Composer Cy Coleman dies
New York -- Cy Coleman, composer of the Broadway musicals "Sweet Charity" and "City of Angels" as well as such pop standards as "Witchcraft" and "The Best Is Yet to Come," has died of heart failure. He was 75.
Coleman died Thursday night after attending the opening night performance and party for Michael Frayn's "Democracy" on Broadway. He left the party and went to New York Hospital where he collapsed and died, John Barlow, a spokesman for Coleman, said Friday.
Coleman, an accomplished jazz pianist, was known for his rhythmic, up-tempo style. His pop songs, which also included "Firefly" and "I'm Gonna Laugh You Right Out of My Life," were recorded by such singers as Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee and Nat "King" Cole.
For more than five decades, Coleman wrote music for Broadway shows, starting with material for the 1953 revue "John Murray Anderson's Almanac."
In 1960, he composed his first full score, "Wildcat," with lyricist Carolyn Leigh. The show, which was a vehicle for Lucille Ball, contained the hit song "Hey Look Me Over."
The two then collaborated on "Little Me" (1962), starring television comedian Sid Caesar, playing seven roles. The show, adapted by Neil Simon from the Patrick Dennis novel, contained such songs as "I've Got Your Number" and "Real Live Girl."
Coleman worked again with Simon on his third Broadway musical, "Sweet Charity" (1966), based on Federico Fellini's film, "Nights of Cabiria." Gwen Verdon starred in the show as taxi dancer Charity Hope Valentine. With lyrics by Dorothy Fields, the musical was later made into a film starring Shirley MacLaine.
Allen gets Walk of Fame star
Los Angeles -- Actor Tim Allen received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday and declared it just the beginning of major neighborhood improvements. "Stop traffic! All these buildings will be named after me!" the former "Home Improvement" star joked during a ceremony marking the honor.
"It means so much to me, and from the bottom of my heart, I thank my friends and family and all the fans for being here today."
Hundreds of people gathered to see the unveiling of Allen's star, the 2,270th on the Walk of Fame.
Patricia Richardson, who played Allen's wife in the ABC comedy "Home Improvement," and Jamie Lee Curtis, Allen's spouse in the new movie "Christmas with the Kranks," were on hand.
William spurns privileges
London -- Prince William would want to fight on the front line if he were in the British army, but he is not sure whether he will sign up after graduating from a university, he told British media.
William, who is in his final year of geography studies at Scotland's St. Andrew's University, said he was not sure what he would do when he finished studying, but he had considered joining the military.
The eldest son of Prince Charles said he might follow in the footsteps of his younger brother, Harry, who will enroll at Sandhurst military academy next year.
The prince said being second in line to the throne would present problems if his unit were sent into action, but he would not want to be held back.
"The last thing I want to do is be mollycoddled or wrapped up in cotton wool because if I was to join the army I'd want to go where my men went and I'd want to do what they did," William said in an interview with Britain's Press Assn. and the British Broadcasting Corp. that was published and televised Friday.
Carrey embraces clean living
Los Angeles -- Living a life free of Prozac, drugs and alcohol has helped comedian Jim Carrey deal with depression, he told the CBS program "60 Minutes." In an interview scheduled to air today, Carrey said he took Prozac for a long time but it didn't cure his depression.
"I had to get off at a certain point because I realized that ... everything is just OK," Carrey said in an interview with "60 Minutes" reporter Steve Kroft at his home in Brentwood, parts of which aired Friday on KCBS-TV.
"There are peaks, there are valleys, but they're all kind of carved and smoothed out ... It feels like a low level of despair you live in where you're not getting any answers but you're living OK and you can smile at the office."
Penthouse founder sells home
Staatsburg, N.Y. -- The former Hudson Valley estate of Penthouse magazine founder Bob Guccione is being sold to hotelier Andre Balazs and actress Uma Thurman, according to the property's auctioneer.
George Cole Auctions sold off the contents of Guccione's former summer house at the end of the summer. Cole, who is also a licensed real estate broker, said Balazs and Thurman attended the auction, expressed interest in the property and have a contract to buy it.
Cole declined to disclose the purchase price, but told the Daily Freeman in Kingston that he expects the closing before Dec. 15. The 55-acre estate and 16-room mansion in the hamlet of Staatsburg are 60 miles south of Albany.
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