FORMER 'LATE NIGHT' SIDEKICK TO STAR IN PILOT

Former 'Late Night' sidekick to star in pilot
NEW YORK -- Former "Late Night" sidekick Andy Richter will get to hog the spotlight in an NBC pilot, thanks to former partner Conan O'Brien. Richter, O'Brien's easygoing foil for seven years until leaving the NBC talker in 2000, will star in "Andy Barker P.I.," a detective comedy. O'Brien co-wrote and is executive producing the show, "Late Night" spokesman Marc Liepis said Tuesday. Richter, 39, will play an accountant who rents an office previously used by a private investigator and then becomes a reluctant sleuth when his accounting business goes dry, Liepis said. O'Brien had Richter in mind from the start for the project, being produced by his Conaco Productions and NBC Universal. He wrote the pilot with Jonathan Groff, former head writer of "Late Night," Liepis said. Richter starred in two Fox sitcoms that were canceled after only one season -- "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" and "Quintuplets."
Stone visits Holy Land,promotes peace efforts
TEL AVIV, Israel -- Sharon Stone is ready to do her part for Mideast peace: The "Basic Instinct" actress said she "would kiss just about anybody" to end the Israel-Arab conflict. She arrived in Israel on Tuesday for a five-day trip sponsored by the Peres Center for Peace, founded by Nobel Peace laureate Shimon Peres in 1996 to improve relations with Arabs. It's her first visit to the Holy Land. Stone, joined by Peres at a news conference, said she couldn't solve the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, but could use her fame to help encourage peace efforts. "I would kiss just about anybody for peace in the Middle East," she said Wednesday, drawing laughter from a throng of Israeli reporters. Stone playfully turned down calls to give Peres a peck on the cheek. Noting it was International Women's Day, Stone suggested that more women become involved in the male-dominated world of Mideast peace talks.
Boy George to enterdrug rehab program
NEW YORK -- Boy George, in a plea bargain deal that spared him possible jail time, agreed to enter a drug rehabilitation program and perform community service to resolve his arrest last year on a cocaine charge. The former pop star, whose real name is George O'Dowd, entered his guilty plea Wednesday in Manhattan Criminal Court to third-degree false reporting of an incident. He only spoke to answer questions from Judge Anthony Ferrara with a simple "yes." Under the deal, O'Dowd will enter a drug program in England and perform five days of community service in Manhattan. He will pay a $1,000 fine and must avoid arrest on any charges over the next six months. He must return to court June 9 with written proof of his stay in a rehabilitation program. O'Dowd had a previous drug history, including a 1986 heroin possession arrest after two of his friends overdosed. O'Dowd entered a rehab program then.
Singer breezes throughdrug sentence review
LONDON -- Pete Doherty, the lead singer of Babyshambles, breezed through a review of his sentence for possessing hard drugs, despite twice failing drug tests last month. "You're doing quite well but you need to keep it up," Magistrate Jane McIvor told the 26-year-old rocker Wednesday. "I will see you in five weeks." On Feb. 8, Doherty, who rose to fame with The Libertines, was sentenced to 12 months of community service and ordered to undergo a drug rehabilitation program. He was warned that he could be sent to jail if he didn't comply with the rehab order. During his brief appearance in Thames Magistrates Court, there was no mention of his Feb. 27 arrest in Birmingham on suspicion of car theft and possessing hard drugs, nor of the additional drug charges lodged against him Tuesday by police in London. Doherty, clad in a suit, navy sweater, button-down white shirt and white shoes and clutching a black fedora, briefly hugged fans assembled outside the east London court and joked with reporters about his recent troubles. Upon leaving court, he quickly lit a cigarette and hurried to a waiting car. The Babyshambles singer, who is the ex-boyfriend of supermodel Kate Moss, appeared restless during his brief court appearance Wednesday.
Today's birthdays
Author Mickey Spillane is 88. Singer-actress Keely Smith is 74. Singer Lloyd Price is 73. Actress Joyce Van Patten is 72. Actor-comedian Marty Ingels is 70. Country singer Mickey Gilley is 70. "Good Morning America" host Charles Gibson is 63. Chess player Bobby Fischer is 63. Actress Jaime Lyn Bauer is 57. Magazine editor Michael Kinsley is 55. Newscaster Faith Daniels is 49. Actress Linda Fiorentino is 46. Actress Juliette Binoche is 42. Actor Emmanuel Lewis is 35. Actress Jean Louisa Kelly is 34. Rapper Chingy is 26. Actress Brittany Snow is 20. Rapper Bow Wow is 19. Actor Luis Armand Garcia is 14.