Michael Palin joins WWI drama in first acting role in 15 years

LONDON (Reuters) - British TV presenter Michael Palin is taking up his first acting role in more than 15 years, joining a drama about soldiers producing a newspaper from the battlefields of World War One.

Palin, 70, a former member of the Monty Python comedy team, has concentrated his career in the past two decades on making TV travel documentaries such as "Around the World in 80 days" and "Pole to Pole".

Britain's state broadcaster, the BBC, said on Tuesday that Palin was one of the cast members for "The Wipers Times", a 90-minute drama based on the true story of a satirical newspaper produced by soldiers fighting from the trenches from 1916.

The newspaper was started by two soldiers who found a printing press in the bombed-out ruins of Ypres in Belgium and it continued to be produced until the end of the year despite constant bombardment and fighting.

The name of the paper was named after the battlefield mispronunciation of Ypres.

"Just like the original Wipers Times, this new history drama will be filled with jokes, spoofs and amazing examples of courage behind the laughs," Janice Hadlow, controller of BBC Two and BBC Four, said in a statement.

Palin's last acting role was in the comedy film "Fierce Creatures" in 1997 in which he played a retired police officer running a zoo.

His last TV role was in Alan Bleasdale's seven-part drama "GBH" in 1991 in which he played a headmaster intimidated by a militant city council leader.

"The Wipers Times" was written by Ian Hislop, editor of the satirical magazine Private Eye, and scriptwriter Nick Newman and will be shown on BBC2 later this year.

(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith, editing by Paul Casciato)

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Don Draper Grew Up Near Michael Jackson's House

As a local blog called Franklin Avenue points out today, Don Draper's childhood home -- a Pennsylvania brothel, in the show's universe -- is actually located on Carroll Avenue, a street in Los Angeles' historic Angelino Heights neighborhood. The real estate database Zillow says that the six-bedroom, 126-year-old building is worth just under $600,000, which sounds like a steal -- especially considering how all the grime covering it in Sunday's finale was added in post-production (and, evidently, after AMC took the photo above).

Read the whole story at EW

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So About Michael Jackson's Surgeries ...

The enigma of rock 'n' roll comes with its own brand of myths and legends that permeate through culture and become fixtures in certain artists' lore. From the strange relationship confusion surrounding The White Stripes to Lady Gaga being a rumored hermaphrodite, certain music mythology amplifies the bohemian world of rock. Here's a look at a few of prevalent rock legends.

Gene Simmons' cow tongue

Simmons certainly has an abnormally long tongue, a fact emphasized by his fire-breathing, blood-spitting antics onstage. Fans have long been prompted to question whether it was actually a cow's tongue surgically added to his own, a rumor that's been debunked due to its medical impossibility. A cow's tongue is a typically a foot long, meaning there's no way one to fit even part of one in a human's mouth. Simmons says he simply has a "superlong tongue."

Michael Jackson's surgeries

Michael Jackson famously said he's only had two plastic surgeries -- both nose jobs -- in his lifetime. He told Oprah Winfrey as much in 1992 and Martin Bashir the same thing in 2003. While some diehard fans swear by the King of Pop's claims, most aren't fooled. An associate of Jackson's surgeon told People magazine in 2009 that the singer had "about 10 to 12 surgeries in two years," including cheek implants and an operation on his eyelids. Jackson also famously underwent treatments for vitiligo, a skin condition that lightens brown pigmentation.

Elvis Presley's racism

Some swear Elvis Presley uttered the words "The only thing Negroes can do for me is buy my records and shine my shoes,” despite the fact that no verifiable source can back up the incendiary comment. Furthermore, Presley's influences on black music are widely touted, despite detractors who like to claim he "stole" everything he knew from African-American culture.

Tupac Shakur's pulse

Seventeen years later, camps are still debating the veracity of Tupac Shakur's death. Just this year, former Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight told TMZ during an interview that Shakur is "really not dead." The rapper was famously murdered in a drive-by shooting in 1996, but after his estate released new records, rumors were ignited that Shakur was simply in hiding. Voracious fans were quick to point out conspiracy theories via seemingly anachronistic lyrics, including a shoutout to the movie "Armageddon," which had not yet been released. To this day, fans are still holding on to the notion that Shakur is out there somewhere, although obviously there is no proof to this whatsoever.

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Singer George Michael gets medical treatment after car crash

LONDON (Reuters) - British singer George Michael has received medical treatment after a car crash on Thursday, his publicist said.

The 49-year-old former Wham! frontman was being treated for "minor cuts and bruises" after the accident, Michael's spokeswoman said.

"George Michael was a passenger in a vehicle involved in a traffic accident yesterday evening, no third party was involved," a spokeswoman said on Friday. "He is being treated for superficial cuts and bruises but is fine."

British media reported that the accident occurred just outside London on a motorway during rush hour.

The "Careless Whisper" singer has suffered a string of accidents and health scares recently.

Last year he canceled his tour of Australia due to "major anxiety" brought on by a 2011 battle with severe pneumonia in Vienna, where he was treated in intensive care for a month for a life-threatening illness.

Michael has sold an estimated 100 million records over his career, but has hit headlines in recent years for his personal life more often than for his music.

In 1998 he was arrested in California for "engaging in a lewd act" in a public toilet and also had a number of run-ins with British police for possession of narcotics. He served a term in jail for driving under the influence of cannabis.

(Reporting by Paul Casciato; editing by Mike Collett-White)

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Singer George Michael gets medical treatment after car crash

LONDON (Reuters) - British singer George Michael has received medical treatment after a car crash on Thursday, his publicist said.

The 49-year-old former Wham! frontman was being treated for "minor cuts and bruises" after the accident, Michael's spokeswoman said.

"George Michael was a passenger in a vehicle involved in a traffic accident yesterday evening, no third party was involved," a spokeswoman said on Friday. "He is being treated for superficial cuts and bruises but is fine."

British media reported that the accident occurred just outside London on a motorway during rush hour.

The "Careless Whisper" singer has suffered a string of accidents and health scares recently.

Last year he canceled his tour of Australia due to "major anxiety" brought on by a 2011 battle with severe pneumonia in Vienna, where he was treated in intensive care for a month for a life-threatening illness.

Michael has sold an estimated 100 million records over his career, but has hit headlines in recent years for his personal life more often than for his music.

In 1998 he was arrested in California for "engaging in a lewd act" in a public toilet and also had a number of run-ins with British police for possession of narcotics. He served a term in jail for driving under the influence of cannabis.

(Reporting by Paul Casciato; editing by Mike Collett-White)

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