People talk 11/12/02

Jay Leno leads the pack in motorcycle parade

GLENDALE, Calif. -- Jay Leno led a pack of rumbling Harley-Davidsons at the start of Love Ride 19, billed as the largest motorcycle fund raiser in the world.

As the grand marshal of Sunday's parade, Leno took credit for the sunny morning that followed three days of rain in Southern California.

"I made some calls, pulled a few strings," the comedian and "Tonight Show" host quipped as he introduced a stageful of celebrities, including "Easy Rider" star Peter Fonda, "Terminator 2" actor Robert Patrick and country singer Dwight Yoakam.

The 50-mile ride raised $1.2 million for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and "Reading By 9," a local literacy campaign, said Walter Moore, the fund-raiser's promoter.

Leno, who exchanged his usual business suit for denim and black leather, has appeared at 17 of the annual rides.

Vietnamese authorities label Duong a traitor

LOS ANGELES -- Vietnamese actor Don Duong, under virtual house arrest since Vietnamese authorities labeled him a traitor, has written an impassioned letter to his sons in which he defends his work.

The actor, once one of Vietnam's top stars, was branded a "national traitor" in September by Vietnam's Ministry of Culture and Information.

Authorities seized Duong's passport after viewing two movies in which he appeared: the Vietnam War film "We Were Soldiers," starring Mel Gibson, and "Green Dragon," about Vietnamese refugees.

The culture ministry has recommended that Duong be forbidden from leaving the country and banned from acting for five years, but his fate has yet to be determined.

Duong, 45, lives in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, with his two sons, ages 16 and 11.

He wrote the letter to his sons so they "can know the truth, to affirm that I am always and forever not a traitor," according to the letter.

Duong's sister, Susie Bui, who lives in the United States, received the letter and released it.

In the letter Duong says Vietnamese officials have mistaken movies for reality.

"Only idiots who know nothing about movies would confuse Don Duong with the character Don Duong portrays," he writes of the Vietnamese refugee he played in "Green Dragon."

'Dawson Creek' actor arrested for assault

RALEIGH, N.C.-- Joshua Jackson, who plays Pacey on the WB series "Dawson's Creek," was arrested and charged with drunkenly assaulting a security guard at a hockey game.

The 24-year-old actor was arrested Saturday night at a game between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Pittsburgh Penguins. He's scheduled to appear in court on the misdemeanor charge on Dec. 4.

Arrest warrants allege that Jackson grabbed 40-year-old guard Drew Grissom around the neck and struck him.

In jail, tests showed his blood alcohol content registered 0.14. He posted $1,000 bail early Sunday and left.

Getting the skinny on Al Roker's secret surgery

NEW YORK -- There's nothing wrong with your television set -- Al Roker really does look different. That's because he lost 100 pounds after undergoing gastric bypass surgery.

The 5-foot-8-inch weatherman on NBC's "Today" show weighed 320 pounds before the operation in March. A segment on Roker's surgery is scheduled to air Tuesday night on NBC's "Dateline."

His wife, Deborah Roberts, a correspondent for ABC's "20/20," had interviewed singer Carnie Wilson in 1999 about her own gastric bypass surgery, and suggested it to Roker.

A well-known foodie who's battled his weight his whole life, he was reluctant, believing the procedure would be "such an admission of failure," he told People magazine for its Nov. 18 issue. "You think people will look at you like, 'You weak son of a pup."'

When Roberts brought it up again two years later, Roker, 48, was open to the idea. At first, he told his co-workers he was having a gall bladder operation, but has revealed his secret gradually.

Roker said he realized that "this is no different than alcoholism or chemical dependency. It's a disease. And you know what? If you had heart disease and you had a bypass, nobody would think anything of it."

-- From wire reports

Glover honored with Marian Anderson Award

PHILADELPHIA -- Danny Glover received the Marian Anderson Award, which honors artists whose leadership benefits humanity.

The 55-year-old actor, who received the award and $100,000 prize Sunday, was given the honor for his work as an artist and humanitarian who has fought for causes ranging from abolition of the death penalty to fighting AIDS, Mayor John F. Street said.

Glover, whose film credits include "The Color Purple," the "Lethal Weapon" series and "The Royal Tenenbaums," has been nominated for three Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award. A handful of his films were shot in Philadelphia, including "Witness" and "Beloved."

The award is named after Marian Anderson, the late opera singer and Philadelphia native who was the first black performer to sing at the White House.

The first recipient of the award was Harry Belafonte in 1998, followed by Gregory Peck in 1999, Elizabeth Taylor in 2000 and Quincy Jones in 2001.

Charity auction features true guitar giants

CLEVELAND -- Giant guitars designed by Yoko Ono, Keith Richards and Drew Carey took center stage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame charity auction.

Ten-foot-tall replicas of Fender Stratocaster guitars had spent the summer on display throughout the city. A total of 90 guitars fetched about $800,000 Saturday night at an auction to benefit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the United Way and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, organizers said.

Each bidder paid $75 or $150 to attend the catered gala at the rock hall.

George Simon, a restaurant owner and lawyer, spent $105,000 for a guitar painted by Yoko Ono. One guitar bearing the likeness of The Who's Pete Townshend went for $30,000. Another, painted by musician Graham Nash, sold for $25,000.

Soprano joins Broadway stars for Classical Action

NEW YORK -- Deborah Voigt is taking a night off from opera to join Broadway stars in a fund-raiser for AIDS research.

The soprano, known for her portrayal of Wagnerian heroines, was to join original "Rent" star Adam Pascal, Malcom Gets of "Amour" and Tom Wopat of "42nd Street" on Monday night for the 10th anniversary performance of Classical Action: Performing Arts Against AIDS.

Dick Cavett is the host.

------

On the Net:

http://www.classicalaction.org