Multimedia manager Daniel Buckley

The song is on a collection of various artists called “Conjure” – a jazz setting of poetry by Ishmael Reed. The tune is titled “Dualism 1.” The words (sung by Taj Mahal) are:

“I am outside of history.

I wish I had some peanuts.

It looks lonely there in its cage.”

After the instrumental break it returns with:

“I am inside of history.

It’s hungrier than I thought.”

I pick this song because history has just swallowed the Citizen whole.

Book reviewer Larry Cox

It would have to be “Thanks for the Memories,” originally introduced by Shirley Ross and Bob Hope in the 1937 Paramount film, “Big Broadcast of 1938.” The song is wistful and a little sad, exactly how I feel as we get nearer to the final edition of The Tucson Citizen. A close second comes to mind after reading some of the nutty, over-the-top, hateful comments posted by some of our readers on the paper’s Web site: Bessie Smith’s “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out.”

Features editor Teresa Truelsen

I would dedicate “Closing Time” by Semisonic. Not only is its sentiment appropriate, but it reminds me of happier times at the Citizen, when former sports editor Peter Madrid would sing the one line – incessantly – early in the morning.

Arts writer Chuck Graham

This is a sad one to write, after working 35 years at the Tucson Citizen, but only one song keeps coming to mind. That would be Bob Hope singing “Thanks for the Memories.”

Reporter Ryn Gargulinski

I am in a bubble

I am in a bubble

I am in a bubble

A bubble

Covers

Me.

“The Bubble Song” (2009) by Ryn Gargulinski

Copy editor Rose-Mary Grzasko

This dedication goes out to my comrades in print journalism as we follow the path of the dinosaur (many of us became such during our years at the Citizen): “Time of Your Life” by Green Day.

“For what it’s worth,

It was worth all the while” . . .

“I hope you had the time of your life.”

I know I did!

Events coordinator Elsa Nidia Barrett

The first song that came to my mind is the ’80s rock song, “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen. But the more I thought about it and dozens of endearing memories (about growing up at the Citizen) flooded my head, I could think of only one melody: Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U.”

“But/ nothing/ I said nothing can take away these blues/ Cause nothing compares/ Nothing compares 2 U.”

Online content editor Mike Truelsen

“Still Be Around” by Uncle Tupelo

It’s about loyalty and dedication and coming out the other side of tragedy/addiction and hoping someone is there when you do.

“If I break in two, will you put me back together?

When this puzzle’s figured out, will you still be around?”

Arts writer Otto Ross

“The Times They are A-Changin’ ” by Bob Dylan

“Come writers and critics

Who prophesize with your pen

And keep your eyes wide

The chance won’t come again

And don’t speak too soon

For the wheel’s still in spin

And there’s no tellin’ who

That it’s namin’.

For the loser now

Will be later to win

For the times they are a-changin’.”

Cartoonist Arnie Bermudez

“Where the Birds Always Sing” by The Cure

“The world is neither fair nor unfair

The idea is just a way for us to understand

No the world is neither fair nor unfair

So some survive

And others die

And you always want a reason why”

Copy editor Dave Petruska

I’ll go with The Beatles’ “Good Night.” I probably would have picked Billy Joel’s “This is the Time to Remember” if it hadn’t been used for the Lute Olson farewell.

Online editor Dylan Smith

Joe Jackson’s “Sunday Papers”

“Sunday papers don’t ask no questions

Sunday papers don’t get no lies

Sunday papers don’t raise objection

Sunday papers don’t got no eyes”

Metro columnist Anne T. Denogean

“Another One Bites The Dust” by

Queen

Reporter B. Poole

Sheryl Crow’s “Can’t Cry Anymore”

“It’s never ending

It could be worse

I could’ve missed my calling

Sometimes it hurts

But when you read the writing on the wall

Can’t cry anymore”

And too much time I’ve been spending

With my heart in my hands

Waiting for time to come and mend it

I can’t cry anymore”

Voices editor Paul Schwalbach

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Gordon Lightfoot and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”

“That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed.” Sounds like us.

And really, for the whole f—— song. As nauseatingly hypersentimental as it is, on our last day, it will be fitting. “Fellas it’s been good to know ya.”

