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Monday, 8 October, 2001, 16:14 GMT 17:14 UK
Matrix star dies at home
Actress Gloria Foster, the distinguished African-American actress best known for her performance as the Oracle in 1999's The Matrix, has died aged 64.
She died after complications from diabetes at her New York home. Her death comes as the sequels to the Keanu Reeves science fiction movie were about to go into production.
Osmond shop sells celebrity memories Jimmy Osmond is hoping to cash in on the family name with his new venture, the Osmond General Store. The shop offers a mix of show business memorabilia, trinkets and home products. Shoppers can buy, among other items, a toy pistol once owned by Elvis, a pair of leather dress gloves worn by Marilyn Monroe, and a string tie with a silver horse owned by John Wayne. A corner of the store is dedicated to Osmond recordings, performance videos, hats signed by family members, and a line of dolls marketed by his sister Marie.
Huge TV audience for England game England's World Cup qualifier against Greece on Saturday was watched by the largest Saturday afternoon audience for any TV channel in four years. The BBC One audience for the football match, which was drawn 2-2, peaked at 11.8 million - representing 71.1% of those watching TV. The audience for the whole game was 9.8m, or a 67% share. Peter Salmon, BBC Director of Sport, said: "We are delighted that nearly 12 million watched the game on the BBC - it shows how important it is that the World Cup is on terrestrial television."
US Weakest Link gets second presenter George Gray, an actor whose film credits include Clint Eastwood's Tombstone, will present a new daytime edition of The Weakest Link in the US. The show's music, set and graphics are to remain as before but the number of contestants will be reduced to six from eight - so that the programme fits into its US timeslot. A BBC spokeswoman said that the style of the show would also remain the same: "Different presenters are likely to have the same presence and authority, and will probably be just as nasty." Anne Robinson will still present the prime-time version of the US show, which attracted an audience of 52.4 million during its first three showings.
Savage Garden split up The Australian pop music duo Savage Garden have split, with Darren Hayes embarking on a solo career and Daniel Jones returning home to Brisbane. The group achieved global sales of 20 million in four years after emerging on the music scene in 1996 and winning a record 10 ARIAs, the Australian music industry's most prestigious award. "We achieved something so great in a short period of time that we had to look for something else,'' Jones said on Friday. "We've both had a lot of success together - we'll probably have a lot of success independently in the future.''
De Berni�res looks east Captain Corelli author Louis de Berni�res is looking at the North West Frontier - the area bordering Afghanistan - for literary inspiration. In an interview with the Sunday Times, the author said that both his grandfather and great-uncle had served as soldiers in the region and he felt it would be a good setting for a historical novel. But de Berni�res, who recently published a collection of short stories, will not start work on the novel until he has finished his current work-in-progress - Birds Without Wings. The novel is set amid the Greek and Turkish ethnic strife following World War I.
Caine 'in talks' for Austin Powers 3 Michael Caine is being lined up to star in the next instalment of the Austin Powers films, reports say. Caine, who has won two Oscars, is said to be lined up to play a security specialist in the Royal Navy in Austin Powers 3: Goldmember, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The film will see Mike Myers reprise his successful spoof spy character Powers as well as Dr Evil and Fat Bastard, and will play new villain Goldmember. The film is scheduled to be released in summer 2002, the paper added.
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