Prosecution rests in Ryder case

Prosecution restsin Ryder case
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- The prosecution rested its case against actress Winona Ryder after calling a half-dozen witnesses who said she shoplifted more than $5,500 worth of merchandise from Saks Fifth Avenue.
Detective Mark Parker, the prosecution's final witness, described Ryder as "very calm" on the night of her arrest after being detained by guards at the Beverly Hills store.
"She had a smile on her face," Parker told the Superior Court jury Thursday.
The attorney for the film actress was expected to mount her defense Friday.
Ryder, 31, is charged with felony grand theft, burglary and vandalism for allegedly stealing expensive clothes and accessories on Dec. 12, 2001. She faces up to three years in prison, if convicted.
Store security personnel have testified the actress remarked after being detained that she thought an assistant had paid for the merchandise, but also that she had shoplifted as preparation for a movie role. The detective offered a similar account.
Reeve rounds upactors for series
NEW YORK -- Actor Christopher Reeve knows how to get to fellow celebrities.
As consultant to the upcoming PBS series "Freedom," he wanted well-known actors to provide voices for characters from American history.
But if he went through managers, publicists or agents, Reeve knew he'd get some brush-offs. So he wrote to the celebrities themselves.
He assembled an impressive list: Jennifer Aniston, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hanks, Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Kevin Spacey, Robin Williams and many others.
Reeve, 50, wanted to participate because his half brother, a teacher in rural Vermont, had such trouble interesting his students in history.
"The kids don't want to read, they don't want to write and sometimes, the kids, and their parents, get so upset because they have too much homework," he said Thursday.
Today's birthdays
Country singer Charlie Walker is 76. Rhythm-and-blues singer Earl "Speedo" Carroll (The Cadillacs; The Coasters) is 65. Singer Jay Black (Jay and the Americans) is 64. Commentator Patrick J. Buchanan is 64. Actress Stefanie Powers is 60. Rock musician Keith Emerson (Emerson, Lake and Palmer) is 58. Singer-songwriter k.d. lang is 41. Actor David Schwimmer is 36. Actor Damian Lewis is 31. Rapper Nelly is 28. Prodigy (Mobb Deep) is 28. Actor Danny Cooksey is 27.