Diana's loyal fans gather to remember anniversary

Diana's loyal fans gatherto remember anniversary
LONDON -- Loyal fans to Diana, Princess of Wales, gathered outside her former home to mark the eighth anniversary of her death and to revile the woman who succeeded her as the wife of Prince Charles. Britain's royal family planned no special observances Wednesday. Her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, "will be going about their business as normal," said a spokesman at Clarence House, Prince Charles' official residence. The spokesman declined to be identified, in keeping with royal policy. Outside Kensington Palace, Diana's home after her divorce from Charles, bouquets of roses, carnations and lilies were placed on the fence by her fans. The number of people at the site at any one time were in the dozens, in contrast to the throngs who piled up mounds of flowers in the days after Diana's death. There were messages from Australia, Argentina and the United States, and pictures of Diana from every stage of her life. Diana died in a car crash in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997, along with boyfriend Dodi Fayed and chauffeur Henri Paul. The only survivor was Diana's bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, who was badly hurt. Many of those who came to pay their respects were upset that Charles is married to the former Camilla Parker Bowles, the woman Diana had blamed for the failure of her marriage. One of the many anti-Camilla messages taped to the gates at Kensington Palace said, "Adulterers will be punished on judgment day." "Every year is hard but it's been more so this year because Charles married. I can't even say her name," said Julie Cain. Camilla took the title of Duchess of Cornwall rather than Diana's title of Princess of Wales after she and Prince Charles were wed earlier this year. "She [Diana] is our queen of hearts. You never forget your queen of hearts," said delivery driver Raymond Nurse, 44.
China honors film stars
HONG KONG -- China has honored Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-Fat in a commemorative stamp collection marking 100 years of Chinese film. Among the other 128 honored stars were Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Cecilia Cheung, Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung. The stamps bear production shots of the stars and come with brief biographies. The Chinese postal service launched the collection at a ceremony in Beijing this week. Chow said he was pleased by his selection. "It's been a long time since I had a Chinese-language movie shown in the mainland, but everyone still remembers me," the 50-year-old actor said.
Will it be back? Financescause museum to close
GRAZ, Austria -- A museum displaying training equipment once used by Arnold Schwarzenegger was due to close because of financial problems, officials said. The collection of Schwarzenegger memorabilia, which opened in 1997 when the former bodybuilder-actor turned 50, also includes photos and paintings. It is tucked into a corner of a fitness center in the Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium in Graz, a southern Austrian city near the California governor's home village of Thal. The fitness center and museum were to close Wednesday. An administrator at the center blamed financial problems. The official said a letter had been sent to Schwarzenegger asking for financial help, but the letter wasn't answered. Susanne Hoeller, an official at the Graz tourism office, said that although the privately run museum didn't attract large crowds, it was a "pity" for the city to lose its only Schwarzenegger site.
Cursing helped actorsurvive tough schedule
WASHINGTON -- For four months, Liev Schreiber did eight intense shows a week in a Broadway production of "Glengarry Glen Ross." At the same time, he was editing his film-directing debut, "Everything Is Illuminated." How did he do it? The profanity in the play helped, Schreiber said. "It was incredibly cathartic after spending eight hours in an editing room being frustrated by the filmmaking process to be able to go out and say the 'F' word 104 times," he told AP Radio. After the Broadway play ended its run, Schreiber went on a promotional tour for the movie, based on Jonathan Safran Foer's novel about an American in the Ukraine searching for clues to his family's history. "I can sense that there's something that I need to decompress from, but I just don't have the time right now," Schreiber said. "I think the trick is not to look back. If I stop and realize what I've been through, I think I would probably faint."
Notable death
Michael Sheard, who played Adm. Ozzel in "The Empire Strikes Back" and Adolf Hitler five times, including in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," died Wednesday of cancer at the age of 65, his agent said.
Today's birthdays
Former Defense Secretary Melvin R. Laird is 83. Actress Yvonne De Carlo is 83. Former Texas Governor Ann Richards is 72. Conductor Seiji Ozawa is 70. Comedian-actress Lily Tomlin is 66. Actor Don Stroud is 62. Singer Archie Bell is 61. Rock musician Greg Errico is 59. Singer Barry Gibb is 59. Talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw is 55. Singer Gloria Estefan is 48. Former White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers is 44. Jazz musician Boney James is 44. Singer-musician Grant Lee Phillips (Grant Lee Buffalo) is 42. Country singer-songwriter Charlie Robison is 41. Rap DJ Spigg Nice (Lost Boyz) is 35. Actor Ricardo Antonio Chavira ("Desperate Housewives") is 34. Actor Scott Speedman is 30.