Guitar goes missing

Portage, Ind. — Former Poison singer Bret Michaels has asked fans to help him find his custom-made guitar, which was apparently stolen at the end of a recent concert.

Michaels’ red-and-white Holden six-string electric guitar with a picture of a skull wearing a top hat disappeared during a Nov. 12 concert at McCool’s bar in Valparaiso, according to Michaels’ Web site.

The Porter County Crime Stoppers program has offered a reward of up to $1,000 for information about the theft.

A photo of Michaels with the guitar was posted on the singer’s Web site. A message said: “This guitar has a lot of sentimental value to Bret and we just want to get it back.”

Central Park canvas

New York — For two weeks in February, walkways in Central Park will be festooned with 23 miles of saffron-colored fabric gates by the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude in a public art project they have sought to do for 23 years.

The artists had unsuccessfully been trying for years to win city approval for the piece, titled “The Gates, Central Park, New York, 1979 to 2005,” until Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is a patron of the arts, agreed to it.

Beginning next month, 7,500 16-foot metal frames designed to hold the fabric will be erected throughout the park at 15-foot intervals. The fabric will be installed on Feb. 12, the artists said, and will remain until Feb. 27.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude did a project in 1977-78 in Kansas City, Mo. The walkways of Loose Park were wrapped with saffron-colored fabric.

The artists, who have also wrapped the German Reichstag and the Pont Neuf in Paris in fabric and surrounded part of Australia’s coast in sand-colored cloth, will pay for the costs related to the project and donate $3 million to the city.

Cojocaru needs transplant

Los Angeles — Red-carpet fashion maven Steven Cojocaru said Monday that a genetic condition will require him to undergo a kidney transplant operation.

Cojocaru, a correspondent for the syndicated television shows “Entertainment Tonight” and “The Insider,” said he suffers from polycystic kidney disease.

He revealed his illness in an interview with host Mary Hart of “Entertainment Tonight.” The segment was to air Monday night on the entertainment news magazine.

“I feel great, the prognosis is excellent,” Cojocaru told Hart. He’s been assured by his doctor that after the operation, “I can climb a mountain in Nepal.”

Cojocaru, a contributor to NBC’s “Today” show, is around 40.

‘LAX’ grounded; Locklear won’t be ‘Desperate’

In one of the most highly anticipated cancellations since, well, “Hawaii” bit the dust last month, NBC has rerouted “LAX” to the scrap heap, reported TV Guide Online.

It’s not clear when the show’s final three episodes will air, but all signs point to never.

An ABC rep, meanwhile, denied rumors that “LAX” star Heather Locklear is in talks to join the cast of “Desperate Housewives.”

“It’s not happening,” said the spokesperson. “I don’t know where that rumor got started.”