Buzz Briefs: Bill Murray, Nicole Richie

Bill Murray Jumps From Plane At Chicago Air Show

An exuberant Bill Murray landed safely on a lakefront beach after parachuting from a plane at the 50th annual Chicago Air and Water Show.

The actor, clad in a gold-colored jumpsuit, joked that he was nervous about jumping from 13,500 feet and almost reconsidered.

Afterward, he pretended for a moment to stagger as if dizzy, then smiled broadly, waved to the crowd and shook hands with members of the US Army Golden Knight Parachute Team.

The 57-year-old Illinois native jumped in tandem with one of the Golden Knights. City officials say Murray is participating to show his support for the Illinois United Service Organizations.

Nicole Ritchie Aims To Help Moms In Need

Nicole Richie is coming out with an online gift registry that will provide baby products to moms in need.

People.com says the site will launch this fall through the charity she and boyfriend Joel Madden started last winter when she was pregnant with daughter Harlow, called the Richie-Madden Children's Foundation.

Richie says the basic necessities that many people take for granted are a serious struggle for some families. She says this registry is one way to ease the financial burden and help new babies have a good start in life.

The site is only working with companies that Richie and Madden would use, and she says all the products will be checked for safety. The registry will start off helping families in the Los Angeles and New York areas before expanding throughout the country and internationally.

Jerry Lewis: Gun In Baggage Was A Gift

Jerry Lewis said a gun found in his carry-on and confiscated by Las Vegas police at the airport last month was a gift from an engraver following Lewis' annual telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association - despite an earlier claim by his manager that the weapon was a prop.

"Oh, I had a gun in my carrying case, which was given to me by a marvelous, marvelous engraver," Lewis told "Entertainment Tonight." "Last year, at the telethon of '07, he presented me with this gorgeous gift. He presented it to me in the telethon office in '07. I put it in that traveling case, and I hadn't traveled since that telethon 'til that day."

Lewis said in a video posted Thursday on the entertainment news show's Web site that the gun had been sitting in his office for a year in an unused traveling case. Lewis said "a whole year flashed in front of me" when his road manager, Jeff Low, asked if he had a gun in his baggage at the Las Vegas airport before his flight to Detroit.

"The case was sitting dormant in my office," Lewis said.

Following the incident last month, Lewis' manager, Claudia Marghilano, told The Associated Press that the handgun was a hollowed-out prop gun that Lewis sometimes twirls during his show. She said the gun couldn't fire and that Lewis didn't know the gun was in the bag along with other props.

When reached for comment by telephone Thursday, Marghilano said there was a prop gun in Lewis' baggage besides the handgun that was given to Lewis as a gift. Marghilano said she did not previously know about the gift and did not know which gun -the gift or the prop - police confiscated.

Las Vegas policeman Bill Cassell said on July 30 if the gun were merely a prop "it wouldn't be a weapon and we couldn't cite him for carrying a weapon." Cassell said Lewis was cited July 25 for carrying the unloaded concealed weapon at the Las Vegas airport.

One Of Bernie Mac's Last Roles Was Lion In "Madagascar" Sequel

In one of his final roles, Bernie Mac roars.

In the upcoming "Madagascar" sequel, the comedian and actor voices the lion Zuba, father of Ben Stiller's fey, city-loving lion Alex.

"He brought so much heart and soul," Jeffrey Katzenberg, head of DreamWorks Animation SKG, told The Associated Press on Wednesday after previewing footage from the film for reporters.

"It's just so hard, because we're still living with it every day, we're working with his creative contribution," Katzenberg told AP. "As we stand here today, there are animators who are animating."

Katzenberg said animation would continue for another month and additional production would take two months. The movie, titled "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," is set for release Nov. 7.

"It's been a real loss for us," Katzenberg said. "We were so proud of the work that he has done and the contribution that he's made. And one of the things is that he's never actually going to ever see what an amazing gift he gave to us."

Mac died Saturday in the Chicago area from complications due to pneumonia.

Others featured in the DreamWorks film include Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen and David Schwimmer. will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas collaborated with composer Hans Zimmer on original music.

Trump Saves Ed McMahon's Home

Donald Trump will soon be Ed McMahon's landlord.

He's saving McMahon's 7,000-square-foot Beverly Hills mansion from foreclosure by buying it and leasing it to McMahon. The developer told the Los Angeles Times he doesn't know McMahon personally, but acted out of compassion.

Johnny Carson's former sidekick is now 85, and hasn't worked for about 18 months because of a neck injury. He defaulted on 4.8 million dollars in mortgage loans.

There's no word on the purchase price. The home was listed at 4.6 million dollars last weekend, down from a peak price of seven million.

Atlanta Symphony Holds Off Premier Of Marsalis Piece

The world premiere of a symphony by jazz legend Wynton Marsalis has been postponed because the piece is not done yet.

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra said Thursday that the new work was to be showcased Nov. 6-7, but now the symphony will premiere during the 2009-2010 season. An exact date has not been set.

The New Orleans-born Marsalis has won nine Grammys. In 1997, he became the first jazz musician to win a Pulitzer Prize for music.

A phone call seeking comment by The Associated Press from Marsalis' publicist was not immediately returned.