Death List Members in the News
May 2007
Charles Nelson Reilly
January 2007
Bobby Hamilton
December 2006
Gerald Ford
November 2006
Jack Palance
August 2006
Fidel Castro, Kirk Douglas, John Madden
July 2006
July 30 - Keith Richards
July 29 - Ozzy Osbourne
July 26 - Gerald Ford
July 24 - Tony Stewart
July 23 - Phyllis Diller
July 19 - Keith Richards
July 14 - Gerald Ford
July 12 - Gerald Ford
July 10 - Keith Richards
July 7 - Ozzy Osbourne
July 4 - B.B. King
July 1 - Dale Jarrett
July 1 - Arnold Palmer
May 2006
Keith Richards, David Blaine
April 2006
Tony Stewart, Gerald Ford, B.B. King, Queen Elizabeth, Mickey Rooney, Bob
Barker, Harry Morgan, Charlton Heston, David Blaine, Vin Scully, Muhammad
Ali, Hugh Hefner, Arnold Palmer, Jerry Lewis
March 2006
Courtney Love, Dale Jarrett, Sterling Marlin, Jerry Lewis, Osama Bin Laden,
Queen Elizabeth, Ozzy Osbourne, Gerald Ford
February 2006
Walter Cronkite, Brian Dennehy, Don Knotts, Willie Mays, Vin Scully, Tony
Bennett, Courtney Love, Bob Barker
January 2006
Gerald Ford, Tony Stewart, B.B. King, Walter Cronkite, William Shatner, Courtney
Love, Nick Nolte
December 2005
Richard Pryor, Ozzy Osbourne & Queen Elizabeth, Nick Nolte, Hugh Hefner,
Tony Bennett, Tony Stewart, David Blaine
November 2005
George Michael, Courtney Love, William Shatner, Muhammad Ali
October 2005
Rosa Parks, William Shatner, Joe Namath, B.B. King, Jerry Lewis, Tony Stewart,
Arnold Palmer, Richard Pryor, Jack Klugman, Michael Waltrip, Hugh Hefner,
Dale Jarrett
September 2005
Courtney Love, Ozzy Osbourne, B.B. King, Michael Waltrip, Willie Nelson, Courtney
Love, Jerry Lewis, Arnold Palmer
August 2005
William Shatner, Vin Scully, Ron Popeil, Hugh Hefner, Dale Jarrett, Keith
Richards, Ozzy Osbourne, John Madden, Courtney Love, Richard Pryor, Sterling
Marlin, Tony Stewart, Tony Bennett, Don Knotts, Jerry Lewis
July 2005
Arnold Palmer, Richard Pryor, Courtney Love, Jerry Lewis, Muhammad
Ali, Kirk Douglas, Bob Barker, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Stewart, Dale Jarrett,
Phyllis Diller, Michael Waltrip, Gerald Ford, Mickey Rooney, Jack Klugman,
Keith Richards, Nick Nolte, Rosa Parks, Luther Vandross
June 2005
Jim Otto, Vin Scully, Tony Bennett, Gerald Ford, Tony Stewart, Queen Elizabeth,
Muhammad Ali, Ozzy Osbourne, Jack Klugman, John Madden
May 2005
Michael Waltrip, Queen Elizabeth, Fidel Castro, Tony Stewart, Walter Cronkite,
Arnold Palmer, B.B. King, George Michael, Vin Scully, Keith Richards, Don
Knotts, Brian Dennehy, Michael Waltrip, Wilford Brimley, Ozzy Osbourne, Willie
Mays, Bob Barker, Nick Nolte, Jim Otto
April 2005
Larry Hagman, Richard Pryor, Willie Mays, Phyllis Diller, David Blaine, Tony
Stewart, Queen Elizabeth, Muhammad Ali, Nick Nolte and William Shatner, B.B.
