Tony-winning actress Edie Adams dies

Los Angeles – Actress and singer Edie Adams, the blonde beauty who won a Tony Award for bringing Daisy Mae to life on Broadway and who played the television foil to her husband, comedian Ernie Kovacs, has died. She was 81.

Adams died Wednesday in a Los Angeles hospital from pneumonia and cancer, publicist Henri Bollinger said.

A graduate of Juilliard School of Music, Adams hoped to become an opera singer but instead went on to gain fame for her sketches with Kovacs and her pivotal roles in two top Broadway musicals.

For nearly two decades, she also was the sexy spokeswoman for Muriel cigars, singing and breathily cooing in TV commercials: “Why don’t you pick one up and smoke it sometime?”

She was born Elizabeth Edith Enke in 1927 in Kingston, Pa., and grew up in Tenafly, N.J. She first attracted notice on the TV show “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts.” Kovacs was then performing his innovative comedy show on a Philadelphia TV station, and his director saw her and invited her to audition.

With her innocent face and refreshing manner, Adams became the ideal partner for Kovacs’ far-out humor. They eloped to Mexico City in 1954.

She is survived by her son, Joshua Mills. Daughter Mia Kovacs was killed at 22 in a 1982 car accident.

Both sides rest in Spears license trial

Los Angeles – Britney Spears did not appear at her driver’s license trial Thursday. Instead, her father did the talking.

Spears’ defense consisted solely of the testimony of Jamie Spears, who told jurors his daughter intends to return to Louisiana once she has custody of her children. The singer’s attorney, J. Michael Flanagan, said in his opening statement that she was exempt from having a California driver’s license because she didn’t meet residency requirements.

On cross-examination, however, Jamie Spears acknowledged that his daughter got married, had two children and divorced in California.

Both sides rested their cases Thursday afternoon and jurors will return for deliberations this morning.

Throughout the day Thursday, the prospect of the 26-year-old testifying during the trial remained. That prospect was quashed Thursday afternoon when Flanagan asked Jamie Spears whether he would allow his daughter to take the stand.

“No,” he replied.

The singer’s trial on a misdemeanor count of driving without a valid license began with jury selection Wednesday. The case is the last remnant of an August 2007 incident in which Spears was photographed hitting a parked car and leaving the scene.

James Taylor schedules free concerts for Obama

Charlotte, N.C. – James Taylor will play five free concerts in North Carolina as he tours the state to support Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Taylor has concerts scheduled in Charlotte, Asheville, Chapel Hill, Raleigh and Wilmington beginning Sunday. Taylor, who was raised in Chapel Hill, has at times used his musical celebrity to highlight political candidates in the state.

The Grammy winner will encourage Obama supporters to get out and vote early. One-stop voting begins Thursday in North Carolina.

Obama has been heavily investing in North Carolina to try and swing a state that hasn’t voted for a Democratic president since 1976. Republican rival John McCain has been increasing his presence to defend the state.

Diana Ross to headline Nobel Prize concert

Oslo, Norway – Diana Ross will headline artists performing at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in honor of the 2008 laureate, Finnish peace mediator Martti Ahtisaari, organizers said Thursday.

The show’s hosts, generally Hollywood superstars, are to be announced next week. Last year’s show was hosted by Uma Thurman and Kevin Spacey.

The list for the Dec. 11 concert also includes Canadian singer Feist, American country singer Dierks Bentley, Mexican singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas, Nigerian star Seun Kuti, and Norway’s popular singer-songwriter Marit Larsen.

The concert is a day after the Dec. 10 Nobel awards ceremony.

MLB will postpone game for Obama ad

Washington – Major League Baseball has agreed to postpone the first pitch of Game 6 of the World Series by about 15 minutes in order to enable Fox to join CBS and NBC in running Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s 30-minute infomercial Oct. 29.

That leaves only ABC among the major broadcast networks still undecided as to whether it will let Obama’s campaign buy the 8 p.m. half-hour slot on its prime-time schedule.

“Fox will accommodate Senator Obama’s desire to communicate with voters in this longform format,” the network said in a statement. “We are pleased that Major League Baseball has agreed to delay the first pitch of World Series Game 6 for a few minutes in order for Fox to carry his program on Oct. 29. If requested, the network would be willing to make similar time available to Senator McCain’s campaign.”

Fox is contractually obligated to carry the game if this year’s Series comes to that.

Obama’s campaign is ponying up something just shy of $2 million to buy the half-hour on NBC and CBS – less than $1 million per network in compliance; it was expected the camp would pay a similar amount to Fox.