newsmakers

newsmakers

Jesse James to wed ‘LA Ink’ star

LOS ANGELES

Motorcycle man Jesse James is engaged to tattoo artist Kat Von D. James says he will wed the ‘LA Ink’ star, telling The Associated Press: “It’s true.” No wedding date has been announced.

James and Von D began dating over the summer after his very public split from Oscar winner Sandra Bullock.

The 41-year-old biker, businessman and reality-TV star calls Von D his best friend. Von D, 28, whose real name is Katherine von Drachenberg, says James is “the one.”

James and Bullock were married for five years. Their marriage collapsed amid allegations of infidelity just after Bullock won an Oscar for her role in “The Blind Side.” The couple separated in March, and their divorce was finalized in June.

Rocker Mellencamp files for divorce

NASHVILLE, Ind.

Rocker John Mellencamp has filed for divorce in southern Indiana’s Brown County. The Brown County Clerk’s office tells The Herald-Times of Bloomington that a three-page petition against Elaine Irwin-Mellencamp was filed in Circuit Court on Jan. 14, two weeks after the couple announced that they were splitting after 18 years of marriage.

Irwin-Mellencamp is 59-year-old Mellencamp’s third wife. They married Sept. 5, 1992, and have two teenage sons, Hud and Speck Mellencamp.

Mellencamp and his first wife, Priscilla French, had one daughter, Michelle. Mellencamp has two other daughters, Teddi Jo and Justice, with his second wife, Victoria. The couple divorced in 1990.

Boy George returns icon to church

NICOSIA, Cyprus

Cyprus’ Orthodox Christian Church on Thursday thanked former Culture Club singer Boy George for returning an icon of Christ that it says was stolen from a church in the breakaway north of the divided island. Boy George agreed to return the 18th-century icon he bought from a London art dealer in 1985 after being presented with proof of its true origin, the church said in a statement posted on its website.

“Before this, I had no idea who Boy George was,” Brussels-based Bishop Porfyrios, who led efforts for the icon’s recovery, told The Associated Press. The church said it was alerted about the icon’s whereabouts by an informer who saw the singer with it on a Dutch TV show last November.

Boy George, who said he was unaware of the icon’s history when he bought it, personally handed the icon over to Bishop Porfyrios in London on Tuesday.

Bridges, Baldwin at SAG Awards

LOS ANGELES

The Dude and “30 Rock” boss Jack Donaghy are coming to the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Producers say SAG Award nominees Jeff Bridges and Alec Baldwin will help present prizes at the 17th annual ceremony, along with LL Cool J, Josh Duhamel, Amy Poehler and “Glee” star Cory Monteith.

They will join previously announced presenters Rosario Dawson, Betty White, Eva Longoria, Angie Harmon, Hilary Swank and guild president Ken Howard. The aAwards, honoring the year’s best performances in film and television, will be presented Jan. 30 at the Shrine Exhibition Center in Los Angeles and broadcast live on TNT and TBS.