Newsmakers

newsmakers

‘Dallas’ star Hagman auctions memorabilia

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.

J.R. wasn’t selling oil this time. He was selling himself. He still made a pretty penny.

Larry Hagman, who played the cold, conniving oil baron J.R. Ewing on the beloved 1980s series “Dallas,” auctioned off many of his personal valuables Saturday in Beverly Hills.

Caroline Galloway of Julien’s Auctions said a silver saddle was the priciest item sold, fetching $80,000.

Other big items included a portrait of Hagman’s co-star Jim Davis that went for more than $38,000, a replica bottle from Hagman’s earlier series “I Dream of Jeannie” that brought in more than $10,000, and a pair of pistols that fetched more than $4,000.

The 79-year-old Hagman put in an appearance, describing items to the crowd then sitting in the audience during bidding.

The collection brought in more than $500,000.

Fire destroys country star Adkins’ home

BRENTWOOD, Tenn.

Country-music star Trace Adkins lost his home to a fire Saturday afternoon.

Adkins’ spokeswoman said in a statement to The Associated Press that the singer and actor was headed to Alaska to perform when his house caught fire.

His wife, Rhonda, and their daughters were not injured.

Fire officials told The Tennessean newspaper that Adkins’ home in this suburb south of Nashville was a total loss. The blaze was reported at 3:35 p.m., and firefighters responded within minutes.

“Trace wishes to express his gratitude for the immediate response of the Brentwood Fire Department and is humbled by the outpouring of concern from friends and fans,” Adkins spokeswoman Tiffany Shipp said in an email.

Adkins is scheduled to play the CMA Music Festival Saturday.

‘X-Men’ prequel off to a slower start

LOS ANGELES

Young X-Men don’t have the same box-office superpowers as their older selves.

“X-Men: First Class” had a solid No. 1 opening with a $56 million weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

But the 20th Century Fox prequel chronicling the formative years of the comic-book mutants found smaller audiences than the franchise’s first four big-screen adventures, which featured older versions of the X-Men.

Debut weekends for the past three “X-Men” flicks ranged from $85.1 million to $102.8 million. The original “X-Men” opened 11 years ago with $54.5 million, but that would amount to about $80 million today adjusting for ticket-price inflation.

Fox distribution executive Chris Aronson said the studio achieved its goal of opening the prequel at about the same revenue numbers as the original “X-Men.”

“This is just an excellent start in launching a brand new chapter of the ‘X-Men’ franchise,” said Aronson, dismissing comparisons to the $85.1 million debut of Hugh Jackman’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” in 2009.

“You can’t compare this one to any of the other ‘X-Men’ movies, except maybe” the first one, Aronson said. “Something like ‘Wolverine’ is a totally unfair comparison because that had a bonafide worldwide star in Hugh Jackman and arguably the most popular character in the ‘X-Men’ stable.”

The prequel presents a rising cast of new talent rather than the established stars of the franchise’s previous chapters.

“X-Men: First Class” features James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as Marvel Comics mutants Professor X and Magneto, roles originated by Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen in the characters’ older years.

Associated Press