Dad offers famous daughter deal

Los Angeles – Whitney Houston’s 82-year-old father told a syndicated television show from his hospital bed that he would dismiss a $100 million lawsuit against his daughter if she paid him money he said she owed him and got her “act together.”

The two-part interview with John Houston on “Celebrity Justice” was broadcast Wednesday and Thursday, while a separate prime-time interview with his daughter aired Wednesday night on ABC.

John Houston’s entertainment company filed a lawsuit in in September, claiming his daughter failed to pay for work done negotiating a $100 million contract with Arista Records. The lawsuit also claims lawyers from Newark, N.J.-based John Houston Entertainment LLC helped have charges dropped against Houston in 2000 after security guards at a Hawaii airport seized a handbag containing marijuana.

In her ABC interview, the 39-year-old singer acknowledged having abused drugs in the past, including alcohol, cocaine, marijuana and pills.

Garfield steals Dave’s glory

Muncie, Ind. – Television talk-show host David Letterman wasn’t even there to see his college town name an alley for him – and he was still upstaged.

City leaders were displaying a sign Thursday night dubbing one of the city’s busiest alleys, “Dave’s Alley – Open 24 hours,” when fans of Garfield, the cartoon cat, showed up to protest.

Cartoonist Jim Davis, who created Garfield, is a Delaware County resident; Letterman only lived there while he attended Ball State University.

The two protesters, costumed as Garfield and dog Odie, held picket signs saying “Dave Bites,” “Cats Rule, Dave Drools” and “Alleys are for cats.”

Mayor Dan Canan said the eastern Indiana city was planning a parade next June to honor Garfield’s 25th birthday. Apparently, all Letterman gets is the alley, though officials plan to install a 24-hour Internet camera.

Pickford Center to house archives

Los Angeles – The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has dedicated a building to “America’s Sweetheart” to hold its archival materials.

The Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study, named for actress Mary Pickford, was dedicated Wednesday night.

“Mary Pickford was not only the planet’s best known actress for more than a decade, but a director and producer as well as co-founder of United Artists,” said Frank Pierson, president of the academy that presents the annual Academy Awards.

The 118,000-square-foot building, formerly an ABC television studio, eventually will have a 300-seat screening room.

Pickford started as a child actress in theater and worked in silent films by D.W. Griffith and Charlie Chaplin before moving into “talkies.”

Singer rewards the generous

Wilmot, Wis. – Backstreet Boy Nick Carter performed a 40-minute concert for students of Wilmot High School, which won a contest by donating more than 10 tons of food for the needy.

“I’m a small-town kind of guy,” said Carter, who was born in Jamestown, N.Y., and grew up in upstate New York and in a small Florida town.