A frail Dennis Hopper gets Hollywood star

Los Angeles — A bandaged and frail Dennis Hopper was surrounded by friends, family and colleagues Friday as he was honored with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

The 73-year-old actor and filmmaker, who is battling prostate cancer, appeared gaunt and was helped to the stage by a friend. Hopper explained that bandages on his right arm and eye were the result of a fall Thursday outside his home.

The two-time Oscar nominee, who has appeared in more than 100 films, said he came to Hollywood from his native Kansas at 18, “so that was my college.”

“Everything I’ve learned, I’ve learned from Hollywood,” he said. “This has been my home and my schooling.”

Jack Nicholson, Viggo Mortensen, David Lynch and Dwight Yoakam were among the luminaries on hand to honor their friend and colleague. Nicholson wore a shirt decorated with images from “Easy Rider,” the classic 1969 road film Hopper wrote, directed and starred in, alongside Peter Fonda.

Playing banjo eased Oscar stress for Martin

Los Angeles — Steve Martin says playing the banjo helped prepare him for his Oscar-hosting gig.

The 64-year-old actor-writer-musician says performing live with the Steep Canyon Rangers made him feel comfortable on the Kodak Theatre stage at the Oscars.

Martin says he wasn’t sure why he wasn’t nervous before co-hosting the March 7 Oscars with Alec Baldwin, but a friend suggested maybe it was because he’d been in front of audiences around the country with his banjo.

Jackson detectives found skin cream

Los Angeles — Detectives found large quantities of general anesthetic and dozens of tubes of skin-whitening creams in Michael Jackson’s home after the singer’s death, search warrants unsealed Friday show.

Investigators went to Jackson’s rented mansion June 29 following a lengthy interview with his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, who told them he had placed a medical bag in a cupboard in a closet.

At the home, detectives found 11 containers of the powerful anesthetic propofol, some of them empty, as well as a range of sedatives and various medical items including a box of blood pressure cuffs, according to the warrants, which were redacted and unsealed after The Associated Press filed a legal motion.

During their search, detectives found 19 tubes of hydroquinone and 18 tubes of Benoquin, both of which are commonly used in the treatment of a skin condition Jackson had called vitiligo. The disease creates patches of de-pigmented skin, and creams can be used to lighten skin that has retained its color to give a more even appearance.