to do with it. The legal dispute at the heart of the problem is between Hemsley's former manager and live-in companion Flora Enchinton, who was named the sole beneficiary in his will, and Richard Thornton, a man from Philadelphia who claims to be Hemsley's brother. Thornton has filed a civil lawsuit disputing the validity of the will. The value of the estate is estimated at $50,000. Now a third party has come forward -- Reverend Michael George Wells, a minister at the Arch Street United Methodist Church in Philadelphia, who claims to be a cousin of Hemsley's on his mother's side. Wells says that he doesn't believe Enchinton was close to Hemsley, nor that Thornton is related to the actor. "We are family, and we are not looking for money. But if we are entitled to something, we don't want anyone else to have it," he tells the El Paso Times. Wells also tells Fox that he questions the claims Hemsley died of cancer and that the estate is only worth $50,000. But Wells does not have the money to get into the legal battle. Judge Patricia Chew ordered Thornton to take a DNA test. The trial over the estate and remains will resume Wednesday, Oct. 31.

Ian Ziering's wife Erin expecting the couple's second child

Former "Beverly Hills 90210" star Ian Ziering is going to be a second-time dad come the spring of 2013. The actor says that he and wife Erin, who is a nurse, are expecting. "I feel blessed, having a family is something that I've always wanted," says Ziering. "Having a second child is the realization of a dream come true." This is Ziering's second marriage; he was previously married for 4.5 years to Nikki Schieler, a former Playboy playmate. They divorced in 2002. Ziering and Erin married in May 2010 and have a daughter together -- Mia Loren is 18 months old and has apparently learned to point to her mommy's belly and say, "Baby." Awww. The baby is due in May.

Police seeking help in traffic death of R&B artist Natina Reed

Authorities are trying to figure out why R&B artist Natina Reed was in the street when she was struck by a car and killed, two days shy of her 33rd birthday. Gwinnett County police say they'd like to talk to anyone with information that could help them determine what happened to Reed late Friday near Lilburn in metro Atlanta. Reed was the rapping member of the 1990s female singing group Blaque, known for the hits "808" and "Bring It All to Me." She was also an actress, appearing in the hit 2000 movie "Bring It On," which also featured Kirsten Dunst and Gabrielle Union. Police say Reed was struck and killed while in the roadway at an intersection on U.S. 29. Police say the driver wasn't at fault and no charges are being filed. They say the only witnesses were the driver and a passenger. Investigators want to determine why Reed was in the road. She is survived by a son, Tren, from a relationship with fellow rapper Kurupt. In a statement on Twitter, Kurupt said, "This is a tremendous loss to our family."

Toni Braxton bankrupt, accused of fraudulent money transfer

According to new legal documents filed in singer Toni Braxton's bankruptcy case, Braxton transferred over $50,000 to her estranged husband Keri Lewis in order to avoid paying back creditors. The bankruptcy trustee in the case is now suing Lewis to get the money back. A rep for Braxton says, "All of the payments made to Lewis prior to Toni's bankruptcy filing were appropriate transfers for reasonable and necessary personal and business expenses in the ordinary course of her business." Braxton first filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2010, claiming her debt was as high as tens of millions of dollars. Her creditors included the Four Seasons Hotels, DirecTV, Neiman Marcus, Tiffany and Co., American Express and the Flamingo Las Vegas.
 Deryck Whibley — Avril's ex-husband — and his girlfriend Ari Cooper dressed up as Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger for Halloween. The Nickelback singer slammed him on Twitter. “Hey Deryck loved the costumes! we were going to dress up as you guys this year but all the parties had celebrity themes haha! –CK,” he wrote.

