MOURNED: Marlon Brando died of lung failure at a Los Angeles hospital on Thursday at age 80. Iconic star of A Streetcar Named Desire and The Godfather, Brando was an esteemed actor and Method-acting innovator, as well as renowned oddball-recluse who refused to accept his second Oscar for The Godfather.
BRANDO ADD: Plagued by ill health, he spent the last few years fighting lawsuits brought about by former employees and ex-girlfriends. But he was said to be preparing for his grand return to the big screen as the voice of an old lady in the planned animated feature Big Bug Man.
REMEMBERED: James Caan releasing a statement saying Brando "influenced more young actors of my generation than any actor." Robert De Niro said, "He was a great actor. We all loved him and I'll really miss him." Robert DuVall said, "He was like a godfather to many young actors worldwide...His memory will live forever."
MORE TRIBUTES: Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola remembers Brando, "Marlon would hate the idea of people chiming in to give their comments about his death. All I'll say is that it makes me sad he's gone."
MORE BRANDO: Eva Marie Saint on Brando, "I'll never forget the wonderful experience working with Marlon filming On the Waterfront. Playing those scenes with him was something I shall always treasure." Costar Karl Malden added, "Every time I worked with him he made me look good."
THE WEB GROWS: Spider-Man 2 racking up $64.3 million in its first two days. Thursday's take alone was $23.8 million.
'FESS UP: A judge warning Phil Spector's defense team to turn over any evidence that may be used in his murder trial to the prosecution for inspection. Spector's attorneys deny having any evidence, in particular a rumored fingernail. A preliminary hearing has been sent for Oct. 20.
BEULLER? Jeffrey Jones, best known for playing high school principal Ed Rooney in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, arrested on Thursday and charged with failing to register as a sex offender. The 57-year-old actor pleaded no contest last July to a felony charge of employing a minor to pose for sexually explicit photos.
PAINT THIS: Elizabeth Taylor battling a German family who demands she return a Vincent Van Gogh painting titled "View of the Asylum of Saint-Remy," valued at $10 million to $15 million, that they claim was taken from them by the Nazis. The screen legend has filed a pre-emptive court declaration stating that she's the rightful owner.
LET'S GO CRAZY: Prince reuniting with Sheila E., guitarist Wendy Melvoin and Morris Day and the The Time for a five-hour concert at Friday's Essence Music Festival show at the Superdome in New Orleans, attended by 50,000 people. The funkmeister closed out the show with an emotional rendition of his classic "Purple Rain."
TEMPERS RISING: The president of Fridley Theaters, a Des Moines, Iowa-based movie chain, refusing to screen Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, believing the film aids terrorists. The film has grossed an amazing $40 million in its first week of release.
AGE NOT A FACTOR: Paul Newman forced to quit the American GT Challenge feature car race on Saturday in Salisbury, Connecticut, after suffering mechanical problems. The 79-year-old actor was running in the top three for about two-thirds of the race.
SMART BOOKING: Great White, the rock band whose pyrotechnics sparked a fire that killed 100 people at a Rhode Island nightclub, set to play a Fourth of July show in St. Petersburg, Florida that will be coinciding with fireworks.
CURTAINS: The Toronto production of Mel Brooks' The Producers, closing July 4, two months earlier than previously announced after a downturn in tourism.
FACING THE MUSIC: David Crosby copping a guilty plea Friday to a gun charge stemming from March arrest. He was fined $5,000 and sentenced to a conditional discharge.
ALSO ON THE DOCKET: Scott Weiland entering a no-contest plea Friday to a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence. He's due to be sentenced July 8. The Velvet Revolver frontman had earlier pleaded no contest to heroin possession and was sentenced to residential drug treatment.
LEGAL JUNGLE: South African lawyers launching a copyright infringement lawsuit against Walt Disney Co. for using "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," one of the country's most popular tunes, in its Lion King movies and failing to pay royalties to the Zulu migrant worker family that wrote it.
KEEP PLUCKIN': A legal battle over who officially owns bluegrass music legend Bill Monroe's mandolin heading to trial later this month in Tennessee. Monroe's son, James, wants to sell the instrument to the Ohio County Industrial Foundation, a sale which is opposed by the director of the Bill Monroe Foundation.
RICH HOBBIT: New Zealand director Peter Jackson making a killing off the success of his Lord of the Rings trilogy, increasing his earnings from $45 million last year to $118 million this year, according to a survey in National Business Review.
HONORING A TOP GUN: Tom Cruise will introduce a tribute to late football star Pat Tillman, killed in action in Afghanistan, during the 12th annual ESPY Awards set to be taped July 14 at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre. It airs July 18 on ESPN.
PLANTING A KISS: Jadakiss' new album, Kiss of Death, topping the Billboard charts, selling 246,000 copies for the week ending June 27 while Usher's Confessions held steady at number two wit h149,000 units sold. The Beastie Boys' To the Five Boroughs fell to number three.
LIVIN' IT UP: Ja Rule being charged Thursday with misdemeanor possession of marijuana and driving without a license after being pulled over in New York for changing lanes without signaling. After paying a $550 fine, the charge was apparently dropped, according to the Associated Press.
WEDDING BELLS? Beverly Hills, 90210 alum Tori Spelling intends to swap vows with fiancé Charlie Shanian on Saturday in Malibu, USA Today reports. Her reps refused to confirm the date.
AILING: Star Trek vet James Doohan is battling Alzheimer's disease, his son confirms. The 84-year-old actor also has Parkinson's and diabetes.
GET IN THE ZONE: New Line Cinema planning to release UPN's updated version of The Twilight Zone containing all 43 episodes on September 7.
REMEMBERING CELIA: Celia: My Life, an autobiography from the late Queen of Salsa Celia Cruz, set for release on July 6 while two albums of Cruz hit stores on July 16.