PASSAGES: Liza Gets Real

By Jo Cavallo

07/16/2002 at 01:00 PM EDT

MET: Music channel VH1 confirmed Monday that it is meeting with Liza Minnelli, 56, and her husband of four months, David Gest, to develop a weekly reality series that would chronicle the lives of the couple, reports the Associated Press. The success of "The Osbournes" on MTV has generated tremendous interest in reality shows on cable TV. ... SPLIT: Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, 23, ended his six-year endorsement deal with Adidas footwear, reports Reuters. Bryant, who was named the NBA's most marketable basketball player in a survey of marketing experts conducted by Sports Business Daily last year, says he will wear a variety of shoe brands next season and evaluate his options. ... SET: CBS will air a Victoria's Secret special, despite the criticism that ABC faced when it ran a similar show last November, reports the Associated Press. CBS president Leslie Moonves told the Television Critics Association that the program, which will show models strutting down a runway in skimpy lingerie, is a change of pace for his network. No date was announced. ... DIED: Sid Avery, a Hollywood photographer who was known for capturing the private moments of some of the most glamorous movie stars from the '50s and '60s, died of cancer at age 83, reports The New York Times. Among the candid shots Avery took include Marlon Brando taking out the garbage, Rock Hudson coming out of the shower to take a phone call and Audrey Hepburn riding her bicycle.