News Nuggets – 18 June 2004

R.I.P Ray Charles The legendary soul singer and pianist will be laid to rest today in Los Angeles. Although famous for his ability to shake a tail feather, Charles also ventured in to the world of film, most notably in the trailblazing The Blues Brothers alongside music legends Aretha Franklin and James Brown. Bizarrely enough, though, he also had a small role in 1996's Spy Hard playing a bus driver. Geddit? He was blind as a bat - and driving a bus! Our sides, even now, are splitting. Rest in peace, Ray. I should Coco After struggling both on screen and in real life to have kids Friends star Courteney Cox Arquette finally gave birth to a baby girl this week. And following in the footsteps of Gwynnie and Chris Martin's little bairn, Apple, Cox Arquette and her hubbie, David Arquette, have given the little lady an, erm, unusual moniker. World, meet Coco Cox Arquette. Coco Cox Arquette, meet the deed poll office in 20 years' time. Probably. Van Wilder to wed! Busy week for Van Wilder himself, Ryan Reynolds. He's featured in three Empire news stories (including this one). Oh, and he got engaged to Canadian caterwauler, Alanis Morisette, too. The Blade: Trinity star and the woman who played God in Dogma first met, via email, two years ago! You see, kids, the internet is good for more than porn! Oh and Alanis - if it rains on your wedding day, remember, that isn't ironic. Years Of Hurt Rewarded With Gong Congratulations to John Hurt! Last seen draped over a lectern at this year's Empire Awards, we've always had a soft spot for the old boy - and now he's John Hurt CBE, if you please, after he became one of the few people in showbiz to be recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours. What, no knighthood for Rhys Ifans? Stallone and Cruise - The Human Torches When the Olympic flame is carried into the (probably half-finished) Olympic Arena in Athens in just a couple of months, it'll probably be the most famous torch of them all, purely by association. The torch turned up in LA this week, and a bunch of famous types fell over themselves to grab it and run with it for a few yards. Sylvester Stallone huffed and puffed along, to the theme from Rocky, before Ellen DeGeneres and Tom Cruise also had a go, to the theme from Steptoe & Son. OK, we made that last bit up. Gibson is God OK, well maybe not, but right now, Mel Gibson's probably as close as you can get in Hollywood. US business magazine Forbes has named Gibbo as the most powerful player in Tinseltown right now, after the success of his low-key indie, The Passion of The Christ which earned the Aussie star a cool $210m. Gibson knocked last year's number one star Jennifer Aniston to 17th place. To which we say, Jennifer Aniston was no. 1 last year? What in the name of Marcel the Monkey was going on?