Kutcher confirms: death will claim Charlie on "Men" (Reuters)

NEW YORK (The Wrap.com) – Ashton Kutcher confirmed TV's biggest open secret: Charlie Sheen's character will indeed die on "Two and a Half Men."

Talking to David Letterman on Wednesday's "The Late Show," Kutcher held up well under relentless questioning about how his character, heartbroken Internet entrepreneur Walden Schmidt, will join the series. Their shared network, CBS, has kept details close to the vest.

But Kutcher did concede that Sheen dies -- without saying how.

"How do you come in?" Letterman asked. "Because this is like jumping off of a truck running."

"No, that was Charlie's character," Kutcher joked. "No, no, I -- Charlie's character is no longer with us."

An entertaining back and forth ensued:

Letterman: "How does he die? We know he dies."

Kutcher: "I can't reveal how he dies. No, I was explicitly told..."

Letterman: "How does he die, seriously. Heart attack?"

Kutcher: "He dies because he is no longer living."

Letterman: "Is it a medical problem or is it like a robbery gone bad?"

Kutcher: "It's a death scenario."

Letterman: "Forgets to turn the gas off?"

Kutcher: "It's -- abroad. That's a double entendre. That's a double entendre."

Letterman: "You're referring to a woman?"

Kutcher: "I don't know. ... We've both got really good jobs. I want to keep mine."

Then Letterman accused him of killing Sheen's character, Charlie Harper. And Kutcher suggested that he may have been the one who issued an Internet call for Letterman's death last week.

He added: "I show up when Jon Cryer's character needs me the most."

We've heard before that Harper dies abroad in a woman-related accident. A report earlier this month had him dying in a "meat explosion" after he slips -- or is pushed by his angry wife -- in front of a Paris train.

Cryer said at the time he couldn't confirm Sheen's character would die -- but said Harper's farewell wouldn't be too gruesome.

CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler also refused earlier this month to say whether Harper would live or die.

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Coroner confirms "Real Housewives" husband suicide (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The husband of Beverly Hills "Real Housewives" television star Taylor Armstrong committed suicide by hanging, coroner officials said on Wednesday.

An autopsy on Russell Armstrong, 47, also found no preliminary traces of drugs or alcohol in the body of the venture capitalist who died on Monday, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said.

No suicide note was found with his body.

Armstrong's death came three weeks before the scheduled start of the second season of the reality TV show about six rich women in Beverly Hills.

Taylor Armstrong had filed for divorce in July and her husband was facing a $1.5 million breach of contract lawsuit. His lawyer told reporters on Tuesday that Russell Armstrong was facing huge financial problems and said the apparently wealthy couple were living way beyond their means.

Cable channel Bravo has yet to say whether it will go ahead with "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" as planned on September 5, or how it will deal with the tragedy on screen.

"We're all still trying to process yesterday's very sad news, and looking at how to proceed with the series, which has finished primary production and was set to premiere on Labor Day. We'll let you know what we decide when we do. In the meantime, we're sending our thoughts and prayers to Taylor and the rest of Russell's family," Bravo's original programing executive Andy Cohen said on his blog on Wednesday.

The marital problems of Taylor and Russell Armstrong emerged in the first season of the show earlier this year, and were expected to be a key theme in the upcoming season.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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France's Bruni confirms pregnant, won't reveal gender (Reuters)

PARIS (Reuters) – France's first lady Carla Bruni spoke openly about her pregnancy for the first time in a newspaper interview published on Friday -- but kept the baby's gender a secret.

Rumors have swirled for months, starting with a story in gossip magazine Closer in April and followed by near-obsessive coverage of Bruni's baby bump, but Friday's interview with regional daily Nice Matin was the first official confirmation the presidential couple are expecting their first child.

Bruni is said to be due to give birth in the autumn, around the time President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to announce he will run for a second term in next year's election.

Bruni, a singer-songwriter and former model, declined to say whether her baby was a boy or a girl.

"There are some things that one has to keep secret," she said.

Asked why she had been so discreet, Bruni, 43, said: "First in order to protect myself, to avoid having to expose my personal life. It's a great joy for me, but one that is fairly banal after all."

"People have other problems and it would be out of place to talk about it too much," she added.

Photographed by Nice Matin, Bruni appears relaxed and maternal in a flowing pink gown, lounging on a floral-patterned sofa and strolling through the gardens of Fort de Bregancon, the president's retreat in the south of France.