Hulk Hogan Settles Sex Tape Lawsuit With Bubba The Love Sponge Clem

Former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan has settled a lawsuit with a disc jockey over a sex tape involving Hogan and the DJ’s wife. A statement by Hogan’s publicist Monday says the terms of the settlement are confidential. Hogan said in a lawsuit earlier this month that he had consensual sex with his best friend’s wife, Heather Clem, six years ago in the Clems’ home, but he didn’t know he was being videotaped. The disc jockey, Bubba the Love Sponge Clem, apologized to Hogan on Monday. Clem also said that he’s convinced Hogan was unaware he was being filmed. A lawsuit is still pending against the gossip website Gawker, which put excerpts of the video on its site.
  It’s a boy for Heather Tom! The Bold and the Beautiful star, 36, and husband James Achor welcomed their first child, son Zane Alexander Achor.  Baby boy weighed in at 8 lbs., 1 oz. The couple, who married in September 2011 and announced their pregnancy in May, have another joint production in the works as well. Their new design series, Renovation Unscripted, is set to air on HGTV.

RZA set to direct 'Gengis Khan' biopic, also action thriller 'No Man's Land'

Now that rapper RZA’s directorial debut The Man With the Iron Fists is out in theaters this Friday, he’s a man in demand. the Wu-Tang Clan leader is set to direct not just one, but two, upcoming films: Genghis Khan, a biopic about the famed Mongol warrior, from a script by John Milius, who is also executive producing with Andre Morgan and Peter Lam as co-producers, and action thriller No Man’s Land, from a script by Trey Ellis and David Klass, with Pandemonium’s Bill Mechanic and Reginald Hudlin (Django Unchained) producing. Gengis Khan will shoot next year in China, where RZA – born Robert Fitzgerald Diggs – filmed martial arts action film The Man With the Iron Fists. The story will be told from the viewpoint of Khan’s son and grandson. No Man’s Land revolves around  a man who steals a diamond belonging to a powerful criminal to pay off his debts, and then pairs up with a girl he was mistakenly told to murder. They try to stay alive, and cash in on the huge sparkler. No actors have been cast yet.  The Man With the Iron Fists, starring Lucy Liu, Russell Crowe, and RZA himself, mark’s RZA first foray into directing. He co-wrote the film with Eli Roth, which is being presented by Quentin Tarantino.

Green Day cancels 2012 dates, postpones '13 start

Green Day is canceling the rest of its 2012 club schedule and is postponing the start of the 2013 arena tour. Bass player Mike Dirnt says Billie Joe Armstrong's "well-being is our main concern" in the band's decision to clear the schedule through Feb 8. He says in a statement Monday that Armstrong is doing well in his attempt to shake substance abuse problems that emerged publicly in September when the singer-guitarist had a profane meltdown on the stage of the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas. The Grammy-winning punks also moved up the release date of "Tre," the third installment in a trilogy of albums released over a period of months. The album will be released Dec. 11, more than a month ahead of schedule.
 Steve Jobs' yacht was unveiled in a Dutch shipyard on Sunday, where the unusual boat designed by Jobs and famed minimalist designer Philippe Starck was christened "Venus," after the Roman goddess of love, beauty, sex, fertility, prosperity and victory. The finished ship was launched at shipbuilder Koninklijke De Vries in Aalsmeer, The Netherlands. Jobs' widow Laurene and three of their children, Reed, Erin and Eve, were at the ceremony. The Jobs family gave each of the members of the shipbuilding staff an elegant thank-you note, along with a token gift of their appreciation — an iPod Shuffle with the name of the ship inscribed on the back.

The yacht appears to be as it was described in the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson. In the book, Isaacson wrote about Jobs showing him models and architectural drawings of the yacht, which Isaacson described as "sleek and minimalist." According to the report, the enormous yacht is between 230 and 260 feet long, and appears to be as it was described in the Jobs biography — it's an extraordinary vessel with teak decks and large panes of ceiling-to-floor glass throughout. The boat is said to have seven 27-inch iMacs on board, and a photo showed six of them lined up on a single counter

 

Evelyn Lozada, the divorcee of former NFL player Chad Ochocinco Johnson, said she plans to let the no-contact order against Johnson-who head-butted her allegedly-expire. Upon the completion of Johnson’s program, Lozada would have to request a civil restraining order, which she plans not to do, despite the head-butting incident. Johnson evaded having to serve jail time in lieu of 12-month’s probation time and enrollment in the  batterers intervention program.

