NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

Jackson’s son says father feared promoter

LOS ANGELES

Michael Jackson’s elder son says his father was excited about going back on tour before his death but wasn’t happy about the terms of the ill-fated shows.

Prince Jackson told jurors Wednesday that his father wanted more time to rehearse and had several tense phone conversations with promoters of his “This Is It” shows.

He said his father would cry after some of the conversations and told Prince that he was afraid of AEG.

The 16-year-old is the first member of the Jackson family to testify in a negligence lawsuit against concert promoter AEG Live LLC over the pop superstar’s death four years ago.

Devo drummer dies of brain cancer

The longtime former drummer of the band Devo, best known for the 1980 song “Whip It,” has died after a battle with brain cancer. He was 58.

Alan Myers died Monday in Los Angeles, where he lived.

Devo spokesman Michael Pilmer confirmed the death Wednesday.

Myers was the band’s drummer from 1976 to 1985, during Devo’s heyday.

Devo was formed in Akron in the early 1970s by Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh.

‘Laverne & Shirley’ stars reunite on Nick

LOS ANGELES

The leading ladies of “Laverne & Shirley” are reuniting.

Nickelodeon said Wednesday that Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams will guest star in an episode of its new sitcom “Sam & Cat.”

The actresses starred as 1950s and ’60s pals and roommates Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney, workers in a Milwaukee brewery.

The sitcom aired from 1976 to 1983 on ABC.

“Sam & Cat” features Jennette McCurdy and Ariana Grande as friends who start a baby-sitting business.

Nickelodeon says Marshall and Williams will start filming Wednesday.

They play characters involved in a decades-old feud, tweaking the long-ago rumors of a “Laverne & Shirley” rivalry.

“Sam & Cat” creator Dan Schneider says it was an honor to write for what he called TV’s” funniest female roommates” ever.

Elvis’ Cadillac among items at Calif. auction

MEMPHIS, Tenn.

Elvis Presley’s Cadillac, Steve McQueen’s old truck and prescription sun- glasses worn by John Lennon are among hundreds of items once owned by celebrities that are scheduled to be auctioned in California next month.

The Mecum Auction Company said Wednesday it will be displaying and auctioning about 2,000 pieces of celebrity-related memorabilia in Santa Monica, Calif., on July 26-27.

Mecum, which specializes in the sale of collector cars, says one of the auction’s highlights will be Elvis’ 1972 Cadillac Custom Estate Wagon.

“The King of Rock ’n’ Roll” owned the car from 1972 until his death in 1977, according to Mecum’s website.

The car was kept in the Las Vegas home of Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis’ manager, and then at the Las Vegas Hilton.

It was later sent to Graceland, Elvis’ longtime Memphis home, before the car was auctioned off with other Elvis possessions in 1999, according to Mecum.

Vindicator wire services