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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Actress Shannon Elizabeth's estranged husband filed a lawsuit seeking half of all property and assets the pair accumulated during the five years they lived together before they were married.

Actor Joseph D. Reitman and his then-girlfriend, who was born Shannon Elizabeth Fadal, began living together in 1997, according to papers filed Wednesday in Superior Court.

Until their marriage on June 15, 2002, the couple agreed to "be equal partners in the acquisition of assets and in financial affairs whether such transactions were separate or joint," the lawsuit states.

Reitman claims that Elizabeth secretly transferred assets acquired during the years before their marriage and contends that he deserves half.

Reitman also alleges that he sacrificed his career to promote Elizabeth's.

The actress, who played a sexy foreign exchange student in the "American Pie" films, filed for divorce in June 2005.

Calls placed to attorneys for Elizabeth and Reitman were not returned Wednesday.

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SOUTH RUSSELL, Ohio (AP) -- A ceramic bowl painted by Richard Pryor is being auctioned on the Internet for an animal welfare organization.

Pryor sent the bowl to the Geauga Humane Society weeks before his death on Dec. 10. The actor-comedian, who was 65, died of a heart attack. He had been ill for years with multiple sclerosis.

His profanely personal insights into race relations made him one of Hollywood's biggest stars.

He painted a self-portrait inside the bowl with the words, "Little Black Man in Big White World." The side of the bowl has Pryor's signature and drawings of a martini glass, lips and a cigarette.

The humane society offered to return the bowl to his wife, Jennifer, but she told the group to use it to raise as much money as possible and endorsed the sale on the eBay auction Web site.

"She said that's what Richard would have wanted," said Sharon Harvey, executive director of the agency.

With three days left in the auction Wednesday, the bowl had received a top bid of $709.

South Russell is about 20 miles east of Cleveland.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The family of late actor John Ritter has reached a tentative settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit against Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, where the actor died, an attorney for the hospital said.

"There is an agreement in principle," attorney Rory Hernandez told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "But we still have to follow the legal procedure."

Hearings will be held to finalize the agreement, he said, with the next court session set for Friday.

Hernandez declined to disclose details of the settlement. The hospital will issue a statement in several weeks, he said.

Court documents filed by the hospital on March 10 indicate Ritter's family members "are potentially receiving a large monetary settlement in this case." Ritter's widow, Amy Yasbeck, has claimed damages in excess of $25 million, court documents show.

Yasbeck and Ritter's four children accused the hospital of negligence when they filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Sept. 3, 2004.

Ritter, star of the sitcom "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter," collapsed on the set of the TV show on Sept. 11, 2003. The 54-year-old actor was admitted to the hospital complaining of chest pain, nausea, vomiting and dizziness. He died later that night.

Ritter's family claims the actor was misdiagnosed "at least twice and underwent improper and unnecessary procedures" during his hospital stay.

Doctors said Ritter died of an aortic aneurysm.

Ritter came to prominence in 1977 as Jack Tripper on the hit sitcom "Three's Company."

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NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Workers have recovered what was left of three pianos in Fats Domino's Ninth Ward home, which was submerged in almost 10 feet of water when Hurricane Katrina caused a levee break near his neighborhood in August.

Sifting through the mold-covered interior of the house, a recovery crew with the Louisiana State Museum pulled out a black Steinway baby grand used by the famed musician for writing and practicing. They also recovered a white Steinway grand and electric Wurlitzer keyboard.

Museum officials are hoping the Domino family will donate the black Steinway baby grand for inclusion in a traveling exhibit about hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

"The negotiating process may take months, but it's something we're trying to work out with the family," said Kacey Hill, the museum's spokeswoman.

The exhibit will include remnants from the storms as well as rescue signs, pictures and oral histories, Hill said, adding that the museum is seeking additional funding and grants. She said she hopes the exhibit will be shown nationally, not just locally.

Domino's family did not return a call for comment Wednesday evening.