TV NEWS
Fear not, "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune" fans; there are at least four more years of answers in the form of questions and letter-turning thrills to come. Both "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune" have been renewed through 2016 on the ABC Owned Television Stations Group, CBS Television Distribution said Monday. The re-up will bring "Wheel of Fortune" into its 33rd season and "Jeopardy" into its 32nd season. Though "Jeopardy" host Alex Trebek had hinted recently that he's been mulling retirement, both he and "Wheel of Fortune" co-hosts Pat Sajak and Vanna White recently renewed their contracts through the 2015-2016 season.


It’s full steam ahead for Hell on Wheels. The Anson Mount-starring period drama has received a 10-episode third season from AMC.


NBC has passed on Rainn Wilson’s Office spinoff project The Farm, the actor tweeted Monday. The series followed Wilson’s Office character Dwight Schrute as he managed his beet farm and bed and breakfast. “NBC has passed on moving forward with The Farm TV show,” Wilson tweeted. “Had a blast making the pilot — onwards & upwards!” Sources confirm that the show isn’t moving forward, but its backdoor pilot will still air as a stand-alone episode during the regular Office season as originally planned. NBC rejecting the show isn’t much of a surprise, the concept always sounded more like a wacky parody of a spinoff more than an actual spinoff. The Office, which was once NBC’s top-rated scripted show, will now end its nine-year run this season without any offspring surviving into next fall.


ABC is giving full-season pickups to freshman comedy The Neighbors and returning drama Scandal. Nope, Scandal didn’t already have one. Second-season shows often get full season orders, but ABC has been cautious with the Shonda Rhimes political soap. But in the wake of its reasonably steady performance on Thursdays this fall, Scandal is now getting an extra nine episodes and its first full season. As for Neighbors, it’s been the weakest link in ABC’s Wednesday night comedy block, but hasn’t been nearly the disaster that critics had predicted/hoped.

Still no word on ABC’s freshman dramas. We’re told the network will likely decide on Last Resort and 666 Park Avenue this week or early next week.


After two seasons, Anderson Cooper’s daytime talk show will come to an end. Syndicator Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution confirmed Monday morning that Anderson will fold its tent after the current season and not seek a renewal from stations. “We are extremely proud of Anderson and the show that he and the entire production team have produced,” said WB and producer Telepictures in a statement. “While we made significant changes to the format, set and produced it live in its second season, the series will not be coming back for a third season in a marketplace that has become increasingly difficult to break through.”
 Ringer‘s Mike Colter has a new alias.
The actor is joining Fox’s midseason serial killer thriller The Following in the recurring role of FBI bureaucrat Nick Donovan.  The series — from Vampire Diaries EP Kevin Williamson —revolves around a deranged serial killer by the name of Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) who creates his own cult of murderers via the wonders of technology, and the retired FBI profiler Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon) who is hunting him down.  In addition to his one-season run on The CW’s Ringer, Colter’s TV credits include a recurring role as drug kingpin Lemond Bishop on CBS’ The Good Wife. The Following debuts on Monday, Jan. 21 at 9/8c.


Kim Cattrall is returning to series TV for the first time since "Sex and the City" ended in 2004. Cattrall will star in and executive produce an adaptation of the 2005 British comedy series "Sensitive Skin," about a woman's mid-life crisis.The six-episode series will premiere on Canada's The Movie Network and will also be executive produced by the "Slings & Arrow" team of writer Bob Martin and director Don McKellar.

Taylor Swift will co-host The Grammy Nominations Concert Live!: Countdown to Music’s Biggest Night with NCIS: Los Angeles‘ LL Cool J. The live broadcast from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena is scheduled to air on December 5 (CBS, 10/9c).


Anna Devane’s love life is going to become even more complicated this November when Tristan Rogers‘ Robert Scorpio makes his way back to General Hospital. Rogers’ first appearance will take place on Thursday, November 15.


Tonight's Premieres:Investigation Discovery: Motives & Murders: Cracking the Case at 10p
Logo: The Baby Wait at 10p
Syfy: Total Blackout at 10p; Viral Video Showdown at 1030p
Tonight's Finale:TLC: 19 Kids and Counting at 9p; Extreme Cheapskates at 10p & 1030p
DIY Network: I Hate My Bath at 10p