newsmakers

newsmakers

‘Downton’ star: I haven’t seen the show

NEW YORK

Millions of people have watched Maggie Smith on “Downton Abbey.” But she’s not one of them.

The 78-year-old actress, who portrays Lady Grantham in the popular PBS series, told “60 Minutes” that she hasn’t watched the drama because doing so would only make her agonize over her performance. She said she may watch it someday.

Smith told Steve Kroft, in an interview to be televised Sunday, that what she takes from the role is “the delight of acting.”

She has two Oscars, three Emmys and a Tony Award, but said the “Downton Abbey” role has given her more public recognition than anything in her career.

Grohl leads concert with Nicks, Fogerty

NEW YORK

Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters played house band for Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty and Rick Springfield at a sold-out concert in New York City.

Nicks, Fogerty and Springfield performed at the Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, Calif., in the late 1960s through the early ’90s.

They are the subjects of Grohl’s just-released directorial debut, the documentary “Sound City.”

Grohl kicked things off Wednesday night with Alain Johannes. The crowd at the Hammerstein Ballroom then roared as Lee Ving of Fear, Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick and Brad Wilk of Rage Against the Machine took the stage.

Grohl played guitar and drums, and he sang background during the 25-minute sets.

Miss America heads back to Atlantic City

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.

The Miss America pageant returns to Atlantic City in September after spending six years in Las Vegas.

New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno announced a three-year deal with pageant officials Thursday.

Terms were not available immediately.

Tamagotchi returns, reborn as an app

LOS ANGELES

Tamagotchi is re-hatching as an app.

Bandai America Inc. and Sync Beatz Entertainment are hoping to revive the electronic-pet craze of the 1990s with a new mobile app that launched Thursday for Android devices. The app duplicates the egg-shaped plastic toy that became a must-own sensation after it was first released in 1996 in Japan.

The app, much like the original toy, tasks users with taking care of a virtual pet by pressing buttons that simulate feeding, disciplining and playing with the critter on screen.

Sales of Tamagotchi have cracked the 78 million mark since the toy debuted 16 years ago.

The Tamagotchi app is free, and an edition without ads costs 99 cents. A version for Apple devices will be available later this year.

Vindicator wire services