New dad Cruise shows up at Rome movie promotion

New dad Cruise shows upat Rome movie promotion
ROME -- Tom Cruise says his "mission impossible" was leaving his infant daughter and fianc & eacute;e Katie Holmes to promote his new film, "Mission: Impossible III," in Rome.
Cruise showed up in the middle of a news conference Monday that he hadn't been expected to attend. The premiere of "Mission: Impossible III" was scheduled later that night.
"My mission impossible was to be here today," the 43-year-old actor told reporters. "I didn't want to come. My daughter was just born and I didn't want to leave her and her mother."
His daughter Suri was born last Tuesday in Los Angeles. She is the first child for Cruise and Holmes, 27. Cruise has a son and daughter from his marriage to ex-wife Nicole Kidman.
"I'm going to be here for a few hours, and then I'm going to get on a plane and go back to Katie and Suri," Cruise said.
Cast members of "Mission: Impossible III" later delighted thousands of screaming fans by appearing on a podium in the packed square in Rome's historical center, Piazza del Popolo, where they were interviewed about the movie.
However, the warmest welcome was reserved for Cruise, who caused a wave of near-hysteria when he waved at the public and exclaimed, "Roma! Italy! Italia!"
He then climbed down several steps, picked up a white teddy bear someone had tossed in his direction and read the note attached to it.
"This is for Suri, we wish her lots of love and good things. Tom go always like you're doing now. Kiss to Katie," Cruise read.
He thanked the public for supporting him and his family.
"I also want to thank you for the warm welcome that you've given to my daughter Suri and my fianc & eacute;e Katie, and I just love you all," Cruise said. "And I hope you enjoy this film because that's why I do it, I make them for you and I really want to entertain you."
Jim Nabors inducted intoAlabama hall of fame
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Jim Nabors, best known as television's Gomer Pyle, has been inducted into the Alabama Stage & amp; Screen Hall of Fame.
At the Saturday ceremony, an episode was shown from the '60s comedy "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." in which Nabors sang the stirring "The Impossible Dream." Nabors, an Alabama native, told the gala audience of about 400 people that it was the first time he'd seen that recording of the song.
"I really never watched myself on TV," he said. "Now I know why."
Nabors also played Pyle on "The Andy Griffith Show."
The 75-year-old actor-singer entertained the audience with true-life stories, spun in a Gomer "can you believe this?" fashion, but choked up when talking about Carol Burnett, who helped him through his health problems. He had a brush with death in the early '90s before a liver transplant saved his life.
"Carol is like a sister to me," he said. "Carol saved my life."
"I could go on all night about my wonderful experiences," he said. But he concluded simply, "It's always good to be home."
Actor Kevin Dillon wedsfianc & eacute;e, Web site says
LOS ANGELES -- Kevin Dillon, star of the HBO comedy series "Entourage," has married fianc & eacute;e Jane Stuart in Las Vegas.
The couple were married Saturday in a downtown wedding chapel in a brief service that included several songs performed by an Elvis Presley impersonator, Us Weekly reported Sunday on its Web site.
Stuart, 27, who is pregnant, wore a white, floor-length dress, according to the magazine, which had two reporters in attendance. Dillon, 40, was dressed in jeans and a leather jacket.
The service was witnessed by Dillon's "Entourage" co-star Kevin Connolly, the magazine said.
Screen credits for Dillon, brother of Oscar-nominated actor Matt Dillon, include roles in "Platoon," "The Doors" and the upcoming "Poseidon."
Today's birthdays
Actor Al Pacino is 66. Rock musician Stu Cook (Creedence Clearwater Revival) is 61. Singer Bjorn Ulvaeus (ABBA) is 61. Actress Talia Shire is 60. Rock musician Steve Ferrone (Tom Petty & amp; the Heartbreakers) is 56. Country singer-songwriter Rob Crosby is 52. Actor Hank Azaria is 42. Rock singer Andy Bell (Erasure) is 42. Rock musician Eric Avery (Jane's Addiction) is 41. TV personality Jane Clayson is 39. Actress Renee Zellweger is 37. Actor Jason Lee is 36. Actor Jason Wiles is 36. Actress Emily Bergl is 31. Actress Marguerite Moreau is 29. Singer Jacob Underwood is 26.