Actress Farrah Fawcett remembered at funeral

Los Angeles — The life of “Charlie’s Angels” star Farrah Fawcett was celebrated Tuesday at a private, music-filled funeral that one participant called “stirring.”

Her longtime companion, Ryan O’Neal, was among pallbearers who accompanied the casket, covered in yellow and orange flowers, into the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

After the ceremony, mourners said they overheard O’Neal as he tapped on the hearse’s back door and said, “So long, babe.”

Fawcett’s friend Alana Stewart and “Charlie’s Angels” co-star Kate Jackson were among early arrivals before the hearse pulled up, accompanied by 10 motorcycle officers.

Two mourners carried copies of Fawcett’s iconic poster, showing the actress wearing a red swimsuit, tousled blond curls and a broad smile.

The service, which was closed to the public, lasted more than an hour as fans and the news media watched from across a street.

About 500 people were invited to the service, said entertainment journalist Eliot Tiegel, who attended as a guest with his wife, Bonnie, a producer of TV’s “Entertainment Tonight.”

“It was one of the most musical funerals I’ve ever been to, and that’s what happens when you go to a show-business funeral,” he said after the ceremony. “Overall, it was very stirring.”

Fawcett died Thursday at age 62 after a public battle with cancer.

Usher’s wife says she was surprised by divorce

Atlanta — The wife of R&B singer Usher was surprised when the entertainer filed for divorce earlier this month and claims the two were intimate less than a week before he moved to end the marriage, according to court documents.

Tameka Raymond, 38, disputes Usher’s claims the couple have been separated since July 2008. She said in court documents filed Monday in Fulton County Superior Court that she “had every reason to believe her marriage was intact” and that two were “intimately together as husband and wife as recently as June 6.”

Usher, whose real name is Usher Raymond IV, filed for divorce June 12, claiming there is “no reasonable hope of reconciliation” and the marriage is “irretrievably broken.” He is seeking joint custody of the couple’s two sons, 1 1/2-year-old Usher Raymond V and 6-month-old Naviyd Ely Raymond.

Tameka Raymond has three children from a previous marriage. She said through her divorce attorney, Randy Kessler, that she has been a faithful wife and loving mother during the marriage.

In Monday’s filing, Tameka Raymond asked a judge to ensure that Usher continues to support his family while the divorce works its way through the courts, including paying her legal fees.

The couple married in August 2007 in a lavish ceremony.

L.A. schools chief fumes over ‘Bruno’ photos

Los Angeles — The chief of the nation’s second-largest school district is fuming over comedian Sacha Baron Cohen’s magazine photo shoot with high school football players.

Los Angeles Superintendent Ramon Cortines isn’t amused by the GQ magazine photos shot at Birmingham High School that feature the “Borat” star in his incarnation as gay Austrian fashionista “Bruno.”

The GQ cover story features pictures of Baron Cohen wearing shoulder pads, tight red shorts, an athletic cup and little else as he poses with football players at the school in the San Fernando Valley.

Cortines says the district “allowed our students to be used.” He says the photos violate the district’s policy on use of the school’s name, and he has punished the principal and athletic director. Cortines would not provide details.

‘Bachelor’ behind her, Melissa Rycroft engaged

New York — When “The Bachelor” winner Melissa Rycroft got jilted for the runner-up, she returned the engagement ring — and walked off the set. That was so five months ago.

Now, Rycroft has another sparkler — and a new fiance, Tye Strickland, to go with it.

Her spokeswoman, Susan Madore, says Strickland is a 28-year-old insurance agent and has been dating Rycroft on and off for 2 1/2 years.

According to Madore, he proposed privately Friday night and then the couple celebrated with both sets of parents over dinner.

After Rycroft’s run on ABC’s “The Bachelor,” the 26-year-old former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader appeared on “Dancing With the Stars.”

Vibe magazine to cease publication

New York — Vibe, the popular hip-hop and urban culture magazine founded by legendary producer Quincy Jones, is shutting down.

Vibe Media Group Chief Financial Officer Angela Zucconi confirmed the closing and said most of the company’s 50 or so employees will be laid off.

The closing comes amid a historic decline in ad revenue across all media that has left many categories of magazines struggling. Among recent casualties have been Portfolio, Conde Nast’s high-end business monthly, the style and home decorating magazine Domino, and Blender, another music magazine.

Founded in 1993, Vibe had a paid circulation of roughly 800,000 during the last six months of 2008. The magazine was acquired by The Wicks Group, a New York private equity firm, in 2006.