Sarandon makes nice with Clinton

May 3, 2006

Actress Susan Sarandon, who has criticized Hillary Rodham Clinton for her support of the Iraq war, offered nothing but praise for the New York senator yesterday as the two women teamed up to promote the late Christopher Reeve's battle for spinal cord research. ''I don't really want to make it about her. I don't think she's a bad person," Sarandon said before taking the stage at a rally in D.C. for the Christopher Reeve Foundation, which is pushing Congress to pass legislation named after the ''Superman" actor. Sarandon offered a warm introduction for Clinton, saying: ''We are all very lucky to have her here today as a leader in Congress." Just two days earlier, British television aired an interview with Sarandon in which she again blasted the senator's vote on the Iraq war, saying Clinton had ''crumbled under the pressure of that moment."

Gary Glitter, who is jailed in Vietnam for child molestation, says he hopes to win his appeal and restore honor and dignity to his family and supporters. Glitter, 61, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison by a Vietnamese court March 3 after being charged with committing obscene acts with two girls, ages 10 and 11, at his rented seaside villa and at a hotel. His appeal will be heard May 19.

Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has been released from the New Zealand hospital where he was admitted with a head injury after he reportedly fell out of a palm tree. Richards, 62, suffered a mild concussion while on vacation in Fiji on Thursday. New Zealand's Sunday Star-Times reported that Richards got on a Jet-Ski after the fall and had another accident.

The TV Land network announced that it will start ''I Pity the Fool," a series in which Mr. T travels across the country dispensing inspiration and advice. ''My show ain't no 'Dr. Phil,' with people sitting around crying," he said. ''You're a fool -- that's what's wrong with you. You're a fool if you don't take my advice." The series starts in October.

David E. Kelley's dramedy ''Boston Legal" will return for a third season. Sources said ABC has given a full-season pickup to the show from David E. Kelley Productions and 20th Century Fox TV. The series, starring William Shatner, James Spader, and Candice Bergen, is slated to end its sophomore season with a two-hour finale May 16. In addition to ''Boston Legal," Kelley has another project at ABC, ''Life on Mars," a drama pilot based on the BBC sci-fi crime drama, which is targeted for fall 2007.

Tom Cruise, in Mexico to promote ''Mission: Impossible III," said he doesn't pay attention to media reports that criticize his personal life. His fiancee, 27-year-old Katie Holmes, gave birth last month in Los Angeles to the couple's first child, a daughter named Suri. ''The hours go by so quickly as I just stare at her," said Cruise, 43. When a reporter asked about a widely circulated comment Cruise made in an interview with GQ magazine about eating his child's placenta, Cruise laughed and said, ''That's ridiculous."

It's over for Paris Hilton and Greek shipping heir Stavros Niarchos. ''I'm not going to deny that there was a split," Hilton's publicist Elliot Mintz told the Associated Press. Hilton, 25, and Niarchos, 21, began dating last year. The hotel heiress and ''The Simple Life" actress announced in October that she was ending her engagement to Paris Latsis, another Greek shipping heir.

'When I'm 40 and too old to be a rock star, I plan to go back to college to study classical music.' Coldplay's Chris Martin, talking about his career plans.

FROM WIRE SERVICES