King, Ozzy Osbourne, Rosa Parks, Luther Vandross, Pope John Paul II
March 2005
Ozzy Osbourne, Pope John Paul II, Courtney Love, Phyllis Diller, Vin Scully,
Fidel Castro, Ed Asner, Bob Barker, B.B. King, Arnold Palmer, Keith Richards,
Muhammad Ali, Jack Palance, Jack Klugman, Sterling Marlin, Joe Namath, Charlton
Heston, Jerry Lewis, Horatio Sanz
February 2005
Pope John Paul II, Wilford Brimley, Tony Stewart, Queen Elizabeth, Willie
Nelson, B.B. King, Ozzy Osbourne, Dale Jarrett, Fidel Castro, Phyllis Diller,
Courtney Love, Gerald Ford, Larry Hagman, Rosa Parks, Mickey Rooney, Hugh
Hefner
January 2005
Willie Mays, Ozzy Osbourne, Arnold Palmer, B.B. King, Vin Scully, John Madden,
Johnny Carson, Brian Dennehy, Kirk Douglas, William Shatner, Rosa Parks, Jerry
Lewis, Courtney Love, Pope John Paul II, Willie Nelson, Mickey Rooney, Gerald
Ford, Bob Barker
December 2004
Richard Pryor, Queen Elizabeth, Ozzy Osbourne, Keith Richards, Rosa Parks,
Nick Nolte, Don Knotts
November 2004
Kirk Douglas, Ozzy Osbourne, Arnold Palmer, Jerry Lewis, Larry Hagman, Johnny
Carson, Queen Elizabeth, B.B. King, Muhammad Ali
October 2004
Courtney Love, Keith Richards, Tony Bennett, Fidel Castro, Ernest Borgnine,
Mickey Rooney, Willie Nelson, Jack Klugman, Jack Palance, Pope John Paul II,
Hugh Hefner, Rodney Dangerfield
September 2004
Courtney Love, Arnold Palmer, Rosa Parks, Rodney Dangerfield, Bob Barker,
Nick Nolte, Tony Bennett
August 2004
Arnold Palmer, Rodney Dangerfield, Bob Barker, Brian Dennehy, Ernest Borgnine,
Rosa Parks, Walter Cronkite, Willie Mays, Pope John Paul II, Fidel Castro,
Julia Child, Jerry Lewis, Mickey Rooney, Joe Namath, B.B. King
July 2004
Rosa Parks, Courtney Love, Fidel Castro, Nick Nolte, Don Knotts, Larry Hagman,
Kirk Douglas, William Shatner
July 30, 2006: Keith Richards pays $111,000 for hut
CHICHESTER,
England, July 30 (UPI) -- Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards likely plans
to spend some time at the beach after spending more than $111,000 on a modest
hut in West Sussex, England.
The Mail on Sunday reported the 62-year-old musician bought one of the 156 small huts available on the beach front of the West Wittering Estate, which have been in such high demand that individuals typically pay between $46,000 and $75,000 for each.
"There's no obvious logic about the price people pay," said Peter Morton, the resort's managing director. "It's simply a matter of supply and demand."
Yet with an estimated $372 million in his estate, Richards clearly upped his offer to ensure one of the huts would be his.
The generous increase is another representation of the musician's interest in the area he calls "God's little acre." In 1966, he bought his Redlands home nearby and later in 1998 he donated nearly $56,000 for renovations to the village hall, the paper said.
From the United Press International
July 29, 2006: New Ozzy Osbourne album could be out in February
NEW
YORK (Reuters) - Former Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne is working on
two new albums and the first one could be ready by February.
"I don't want to release an album if it's not a great album," the 1970s heavy metal pioneer said in an interview in New York on Friday, declining to give many details about the album.
"I primarily write an album for myself, and if the world likes it, great," he said. "I'm just hoping that I can get a good couple of albums out."
Osbourne was cautious about when the album would be ready, but his wife, Sharon, who is also his manager, said "hopefully" it would released in February.
The self-proclaimed "Prince of Darkness" said he was working on the two albums with guitarist Zakk Wylde, whose band Black Label Society is one of the main acts in Osbourne's annual hard-rock traveling festival, Ozzfest.
"I can't say anything about the songs," Osbourne said at an event in New York to launch a Hard Rock Cafe T-shirt to raise money for his wife's cancer charity.
Osbourne, a recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, said he was enjoying playing on the smaller second stage at Ozzfest this year because it allowed him to get closer to the audience.
"I look at the audience sometimes and I go 'Do they ever grow up and get older?"' he said, expressing some surprise at his enduring popularity with a whole new generation of fans.
