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Glover named Marian Anderson Award winner

PHILADELPHIA -- Actor and human rights activist Danny Glover will be the fifth recipient of the Marian Anderson Award, which honors artists whose leadership benefits humanity.

Glover is this year's recipient because of his work as an artist and a humanitarian, Mayor John F. Street announced Thursday.

"He has achieved worldwide recognition and success as one of the finest actors of our time. He is also a tireless advocate for human rights, for causes ranging from abolition of the death penalty to ... the global fight against AIDS," Street said.

Glover, 54, is to accept the award, and its accompanying $100,000 honorarium, at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts on Nov. 11.

The award is named for Marian Anderson, the late opera singer and Philadelphia native who was the first black performer to entertain at the White House.

"I am both honored and proud to be acknowledged with an award that bears the name of such an extraordinary artist and role model for social change," said Glover, who has served as goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Program and board chairman of TransAfrica Forum, a think tank specializing in African and Caribbean issues.

His movies include "The Royal Tenenbaums," "The Color Purple" and the "Lethal Weapon" films.

Actress Fox wants out of three-year marriage

LOS ANGELES -- Actress Vivica A. Fox is seeking a divorce from her husband of almost four years, according to a petition filed Thursday in Superior Court.

Fox married Christopher Harvest in December 1998. The couple had no children together.

The 37-year-old actress is co-starring in the new film "Juwanna Mann." Other credits include "Double Take," "Soul Food," "Booty Call" "Set It Off" and "Independence Day."

Landers, Abby feud remains with daughters

CHICAGO -- The daughter of advice columnist Esther Lederer, better known as Ann Landers, has accused her cousin, who writes the "Dear Abby" advice column, of trying to cash in on her mother's legacy, according to a published report.

"My mother has not been gone a full week yet, and I am highly offended by Jeanne Phillips' not-at-all-subtle move to make hay of my mother's death," Lederer's daughter, Margo Howard, told the Chicago Tribune in Thursday editions. Her comments were prompted by Phillips' appearance Tuesday on CNN's "Larry King Live" show, where she expressed grief at her aunt's death.

Howard told the Tribune she had also learned that Dear Abby's distributor, Universal Press Syndicate, was offering a farewell letter from Phillips to her aunt to newspapers and other media. "This is not about grief," said Howard, who writes an online advice column. "This is about new clients." Phillips is the daughter of Lederer's twin sister, Pauline Phillips, originator of "Dear Abby."

The two column-writing sisters had a much-publicized feud.

Lederer died Saturday at her Chicago home at 83. The cause of death was multiple myeloma, a bone marrow cancer.

At stake are revenues from the newspapers that subscribed to the Ann Landers column.

Springer to host late-night talk show

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Jerry Springer will host a late-night show, "Jerry Springer Saturday Night," in South Africa later this year that promises to be more "traditional" than his popular U.S. tabloid show.

The weekly program will feature interviews with celebrities, an opening monologue and a live studio audience. The series is set to begin in November on local pay channel M-Net.

"This is a traditional show," the 58-year-old talk-show host said Thursday. "This is meeting fascinating people with a particular talent."

Springer, who was in Johannesburg negotiating the contract for 26 episodes, declined to say what the deal is worth. He hosts a similar late-night talk show in England.

"The idea of being in South Africa is exciting," he said.

-- From wire reports