Reporter Heidi Rowley

“Ticket to Ride” by The Beatles or “Unbreak my Heart” by Toni Braxton

Reporter Alan Fischer

Joey Ramone, from a goodbye album he wrote and made while dying of cancer. The title song is “Don’t Worry About Me.”

“Ahh nothing lasts forever

And nothing stays the same

Feeling numb all over

And totally deranged

When you finally make your mind up

I´ll be buried in my grave

You don´t know what you want

You don´t know what you need

You don´t know what you want but you want it”

Information specialist Mary Watt

David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” I feel like the astronaut out in space without a lifeline, with a circuit that’s gone dead.

“Here am I floating round my tin can, far above the moon, Planet Earth is blue and there’s nothing I can do.”

Designer Jan Todd

“Sounds of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel

Former features editor Dina L. Doolen

As corny as it may sound, my dedication song to the Citizen would be “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge. In my 11 years working at the Citizen, that’s exactly how I felt. We were family, warts and all, and when adversity hit, supervisors and peers insisted that our real families came before the Citizen. Also, if the song was good enough for baseball great Willie Stargell and the Pittsburg Pirates, it’s good enough for the Citizen. Best wishes to all.

Designer Jen Lum

It’s too easy to be cynical about everything that’s happened, so instead I’ll dedicate my favorite ode to an ended relationship, “You and I Both” by Jason Mraz.

“You and I both loved

What you and I spoke of

And others just read of

Others only read of the love, the love that I love.”

I’ve never been able to accurately describe to nonnewspaper people just how much I’ve loved my job and the people I work with. I will miss the Citizen dearly. Thanks for a great run.

Calendar editor Rogelio Yubeta Olivas

After getting ridiculed by my co-workers for my first two picks (“My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion and “Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Midler), I’ll go with Charanga Cakewalk’s “Tu y Yo (You and I.” The love song not only adds some Latin spice to the Citizen playlist, it truly describes how I feel about the paper. It’s about two lovers who are linked forever.

Filmmaker Spike Lee realizes Kobe Bryant has a lot of haters, but he says moviegoers will want to spend 90 minutes with the Lakers star.

NEW YORK – You could call Spike Lee the basketball auteur.

No other filmmaker has sought to accurately portray basketball as much as Lee has. He cast Ray Allen in 1998′s “He Got Game” and shot some of the most famous Michael Jordan commercials. He’s also making a documentary for the National Basketball Association about Jordan’s last two seasons.

Lee’s current round ball film is “Kobe Doin’ Work,” a documentary of one game in the life of Kobe Bryant. Inspired by the 2006 soccer film “Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait,” Lee used 30 cameras to capture Bryant’s every move in a game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs on April 13, 2008.

Bryant later recorded a commentary for the film, describing his thought process behind every shot, every screen, every pass. As it happened, Bryant laid down the commentary just hours after scoring 61 against Lee’s beloved New York Knicks in February.

The film, which is scored by Bruce Hornsby, will air 8 p.m. EDT May 16 on ESPN.

Lee recently sat down with The Associated Press.

Question: A lot of people don’t like Bryant. Will they want to spend 90 minutes with him?

Answer: Whether you love him or hate him, I think if you know the game of basketball, you have to respect what he does on the court. I realize he has a lot of haters, but I’m not one of them.

There’s a tradition of some unrealistic basketball action in films like “Teen Wolf.”

Here’s the thing. You can get away in baseball using actors. Basketball is hard. How many times have you seen a basketball film where … you see the actor shoot – cut! – and the next shot is the basket with the ball going in? Hate that.

You can’t have cameras on the court …

Not yet!

So what’s the hardest thing about capturing the game?

What we tried to do – and I think we were successful – just try as much as possible to show how the game looks to the players as they play it. And it’s not just how it looks, it’s how it sounds.

A love for basketball certainly comes across, both from Bryant and you.

What you learn from this is that when people love what they do, it’s not like a job anymore. Then it becomes a joyful act – whatever that job is. The way he feels about basketball is the way I feel about being a filmmaker.

LOS ANGELES – Cocktails won’t be served, but ABC says a new online “music lounge” will offer a full menu of songs and artists featured on its shows.

