Actress Ruth Warrick, who made her film debut as the first wife of Orson Welles' titular character in Citizen Kane but became known to generations as daytime drama diva Phoebe Tyler of All My Children, died at her home in New York on Saturday of complications from pneumonia; she was 89. The actress had been in failing health for the past few years, but was well enough to make an appearance earlier this month at the 35th anniversary celebration for All My Children, albeit for a short period of time in a wheelchair. Born in St. Joseph, Missouri, the young actress made her way to New York after graduating from college, and found herself a place in Orson Welles' Mercury Theater. Welles later hand-picked her for her auspicious screen debut as Emily Norton Kane in 1941's Citizen Kane, citing her fresh-faced, non-Hollywood quality. Roles in 40s films such as The Corsican Brothers, Journey Into Fear, and Song Of The South followed, but by the end of the decade she had settled into supporting roles. However, Warrick found a career resurgence with the nascent medium of television soap operas, and played parts in such shows as Guiding Light, As The World Turns, and Peyton Place (for which she earned her first Emmy nomination). It was for a brand-new soap in 1970 that Warrick earned her place in television history when she originated the role of matriarch Phoebe Tyler Wallingford in All My Children; her scheming, sophisticated, over-the-top character earned her millions of fans as well as two Emmy nominations and a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award. After breaking her hip in 2001, she continued to make sporadic appearances on the show in a wheelchair, continuing her meddlesome ways. Warrick is survived by three children, a grandson and six great-grandchildren. --Prepared by IMDb staff

Actress Virginia Mayo, a former chorus girl who made good as a movie star in the 40s and 50s in such movies as The Best Years of Our Lives and White Heat, died Monday at a nursing home in Thousand Oaks, CA of pneumonia and heart failure; she was 84. The former vaudevillian actress, often described as having the quintessential "peaches and cream" complexion, started her career under the watchful eye of Samuel Goldwyn, who cast her in a small part in the 1943 film Jack London, which starred her soon-to-be-husband Michael O'Shea, whom she married four years later. The "Goldwyn Girl" soon found herself to be a leading lady, opposite Bob Hope no less, in the 1944 film The Princess and the Pirate. Roles in numerous other light comedies followed, primarily opposite comedian Danny Kaye, with whom she appeared in four films, including The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Though known mainly for her comedic talents, Mayo was also adept at drama, and turned in an acclaimed dramatic performance in 1946's The Best Years of Our Lives as the unfaithful wife of Dana Andrews. Moving from MGM to Warner Bros. in the late 40s, Mayo scored another dramatic hit as the wife of James Cagney in the crime drama White Heat. She continued in a wide range of roles throughout the 40s and 50s in movies such as The Flame and the Arrow, Captain Horatio Hornblower, She's Working Her Way Through College, and The Silver Chalice, opposite Paul Newman in his film debut. She retired as the 60s approached, appearing only in a handful of films and rarely, if ever, doing television work. Mayo was married to O'Shea until his death in 1973, and she is survived by their daughter and three grandsons. --Prepared by IMDb staff

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow star Jude Law is planning to marry fiancee Sienna Miller on the south Pacific island of Fiji. According to reports, the actor has met a property owner on the romantic isle to discuss a wedding venue - and wants designer pal Matthew Williamson to design actress Miller's dress for the bash. Miller said after Law proposed on Christmas Day, "I'm the happiest girl alive. A big wedding has always been my dream." The two-time Oscar-nominated actor is next set to appear in the star-studded remake All the King's Men, while Miller is currently slated to play Edie Sedgwick in Factory Girl.

The new King Kong movie fulfills a lifetime obsession for director Peter Jackson. The Oscar-winning Lord Of The Rings movie maker made his first King Kong film with a cardboard set when he was just 13 - so to be given a $150 million budget to remake of the 1933 is a "dream come true". Jackson tells website The Scoop, "Obviously, there's a lot of criticism and apprehension about remaking any film, and it has the potential for pitfalls that are greater than The Lord of the Rings. But it's a dream come true. That's the reality of it."

Mel Gibson has failed in his bid to have a chunk of his land in Greenwich, Connecticut, classified as a farm in an effort to earn a tax break. The Passion Of The Christ director had hoped to have 17 of his 75.7 acres classified as a farmland, but authorities were not convinced. Town assessor John 'Ted' Gwartney says, "Anyone can have a few pigs in their back yard, but a viable farm is more than having something for personal use. It's about producing a viable product." Gibson would have saved about $10,000 per year in property taxes on his $17.7 million estate if granted the exemption for owners of working farms. His annual property tax bill is reportedly about $137,000.

