People talk

Roberts gives Stepan the bear a step up

ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia -- A brown bear named Stepan has moved from a cramped cage to spacious zoo digs, thanks to actor Eric Roberts.

The star of ABC's "Less Than Perfect" and his wife, Eliza, noticed the bear last fall when they were in southern Russian town of Sochi for a film festival. Stepan was behind bars, often swilling beer that patrons of a nearby restaurant gave him.

The couple turned to actress and animal rights activist Kim Basinger. Basinger joined the cause and helped arrange Stepan's transfer to the zoo, about 600 miles south of Moscow.

Stepan's more spacious home includes a pool, and zoo officials are trying to find him a female companion.

Aretha cooperating in investigation of fire

PONTIAC, Mich. -- Singer Aretha Franklin has met with prosecutors investigating an arson fire that destroyed her $1.8 million mansion in suburban Detroit.

Franklin appeared Friday with her attorney, Saul Green, and answered every question asked of her during the 2 1/2-hour meeting, prosecutor Deborah Carley said.

"She was fully cooperative," Carley said. "She gave us quite a bit of information that we will be following up on, so the investigation is definitely ongoing."

Prosecutors have stressed that Franklin is not a suspect in the Oct. 25 fire that destroyed the 10,000-square-foot home in Bloomfield Township, about 20 miles northwest of Detroit.

Franklin's son, Edward Franklin, and security guard Tyrone Jarrett Sr. appeared for depositions Monday. Edward Franklin's attorney said his client invoked his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination.

In January, prosecutors subpoenaed Franklin, her son, Jarrett, and family friend Dr. George West. West is expected to meet with prosecutors in coming weeks.-- From wire reports

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SOMERVILLE, Mass. -- Just how much will somebody pay to see the Boss?

This working-class suburb of Boston is going to find out Tuesday -- and officials hope it's a lot.

Two tickets to a Bruce Springsteen concert are going to be auctioned by radio station WZLX-FM, with the money going to Somerville's youth programs.

The tickets -- valued at $500 and donated by the Winter Hill Bank -- are for a Wednesday night gig at the Somerville Theater. The Boss is performing two nights to help raise funds for DoubleTake magazine, a publication devoted to fiction, poetry and documentary work.

"We are thrilled to see Bruce Springsteen come to Somerville, and we're even more thrilled to get our hands on a pair of tickets and put them to good use," Somerville Mayor Dorothy Kelly Gay said.

The city is trying to make up for $3 million in state aid cuts. Recreation services for children were particularly hard hit.

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LOS ANGELES -- Peter O'Toole has agreed to accept an honorary Academy Award after politely balking because he thought the honor meant his career was over, an Oscar official said.

The 70-year-old Irish actor, who has never won an Oscar despite being nominated seven times, will appear at the March 23 ceremony, Frank Pierson, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said Friday.

"It looks like that may indeed happen, and we couldn't be happier," Pierson said.

O'Toole's manager, Johnnie Planco, declined to confirm the academy's announcement, saying the matter was being kept a surprise.

O'Toole initially mistook the offer as a sign that his peers thought he could no longer win a competitive award. He sent a handwritten letter last month saying he was "enchanted" at the thought of an honorary Oscar but that he was "still in the game, and might yet win (the award) outright."

He asked if it were possible for the academy to "please defer the honor until I am 80?"

O'Toole has earned best-actor nominations for "Lawrence of Arabia," "Becket," "The Lion in Winter," "Goodbye, Mr. Chips," "The Ruling Class," "The Stunt Man" and "My Favorite Year."

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ATLANTA (AP) -- Oprah Winfrey will donate $5 million to Morehouse College, the school announced.

The talk show host's pledge came as Morehouse launched its largest-ever fund-raising campaign, hoping to receive at least $105 million by 2006.

Winfrey, who had previously donated $1 million to the historically black college, is the school's top donor.

President Walter Massey said Morehouse will use the money to offer more scholarships, upgrade the campus and make the college more competitive.

"Our mantra has been that we want to be considered among the finest liberal arts colleges in the country while still remaining the college of choice for African-American men," Massey said Friday.

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BERLIN -- Oliver Stone says Fidel Castro's charm did not cause him to lose his objectivity when filming a documentary of the 76-year-old Cuban president.

Nevertheless, the three-day encounter with the communist leader left a deep impression. "We should look to him as one of the Earth's wisest people, one of the people we should consult," Stone said at a press conference after "Comandante" was screened Friday at the Berlin Film Festival.

"The film is an attempt to portray the human figure," Stone said of the HBO documentary in which Castro talks about late fellow revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara and the assassination of President Kennedy, and offers a rare glimpse into his private life.

Stone, director of "Platoon" and "Nixon," said Castro's regime has achieved much, such as providing schooling and basic services lacking elsewhere in Latin America. He said he hoped the film helps lead the United States to drop its long-standing embargo against Cuba.

"I believe the embargo is outdated," he said. "There is a difficult lobby in Miami and Washington which prevents us breaking this barrier. It points to the power of vengeance and obsessiveness."

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The surviving members of the Grateful Dead, singer James Brown and the Allman Brothers will headline the 2003 Bonnaroo Music Festival.

More than 30 acts have been confirmed to perform at the June 13-15 event in Manchester. Last year's festival drew more than 70,000 music fans to the Middle Tennessee town in Coffee County, and organizers expect up to 80,000 this year.

"We're not trying to be so much different from last year as just improve on the success of last year," said Ashley Capps, president of Knoxville-based A.C. Entertainment, which co-produces the festival with Superfly Productions of New Orleans. "We want to make it the premier event of its kind."

The biggest headache of last year's festival was heavy traffic getting to the 600-acre site. Capps said there will be a temporary exit from Interstate 24 this year.

"We've been working with the Tennessee Department of Transportation and the Tennessee Highway Patrol to find plans to eliminate bottlenecks," Capps said Thursday.

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FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- There was a personal connection for country star Faith Hill when she entertained 7,000 paratroopers at Fort Bragg this week.

"She and I were best friends" while growing up in Star, Miss., said Gaye Knight, wife of Capt. Dan Knight, a chaplain with the 1st Battalion of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. "We've kept in contact, and we link up as much as we can."

Hill arrived in Fayetteville Wednesday to spend time with her friends and set up for Thursday's concert.

"Dan and I were both honored," Knight said. "If people could see how she really is behind the scenes, what you see is what you get. She's a goodhearted, all-American girl."

The 35-year-old singer entertained the paratroopers before thousands began their journey to join other U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf region.

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COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale about "The Vagina Monologues" -- starring Mary Ann.

Dawn Wells, who played the wholesome, girl-next-door castaway on '60s sitcom "Gilligan's Island," will appear in eight performances of "The Vagina Monologues," starting Tuesday, in downtown Columbia.

The national touring production of Eve Ensler's play about women and their sexuality features two New York actresses and usually a third performer with local ties. For Wells, who lives in the Los Angeles area, the connection is Stephens College, where she received a degree in dramatic arts.

"I don't have any filthy words to say, and there is no nudity, which my 91-year-old mother wouldn't approve of anyway," the actress said.

She said mature-themed material doesn't frighten her.

"I hope the audience will say, 'Gee, there is so much more to Dawn than Mary Ann,"' Wells said in a recent telephone interview with The Associated Press.

"A lot of people think Mary Ann is all I can do," she said. "I also want them to walk away saying, 'that play has a message.' Besides, what do you think you are seeing when you come to a play called 'The Vagina Monologues'? You don't see 'The Sound of Music."'

-- From wire reports