Rape suit claims drug use by Nolte

Rape suit claimsdrug use by Nolte
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- A lawsuit by parents of a teenager who says she was raped during a party at Nick Nolte's home can include evidence of previous drug and alcohol use by the actor and his son, a judge has ruled.
Nolte's publicist has said the actor was not home during the party. However, the lawsuit claims he was negligent, contending that the home had "a long history of furnishing drugs and/or alcohol to minors."
The suit states the girl, then 15, was given the date-rape drug GHB and sexually assaulted at a party on Jan. 25, 2003.
Superior Court Judge Gerald Rosenberg on Tuesday said prior behavior is "certainly relevant" to the case. He denied a motion by defense attorneys to limit questioning of witnesses to what happened the night of the party.
A motion by attorneys for Nolte and his son argued that broader questioning was irrelevant to the case and would cause "unwarranted annoyance and embarrassment." Nolte's son, who was a minor at the time of the incident, was not named in the suit.
An after-hours call seeking comment from Nolte's attorney Tuesday night was not immediately returned.
A defendant in the lawsuit, Nicholas Woodring, was convicted last year of having sex with a minor.
'Samurai' actor weds
TOKYO -- Ken Watanabe has wed Kaho Minami, the actor said Wednesday.
The 46-year-old Watanabe -- who received an Oscar nomination for his role in "The Last Samurai" opposite Tom Cruise -- tied the knot with Japanese film actress Minami, 41, according to a statement issued by the couple.
"We've both experienced rough seas, but we've now found tranquility and fortune," the pair said from New York, where Watanabe is based. "We want to keep supporting each other and sharing our time together."
Earlier this year, Watanabe divorced his former wife, with whom he has two children. Minami parted with her first husband in 2000.
The couple plan to hold a wedding reception in Tokyo, but have not decided on a date or place, according to the statement.
Watanabe, who worked mainly in Japanese films before 2003's "The Last Samurai," co-stars in the upcoming "Memoirs of a Geisha," which hits limited theaters Friday, and expands nationally Dec. 23.
Diana dress replicasells for $175K
LONDON -- A replica of Princess Diana's wedding dress sold at auction Wednesday for $175,000, twice its pre-sale estimate.
The ivory silk taffeta dress went to an anonymous private buyer, said a spokesman for auctioneer Cooper Owen.
The dress, complete with silk net petticoat, train one-third the length of the original, tiara and veil, was put up for auction by Madame Tussaud's waxworks museum in London. The museum had been in possession of the dress since immediately after the royal wedding between the then Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles on July 29, 1981.
"It's a very important dress," Owen said. "It's a dress that Diana personally said she wanted the world to see. She asked that a replica be made," he said.
The dress is identical to the original but does not include the antique Queen Mary lace that had been sewn on the front panel.
It is unclear whether Diana ever wore the dress. According to Madame Tussaud's former curator, Christina Bennett, Diana wore the dress during fittings for her wedding dress. But dress designers Elizabeth and David Emmauel said the second dress was made for the museum and Diana never wore it.
"Diana never tried the dress on, it was never a backup dress," Elizabeth Emmanuel said.
Diana's original wedding gown is on display at her family's country home near Northampton, central England.
Today's birthdays
Movie director Richard Fleischer is 89. Actor-director Maximilian Schell is 75. Actor David Carradine is 69. Actor James MacArthur is 68. Flutist James Galway is 66. Singer Jerry Butler is 66. Pop musician Bobby Elliott (The Hollies) is 63. Actor John Rubinstein is 59. Rock singer-musician Gregg Allman is 58. Actress Kim Basinger is 52. Rock musician Warren Cuccurullo is 49. Rock musician Phil Collen (Def Leppard) is 48. Country singer Marty Raybon is 46. Rock musician Marty Friedman is 43. Actor Wendell Pierce is 42. Actress Teri Hatcher is 41. Rapper Bushwick Bill (The Geto Boys) is 39. Singer Sinead O'Connor is 39. Actor Matthew Laborteaux is 39. Rock musician Ryan Newell (Sister Hazel) is 33. Actor Dominic Monaghan is 29. Actor Ian Somerhalder is 27.
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