Goldberg says Swayze’s why she won an Oscar

New York – Whoopi Goldberg says her friend Patrick Swayze – who was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer – is the reason she won an Oscar for “Ghost.”

“When I won my Academy Award, the only person I really thanked was Patrick,” Goldberg recalled Thursday on ABC daytime talk show “The View.”

Goldberg, who starred alongside Swayze in the 1990 film, earned a best supporting actress trophy for her portrayal of psychic Oda Mae Brown, who helps slain businessman Sam Wheat (Swayze) communicate with his grieving fiancee and solve the mystery of his murder.

The 52-year-old actress-comedian said Swayze persuaded director Jerry Zucker to cast her in the film amid “some resistance.” According to Goldberg, Swayze said, “I’m not making this movie unless you put Whoopi Goldberg in there.”

Swayze, 55, has been undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer, his representative Annett Wolf said Wednesday.

In a statement released by Wolf, Swayze’s physician Dr. George Fisher said he was “optimistic” about the “Dirty Dancing” actor’s prognosis for battling the disease: “Patrick has a very limited amount of disease and he appears to be responding well to treatment thus far.”

Singer feels ‘complete’ after plastic surgery

New York – Kelly Rowland has gotten a little more bustylicious.

Rowland, who sang “Bootylicious” with Beyonce in the group Destiny’s Child, tells People magazine in its March 17 issue that she had plastic surgery last October to bring her “from an A-cup to a B-cup.”

As for the one-cup upgrade, Rowland says: “I didn’t want to have double Ds and be a little bitty size 2 – that would look nuts!”

The 27-year-old singer went under the knife after a long decision-making process.

“I was sick of not fitting into my tops,” she says. “There was this one really hot House of Dereon top – I just wanted to fill that out!”

Rowland says that top – designed by Beyonce’s mom, Tina Knowles – complements her new curves: “I put it on and I looked so good! I’m so happy. I feel complete.”

Rowland, who has released two solo albums, says she hesitated to discuss the surgery.

“It is a decision I made for myself. I like it, and that’s all that counts. For young people: Think about it before you just jump off and do something (you may regret later),” she says.

Springsteen to raise money for theater

Red Bank, N.J. – Bruce Springsteen plans to raise some money for the restoration of the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank.

Springsteen, who grew up in nearby Freehold, is scheduled to hold a benefit on May 7 at the theater, which was built in 1926 to showcase movies and vaudeville.

Restoration and renovation work is expected to start this summer.

The theater was renamed after native son and jazz great William “Count” Basie in 1984.

Bai Ling enters plea deal in shoplifting case

Los Angeles – Bai Ling has copped a plea in her shoplifting case.

The actress was charged earlier this week with petty theft for trying to take a pack of batteries and two Star magazines worth $16.22 from a store at Los Angeles International Airport.

In the plea deal requested by her attorney, she agreed Wednesday to plead guilty to disturbing the peace and to pay a fine and penalties totaling $700, city attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan said.

The misdemeanor infraction “carries the same penalty as petty theft,” Mateljan said.

In a message posted on her blog, the actress proclaimed “I am innocent” below a photo of herself with her thumb up.

Paris Hilton’s brother charged with DUI

Los Angeles – Another hard-partying Hilton may be cruising closer to jail.

Paris Hilton’s 18-year-old brother was charged Thursday with four misdemeanor counts stemming from his Feb. 12 arrest on suspicion of drunken driving. Barron Nicholas Hilton’s charges include driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and being an unlicensed driver.

Hilton was stopped Feb. 12 after a witness reported seeing a black Mercedes-Benz weaving on Pacific Coast Highway, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said. He was allegedly carrying a fake driver’s license.

Estate will give Spears’ dad $2,500 a week

Los Angeles – Being Britney Spears’ father is now a paying gig – through most of the summer, at least.

A court has ordered the troubled pop star’s estate to pay James Spears’ $2,500 in weekly compensation and authorized him to lease a car. On Wednesday, his authority to handle his daughter’s affairs, which was scheduled to expire March 10, was extended until July 31.

Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Reva Goetz ordered the weekly payments in documents released by the court Thursday but signed on Wednesday. James Spears, who recently worked as a caterer, was named conservator of his daughter and co-conservator of her estate after she was hospitalized twice in January.

Goetz also ordered Spears’ estate to make a $58,800 payment to Samuel D. Ingham III, the court-appointed attorney who represents Britney Spears in the conservatorship case. She also authorized the pop star’s psychiatrist to hire two other doctors and pay them retainers totaling $9,000 from her estate.