Dietrich regains Berlin citizenship

Berlin Ten years after the death of movie legend Marlene Dietrich, Berlin the city where she was born but which she shunned for most of her life is making her an honorary citizen.

The city decided Thursday to bestow the honor on Dietrich as “an ambassador for a democratic, freedom-loving and humane Germany.”

Dietrich was born Dec. 27, 1901. She left Berlin for the United States in 1930 and turned her back on Germany after Adolf Hitler rose to power three years later.

She became a U.S. citizen, and sang for American troops as they fought her countrymen.

Berlin’s decision to make her an honorary citizen follows a gesture by the city government last December, on what would have been her 100th birthday. It asked forgiveness for a hostile reception Dietrich received in 1960.

Dietrich, whose films included 1930’s “The Blue Angel” and 1961’s “Judgment at Nuremberg” with Spencer Tracy, died in Paris in 1992 and was buried in Berlin next to the grave of her mother, Josefine.

Ventura touts medical marijuana

St. Paul, Minn. Gov. Jesse Ventura sent a video address to the conference of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, which is meeting in San Francisco through Saturday.

“I’m sending you this greeting to show my support for the good work you’re doing, especially in the field of medical marijuana,” he says, according to a transcript of the video.

Ventura has long been an advocate of legalizing marijuana for medical use, and two state departments sponsored a forum on the topic a year ago.

Gertz feels connection to Gilda

New York Jami Gertz says she can relate to Gilda Radner, the late comedian she portrays in an upcoming TV movie.

“Gilda and I were both Jewish girls from the Midwest,” she tells People magazine for its April 29 issue. “We shared this tradition of family and laughter.”

Radner was 42 when she died of ovarian cancer in 1989. Gertz plays the “Saturday Night Live” comedian in “It’s Always Something: The Gilda Radner Story,” scheduled to air April 29 on ABC.

Gertz, who co-starred in the 1980s sitcom “Square Pegs,” received an Emmy nomination last year for her guest spots on “Ally McBeal.”

Duvall nursing tender ribs

Los Angeles Robert Duvall fractured several ribs in a horse-riding accident while preparing for a Western.

The 71-year-old actor fell off the horse Monday while rehearsing for the film “Open Range,” a publicist said Thursday.

Duvall was treated for his injuries and is recovering at home in Virginia.

Duvall, who won a best-actor Oscar for 1983’s “Tender Mercies,” has had experience around horses in other films, including “True Grit,” “Joe Kidd” and “Lonesome Dove.”