Sexiest man alive named

New York – Matthew McConaughey has been named the “sexiest man alive” by People magazine.

The actor is pictured on the cover of People’s annual issue, on newsstands Friday. For the 36-year-old McConaughey, it’s a clear sign that his career is in the midst of an upturn – and that his girlfriend, Penelope Cruz, may be rubbing off on him.

“Now I’ve made it,” he told the magazine. “Wait until you see the roles I could take after this. You’re going to see my gut hanging over, plus 22 (pounds). It’ll be a whole new kind of sexy!”

McConaughey is the 20th “sexiest man” for People, who first bequeathed the honor to Mel Gibson in 1985. The magazine credited McConaughey’s “heaping helping of Texas’s finest Southern charm” for the choice.

Jackson’s bathroom slip

Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Michael Jackson has stirred a small controversy in the United Arab Emirates by entering the ladies room in a shopping mall.

The pop star’s publicist said Jackson, who arrived in Dubai this week as the guest of a champion rally driver, did not understand the Arabic sign on the door and left the bathroom as soon as he realized his mistake.

In the statement released late Tuesday, Jackson’s publicist, Raymond K. Bain said: “Upon his exit (from the ladies bathroom), he was recognized and a crowd ensued. He had to wait in a nearby bookstore until police arrived to escort him through the crowd.”

But local newspapers reported that the 47-year-old performer did not quickly leave the bathroom and was spotted applying makeup before leaving.

Jackson’s host, the Emirates champion rally driver Mohammed bin Sulayem, said Jackson was considering buying property in Dubai. This week’s visit is his second after a stay in August.

Since his June acquittal on child molestation charges, Jackson has made several trips to Bahrain as a guest of Sheik Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the son of Bahrain’s king.

Diana dress for sale

London – Princess Diana’s spare wedding dress – a replica made in case the one she wore got damaged – is to be auctioned.

Diana tried on the ivory silk gown, an exact copy of the dress she wore, on the morning of her wedding, auctioneer Cooper Owen said Wednesday.

The only difference between the dresses is that the actual one she wore had Queen Mary’s lace sewn on to the front, while the replica had a copy of the lace, the auction house said.

The dress is expected to fetch more than $90,000 at the Dec. 7 sale of celebrity memorability at the Proud Gallery Camden, in north London.

Millions of television viewers around the world watched Diana marry Prince Charles on July 29, 1981. The couple divorced in 1996.

The original gown is part of an exhibition about the princess at Althorp, her family’s country home near Northampton, central England.

A replica of the wedding dress worn by the Duchess of York, which was also a standby, will also be auctioned and was expected to fetch about $10,000. A vest worn by James Dean in the movie “Giant” was predicted to go for around $58,000.

TV pioneer dies at age 92

Los Angeles – Broadcasting pioneer Ralph Edwards, host of the popular 1950s “This Is Your Life” television show, died Wednesday of heart failure, his publicist said. He was 92.

Publicist Justin Seremet confirmed that Edwards, whose career as producer and host included “Truth or Consequences” and “People’s Court,” had died.

Edwards first hit it big in radio in 1940 with “Truth or Consequences,” a novelty show in which contestants who failed to answer trick questions – the “truth” – had to suffer “the consequences” by performing some elaborate stunt.

Then came television. The Federal Communications Commission approved commercial broadcasts beginning on July 1, 1941, after a few years of experimental broadcasts, and NBC’s New York station was the first to make the changeover.

The United States’ entry into World War II five months later disrupted TV’s progress. “Truth or Consequences,” which prospered on radio in the interim, returned to television in 1950.

Earlier that same year, the citizens of little Hot Springs, N.M., voted 1,294-295 to change the town’s name to Truth or Consequences. Edwards had promised to broadcast the radio show from the town that agreed to the change.

“Truth or Consequences” later launched the career of Bob Barker, tabbed by Edwards as master of ceremonies in 1956. Barker, who went on to host “The Price Is Right,” on Wednesday hailed Edwards as “one of the finest men I have ever met and a gentleman about whom I have never heard a word of criticism.”

There she goes, to Vegas

Las Vegas – After 84 years of crowning beauties on the Boardwalk, the Miss America pageant is moving to the Las Vegas Strip, organizers announced Wednesday.

It will be the first time the contest has been staged outside Atlantic City, N.J.

The Aladdin hotel-casino will host the pageant, scheduled to air Jan. 21 on Nashville, Tenn.-based cable channel Country Music Television, organizers told The Associated Press.

“What we wanted to do is find a new host city that has all glitz and glamour Miss America is known for,” said Art McMaster, the pageant’s chief executive officer. “Obviously Las Vegas is right at the top of this list.”

The pageant has been dogged by financial troubles and slipping viewership in recent years. It was dropped by ABC last year, leaving Miss America without a network TV contract for the first time since 1954.

McMaster pulled the event from Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall in August, citing high production costs, and said it would be held in January instead of on its traditional post-Labor Day date.