Lawrence.com

Hepburn honors home town

Old Saybrook, Conn. - Katharine Hepburn has given a gift to her town a portrait of her that had hung over the fireplace in her New York City apartment.

The oil painting will be installed in the archives building of the town historical society.

The portrait, which shows Hepburn dressed casually in khakis, a black turtleneck and sneakers, was painted by her old friend Myfanwy Pavelic. Pavelic, a well-known portrait artist from British Columbia, did the painting about 30 years ago.

The 95-year-old actress is in frail health in Fenwick.

Today's GIs have 'own Bob Hope'

Los Angeles - For the younger generation of military fighters overseas, comic actor Robin Williams may be the 21st century's Bob Hope.

"They love him. He's all they talk about," Hollywood ambassador Johnny Grant said Friday after completing a 10-day USO trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan to visit U.S. service personnel fighting the war on terrorism.

Grant, 79, never goes overseas without conducting his ritual poll asking military personnel to name the celebrities they would most like to meet.

"Robin Williams is the big thing," said Grant, who arrived in Afghanistan three weeks after Williams visited them. "The young GIs now have their own Bob Hope and it's Robin Williams. They were all talking about him."

Mandela lines up more talent

Cape Town, South Africa - Former South African President Nelson Mandela announced that he'll stage a concert featuring some of the world's leading entertainers to raise funds for Africa's millions of AIDS victims.

U2 star Bono, Macy Gray and Shaggy had already agreed to perform at the Feb. 2 show, to be held on Robben Island.

Michael Jackson, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Elton John and Janet Jackson have also been approached to play at the event "Mandela SOS" for an audience of 3,000 invited guests.

Mandela, 84, one of the world's most revered figures, emerged from prison to become South Africa's first democratic president in 1994. He stepped down in 1999 and has since become a vocal activist in the fight against AIDS.

An estimated 4.7 million South Africans one in nine are HIV positive, more than in any other country in the world.

Kidman ready to move on

New York - She calls ex-husband Tom Cruise "the love of my life," but Nicole Kidman says she's ready for romance.

"I would love to meet somebody. I'd love to be swept off my feet," Kidman tells Lesley Stahl in a "60 Minutes" profile to air today on CBS.

"I mean, to have those goose bumps and that feeling in your stomach when you just go 'oh.' Please. That would be fun. That would be lovely," the 35-year-old actress said.

Kidman and Cruise divorced last year.