Shots of Bruni taken in May at the G8 summit in Deauville, showing her wearing a black dress with a prominent bump, garnered intense coverage and nearly overshadowed an otherwise protocol-heavy gathering of world leaders.

Friday's interview, the day after the Bastille Day national holiday when many French people are relaxing at vacation homes, had the feel of a well-staged press event, coming on the heels of a photo spread in Paris Match magazine featuring the presidential couple lazing in swimwear at the beach.

With Sarkozy laboring under weak poll ratings nine months from the election, Bruni's pregnancy appears to be a stroke of good fortune that could win sympathy points with some voters.

Sarkozy and his former wife, Cecilia, divorced shortly after he was elected in 2007. He has since accustomed the French public to following episodes of his private life as they are played out in gossip magazines.

While many people say they would prefer a more low-key president, plenty are still interested in Sarkozy and his private affairs. He was recently the subject of a film called "La Conquete" which has drawn nearly 700,000 viewers since it came out in May.

(Editing by Paul Casciato)

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Fox confirms Cheryl Cole out of U.S. "X Factor" show (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – British singer Cheryl Cole has been dropped as a judge on the upcoming U.S. version of Simon Cowell's talent contest "The X Factor", broadcaster Fox and Cowell's production company said on Monday.

The official announcement ended almost two weeks of rumor and speculation about problems with the line-up of the much-anticipated TV show, due to debut in the fall of 2011.

Cole, who had been Cowell's personal choice for the panel, will be replaced by PussyCat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger, who was previously announced as the co-host of the show.

Monday's brief statement by Fox and Syco, was the first official comment on reports that Cole had been replaced following the filming of two audition episodes of "The X Factor" last month.

The statement gave no reasons for the change and did not address how producers would handle the sessions already shot with Cole on the judge's panel.

Cole, a singer with the group Girls Aloud, is a household name in Britain but unknown in the United States. Media reports have said she was dropped because of fears that U.S. viewers would have difficulty understanding her strong Northern English accent.

Reports from Britain over the weekend had said that Cowell was fighting to keep Cole on the show.

"The X Factor" is the highlight of Fox television's upcoming fall television schedule.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant, editing by Christine Kearney)

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Elton John Confirms That Lady Gaga Is His Son's Godmother

After much speculation, Elton John and his partner David Furnish have confirmed to Barbra Walters, in an interview airing tonight on '20/20,' that Lady Gaga is the godmother of their four-month-old son, Zachary.

"Yes, yes she is," John said when asked if Gaga was one of Zachary's godparents. "When you get to the real person under there, there's a real simple person under there who loves her parents."

Furnish told Walters, according to MTV, "Zachary's going to inherit an incredible musical legacy from his father one day, and she will be a good person to guide him through the ins and outs of the music business, 'cause she sure knows everything about the business now."
The confirmation comes after months of speculation by the media. MTV UK reports that Furnish was reluctant to confirm that Gaga was the godmother, but told reporters in February, "We haven't publicly confirmed that yet but your sources are very good! I prefer not to comment on it because we are going to make a statement about godparents later on."

For his part, John has been joking about the rumors for some time. During his hosting stint on 'Saturday Night Live' on April 2, he joked, "For those of you concerned that we are unusual parents, do not worry. It's not like we are the only two people involved in the child's life. His godmother is Lady Gaga. That's true, that's not a joke ... which is ironic because I've always said that Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids. And Gaga loves Mars. She says Mars has good schools and great discos."Filed under: Celebrity Baby - Music News - Lady Gaga - Elton John Tags: elton john, Lady Gaga
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She’s a Hero, confirms Myleene Klass

Myleene Klass has been forced to defend the fact that she has given her newborn daughter the name Hero after being questioned about the unusual name on Twitter.
 
Myleene and partner Graham Quinn discovered the name in Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing. (If you have never heard of it then we suggest trying to get hold of tickets to see David Tennant and Catherine Tate’s version, which opens next month at the Wyndham’s Theatre

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She’s a Hero, confirms Myleene Klass

Myleene Klass has been forced to defend the fact that she has given her newborn daughter the name Hero after being questioned about the unusual name on Twitter.
 
Myleene and partner Graham Quinn discovered the name in Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing. (If you have never heard of it then we suggest trying to get hold of tickets to see David Tennant and Catherine Tate’s version, which opens next month at the Wyndham’s Theatre

View the Original article