"They come, they like it, and they bring their friends. It's weird," he said, adding: "I'm not complaining."
The long-haired singer from Birmingham, England, enjoyed a huge popular revival in recent years as the paterfamilias of a chaotic family in the TV reality series "The Osbournes" on MTV, which chronicled the ups and downs of his family life, including his wife's battle with colon cancer.
Two of the couple's teenage children featured on the show came under intense media scrutiny and both have had much publicized battles with alcohol abuse.
But Sharon Osbourne said "The Osbournes" was still the best reality series ever made. "Ozzy single-handedly opened the door for all of these people who are doing reality TV now," she said. "We were the first, we're the best."
"It affected the children but look at what happened to my children now -- they're two great, healthy, strong, independent people. They're living a successful life," she said.
"So ultimately it turned out great for them. There was good and bad, but let me tell you, there was more good."
From Reuters, Claudia Parsons
July 26, 2006: Ex-President Ford Released From Hospital
VAIL,
Colo. -- Former President Ford was released from a hospital Wednesday, two
days after being admitted for shortness of breath.
Ford, 93, was admitted Monday afternoon and released at noon Wednesday, Vail Valley Medical Center said in a written statement.
Ford's chief of staff, Penny Circle, said in a statement that Ford planned to return to his home in nearby Beaver Creek. She did not immediately return telephone messages.
It was at least the second time Ford has been hospitalized this year. He was admitted to a Rancho Mirage, Calif., hospital for treatment of pneumonia on Jan. 14 and released after 12 days.
Ford suffered two small strokes five years ago and spent about a week in a hospital.
He became the nation's oldest living former president after the death of Ronald Reagan in 2004.
Ford was House minority leader when President Nixon chose him to replace Spiro Agnew as vice president in 1973, when Agnew resigned. Ford became president on Aug. 9, 1974, when Nixon resigned amid the Watergate scandal.
Ford's ties to Vail date to 1968, when the family visited the resort while he was a congressman from Michigan. He later bought a condominium in the area. He and his wife, Betty, helped raise money to build the town's Ford Amphitheater and Betty Ford Alpine Gardens.
Ford celebrated his birthday in Vail on July 14. Circle said at the time the couple expected to spend the summer there.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell was hospitalized for a few hours in Aspen on July 7 after reporting lightheadedness blamed on the town's 7,900-foot elevation. Powell, 69, was in town for a panel discussion at the Aspen Ideas Festival.
From the Associated Press
July 24, 2006: NASCAR driver Tony Stewart not practising what he preaches
LONG
POND, Pa. - Tony Stewart is many things, but the Emily Post of NASCAR etiquette
is most certainly not one of them.
Stewart wants to preach a give-take attitude on the race track. Yet when it comes time to practise it, NASCAR's champion only wants to take as much as he can get. He longs for a garage leader like the late Dale Earnhardt, who made it his job to teach cocky, young drivers a thing or two about respect. But instead of stepping up and adopting Earnhardt's approach, the two-time champion wants to be the judge, jury and executioner on the race track.
That's what he was at Pocono Raceway after rookie Clint Bowyer pinched him into the wall very early into Sunday's race. After waving a menacing fist out his window, Stewart slid back into Bowyer to start a chain-reaction crash that collected Carl Edwards.
After speaking with Bowyer on Monday, Stewart issued an apology.
"I'm taking 100 per cent responsibility for the final incident that occurred on lap 32 between myself, (Bowyer) and (Edwards). It was totally my fault," Stewart said in a statement.
"At the same time, there were circumstances that led up to that wreck, and after talking with Clint this morning, we both have a better understanding as to what happened. I reacted, causing the wreck that I take responsibility for and regret."
It earned Stewart a one-lap aggressive driving penalty, and the action almost certainly eliminated Bowyer and Edwards from championship contention. Both drivers were fighting mad after the race, but Bowyer couldn't get close enough to Stewart to do anything and - much to the dismay of garage insiders - Edwards thought better of it.
"If it weren't for the respect of the sport and the people watching and his team, he'd be out there bleeding right now," fumed Edwards, who was also penalized one lap for his retaliatory spin of Stewart.
If there's one thing that's certain, it's that the portly Stewart doesn't want any part of Edwards and the six-pack abs that landed him on the cover of several magazines.
