CARSON IS RECUPERATING AFTER QUADRUPLE BYPASS
Johnny Carson is expected to be hospitalized for a few days after successful quadruple heart bypass surgery.The 73-year-old entertainer was taken from his Malibu home to St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica early Friday, and doctors performed the surgery a few hours later, hospital spokeswoman Lindi Funston said Wednesday.
She said Carson had the surgery to treat coronary artery disease. "The operation went well, and his heart is functioning normally," Funston said.
Carson retired as host of NBC's "Tonight Show" in May 1992. He was host of the late-night program for 30 years.
BRAZILIAN ACTRESS DISSES ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS
Fernanda Montenegro, the 69-year-old star of "Central Station," accused Hollywood of favoritism in awarding the Oscar to Gwyneth Paltrow over her and said "Life is Beautiful" wasn't worthy of victory.
In a televised interview this week in Rio de Janeiro, Montenegro described Paltrow as "this romantic figure -- thin, pure, virginal. They don't have much of this type of actress in American cinema. It's an investment."
As for Roberto Benigni's "Life is Beautiful," which competed against "Central Station" for best foreign film, Montenegro said: "It didn't deserve to win. I think even Benigni recognized this. As a film it was weak. I thought it was just him that won, not the film itself."
RAY CHARLES, STING AMONG LINEUP FOR JAZZ FESTIVAL
James Brown, Ray Charles, Branford Marsalis and Sting are in the lineup for this year's JVC Jazz Festival. The 13-day program was announced Tuesday. The festival begins June 14, with performances all over New York City. Free concerts will be held in Manhattan's Bryant Park on June 23-25.
JOHNSON TO WORK MAGIC REOPENING N.Y. THEATER
Magic Johnson's chain of movie houses is getting a little longer.
The former basketball star will transform a Brooklyn theater closed for 22 years into a 12-screen, $30 million complex that will open in 2001.
Johnson announced the deal at City Hall on Tuesday. New York City will provide low-interest loans and tax breaks.
Johnson and his Sony Corp. partners will refurbish the Loews theater, which has been owned by the city since 1978, when it was seized for nonpayment of taxes.
Johnson also has built theaters in underdeveloped areas of Atlanta, Houston and Los Angeles.