People in the news

Abdul renews ‘Idol’ contract

Los Angeles – Paula Abdul has decided she can continue to put up with Simon Cowell on “American Idol.”

Abdul, who shares judging duties on Fox’s hit talent show with Cowell and Randy Jackson, has signed a deal to remain for another three years, the network announced Wednesday.

She and Cowell are known for their bickering on the program, which is drawing bigger audiences than ever in its fifth edition. While Cowell often slams contestants, Abdul takes a gentler approach in her comments.

Survey says: O’Hurley

Los Angeles – John O’Hurley has a new gig. The silver-haired star of last summer’s “Dancing With the Stars” on ABC will become the new host of the syndicated game show “Family Feud,” beginning this fall.

FremantleMedia North America and Tribune Entertainment announced Tuesday that they plan to revamp the 30-year-old TV show with a new set and new host: O’Hurley, who is best known for playing the pompous catalog king J. Peterman on “Seinfeld.” O’Hurley, 49, joins a fraternity of “Family Feud” emcees that includes Richard Dawson, Ray Combs, Louie Anderson and Richard Karn.

Broadway sensation

New York – The first lines spoken by Julia Roberts in her Broadway debut were drowned out by applause at an eagerly awaited preview of “Three Days of Rain.”

The play, which started previews Tuesday and opens April 19 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, is Roberts’ first major project since the birth of her 16-month-old twins, Phinnaeus and Hazel.

Appearing in Richard Greenberg’s 1997 Pulitzer Prize nominee, Roberts plays a woman unraveling the truth behind her father’s death, and in the second act, plays the woman’s mother.

Singer Tom Jones knighted

London – It’s not unusual for Tom Jones to meet Queen Elizabeth II – but being knighted was something special.

The 65-year-old singer, a coal miner’s son from the Welsh town of Pontypridd, received the honor Wednesday at Buckingham Palace.

Jones, known for hits including “What’s New Pussycat” and “It’s Not Unusual,” said he had met the British monarch “six or seven times, maybe more,” starting with a royal charity performance in 1966.

“I love seeing the queen and I have always been a royalist,” Jones said. “She is lovely and she still is lovely.”