‘ER’ actor supports PETA protest

Zagreb, Croatia — An animal rights group kicked off its first antifur campaign in eastern Europe with roadside billboards featuring Goran Visnjic and his pet dog Bugsy.

The billboards show a picture of Visnjic, star of NBC’s “ER,” cradling Bugsy and the slogan: “If you wouldn’t wear your dog, please don’t wear any fur.”

Workers began posting the billboards early Friday in Zagreb.

Michael McGraw, a spokesman for Norfolk, Va.-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said billboards also would be displayed in the city of Split and later in other eastern European cities.

He said the billboards would be followed by a leaflet distribution campaign during which activists would target fur-wearers who are walking dogs.

Video of Ross’ arrest under wraps

Tucson, Ariz. — A judge has temporarily prevented police from releasing video shot during singer Diana Ross’ drunken-driving arrest earlier this week.

Ross’ attorney, Greg Davis, argued the video wasn’t public record because it wasn’t made by the police officer who made the traffic stop. Davis said the officer who shot it did so only after learning the driver was Ross.

Bev Ginn, representing the city, told the judge the tapes were “made under the ordinary course of business.”

Pima County Superior Court Judge John F. Kelly, who approved the temporary restraining order Thursday, set a Jan. 14 hearing to discuss a permanent injunction.

Ross, 58, received misdemeanor citations early Monday for driving under the influence. A breath test showed Ross with a blood-alcohol level of 0.20 percent, more than twice Arizona’s legal limit, police said.

Tolkien fans celebrate 111th year

London — “Lord of the Rings” fans worldwide celebrated what would have been the 111th birthday of J.R.R. Tolkien on Friday by raising a glass to the author.

The milestone has special significance for devotees of the fantasy trilogy — Tolkien referred to it as an “eleventyfirst birthday … a rather curious number and a very respectable age for a hobbit.”

The opening installment of the trilogy, “The Fellowship of the Ring,” begins with the “long-awaited party” held to celebrate the 111th birthday of hobbit Bilbo Baggins.

Tolkien himself did not make the grand age of his character, dying in Oxford on Jan. 3, 1973, aged 81.

‘Monty Python’ director dies

London — Ian MacNaughton, a television director who helped bring the anarchic “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” to the screen, has died. He was 76.

MacNaughton died Dec. 10 in Munich, Germany, from injuries sustained in a 2001 car accident, Monty Python member Terry Jones said.

MacNaughton directed all but the first four episodes of “Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” which ran on BBC television from 1969 to 1974.

Jones said the series began with “friction” between the director and the strong-willed comedians. But MacNaughton soon became a valued member of the Monty Python team, credited with helping give shape to the troupe’s unruly talents.