Billy Ray hopes daughter won’t follow star-crossed route

New York – Billy Ray Cyrus is crossing his fingers that his daughter, “Hannah Montana” star Miley, won’t go the way of Lindsay and Paris and Britney. He even shows her articles about the Hollywood troublemakers as cautionary tales.

So far, so good.

“The biggest phenomenon in all this is that the kid’s been able to keep her head on her shoulders,” the 45-year-old country singer tells People magazine in its new issue. “She hasn’t flipped out. I’m going to knock on wood.”

He adds: “I pray every day she can stay on that path.”

Cyrus, who recently completed a stint on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars,” co-stars with 14-year-old Miley on the hit Disney Channel series “Hannah Montana,” about a country-girl-turned-pop-star who tries to keep her celebrity life a secret from her classmates.

“It’s the same with Miley as it is with all my kids,” replies Cyrus, a Kentucky native and Los Angeles-based father of five children with wife Leticia. “I try to be their best friend. … It’s a real fine line, and thus far, it’s a line I’ve been able to walk.”

Ricky Martin, George Harrison among new Hollywood stars

Los Angeles – Ricky Martin, Brooks & Dunn, Tim Robbins, Cate Blanchett, Angela Bassett, Howie Mandel and the late George Harrison are among the celebrities who will be honored next year with Hollywood Walk of Fame stars.

Hollywood’s honorary mayor Johnny Grant announced the list of 2008 inductees Wednesday, noting recipients were chosen from hundreds of nominations received by the Walk of Fame Committee.

Sidewalk stars are given to entertainers in motion pictures, television, live theater and recording. Directors of the committee selected recipients and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce board ratified the selections June 8.

Emergency appendectomy puts ‘Kimmel’ out of service

New York – Jimmy Kimmel, host of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” was in good shape after having an emergency appendectomy Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

“The surgery was a success,” Kimmel’s publicist, Lewis Kay, said in an e-mail Thursday. “The rest of this week’s tapings of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ have been canceled until he is back on his feet. He is resting comfortably and is looking forward to getting back to work.”

The 39-year-old comedian, who dates actress-comic Sarah Silverman, has hosted the late-night talk show for four years.