NEWS MAKERS

May 25, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

NEWS MAKERS

Police: Slipknot bassist found dead in hotel

URBANDALE, Iowa

Police say metal band Slipknot bassist Paul Gray has been found dead in an Iowa hotel room.

Police say a hotel employee found the 38-year-old Gray dead Monday in a room at the Town Plaza Hotel in Urbandale, a suburb of Des Moines. Foul play isn’t suspected. An autopsy is planned for Tuesday.

A person who answered the phone at the band’s record company, Roadrunner Records, declined comment. Most of the band’s members grew up in the Des Moines area.

Slipknot’s self-titled debut in 1999 sold more than a million copies.

Known for its grotesque masks, the band won a Grammy in 2006 for best metal performance for the song “Before I Forget.” Concert industry trade publication Pollstar ranked Slipknot 18th in its Top 20 Concert Tours list in 2009.

‘Apprentice’ winner completes comeback

NEW YORK

Bret Michaels made it to the finish line Sunday of “The Celebrity Apprentice” despite life-threatening illness and was rewarded with victory and $250,000 for charity. “You’ve done an amazing job in every single way,” Donald Trump said before announcing his choice on a live segment of NBC’s reality show. “A little flaky, but that’s OK. ... You’ve also proven ... to be very brave. I appreciate that.”

The other finalist, actress Holly Robinson Peete, has been “amazing,” Trump said, and then rendered his decision. “Holly, I have to tell you, we all love you. And Brett, I have to tell you — you’re hired,” Trump pronounced, drawing a lusty “whoop” from Michaels.

Michaels’ appearance on the finale, which included live and taped segments, had been in question after he suffered a brain hemorrhage in April and was hospitalized again recently after suffering what doctors called a warning stroke. He faces surgery for a hole in his heart.

Trump didn’t downplay the drama involving Michaels’ health, asking the 47-year-old rock star of Poison fame if he was risking his life by coming on the finale against his doctors’ advice. “Lately it seems like me just standing me up is risking my life,” Michaels replied.

Lindsay Lohan in ankle bracelet

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.

Lindsay Lohan left court Monday with a heavy new piece of jewelry, but it wasn’t her favorite kind of bling. Lohan sported an ugly, alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelet that came with tough restrictions on her probation that could cut into her career plans.

The measures were ordered after Lohan angered Superior Court Judge Marsha Revel by failing to show up for a hearing last week in Beverly Hills and instead attended the Cannes Film Festival in France.

Photos from Cannes showed the actress partying on a yacht into the late hours on the day she was supposed to be in court in Beverly Hills. A bench warrant was issued for her arrest then lifted when her lawyer posted bail and Lohan flew back to the United States over the weekend. Lohan’s lawyer said the actress had her passport stolen in Canne and couldn’t travel in time to attend the hearing.

Brittany Murphy’s husband found dead

LOS ANGELES

The husband of Brittany Murphy was found dead late Sunday at the Los Angeles home he shared with the late actress, police said.

The preliminary cause of British screenwriter Simon Monjack’s death is natural causes, police spokesman Sgt. Louie Lozano said. Lineup announced to honor McCartney

WASHINGTON

The Jonas Brothers, Faith Hill, Stevie Wonder and Jerry Seinfeld are among an all-star lineup that will honor Paul McCartney next month at the White House. McCartney will receive the third Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from the Library of Congress. It will be presented at a concert June 2 in the East Room of the White House. Performers announced Monday also will include White Stripes singer and guitarist Jack White.

, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello and others. The concert for McCartney will be televised July 28 nationwide on PBS.

Ringo to kick off PBS music series

NEW YORK

Ringo Starr kicks off a second season of the public television series “Live From the Artists Den” with a performance that will be shown the week of his 70th birthday. The series captures artists in intimate, unusual settings. The former Beatle’s concert will air on PBS stations the week of July 5 at different times in different markets, the series distributor, American Public Television, said Monday. Starr performs with Ben Harper and Harper’s band in a show taped at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Starr turns 70 on July 7.