Saturday, June 19, 2004
Robin Givens faces suitover vehicle accident
MIAMI -- An 89-year-old woman whom Robin Givens struck with her sport utility vehicle has filed a civil lawsuit against the actress.
The auto negligence lawsuit filed on behalf of Maria Antonia Alcover does not seek a specific money amount.
Alcover, a Cuban immigrant who came to the United States in 1963, is in a nursing home recovering from the accident that occurred five months ago in the crosswalk of a busy city street at rush hour.
Her lawyer, Steve Jugo, said it's unclear whether she'll walk again.
"She is doing better and she didn't lose her leg, but she says her life has been ruined," Alcover's nephew, Tony Garcia, told the Miami Herald.
Witnesses said Alcover had been inching across the road and wasn't quite on the sidewalk when the traffic light turned green.
Givens, the ex-wife of former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, turned the corner, and her vehicle swiped Alcover, forcing her to fall backward into the SUV, which crushed her right leg, witnesses said.
Givens, who stayed with Alcover while officials arrived, was issued a traffic summons for failing to use due care when a pedestrian was in the crosswalk, which carries a fine of less than $70, police said.
She pleaded not guilty and appeared in traffic court Wednesday. Her trial was postponed to Sept. 13.
'Hawaii Five-O' star Lordhonored with monument
HONOLULU -- Six years after his death, "Hawaii Five-O" star Jack Lord is being honored with a bronze bust at one of his favorite walking spots.
The 40-pound sculpture, which begins about midchest and is supported by a rocklike pedestal, is scheduled to go on display Saturday during a ceremony at Kahala Mall in East Oahu.
"We decided on Kahala Mall because it was the place where you could always see Jack," said Doug Mossman, who had recurring roles as Lt. George Kealoha and Frank Kamana on the show. "He'd stroll through the mall in shorts, aloha shirt and straw hat, smiling."
Mossman and Esperanza Isaac, a "Hawaii Five-O" fan in England, jointly led the nonprofit Jack Lord Memorial Fund, which raised the $10,000 for the bust sculpted by Hawaii artist Lynn Weiler Liverton.
Lord, whose real name was John Joseph Patrick Ryan, died at 77 in 1998 at his Kahala home from congestive heart failure. He was a dominating and often intimidating figure on the "Hawaii Five-O" set as he portrayed no-nonsense Detective Steve McGarrett on the series that ran from 1968-80.
Lord is revered in Hawaii and credited with being the first star to require that local actors be given roles because he thought they were needed to capture the flavor of Hawaii. His wife, Marie, still lives in the couple's Kahala residence.
Notable death
Jerry Schuft, a polka musician who traveled the country with his band until the mid-1980s, died after suffering a heart attack. He was 67. He is among those who will be inducted this year into the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame in New Ulm.
Today's birthdays
Actress Gena Rowlands is 68. Singer Al Wilson is 65. Singer Spanky MacFarlane (Spanky and Our Gang) is 62. Actress Phylicia Rashad is 56. Rock singer Ann Wilson (Heart) is 54. Musician Larry Dunn is 51. Actress Kathleen Turner is 50. Country singer Doug Stone is 48. Singer Mark DeBarge is 45. Singer-dancer Paula Abdul is 42. Rock singer-musician Brian Vander Ark (Verve Pipe) is 40. Actor Andy Lauer is 39. Actress Robin Tunney is 32.