What's not so clear is who and what Stewart is thinking these days.
As defending Nextel Cup champion, the platform is Stewart's to do and say what he wants and he's repeatedly used it this season. But his messages are so mixed that he's struggling to keep his audience.
His dire warning at Daytona that someone was going to be killed if NASCAR didn't curb aggressive driving certainly caught everyone's attention, including the sanctioning body, which implemented a policing system.
But Stewart was the very first violator of the new guidelines, intentionally crashing into Matt Kenseth during the season-opening race.
He then spent the first quarter of the season feuding with Kyle Busch, whom he accused of being too wild on the race track and tuning out Stewart's veteran's advice.
And just last week, the driver who wants everyone to give-take on the race track refused to give Ryan Newman an inch of space to pass him.
So he says one thing, then stubbornly - and often out of anger - does the other.
"He's one of the best race car drivers I've ever raced against," four-time champion Jeff Gordon said. "The only thing Tony has going against him is he's got a little bit of a temper and sometimes that gets the best of him."
In fairness to Stewart, everything he's angry about is true.
There is little give-take on the race track, with drivers fighting fender-to-fender for every position. And NASCAR has shifted its focus toward younger drivers who lack the Cup experience, etiquette and respect for the veterans still out on the track.
Add in the pressure to make the Chase for the championship - the spotlighted 10-race post-season where only the participants matter and everyone else is a nobody - and NASCAR has created a template for aggressive, angry and sometimes desperate driving.
"Right now the pressure is on everybody, and everybody is racing hard," competition director Robin Pemberton said. "We're getting down to a handful of races to make it to the Chase, and the tension level, unfortunately, is high at this point."
So what should Stewart do?
He wants another Earnhardt around, but he's the logical choice to fill that void. He's a winner on and off the track (remember, Stewart gives millions to charity and is revered for his generosity), he's outspoken and has earned the right to be heard.
But he's grown increasingly frustrated of talking all the time and not getting any results.
"I sit down and talk with them all week long, but the thing is they look at you like you got three heads," he said. "They don't pay attention and they don't care."
So he gets angry and does his talking on the race track - and that's not unlike Earnhardt, either. But if Stewart could just stick with one message, and find a consistent way to deliver it, he some day might be able to get his point across.
Until then, he's just a hypocrite.
From the Associated Press, Jenna Fryer
July 23, 2006: Phyllis Diller’s 89th birthday a week-long event
LIMA
— Lima hometown claim-to-fame and comedian Phyllis Diller, who turned
89 Monday, said she’s still celebrating this weekend.
“Honey, when you reach this age, it takes longer than just one day to celebrate,” said Diller, speaking by telephone from her 22-room mansion in Brentwood, Calif. “When you’re this old, you deserve the entire week.”
Diller said she had already had three different dinner parties in her honor and after eating three different birthday cakes, she was beginning to feel like Marie Antoinette.
Famous for being the first stand-up female comic in show business, Diller, made her distinct laugh, fright wigs and cigarette holders her trademarks, along with jokes and routines revolving around poor cooking and housekeeping skills and a lazy husband named Fang.
And though she retired from comedy touring performances with a final show in Las Vegas in May 2002 at the Suncoast Hotel and Casino, Diller is still staying busy working in television and movies.
She is one of the featured stars of the new big screen movie documentary, which was just released, “Who Killed the Electric Car?” written and directed by Chris Paine, which chronicles the demise of earlier incarnations of today’s popular hybrid electric vehicles. Narrated by Martin Sheen, the film also features interviews with Tom Hanks and Mel Gibson.
“I happen to be at one of the movie studios doing some voiceover work when the makers of this film, who were working on the same lot, asked me if I’d be interviewed on camera,” Diller said.
“I had driven one of the early versions of an electric car and they were interested. Today, all of these cars are in museums, but I’m still around.”
Earlier this month, she appeared as one of the celebrity judges on the July 11 episode of the NBC reality show “Last Comic Standing.”
Diller also appeared as a guest star last month on Game Show Network’s new version of “I’ve Got a Secret.”
The celebrity panel on the game show had to guess Diller’s secret.
“My secret was that over the years, I posed twice for Hugh Hefner’s ‘Playboy’ magazine,” Diller said. “And neither pictorial ever got published!”
