Jack Warden, the prolific character actor who received Oscar nominations for Shampoo and Heaven Can Wait as well as an Emmy award for Brian's Song, died Wednesday in New York; he was 85. Known for playing men who were tough on the outside but softies inside, Warden was a boxer before he became an actor. Fighting under the name "Johnny Costello," Warden turned professional after being expelled from high school, but found only intermittent success first in boxing and then as a bouncer. After serving in both the Navy and the Army during World War II, Warden moved to New York to take acting classes, making his Broadway debut in Clifford Odets' Golden Boy in 1952 and later in Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge. A year earlier, Warden had (along with fellow veteran Lee Marvin) made his screen debut in You're in the Navy Now. After a small part in the Oscar-winning From Here to Eternity, he embarked on a successful and lengthy TV career, but also found time for movies, with 1957's Twelve Angry Men considered his breakthrough role. Warden appeared in innumerable TV shows through the 50s and 60s, and in 1971 won an Emmy for his role as coach George Halas in the acclaimed football tearjerker Brian's Song. The 70s also saw Warden collaborate with actor-director Warren Beatty on Shampoo (1976) and Heaven Can Wait (1978), earning Best Supporting Actor nominations for both films (he later appeared in Beatty's 1998 film Bulworth as well). Notable films through from the 70s through the 90s included All the President's Men, Being There, The Verdict, The Presidio, Bullets Over Broadway, While You Were Sleeping, and Mighty Aphrodite. Warden also starred in the TV mystery series Crazy Like a Fox, for which he received two Emmy nominations. His last film appearance was in the 2000 football comedy-drama The Replacements. opposite Keanu Reeves. --Mark Englehart, IMDb staff

Irish heartthrob Colin Farrell was confronted during filming for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Thursday by the woman who last year accused the Alexander actor of stalking her. Dessarae Bradford alleged that Farrell bombarded her with explicit phonecalls and text messages, but she subsequently failed a lie detector test on a US TV show. When Bradford jumped out of the audience and approached Farrell, many people thought it was a comedy sketch but when it became clear Bradford was a threat, security staff quickly removed her from the studio. Sergeant Neil Gunn of the Burbank Police Department in Los Angeles says Bradford was advised not to return to the studio or she would be arrested for trespassing. An audience member tells Access Hollywood Bradford shouted at Farrell, "I'll see you in court!" To which he replied, "You're insane!"

The Sixth Sense star Haley Joel Osment is recovering in a California hospital after suffering from a fracture to his right rib, right shoulder and lacerations to his body after a car crash. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said the actor lost control of his Saturn station wagon on a winding street at approximately 2am Thursday morning near La Canada Flintridge. He crashed into a brick mailbox, causing the car to roll onto its roof. The 18-year-old was the only passenger in the vehicle. Investigators say he was not wearing a seat belt. Osment's agent disputes those claims, saying he did have his seat belt on, but when the airbags in the car deployed, he undid it so that he could get out of the vehicle as he crawled in the back to get out. Witness on the scene described the actor as being "seriously banged up." Eyewitness Mark McAdams said the crash was so severe that, "I thought it was a fatality at first." The actor is expected to spend another night in hospital, but is expected to make a full recovery. Authorities are awaiting test results to determine if alcohol or drugs played any part in the accident.

Kate Hudson has won a massive payout from the British edition of the National Enquirer after the publication falsely accused the naturally thin actress of having an eating disorder. Almost Famous star Hudson was described as "painfully thin" by the magazine last year , which also reported that her mother Goldie Hawn had begged her to eat more. However, after a successful libel case the star was yesterday awarded undisclosed damages for any distress the article may have caused, and granted an apology. Simon Smith, lawyer for Hudson, told the High Court in London his client refuted all claims in the article, saying, "Ms. Hawn has explained to me that she never had any concerns about her daughter's appearance whatsoever." He also noted discrepancies regarding Hudson's figure in other issues of the National Enquirer, which described her as "looking great" and "stunning" at the same weight. A relieved Hudson said after the judgment, "The allegations that I sued over were blatantly false - I could not stand by while such lies were being perpetrated about me."

Mission: Impossible III director JJ Abrams has confirmed he's set to save the Star Trek franchise after signing on to produce the next film in the sci-fi series. The 40-year-old Lost and Alias creator, who is a longtime fan of the cult TV show and subsequent movies, is considering directing the new Trek movie too. In an exclusive interview with America's TV Guide magazine, Abrams says, "It's sort of surreal but wonderful. I'm producing and may direct. I have every DVD of every Star Trek episode from every series. I haven't seen every episode from every series but I certainly know it well enough to be working on the movie." Abrams, who will team up with fellow Star Trek buff and Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof on the new project, initially fumed when his involvement in the new film was announced before he'd committed to it. He admits he took his time to sign up for the project: "There have been 10 films and all these different (TV) series, so it was a question of finding out what they (movie executives at Paramount) were anticipating." Abrams insists the cult following Lost has found will help him make decisions about where to take the secret storyline for the latest Star Trek film. He explains, "Fans of Lost don't compare to fans of Star Trek, but working on Lost gives us a view into how important it is to respect the fans."

