NEWSMAKERS: Kellie Pickler marries songwriter

NEWSMAKERS

Kellie Pickler marries songwriter

NASHVILLE, Tenn.

Country singer Kellie Pickler has gotten married.

Her label, BNA Records, says in a statement that she wed songwriter Kyle Jacobs on New Year’s Day. They had a small ceremony on a private island in the Caribbean.

Pickler’s songs include the top-10 hit she co-wrote with Taylor Swift, “Best Days of Your Life,” as well as “Red High Heels,” “Don’t You Know You’re Beautiful” and her most recent single, “Makin’ Me Fall in Love Again.”

Old-man ‘Seinfeld’ actor dies at 96

LOS ANGELES

Character actor Bill Erwin, whose nearly seven-decade Hollywood career included his memorable role as the grumpy old man on television’s “Seinfeld,” has died. He was 96.

Erwin, also known for his role as Arthur the bellman in the 1980 film “Somewhere in Time,” died last Wednesday at his home in suburban Los Angeles’ Studio City, his son Mike Erwin said Tuesday.

Erwin’s Hollywood career dates back to 1941, when he appeared in the movie “You’re in the Army Now.” His scores of credits include roles on “The Twilight Zone,” “Gunsmoke,” “Perry Mason,” “The Golden Girls,” “Growing Pains,” “Wagon Train,” “The Rifleman,” “Who’s the Boss?” and “My Name is Earl.”

But his character Sid Fields on “Seinfeld,” which got him an Emmy nomination in 1993, is perhaps his most-memorable role.

Court: TV can’t be fined for nude shot

NEW YORK

A federal appeals court says the Federal Communications Commission cannot fine broadcasters for showing a woman’s nude buttocks on a 2003 episode of “NYPD Blue.”

The 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan decided Tuesday to strike down a $27,500 penalty that the FCC imposed on ABC and each of its affiliate stations.

The image was broadcast on the police show for less than seven seconds.

Vindicator wire services