Woody Harrelson's father dies in federal prison

Woody Harrelson's fatherdies in federal prison
DENVER -- Actor Woody Harrelson's father, Charles Harrelson, died in the Supermax federal prison where he was serving two life sentences for the murder of a federal judge, officials said Wednesday.
Charles Harrelson, 69, was found unresponsive in his cell on March 15 and apparently died of natural causes, said Felicia Ponce, a Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman in Washington.
Charles Harrelson was convicted of murder in the May 29, 1979, slaying of U.S. District Judge John Wood Jr. outside his San Antonio, Texas, home. Prosecutors said a drug dealer hired him to kill Wood because he did not want the judge to preside at his upcoming trial.
Harrelson denied the killing, saying he was in Dallas, 270 miles away, at the time. He was transferred to Supermax, the highest-security federal prison, after attempting to break out of an Atlanta federal prison in 1995. Other inmates at Supermax, about 90 miles south of Denver, include Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski, Oklahoma City bombing co-conspirator Terry Nichols and Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph.
Woody Harrelson was just 7 when his father was first sent to prison, for murdering a Texas businessman. He was in college when his father was convicted of the judge's assassination.
Horror film ads pulled
LOS ANGELES -- A series of advertisements for the upcoming horror film "Captivity" have been pulled after public outrage over graphic images depicting kidnapping and murder.
The posters, which went up March 13, portrayed star Elisha Cuthbert being tortured and killed. They appeared on 30 LA billboards and 1,400 New York taxi tops.
The distributor, Lionsgate Films, and its producing partner, After Dark Films, decided to pull the ads after receiving an onslaught of phone calls objecting to them.
"Captivity," from director Roland Joffe, is scheduled for release May 18.
Philbin leaves hospital
NEW YORK -- Kelly Ripa says Regis Philbin, her co-host on "Live With Regis and Kelly," is back home after having heart bypass surgery last week.
Ripa revealed on Wednesday's show that Philbin, 75, had been released from the hospital two days ago.
Ripa, 36, said Philbin might call the daytime talk show Friday to give an update on his recovery.
Britney completes rehab
LOS ANGELES -- After nearly a month of seclusion in a luxurious rehabilitation center, Britney Spears has moved on.
The pop star checked out of Promises Malibu Alcohol and Drug Rehab Treatment Facility "after successfully completing their program," Spears' manager, Larry Rudolph, said in a statement released by Jive Records late Tuesday.
He asked that Spears' privacy be respected.
Spears, 25, entered the facility Feb. 22, after a bout of bizarre behavior that included shaving her head, getting tiny lips tattooed on her wrist and beating a car with an umbrella. Photos of the incidents were instantly beamed worldwide.
Spears' activities have been fodder for weekly magazines and entertainment Web sites since she filed for divorce from aspiring rapper Kevin Federline in November, citing irreconcilable differences.
Opera diva wins suit
SYDNEY, Australia -- Opera diva Dame Kiri Te Kanawa prevailed Wednesday in a lawsuit that sought damages from her because she had canceled appearances with an Australian pop singer after learning women threw their underwear at him on stage.
The New South Wales state Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit, which sought up to 1.5 million in damages. Te Kanawa was sued by concert promotion company Leading Edge after the planned concerts in 2005 with singer John Farnham fell through.
Judge Patricia Bergin found there was no binding contract between Te Kanawa at Leading Edge at the time she pulled out of plans for the concerts in Australia and her native New Zealand.
The trial made headlines when the 63-year-old soprano testified she watched a Farnham concert DVD and was disturbed by what she saw. "I was concerned about the knickers or underpants ... being thrown at him and him collecting it and ... holding it in his hands as some sort of trophy," said the singer, whose international performances included the 1981 wedding of Britain's Prince Charles and Diana Spencer.
"How could I, in my classical form, perform in this way?" she told the court in February.
Today's birthdays
Actor Karl Malden is 95. Pantomimist Marcel Marceau is 84. Composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim is 77. Actor William Shatner is 76. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) is 73. Singer-guitarist George Benson is 64. Writer James Patterson is 60. CNN newscaster Wolf Blitzer is 59. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is 59. Sportscaster Bob Costas is 55. Actress Reese Witherspoon is 31.