The virtual ABC Music Lounge is aimed at making the most of the tunes included on “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Desperate Housewives” and other programs, the network said Thursday.

The Web site offers a streaming “radio station” playing 200-plus singers and bands whose songs have been heard on ABC, Web pages for featured artists and a link for online song purchases.

Music videos, exclusive performance footage and interviews with artists and show producers also are on the site.

“This is way to bring all the music of ABC into one place, to allow people to find and enjoy it,” said Michael Benson, ABC executive vice president for marketing.

Artists showcased on the new site include Adele, the Fray, Lenka, Anya Marina, Joshua Radin and Rilo Kiley.

ABC Music Lounge’s debut last week coincided with the 100th episode of “Grey’s Anatomy.” To mark the occasion, the Web site offered a retrospective of the music featured throughout the drama’s run.

Other TV networks highlight on-air music on their Web sites, but ABC said its goal is to offer the most “robust” destination. The Music Lounge is another measure of the growing importance of television to the music industry, ABC executives said.

“There’s been so much talk about CD sales declining. That doesn’t mean the use of music and demand for music is declining,” said Peter DiCecco, ABC senior vice president of business and legal affairs for music. “People always want a venue to find music. TV is that venue.”

Former Miss California USA Pageant state executive director Shanna Moakler, at a Monday news conference.

LOS ANGELES — Former beauty queen Shanna Moakler has resigned as executive director of the Miss California USA pageant, a day after controversial titleholder Carrie Prejean was allowed to keep her crown.

Moakler, a former Miss USA , said in a statement issued by her publicist Wednesday that she no longer believes in the organization.

She had angrily accused Prejean on Monday of violating the contract she signed with pageant organizers by speaking out repeatedly on behalf of organizations opposed to gay marriage and by failing to disclose she had posed nearly nude for photographs as a teenager.

Pageant owner Donald Trump, who could have ousted Prejean, said Tuesday she will remain Miss Calfornia.

Prejean.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Mark Landon, an actor and eldest son of “Little House on the Prairie” star Michael Landon, was found dead Monday at his home. He was 60.

The cause of death was not immediately clear but there was no evidence of foul play, said Sgt. David Infante of the Los Angeles County sheriff’s office.

Mark Landon, among Michael Landon’s nine children, appeared in three movies, including “Us” — a CBS television movie written and directed by his father in 1991 just before he died of cancer at age 54. The film was a pilot intended to be another series for Michael Landon. It aired a few months after his death.

Michael Landon also starred in such shows as “Bonanza” and “Highway to Heaven.” He adopted Mark Landon after marrying his mother, Dodie Levy-Fraser, in 1956.

This is a June 25, 1990 file photo of Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal. Ryan O'Neal says Farrah Fawcett's strength in the shadow of cancer has made him love her more than ever.

LOS ANGELES – Ryan O’Neal said Farrah Fawcett’s strength in the shadow of cancer has made him love her more than ever.

“She’s so much more of a woman and powerful, courageous, fearless and all those adjectives. And I look at her with awe,” he said in an interview with Meredith Vieira for NBC’s “Today.”

Vieira also talked to Fawcett’s friend, Alana Stewart, for reports airing on the “Today” show Wednesday and Thursday.

O’Neal and Stewart participated in the documentary titled “Farrah’s Story,” a video diary of the actress’ fight against anal cancer that has spread to her liver. The film airs Friday on NBC.

O’Neal and the “Charlie’s Angels” star had a long romantic relationship that ended in the late 1990s and are parents of a son, Redmond O’Neal.

Ryan O’Neal said Fawcett has managed to joke about her illness and his own battle against chronic myelogenous leukemia, which was diagnosed in 2001.

“She asked me once, `Am I gonna make it?’ She asked me that a couple of weeks ago,” O’Neal recounted. “I said, `Yeah, sure, you’ll make it. And if you don’t, I’ll go with you.’ And she said, `Then stop the Gleevec.’ And the Gleevec’s the medicine that I take for my leukemia.

“She’s the rock. She taught us all how to cope,” O’Neal said. “She’s extraordinary. I don’t know what I’ll do without her, to tell you the truth.”

