People talk 8/19/02

Show of support means much to ailing actor

LOS ANGELES -- Charlton Heston says he was overwhelmed by the concern -- including calls from President Bush and former first lady Nancy Reagan -- after his announcement that he has symptoms consistent with Alzheimer's disease.

In his first interview since the Aug. 9 videotaped announcement, the Oscar-winning Heston said a telephone call from Bush last week meant "a great deal."

"He wished me well and was proud of what I had done for my country," the actor told the Los Angeles Times in the interview published Sunday. "Which is, perhaps, overstating it a little."

Heston said he's also gotten calls from Sarah Brady, chairwoman of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and Nancy Reagan, whose husband, former President Reagan, suffers from the degenerative brain disease.

Nancy Reagan gave Heston and his wife, Lydia, her private phone number and encouraged them to call.

"She talked to Lydia and to me, and it was really a nice thing for her to have done," said Heston, 77. "She didn't really need to do that. After all, she's the president's wife."

Jailed novelist given permission to go home

LONDON -- Jailed novelist Jeffrey Archer has won permission to go home every Sunday and leave prison on weekdays for a backstage job at a theater, a newspaper reported.

The Sunday Times said Archer, serving a four-year prison sentence for perjury and obstructing justice, made his first visit to his family home near Cambridge on Aug. 11.

He also plans to begin work at the Theatre Royal in Lincoln five days a week, and will be allowed to drive the 38 miles there himself, the paper reported. His job includes moving scenery and making tea, and will pay $90 a week.

Archer was convicted a year ago of lying during a successful 1987 lawsuit against two tabloid newspapers that had reported he'd paid money to a prostitute.

He was sentenced to four years in prison. Last month a panel of judges rejected Archer's appeal for a shorter sentence. He must serve another year before he can be considered for parole.

Grammy-winner Marsalis calls Durham, N.C., home

DURHAM, N.C. -- Branford Marsalis has ditched New York for Durham.

Earlier this month, the Grammy-winning saxophonist bought a home in the Treyburn subdivision to live with his wife and son.

Marsalis could not be reached for comment, but Durham jazz singer Nnenna Freelon says he had wanted to leave New York.

"I ran into him at the St. Louis Jazz Festival last month, and he said he was tired of it," Freelon said. "But he said he's moving here, and I told him it's a great place to live."

Marsalis, 42, comes from one of America's most distinguished musical families. He is the son of New Orleans piano great Ellis Marsalis, and the older brother of trumpeter Wynton Marsalis.

Branford Marsalis has worked with many artists, including Sting, the Grateful Dead and Bruce Hornsby. His credits include a number of film scores, including Spike Lee's "Malcolm X" and "Mo' Better Blues."

'Free Willy' star whale swimming on his own

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The killer whale star of "Free Willy" is swimming free.

The orca's keepers were tracking him as he swam in the wild and had their last close-up look July 30, officials said.

Charles Vinick of the Ocean Futures Society in Iceland told The Oregonian that Keiko could still return to his pen off the Icelandic coast and that keepers could lead him there if it appears he needs help.

However, "He's clearly free because he's not in our control. He's truly out with whales," Vinick said.-- From wire reports

On Friday, satellite data found Keiko more than 250 miles from Iceland, some 100 miles north of the easternmost point in the Faroe Islands.

Keiko was brought to the Oregon Coast Aquarium from a Mexico City amusement park in 1996 and was flown to Iceland in September of 1998 with hopes he could return to the wild in the North Atlantic where he was captured.

It is not yet certain whether Keiko had bonded with a pod of killer whales, whether he is feeding himself adequately or whether he can make it through the winter without an occasional human handout.

He was escorted out to sea from his pen in Iceland's Westmann Islands on July 8 and returned to the pen for one day in mid-July.

Vinick said Keiko has been swimming as far as 80 miles a day.