'AMC's' Palmer Cortland dead at 89

ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES – James Mitchell, who for nearly three decades played gruff patriarch Palmer Cortland on the ABC soap opera "All My Children," has died, his longtime partner said Sunday night.
Mitchell died Friday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, his partner, Albert Wolsky, said. Mitchell had suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for years, complicated by a recent bout of pneumonia.
He appeared in more than 300 episodes of the popular soap from 1979 until a 40th anniversary episode this month. He was a regular on the show until 2008.
Mitchell enjoyed playing the icy, wealthy Palmer, who wielded power over his children and the show's fictional town of Pine Valley.
Born in Sacramento on Feb. 29, 1920 and trained as a dancer, Mitchell had leading roles in the Broadway musicals "Brigadoon" and "Paint Your Wagon." He also danced on stage with the American Ballet Theater.
His film credits include 1953's "The Band Wagon" with Fred Astaire, 1954's "Deep in My Heart" and 1955's "Oklahoma."
Mitchell also taught movement for actors at Yale University and Drake University, where he was awarded an honorary doctorate.
Funeral plans were pending.

More ‘Idol’ drama
A moment of pride has turned to sorrow as an “American Idol” contestant has been cut from the competition after violating a confidentiality agreement, according to a report.

Michael Lynche (a.k.a. Big Mike) was reportedly told to pack his bags after his father revealed to his local Florida paper, The St. Petersburg Times, that Michael had made the top 24 — a violation of Idol rules requiring the singers and their families to keep the Hollywood week results quiet until they’re broadcast.

According to People.com and the New York Post, citing” Idol 's" spoiler site Joe’s Place, says Michael was replaced in the top 24 over the weekend. FOX has declined to comment on the report.

Ooops!
Did the Black Eyed Peas jinx itself Saturday night when the group opened France's NRJ awards with its No. 1 anthem, "I Gotta Feeling?"

Even though the song predicts that "tonight's gonna be a good night," it actually turned out to be embarrassing for the hip-hop pop act that was mistakenly announced as the winner of the best international group honor, the New York Daily News reports.

Fortunately, the Peas did not take the stage when presenters Ke$ha and French choreographer Kamel Ouali accidentally called the group's name.

The German rock band Tokio Hotel was the actual winner.

After realizing the error, Ouali apologized. He said that the information card was confusing because it listed the winner and the other nominees. The crowd booed.

T.M. I.
Speaking of the Black Eyed Peas, as rumors fly that Fergie's husband cheated on her, the singer-actress, 34, is releasing juicy details about her own sex life.

She tells the Advocate that her hubby, Josh Duhamel, is "well-endowed" and confirms that she's bisexual.

In the interview, which was conducted before the recent rumors that Duhamel had sex with a stripper, Fergie says she's been honest with her famous husband about her bisexuality from the beginning.

"I think women are beautiful," she says. "I've had a lot of fun with women, and I'm not ashamed of it. The problem is that I also love a well-endowed man.

"But just because I enjoy women doesn't mean I'm allowed to have affairs in my relationship," Fergie adds. "I learned through talking with my therapist that it is still cheating even if it's with girls, so there is a rule there."

The same rules don't seem to apply for Duhamel though.

The "Transformers" star allegedly cheated with a blonde stripper on Oct. 9, just nine months after he married the singer, according to The National Enquirer.

The stripper, Nicole Forrester, told the Enquirer that she met Duhamel in an all-nude club in Atlanta, while was in Georgia filming "Life As We Know It."