Hosts Billy Bush, center, and Nadine Velazquez, right, listen as Miss California Carrie Prejean, left answers a question from judge Perez Hilton, unseen, about legalizing same-sex marriage during the Miss USA Pageant, April 19 in Las Vegas. "We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage," Prejean said. "And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised."

NEW YORK — Miss California USA can retain her crown even though she failed to reveal she had posed in her underwear as a teenager, pageant owner Donald Trump said Tuesday.

Carrie Prejean appeared by Trump’s side as he made the announcement at New York’s Trump Tower.

Trump also defended the answer that Prejean gave at last month’s Miss USA pageant when she was asked her view of marriage by judge Perez Hilton, a celebrity blogger. She said she believes marriage is between a man and a woman.

“It’s the same answer the president of the United States gave; it’s the same answer many people gave,” Trump said. “She gave an honorable answer; she gave an answer from her heart.”

Trump said he and other pageant officials had reviewed racy photos of Prejean and decided they were acceptable.

“We are in the 21st century. We have determined the pictures taken are fine,” he said, adding that “in some cases the pictures were lovely.”

After Trump spoke, the 21-year-old Prejean, who was accompanied by her parents, took her turn at the lectern, defending herself against what she described as vicious attacks.

She talked about getting thousands of letters and e-mails from people supporting her and said, about the marriage question, that Hilton had asked her a “politically charged question with a hidden personal agenda.”

“I stated my honest belief,” she said.

Hilton, whose real name is Mario Lavandeira, is best known as a celebrity blogger but has also branched off into gay rights advocacy.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – Officials of the Miss California USA pageant have strongly criticized titleholder Carrie Prejean (pray-ZHAN’) but say it’s not their decision whether she should be stripped of her crown.

Co-executive directors Keith Lewis and Shanna Moakler told a Beverly Hills press conference Monday that only Miss USA pageant owner Donald Trump can make that decision.

The 21-year-old San Diego native created controversy during the Miss USA pageant when she said she believes marriage should only be between a man and a woman.

The state pageant has been investigating whether she violated her contract by making public appearances with groups opposed to same-sex marriage. Prejean also failed to reveal that she once posed in her underwear.

Beyoncé’s catfight in ‘Obsessed’ is latest of memorable faceoffs to draw audiences

Beyoncé is involved in a furniture-smashing catfight with Ali Larter in "Obsessed."

LOS ANGELES – Ladies, ladies, please! We don’t have to tear each other apart in the name of love or jealousy or territory or fame.

But when we do, people will watch – as they did two weeks ago, when the thriller “Obsessed” scratched and clawed its way to the top of the box office.

The movie, which features Beyoncé Knowles as a wife whose marriage is threatened by another woman (Ali Larter), is propelled by a furniture-smashing catfight between the two sexy stars.

So what is it about the catfight that’s so irresistible? Maybe it’s all that animalistic physical contact – the slapping and grappling, the hair pulling and body slamming – which is so passionate, it seems to hold the promise that the women involved just might end up kissing afterward.

It’s a long and not-so-proud pop culture tradition. Some choice examples:

• Linda Evans vs. Joan Collins on “Dynasty”: Pretty much the gold standard for shlock – the defining guilty-pleasure moment in a series notorious for them. You know the back story: Krystle (Evans) is wealthy Blake Carrington’s wife, Alexis (Collins) is his vicious ex. Lots of girly pushing and splashing in the lily pond until Krystle starts repeatedly punching Alexis in the face. Thankfully, the shoulder pads on their dresses can be used as flotation devices.

• Denise Richards vs. Neve Campbell in “Wild Things”: This is, like, the ultimate male fantasy because it truly is a hair-yanking, swimming-pool catfight that evolves into a make-out session. The naughty rich girl (Richards) and the naughty poor girl (Campbell) smack each other – hard – but their sapphic tendencies, and their joint interest in framing Matt Dillon for rape, bring them together.

• Sigourney Weaver vs. the Alien Queen in “Aliens”: Such a famous movie moment, they even turned it into a DirecTV commercial. Weaver climbs inside a big, clunky, metal loader to take on the mama alien whose sweet little hatchlings have been causing so much carnage. The line she growls at the start – “Get away from her, you bitch!” – is a classic.

