People in the news

Star no longer in ‘View’

New York – And then there were three.

Star Jones Reynolds was taken off “The View” Wednesday, one day after surprising ABC and Barbara Walters by saying on the air that she wouldn’t be returning to the daytime talk show in the fall.

Now the show is down to three from its usual five.

ABC had decided against renewing Reynolds’ contract for the fall, but she wasn’t supposed to announce it until later this week.

“It is becoming uncomfortable for us to pretend that everything is the same at this table,” show creator Barbara Walters said. “Therefore, regrettably, Star will no longer be on this program.”

“The View” is bringing on Rosie O’Donnell to replace Meredith Vieira in September, and the hunt is now on for Reynolds’ replacement. Walters said Reynolds may still appear on the show in recorded segments.

80th birthday salute

New York – NBC will salute Tony Bennett’s 80th birthday with a music special, “Tony Bennett: An American Classic,” to air this fall.

The special will include performances by Elton John, Stevie Wonder, k.d. lang and John Legend, who perform on Bennett’s upcoming album, “Tony Bennett: Duets/An American Classic.”

Bennett, who will be 80 on Aug. 3, will take the stage alone to sing his signature tune, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” the network said Tuesday.

Filmed at the Los Angeles Theater, the special will be directed by Rob Marshall (“Chicago,” “Memoirs of a Geisha”). NBC did not announce an air date for the hourlong show.

Bennett’s upcoming CD will be released Sept. 26.

Dylan’s second hall of fame

Coopestown, N.Y. – Bob Dylan has played at historic Doubleday Field – music, that is. Now he’s back, and for good, just a block down Main Street in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The museum has added the baseball episode from the famed singer-songwriter’s weekly music show, “Theme Time Radio Hour,” on XM Satellite Radio to its archive, it was announced Wednesday.

The one-hour episode contains Dylan singing an a cappella rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” along with classic baseball-announcing calls, such as Curt Gowdy’s description of Ted Williams’ home run in his final at-bat with the Boston Red Sox.

The CD will be added to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library archive, which features more than 10,000 hours of recorded audio and video, and will be available for researchers.

Dylan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

Drunk and disorderly

Stockholm, Sweden – Axl Rose spent most of the day in a Stockholm jail cell after allegedly biting a security guard in the leg at his hotel, police said.

The Guns N’ Roses frontman was arrested early Tuesday after attacking and threatening the guard and causing damage to the Berns Hotel, where the alleged scuffle took place, police spokeswoman Towe Hagg said.

Rose was released from jail that evening, after he admitted to the charges and agreed to pay a fine of $5,500, Hagg said.

The 44-year-old rocker was also ordered to pay $1,360 in damages to the security guard, she said.

Hagg told The Associated Press that Rose was drunk during the confrontation and was not questioned by police until after he had sobered up.

“He was deemed too intoxicated to be questioned right away,” she said.

It was unclear what caused the fight, but Swedish tabloids said the guard tried to intervene when Rose started arguing with a woman in the hotel lobby.

Bored of the ‘Rings’

Toronto – Frodo is leaving Toronto.

The $24 million stage production of “The Lord of the Rings” – believed to be the most expensive show ever mounted – received mostly terrible reviews in its Toronto version.

The producers will try again next year in London, but with a trimmed, tightened and reworked version of the 3 1/2 hour show. There are 17 elevators embedded in a 36-ton, computer-controlled stage floor. More than 50 actors perform in the show.

The Associated Press said it was “lavish yet disappointing … a case of imagination overwhelmed by complexity.”

The New York Times said, “Everyone and everything winds up lost in this … adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s cult-inspiring trilogy of fantasy novels. That includes plot, character and the patience of most ordinary theatergoers.”