Osbourne is just fine

Osbourne is just fine
NEW YORK -- Ozzy Osbourne is alive and kicking, despite Internet rumors to the contrary, IMDB.com reports. The rocker's publicists have been inundated with calls since late last week after reports that the former Black Sabbath frontman had died. Top aide Jay Morose said, "I don't normally pay these things any attention, but I got so many calls I felt I had to check. I can assure you Ozzy's fine and these rumors are not true." The reports arose after Ozzy and his wife, Sharon, missed a scheduled appearance on last Thursday's "The Tonight Show" -- and Arnold Schwarzenegger had to fill in for them at the last minute. "I'm still not sure what happened with that," Morose added. "All I know is they were booked and didn't make it to the show." Ozzy is holed up in Britain recording an all-star tsunami aid benefit single with daughter Kelly, Rod Stewart and Sir Elton John, among others.
Scarlett Johansson longs for London
LONDON -- There's soon to be one fewer house on the market in London -- Scarlett Johansson says she'd love to make the city her home, Ananova.com reports. The 20-year-old star of "Lost in Translation" has fallen for the capital after a stint of filming and is itching to buy. "I saw some nice places when I was working there and I think now is a good time to look," said Johansson, a native New Yorker. "I felt it was a place I could be happy. Even though I have family in Hampstead, which is a lovely district, Notting Hill had a younger vibe and I felt that I could be more myself there. "It seemed to me the place to be because it's more like where I'm from in New York City." She said she wouldn't completely abandon the states because of her family, saying: "I'm still a New Yorker, but it wouldn't do any harm to live between the two places."
Is 'Taxi Driver' sequelin De Niro's future?
NEW YORK -- Robert De Niro has confirmed he's in talks with Martin Scorsese about a possible sequel to their classic "Taxi Driver," the New York Post reports. The acting legend, who starred as crazed cabbie Travis Bickle in the gritty 1976 masterpiece, says he and Scorsese have been discussing script ideas. De Niro, 61, recently told journalists: "I was talking with Martin Scorsese about doing what I guess you'd call a sequel to 'Taxi Driver,' where he is older." The reunion would come just in time for De Niro, whose reputation is slipping with fluffy films like "The Adventures of Rocky & amp; Bullwinkle," "Analyze This" and "Meet the Fockers."
Betty White -- in the flesh
NEW YORK -- Betty White -- yes, that Betty White -- goes flesh-toned for a scene in her new TV movie. During the filming of the Hallmark Channel original movie "Annie's Point," White, 83, and co-star Amy Davidson went bare, sort of, for a grandmother-granddaughter skinny-dipping scene. "We were not method acting," White said in a statement Friday. "We had little strapless bathing suits on. I mean, we can act like we're naked." But they couldn't act like they weren't cold. The non-heated pool caused both actresses' teeth to chatter during their scenes, which were shot at 2 a.m. "It was so cold! It was freezing," Davidson said. "I was scared to death for her. I'm like, 'Get this woman out of the pool!' But the director was great because he did the scene as fast as we could."
Alda role surprises fans
LOS ANGELES -- Alan Alda says he's constantly approached by people surprised at his portrayal of a conservative Republican senator on the TV show "The West Wing." "I was never asked that when I played a murderer," Alda said last week. The NBC drama is setting up a long-running story line in which Alda will run for president against a Democrat portrayed by Jimmy Smits. The winner will be inaugurated on "The West Wing" a year from now. John Wells, the show's executive producer, said it has not been decided who will win. He said the show will resist an interactive game in which viewers decide the winner because the production schedule needs to be set too far in advance. "I would like another term," said Martin Sheen, who plays President Bartlet on the show. But that's not going to happen -- Bartlet can't run again. Sheen said he expects to be back for next season in a limited role as his character leaves office.
Today's birthdays
Actor Ernest Borgnine is 88. Evangelist Oral Roberts is 87. Actor Marvin Kaplan ("Top Cat") is 78. Cajun musician Doug Kershaw is 69. Singer-songwriter Ray Stevens is 66. Singer-songwriter Neil Diamond is 64. Singer Aaron Neville is 64. Actor Michael Ontkean is 59. Country singer-songwriter Becky Hobbs is 55. Comedian Yakov Smirnoff is 54. Bandleader-musician Jools Holland is 47. Actress Nastassja Kinski is 45. Country musician Keech Rainwater (Lonestar) is 42. Comedian Phil LaMarr is 38. Olympic gold-medal gymnast Mary Lou Retton is 37. R & amp;B singer Pat "Sleepy" Brown (Society of Soul) is 35. Actor Matthew Lillard is 35. Actress Merrilee McCommas is 34. Actress Tatyana Ali is 26. Actress Mischa Barton is 19.