People talk 09/26/02

'N Sync star back in space training

MOSCOW -- Pop star Lance Bass is back at Russia's cosmonaut center for a new training session, despite being excluded from the crew of a rocket heading to the international space station next month.

The 'N Sync singer, who was ordered to leave the Star City cosmonaut training ground earlier this month after failing to pay for the trip, has returned to the center outside Moscow, said Yuri Nikiforov, general director of Atlas Airspace.

"He will not go in October for sure, but he just doesn't want to interrupt the program," Nikiforov said by telephone. He spoke after Russia's Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed official at the training center in Star City as saying officials there had decided Saturday to let Bass resume training.

Last week, Russian space agency spokesman Sergei Gorbunov didn't deny Bass might return, but stressed that if he did he wouldn't be training for the October flight or any other space mission.

Bass began training in July, hoping to rocket away from Kazakhstan on Oct. 28, boosted by corporate sponsors and a seven-part television documentary. But TV producers failed to raise the estimated $20 million fare, and Russian space officials said on Sept. 3 that he would not be part of the crew.

At 23, Bass would have been the youngest person ever in space. He also would have been the third paying space tourist after California businessman Dennis Tito and South African Internet tycoon Mark Shuttleworth, who flew to the station on Russian rockets.

Andy Griffith goes home for highway dedication

MOUNT AIRY, N.C. -- Andy Griffith is coming back to Mount Airy.

The 76-year-old actor, who brought fabled Mayberry to life on "The Andy Griffith Show," will make a public appearance Oct. 16 for the dedication of a section of U.S. 52 in his honor.

"He is probably one of the most recognized people, most recognized actors in the country because he's just got that charm," said David Bradley, the president of the Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce. "This is a great opportunity."

Gov. Mike Easley will be the keynote speaker, with Griffith scheduled to speak afterward.

Griffith's visit comes just three weeks after the 13th annual Mayberry Days, a festival scheduled to run Friday through Sunday that celebrates the characters and spirit of The Andy Griffith Show.

The three-day festival attracts fans of the show as well as those in search of the simpler living along Mount Airy's Main Street. More than 20,000 people attended last year.

Griffith usually skips Mayberry Days and has been reluctant to make a public appearance in his hometown. The last time was June 1, 1957, when he was greeted with a parade for his movie "No Time For Sergeants."

Tennessee highway to be named after TurnerJACKSON, Tenn. -- Tina Turner's hometown, made famous in her song "Nutbush City Limits," will be the site of a ceremony naming a highway for her.

On Saturday, a stretch of State Highway 19 near Nutbush will be designated "Tina Turner Highway." The Legislature approved renaming the road, which is mentioned in the 1973 song.

Turner lived in Nutbush, a small community about 50 miles northeast of Memphis, until she was 17, said Sharon Norris, a distant relative and organizer of the ceremony.

The singer, who's 62 now and no longer has close ties to the area, isn't coming to the event. But dozens of fans are expected to show up, tour Carver High where she attended school and see the house where she lived.

"She's been a positive inspiration for a lot of women and for people who were in poverty," said Norris, who's held an annual event honoring Turner and other local musicians since 1973.

Aniston to auction Emmy dress for charity

LOS ANGELES -- If you absolutely have to have Jennifer Aniston's Emmy dress, you can -- and charity will be the beneficiary.

Sixteen items worn by nominees for Sunday's Emmy Awards are being auctioned online to benefit groups including Cure Autism Now.

Married actors and nominees Bradley Whitford of "The West Wing" and Jane Kaczmarek of "Malcolm in the Middle" proposed the "Clothes Off Our Back" auction.

Whitford's Ralph Lauren tuxedo and two of Kaczmarek's outfits will be auctioned, along with the vintage Christian Dior gown worn by Aniston, who won her first Emmy for best actress in a comedy for "Friends."

Other items include Patricia Heaton's Thierry Mugler gown, Martin Sheen's Brioni tux and Sean Hayes' Prada shirt.

Other groups benefiting from the auction, which began Monday and continues through Oct. 7, are Heifer International, UNICEF and Union of Concerned Scientists.

Violin prodigy relates to shock rocker

SINGAPORE -- Violinist Vanessa-Mae is best known for bringing sex appeal to classical music, but she doesn't consider herself sexy.

"I've always been a bit of a tomboy," she said before a concert in Singapore on Wednesday. "I'm not your usual hourglass figure."

Vanessa-Mae, a child prodigy who picked up the violin at age 5, shot to fame in 1995 with her triple-platinum debut album, "Violin Player," which showed her on the cover in a clinging, wet dress.

But the 23-year-old says she relates to Marilyn Manson -- the male shock rocker known for his ghoulish outfits and stage antics such as breaking bottles against his chest.

She and Manson are "original and interesting," not "boring or obvious," she said in an interview Monday.

The London-based violinist, who left her native Singapore at age 3, is back in the city-state on a Southeast Asian tour promoting her latest album, "The Best of Vanessa-Mae."

-- From wire reports