Tower for Thompson memorial service takes shape

Aspen, Colo. – Organizers of a memorial for Hunter S. Thompson plan to erect a 150-foot structure – courtesy of Johnny Depp – to shoot the gonzo journalist’s ashes onto his Aspen-area ranch.

Friends and acquaintances gathered Thursday to discuss the Aug. 20 invitation-only service, which will be six months after Thompson shot himself in his Woody Creek home.

Jon Equis, the event producer working with Thompson’s family, said the tower would be 12 feet wide at the base and 8 feet wide at the top, where a cannon will be placed.

Depp, who portrayed the author in the movie version of Thompson’s book “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” will pay for the tower, designed to resemble Thompson’s “gonzo fist” emblem.

As Thompson requested, his ashes will be shot out of the cannon onto his property.

Equis said the tower would be constructed far from Woody Creek Road and covered with a black drape before the service to discourage tourists. A public event is expected to be planned later to commemorate the writer’s life.

‘Green Acres’ star dies

Los Angeles – Eddie Albert, the actor best known as the constantly befuddled city slicker-turned-farmer in television’s “Green Acres,” has died. He was 99.

Albert, who appeared in movies and television for more than 50 years, died of pneumonia Thursday at his home in the Pacific Palisades area, in the presence of his longtime caregivers and son Edward, family friend Dick Guttman said Friday.

Albert achieved his greatest fame on “Green Acres” as Oliver Douglas, a New York lawyer who settles in a farm town with his glamorous wife, played by Eva Gabor.

Albert was nominated for Academy Awards as supporting actor in “Roman Holiday” (1953) and “The Heartbreak Kid” (1972).

‘Law and Order’ banter hits too close to home for DeLay

Washington – House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is upset that a popular NBC crime drama used his name as part of its show.

DeLay wrote NBC to complain that one of the characters on “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” invoked his name in a story line about the shooting death of a federal judge. “Maybe we should put out an APB for somebody in a Tom DeLay T-shirt,” the fictional police officer said.

DeLay, in a letter to NBC Universal Television chief Jeff Zucker, called that reference a “slur.”

“This manipulation of my name and trivialization of the sensitive issue of judicial security represents a reckless disregard for the suffering initiated by recent tragedies and a great disservice to public discourse,” he said.

NBC denied any political motive.

“This isolated piece of gritty ‘cop talk’ was neither a political comment nor an accusation,” NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly said. “It’s not unusual for L & O to mention real names in its fictional stories. We’re confident in our viewers’ ability to distinguish between the two.”

DIckinson out at ‘Top Model’

New York – Janice Dickinson is no longer in the running to judge who will become “America’s Next Top Model.” The loudmouth supermodel and author has left the UPN reality show and will be replaced by Twiggy Lawson on the upcoming fifth season.

“We would like to thank Janice for bringing her talents to the show and for everything she did to help us build ‘America’s Next Top Model’ into its current success,” executive producer Ken Mok said in a statement Thursday. “We wish her well in all of her future endeavors.”

Dickinson, author of “No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the World’s First Supermodel” and “Everything About Me Is Fake : and I’m Perfect,” was the most outspoken member of the model hunt’s judging panel, dishing harsher-than-harsh critiques to contestants and getting into spats with fellow judges since the first season.

Also gone as a judge is stylist Nole Marin. He’ll be replaced by runway expert J. Alexander, a former model who has taught catwalk technique and been a guest judge in previous seasons.

Dickinson will star in the next season of VH1’s “The Surreal Life” with the likes of Jose Canseco and Bronson Pinchot. According to UPN, Dickinson also has a television production deal and is working on a new book.

Jackson trial nears end

Santa Maria, Calif. – The Michael Jackson child molestation trial hurtled toward a close Friday as prosecutors showed jurors a video of the accuser being interviewed by police and defense lawyers decided not to put on a rebuttal case.

Closing arguments could begin as early as Wednesday.

The tape of the 2003 interview showed the boy – downcast and speaking quietly – telling investigators for the first time that he was molested by Jackson. The defense attorneys then decided not to call the accuser back to the stand – as they had planned to do – and closed their case.

The tape offered little that the boy hadn’t already testified to on the stand, but he became via video the last witness the jury would see. The courtroom was hushed and when the lights came up jurors were solemn, looking downward. Jackson had no comment as he left.

Birthdays

Television personality Elisabeth Hasselbeck (“The View”) is 28. Singer Gladys Knight is 61. Singer John Fogerty is 60. Singer Kylie Minogue is 37. Actor Jesse Bradford is 26. Actor Joseph Cross is 19.