PASSAGES: Courteney Defends Pee-Wee

By Todd Peterson

Monday November 25, 2002 12:00 PM EST

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DEFENDED: Actor Paul Reubens has some good "Friends," New York's Daily News reports. "Friends" star Courteney Cox Arquette and husband David Arquette have stepped out to defend Reubens, 50 (aka Pee-wee Herman), who was recently charged with a misdemeanor possession of child pornography. Cox Arquette called the charge "ridiculous and dumb." Added her husband: "So often in the media, you only hear one side of the story, and that's why we wanted to come out and support our friend. He's a great guy." Reubens is scheduled for arraignment Dec. 19.

CELEBRATED: President Bush's daughters can officially throw away their fake IDs: Twin daughters Barbara and Jenna Bush, who have had run-ins with the law for underage drinking, celebrated their 21st birthday Monday. Barbara, who attends Yale University, and Jenna, a student at the University of Texas at Austin, were in their home state of Texas in advance of a Thanksgiving holiday family celebration, the Associated Press reports.

LIFTED: Elvis impersonators are being welcomed back into the fold at Graceland. Elvis Presley Enterprises, which controls the singer's estate in Memphis, Tenn., decided in October to disassociate itself from events featuring performers in the King's likeness. The organization was concerned that some festivals were "becoming more about Elvis impersonators than Elvis," the Associated Press reports. But after receiving a number of letters from festival organizers, EPE decided to reverse its position.

SURVIVED: Phil Donahue, the onetime voice of talk television, will live through the year, Variety reports. "Donahue," MSNBC's much-anticipated but now-struggling resurrection of the popular talk show, premiered in July. Filming of the show recently moved from the network's Secaucus, N.J., headquarters to New York's Rockefeller Center, where a live studio audience was brought in. It's still not clear whether the show will continue into 2003.

INJURED: Actress Frances Bay, 83, remains hospitalized in Los Angeles after undergoing surgery on Saturday to remove part of her right leg, AP reports. Bay, who's best known for her grandmother-type roles in film and TV (including last year's "The Wedding Planner" with Jennifer Lopez and "Happy Gilmore" with Adam Sandler) was struck by a car Thursday in Glendale, Calif. She suffered numerous injuries, including two broken legs, one of which resulted in the amputation. A 17-year-old driver hit Bay as she was crossing the street. No charges have been filed, though an investigation into the accident continues.

HELPED: Singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins took advantage of a rapt audience Saturday at a Florida school to talk about the role music has played in his life. "Music is the stuff I use when I hit rock bottom," the Grammy winner said as he gave a special concert for Wellington's IDEAL Elementary School for disabled children, PEOPLE reports. Loggins, 54, also performed an acoustic medley of his career hits, including "This Is It." The song is what inspired school founder Wendy Soderman to open of IDEAL in 1993. Loggins' next album, "It's About Time," is due out next spring.