From the Lima News, Philip Potempa, daily entertainment columnist for The Times Newspaper of Indiana and Illinois
July 19, 2006: State is ready
to pardon Keith Richards
Rocker was charged 31 years ago with reckless driving
LITTLE
ROCK, Arkansas -- The state of Arkansas is prepared to pardon Keith Richards
for being a reckless driver, 31 years later.
The state Parole Board on July 3 approved an application for clemency submitted on behalf of Richards, the 62-year-old guitarist for the Rolling Stones, by Gov. Mike Huckabee.
The board posted the official notice Tuesday, and the pardon will be forwarded to Huckabee within 30 days. When the governor signs it, it will clear Richards' record in Arkansas.
Richards was arrested July 5, 1975, as he, bandmate Ron Wood, a security guard and a fan traveled from Memphis, Tennessee, to Dallas, Texas. The group had stopped in Fordyce, Arkansas, for lunch, then got back on the road with Richards driving.
A Fordyce officer saw the car swerve -- Richards said later he bent to adjust the radio -- and stopped the vehicle. Police said they smelled marijuana and took the four to City Hall.
Richards was charged with reckless driving and possession of a concealed knife, and the fan was charged with possession of a controlled substance. The knife charge was dropped, and Richards pleaded guilty to reckless driving and paid a $162.50 fine.
Fran Curtis, a Stones publicist, said she knew nothing about the application for clemency. Messages left for Richards' manager, Jane Rose, weren't returned.
Huckabee plays bass guitar in a band called Capitol Offense that performed for the Republican National Convention in 2004 in New York City.
The governor said he got the idea for a pardon when he realized that Richards' impression of Arkansas "was marred by a misdemeanor traffic stop."
During a Stones concert in Little Rock in March, Richards asked whether anyone in the audience was from Fordyce, adding, "I used to know the chief of police there."
From the Associated Press
July 14, 2006: Gerald Ford turns 93
today
Rancho Mirage resident moves next on longevity mark
Not
only does Gerald Ford celebrate 93 years today, he's also just a few months
away from breaking the presidential longevity record that is held by the late
President Ronald Reagan.
Ford is set to break that record - 93 years and 120 days - on Nov. 11, Veterans Day.
It's set to be a fitting milestone for the World War II Navy veteran who has lived in Rancho Mirage since he and his wife, Betty, left the White House in 1977.
The Fords left this month to spend the summer at their Colorado home.
"On my 93rd birthday this year, we will probably spend it as we have the last couple of years - at dinner with close friends," Ford said in a letter he wrote exclusively for The Desert Sun.
Presidents and other top officials sent messages to The Desert Sun, wishing Ford all the best.
"Since leaving office, President Ford has set a high standard for grace and character," President George W. Bush said. "Laura and I join all Americans in wishing President Ford a happy birthday."
Ford wrote that he continues to "remain busy every day," including doing charity work, keeping up with mail and swimming.
Though his health has been of some concern in recent years - including an 11-night hospital stay in January for pneumonia - friends say Ford is doing well.
"He's in remarkably good shape for his years," said Ford biographer James Cannon, who talks with Ford every few months and is working with the president on another book.
"He's a strong-ward, solid man."
Though the age milestone might be one for the record books, Cannon says Ford's legacy was secured when he "restored the integrity of the presidency" after the Watergate scandal and President Richard Nixon's subsequent resignation.
"(Ford) was the right man at a perilous time," said Cannon, who lives in Washington. "After we had a dishonest president in Nixon, we got an honest president in Ford. That was what we needed. The country is in his debt."
MESSAGES FROM FRIENDS
The Desert Sun asked presidents and friends to send President Ford
a message.
"President Gerald Ford's story is a true American story. It is the tale of a son of the Midwest who achieved great things through hard work, dedication, courage, and humility. President Ford played football at Michigan, received a law degree from Yale, served in the Navy during World War II, and for decades he represented Western Michigan as a Republican congressman from Grand Rapids.
"Then came his appointment with history. He assumed the presidency at a perilous moment for our country. A President had resigned, the United States was involved in a Cold War, the economy was sputtering, and America's confidence was deeply shaken.
"Few leaders have ever faced such challenges upon taking office. Yet President Ford met them with steadfastness and courage. His leadership helped heal a wounded Nation.
