Ja Rule exits prison, remains in custody
Platinum-selling rapper Ja Rule left an upstate New York prison Thursday after serving most of his two-year sentence for illegal gun possession and headed straight into federal custody in a tax case.
U.S. marshals escorted the 36-year-old musician out of Mid-State Correctional Facility at 9:30 a.m. He was being held at the Oneida County Jail in central New York as he awaited word from the Federal Bureau of Prisons about where he’ll serve time in the tax case. The rapper, who had been in protective custody because of his celebrity, has some time remaining on a 28-month sentence for tax evasion that ran concurrently.
Ja Rule, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, may have less than six months left and may be eligible for a halfway house, defense attorney Stacey Richman said. Back taxes are one of the main reasons he wants to get back to work, she said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Mack said Atkins owed the IRS $1.1 million.
‘Glee’ star making Broadway debut
Jane Lynch has something to be gleeful about – she’s about to make her Broadway debut. The “Glee” star said she’ll be replacing Tony Award-winning actress Katie Finneran as the evil orphanage matron Miss Hannigan in the current revival of “Annie.”
“I’m so thrilled I can’t see straight,” the actress said by phone from her home in Los Angeles. “It’s a preposterous fantasy come true.”
Lynch, a veteran of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company, will play Miss Hannigan for eight weeks, from May 16 through July 14.
Lynch has an Emmy and Golden Globe for playing the track-suited, glee-club-hating cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester on “Glee.”
Lane and Brolin split
Diane Lane and Josh Brolin are divorcing after eight years of marriage. A representative for the couple confirmed the split Thursday.
Brolin and Lane were married in 2004 in the second marriage for both. They don’t have any children together.
Lane received an Oscar nomination for her performance in the 2002 film “Unfaithful” and co-stars in the upcoming Superman film “Man of Steel.” Brolin was Oscar-nominated for his performance in 2008’s “Milk” and starred in the recently released “Gangster Squad.”
The birthday bunch
Announcer Don Pardo is 95. Actor Paul Dooley is 85. Singer Marni Nixon is 83. Movie director Jonathan Demme is 69. Actress Julie Walters is 63. Actor Kyle MacLachlan is 54. Actress-comedian Rachel Dratch is 47. Actor Paul Lieberstein is 46. Actress Jeri Ryan is 45. Actor Thomas Jane is 44. Actress-singer Lea Salonga is 42. Actress Drew Barrymore is 38. Actor Zach Roerig is 28.