Hoffman stays cold sober

Hoffman stays cold sober
NEW YORK -- Philip Seymour Hoffman, the favorite to take home the best actor Oscar next month, says he never would have reached such heights if he didn't get sober 16 years ago. Hoffman, whose performance as Truman Capote in "Capote" has drawn enormous praise, speaks in an interview on CBS News' "60 Minutes" to air Sunday (7 p.m. EST) about nearly succumbing to substance abuse when he was younger. The 38-year-old actor says that after graduating from New York University's drama school, he fell into a fast-paced city social life.
The pain of an arrest
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- John Michael Montgomery has been arrested and charged with driving under the influence and possession of a controlled drug, jail officials said. The 41-year-old country singer also was charged with having a prescription drug not in its proper container, two counts of carrying a concealed deadly weapon, disregarding a traffic control device and improper turning, said Darin Kelly, a spokesman for the Lexington jail. Kelly said the police report listed the controlled substance as Endocet, which is a painkiller. Montgomery was arrested early Thursday after being pulled over at an intersection in the south end of town.
Columnist's amputation
WASHINGTON -- Columnist and novelist Art Buchwald is in a Washington-area hospice after having part of his leg amputated, his assistant said. Cathy Crary said Thursday the leg was amputated below the knee because it wasn't getting enough blood because of a vascular condition. She said the 80-year-old Buchwald also has a kidney problem but wasn't undergoing dialysis. He won a Pulitzer prize for commentary in 1982.
Surprise! It's Bill, Oprah
SAN DIEGO -- Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates and talk-show host Oprah Winfrey visited a high school here, surprising some of its students. Gates and his wife, Melinda, spent about three hours Wednesday at San Diego High School and met with nine students for a coming segment of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" about the billionaire's school reform efforts. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gave $11 million to the San Diego Unified School District in 2003 to reform three large high schools, said Music McCall, a spokeswoman for the district.
Today's birthdays
Bandleader Orrin Tucker is 95. Actor Hal Holbrook is 81. Singer Bobby Lewis is 73. Country singer-songwriter Johnny Bush is 71. Football Hall-of-Famer Jim Brown is 70. Actress Mary Ann Mobley is 67. Singer Gene Pitney is 65. Actor Richard Karn is 50. Actor Lou Diamond Phillips is 44. Basketball player Michael Jordan is 43. Actor-comedian Larry the Cable Guy is 43. Movie director Michael Bay is 42. Singer Chante Moore is 39. Rock musician Timothy J. Mahoney (311) is 36. Actress Denise Richards is 35. Rock singer-musician Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) is 34. Actor Jason Ritter ("Joan of Arcadia") is 26. TV personality Paris Hilton is 25. Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is 25.
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