The Smurfs turn 50

The Smurfs turn 50

BRUSSELS, Belgium — The Smurfs — led by Papa Smurf and Smurfette — kicked off a year of 50th birthday celebrations Monday. The late cartoonist Pierre Culliford — best known by his pen name, “Peyo” — first introduced the tiny blue figures in a comic strip in October 1958. He called them Schtroumpf; they became known worldwide as the Smurfs. The Smurfs, forest dwellers who live in little white-capped mushroom homes, developed their own “Smurf” language in which nouns and verbs were interchanged. Their debut on U.S. television in 1981 launched their global rise to stardom and made the Smurfs a household name. To mark 50 years of Smurfdom, organizers are planning everything from a 3-D animation feature film expected to be released next year to new comic book collections and a remastered release of the popular 1980s television animated series, Peyo’s family said.

Spice girls in Italy

MILAN, Italy — The Spice Girls pepped up the Milan fashion scene Monday when they turned up at Roberto Cavalli’s menswear show to thank him for designing their tour wardrobe. The tour, which began in December, brings all the Spice Girls together for the first time in nearly 10 years. “His clothes make you feel sexy,” said Geri “Ginger Spice” Halliwell, 35, speaking for the pop stars as they sat backstage chatting with reporters before the show began. Their glam Cavalli-designed tour outfits are in bright Swarovski-beaded silk and remain true to the playful styles the Spice Girls favored the first time around: miniskirts, cropped tops and body-clinging jumpsuits. Talking like a gaggle of schoolgirls, they sang the praises of Italian men as “very passionate” and “more stylish” than their British counterparts.

Singers on steroids?

ALBANY, N.Y. — A number of entertainers were named in connection with an Albany-based steroid investigation, but they are not part of an ongoing criminal probe, according to a published report. The Times Union of Albany cited unidentified law enforcement officials in reporting Sunday that R&B music star Mary J. Blige, rap musicians 50 Cent, Timbaland and Wyclef Jean, and award-winning author and producer Tyler Perry may have received or used performance-enhancing drugs. Law enforcement officials have said evidence does not indicate that the celebrities broke the law, but that investigators are focusing on doctors, pharmacists and clinics that provide the drugs. While athletes use steroids and human growth hormone to get bigger, faster and stronger, the drugs can also lure other people with their supposed anti-aging qualities.

Today’s birthdays

Actress Margaret O’Brien is 71. Singer Don Van Vliet (aka “Captain Beefheart”) is 67. Actress Andrea Martin is 61. Actor-director Mario Van Peebles is 51. Actor James Nesbitt is 43. Singer Lisa Lisa (Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam) is 41. Actor Chad Lowe is 40. Actress Regina King is 37. Actor Eddie Cahill is 30. Rapper/reggaeton artist Pitbull is 27.