’House’ actress Edelstein leaving Fox drama
Lisa Edelstein is checking out of Fox TV’s “House.” In a statement Tuesday, the actress said she is leaving the medical series after seven years playing Dr. Lisa Cuddy, according to the Associated Press.
The decision followed much consideration and brings mixed feelings, Miss Edelstein said: She is disappointed at leaving a character she loved playing but is excited about the opportunities in acting and producing that are ahead.
Miss Edelstein didn’t offer details on her plans.
“House” stars Hugh Laurie in the title role of a cranky but brilliant doctor. He and Miss Edelstein’s Cuddy, a hospital administrator, explored a relationship this season.
“House” will return in the fall at 9 p.m. Mondays, Fox announced this week.
Rosie Perez sues ’Law & Order’ producers
Academy Award-nominated actress Rosie Perez is suing the producers of television’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” claiming she was injured during the filming of a 2009 episode in New York City, the Associated Press reports.
Miss Perez says in the lawsuit, filed Wednesday, that she was “recklessly pulled, grabbed, yanked, wrenched and/or manhandled” during filming of the “Hardwired” episode on Sept. 9, 2009.
Her attorney, Brian O’Dwyer, told the New York Daily News that his client is suffering severe pain and has numbness in her arms. He said she has been out of work for about a year.
The lawsuit names the producers of the show, which is broadcast on NBC. Representatives for the network and the show did not immediately respond to email requests for comment.
Drug overdose leaves ’Taxi’s’ Conaway in coma
Jeff Conaway’s manager says the former star of “Taxi” and “Grease” is in a coma following a drug overdose, possibly from pain pills, the Associated Press reports.
Manager Phil Brock said the 60-year-old actor was found unconscious on May 11. Mr. Brock said Mr. Conaway is in a coma in an Encino, Calif., hospital and his recovery is uncertain.
As part of the reality show “Celebrity Rehab” in 2008, Mr. Conaway discussed his addiction to drugs and alcohol. His manager described Mr. Conaway as a “gentle soul” but one who has been unable to “exorcize his demons.”
Mr. Conaway appeared in the 1978 movie musical “Grease” and starred in the TV series “Babylon 5.”
’Wire’ actress pleads not guilty in drug case
A woman who played a Baltimore drug-gang assassin in HBO’s “The Wire” has pleaded not guilty to conspiring to sell heroin, according to the Associated Press.
Felicia “Snoop” Pearson entered the plea Tuesday morning during an arraignment in Baltimore Circuit Court. An Aug. 9 jury trial date was set.
Miss Pearson is one of 64 people charged in March in Operation Usual Suspects, a joint state-federal prosecution of an alleged East Baltimore drug gang. She is charged in an indictment with conspiring with two men to distribute heroin.
The 30-year-old Miss Pearson was released weeks later on $50,000 bond with electronic monitoring that has allowed her to leave the state to pursue her acting career.
Former Woods mistress gets reality TV series
Rachel Uchitel, whose fiance died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, will star in a reality television series about her new career as a private investigator, according to the New York Post.
The former VIP nightclub hostess has teamed up with Atlas Media Group, which produced “Who Killed Chandra Levy?” to film a docudrama about her life experiences. The 36-year-old told the Post’s Page Six that several production companies and reality programs have pursued her since her appearance on “Celebrity Rehab.”
“I wasn’t interested until Atlas came along and agreed with me the only way to do something was if it was a ’true’ reality show,” Miss Uchitel told Page Six. “I’m doing PI work now, and it’s stuff that would make for great TV.”
Though Miss Uchitel reportedly has had affairs with golfer Tiger Woods and “Angel” actor David Boreanaz, she said her show will not attempt to out cheating spouses.
- Laura Donovan
TV on DVD: Kidding with the ’Kids’
One of the premiere Canadian sketch-comedy troupes returns to home entertainment centers in “The Kids in the Hall: The Complete Series Megaset” (A&E Home Entertainment, not rated, $99.95), an all-encompassing, tightly packaged DVD collection.
The set offers 20 discs compiling five seasons of televised insanity devised by the team of Scott Thompson, Mark McKinney, Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch and Kevin McDonald.
Extras are voluminous and include chatty audio commentaries, live and uncensored performances from Toronto’s Rivoli theater and compilations of fan-favorite sketches.
The abundance of ribald laughs makes up for the sometimes poor video reproduction. It’s time to remaster these gems.
The set also includes a pair of discs devoted to the eight-episode miniseries from 2010, “Death Comes to Town,” starring all of the Kids in the Hall.
- Joseph Szadkowski
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