"Since leaving office, President Ford has set a high standard for grace and character. He has never forgotten his roots or lost sight of the things that matter - including his deep love for his wife and partner, Betty.
"Laura and I join all Americans in wishing President Ford a happy birthday."
- President George Bush
"Rosalynn and I extend to you our love, friendship, and best wishes for a wonderful birthday. One of my most prized possessions has been the close relationship you and I have shared during our post-presidential years. We hope to see you and Betty often during the coming years."
- Former President Jimmy Carter
"It's always a pleasure to send good wishes to a friend, and today I'll be phoning Gerald R. Ford to wish him a very happy 93rd birthday. Although nearly three decades have passed since I worked for him as chief of staff, President Ford remains one of my dearest friends and one of the great influences on my life. In his career as a Navy officer, Congressman, Vice President, and President, he became the epitome of public service at its best. And in his long life, he has shown himself to be the finest of men - loyal, kind, honest, and wise. I respect his service to our country, I'm grateful for his good example, and I cherish his friendship."
- Vice President Dick Cheney
"Jerry, I'm thinking of you on your birthday and sending every good wish for a wonderful day."
- Former First Lady Nancy Reagan
"Dear Mr. President - Joyce and I are delighted to join so many of our fellow Americans in wishing you a happy birthday and to offer our best wishes to you as you ease gracefully into middle age.
"It seems appropriate that your birthday is celebrated in close proximity to the 4th of July. Your life story is an example of the American dream: the son of a hardware store owner in Grand Rapids, Michigan, who through intellect and talent rose to the highest office in the land. With good common sense, dignity, and decency you guided our country through a dark and difficult time, reminding us of who we were as a people.
"Today many Americans celebrate a leader. Those of us who worked so closely with you have the additional honor of celebrating a friend.
"As you and Betty spend this day in the warmth of the California sun, take a moment to reflect on all you have done for our nation - defending it in war, protecting it in peace, and serving it every day with honor and decency. Happy birthday!"
- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Ford's White House chief of staff and defense secretary
From The Desert Sun, Erica Solvig
July 12, 2006: Former President Gerald Ford Receives Enberg Award for Distinguished Service
WASHINGTON
D.C. - The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) last weekend
named former U.S. President Gerald Ford as the 2006 recipient of its Dick
Enberg Award.
The award, presented by the group since 1997 and named after the longtime television sportscaster, annually recognizes one individual committed to promoting the values of education and academics while furthering the meaning of the student-athlete.
As a football star at the University of Michigan in the 1930s, Ford earned three varsity letters from 1932-1934 and participated on back-to-back undefeated and Big Ten title teams in '32 and '33. In 1934, Ford was named team MVP as starting center, and played in both the East-West Shrine Game and an All-Star game against the NFL champions Chicago Bears following the season.
Ford also served as an assistant coach at Yale University before embarking on a three-decade stint in national politics, culminating with his term as President of the United States from 1974-1977.
Ford received the NCAA's Theodore Roosevelt Award in 1975 and the National Football Foundation's Gold Medal in 1972.
From Salem-News.com Sports
July 10, 2006: Keith Richards Says He's Ready to Tour
MILAN,
Italy - On the eve of the relaunching of the Rolling Stones' European tour,
Keith Richards said he's recovered completely from a head injury suffered
in a fall — and shrugged off a question about whether he had worried
about dying.
"I feel great. I can't wait to get back on the stage again. Basically everything is cool," Richards said Monday. The 62-year-old guitarist fell from a tree April 27 while vacationing in Fiji, forcing the Stones to postpone their European tour.
He later had surgery in New Zealand to relieve pressure on his brain.
"Of course they put me out like a light. I was surprised myself. ... I had total comfort. When you got to do it, you got to do it," Richards said.
The Stones were to resume their "A Bigger Bang" tour Tuesday at Milan's San Siro stadium. The 21-date tour wraps up Sept. 3 in Denmark.
Asked what he's been doing since the fall, Richards responded, "I recovered. ... Six weeks, I mean not bad for a brain job."
Did he ever worry about dying? "Good one," he said, good-naturedly.
