Johnny Depp made a surprise visit to a London elementary school dressed as Capt. Jack Sparrow.
Depp is currently in south-east London filming the fourth “Pirates Of The Caribbean” movie “On Stranger Tides” and arrived at the Meridian Primary School dressed in full character.
He made the visit after 9-year-old Beatrice Delap wrote to the star asking for help staging a “mutiny” against the teachers. He had been filming at the nearby 18th century Old Naval College.
The school was told just 10 minutes before that Depp would be arriving, and two blacked-out cars swept through the school gates.
An onlooker told London’s Daily Mail she heard the most ‘incredible screams’ as the actor, in full make-up, then entered the school.
In an interview on “London Tonight” after the Wednesday visit, Beatrice revealed what she had written in the letter to the star.
She said: ‘Captain Jack Sparrow, At Meridian Primary School, we are a bunch of budding young pirates and we were having a bit of trouble mutiny-ing against the teachers, and we’d love if you could come and help.
Signed ‘Beatrice Delap, aged nine, a budding pirate.’
She said that she was then asked by the star to make herself known from the assembled pupils once he arrived, and gave her a hug.
Beatrice said: ‘He gave me a hug and he said, “Maybe we shouldn’t mutiny today ’cause there are police outside monitoring me.”‘
“Diff’rent Strokes” actor Gary Coleman‘s death has been ruled an accident.
Santaquin, Utah, Police Chief Dennis Howard said an autopsy found Coleman died of natural causes after an accidental fall. The finding matches the evidence police found at Coleman’s Santaquin home on May 26, Howard told The Associated Press.
The state medical examiner’s conclusions bring the police investigation into the death to a close, Howard said.
The 42-year-old actor died at a Provo hospital two days after his fall. He was taken off life support after suffering a brain hemorrhage.
Coleman became a star after “Diff’rent Strokes” debuted in 1978. For eight seasons, Coleman played Arnold Jackson, the younger one of a pair of African-American brothers adopted by a wealthy white man. The tiny 10-year-old’s “Whachu talkin’ ’bout?” became a popular catch phrase from the show.
Coleman’s adult life was plagued with heath and legal problems.
He moved to Utah in fall 2005, and according to a tally in early 2010, officers had been called to assist or intervene with Coleman more than 20 times. In one instance, Coleman called police for help after he claimed he had taken dozens of pain killers and “wanted to die.”
Some of the disputes involved ex-wife Shannon Price, whom he met on the set of the 2006 “Church Ball” and married in 2007. The couple divorced a year later but continued to live together and present themselves as married in public.
Price has petitioned the Utah courts to recognize her common law relationship with Coleman from the date of their divorce through his May 28 death. She is seeking the recognition as part of an ongoing legal battle over Coleman’s estate, which includes the house in Santaquin, about 65 miles south of Salt Lake City.
Coleman, who was cremated weeks after his death, left multiple wills, although a note handwritten by Coleman days after his 2007 marriage names Price his sole heir.
Coleman’s ex-girlfriend Anna Gray contends a 2005 document awards her the estate.
After filming Moneyball in Boston, Brad Pitt flew to Budapest late Wednesday to meet up with Angelina Jolie and their kids while Jolie is filming her directorial film debut.
Teachers at the school where their kids have enrolled have been ordered to sign security agreements stating that they won’t talk to the press, according to UsMagazine.
The website says that if they leak anything about the family they may be subject to a fine, the source said.
Facebook cofounder Mark Zuckerberg recently took his staffers to see “The Social Network,” UsMagazine reports.
After the screening, Zuckerberg treated his staff to apple martinis, the same drink actors Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake sipped during their first meeting in the film, a source told Us.
Asked for comment, a Facebook rep told Us: “To celebrate a period of intense activity at Facebook, we decided to go to the movies. We thought this particular movie might be amusing.”
lsmith@denverpost.com
