New Bowie release on horizon

London  David Bowie said Thursday he’s signed a record deal to release his first album in three years.

The 55-year-old singer quit Virgin Records last year, refusing to renegotiate his deal with the label and saying he was tired of what he called “bumping heads with corporate structure.”

Now, he’s teamed up with Columbia Records for “Heathen,” which is scheduled for release on June 11.

For the new album, Bowie has revived his partnership with producer Tony Visconti, with whom he worked on albums in the late ’70s such as “Low,” “Heroes” and “Scary Monsters.”

Dangerfield finally gets his due

Los angeles  Rodney Dangerfield got some respect with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The 80-year-old comic and star of the movies “Caddyshack” and “Back to School” was praised by “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno and former “Full House” star Bob Saget at a ceremony that attracted scores of fans Wednesday.

“We’re here today to bury Rodney,” Leno joked in his opening remarks.

Turning serious, he said Dangerfield was a mentor to him when he was still an unknown stand-up comedian working the club circuit.

“I appreciate the fact that he always took time to talk to all the young comics,” Leno said.

Dangerfield repeatedly interrupted praise with shouts of: “What a liar he is!”

SNL star kept pregnancy hidden

Washington  Ana Gasteyer of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” kept her pregnancy a secret for 5 1/2 months because “we really were not sure how it was going to go down at work.”

Gasteyer, who is the first cast member to become pregnant while appearing on the show, told AP Radio that executive producer Lorne Michaels was “just fabulous about it.”

The 34-year-old comic, who is due in June, says it hasn’t been difficult to hide her pregnancy on the show because of the type of characters she usually plays.

“They all kind of have this, I don’t know how to put it, but it’s like an old-lady potbelly,” Gasteyer said.

Artist’s cat plea misunderstood

London  An artist who outraged critics by presenting her soiled, unmade bed as a masterpiece has found her unusual definition of art can have unexpected consequences.

Such is Tracy Emin’s fame that when she pinned up posters asking for help finding her missing cat, Docket, several were ripped down by people who apparently thought they could be worth hundreds of pounds each, The Times newspaper reported Thursday.

The White Cube gallery in London, which handles Emin’s work, told the newspaper the missing cat posters were just posters. Docket since has been found, the gallery said.