UPI NewsTrack Entertainment News July 4, 2008

Applegate's on-off boyfriend found dead

HOLLYWOOD, July 4 (UPI) -- The 26-year-old, on-and-off-again boyfriend of actress Christina Applegate has been found dead in his Hollywood apartment, TMZ.com reported Thursday.

Applegate is best known for her roles on the TV comedies "Married with Children" and "Samantha Who?"

TMZ.com said the body of Lee Grivas was discovered in his apartment Tuesday afternoon by a neighbor.

The entertainment news Web site said there were no visible signs of trauma and an autopsy on Grivas' body has not yet been completed.

Applegate and Grivas had dated on and off for several years and were not together at the time of his death, a source told Usmagazine.com.

"Christina really loved him," the insider said. "He was a really nice guy but also very sad."

Applegate released a statement to the TV program "Extra" saying she was "profoundly saddened" by Grivas' death.

"Lee was an incredible human being who was an extremely important and beautiful part of my life," the statement said. "He is missed beyond words. He touched so many and I feel much sadness for his mother, brother and all of his family and friends."

Spielberg donates $1M to Jewish museum

PHILADELPHIA, July 4 (UPI) -- Filmmaker Steven Spielberg's Righteous Persons Foundation reportedly has given $1 million to the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia.

Spielberg's films include "Schindler's List," "Amistad," "Saving Private Ryan," "ET: The Extra-Terrestrial" and the four "Indiana Jones" movies.

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported his foundation's donation will go to the museum's $150 million capital campaign.

To be located between the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, the museum's new five-floor building is expected to feature a large collection of Jewish Americana, the agency said.

The new building is to open in 2010, the museum's Web site said.

Wife: Madonna lured A-Rod with Kabbalah

NEW YORK, July 4 (UPI) -- Alex Rodriguez's estranged wife is telling people Madonna lured the New York Yankees star away by getting him interested in Kabbalah, a friend of his wife says.

The New York Daily News quoted a close friend of Cynthia Rodriguez as saying she blames the pop star for breaking up her five-year marriage by using Kabbalah, a mystical component of Judaism, to brainwash the ball player into thinking he and the married singer are "soulmates."

"I believe he was having an affair with Madonna," the Daily News reported Cynthia Rodriguez told a friend. "She said she found a letter where Alex told Madonna, 'You are my true soulmate.' ... I feel like Madonna is using mind control over him. I don't recognize the man he's become. He was a sweet, beautiful, loving husband and father. Today he's very cold and calculating."

The insider said Cynthia Rodriguez is heartbroken over the recent breakup of her marriage, but insisted she still loves her husband.

Madonna's publicist has denied the singer and ball player are anything more than friends. She also has dismissed reports Madonna's seven-year marriage to British filmmaker Guy Ritchie is in trouble.

Bathroom recording of Jones to be sold

LONDON, July 4 (UPI) -- Christie's auction house in London is set to auction off a rare recording made of Tom Jones while the singer was in a bathroom, a Christie's official says.

An unidentified Christie's spokesman said the four tracks recorded in a YMCA bathroom in the Welsh town of Pontypridd, Jones' hometown, represented the earliest-known recordings of the "It's Not Unusual" star, The Daily Telegraph said Friday.

"These recordings have genuine historical significance as they mark the birth of the Tom Jones phenomenon," the spokesman said.

The tracks were made in 1962 when Jones was performing under the name Tommy Scott and was a member of the band The Senators.

Jones and two area songwriters recorded the demo along with a sound man, who is the individual behind next week's auction.

Liz Williams, president of the Pontypridd YMCA, told the Telegraph it was Jones' idea to use the bathroom for the recordings.

"When it came to the recording, he wanted to use the toilets because he believed they had the best acoustics in the building," Williams said. The recordings are expected to sell for at least $4,000.

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