DIED: Julliard-trained jazz and soul singer Nina Simone, 70, died Monday at her home in the south of France, her manager, Clifton Henderson, tells Reuters. He said she had been ill for some time, though he did not say from what. Among her biggest hits were a 1959 recording of George and Ira Gershwin's "I Loves You Porgy." A North Carolina native, Simone had called France home on and off for the past eight years, Henderson said.
QUOTED: "That Jack White, he's something else. I'll tell you girls, you can't even get near him." -- "Coal Miner's Daughter" Loretta Lynn, 69, to the crowd at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom, about the White Stripes frontman, according to MTV News.RELEASED: "No respect" comedian Rodney Dangerfield, 81, was sent home from the UCLA Medical Center on Monday, nearly two weeks after undergoing brain surgery to increase his blood flow for another upcoming operation. "This really has improved his overall health," spokesman Kevin Sasaki said. "He's walking and looks better than he has in the last few months. He's lost 30 pounds and is grinning from ear to ear."
DIAGNOSED: Grammy-winning singer Luther Vandross, 52, who suffered a stroke last week, is in "critical but stable" condition, the Weill Cornell Medical Center of New York-Presbyterian Hospital said in a statement Monday. The hospital said it would release "no further details" on Vandross, who has battled weight and health problems for years.
SPLIT: Moses and Bob Hope shared the ratings crown on Sunday, with the umpteenth rebroadcast of the 1956 Biblical epic "The Ten Commandments" (with Charlton Heston as Moses) on ABC drawing an average of 10.6 million viewers. NBC's competing two-hour Bob Hope 100th birthday tribute pulled in 12.5 million -- though ABC did better in attracting younger viewers, aged 18-49. FOX's comedy block and CBS's Susan Sarandon TV movie "Ice Bound" were trounced by the heavyweight competition, according to preliminary Nielsen numbers.
