Ringo walks off set of ‘Regis and Kelly’

Ringo walks off set
of ‘Regis and Kelly’

NEW YORK — Ringo Starr is known for being the amiable Beatle, but the rock star showed his tough side Tuesday when he walked off the set of “Live With Regis and Kelly” rather than cut short one of his songs. Starr, who is promoting his new album, “Liverpool 8,” planned to perform the title song with fellow rocker Dave Stewart. However, due to miscommunication between his publicist, Elizabeth Freund, and the musical director, Starr didn’t realize the performance had to be 21⁄2 minutes or less, Freund told The Associated Press. When told Tuesday morning that the performance had to be shortened, Freund said Starr tried to cut about a minute of the song’s 4 minute, 15 second length, down to 3 minutes and 30 seconds. However, according to Freund, producer Michael Gellman said it had to be less than 3 minutes. “We offered to cut back our chat time and asked them to fade or go to commercial. They were not willing to do that and Ringo was not willing to cut it further, so without a compromise we were not able to stay,” Freund said in a statement to The Associated Press. “Ringo left saying, ‘God bless and goodbye. We still love Regis.”’

Winehouse caught
smoking before court

NEW YORK — A video of Amy Winehouse shows the Grammy-nominated singer smoking ... something. In grainy footage obtained by British tabloid The Sun, Winehouse, 24, is seen inhaling fumes from some sort of pipe reportedly hours before showing up for husband Blake Fielder-Civil’s court appearance in London on Friday. Winehouse, who dyed her hair blond and ditched her signature black hair done up in a beehive hairdo, can be seen walking around. She sits down and, before lighting the pipe, can be heard saying that she’s “had about six Valium.” On the wall behind her is a photo of Winehouse and Fielder-Civil. Her publicist, Tracey Miller, declined to comment Tuesday. Universal Records didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail and phone call from The Associated Press seeking comment. Winehouse — with her erratic behavior — has fed the tabloids a consistent diet of melodrama in recent months thanks to lackluster performances, reports of alleged drug use and her relationship with Fielder-Civil.

Today’s birthdays

Actress Chita Rivera is 75. Rhythm-and-blues singer Jerry Lawson (The Persuasions) is 64. Singer Anita Pointer is 60. Actor Richard Dean Anderson is 58. Rock musician Danny Federici (Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band) is 58. Rock singer Robin Zander (Cheap Trick) is 55. Princess Caroline of Monaco is 51. Singer Anita Baker is 50. Reggae musician Earl Falconer (UB40) is 49. Actress Gail O’Grady is 45. Actress Mariska Hargitay is 44. Actress Tiffani Thiessen is 34.