Jennifer Hudson stars in holiday TV special

Jennifer Hudson stars in holiday TV special

NEW YORK — Jennifer Hudson returns to her hometown of Chicago for an ABC prime-time special, “Jennifer Hudson: I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” that will air in December.

The network says the 28-year-old singer-actress will share childhood memories of the music, people and places that set the stage for her career.

Musical performances will be filmed on location throughout the city.

Hudson, who gained fame first as a top contender on “American Idol,” won an Oscar for her role in “Dreamgirls” and a Grammy for best R&B album for her self-titled debut CD.

The network says a date and time for the hourlong music special hasn’t yet been scheduled.

Harvard acquires Updike’s papers

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard University has acquired the manuscripts, correspondences and other papers of two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Updike, a member of the university’s class of 1954.

The Boston Globe reports that Harvard’s Houghton Library, the university’s primary repository for rare books and manuscripts, will house the John Updike archive. Officials did not disclose how much Harvard paid for the papers.

An official announcement is expected Wednesday.

Leslie Morris, curator of modern books and manuscripts at Houghton Library, says the collection includes 1,500 books, including Updike’s collection of his own work, as well as books Updike reviewed, photographs and correspondence from Kurt Vonnegut, Joyce Carol Oates and others.

Updike died in January at age 76.

Today’s birthdays

Actor Paul Hogan is 70. Actor-comedian Chevy Chase is 66. Author R.L. Stine (“Goosebumps”) is 66. Actress Sigourney Weaver is 60. Singer Robert “Kool” Bell of Kool and the Gang is 59. Comedian Darrell Hammond (“Saturday Night Live”) is 54. Actress Stephanie Zimbalist is 53. Actor-screenwriter Matt Damon is 39. Actor Angus T. Jones (“Two and a Half Men”) is 16.