Gene Kelly statue stalls

Gene Kelly statue stalls
PITTSBURGH -- Organizers of a project to memorialize Pittsburgh native son Gene Kelly haven't had much to sing about in more than a year.
A plan to put up a statue of the choreographer, director and actor most beloved for the film "Singin' in the Rain" has been on hold since late 2002. And Kelly's widow has yet to give the necessary approval.
The Gene Kelly Statue Project has not heard from Patricia Ward Kelly, who lives in Los Angeles, in more than a year, said Aviva Radbord, co-founder of the project.
There were arguments about the location and design of the project, which was announced in 2001 as a tribute to Gene Kelly, who died in 1996 at the age of 83.
Radbord said Patricia Ward Kelly initially met with the sculptor and saw the proposed design of Gene Kelly twirling on a lamppost -- a scene from "Singin' in the Rain." The sculpture was to spout water to recreate the movie scene and Kelly gave approval to the location at a downtown traffic intersection.
Critics, including members of the arts community, objected to the location at a traffic median in downtown Pittsburgh.
Stan Laurel memorabilianets thousands at auction
LONDON -- An auction of Stan Laurel memorabilia took in $36,800 from fans of the famous comedian.
"It was something of a sensation," said auctioneer John Anderson of the Anderson & amp; Garland auction house in Newcastle, northern England, of Thursday's auction.
Laurel and his partner, Oliver Hardy, "just seem to command nondwindling support and indeed seem to speak to a younger generation," he said.
Among the items sold was a silver hip flask Laurel got from his father. It fetched $3,800, the highest price at the sale. "To my dear son Stan, from Dad, August 1932," the inscription said.
Photographs and other items were put on sale by the British-born Laurel's nephew, Huntley Jefferson Woods, who lives in northeastern England.
"I am very pleased at the way it has gone," Woods said. "I never expected that the pieces would go that high."
The pre-sale estimate of the total take was $9,000.
"I always feel a loss to part with things like this, but I am 81, and as I get older the collection becomes more difficult to look after," Woods said. "I was worried what would happen when I pass on, and at least they have been sold to collectors who will care for them."
Among the buyers were Universal film studios and the Laurel and Hardy Museum in Ulverston, the northern English town where Laurel was born.
Laurel died in 1965. Hardy died in 1957.
Notable deaths
Peter Barnes, the British playwright, screenwriter and director best known for his 1968 play "The Ruling Class," a satirical attack on the church and British aristocracy that he later adapted for the screen, died Thursday in a London hospital. He was 73. Master steel guitarist Tau Moe, who traveled the world with his family performing Hawaiian music for international figures including Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, Aristotle Onassis and Gandhi, died Thursday, his family said. He was 95.
Today's birthdays
Country singer Marvin Rainwater is 79. Actor Brock Peters is 77. Former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos is 75. Jazz musician Ahmad Jamal is 74. Actor Robert Ito is 73. Actress Polly Holliday is 67. Former White House chief of staff John Sununu is 65. Actor Ron Silver is 58. Luci Baines Johnson, daughter of President Lyndon B. Johnson, is 57. Actor Saul Rubinek is 56. Rock musician Roy Bittan (Bruce Springsteen & amp; the E Street Band) is 55. Rock musician Gene Taylor (The Blasters) is 52. Actress-model Jerry Hall is 48. Actor Jimmy McNichol is 43. Rock musician Dave Parsons (Bush) is 39. Actress Yancy Butler is 34. Singer Michelle Branch is 21. Actress Vanessa Lee Chester is 20. Actress Lindsay Lohan is 18.