Academy honors film icons early

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences broke with tradition and presented its honorary Oscars off-camera Saturday night, months ahead of the televised ceremony in March.

Actress Lauren Bacall, B-movie king Roger Corman and "Godfather" cinematographer Gordon Willis each received Oscar statuettes during the black-tie banquet at the Grand Ballroom above the Kodak Theatre, the same room where the post-Academy Awards Governors Ball is held.

In addition, producer John Calley was honored with the Irving J. Thalberg Memorial Award, recognizing career accomplishments that include "Catch-22," "The Remains of the Day" and "The Da Vinci Code."

'Hello, Ohio!' (Psst!, we're in Michigan)

Want to get away, Boss?

Bruce Springsteen bellowed "Hello, Ohio!" to his fans at the Palace of Auburn Hills. That's in Michigan.

The 60-year-old rock legend referred to the neighboring state several times Friday night until E Street Band guitarist Steve Van Zandt whispered in his ear.

A visibly embarrassed Springsteen grinned and said such a mistake was "every frontman's nightmare."

Dobbs says he may consider public office

Lou Dobbs says he doesn't feel like he was pushed out of CNN, the news organization where he worked for all but two years of its existence until last Wednesday.

"Not at all," he said in a weekend interview. "I don't know if people will believe it, but we had a very amicable parting on the best of terms."

Dobbs said he plans to take time deciding what he wants to do, beyond his daily radio show. He promised to reach out to groups who criticized him.

He said his separation agreement didn't have a non-compete clause, and also that a run for public office interests him.

"I know certain things that are immutable and one of them is that I'm going to be engaged in the public arena," he said.

Today's birthdays

Blues musician Hubert Sumlin is 78. Actor David Leisure is 59. Actor Miguel Sandoval is 58. Actress Marg Helgenberger is 51. Jazz singer Diana Krall is 45. Actress Lisa Bonet is 42. Actress Martha Plimpton is 39. Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal is 32. NBA player Amar'e Stoudemire is 27.

Source: The Associated Press