20 Questions with Tyra Banks: Harvard, Top Model and the "Character" She Plays

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck welcomed their third child, US Weekly reports. Garner gave birth to a baby boy in Santa Monica. No other details have been made public. Jennifer Garner, Ben Affleck expecting baby No. 3 The latest addition to their family joins sisters Violet, 6, and Serafina, 3. Garner and Affleck, both 39, have been married for seven years. A rep for the actress did not immediately respond to TVGuide.com's request for comment.

Magic Castle stalwart Mark Nelson dies

Mark Nelson, chairman of the Academy of Magical Arts board of trustees, which runs the Magic Castle in Hollywood, died Jan. 3 of natural causes. He was 58. Nelson wore a number of other hats in the entertainment business. He penned episodes of "The Smurfs," "The Real Ghostbusters," "G.I. Joe" and "The Hunger." He was also a voiceover artist whose distinctive baritone was heard on several commercials -- and he was known as "the voice of the Magic Castle." Nelson did a stint as an assistant to Dawn Steel, president of Columbia Pictures, as well as with other studio executives. In 1994, he joined Ridley and Tony Scott of Scott Free Prods. but was hired away in 2000 to work as an entertainment-based paralegal. He most recently worked at the law firm Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown. But since 1979, Nelson's life really centered on his love of magic and of the Magic Castle. He was a host and a relief stage manager and worked on 14 Academy of Magical Arts Awards Shows and numerous "It's Magic!" shows. He had served as chairman of the AMA board of trustees since 2007. "We are all deeply saddened by the untimely passing of Mark Nelson," said Neil Patrick Harris, president of the AMA board of directors. "His value to the Academy of Magical Arts over these many years is immeasurable. He was the voice of the club, literally and figuratively, and will be missed by many." At the time of his passing, Nelson was working on a biography of magic TV pioneer Mark Wilson. Nelson is survived by his parents and a sister. A celebration of his life will be held at the Magic Castle on March 18. Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com

eOne abandons purchase

LONDON -- Entertainment One, the worldwide indie distributor, has confirmed that it's no more up available, but is trying to expand its business by further corporate purchases.The board continues to be looking at its proper options following numerous methods to purchase the group, with a substantial TV library together with theatrical distribution companies in Canada, the U.K., Benelux and Australia. eOne releases the "Twilight" franchise within the U.K. and Canada, and it has an output cope with Summit.Based on an argument, the board has made the decision the offers don't "adequately reflect" the business's value, and it is therefore no more thinking about the "outright purchase" from the business. Rather, the organization is evaluating "numerous acquisition possibilities," advised by its bankers Credit Suisse and J.P. Morgan.Pan-European TV producer Zodiak Media Group, that is possessed by Italy's DeAgostini, was reported in December to possess designed a 400 million ($632 million) strategy to use over eOne. The eOne board reported that it is financial recent results for 2011 come in line with anticipation, following strong performance in the film business, including 100% year-on-year development in digital sales, in addition to substantial development in its TV business.Digital sales now represent over 13% of eOne's film revenues, increased with a long term deal between eOne's U.K. arm an internet-based subscription service Lovefilm. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

