Publisher Alfred Knopf dies at age 90

February 17, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

NEW YORK — Noted New York publisher Alfred A. Knopf Jr. has died at age 90.

Knopf’s wife, Alice, says he died Saturday of complications from a fall in mid-January.

Knopf was the only child of Alfred Knopf and Blanche Wolf Knopf, giants in the field of publishing. He left his parents’ company, Alfred A. Knopf Inc., in 1959 to co-found Atheneum Publishers.

Among Atheneum’s releases were Theodore White’s “The Making of the President, 1960” and Edward Albee’s play “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

Knopf retired from publishing in 1988.

Salma Hayek marries French magnate

PARIS — Salma Hayek picked a romance-lover’s ideal time and place for her wedding: Valentine’s Day in Paris.

The Mexican-born actress wed French magnate Francois-Henri Pinault in a civil ceremony Saturday at the City Hall in Paris’ chic 6th arrondissement, according to an official there.

The wedding was a small affair, said the official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, in accordance with policy.

The nuptials followed a rocky romance. The two met in Italy in 2006, announced their engagement and had a baby, Valentina Paloma, in September 2007. Last year they broke off their engagement but made up a few months later.

Hayek, 42, was nominated for an Oscar in 2003 for the film “Frida,” the biography of the painter Frida Kahlo, which she produced and starred in. She is one of the executive producers of the hit series “Ugly Betty” and is also the chief executive of Ventanazul, a production company she formed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.

Pinault, 46, is chief executive of the French luxury and retail group PPR SA, which owns high-end labels such as Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Puma.

Timberlake tops ‘stylish men’ list

NEW YORK — Justin Timberlake wins style props in the March issue of GQ magazine.

The magazine picked the entertainer to lead a list of the “10 Most Stylish Men in America.” It singled out Timberlake for his impact on fashion, willingness to take risks and “knack for targeting trends” such as hats, three-piece suits, skinny ties and beards.

Timberlake, who launched his clothing line William Rast several years ago, tells GQ he considers model Kate Moss a style icon because she “could put a barrel on and it would be some sort of statement.”

It irks the 28-year-old heartthrob when an entire outfit revolves around a hat, and he’d never wear an argyle sweater vest off the golf course. He prefers to keep it simple, clotheswise.

Other “Stylish Men” include Kanye West, T.I., Jason Schwartzman, hotelier Andre Balazs and photographer Alexi Lubomirski.

Today’s birthdays

Actor Hal Holbrook is 84. Singer Bobby Lewis is 76. Comedian Dame Edna (Barry Humphries) is 75. Country singer-songwriter Johnny Bush is 74. Actress Mary Ann Mobley is 70. Actress Brenda Fricker is 64. Actress Rene Russo is 55. Actor Richard Karn (“Home Improvement”) is 53. Comedian Larry the Cable Guy is 46. Actor Dominic Purcell (“Prison Break”) is 39. Actress Denise Richards is 38. Singer-guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day is 37. Actor Jerry O’Connell is 35. Country singer Bryan White is 35. Actor Jason Ritter (“Joan of Arcadia”) is 29. Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt (”3rd Rock from the Sun”) is 28.