NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

Seacrest still king of New Year’s Eve

NEW YORK

Ryan Seacrest is still the king of New Year’s Eve.

ABC devoted its entire prime-time schedule last Tuesday to Seacrest’s “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.” During the 10 p.m. hour as the ball dropping came near, Seacrest’s show averaged 12.2 million viewers, according to the Nielsen Co. By contrast, Carson Daly’s show on NBC at the same hour had 5.7 million viewers.

Here are prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Dec. 30-Jan. 5. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.

1. NFL Playoffs: New Orleans at Philadelphia, NBC, 34.36 million.

2. “NFL Pregame Show,” NBC, 32.7 million.

3. “NFL Postgame Show,” Fox, 27.16 million.

4. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 19.2 million.

5. Rose Bowl: Stanford vs. Michigan St., ESPN, 18.64 million.

6. “Rose Bowl Post-Game Show,” ESPN, 17.45 million.

7. Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Alabama, ESPN, 16.34 million.

8. “Rose Bowl Pre-Game Show,” ESPN, 12.4 million.

9. “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” ABC, 12.19 million.

10. Orange Bowl: Clemson vs. Ohio St., ESPN, 11.4 million.

Ex-Miss Venezuela slain in robbery

CARACAS, VENEZUELA

A former Miss Venezuela and her ex-husband were shot and killed and their 5-year-old daughter was wounded after they resisted robbers by locking the doors of their broken-down car, police said Tuesday.

The slaying of Monica Spear, 29, a popular soap-opera actress, and Thomas Henry Berry, a 39-year-old British citizen, was the latest high-profile crime in a country where killings are common in armed robberies and where rampant kidnapping has ensnared even foreign ambassadors and professional baseball players.

Spear and Berry were slain late Monday near Puerto Cabello, the country’s main port, while headed to Caracas.

Actress Zapata dies

LOS ANGELES

Emmy-nominated actress Carmen Zapata, who started a foundation to promote Hispanic writers because jobs were so scarce, has died of heart problems, colleagues say. She was 86.

Zapata died Sunday at her Van Nuys-area home, said Luis Vela, marketing manager for the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts in LA.

Zapata started her career in 1945 in the Broadway musical “Oklahoma” and went on to perform in “Bells Are Ringing,” “Guys and Dolls” and many plays. Her movie credits include “Sister Act,” “Gang Boys” and “Carola.”

Associated Press