Entertainment News from May 2001
Updated August 5, 2020 |
Infoplease Staff
- 3
- Tina Wesson, a 40-year-old nurse from Tennessee, becomes the second Survivor millionaire to win the grand prize. She edges out fellow southerner Colby Donaldson. Nearly 34 million viewers tune in to the two-hour live event.
- Nicole Kidman files a response to Tom Cruise's divorce petition. In the documents, Kidman said Cruise's petition “came as a shock.” She also said she “protested [Cruise's] intention to dissolve their marriage and urged him not to leave but to enter marriage counseling with her, or take other steps to address whatever problems may have existed in their marriage.”
- 4
- Catherine Zeta-Jones tops the list of People magazine's “50 Most Beautiful” issue. She's cited for her “glamour that transcends time.” Other beautiful people include Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez, and Heidi Klum.
- The Writers Guild of America and television and film studios reach a tentative deal that will likely prevent a strike by writers. The writers' minimum salary rate will increase and they will receive residuals when their movies are downloaded over the Internet, as well as one-time $5,000 residual payments when television shows and films go into secondary markets, such as reruns and video releases. The guild was seeking, but did not succeed, to eliminate the “possessory credit,” such as the “a film by” credit that usually goes to a director.
- Bonny Lee Bakley, the wife of actor Robert Blake, is fatally shot inside the actor's car, which was parked outside a Studio City, Calif., restaurant in which the couple had just dined. Blake had reportedly returned to the restaurant to retrieve a gun he had left there. Blake and Bakley have an infant daughter.
- 8
- Dark Angel's Jessica Alba and Michael Weatherly confirm their engagement. No date has been set.
- 10
- The XFL shuts down after just one season. In its premiere season, the league, cosponsored by NBC and the World Wrestling Federation, lost about $70 million.
- Moulin Rouge opens the 54th Cannes Film Festival.
- 13
- Perry Como dies at his home in Florida at age 88. The classy crooner's laid-back personality and casual song delivery comforted millions of Americans during the post-War years. His The Perry Como Show was broadcast weekly from 1948 to 1963. His biggest hits included “When You Were 16,”“Round and Round,” and “Catch a Falling Star,” for which he won the 1958 Grammy Award for Best Male Vocalist.
- 14
- Robert Downey, Jr. avoids jail time for an April arrest in which he was arrested on charges of suspicion of drug use. Rather than being sent to prosecutors, Downey's case was forwarded to the state corrections department. Toxicology reports indicated he had cocaine in his blood when he was arrested on April 24 in a Culver City, Calif., alleyway. The beleaguered actor has been in rehab since the arrest.
- 19
- Courtney Love's publicist reveals that the rock star-actress suffered a miscarriage on the Toronto set of the thriller 24 Hours. The identity of the father was not made public, but the diva's former boyfriend, record executive Jim Barber, visited Love during her convalescence.
- 20
- Nanni Moretti's The Son's Room takes the Palme d'Or at the 54th Cannes Film Festival. Americans David Lynch and Joel Coen share the directing prize for Mulholland Drive and The Man Who Wasn't There, respectively. For a full list of winners, see Cannes Film Festival.
- 28
- Pearl Harbor, the bloated World War II epic, tallies a somewhat disappointing $75 million three-day box office. While the figure is nothing to sneeze at, some projected the Ben Affleck vehicle to bring in more than $100 million over the Memorial Day weekend.
- 29
- Gossip columnist Liz Smith reports that Brooke Shields and television writer Chris Henchy married over the weekend—not in April, as they had previously announced. The pair falsified their nuptials to throw off the press and Shields's stalker. This time, the couple was married at a swank Palm Beach, Calif., estate.
- 30
- Robert Downey, Jr. strikes a deal with California prosecutors in which he will avoid jail time—again—by spending up to a year in rehab. At an upcoming hearing in July, he is expected to plead no contest to one felony count of cocaine possession and a misdemeanor drug charge. The charges stem from a November incident in which he was arrested at a Palm Springs hotel room.
- Emma Thompson announces that she's taking a break from acting to work with Action Aid in Africa to educate civilians about AIDS and HIV. She'll travel with her companion, Greg Wise, and their young daughter.
- 31
- Anne Heche is engaged—to a man. Less than a year after she and partner Ellen DeGeneres parted ways, the actress announces her engagement to cinematographer Coleman “Coley” Laffoon. The pair met while filming a documentary about DeGeneres. No date has been set.
- Rick Schroder announces his departure from NYPD Blue. He portrayed the psychologically tormented detective Danny Sorenson for two-and-a-half seasons. In a statement the 31-year-old said, “The long hours required to shoot NYPD Blue would prevent me from being where I really want to be at this time—which is with my family.”
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