Monty Python star Michael Palin is urging theatre bosses to resurrect the comedy collective's controversial film The Life Of Brian on the live stage - following the success of Jerry Springer: The Opera. The biblical satire had religious leaders calling for it to be banned upon its release in 1979, but having witnessed the outrage targeted at the BBC's TV broadcast of Jerry Springer: The Opera - which was littered with expletives and sexual innuendos - Palin is adamant the time is right to spark further fury by launching a stage version of The Life Of Brian. The 61-year-old says, "I don't see why Life Of Brian couldn't come to stage now. That would really get people talking. In fact, we could do it alongside Jerry Springer." BBC bosses received a staggering 47,000 complaints before the British network's adaptation of Jerry Springer: The Opera was even aired, which Palin labels "ridiculous". He adds, "I don't find it offensive at all. The fact that only a few hundred people complained afterwards shows that all the fuss is ridiculous. It sounded to me to be an orchestrated campaign. How can people be offended? Even if someone did a send-up of Michael Palin, I'd probably go and see it."

Forgetful Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher begged journalists at Sunday night's post-Golden Globes parties in Hollywood to help her thank her parents. Hatcher, who won a Best Actress prize for her role on the hit soap, forgot to mention her parents in her acceptance speech and was upset when she realized. She told one journalist, "It was a huge error on my part, but it was surreal up there. I also forgot to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who gave me the award. I really wanted to thank my parents, Owen and Esther, but I forgot. I was out of my mind while I was up there, but without them I wouldn't be where I am now."

Screen Actors Guild award-nominee Jon Voight will have to watch the ceremony from home next month - because he's been banned from attending. Voight was given the nod in the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries category for his role in TV show The Five People You Meet In Heaven - but has also been informed he won't be getting an invite to the February 5 ceremony in Los Angeles because he had previously resigned from the guild and is currently classified as a fee-paying non-member. SAG president Melissa Gilbert has briefed the guild's national board about the situation, reports trade publication Variety. Resigning from the union is often referred to as seeking "financial core" status, which gives members of the union an opportunity to resign from full membership but continue to pay the portion of dues which go to contract-related jobs. When members take such steps, they're no longer eligible to participate in a number of guild activities - including attending awards shows. Voight, who has yet to comment on the situation, was picketed two years ago by SAG when he shot non-union film A Deadly Course.

Movie star Nicole Kidman has a bizarre fear of butterflies she can't overcome. The Cold Mountain actress developed the terrifying phobia when she was a child in Australia and despite endless attempts to shake off the problem, she still can't stand the pretty insects. She reveals, "Sometimes when I would come home from school the biggest butterfly or moth you'd ever seen would be just sitting on our front gate. I would climb over the fence, crawl around to the side of the house - anything to avoid having to go through the front gate. I have tried to get over it (the phobia) I walked into the big butterfly cage at the American Museum of Natural History and had the butterflies on me, but that didn't work. I jump out of planes, I could be covered in cockroaches, I do all sorts of things, but I just don't like the feel of butterflies' bodies."

George Clooney has offered his pal Brad Pitt a free holiday at his Italian mansion - to help his Ocean's Twelve co-star get over his split from wife Jennifer Aniston. Clooney recently spent two days with Pitt, promoting the Ocean's Eleven sequel in Japan, and he insists the movie hunk and his ex are in good spirits. But the actor is concerned Pitt needs time to recover from the end of his four-year marriage, so has reportedly recommended a vacation at his Lake Como home. An insider tells British magazine New, "George has been a rock to Brad. But he's been teasing him about how he's taken his place as Hollywood's oldest, most eligible bachelor. George has suggested to Brad that he should get away from the madness and go to Italy. He's worried about him."

Sylvester Stallone has promised fans of his Rambo franchise they can expect another installment of the all-action series - even though he's nearly 60. Stallone, who is currently 58 years old, is holding talks with movie bosses about resurrecting the 80s blockbusters, which centered on a violent, disillusioned Vietnam veteran. He says, "We're in the kitchen and we're cooking. I've had meetings about this and it looks good. We'll see what we come up with."