VARIOUS/YEARENDER: SHOWBIZ REVIEW OF THE YEAR 2011 - PART TWO: Important showbiz deaths, court cases, scandals, movie and TV moments in 2011

Record ID: 393623

  • Title: VARIOUS/YEARENDER: SHOWBIZ REVIEW OF THE YEAR 2011 - PART TWO: Important showbiz deaths, court cases, scandals, movie and TV moments in 2011
  • Date: 16th December 2011
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE 2009 ) (REUTERS) AMY WINEHOUSE AT COURT
  • Embargoed: 31st December 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Haiti, Usa, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom
  • City:
  • Country: Haiti Usa Russian Federation United Kingdom France
  • Topics: Arts,People
  • Reuters ID: LVAA2N1EFTBY4MQYQ5GIGM1UZ7IV
  • Story Text: Film legend Elizabeth Taylor, who rose from a child actor to become one of Hollywood's most talented actresses, died at age 79 from congestive heart failure on March 23, 2011. Her death leads a year of showbiz notables who passed away.
    Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs, counted among the greatest American CEOs of his generation, died on October 05, 2011 at the age of 56, after a years-long and highly public battle with cancer and other health issues.
    And Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse died on July 23, 2011 at age 27. Known for her beehive hairstyle and distinctive soulful voice, the British singer had high levels of alcohol in her blood at the time of her death, which was officially ruled as death from "misadventure."
    Several court cases made headlines in 2011, the biggest of which was Dr. Conrad Murray's trial for the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson. Jackson's personal physician, Murray was found guilty and sentenced to four years in prison.
    Lindsay Lohan was in and out of court throughout the year after pleading no contest to the misdemeanor theft of a necklace. After violating probation, she was sentenced to jail and nearly 400 hours of community service.
    Mel Gibson was also in court. He pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor battery of his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva. The couple also settled the custody case over their baby girl.
    2011 was chock full of showbiz scandals. Arnold Schwarzenegger acknowledged that he fathered a child out of wedlock - 13 years ago - to a maid that worked for him and his wife, Maria Shriver. Shriver then filed for divorce.
    A celebrity hacker wreaked havoc on a variety of stars. Christopher Chaney was charged with 25 counts of identity theft amid accusations he hacked into a number of private email accounts, including Scarlett Johansson's, whose racy photos were then leaked online. Also affected were Mila Kunis and Jessica Alba.
    In the U.K., Hugh Grant testified that he thought he had been a victim of phone hacking. He said he could not think of any other source for a published story about his relationship with his then-girlfriend Jemima Khan being on the rocks. His accusation widened the scope of the British newspaper phone-hacking scandal, which has focused mostly on Rupert Murdoch-owned titles.
    Danish director Lars von Trier was kicked out of the Cannes Film Festival after joking that he "understands" Hitler at a press conference for his film, "Melancholia." The director was charged with justifying war crimes, but French prosecutors decided not to pursue the case.
    Hilary Swank also got herself in hot water with her comments. The actress came under fire after attending a 35th birthday celebration for alleged human rights abuser Ramzan Kadyrov.
    Charlie Sheen was part of a very public battle with Chuck Lorre, the creator of his show, "Two and A Half Men." Sheen was eventually fired from the show, although he eventually received a rumored 100 million dollar settlement.
    Brit John Galliano was ousted as head of fashion house Dior for making anti-semitic remarks in a Paris bar. A video surfaced online showing him, apparently inebriated, telling a woman he "loved Hitler" and that her parents might have been gassed in a Nazi death camp.
    Homicide detectives reopened an investigation into the death of Natalie Wood, although they said that the film star's husband, actor Robert Wagner, was not considered a suspect. The new inquiry into Wood's mysterious drowning came amid new attention to the case on its 30th anniversary: the captain of the yacht she was on before her death said that he lied to police at the time and holds Wagner responsible for her death.
    Justin Bieber was caught in the middle of a paternity scandal. A woman said she was pregnant with the singer's child, after the two had had sex following one of his concerts. Bieber denied the charges and the woman eventually dropped the suit.
    Director Brett Ratner resigned his duty to produce the 2012 Oscars telecast. Ratner used the gay slur "fags" at a screening of his movie "Tower Heist," causing a public backlash. "Tower Heist" star Eddie Murphy, who was slated to host the awards show, also stepped down. Oscar organizers picked funnyman and past host Billy Crystal to replace him.
    Wyclef Jean was denied the right to run for president of Haiti. He also came under fire for allegedly mishandling funds - more than 16 million dollars - that were donated to his Haitian relief charity.
    The year in music belonged to Adele. The singer made Billboard history when she became the first female singer to be named top artist, have the top album, "21," and score the top single, "Rolling in the Deep," all in one year. Despite the success, Adele was plagued with health issues. A recurring throat problem forced her to cancel shows and eventually required surgery.
    Katy Perry also ruled the charts. The singer scored five number one hits from her "Teenage Dream" album - tying Michael Jackson's record for most number one singles from one album.
    Lady Gaga released a new album, "Born This Way," that shot her to the top of the charts. The singer topped Forbes list of the top-earning women of the year, raking in an estimated 90 million dollars.
    R.E.M., once dubbed "America's Best Rock & Roll Band," decided to "call it a day" after more than 30 years of generating hits and selling millions of records.
    Finally, on the music side, like her or not, Rebecca Black racked up a mind-boggling 44 million views on YouTube for her viral hit, "Friday."
    On the movie side, Colin Firth and his film, "The King's Speech" took top honors at the Oscars, with both the actor and film winning the award in their respective categories. On the female side, Natalie Portman dominated the awards season, eventually winning the prized Oscar for her role in "Black Swan."
    It was a blockbusting year at the box office. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" was the year's top earner with 1.3 billion dollars globally. That was followed by "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," which took in 1.1 billion. Finally, the latest edition of the "Twilight" franchise, "Breaking Dawn," took in 642 million dollars.
    Not all films were hits; "Green Lantern" and "Cowboys and Aliens" were among the year's biggest flops.
    2011 saw some new directions from Hollywood. Angelina Jolie took her first time behind the camera for her directorial debut, "In the Land of Blood and Honey." And Madonna again tried her hand at directing, creating the film "W.E."
    On the television side, Oprah Winfrey ended her 25 year reign as talk show queen, leaving her program to launch her own cable channel, OWN.
    And Simon Cowell launched his hotly anticipated "X Factor" in the U.S. Also staring Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul - the show started off with high ratings, but has been staggering to keep up through its run.
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