newsmakers

newsmakers

Clinton, Minnelli at Hamlisch funeral

NEW YORK

Friends and admirers of Marvin Hamlisch including Bill Clinton and Ann-Margret gathered Tuesday in New York City to bid farewell to the celebrated songwriter hailed as “the people’s composer.”

Clinton called Hamlisch, whose coffin was covered in yellow flowers, a “great, giving genius.”

Hamlisch died Aug. 6 in Los Angeles at age 68.

Other guests included Liza Minnelli, ex-Yankee manager Joe Torre, Idina Mazel, Kelli O’Hara, Raul Esparza, Leslie Uggams, Richard Gere and Tony Danza.

Hamlisch composed or arranged hundreds of scores for musicals and movies, including “A Chorus Line” on Broadway and the films “The Sting,” “Sophie’s Choice,” “Ordinary People” and “The Way We Were.”

‘Dog’ denied visa to UK

HONOLULU

Duane “Dog” Chapman has his bags packed for London, but a murder conviction from the late 1970s is keeping him out of the United Kingdom.

The reality-television star from the show “Dog the Bounty Hunter” says he was scheduled to appear on “Celebrity Big Brother” there but was denied a visa.

The denial is based on his 1977 murder conviction in Texas. He said Monday he was found guilty of murder even though his role in the crime was being outside when a friend got into an argument with a marijuana dealer. He was paroled after 18 months of his five-year sentence.

Vindicator wire services