Isabel Sanford -- 'Weezie' of 'Jeffersons' -- dies

Isabel Sanford -- 'Weezie'of 'Jeffersons' -- dies
LOS ANGELES -- Isabel Sanford broke ground as the first black woman to win an Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on the sitcom "The Jeffersons."
Those close to her recall a simpler legacy: She loved to make people laugh.
Sanford, best known as "Weezie," Louise Jefferson on "The Jeffersons," died Friday of natural causes, her publicist Brad Lemack said. She was 86.
Sanford co-starred with Sherman Hemsley from 1975 to 1985 on CBS' "The Jeffersons," a spinoff of the popular series "All in the Family," in which she also appeared. She won her Emmy in 1981.
Sanford died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she had been hospitalized since July 4, said Lemack. Her daughter, Pamela Ruff, was at her side, he said.
Her health had waned after undergoing preventive surgery on a neck artery 10 months ago, Lemack said. He did not give a cause of death.
Sanford, a native New Yorker, was joined by "Jeffersons" creator Norman Lear and others in January when she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Sanford made her feature film debut in the 1967 classic "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner."
Casablanca Records signsLindsay Lohan to deal
NEW YORK -- Lindsay Lohan, the 18-year-old star of "Mean Girls," "Freaky Friday" and "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen," has signed a record deal with Tommy Mottola's Casablanca Records.
"It's a long-term recording contract," Peter LoFrumento, a representative for Casablanca's parent company, Universal Music Group, told The Associated Press on Monday.
No other details were released, but if her singing voice -- heard on the "Freaky Friday" and "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" soundtracks -- is an indication, Lohan's tunes will probably be pure pop.
Notable death
Actress Dorothy Hart, who appeared in more than a dozen feature films including the 1948 Oscar-winner "The Naked City," died Sunday in Asheville, N.C., at age 82. Born in Cleveland, Hart's break came in 1944 when she won Columbia Pictures' "National Cinderella Cover Girl" contest. Hart went on to appear in a string of features for Columbia, including "I Was A Communist for the FBI," "Countess of Monte Cristo" and "Larceny."
Today's birthdays
Former Housing Secretary Jack Kemp is 69. Actor Patrick Stewart is 64. Actor Robert Forster is 63. Actor Harrison Ford is 62. Singer-guitarist Roger McGuinn (The Byrds) is 62. Actor-comedian Cheech Marin is 58. Singer Louise Mandrell is 50. Actor-director Cameron Crowe is 47. Actor Michael Jace is 39. Country singer Neil Thrasher is 39. Singer Deborah Cox is 31. Rock musician Will Champion (Coldplay) is 26.