NEWSMAKERS | Royal couple name key wedding roles

NEWSMAKERS

Royal couple name key wedding roles

LONDON

Key supporting roles in the royal wedding of the year — if not the decade — were handed out Monday, with Prince Harry named as his brother’s best man and Kate Middleton’s sister Pippa chosen as her maid of honor.

Prince William and his fianc e also named bridesmaids and page boys for the big event, including two 3-year-olds who will be asked to be on their best behavior during the globally televised ceremony.

The announcements by St. James’ Palace made it clear the April 29 wedding at Westminster Abbey will be a family affair that emphasizes the tight bonds between Britain’s youthful princes and between Middleton and her younger sister, the stylish, 27-year-old Pippa Middleton, whose formal name is Philippa.

In the past, royal grooms usually have chosen more than one best man, or supporter as they are sometimes called. But the 28-year-old Prince William has made clear that Prince Harry, 26, offers all the support he needs — so both children of the late Princess Diana will have integral roles in the ceremony.

Grammys ratings sing winning tune for CBS

NEW YORK

The Grammys hit a high note in the ratings Sunday night, drawing the show’s biggest TV audience in a decade.

Preliminary Nielsen figures Monday show the CBS broadcast attracted 26.6 million viewers, improving on last year’s robust audience by 680,000 viewers.

“The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards” also was up by 3 percent in households over last year’s broadcast and dominated its network rivals Sunday.

ABC took the runner-up position for the evening, with NBC and Fox roughly neck-and-neck for third place.

Radiohead puts price on its next album

NEW YORK

Radiohead is releasing its eighth studio album, this time with a price.

The band announced Monday that its latest release, “The King of Limbs,” will be available as early as Saturday. Unlike its last pay-what-you-want album, “In Rainbows,” this one will have a price.

Fans can pre-order an MP3 download for $9 or a higher-quality WAV version for $14. For approximately $50, there’s also an extensive “Newspaper Album” that includes two vinyl records and deluxe packaging.

The band didn’t explain its pricing philosophy this time around. Its “In Rainbows” release in 2007 was seen as radical at the time and generally was viewed as both lucrative and popular.

Blind jazz pianist Shearing dies at 91

NEW YORK

Sir George Shearing, the ebullient jazz pianist who wrote the standard “Lullaby of Birdland” and had a string of hits both with and without his quintet, has died. He was 91.

Shearing, blind since birth, died early Monday morning in Manhattan of congestive heart failure, his longtime manager Dale Sheets said.

“He was a totally one-of-a-kind performer,” said Sheets. “It was something wonderful to see, to watch him work.”

Shearing had been a superstar of the jazz world since a couple of years after he arrived in the United States in 1947 from his native England, where he already was hugely popular. The George Shearing Quintet’s first big hit came in 1949 with a version of songwriter Harry Warren’s “September in the Rain.”

He remained active well into his 80s, releasing a CD called “Lullabies of Birdland” as well as a memoir, “Lullaby of Birdland,” in early 2004. In March of that year, though, he was hospitalized after suffering a fall at his home. It took him months to recover, and he largely retired from public appearances after that.

Michael Vick on Winfrey show

CHICAGO

The NFL star whose name became synonymous with dogfighting is scheduled to be a guest on the “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

The daytime talk-show host’s interview with Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick is set to air Feb. 24.

Officials with Chicago-based Harpo Productions say the interview will cover Vick’s time in prison, his work with the Humane Society and his return to the NFL.

Vick served 18 months in prison over a dogfighting operation based on his property in Surry County, Va. In 2007, several dogs were seized from his property.

He was reinstated to the NFL for the 2009 season and has been doing public-service work, including with the Humane Society.

Vindicator wire services