• Michelle Yeoh vs. Zhang Ziyi in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”: OK, so maybe this doesn’t qualify as a catfight in the traditional sense. As part of a film that won four Academy Awards, including the foreign-language award, it’s too classy, too artsy, too elegant. But it does feature two gorgeous women trying to destroy each other, albeit with exquisite choreography.

• Shirley MacLaine vs. Anne Bancroft in “The Turning Point”: Two veteran actresses square off as former friends and ballerinas in this 1977 drama. MacLaine’s Deedee, who gave up her career to have a family, is the mother of Emelia, a promising young dancer herself. Bancroft’s Emma is a fading star who latches onto Emelia and lives vicariously through the girl’s fresh success. Years of resentments explode when the two women go at it in front of the theater on Emelia’s opening night.

• Lois Griffin vs. Gloria Ironbox on “Family Guy”: Lois feels threatened when ultra-PC sensitivity trainer Gloria (voiced by Candice Bergen) taps into Peter’s previously undiscovered sensitive side. But she turns violent when Gloria condescendingly questions her choice to be a stay-at-home mom. The ensuing fight is so hot, it snaps Peter back into his horny, doltish self.

• Miley Cyrus vs. Tyra Banks in “Hannah Montana: The Movie”: Not quite a classic, but curiously it does reflect the depths to which these multimedia multimillionaires will stoop to get a laugh. The cause of their catfight? Shoes, of course – a pair both women want, and there’s only one left in the store in their size. Because shoes are the only thing in a woman’s life worth fighting for.

• Kate Hudson vs. Anne Hathaway in “Bride Wars”: Not exactly a classic either, but blissfully it signals the climax of this shrill comedy about best friends who plan their dream weddings at the same place on the same day. A screechy frenzy of hair and veils and silk. But naturally, Hudson and Hathaway’s characters find a way to hug and make up for a forced, feel-good ending.

• Melissa Gilbert vs. Alison Arngrim on “Little House on the Prairie”: This one had been percolating for a long time. Their hatred finally boils over when that mean old Nellie (Arngrim) misleads Laura (Gilbert) about the content of a history test. Half-Pint lets her have it, dragging her into the mud and smothering her prissy white bonnet in dirt. But hunky Almanzo rides up in his carriage just in time to pull the girls apart and restore peace in Walnut Grove.

Ashanti

NEW YORK – Ashanti is going down the Yellow Brick Road to Oz.

The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter will make her stage debut this summer as Dorothy in a revival of “The Wiz,” the soul-tinged version of the classic L. Frank Baum story.

The musical will play June 12 through July 5 at New York City Center as part of its “Encores! Summer Stars” series. Opening night is June 18.

“The Wiz” has a book by William F. Brown and a score by Charlie Smalls.

Stormy Daniels visits a local restaurant in downtown New Orleans, Wednesday, May 6, 2009. Daniels, an adult film star, is exploring the possibility of challenging incumbent Louisiana U.S. .Sen. David Vitter when Vitter stands for re-election.

BATON ROUGE, La. — Stormy Daniels strode onstage at a downtown Baton Rouge restaurant in a tight black blouse with a plunging neckline and a knee-length skirt in the popular purple of Louisiana State University. She introduced herself with a warning.

“For those of you who don’t know who I am,” she told the lunch crowd at The Roux House, “I’d suggest that you don’t Google that until you get home from work.”

She’s a Louisiana-born porn star who says she is considering a 2010 run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican David Vitter, whose family-values reputation was marred in 2007 when his name was linked to a Washington prostitution ring.

Daniels, 30, insists she’s serious. She’s spending her own money on a “listening tour” to hear what people have to say as she considers a possible run, and said she isn’t just starting a publicity stunt to promote her work or embarrass Vitter. However, she said she hasn’t lived in Louisiana for seven years — she currently resides in Florida — and would need to re-establish residency to run.

She sprinkled her presentation Tuesday with the occasional joke (“If you get any closer you’re going to have to start tipping me,” she told a crowd of reporters and photographers) but she kept the topics serious.

