Glitter to appeal sentence

Glitter to appeal sentence
HANOI, Vietnam -- Gary Glitter has decided to appeal his three-year sentence for child molestation, his lawyer said Thursday.
Glitter, 61, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, was found guilty of committing obscene acts with a 10-year-old girl and an 11-year-old girl at his rented seaside villa in southern Vung Tau last year. He was convicted and sentenced March 3 at a court in Vung Tau province.
"He told me he was innocent so he has to appeal to clear this matter," lawyer Le Thanh Kinh said Thursday.
Kinh said that he met with the former glam rocker at Phuoc Co prison Wednesday and that Glitter signed the appeal petition, which will be forwarded to the appeals court in Ho Chi Minh City.
Glitter, a 1970s pop icon in Britain famed for his sequined jumpsuits, platform heels and bouffant wigs, sported a more conservative look for his trial: black clothes and a red bandanna on his head that he removed inside the court.
Richard Pryor artworkauctioned for charity
SOUTH RUSSELL, Ohio -- A ceramic bowl painted by Richard Pryor is being auctioned on the Internet for an animal welfare organization.
Pryor sent the bowl to the Geauga Humane Society weeks before his death Dec. 10. The actor-comedian, who was 65, died of a heart attack. He had been ill for years with multiple sclerosis.
His profanely personal insights into race relations made him one of Hollywood's biggest stars.
He painted a self-portrait inside the bowl with the words, "Little Black Man in Big White World." The side of the bowl has Pryor's signature and drawings of a martini glass, lips and a cigarette.
With three days left in the auction Wednesday, the bowl had received a top bid of $709.
South Russell is about 20 miles east of Cleveland.
Ritter family settles suit
LOS ANGELES -- The family of late actor John Ritter has reached a tentative settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit against Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, where the actor died, an attorney for the hospital said.
"There is an agreement in principle," attorney Rory Hernandez told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "But we still have to follow the legal procedure." Hearings will be held to finalize the agreement, he said, with the next court session set for today.
Hernandez declined to disclose details of the settlement. The hospital will issue a statement in several weeks, he said.
Ritter's widow, Amy Yasbeck, and Ritter's four children accused the hospital of negligence when they filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Sept. 3, 2004. Ritter, star of the sitcom "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter," collapsed on the set of the TV show Sept. 11, 2003. The 54-year-old actor was admitted to the hospital complaining of chest pain, nausea, vomiting and dizziness. He died later that night. Doctors said Ritter died of an aortic aneurysm.
Kanye West plans film
LOS ANGELES -- Kanye West is bringing his music -- and himself -- to the big screen.
The Grammy-winning rapper has joined with New Line Cinema and the production company Anonymous Content to develop a film inspired by his music, New Line announced Wednesday.
West also will appear in the film, a multiperspective look at life in America through the eyes of West and various writers and directors.
Today's Birthdays
The former national chairwoman of the NAACP, Myrlie Evers-Williams, is 73. Rock musician Paul Kantner is 65. Singer-songwriter Jim Weatherly is 63. Singer-songwriter John Sebastian (The Lovin' Spoonful) is 62. Rock musician Harold Brown (War) is 60. Actor Patrick Duffy is 57. Actor Kurt Russell is 55. Country singer Susie Allanson is 54. Actress Lesley-Anne Down is 52. Country singer Paul Overstreet is 51. Actor Gary Sinise is 51. Actress Vicki Lewis is 46. Actor Casey Siemaszko is 45. Writer-director Rob Sitch is 44. Actor Rob Lowe is 42. Rock singer Billy Corgan is 39. Rock musician Van Conner (Screaming Trees) is 39. Actor Mathew St. Patrick ("Six Feet Under") is 38. Actor Yanic Truesdale is 37. Rock musician Melissa Auf der Maur is 34. Rock musician Caroline Corr (The Corrs) is 33. Actress Marisa Coughlan is 32. Singer Stephen Gately is 30. Rapper Swifty (D12) is 29.