Actor Robert Urich dies

Emmy-winning US actor Robert Urich, known for his tough guy roles in TV series such as Vegas and Spenser: For Hire, has died aged 55.

He died in hospital, surrounded by family members and friends, his publicist Cindy Guagenti said.

He had been suffering from synovial cell sarcoma, a rare cancer that attacks the body's joints.

Urich landed his first major film role, in The Rainmaker, with the help of Burt Reynolds and won an Emmy in 1992 for his narration of the US cable TV documentary U-Boats: Terror on Our Shores.

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Alfie set for remake

Paramount Pictures has recruited Charles Shyer to direct a remake of the bitter-sweet 1966 comedy Alfie, which brought actor Michael Caine to world attention.

Shyer's previous films include the Steve Martin version of Father Of The Bride and The Affair Of The Necklace.

"It is the kind of movie that can make you laugh but also touch you, because it's as much about loneliness and fear of commitment as it is about sex," Shyer told Variety magazine.

Get Carter, which also starred Michael Caine, was remade with Sylvester Stallone in 2000.

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Hollywood biopic for US Senator McCain

The team behind the 1999 war drama The Thin Red Line is to produce a film based on the life of Senator John McCain.

Robert Geisler and John Bordereau will be behind the story of the former US presidential candidate and prisoner of war in Vietnam.

Arizona Senator McCain was shot down over North Vietnam in 1967 and was held for more than five years, enduring solitary confinement and torture before he was finally released.

In 2000, he tried to secure the Republican nomination as presidential Candidate, but lost to George W Bush.

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Grammer school receives huge donation

Frasier star Kelsey Grammer has made a six-figure donation to his former high school, Pine Crest School, according to the institution's vice-president for development, Larry Edwards.

The money will be used to help the 1,600-student school build a new campus and make renovations to athletic facilities.

The school is currently pursuing a $15m (£10.4m) fund-raising drive.

In a statement, Grammer, who graduated in 1973, expressed his "deepest appreciation" for the school and said: "I hope this gift will help."