Vin Diesel, girlfriend welcome a daughter

New York – Vin Diesel is a dad.

Diesel, star of “The Pacifier” and “The Chronicles of Riddick,” and his girlfriend, model Paloma Jimenez, welcomed a baby girl in Los Angeles on April 2, his representative, Meredith O’Sullivan, said in an e-mail Friday.

O’Sullivan said the 40-year-old action star wasn’t releasing the baby’s name.

Diesel’s screen credits also include “The Fast and the Furious,” “Boiler Room” and “Saving Private Ryan.” He’ll next be seen in the sci-fi movie “Babylon A.D.,” slated for release Aug. 29.

McMahon talks about possible foreclosure

Los Angeles – Ed McMahon blames the possible foreclosure of his multimillion-dollar Beverly Hills house on a set of problems all too familiar to many Americans: a foundering economy, health problems and poor planning.

“If you spend more money than you make, you know what happens,” McMahon said Thursday night on CNN’s “Larry King Live.” “You know, a couple of divorces thrown in, a few things like that. And, you know, things happen.”

McMahon, 85, appeared with his wife, Pamela. The couple said they are $644,000 behind on their mortgage payments and are in negotiations with lender Countrywide Home Loans Inc. to set a foreclosure date.

McMahon, in a neck brace, said he had stopped working since he broke his neck in a fall 18 months ago. He didn’t elaborate.

McMahon, who was Johnny Carson’s sidekick on the “Tonight” show, said the house had been on the market for two years and that although 50 organizations or individuals had looked at it, no one had made an offer. Documents show McMahon has a $4.8 million mortgage on the home.

“It’s like a perfect storm,” he said. “Economy problems. Selling the house right now is a tremendous operation.”

McMahon bought the six-bedroom, five-bathroom, 7,000-square-foot house in January 1990. The mansion, which is listed at $6.25 million, is in a gated hilltop section off Mulholland Drive called The Summit. Britney Spears is among his neighbors.

Asked why a millionaire couldn’t make house payments, Pamela McMahon said the couple had less money than people may think and suggested they could have done a better job managing their finances.

Carell jokes about kiss with The Rock

Los Angeles – Steve Carell, who plays Maxwell Smart in the upcoming spy comedy “Get Smart,” says he had a scent-sational time kissing co-star Dwayne Johnson, who most might recognize as “The Rock.”

“The Rock has softer lips. I guess I could say that,” the 44-year-old actor told AP Television. “He smells like strawberry shortcake. For me, that’s why they call him The Rock. He rocks people’s worlds.”

Johnson countered that he doesn’t smell or taste like strawberry shortcake – “strawberry shortcake with liver I think.”

The 36-year-old wrestler-turned-actor said he was gung-ho about planting a kiss on Carell.

“It was just one of those things where I thought well, you know, ‘What could be the most entertaining and funniest moment that we could think of that would still make sense and still kind of root in reality?”‘

“We came up with a great kiss,” said Johnson, who plays Agent 23. “I thought if Jake Gyllenhaal can do it, Will Smith can do it, then I can do it, too. I’m going to own it. I was like, ‘Give me those lips right now. Right now.”‘

“Get Smart,” also starring Anne Hathaway as Agent 99, is slated for release June 20.

RIAA honors Jewel for album sales

Nashville, Tenn. – Jewel has been honored by the Recording Industry Association of America with a career milestone plaque commemorating sales of more than 18 million albums in the U.S.

Jenny Alves, RIAA’s coordinator of artist industry relations, surprised the 34-year-old singer Thursday as she prepared to sign autographs at the Country Music Association festival.

“This is awesome. Thank you so much,” said the singer, who also was scheduled to perform at the festival.

Jewel, whose full name is Jewel Kilcher, released a country album, “Perfectly Clear,” on Tuesday. The lead single, “Stronger Woman,” is No. 15 on the Billboard chart.

Pete Doherty misses show due to train delay

Paris – Pete Doherty missed his Paris concert, and a Eurostar train was to blame.

The high-speed train that connects London and Paris made the journey in some five hours Thursday night. The trip usually takes just over two hours. That left fans of the Babyshambles singer waiting at the Grand Rex theater until the “we’re sorry, the concert is canceled” announcement.

Eurostar officials said Doherty’s train was due in Paris at 9:20 p.m. but arrived at 2:13 a.m. Friday due to a technical problem. That was too late for Doherty to make the show.