Daniels backs some issues common to many candidates, including bringing troops home sooner from Iraq and replacing the federal income tax with a national sales tax. Others are closer to her professional background, including pushing to remove child pornography from the Internet and keeping minors from viewing adult material.

She doesn’t want to take questions about Vitter. “I think it’s about time David Vitter started answering David Vitter questions,” she said.

Vitter has steadfastly refused to discuss the “serious sin” he confessed to after his phone number was linked to Deborah Palfrey, the so-called “D.C. Madam” who committed suicide as she faced prison time for running a prostitution ring that catered to the powerful. His office declined to comment Wednesday on Daniels’ possible candidacy.

Vitter, 48, kept a low profile in the months after his scandal broke but has emerged as a chief critic of government bailouts and President Barack Obama’s spending plans — popular stands in a state that went solidly for Republican John McCain in last year’s presidential election.

He also has been aggressively fundraising, amassing $2.5 million in campaign funds for what will be his first re-election attempt since the Palfrey scandal broke. He won the Senate seat for the first time in 2004, spending more than $7 million to defeat four major opponents for the open position.

Noting Vitter’s solid conservative stances and his healthy campaign account, Ed Chervenak, a political science professor at the University of New Orleans, doesn’t think a Daniels candidacy would do much damage.

“It’s probably going to be fairly easy for him to ignore her,” he said.

“What it really shows is the lack of any real credible Democratic challenger,” he added.

Pollster and political consultant Bernie Pinsonat agreed. But he said a possible Daniels’ candidacy could be a distraction if Vitter is challenged in next year’s Republican primary.

“Is she a threat to beat him? No. Is she really going to run? I seriously doubt it,” Pinsonat said. “But if I had my druthers and I was running the campaign of David Vitter, I would rather she not be there.”

Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne has expressed interest in the GOP primary. Others reportedly considering a run are retired state Supreme Court Justice Chet Traylor, a Republican; and state Sen. Eric LaFleur and Shaw Group CEO Jim Bernhard, both Democrats. Nobody has announced.

If nothing else, a Daniels candidacy could bring color to the Senate campaign the way adult film star Mary Carey did as a candidate for governor in California’s 2003 recall race, which Arnold Schwarzenegger won. And Daniels could restore the spectacle missing from Louisiana politics since the unabashed gambler, reputed womanizer and now-felon Edwin Edwards left the governor’s office in 1996.

Edwards was succeeded by the staid Mike Foster, the grandmotherly Kathleen Blanco and the young policy wonk, Bobby Jindal. All are a far cry from other colorful characters from Louisiana’s political past: the windmill-armed Depression-era orator, Huey Long; country-singing Gov. Jimmie Davis, who once rode up the Capitol steps on horseback; or Gov. Earl Long, Huey’s brother, who openly cavorted with Bourbon Street stripper Blaze Starr in the 1950s.

Daniels, meanwhile, has not committed to a candidacy — or a political party.

She decided to explore a possible run after a draft movement started by fans after the Palfrey scandal broke, she said. “I completely ignored the whole thing for a while, and then I just got so much encouragement and feedback that I thought at the very least I owe it to myself and to the people to come out and see what they have to say.”

At Mike Serio’s Po-Boys & Deli in downtown New Orleans on Wednesday, the crowd was friendly but some seemed more interested in Daniels’ film career, which includes starring roles in numerous adult movies, including 2007′s “Operation: Desert Stormy,” according to the film database IMDb.com. She has also written and directed adult films for the production company Wicked Pictures and won several adult movie industry awards.

“You look familiar. Not your face, though,” said Jody Mathern, 51, a New Orleans man who said he works in the oil industry, drawing laughs from Daniels and a table full of oil patch workers. “She’s a whole lot prettier than Vitter. But I still don’t know what color her eyes are.”

NEW YORK – Police in New York City say Kiefer Sutherland is expected to turn himself in for questioning about a fashion designer’s claim that the actor head-butted him at a nightclub.

The star of Fox television’s “24″ could be charged with misdemeanor assault in the incident early Tuesday. He’s expected to turn himself in on Thursday to talk with police.