The woman ordered to stay away from John Cusack has denied she is stalking the High Fidelity star, insisting she only sent the actor two letters. Emily Leatherman, 31, was ordered by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Tuesday to stay 500 feet away from Cusack, his home, workplace, vehicle or any place where he does business. Cusack, 40, claimed Leatherman had stalked him for over 18 months, during when she threw "long letters of interest over my fence in bags with rocks and screwdrivers inside." In court papers, Cusack said Leatherman had "threatened to commit acts of violence against herself if I do not help her." Referring to the self-harming threats, Leatherman says, "I've never written any of that." Leatherman claims she wrote two letters to the actor, asking him to use his celebrity status to urge police to investigate her claims that she was drugged and raped by a group of men in 2001. She adds, "I feel I've been set up to look like a stalker."

Paris Hilton has hit out at reports she hacked into Lindsay Lohan's BlackBerry and sent offensive messages to her friends from it. The blonde socialite, who suffered a similar ignominy in 2004 when private text messages on her mobile phone were leaked onto the internet, insists the accusations are "silly." Lohan's spokeswoman Leslie Sloane Zelnik tells PageSix.com the perpetrator sent "disgusting and very mean messages that everyone thought were coming from Lindsay. They weren't. We now have her lawyers looking into it. Some people think Paris may have been involved because the wording of the messages sounds very familiar." Hilton's representative Elliot Mintz retorts, "I'm saddened this happened to Lindsay. I lived through this with Paris two years ago when her Sidekick was hacked into, and the loss of privacy is unbearable. But as for any suggestion that Paris would have anything to do with this, that is silly, untrue and unfortunate."

George Clooney and producing partner Steven Soderbergh have decided to close down their Section Eight production company, which they founded six years ago. The Syriana star will officially part ways with Soderbergh on 1 August to launch Smoke House, a Production Company he is forming with his Good Night, And Good Luck collaborator Grant Heslov. Section Eight will continue to produce Clooney's upcoming movies, including Ocean's Thirteen and The Good German, both directed by Soderbergh. Soderbergh has said he would like to focus more on film-making and less on the film development and producing process. Clooney and Heslov co-wrote and produced Good Night, And Good Luck together and will both run Smoke House, which is named after a long-time Burbank, California, restaurant across the street from the company's offices on the Warner Bros studio lot.

The Cannonball Run star Dom DeLuise is recovering after reportedly collapsing at his home in California. The rotund funnyman, who was Burt Reynolds' sidekick in the Cannonball Run films, was taken to hospital on July 1 after family members found him passed out on the floor. According to US tabloid reports, DeLuise remained unconscious hours after he was admitted to St. John's Medical Center in Santa Monica, California. After a series of heart tests and round-the-clock observation, the 72-year-old actor was allowed to go home three days later. According to an insider, "He knows something serious happened, but the doctors haven't made any diagnosis yet. He'd been complaining that he was really tired... At the time no one thought it was anything serious."

V For Vendetta actor Stephen Fry's manic depression once became so bad he came close to committing suicide. In 1995, the British star was so down after quitting a West End play in London he decided to gas himself in his car, but couldn't go through with it. He says, "Eleven years ago, in the early hours of the morning, I came down from my flat in central London. I went to my garage, sealed the door with a duvet and got into my car. I sat there for at least, I think, two hours in the car, my hands on the ignition key. It was, you know, a suicide attempt, not a cry for help." Fry decided to head to Belgium instead. He adds, "I drove to the coast and took a ferry to Europe. I knew I couldn't be at home. I really believed I would never come back to England. I couldn't meet the gaze of anyone I knew. But after a week I secretly returned to England, to this hospital, and to a doctor telling me I'm bipolar. I'd never heard the word before, but for the first time, at the age of 37, I had a diagnosis that explains the massive highs and miserable lows I've lived with. There's no doubt that I do have extremes of moods that are greater than just about anybody else I know."

Jessica Simpson has set tongues wagging about her alleged romance with funnyman Dane Cook after signing him up as her co-host at the upcoming Teen Choice Awards. The blonde singer/actress has been romantically linked to Cook for months, but insists the two Employee Of The Month co-stars are just good friends. But, to further fuel rumors, Simpson has asked Cook to be her sidekick at the Teen Choice Awards on August 20. Defending her decision, Simpson says, "I'm glad I'm doing it with Dane because he's used to the stage. I will be messing up, I'm sure, many times, but he's good at making it a good thing." And she preempts the romance rumors, stating, "Dane and I are very good friends... He's an awesome guy. He's in Vancouver shooting a movie right now. We talk a lot, but I'm not dating anybody."

British crooner James Blunt is being treated to a second date with blonde socialite Paris Hilton after impressing her so much at a previous London rendezvous. Hilton has made no secret of her crush on the singer, despite the fact he is currently romancing model Petra Nemcova, and recently met up with him for dinner at Cuckoo Club in the British capital. Now she's planning on a Malibu, California, date after taking time out from promoting her debut single "Stars Are Blind." The 25-year-old says, "I love James Blunt. I first met him at The Brits. We went to dinner. I saw him perform the other night. I'd love to do music with him. I love the fact he used to be in the army. That's pretty hot."