Domino, 78, was an early rock & roll pioneer with such hits as "Ain't that a Shame," "I'm Walkin"' and "Blueberry Hill." Rescued from the rooftop of his home after Katrina struck, Domino recently released his first album in nearly two decades -- to benefit New Orleans musicians impacted by the hurricane. Domino is scheduled to headline at this year's New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Kanye West is bringing his music -- and himself -- to the big screen.

The Grammy-winning rapper has joined with New Line Cinema and the production company Anonymous Content to develop a film inspired by his music, New Line announced Wednesday.

West also will appear in the film, a multi-perspective look at life in America through the eyes of West and various writers and directors.

The untitled project will "synthesize (West's) vision with a fantastic group of filmmakers to create what will be a one-of-a-kind film experience," said producer Richard Brown.

West has won six Grammy awards for his two multiplatinum albums, 2004's "The College Dropout" and last year's "Late Registration."

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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Oscar was gift enough for George Clooney.

The winner of the Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role in "Syriana" has donated his overflowing Oscar gift bag to the United Way, a spokeswoman for the organization said Wednesday.

The swag will be sold in an online auction to benefit the United Way Hurricane Response and Relief Recovery Fund, said spokeswoman Sheila Consaul. Clooney is a member of the charity's board of trustees, she said.

"This refocuses people back to the long-term nature of hurricane recovery efforts," she said.

The pricey gift bag given to presenters at the 78th Annual Academy Awards included a BlackBerry 8700c, a Kay Unger kimono and a cultured Tahitian-pearl necklace.

The entire collection will be sold to "one very, very lucky bidder," Consaul said.

The auction will begin March 21 on the United Way Web site.

The winning bidder will also receive a handwritten thank-you note from Clooney acknowledging the donation to hurricane relief, Consaul said.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "Desperate Housewives" actress Nicollette Sheridan and singer Michael Bolton are engaged, Sheridan's publicist confirmed.

She provided no other details Wednesday.

Sheridan, 42, and Bolton, 53, dated for several years in the 1990s and rekindled their romance last year.

Sheridan was married to actor Harry Hamlin from 1991 to 1993. Bolton ended his 15-year marriage to Maureen McGuire, with whom he has three daughters, in 1990.

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NEW YORK (AP) -- Splitsville for Phil Collins and his wife, Orianne.

The British rock star and his Swiss-born wife, who were married in 1999, announced in a joint statement Wednesday that they've separated.

They have two sons, Nicholas, 4, and Matthew, 1. Collins has three children from two previous marriage.

"They have been living separately since the beginning of the year and both cite the fact that they have been growing apart for some time now and this has put too much pressure on their relationship," the statement said.

"Consequently, they have decided in the interests of their two children that it is better to separate. They are both very sad that it should come to this but have as their priority the welfare and happiness of their children and are determined to remain friends and be loving parents to them."

The Grammy-winning former Genesis drummer and singer, 55, and Orianne, in her early 30s, met during a 1994 tour supporting his solo record, "Both Sides." At the time, he was going through a much-publicized divorce from his second wife, Jill.

The couple lived in Switzerland, and Collins will continue to live in that country "to be near to the children," the statement said.

Collins won an Oscar in 2000 for the hit single, "You'll be in My Heart," from the 1999 animated film, "Tarzan." His score also will be featured in Disney's stage version of "Tarzan" that is opening May 10.

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NEW YORK (AP) -- Luciano Pavarotti has postponed an upcoming concert in Brazil because of a painful back, his publicist said.

Pavarotti had been vacationing in Barbados and returned to New York this week to visit his doctor, his spokeswoman, Terri Robinson, said Wednesday.

The 70-year-old tenor, who is on his "farewell celebration tour," plans to sing concerts scheduled next month in Europe, including appearances in Zurich, Switzerland; Helsinki, Finland; and Oslo, Norway; and in June in the Canadian cities of Toronto, Montreal and Calgary, and one U.S. appearance in Washington.

Pavarotti will try to reschedule the postponed March 18 concert at an outdoor arena in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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