Betty White ia set for ‘Cleveland’ sitcom

March 17, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

NEW YORK

Betty White’s dance card continues to fill. The legendary comedian-actress has signed to co-star in the TV Land sitcom “Hot in Cleveland.”

White, previously cast only for the pilot, plays the snarky but spry caretaker of the Cleveland home shared by three former L.A. residents played by Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves (leevs) and Wendie Malick (MAH’-lihk). “Hot” is set to start its 10-episode season in June.

The 88-year-old White last week was named to host NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” on May 8, and she’ll guest star on the season finale of the ABC comedy “The Middle,” also airing in May. White, an Emmy winner for “The Golden Girls,” received a lifetime achievement award at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in January.

Tyson gets show on Animal Planet

NEW YORK

Former world heavyweight champ Mike Tyson will take flight on Animal Planet with a new sport — pigeon racing. The network this week announced a new reality show that will pit Tyson, a novice pigeon racer, against serious competitors. The show is currently titled “Taking on Tyson” and promises to bring audiences inside this “intensely competitive and bizarrely fascinating world.”

Tyson has raised pigeons all his life but will take to the rooftops as a racing rookie. The network says he’ll be assisted by a colorful team of pigeon experts as he rears, trains and races them. The show is scheduled to be taped this spring in New York City and air early next year.

Scholar: Play based on Shakespeare

LONDON

A scholar says a play attributed to an 18th century playwright is probably the work of William Shakespeare. University of Nottingham professor Brean Hammond says he can see the Shakespearean DNA in the play “Double Falsehood.” He’s been studying the work since 2002.

The work was written by Lewis Theobald, who had said he based his play on “Cardenio,” Shakespeare’s lost work. After it debuted on stage in 1727, few believed it was the work of the Bard and considered it a literary hoax. Hammond said Tuesday he’s quite certain “Double Falsehood” was born out of “Cardenio.” Arden, the publisher of all Shakespeare’s works, has released an edition of the play, edited by Hammond.