Jack McCollough of the Proenza Schouler fashion house claims Sutherland attacked him after an argument, leaving him with a cut on his face. Actress Brooke Shields may also be questioned as a witness.

Sutherland was released from a Glendale, Calif., jail last year after serving 48 days on a drunken driving charge.

Several calls to representatives for Sutherland, McCollough and Shields haven’t been returned.

NEW YORK — Paula Abdul has told a magazine that she overcame a 12-year addiction to painkillers last year.

The “American Idol” judge tells Ladies Home Journal in its June issue that she checked into a resort and spa in Carlsbad, Calif., where she weaned herself off her medications last Thanksgiving.

Abdul says she didn’t like existing the way she had been.

The magazine says the 46-year-old singer-dancer had suffered for years from chronic pain caused by an unusual series of accidents.

Abdul’s spokesman, Jeff Ballard, says Abdul “has moved forward in her life.”

DeLuise in 1989

LOS ANGELES – Dom DeLuise, the portly actor-comedian whose affable nature made him a popular character actor for decades with movie and TV audiences as well as directors and fellow actors, has died. He was 75.

DeLuise died Monday night, son Michael DeLuise told KTLA-TV and radio station KNX on Tuesday. The comedian died in his sleep after a long illness. Calls to his agent were not immediately returned.

The actor, who loved to cook and eat almost as much as he enjoyed acting, also carved out a formidable second career later in life as a chef of fine cuisine. He authored two cookbooks and would appear often on morning TV shows to whip up his favorite recipes.

As an actor, he was incredibly prolific, appearing in scores of movies and TV shows, in Broadway plays and voicing characters for numerous cartoon shows.

Writer-director-actor Mel Brooks particularly admired DeLuise’s talent for offbeat comedy and cast him in several of his films, including “The Twelve Chairs,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Silent Movie,” “History of the World Part I” and “Robin Hood: Men in Tights.” DeLuise was also the voice of Pizza the Hutt in Brooks’ “Star Wars” parody, “Spaceballs.”

The actor also appeared frequently in films opposite his friend Burt Reynolds. Among them, “The End,” “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” ‘Smokey and the Bandit II,” “The Cannonball Run” and “Cannonball Run II.”

Another actor-friend, Dean Martin, admired his comic abilities so much that he cast DeLuise as a regular on his 1960s comedy-variety show. In 1973, he starred in a situation comedy, “Lotsa Luck,” but it proved to be short-lived.

Other TV credits included appearances on such shows as “The Munsters,” “The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.,” “Burke’s Law,” “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” and “Diagnosis Murder.”

On Broadway, DeLuise appeared in Neil Simon’s “Last of the Red Hot Lovers” and other plays.

Because of his passion for food, the actor battled obesity throughout much of his life, his weight reaching as much as 325 pounds at one point. For years, he resisted the efforts of family members and doctors who tried to put him on various diets. He finally agreed in 1993 when he needed hip replacement surgery and his doctor refused to perform it until he lost 100 pounds.

He and his family enrolled at the Duke University Diet and Fitness Center in Durham, N.C., and DeLuise lost enough weight for the surgery, although he gained some of it back afterward.

On the positive side, his love of food resulted in two successful cookbooks, 1988′s “Eat This — It Will Make You Feel Better!” and 1997′s “Eat This Too! It’ll Also Make You Feel Good.”

At his Pacific Palisades home, DeLuise often prepared feasts for family and friends. One lunch began with turkey soup and ended with strawberry shortcake. In between, were platters of beef filet, chicken breast and sausage, a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs and a saucer of lettuce.

He strongly resembled the famed chef Paul Prudhomme and joked in a 1987 Associated Press interview that he had posed as Prudhomme while visiting his New Orleans restaurant, K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen.

DeLuise was appearing on Broadway in “Here’s Love” in the early 1960s when Garry Moore saw him and hired him to play the magician “Dominick the Great” on “The Garry Moore Show.”

His appearances on the hit comedy-variety program brought offers from Hollywood, and DeLuise first came to the attention of movie-goers in “Fail Safe,” a drama starring Henry Fonda. He followed with a comedy, “The Glass Bottom Boat,” starring Doris Day, and from then on he alternated between films and television.

