Don Knotts, the irrepressible comic actor who won five Emmys as Deputy Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show, died Friday night in Los Angeles; he was 81. Knotts died of pulmonary and respiratory complications at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills, and had recently suffered health problems that kept him from making an appearance at his hometown of Morgantown, West Virginia, last August. Knotts started out in entertainment as a ventriloquist before returning to college and then enlisting in the army at the onset of World War II. After the war and college, he returned to New York and pursued a career in radio and television; he nabbed a part as a psychiatrist in the Broadway play No Time for Sergeants, which starred actor Andy Griffith. He reprised his role in the film version, and after moving to Los Angeles, was cast opposite Griffith in the actor's eponymous sitcom, The Andy Griffith Show. The show ran from 1960-1968, and Knotts won an unprecedented five Best Supporting Actor Emmys in a row as manic deputy Barney Fife, a role for which he would forever be identified. After leaving the show, Knotts embarked on a film career, appearing in family-friendly films such as The Incredible Mr. Limpet, The Reluctant Astronaut and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, among others. His career in the 70s was marked primarily by Disney films such as The Apple Dumpling Gang and No Deposit, No Return, until he joined the sitcom Three's Company in the middle of the show's run as the bumbling landlord Mr. Furley, forever interfering in his tenant's lives. After Three's Company, Knotts made innumerable appearances in television shows and occasionally films; one of his most notable recent roles was as a mysterious television repairman who sets strange events in motion in the film Pleasantville. Knotts was married twice, to Kay Mets from 1948-1969, with whom he had two children, and to Lara Lee Szuchna from 1974 to 1983. --Prepared by IMDb staff

Darren McGavin, the amazingly prolific actor whose best-known roles included reporter Carl Kolchak in the cult TV hit The Night Stalker and the irasicble father in A Christmas Story, died Saturday in Los Angeles of natural causes; he was 83. An actor who received his training at the Neighborhood Playhouse and the Actors Studio in New York, he first came to prominence with a number of supporting parts in the 50s, most notably The Man With the Golden Arm, The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell, and Summertime, all released in 1955. Previously, he had undertaken a number of TV roles, and his familiarity with the medium, along with his tough guy persona, landed him the starring role in the Mike Hammer TV series, based on Mickey Spillane's rough=hewn detective. Though he also appeared in films and onstage throughout his career, McGavin was a constant presence in television, most often as a guest star on shows such as Dr. Kildare, Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible and a veritable ton of others; the IMDb credits him with parts in over 170 individual films and TV shows. In 1974, McGavin landed the role of investigative reporter Carl Kolchak, who in The Night Stalker went up against a number of strange, supernatural creatures. Though the show lasted only one season, it became an instant cult hit, and a major influence for the "X-Files" school of spookiness and mystery (in fact, McGavin later made a two-episode appearance on The X-Files). In the 80s, McGavin played the profanity-spouting, lamp-obsessed "Old Man" in the modern-day holiday classic A Christmas Story, a gambler/bookie in an uncredited part in The Natural, and the father of Candice Bergen's Murphy Brown, which earned him an Emmy nomination. Those roles are just the tip of the iceberg, as McGavin worked non-stop up through the late 90s. Appropriately, his last credited role is for a part in the updated version of The Night Stalker, which lasted only one season. McGavin is survived by four children -- York, Megan, Bridget and Bogart -- from his first marriage to Melanie York McGavin. --Prepared by IMDb staff

Lance Armstrong has pledged his support to breast cancer-suffering ex-fiancee Sheryl Crow, and is confident she will make a full recovery. Crow underwent minor surgery on Wednesday and will now have precautionary radiation therapy. Doctors insist they have caught the disease early and the outlook is good. Seven times Tour de France winner Armstrong - who is a testicular cancer survivor - has already been in touch with the singer, and is sure she will recover. He says "Once again I'm reminded of just how pervasive this illness is, as it has now touched someone I love deeply. Based on my contact in recent days with Sheryl, her doctor and her family, I am confident that she will have a full and complete recovery and the world will be a better place for it."

Irish rock campaigner Sir Bob Geldof and U2 frontman Bono are among the nominees for the coveted 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. The former Boomtown Rats star is up for the award for organizing last year's Live 8 extravaganza, while Bono is on the list thanks to his human rights campaigning. The rockers are flanked by former US1 Secretary of State Colin Powell, for his efforts to halt civil war in the Sudan, and former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Chat show queen Oprah Winfrey is also rumored to be nominated.

A toxicology report has shown late actor Chris Penn was highly intoxicated with a combination of substances including marijuana and morphine at the time of his death last month. The Reservoir Dogs star's official cause of death was an enlarged heart, which weighed over 1.54 pounds, and would have been exacerbated by the cocktail of drugs in his system. Besides marijuana and morphine, Penn's system also contained Valium, codeine and an antihistamine. The 40-year-old brother of Sean Penn, weighed over 20 stone (280 pounds) at the time of his death and had a history of drug abuse. He was found dead in his Santa Monica, California, apartment on 24 January.

