No Rotten deal for rock hall
For years, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame didn’t deem the Sex Pistols, the revolutionary British punk rock band, worthy of inclusion into its ranks.
But now that the hall finally wants them, Johnny Rotten and company want no part of the hall.
The group was finally picked late last year to join the hall along with Black Sabbath, Miles Davis, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blondie. Induction ceremonies are scheduled March 13 in New York City.
But in a crude letter posted on their Web site, the Pistols say: “We’re not coming. We’re not your monkeys and so what?
Replied Susan Evans, the executive director of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation: “They are being the outrageous punksters they are, and that’s rock and roll.”
The Sex Pistols broke up after just one album but left a lasting legacy in rock with songs such as “God Save the Queen” and “Pretty Vacant.”
George Michael, guilty? Maybe
George Michael says his arrest for suspected drug possession in London over the weekend was “my own stupid fault, as usual.”
The 42-year-old pop singer was arrested Saturday for possession of class C drugs – which include marijuana, anabolic steroids and some amphetamines – after he was found slumped at the wheel of his car.
Michael, who rose to fame as half of the 1980s pop duo Wham!, was arrested in 1998 for lewd conduct at a public restroom in Beverly Hills, Calif. He later released the video “Outside,” which poked fun at his arrest.
He now promises, “I won’t make a record out of this one – even though it is tempting.”
Too much nightlife
Former “Saturday Night Live” regular Tracy Morgan has been sentenced to three years’ probation after pleading no contest to drunken driving.
The 37-year-old comedian was arrested Dec. 2 in Hollywood after police stopped him for speeding. He had a blood-alcohol level of .13 percent, well above the legal limit of .08 percent, authorities said.
Morgan was a “Saturday Night Live” cast member from 1996 to 2003, leaving to star in the short-lived “The Tracy Morgan Show.”
Fish or chicken, ma’am?
Jessica Simpson took a break from filming her latest movie to dine with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.
Simpson, who is in Santa Fe filming “Employee of the Month,” was joined at the governor’s mansion by her parents, movie executives and members of the governor’s staff.
Richardson has rolled out the red carpet for other celebrities, most recently dining at the mansion with Irish actor Liam Neeson.
The birthday bunch
Actor Charles Durning is 83. Actor Gavin MacLeod (“The Love Boat,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”) is 75. Actor-director-dancer Tommy Tune is 67. Singer Joe South is 66. Actor Frank Bonner (“WKRP in Cincinnati”) is 64. Actress Bernadette Peters is 58. Actress Mercedes Ruehl is 58. Comedian Gilbert Gottfried is 51. Actor John Turturro is 49. Singer Cindy Wilson (The B-52’s) is 49. Actress Rae Dawn Chong is 45. Actor Robert Sean Leonard is 37. Singer Pat Monahan (Train) is 37. Actor Bobb’e J. Thompson (“The Tracy Morgan Show”) is 10.