newsmakers

newsmakers

‘American Idol’ drops Warren contestant

HOLLYWOOD

Shane Golden of Warren appeared this week on the TV show “American Idol,” now in its 10th series.

The Warren native got involved with the show after winning the Youngstown “Idol “competition in July at Eastwood Mall in Niles. The 25-year-old Golden sang R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly,” in the FOX Youngstown-sponsored competition to advance to an audition before producers in East Rutherford, N.J.

But it was after an audition in Austin, Texas, where the Warren JFK High School graduate became one of 300 contestants who received “golden tickets” to Hollywood to appear on the show.

A promotional video on AmericanIdol.com interviews Golden, in which he says, “What made me audition was the simple fact that I always had a dream of doing something bigger than the ordinary as far as music, singing is concerned.”

He advanced through Hollywood Group night, but “American Idol” Thursday ended with an announcement that Golden would not be among the 50 to advance in the show.

‘Seinfeld’ actor Len Lesser dies

LOS ANGELES

Len Lesser, the veteran character actor best known for his scene- stealing role as Uncle Leo on “Seinfeld,” died Wednesday. He was 88.

Lesser’s family said in a statement that he died in Burbank, Calif., from cancer-related pneumonia.

Lesser’s lengthy list of television credits included parts on “Get Smart,” “That Girl,” “The Munsters,” “The Monkees,” “The Rockford Files,” “thirtysomething,” “ER,” and “Everybody Loves Raymond,” which featured Lesser in a recurring role as the arm-shaking Garvin. His film credits included “Outlaw Josey Wales,” “Kelly’s Heroes,” “Birdman of Alcatraz” and “Death Hunt.”

Wax museum makes room for presidents

WASHINGTON

A new gallery opening in Washington will show wax figures of all 44 U.S. presidents together in the nation’s capital for the first time. Madame Tussauds wax museum opened a $2 million revamped attraction Thursday. It hopes to increase its appeal to tourists and school groups by pushing presidents over pop stars.

Tussauds created 28 new wax presidents, many based on paintings or historical accounts when photos weren’t available.

Letterman duped on booking of Lohan

NEW YORK

Maybe “Late Show With David Letterman” should present the Top Ten ways it should be more careful booking its guests.

Just hours after CBS announced Tuesday that Lindsay Lohan would appear on Thursday’s show to present the Top Ten list, Lohan tweeted: “I am NOT going to be doing David Letterman, I’m not sure how this happened, but I am sorry for the confusion ...”

Wednesday morning, a spokesman for Letterman’s production company acknowledged that “Late Show” had been duped.

“We made a mistake,” said Worldwide Pants’ Tom Keaney in a statement. “Someone purporting to be a friend of Lindsay’s reached out to the show yesterday, allegedly on her behalf, and booked her to appear.

“Clearly, this person was not authorized to make commitments on her behalf,” the statement continued. “We wish Lindsay well, and look forward to having her on the show in the future.”

Vindicator wire services