The Stones were in a jovial mood, and when the inevitable question came — what was Richards doing up in a coconut tree and did he find what he wanted? — everyone was ready to set the record straight.
"That's a good one. If you saw the tree, you'd realize the joke. Fiji is not just made of coconut trees. It was a little tree," Richards said.
Mick Jagger and Ronnie Wood were eager to illustrate the point, indicating a height less than half of Richards.
Richards also confirmed his role in the third installment of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series, saying he'd be filming for a week or so in September. Richards is to have a cameo role as the father of the flamboyant Captain Jack Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp.
"Now I know why (Depp) paid for all those lunches," Richards deadpanned.
Asked what success meant to the Rolling Stones after 44 years, Richards responded: "The opportunity to continue." His bandmates nodded in agreement.
From the Associated Press, Colleen Barry
July 7, 2006: Fire at Ozzy Osbourne's English home
Flames
have scorched Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne's English country mansion, the result
of a faulty lamp, the fire service says.
Neither the couple nor their children Amy, Jack and Kelly were at the house in Jordans, 42km west of London, when the blaze occurred, a family spokesman said.
Paramedics treated a member of the household staff for smoke inhalation.
Kelly Osbourne, 22, had left shortly before the fire broke out.
The Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue service responded to the blaze after the family's alarm system alerted them, spokesman Fraser Pearson said.
"We were able to prevent the fire from spreading," Pearson said. "It was relatively small."
The blaze caused minor fire and smoke damage to the entrance hallway of the mansion.
The fire service plans to try to meet with the Osbournes to advise them on fire safety, Pearson said.
From the Associated Press
July 4, 2006: B.B. King bids farewell to Montreux
MONTREUX,
Switzerland -- B.B. King and his guitar Lucille, on a final tour in Europe,
has bid an emotional farewell to fans at the Montreux Jazz Festival, where
the "King of Blues" has performed for more than 20 years.
Now 80 and suffering from diabetes, he was joined on stage by a host of performers at the end of Monday night's concert in the resort town along Lake Geneva.
Singers Gladys Knight, Barbara Hendricks, Randy Crawford and Leela James, jazz guitarists John McLaughlin and Stanley Clarke, keyboarders Joe Sample and George Duke, and saxophonist David Sanborn paid tribute to the King of Blues.
"Maybe I should quit every night," quipped King, who sang and played his guitar while seated throughout the two-and-half hour concert which stretched into the early hours of Tuesday.
"I'm going to cry again. This is the icing on the cake -- I could never be sent off better," the American icon added.
King, wearing a gold and black dinner jacket, and his seven man band performed classics including his 1970 Grammy-winning "The Thrill is Gone" and "Ain't That Just Like a Woman."
"My knees and back hurt and my head ain't much good either. I can remember though that I am now 80 years old so I sit down to make it feel better," he told the sell-out crowd.
King, who was born on a plantation in Mississippi and grew up in the segregated south, won a Grammy Award earlier this year for Best Traditional Blues Album with his album "80" -- his 14th from the music industry.
Festival founder Claude Nobs, presiding over its 40th anniversary this year, said: "Nobody wants it to be your last year. B.B., you are an honorary citizen of Montreux, this is your second home."
King said that during his 60-year career he had performed in 90 countries, but admitted there were times when he was deeply hurt by his music being misunderstood.
Lyrics from a song, "Understand," summed it up, he said: "I've been around a long time. I'm a blues man, but I'm a good man, understand?"
About 100 groups are taking part in the two-week event -- including Santana, Sting, Black Eyed Peas and Diana Krall -- which draws 250,000 music fans of all ages from across Europe.
Deep Purple, whose 1970s hit "Smoke on the Water" describes a concert fire raging in Montreux, is returning to the lakeside resort to close the festival on July 15.
From Reuters
July 1, 2006: Dale Jarrett races with broken left hand
Dale
Jarrett drove in the Pepsi 400 with a broken left hand Saturday night.
The driver of the No. 88 Ford injured his hand during a road race accident last week in California. But he didn't find out it was broken until Thursday, when tests also revealed a stretched ligament.
He was back in the car a day later and qualified seventh. He had a cortisone shot before the race Saturday night and had it wrapped. But Jarrett said he didn't expect it to hamper him during the 160-lap race.
"A good race car kind of makes you forget about your aches and pains," he said.