The rift between Donald Trump and Martha Stewart is escalating after the lifestyle guru blasted the property mogul as "juvenile, evil, unethical and immoral." The estranged pals have been arguing since Stewart told Newsweek magazine her show The Apprentice: Martha Stewart suffered poor ratings because Trump failed to step down from his original reality TV program The Apprentice. Trump fired back, declaring Stewart needs to take responsibility for the failure of her spin-off and accused her of lying about plans by producers NBC for the cookery queen to "fire" him at the beginning of her series. After Stewart read a letter from Trump, detailing his disdain for her show and the reason it failed, she took the opportunity to attack him on her daughter Alexis' radio show Thursday. Stewart said, "He sent the letter to the press before he sent it to me." When Alexis declared, "A normal businessman doesn't really behave this way," and described Trump as being "busy riding around town seeing if your name is polished properly on the front of all the buildings you don't really own," Stewart replied, "Donald is not a normal businessman. Remember Donald was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He's a spoiled brat." Alexis went on to attack Trump even further, expressing her sympathy for his daughter Ivanka, saying, "I feel sorry for her. She seems like a nice girl. It must be hard to have such a freak for a father," and also suggesting he shove a silver spoon "up his a*s." In response, Trump says, "Nice. What a crude statement. But then Alexis is used to making crude statements."

Moulin Rouge star Nicole Kidman has slammed press reports she will marry country music star Keith Urban in Australia next month. Stories surfaced last week that the celebrity couple had sent out invitations for an March 11 ceremony in Sydney. However, Kidman's Australian publicist Wendy Day says, "Everything about that story is nonsense. Nicole Kidman is not getting married to Keith Urban at a Catholic church in Sydney on March 11. I know of no wedding. I know of no wedding date. I know of no wedding plans." According to Day, Kidman will be presenting an Academy Award on March 5 and has no immediate plans to return to Australia. Day adds, "She is starting work on a new film in upstate New York in Early April." Kidman and Urban have been dating for the past year and made their first official public appearance at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles earlier this month.

George Michael was arrested on suspicion of possessing drugs in the early hours of yesterday morning after he was discovered slumped at the wheel of his car in central London. The singer was woken up by police, who had been alerted by a concerned passer-by, as he sat in his vehicle near the British capital's Hyde Park Corner at approximately 1:50am. Michael, 42, was suspected of being unfit to drive and was immediately arrested and taken to a nearby police station. Cops allegedly found two packets containing cannabis in his car. A police doctor later determined Michael had been capable of driving, although the singer still faces action over the alleged drugs possession. He was bailed at 9am yesterday and must return to West End Central police station next month when the substances have been analyzed. A police spokesman says "We were called by a member of the public to a man seen slumped over the steering wheel of a car. Police spoke to the 42-year-old man. A search revealed what are believed to be controlled substances. He was subsequently arrested." In November, Michael spoke of his cannabis addiction as his "biggest regret in life."

Teen star Lindsay Lohan has slammed reports she suffered from an eating disorder, insisting she just went through a "phase." Despite a Vanity Fair interview in which she reportedly admitted to bulimia, she now claims her problems never became serious. Lohan claims she is eating healthier now and has even taken up cooking, most recently making a black-and-white angel food cake for hotel staff at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. She explains, "I will say that I went through a phase. I lost weight when I was in the hospital, and then I wanted to keep it off. Sometimes being that thin doesn't look healthy. I kind of didn't realize that. It was an attention thing, too. You start to wonder if your friends are your friends because you look a certain way."

Actor Terrence Howard prefers Kelly Clarkson to rap music, even though he is nominated for an Oscar for playing a pimp with hip-hop ambitions in Hustle & Flow. The Crash star had to put his personal taste in music aside to play Djay, the short-tempered hustler who dreams of making it big in the music industry. Howard prefers the music of James Taylor, Paul Simon and Jim Croce and especially likes Clarkson's "voice and attitude." He says, "After you've done it, you've got to take pride in your work. I love my emotionally, morally deformed child (DJay)."

Actor Patrick Dempsey was wracked with insecurity before landing the role of Dr. Derek Shepherd in TV series Grey's Anatomy - because he had been out of work for a decade. After starring in hit films in the 1980's such as Can't Buy Me Love, the actor's career slumped. Dempsey explains, "I'm ugly, I'm untalented, I'm no good, I'm a has-been. It's like (bleep), what happened to me? I used to be me." The actor even stopped going to movies because he was too upset about not being able to land a role in any films. He adds, "I'd come in (to movies) with this bitter attitude. It's not an escape, because I feel this disappointment, this jealousy."

Rosie O'Donnell will never guest star on David Letterman's talk show, because she hates the host's producer. The A League Of Their Own actress, who had her own talk show from 1996 until 2002, offered to stand in for Letterman when he underwent emergency quintuple bypass surgery in January 2000. However, her generous offer was met with a bad response from Letterman's producer Rob Burnett. O'Donnell says, "When he had his heart attack, I was on the phone with Les Moonves because I was hosting something for CBS and I said, 'Hey, is he okay? I'm sorry. If they need anyone, let me know.' Now he's unconscious in the hospital and his producer Rob calls me up. I'm all friendly and worried and he was like, 'Who are you to try and steal Dave's job? You're not a friend of the Letterman show.' (I won't appear on the show and) it's not 'cause of Dave. It's this other guy, Rob, that I don't enjoy, frankly."