Buzz Briefs: Don Imus, Jessica Siera

Imus Returns to the Airwaves

Don Imus returns to radio and television Monday, seven months after he was fired by CBS.

Citadel Broadcasting is putting Imus on New York radio station WABC and other Citadel stations around the country. Company Vice President Phil Boyce is confident the controversial host will behave. He says Imus is "very motivated" to "get back on the air and make it work."

But Imus' nemesis, Howard Stern, recently told The Associated Press that his acerbic competitor's career had peaked.

"At this point, I don't think he's very relevant," Stern said. "People will tune out within a week. I defy you to listen. It's like a rodeo — you know, see how long you can ride a bull? See how long you can keep listening to Imus."

The people who helped orchestrate the Imus comeback believe he'll succeed. Imus, they said, has learned his lesson since MSNBC and then CBS Radio jettisoned him in April after calling the Rutgers University women's basketball team a bunch of "nappy-headed hos."

The morning show will be simulcast on cable's RFD-TV, which is owned by the Rural Media Group, and will be rebroadcast on radio in the evenings.

Former American Idol Finalist Jessica Sierra Jailed

2Jessica Sierra was jailed early Saturday after a drunken confrontation with police and onlookers, authorities said. The arrest comes less than two weeks after she pleaded no contest to charges of battery and possession of cocaine. The 22-year-old was charged Saturday with disorderly intoxication, resisting arrest and violating conditions of her parole on earlier felony battery and possession charges. She was being held without bond.

Sierra, who was supposed to be completing a drug-rehabilitation program to be televised nationally, was arrested at a bar in Ybor City, Fla., at 2:10 a.m. Saturday.

"As the defendant was taken into custody, she attempted to push away and flee the scene," the arresting officers wrote.

Her attorney, John Fitzgibbons, said he heard about his client's latest run-in with the law Saturday and had not spoken with her.

"I've been getting calls all day, but don't have any comment," he said.

On Nov. 19, Circuit Judge Gregory Holder sentenced Sierra to 12 months probation and random drug screening. She was accused of hitting a man on the head with a glass at a Tampa nightspot in April. Officers then found a small amount of cocaine while searching her afterward at the county jail.

A top-10 contestant on the show in 2005, Sierra entered a California rehab facility in July that was to be documented on VH1's reality show "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew," sometime early next year.

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Photos: Celebrity Mug Shots

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3E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt says that in developing a curriculum to teach a new generation the history of rock and roll, he tried to put himself in the place of the students who would be learning from it.

"Make it fun. Look at kids going to school ... and taking that energy from the music, you know, history, and taking that energy into their other classes," Van Zandt said in an interview that aired Sunday on ABC's "This Week."

The former cast member of "The Sopranos" is the founder of the Rock and Roll Forever Foundation. He said he's never really repaid what music has done for him, but the new course is a start.

"The history of rock and roll is a history of, certainly, 20th-century America, from there on, anyway. All the cultural impact that it had with civil rights and women's rights and all that other stuff. Well, this is what's going to last. This is what's going to, you know, be here long after we're gone," he said.

Elizabeth Taylor Persuades Strikers To Give It A Break

4Elizabeth Taylor returned to the stage Saturday night, after persuading striking TV and film writers to briefly put down their picket signs.

The Writers Guild of America agreed not to picket the Paramount Pictures lot when actress and AIDS activist Taylor gave a benefit performance of A.R. Gurney's play "Love Letters" with James Earl Jones.

Taylor, 75, arrived in a wheelchair, wearing an orange gown and diamond earrings. She smiled for the cameras as her boyfriend, industrialist Jason Winters, wheeled her into the theater.

She said she would not cross picket lines Dec. 1, which was World AIDS Day. She said she asked the writers' union for a "one-night dispensation" so she and her guests could enter the studio with a clear conscience.

More than 500 people, including California first lady Maria Shriver, paid $2,500 per ticket for the one-night performance. The goal was to raise $1 million for The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

Garth Brooks Can Still Put Butts In Seats

5A series of concerts the country superstar is giving to raise money for victims of recent wildfires sold out in less than an hour Saturday, according to his Web site.

The 85,677 tickets for five concerts went for about $45 each. They will be held in January at Staples Center. Proceeds will go to a fire relief campaign, which will aid fire victims and provide equipment funding for fire departments around the state.

Nov. 30, 2007

Work Ethic Propels Will Smith To Stardom

Will Smith says he's not a great actor - but he's a hard-working one.

"I've never viewed myself as particularly talented. I've viewed myself as slightly above average in talent," Smith told CBS' "60 Minutes" in an interview scheduled for broadcast Sunday, Dec. 2.

"Where I excel is with (a) ridiculous, sickening work ethic," Smith said. "While the other guy's sleeping, I'm working. While the other guy's eating, I'm working. While the other guy's making love, I mean, I'm making love, too, but I'm working really hard at it!"

Smith's latest movie, "I Am Legend," opens in two weeks.

'Bid' Farewell To Luther Vandross

From a Picasso charcoal drawing to diamond watches, mink coats and crystal vases, Luther Vandross lived large.

Fans of the legendary singer, who died in 2005 at 54, will have a chance to bid on more than 1,000 items that offer a glimpse into his superstar existence.

On Dec. 5-6, his estate will auction just about everything: his handwritten lyrics to "Love Forgot"; the Army green thermoses from which he sipped hot tea during his concerts; designer loafers and boots; Lalique crystal vases, glasses and doorknobs.

The items come from his former homes in Beverly Hills, Calif.; Greenwich, Conn.; and New York City; and from his tours.

"This mink-lined chair symbolized the lap of luxury that Luther lived in and just how a star, a world-class entertainer, kind of lived it out in his private life, too," said Max Szadek, his personal assistant for 13 years as he walked through 13,000 square feet of items displayed at an auction house in a suburban office park.

The touring and music memorabilia on sale span his career, with a record from David Bowie's "Young American," on which Vandross sang background, to a double platinum certification of "Dance With My Father," Szadek said.

The collection is valued between $600,000 and $800,000, said John Nye, whose Morris Plains, N.J.-based auction house, Dawson & Nye, is handling the sale.