Pavarotti expected to be released

Pavarotti expected
to be released

ROME — Luciano Pavarotti, who was admitted to the hospital last week with a fever, is expected to be released “imminently” and is in high spirits and ready to resume recording a new album, his spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Doctors have given the tenor the go-ahead to leave the Modena hospital where he has been undergoing tests since last Wednesday, manager Terri Robson said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. The 71-year-old, who underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer last year, was hospitalized in his hometown after a routine examination revealed a high temperature, Robson said.

“He will be leaving hospital imminently,” Robson said. “He is looking forward to getting back to teaching his young singing pupils as soon as he is out of hospital and next month plans to get back into his Modena recording studio to resume work on his new album of sacred songs.”

Robson, who visited Pavarotti on Monday, said he was in “wonderfully high spirits” when she saw him.

Fired cop sues
country music star

LEXINGTON, Ky. — A fired police officer who arrested John Michael Montgomery on a drunken-driving charge has sued the country music star for slander. The Urban County Government fired Joshua Cromer in February in part for postings made on the social networking Web site MySpace.com and for his actions in connection with Montgomery’s arrest in February 2006.

Before the officer’s dismissal, Montgomery was interviewed by the police department’s internal affairs unit. Cromer claims Montgomery, 42, falsely accused him of stealing his cowboy hat during the arrest. His lawsuit also contends Montgomery falsely told police Cromer had targeted him because he is a celebrity, and that Cromer acted inappropriately during the arrest.

Last August, Montgomery entered an Alford plea to the drunken-driving charge, which acknowledges there was enough evidence for a conviction. He was ordered to pay fines and take an alcohol-education course. Cromer is appealing his termination.

‘Dirty Dancing’ stage
show will reach U.S.

CHICAGO — The cult movie classic-turned-theater hit “Dirty Dancing” will make its U.S. premiere next year in Chicago. The musical, officially called “Dirty Dancing — The Classic Story on Stage,” will open Sept. 2, 2008, at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre, officials said. Additional national tour dates and casting will be announced later.

A stage version of the 1987 movie, which continues to have fans repeating the iconic line: “Nobody puts Baby in a corner,” opened in Australia in 2004. Since then, the show has sold out performances in London’s West End and Hamburg, Germany.

The coming-of-age movie is set at a mountain resort and tells the love story of the ambitious-yet-sheltered Frances “Baby” Houseman, who falls in love with Johnny Castle, the camp’s working-class dance instructor. Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze portrayed the roles in the movie.

Pro quarterback Leinart
reaches custody deal

LOS ANGELES — Matt Leinart and ex-girlfriend Brynn Cameron have reached a custody agreement for their 10-month-old son. Details were disclosed to a Los Angeles Superior Court judge during a closed session, their lawyers said Monday.

Leinart is a quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals. “It’s good through the end of the [football] season,” said Leinart’s attorney, Laura Wasser. “We’ve spoken to our client and he’s pleased with it.”

Mel Gibson visits
with Guatemalan leader

GUATEMALA CITY — Mel Gibson dined with Guatemala’s president and admired Mayan murals in the capital’s cultural palace after a weekend jungle visit. The 51-year-old actor-director visited the Palace of Culture on Monday, where President Oscar Berger showed him contemporary murals portraying aspects of Mayan life and the Spanish conquest.

Afterward, the two men had lunch at the presidential palace. Gibson has visited the country many times as a tourist, said Krista Kepfer, a spokeswoman for Berger. “He is very interested in Guatemala as a tourist destination and in the culture,” she said.

Over the weekend, Gibson visited the Mayan ruins of El Mirador deep in the northern Peten jungle, Kepfer said.

Today’s birthdays

Actress Rose Marie is 84. Political activist Phyllis Schlafly is 83. Actor Mike Connors is 82. Author-journalist Linda Ellerbee is 63. Britain’s Princess Anne is 57. Actress Tess Harper is 57. Movie director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (“Babel”) is 44. Actress Debra Messing is 39. Actor Ben Affleck is 35.