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Published: August 27, 2008
■ Kenny Rogers is proud of his 50-year career, but he cannot help but hope that the best is yet to come. "For me, the whole goal is to stay relevant as long as I can," said Rogers, whose career retrospective, Kenny Rogers: 50 Years, came out yesterday exclusively through Cracker Barrel restaurants. The 12-track CD includes hits such as "Lucille" and "The Gambler," but also has three new songs. Rogers, 70, became a superstar in the 1970s and '80s. His career cooled in the '90s, but he continues to have hits. His 2006 album, Water & Bridges, charted three songs, including the No. 14 "I Can't Unlove You." He is working on a new album.
■ Novelist Salman Rushdie won an apology yesterday from a former bodyguard who attacked his character, a court decision that the author hopes will set a new precedent for high-profile English libel trials. Former Metropolitan Police Officer Ronald Evans accepted that the allegations made in his book On Her Majesty's Service were untrue and apologized to Rushdie and his former wife Elizabeth West "for the hurt and damage they have suffered as a result," attorney Theo Solley told London's High Court. Rushdie, who sought to recover only his attorney costs, became a free-speech icon after Muslims across the world demanded the retraction of his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses. He said yesterday before the hearing that there was no parallel between attempting to suppress a work of fiction and trying to pass off a lie as fact.
■ George Clooney and Brad Pitt are making two appearances at the Venice Film Festival in Italy this week. They attended a fundraiser for their charity, Not On Our Watch, last night, and will return to the red carpet today when the Coen brothers' film Burn After Reading opens the 65th edition of the festival, which runs through Sept. 6. Not On Our Watch has raised more than $7 million to help victims of the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan and cyclone victims in Myanmar, according to executive director Alex Wagner.
■ American soprano Renee Fleming and Pink Floyd band members Nick Mason and Roger Waters have received this year's Swedish Polar Music Prize. The award committee said that Fleming won for her unparalleled voice, and Pink Floyd for its contribution to the development of popular culture. Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf handed out the prizes, each worth $157,7000, to the winners at a ceremony in the Stockholm Concert Hall yesterday. The Polar prize is Sweden's biggest music award and is usually split between pop artists and classical musicians.
Deaths
■ Dave Freeman, 47, after hitting his head in a fall at his home in Venice, Calif. He was a co-author of 100 Things to Do Before You Die, a travel guide and ode to odd adventures that inspired readers and imitators.
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