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Cheech blunt about reunion with Chong

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CONCORD, North Carolina (AP) -- Those rumors about an on-screen reunion of Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong? Reefer madness, Marin says.

The 59-year-old actor -- half of the Cheech & Chong comedy duo that embodied 1970s and 1980s marijuana humor -- said there will be no future joint efforts with Chong.

"We've tried to do it a bunch of times and we always end up at the same place," said Marin at a recent press tour to promote the animated film "Cars," set for release June 9. "All the old animosities resurface."

In "Cars," Marin voices Ramon, a vintage low-rider who befriends lead character Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson).

"I'm real comfortable leaving Cheech & Chong right where it is," Marin said. "I was a big Laurel & Hardy fan when I was a kid. I used to watch them on TV all the time and then one time I saw a Laurel & Hardy film they made when they were a lot older and it creeped me out. I just never wanted to do that."

Marin said voicing roles in animated films such as "Oliver & Company," "FernGully: The Last Rainforest" and "The Lion King" has given his career a second act. His screen credits also include roles in the "Spy Kids" movies and the TV series "Nash Bridges."

"That was always a point of conflict with Tommy and I," he said. "I wanted to kind of keep moving and do other stuff and he wanted to stay at that same thing. My natural inclination was to keep moving."

Prince honored as Web 'visionary'

Prince will be honored with a lifetime achievement award at this year's Webby online awards for his use of the Internet to distribute music and connect with audiences.

In a statement Wednesday, Tiffany Shlain, founder of the awards, described Prince as a "musical genius" and "a visionary, who recognized early on that the Web would completely change how we experience music."

The 47-year-old pop superstar was the first major artist to release an entire album, 1997's "Crystal Ball," exclusively on the Web, according to the announcement, and "long before MySpace and iTunes, Prince used the Web as a new way to distribute music, premiere videos and build his relationship with his fans."

His Web site, www.npgmusicclub.com, has more than seven full-length CDs of music unavailable elsewhere.

The awards ceremony will take place June 12 at Cipriani Wall Street in Manhattan. Rob Corddry of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" will host the show.

Prince will be honored along with winners in 69 categories, as well as five other special-achievement recipients, including Thomas Friedman, a columnist for The New York Times; Gorillaz, a cartoon-fronted rock group; and the founders of the popular social networking site MySpace.com.

The awards, in their 10th year, are given by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a group of more than 500 experts on the Internet and other specialties.

Winners and special-achievement honorees are limited to five-word acceptance speeches. Lifetime achievement recipient Al Gore drew laughs and headlines last year with "Please don't recount this vote."

Monroe exhibit may be fake

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A lawsuit claims that Marilyn Monroe had no connection to many of the items in an exhibit that claims to showcase her possessions.

The exhibit aboard the Queen Mary, which is moored in Long Beach, features items including hair rollers, suitcases, a lipstick holder and a "red shiny dress" that the iconic sex symbol supposedly owned. Thousands of people have paid $22.95 each to see the exhibit since it opened in November.

The lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, however, claims that Monroe had nothing to do with many of the items and that some were made after she died from an overdose of sleeping pills in August 1962.

A spokeswoman for the Queen Mary and the exhibit declined to comment Tuesday to the Los Angeles Times, and the newspaper said it was unable to reach the items' owner, Chicago collector Robert W. Otto. He has previously insisted the items are authentic.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two people who attended the exhibit -- Ernest Cunningham, author of "The Ultimate Marilyn," and Emily Sadjady. It asks that the Queen Mary and exhibit organizers be forced to refund admission fees and also seeks unspecified punitive damages.

"The Queen Mary should have done a little more homework," said the plaintiffs' attorney, George Braunstein.

The exhibit opened on the ship after the Hollywood Museum canceled a scheduled show over questions about the authenticity of some of the memorabilia.

TV 'Topper' star dead

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Robert Sterling, the handsome star of 1940s movies who appeared with his wife Anne Jeffreys in the television series "Topper," died Tuesday at his Brentwood home. He was 88.

Sterling died of natural causes following a decade-long battle with shingles, said his son, Jeffrey. His wife and other close relatives were at his bedside.

Although he appeared in dozens of movies, Sterling was best known for the 1953-1956 TV series "Topper," based on the Thorne Smith novel, and the 1937 film starring Cary Grant and Constance Bennett.

Sterling and Jeffreys played George and Marion Kirby, a fun-loving couple who were killed in an accident but returned as ghosts to haunt the new occupant of their home, a banker named Cosmo Topper.

Sterling was born William Hart in 1917 in New Castle, Pennsylvania, the son of Chicago Cubs catcher William S. Hart. He attended college in Pennsylvania and worked as a clothing salesman before breaking into movies.

He proved a versatile player, especially in romantic roles, and appeared in five films in 1941, including the romantic comedy "Two-Faced Woman" with Greta Garbo and "The Penalty" with Lionel Barrymore.

After "Topper," Sterling retired from acting to become a businessman.

Sterling was married to actress Ann Sothern from 1943 to 1949 and they had a daughter, actress Tisha Sterling. He married Jeffreys in 1951 and they had three sons: Jeffrey, Dana and Tyler.

Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

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