Talk-show host Craig Ferguson and his wife are expecting a child.
The late-night star made the announcement on Wednesday with a Twitter post that quipped, “Holy crackers! Mrs F is pregnant. How did that happen? … oh yeah I know how.” The due date, he added vaguely, is 2011.
The 48-year-old host of CBS’ “The Late Late Show” is married to art dealer Megan Wallace Cunningham. He has a son, Milo, from a previous marriage.
Heirs of the late Lucille Ball and her second husband are sparring over the planned auction of some of the couple’s prized possessions, including a Rolls Royce and some of the actress’ awards.
Other items on the auction block are photos, sketches, other personal items and love letters between Ball and Gary Morton, the comedienne’s second husband.
Morton and Ball were married until the comedienne’s death in 1989. He later remarried, and the items being offered for sale Saturday were consigned to Heritage Auction Galleries by his widow, Susie Morton.
She is now locked in a battle with Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill, the daughter of Ball and her first husband and “I Love Lucy” co-star, Desi Arnaz, who wants some of the items and her mother’s awards returned.
Susie Morton sued Luckinbill on Monday to seek a judge’s ruling that the auction can proceed.
Luckinbill said Wednesday through her attorney, Ronald J. Palmieri, that if the items she requested are not returned, she will go to court today to try to stop the auction.
Luckinbill wants the return of seven love letters, Ball’s address book, some portraits and several lifetime-achievement awards being offered for sale, Palmieri said.
“It is clear these are personal effects earned by a lifetime of work by someone of great stature in the entertainment community,” Palmieri said in a statement. “To demean their true nature, and prostitute their value in monetary terms, is insulting to Ms.
Palmieri said the items would go to either a museum named after her mother and father in New York, or another museum where they could be shown.
Alicia Keys, Jay-Z and Sade will join musical forces later this year for charity.
Keys has recruited Jay-Z and Sade to perform at her charity’s annual Black Ball on Sept. 30 at New York’s Hammerstein Ball. Keys will also hit the stage.
The foundation, Keep a Child Alive, is celebrating its seventh year. The organization assists children and families affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India.
The 29-year-old Keys is expecting her first child with producer-rapper Swizz Beatz. She and Jay-Z teamed up last year for a hit song about New York called “Empire State of Mind.” The charity didn’t know whether Sade’s band would accompany her to the ball. The 51-year-old singer and her group won a Grammy for their song, “Lovers Rock,” which was released in 2000.
Bono‘s back.
The 50-year-old frontman for Dublin supergroup U2 has announced he’s fully recovered from emergency back surgery in Munich in May — and has apologized to ticket-holding North American fans who must wait an extra year to see the band return to action.
In a laid-back hand-held video posted Wednesday on U2’s Web site, drummer Larry Mullen Jr., bassist Adam Clayton and guitarist The Edge playfully suggest they’ve been auditioning new singers — but can’t quite replace the middle-aged lad who’s been the face of U2 since 1976.
The camera then pans to a Bono in rose-tinted lenses.
“I can sit. I can stand. I can move around a bit. Feeling strong, feeling confident,” Bono says as he walks about an unidentified recording studio. “And I’m ready — rebuilt by German engineering, better design I’m told — and I’m going to be fighting fit next summer in the U.S.” Bono sheds no light on how he hurt his back, which his German neurosurgeons in May described as sudden partial paralysis. The health scare forced U2 to cancel the entire sold-out, 16-city North American tour this summer. All those dates have been rescheduled for May-July 2011 with the original tickets still valid.
The 2009 swing of U2’s ongoing 360-degrees World Tour was the biggest financial earner of the year, grossing more than $300 million — but U2 manager Paul McGuinness says the colossal show struggles to break even because it costs $750,000 daily to keep on the road.
U2’s next scheduled performance is Aug. 6 in Turin, Italy.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report
lsmith@denverpost.com
