Oprah’s network axes Rosie’s show
Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network is dropping the curtain on Rosie O’Donnell’s talk show after five only months on the air.
“The Rosie Show” premiered in October to about 500,000 viewers but lost about half that audience within days of its debut.
Recently, it changed the format from taping before a studio audience to a one-on-one interview setting with celebrities such as Kathy Griffin, Chelsea Handler and former Illinois first lady Patti Blagojevich.
In a statement released by OWN, Winfrey thanked O’Donnell. She called O’Donnell “an incredible partner” who worked to put on the best show “every single day.”
O’Donnell also was quoted as saying she loved working with Winfrey and in Chicago and “wished” the show had better ratings.
The final episode is scheduled to air March 30.
Gallagher still in medical coma
Doctors have decided to wait before bringing comedian Gallagher out of the medically induced coma he was put in after his heart attack last week in Texas.
Doctors had planned to wake the 65-year-old comedian on Saturday. But his promotional manager, Christine Scherrer, said he was trying to wake on his own.
Doctors are keeping him sedated because they want to wake him slowly. Scherrer said they may try today.
Scherrer says the comedian had two stents replaced after collapsing Wednesday before a performance at a bar in Lewisville, a Dallas suburb.
He had a minor heart attack last March after collapsing while performing in Minnesota.
His full name is Leo Anthony Gallagher, and he’s best known for smashing watermelons with a sledgehammer.
The birthday bunch
Composer John Kander (“Chicago”) is 85. Country singer Charley Pride is 74. Actor Kevin Dobson (“Knots Landing”) is 69. Actor Brad Dourif (“Lord of the Rings,” “Chucky” movies) is 62. Singer Irene Cara is 53. Singer-actress Vanessa Williams (“Ugly Betty”) is 49. Keyboardist Scott Saunders (Sons of the Desert) is 48. Guitarist Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains) is 46. Singer Miki Berenyi (Lush) is 45. Rapper-actress Queen Latifah is 42. Comedian Dane Cook (“Employee of the Month”) is 40. Singers Evan and Jaron Lowenstein (Evan and Jaron) are 38. Singer Devin Lima (LFO) is 35. Singer Adam Levine (Maroon 5) is 33. Drummer Daren Taylor (Airborne Toxic Event) is 32.