Drugs? Philip’s had his fill
Oscar nominee Philip Seymour Hoffman owes it all to getting sober 16 years ago.
The “Capote” star says in a “60 Minutes” interview airing Sunday that he fell into a fast-paced life after graduating from NYU’s drama school.
“It was anything I could get my hands on. … I liked it all,” says Hoffman, 38.
However, he adds: “I went (to rehab), I got sober when I was 22 years old. You get panicked … and I got panicked for my life.
“I have so much empathy for these young actors that are 19 and all of a sudden they’re beautiful and famous and rich. I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I’d be dead.’ “
Bronco busted
John Michael Montgomery has been charged with DUI and possession of a controlled drug.
The 41-year-old country singer also was charged with having a prescription drug not in its proper container, two counts of carrying a concealed deadly weapon, disregarding a traffic control device and improper turning.
Lexington, Ky., police said Montgomery had loaded handguns under the driver’s and front passenger’s seats. They listed the controlled substance as the painkiller Endocet.
The final word
Elton John has accepted an undisclosed financial settlement of his libel lawsuit against London’s Sunday Times.
His lawyer said the newspaper repeated a false rumor that the 58-year-old rock star had acted arrogantly by telling guests at a fund-raising ball not to address him unless spoken to.
The money will be donated to the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
Rowe vs. weird
An appeals court has refused to reinstate an order granting Michael Jackson sole custody of his two children with ex-wife Debbie Rowe.
California’s Second District Court of Appeals said that while Rowe signed away her parental rights to Michael Jr. and Paris in 2001, that judge did not properly handle the proceedings.
Rowe, married to Jackson from 1997 to 1999, at the time called him “a wonderful man … a brilliant father.”
But she persuaded a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to overturn the custody agreement in 2004, citing accusations of child molestation against Jackson and his association with the Nation of Islam, which provided security for him during the trial.
The birthday bunch
Actor Hal Holbrook is 81. Actress Mary Ann Mobley is 67. Actress Rene Russo is 52. Actor Richard Karn (“Home Improvement”) is 50. Actor Lou Diamond Phillips is 44. “Early Show” co-host Rene Syler is 43. Actress Denise Richards is 35. Musician Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) is 34. Actor Jerry O’Connell (“Scream 2”) is 32. Actor Jason Ritter (“Joan of Arcadia”) is 26. Socialite Paris Hilton is 25. Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“3rd Rock from the Sun”) is 25.