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Ebert Gets A Thumb's Up After His Latest Surgery

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 26, 2008

Roger Ebert, who has undergone a series of cancer surgeries, was recovering Friday after having yet another operation. The 65-year-old film critic had successful surgery Thursday in Houston to address complications from previous operations, his attorney said in a statement.

"Chaz and Roger Ebert are grateful to everyone for the continued prayers and concern," Eliot Ephraim said Friday. "The surgery went well, and the Eberts look forward to giving you more good news about Roger's recovery in the days to come." He did not give details.

Ebert, a film critic at the Chicago Sun-Times for more than 40 years, has undergone a series of operations, including the removal of a growth on his salivary gland and a tracheostomy, a procedure that opens an airway through an incision in the windpipe, that left him unable to speak.

His New Movie Makes Quaid Cry

Dennis Quaid says his new movie shows "life imitating art." The actor, whose newborn twins were given an overdose of blood thinner in November, choked up at the sight of himself holding two healthy babies in the final shots of "Smart People."

"It actually really gets me when I see this. I'm a little verklempt," Quaid said onstage at the movie's Sundance Film Festival premiere this week. "The character came to have hope for himself but in a sense it came true for me."

The twins born to Quaid and his wife Kimberly by a surrogate mother have recovered from the overdose of heparin administered at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The couple sued the drug maker.

Outraged Daisy Puts Up Her Dukes

Don't mess with Jessica Simpson or you'll get a strongly worded letter from her attorneys.

The singer-actress is so angry about an OK! magazine article that speculates about the state of her relationships with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and her sister, Ashlee, that her attorneys have sent a cease and desist letter, reports TMZ.com.

The document sent Thursday refers to the Feb. 4 publication that claims Romo dumped Simpson in the wake of the Cowboys' loss to the Giants this month and that Simpson is estranged from her sister.

The letter claims that the article is "utterly false" and that "(1) Mr. Romo and Ms. Simpson have not broken off their romantic relationship; and (2) Ashlee Simpson has made no effort to 'distance herself' with her sister, Jessica, with whom she remains extremely close."

The letter demands the magazine "immediately publish a prominent and unambiguous retraction" and "cease and desist from publishing any further false and misleading attacks" against Simpson and her family.

After Almost 30 Years, He Be Gone From UB40

Ali Campbell has quit UB40 after almost 30 years, citing management problems. His bandmates, however, said the 48-year-old singer left to pursue solo projects.

In a statement on his Web site, Campbell said Friday that "management difficulties, which have been ongoing for almost five years, had become intolerable."

UB40, founded in Birmingham, England, fused reggae and pop, notably on hit versions of "Red Red Wine" and "I Got You Babe."

Today's Birthdays

Actress Anne Jeffreys ("Topper," "General Hospital") is 85. Actor Paul Newman is 83. Sports announcer-actor Bob Uecker is 73. Actor Scott Glenn is 69. Actor David Strathairn is 59. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen is 53. Comedian Ellen DeGeneres is 50.

Source: The Associated Press

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