Popular Character Actor Ben Gazzara Dies in NY

NY (AP) Ben Gazzara, whose powerful dramatic performances brought an intensity to a variety of roles and made him a memorable presence in such iconic productions over the decades as the original "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" on Broadway and the film "The Big Lebowski," has died at age 81.Longtime family friend Suzanne Mados said Gazzara died Friday in Manhattan. Mados, who owned the Wyndham Hotel, where celebrities such as Peter Falk and Martin Sheen stayed, said he died after being placed in hospice care for cancer. She and her husband helped marry Gazzara and his wife, German-born Elke Krivat, at their hotel.Gazzara was a proponent of method acting, in which the performer attempts to take on the thoughts and emotions of the character he's playing, and it helped him achieve stardom early in his career with two stirring Broadway performances.In 1955, he originated the role of Brick Pollitt, the disturbed alcoholic son and failed football star in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." He left the show after only seven months to take on an equally challenging role, Johnny Pope, the drug addict in "A Hatful of Rain." It earned him his first of three Tony Award nominations.In 1965, he moved on to TV stardom in "Run for Your Life," a drama about a workaholic lawyer who, diagnosed with a terminal illness, quits his job and embarks on a globe-trotting attempt to squeeze a lifetime of adventures into the one or two years he has left. He was twice nominated for Emmys during the show's three-year run.Gazzara made his movie debut in 1957 in "The Strange One," Calder Willingham's bitter drama about brutality at a Southern military school. He had previously played the lead role of the psychopathic cadet, Jocko de Paris, on Broadway in Willingham's stage version of the story, "End of Man."He followed that film with "Anatomy of a Murder," in which he played a man on trial for murdering a tavern keeper who had been accused of raping his wife.After "Run for Your Life" ended in 1968, Gazzara spent the rest of his career alternating between movies and the stage, although rarely with the critical acclaim he had enjoyed during his early years.In the 1970s, he teamed with his friend director John Cassavetes for three films, "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" and "Opening Night." In another Cassavetes film, he appeared with Falk, and the two became friends (it was Cassavetes who introduced them to the Wyndham Hotel, according to a 1982 article in NY magazine).Gena Rowlands appeared with Gazzara in "Opening Night," which also starred Cassavetes. Cassavetes and Rowlands were married; he died in 1989. Falk died last year."It breaks my heart to have this era come to an end. Ben meant so much to all of us. To our families. To John. To Peter. To have them gone now is devastating to me," she said in a statement.She said her prayers and thoughts went out to "all his loyal and wonderful fans throughout the world."Rita Moreno, who played Gazzara's wife in the 2000 film "Blue Moon," said, "He was a wonderful man, and I so enjoyed working with him. I wish I could have had the pleasure more often."Other Gazzara films included "The Bridge at Remagen," ''The Young Doctors," ''They All Laughed," ''The Thomas Crown Affair," ''If It's Tuesday, It Must Be Belgium," ''The Spanish Prisoner," ''Stag" and "Road House." He also made several films in Italy.He appeared on Broadway in revivals of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," ''Awake and Sing!" ''Strange Interlude" and several other plays.Gazzara began acting in television in 1952 with roles on the series "Danger" and "Kraft Television Theater." Before landing "Run for Your Life," he played a police detective in the series "Arrest and Trial," which lasted two seasons.Born Biagio Anthony Gazzara in NY on Aug. 28, 1930, he grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in a cold-water flat with a bathtub in the kitchen. His parents were immigrants from Sicily who met and married in NY, and his first language was Italian. Although he was baptized under his birth name, his parents always called him Ben or Benny.As a child he became fascinated with movies, and after giving his first performance, in a Boys Club play, he knew he had found his life's work."I disliked high school," he once said, "and after two years of it I left without telling anyone at home."Instead he spent his days in movie theaters.He entered Erwin Piscator's Dramatic Workshop in 1948. Eighteen months later he auditioned for the Actors Studio run by Lee Strasberg and was accepted.The school was a beehive of activity in those days, turning out such followers of method acting as Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, James Dean, Barbara Bel Geddes, Shelley Winters, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Rod Steiger and Julie Harris."There's a lot of voodoo about the Actors Studio," Gazzara told The Associated Press in 1966. "In the best sense it was a place for professionals to stay in touch with their craft, where newcomers and professionals mingled, to grow, to try parts they would never get in the professional theater and to even fall on their face."Gazzara's first two marriages, to actresses Louise Erikson and Janice Rule, ended in divorce.While filming "Inchon" in Korea in 1981, he met Krivat. They married the following year, and the union endured."Elke saved my life," Gazzara said in 1999. "When I met her, I was drinking too much, fooling around too much, killing myself. She put romance and hope back in my life."He adopted Krivat's daughter, Danja, as his own. She recalled on Friday that he was a "complex soul" and that his role as a father to her and his own daughter was challenging."I adored Ben, and so did his daughter," she said. "But we both had difficulty with him ... I think the difficulty lay in his complexity of being an actor and those layers that you have, that you bring with you."Besides Danja, Gazzara is survived by his wife, daughter Elizabeth and a brother.Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. By Cristian Salazar February 6, 2012 PHOTO CREDIT AFP Photo/Brad Barket NY (AP) Ben Gazzara, whose powerful dramatic performances brought an intensity to a variety of roles and made him a memorable presence in such iconic productions over the decades as the original "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" on Broadway and the film "The Big Lebowski," has died at age 81.Longtime family friend Suzanne Mados said Gazzara died Friday in Manhattan. Mados, who owned the Wyndham Hotel, where celebrities such as Peter Falk and Martin Sheen stayed, said he died after being placed in hospice care for cancer. She and her husband helped marry Gazzara and his wife, German-born Elke Krivat, at their hotel.Gazzara was a proponent of method acting, in which the performer attempts to take on the thoughts and emotions of the character he's playing, and it helped him achieve stardom early in his career with two stirring Broadway performances.In 1955, he originated the role of Brick Pollitt, the disturbed alcoholic son and failed football star in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." He left the show after only seven months to take on an equally challenging role, Johnny Pope, the drug addict in "A Hatful of Rain." It earned him his first of three Tony Award nominations.In 1965, he moved on to TV stardom in "Run for Your Life," a drama about a workaholic lawyer who, diagnosed with a terminal illness, quits his job and embarks on a globe-trotting attempt to squeeze a lifetime of adventures into the one or two years he has left. He was twice nominated for Emmys during the show's three-year run.Gazzara made his movie debut in 1957 in "The Strange One," Calder Willingham's bitter drama about brutality at a Southern military school. He had previously played the lead role of the psychopathic cadet, Jocko de Paris, on Broadway in Willingham's stage version of the story, "End of Man."He followed that film with "Anatomy of a Murder," in which he played a man on trial for murdering a tavern keeper who had been accused of raping his wife.After "Run for Your Life" ended in 1968, Gazzara spent the rest of his career alternating between movies and the stage, although rarely with the critical acclaim he had enjoyed during his early years.In the 1970s, he teamed with his friend director John Cassavetes for three films, "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" and "Opening Night." In another Cassavetes film, he appeared with Falk, and the two became friends (it was Cassavetes who introduced them to the Wyndham Hotel, according to a 1982 article in NY magazine).Gena Rowlands appeared with Gazzara in "Opening Night," which also starred Cassavetes. Cassavetes and Rowlands were married; he died in 1989. Falk died last year."It breaks my heart to have this era come to an end. Ben meant so much to all of us. To our families. To John. To Peter. To have them gone now is devastating to me," she said in a statement.She said her prayers and thoughts went out to "all his loyal and wonderful fans throughout the world."Rita Moreno, who played Gazzara's wife in the 2000 film "Blue Moon," said, "He was a wonderful man, and I so enjoyed working with him. I wish I could have had the pleasure more often."Other Gazzara films included "The Bridge at Remagen," ''The Young Doctors," ''They All Laughed," ''The Thomas Crown Affair," ''If It's Tuesday, It Must Be Belgium," ''The Spanish Prisoner," ''Stag" and "Road House." He also made several films in Italy.He appeared on Broadway in revivals of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," ''Awake and Sing!" ''Strange Interlude" and several other plays.Gazzara began acting in television in 1952 with roles on the series "Danger" and "Kraft Television Theater." Before landing "Run for Your Life," he played a police detective in the series "Arrest and Trial," which lasted two seasons.Born Biagio Anthony Gazzara in NY on Aug. 28, 1930, he grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in a cold-water flat with a bathtub in the kitchen. His parents were immigrants from Sicily who met and married in NY, and his first language was Italian. Although he was baptized under his birth name, his parents always called him Ben or Benny.As a child he became fascinated with movies, and after giving his first performance, in a Boys Club play, he knew he had found his life's work."I disliked high school," he once said, "and after two years of it I left without telling anyone at home."Instead he spent his days in movie theaters.He entered Erwin Piscator's Dramatic Workshop in 1948. Eighteen months later he auditioned for the Actors Studio run by Lee Strasberg and was accepted.The school was a beehive of activity in those days, turning out such followers of method acting as Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, James Dean, Barbara Bel Geddes, Shelley Winters, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Rod Steiger and Julie Harris."There's a lot of voodoo about the Actors Studio," Gazzara told The Associated Press in 1966. "In the best sense it was a place for professionals to stay in touch with their craft, where newcomers and professionals mingled, to grow, to try parts they would never get in the professional theater and to even fall on their face."Gazzara's first two marriages, to actresses Louise Erikson and Janice Rule, ended in divorce.While filming "Inchon" in Korea in 1981, he met Krivat. They married the following year, and the union endured."Elke saved my life," Gazzara said in 1999. "When I met her, I was drinking too much, fooling around too much, killing myself. She put romance and hope back in my life."He adopted Krivat's daughter, Danja, as his own. She recalled on Friday that he was a "complex soul" and that his role as a father to her and his own daughter was challenging."I adored Ben, and so did his daughter," she said. "But we both had difficulty with him ... I think the difficulty lay in his complexity of being an actor and those layers that you have, that you bring with you."Besides Danja, Gazzara is survived by his wife, daughter Elizabeth and a brother.Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.