“I was making $7,000 a week — a lot of money back then — but I didn’t even know I was rich,” he recalled in 1994. “I was just having such a great time.”

He was born Dominick DeLuise in New York City on Aug. 1, 1933, to Italian immigrants. His father, who spoke only Italian, was a garbage collector, and those humble beginnings stayed with him throughout his life.

“My dad knows everything there is to know about garbage,” one of the actor’s sons, David DeLuise, told The Associated Press in 2008. “He loves to pick up a broken chair and fix it.”

DeLuise’s introduction to acting came at age 8 when he played the title role of Peter Rabbit in a school play. He went on to graduate from New York City’s famed School of Performing Arts in Manhattan.

For five years, he sought work in theater or television with little luck. He finally decided to enroll at Tufts College and study biology, with the aim of becoming a teacher.

Acting called him back, however, and he found work at the Cleveland Playhouse, appearing in stage productions that ranged from comedies such as “Kiss Me Kate” to Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”

“I worked two years solidly on plays and moving furniture and painting scenery and playing parts,” he remarked in a 2006 interview. “It was quite an amazing learning place for me.”

While working in summer stock in Provincetown, Mass., he met a beautiful young actress, Carol Arthur, and they were soon married.

The couple’s three sons, Peter, Michael and David, all became actors and all appeared with their father in the 1990s TV series “SeaQuestDSV,” in which Peter and Michael were regulars.

Nine Inch Nails vocalist Trent Reznor performs during a concert at Key Arena in Seattle last July. Reznor won a Webby award for releasing his 2008 album as a free download.

NEW YORK – Jimmy Fallon’s late-night show hasn’t been on the air three months, but he’s already got an award. The comedian was chosen as person of the year by the annual Webby awards for being “one of the most ardent online evangelists.”

The 13th annual Webbys were announced Tuesday. A special achievement award was also given to Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, who released his 2008 album, “The Slip,” as a free download.

Seth MacFarlane, the “Family Guy” creator, was honored as film and video person of the year for his Web franchise “Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy.”

Nation Public Radio led winners with seven awards, including wins for its music division, mobile news and podcasts. The New York Times’ online unit — last year’s Webby leader — earned six awards, the same total that NBC.com also received.

Twitter, the fast-growing microblogging site, won the Webby for breakout of the year.

Two well-known comedians were also singled out.

Sarah Silverman was honored as best actress for her performance in the viral video “I’m … Matt Damon” and for her contribution to a voting initiative video. Lisa Kudrow won for outstanding comedic performance as the star of the series “Web Therapy” on lstudio.com.

The awards will be presented in New York on June 8, hosted by Seth Meyers (“Saturday Night Live”). The Webbys are known for their brief acceptance speeches, where winners are limited to five words. (Stephen Colbert, a special achievement winner last year, said: “Me. Me. Me. Me. Me.”)

Since “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” began in early March, the comedian has augmented his NBC broadcast with Web videos, blogging and tweeting on Twitter.

Reznor’s online fervor was evident Sunday, when he posted in a Nine Inch Nails forum that he was frustrated with what he called Apple’s inconsistent standards. He criticized the company for not making the band’s album “The Downward Spiral” available on its iPhone app even though it’s for sale on iTunes.

The Onion won for best humor Web site and its television news parody, Onion News Network, won for best writing. The Huffington Post won for best political Web site.

Best individual comedy short went to “Prop 8: The Musical,” a video from the Will Ferrell co-founded site FunnyOrDie.com. The star-studded video (Jack Black, Neil Patrick Harris) suggested that gay marriage (which was then being voted on in California as Proposition 8) would save the economy.

Best comedy series went to “Childrens’ Hospital,” the medical drama parody for TheWeb.com by Rob Corddry (“The Daily Show”).

PBS won four Webbys, including best news and politics series for its “Frontline/World iWitness.” Others with multiple awards included the BBC, Sundance Channel, YouTube Live, Next New Networks and Wired.com.

The Webbys are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 550-member group of Web experts. Every category has two winners: one picked by the Webbys and the other chosen by online voting.

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ON THE WEB

http://www.webbyawards.com