From the Associated Press
July 1, 2006: Big-name golfers drop out of Open
The
U.S. Senior Open became unfit for a King on Friday. And a Shark.
Citing concerns with the status of their golf games, Arnold Palmer and Greg Norman, two of the sport's biggest celebrities, announced they have withdrawn from the championship, which begins with practice rounds Monday at Hutchinson's Prairie Dunes Country Club.
Neither Palmer, 76, nor the 51-year-old Norman has played in an official tournament this year. But both submitted entries for the Senior Open before the U.S. Golf Association's deadline in late May.
"It is with great regret that I have come to the very difficult decision to advise the USGA that I am withdrawing from the upcoming U.S. Senior Open at Prairie Dunes," Palmer said in a statement released by his longtime publicist, Doc Giffin. "I have spent considerable time over the past few weeks attempting without success to bring my game up to acceptable standards to play in this important national championship."
Norman has been on the mend since February, when he underwent the second of two surgeries to repair meniscus damage to his right knee. He had recently received clearance to practice, but said on his Web site that he was revising his summer schedule.
"My knee is fine," Norman said. "My game just isn't where I want it to be, and the last thing I want to do is take a spot away from another deserving professional."
The pair joined World Golf Hall of Famer Raymond Floyd and 1996 Senior Open champion Dave Stockton as big-name players who have withdrawn in recent days. Palmer and Norman have been key components of promotional efforts for the event, which is expected to draw 130,000 fans over seven days. Norman has been featured on billboards and in radio, television and newspaper advertisements across the state for more than a year.
Palmer indicated after the 2005 U.S. Senior Open in Kettering, Ohio, that he was through playing major championship golf. But this spring, he announced he would play at the Senior PGA Championship in Edmond, Okla. He withdrew from that event on May 16, nine days before the opening round.
Still, Senior Open officials were hopeful they could snag golf's marquee name.
"Personally, I'm surprised," championship director Greg Conrad said. "But my initial reaction is I know what a difficult and regrettable decision it is for both of them to have to make."
Conrad said the month leading up to a Senior Open is typically the best for ticket sales, and Palmer's commitment had provided an added boost. Recently, sales had risen to almost 1,000 tickets a day, doubling the average before Palmer said he would play.
"It's hard to quantify how many of the tickets were directly related to Arnold, but there's no doubt it gave us a spike," Conrad said.
Palmer did not detail his future plans, but Norman said he also would skip the British Open and Senior British Open the final two weeks of July. Norman, a two-time British Open champion, said the target for his return is the TELUS Skins Game on Aug. 7-8 in Calgary, Alberta.
Jack Nicklaus, who retired from majors after last year's British Open, and PGA Tour pros Stephen Ames, John Daly and Sergio Garcia are also scheduled to play in Canada.
"Now I can focus on my game and get ready to play some tournaments later this summer," Norman said.
Palmer e-mailed his regrets Friday morning to Allen Fee, the Senior Open's general chairman and a Prairie Dunes member. Fee met Palmer at last year's Senior Open and invited him to return to Prairie Dunes, the site of a 1962 exhibition between Palmer, Nicklaus and area pros Gene O'Brien and Ross Wilson.
"We certainly understand and respect his decision," Fee said. "It was a long shot when we asked him to come here. He just doesn't feel comfortable with his game right now.
"The two guys that are out are two great guys. You wish they were here, but that happens. You may want to go to a Chiefs game to see Priest Holmes play, but if he's injured, you're not going to see him play."
The remaining big names include Tom Watson, Fred Funk, Hale Irwin and Gary Player.
"I can understand Arnold pulling out because he's of the age where if it's really hot, he might have a hard time getting around," Watson said Friday. "Seventy-six or 77 years old and 100 degrees out and Open conditions, maybe it's time to not play, but at least he gave them the thrill of saying he might play."
The withdrawals opened spots for Steve Prugh of Spokane, Wash., and Indianapolis' Mike Bell, who were alternates in last month's sectional qualifiers.
"In my judgment, my golf right now is far below the level that I would feel comfortable with as a bona fide contestant," Palmer said. "I hope that the fans who have given me such wonderful support over the years will understand and accept my decision."
From The Wichita Eagle, Scott Paske
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