Nerve-damaged arm delays Vedder tour
Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam has postponed his 15-city U.S. solo tour because of nerve damage in his right arm.
The damage stems from a back injury he suffered earlier this year. Pearl Jam manager Kelly Curtis says Vedder worked aggressively with doctors and physical therapists for the last eight weeks to repair the damage, but he is not well enough to play. Curtis says the singer is frustrated, but remains positive that he will be better this summer.
The tour dates will be rescheduled for November and December, except for the Jazz Fest performance. Tickets will be honored for the rescheduled dates, and refunds will be available upon request through the point of purchase.
It’s Couric vs. Palin in TV ratings race
When Sarah Palin turned up as a guest host on NBC’s “Today” this week – grinning amid a pile of newspapers, raiding the hair products in Matt Lauer’s dressing room – the stunt drew outrage from some quarters. Jon Stewart even called it “a detriment” to the country.
But if the NBC bosses are ashamed of themselves, they’re not letting it show. “It was great morning television, honestly – in the best tradition of the ‘Today’ show,” Jim Bell, executive producer of TV’s No. 1 morning show, said of the former Alaska governor in a phone chat. “She’s someone who can talk about politics; she’s interesting to people. It was one of the better shows in my seven years here.”
It was also a great way to stick it to ABC and “Good Morning America,” which was hoping for a ratings breakout this week by having Katie Couric guest host, filling in for the vacationing Robin Roberts. The fact that Couric spent 17 years at “Today” – and also that she had a memorable interview run-in with Palin during the 2008 presidential campaign – made the notion of a morning smackdown irresistible. (According to Bell, Palin was not paid for her work, although NBC did have to obtain permission from Fox News, where she has a contract.)
The birthday bunch
Nobel Prize-winning scientist James D. Watson is 84. Composer-conductor Andre Previn is 83. Country singer Merle Haggard is 75. Actor Billy Dee Williams is 75. Actor Roy Thinnes is 74. Writer-comedian Phil Austin (Firesign Theatre) is 71. Movie director Barry Levinson is 70. Actor John Ratzenberger is 65. Actress Marilu Henner is 60. Olympic bronze medal figure skater Janet Lynn is 59. Rock musician Warren Haynes is 52. Rock singer-musician Frank Black is 47. Author Vince Flynn is 46. Actress Ari Meyers is 43. Actor Paul Rudd is 43. Actor-producer Jason Hervey is 40. Actor Zach Braff is 37. Actress Candace Cameron Bure is 36. Actress Eliza Coupe is 31. Actor Bret Harrison is 30.