People talk 11/4

Chicago man wins bid on plate used by Monroe

SPARKS, Nev. -- A silver oyster plate used by Marilyn Monroe during filming of "The Misfits" sold at auction for $1,000.

Robert W. Otto, president and CEO of a Chicago human resources consulting company, made the highest bid for the plate from the former Mapes Hotel in Reno, where Monroe stayed in 1960 during shooting.

The plate was among more than 600 items auctioned off Saturday at Lightning Auctions.

"I flew in from Chicago just to bid on the oyster plate and I had no intent to lose," Otto said. "I had its worth pegged at $5,000 and I was prepared to go that high."

The 55-year-old Otto owns about 500 pieces of Monroe memorabilia, including a ring with an "MM" monogram on the inside once worn by Monroe and the first dress she wore to studio interviews at age 18.

Filmed almost exclusively in the Reno area from July to November 1960, "The Misfits" was the only movie Monroe and Clark Gable appeared in together and the last complete film for both.

Crude prank movie makes top box office

LOS ANGELES -- Johnny Knoxville is thrilled his crude prank movie "Jackass" debuted at No. 1 at the box office. He's also a tad sheepish about all the success.

"Oh, my goodness, when I think of all those filmmakers who spent so much time and tens of millions of dollars on their movies -- and our stinker was No. 1? ... That's so wrong," he says in Newsweek's Nov. 11 issue.

Produced for just $5 million, "Jackass" reprises the now-defunct MTV show that featured such hazardous or crude acts as roller-skating with bottle rockets attached or urinating on a snow cone.

Executives at Paramount and its MTV subsidiary had expected "Jackass" might gross $20 million at best on its first weekend. It raked in $22.7 million.

P. Diddy holds birthday bash in Morocco

RABAT, Morocco -- Rapper Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and 300 guests spent the weekend celebrating his 33rd birthday Moroccan-style, partying in a marble palace and shimmying with belly dancers.

Guests, flown to Marrakech from New York and Paris, included Naomi Campbell, Ivana Trump and Gerard Depardieu.

The party started Friday night at Comptoir Paris-Marrakech, a chic French-Moroccan restaurant. About 30 Moroccan musicians, jugglers and belly dancers provided the atmosphere, and traffic was blocked from the street outside to make room for half a dozen camels.

At one point, Combs climbed atop a table to dance with a belly dancer, said Marcel Chiche, the restaurant's owner.

On Saturday night, the guests attended a private party at the home of actor and comic Jamel Debbouze. Sunday brought another fete at Palais Bahia, a marble place in Marrakech.

Combs, once known as Puff Daddy, turns 33 on Monday.

Ray Charles honored by Media Access Awards

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. -- Music legend Ray Charles was honored at the 20th annual Media Access Awards for raising awareness about disability issues in the entertainment industry.

The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists presented Charles, 72, with the Disability Awareness Award at a Universal Studios ceremony on Saturday.

Charles, who lost his sight at age 7, has won 13 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1982 and was one of the original inductees to the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame in 1986. Classic songs include "I Got a Woman," "What'd I Say" and "Georgia On My Mind."

People with disabilities make up 20 percent of the U.S. population, but less than 2 percent of TV and film characters have disabilities, according to the California Employment Development Department.-- From wire reports

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LOS ANGELES -- Syndicated radio host Howard Stern has written books, starred in an autobiographical film and produced a TV series.

Now, he's ready for a new challenge: Making movies.

The aim? "To bring more stupidity and childishness to a whole new generation," he told radio listeners on Friday. "And that thrills me!"

Stern said his first project as a movie producer will be a remake of the 1981 teen comedy "Porky's." Also in the works is a remake of the 1979 teen musical "Rock 'n' Roll High School."

Stern plans to serve as executive producer at newly formed Arclight Films with former Dimension Films executive Dan Gross.

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BOULDER, Colo. -- The University of Colorado is looking for someone to fix a damaged statue of two-time Olympian Frank Shorter.

The $50,000 statue honoring the co-founder of the Bolder Boulder 10-kilometer race was erected in 1998 near the finish line of the street race near Folsom Field.

The life-size statue was knocked from its base following a football game in September, leaving deep scratches on the nose and arms.

University officials have been unable to find someone to repair the statue, and the original artist is no longer doing statue work, spokeswoman Jeannine Malmsbury said.