A fine way to pay her respects
Now it’s Rodney Dangerfield‘s daughter who’s allegedly showing her old man no respect.
The late comic’s widow – who already is suing his business partner for $2 million – now is going after their daughter for unauthorized use of a video of her father performing.
Joan Dangerfield accuses Melanie Roy-Friedman of peddling the video “for her own selfish purposes” to Comedy Central for use in its planned “Legends” tribute Sunday night.
“Melanie’s actions hurt her father terribly,” says Joan Dangerfield, who was married to the bug-eyed comedian for 11 years.
According to the lawsuit, Dangerfield always protected his famed Las Vegas act, but allowed his daughter to record it in 1988 “so that her future children could see it.”
But when he asked her to return the tape, Roy-Friedman allegedly kept the master copy for herself.
“So I think to myself, ‘Jesus, what a schemer,’ ” the suit quotes Dangerfield as saying in a videotaped interview. “She wants to hold it until I die and then she can sell it.”
The “Caddyshack” and “Back to School” star died in 2004 at age 82.
A DeGeneres portion
Ellen DeGeneres has been tapped to host next year’s Oscars by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
It will be the comedian/talk host’s first time on the Oscars. She has hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards telecast twice and co-hosted it once, and hosted the Grammys twice.
Says Oscar show producer Laura Ziskin: “Now all we need is a lot of great movies.”
Caller collared
A 63-year-old priest has confessed to phoning in a fake bomb threat to a Madonna concert in Amsterdam last week in hopes of preventing her from performing a controversial crucifixion scene in her show.
The scene drew complaints from Christian leaders during earlier concerts in Italy and Germany. Two Amsterdam concerts went ahead as planned.
New life for Cat
The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens will release his first album in 28 years this fall.
Stevens, who changed his name to Yusuf Islam after converting to Islam in the late 1970s, is set to release “An Other Cup” in November.
His last studio album was 1978’s “Back to Earth.”
The London-born singer had a string of pop hits in the 1960s and ‘70s including “Here Comes My Baby,” “Wild World,” “Peace Train” and Moonshadow.”
Dogged pursuits
British police plan to meet with supermodel Claudia Schiffer to discuss complaints that her dogs are intimidating walkers near her country mansion northeast of London.
Locals walking on a footpath that runs alongside the estate have complained about Schiffer’s dogs “running wild,” a police spokeswoman said.
Schiffer, 36, lives in the 16th-century mansion with her husband, film producer Matthew Vaughn. She is believed to own an Irish wolfhound and a German shepherd.
Like, us and Claudia Schiffer?
Brad Pitt says he won’t be marrying Angelina Jolie until restrictions on who can marry whom are dropped.
“Angie and I will consider tying the knot when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able,” Pitt tells Esquire magazine.
The birthday bunch
Actor Cliff Robertson is 81. Actress Sylvia Miles is 74. Actor Topol (“Fiddler on the Roof”) is 71. Actor Tom Wopat is 55. Actress Angela Cartwright (“Lost In Space”) is 54. Actor Hugh Grant is 46. Actor-comedian Adam Sandler is 40. Model Rachel Hunter is 37. Actor Goran Visnjic (“ER”) is 34. Jazz singer Michael Buble is 31. Actress Michelle Williams (“Dawson’s Creek”) is 26.