People

Cronkite sees dark future

Madison, N.J. — Criticizing what he called the “arrogance” of President Bush and his administration, retired CBS News anchorman Walter Cronkite said war with Iraq could have unintended, dire consequences for the United States.

Speaking Tuesday at a Drew University forum, Cronkite issued a stinging rebuke of Bush and those who believe the war will be a quick, smooth operation that ends with Saddam Hussein’s ouster. He said the refusal of France and other traditional U.S. allies to support the administration’s plans signaled something deeper, and more ominous, than a mere foreign policy disagreement.

“I look at our future as, I’m sorry, being very, very dark. Let’s see our cards as we rise to meet the difficulties that lie ahead,” Cronkite, 86, said.

Lisa Marie makes singing debut

Orlando, Fla. — Elvis Presley’s daughter quietly made her first singing appearance at an industry trade show.

Lisa Marie Presley’s debut, to promote her first album’s impending release, was before 1,000 enthusiastic record label executives and music sellers Tuesday at the National Association of Recording Merchandisers’ annual convention.

But it was hard for the audience to hear Presley’s voice above her band.

“She’s a little shy, but she’s new. Give her six months, and she’s going to get much more comfortable,” said Alan Josef Kaplan with the music production company Music Universe.

Her album, “To Whom It May Concern,” is scheduled for release April 8.

No time for cancer

New York — Lynn Redgrave, who begins preview performances Saturday in the off-Broadway play “Talking Heads,” has undergone treatment for breast cancer.

Redgrave, 60, has been able to maintain a full schedule because of new and encouraging treatments at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, her spokesman, Rick Miramontez, said Tuesday. Her performances include a recent engagement off-Broadway in the anti-death penalty drama “The Exonerated,” rehearsals for “Talking Heads” and various guest symphony appearances.

“Talking Heads,” which opens April 6, is a series of monologues by British playwright Alan Bennett. Redgrave’s monologue is titled “Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet,” the story of a middle-aged English woman’s awakening.

A star for Morgan Freeman

Los Angeles — Morgan Freeman said it felt like “high cotton” as he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

“This is not something you expect in life. This is a gift. This is serendipity,” the 65-year-old actor said Tuesday of star No. 2,220, located on Hollywood Boulevard. “If you wait around for it, you may die waiting.”

Freeman is a three-time Oscar nominee for his roles in “Street Smart,” “Driving Miss Daisy” and “The Shawshank Redemption.” His latest film, “Dreamcatcher,” opens Friday.