People: Dempsey Racing in Le Mans again
Actor Patrick Dempsey’s racing team has been selected to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Dempsey Racing said Sunday that its Porsche 911 GT3 RSR was accepted Thursday by Automobile Club de l’Ouest’s selection committee to run in the GTE-Am class in the June race. The team was fourth last year.
The “Grey’s Anatomy” star is running the United SportsCar Championship season with full-time co-driver Andrew Davis, with fellow team principal Joe Foster joining them for endurance events. Patrick Long joined Dempsey last year at Le Mans, while fellow Porsche factory driver Marc Lieb teamed with Dempsey, Davis and Foster last month in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Robert Galbraith novel due in June
J.K. Rowling is back with a novel involving a writer whose acid-tipped pen may have led to murder.
Publisher Little, Brown said Monday that it is publishing a second book by Robert Galbraith, the “Harry Potter” author’s thriller-writing pseudonym.
“The Silkworm” sees the return of detective Cormoran Strike, the ex-soldier hero introduced in “The Cuckoo’s Calling.” In the new book, Strike investigates the disappearance of a novelist who has written a book that features scathing descriptions of real people.
“The Cuckoo’s Calling” initially attracted little notice when it was published last year, but rocketed up the charts once Rowling was exposed as its author.
A lawyer has been fined for letting slip the writer’s identity.
“The Silkworm” will be published June 19 in Britain and June 24 in the U.S.
Crosby postpones California concerts
Rock performer David Crosby has undergone heart surgery and is postponing his sold-out California shows.
Publicist Michael Jensen tells City News Service that the 72-year-old had a cardiac catheterization last week to fix a blocked coronary artery.
He’s expected to make a full recovery, but concerts planned for February in San Francisco and West Hollywood will be moved to April.
Crosby says he’ll be ready to perform with the group Crosby, Stills and Nash on a tour that kicks off in Richmond, Va., on March 4.
Crosby underwent a liver transplant in 1994.
In a statement, the performer says he is “once again a very lucky man.”
The birthday bunch
Actor George Kennedy is 89. Author Toni Morrison is 83. Movie director Milos Forman is 82. Yoko Ono is 81. Singer Dennis DeYoung (Styx) is 67. Actress Cybill Shepherd is 64. Singer Juice Newton is 62. Actor John Travolta is 60. Game-show hostess Vanna White (“Wheel of Fortune”) is 57. Actor Matt Dillon is 50. Rapper Dr. Dre is 49. Actress Molly Ringwald is 46. Bassist Zac Cockrell (Alabama Shakes) is 26.