NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

‘Touched by Angel’ actor found dead

SAN FRANCISCO

Actor John Dye, whose career included the role of Andrew, the angel of death, in the long-running television series “Touched by an Angel,” was found dead at his San Francisco home, a medical examiner’s spokesman said Thursday.

Medical examiner’s investigator Charles Cecil said the 47-year-old Dye, a native of Amory, Miss., was found dead Monday.

The cause of death has not been determined, Cecil said, but relatives said Dye suffered apparent heart failure.

A University of Memphis theater major, Dye’s early work included the martial-arts movie “The Best of the Best” and small roles on “Murder, She Wrote” and other television shows. He landed the part of the Angel of Death on “Touched by an Angel” in 1994 and appeared in all nine seasons of the CBS series.

Steve Carell leaving ‘The Office’ early

PASADENA, Calif

Steve Carell will be leaving “The Office” early. The NBC comedy’s executive producer, Greg Daniels, says Carell will be gone before the season-ending episodes in May. The final episodes of the season will focus on the scrambling to replace him at the Scranton branch of the mythical Dunder Mifflin paper company.

Carell had said previously that he was quitting the show to concentrate on his movie career. But NBC plans to press on without him. NBC said Friday that Carell will leave with four episodes left in the season, meaning his farewell episode likely will come in April.

CBS stands by Sheen

PASADENA, Calif.

CBS’ top entertainment executive says the network is concerned about Charlie Sheen’s off-camera behavior but stands by him as the reliable star of a hit show.

CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler told TV reporters Friday that she’s given a great deal of thought to Sheen on a “human level,” including his role as a father. Sheen’s sitcom is a hit, Tassler said, adding, “that’s all I have to say.”

The actor’s messy personal life has included a wild night that left a New York hotel room in tatters and sent Sheen to the hospital and a guilty plea last summer to assaulting his wife in Aspen, Colo.

Associated Press