CNN - Showbuzz - December 31, 1998

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Calista Flockhart still denies that she is anorexic, but the rail-thin star of "Ally McBeal" does admit to one thing: she suffers panic attacks. "I'm riddled with insecurities about the future," the 34-year-old said in Sunday's Parade magazine. "In the back of my mind, I think, 'If the show's canceled, I'll go back to the theater.'"

Flockhart, who won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of the flighty young lawyer Ally in "Ally McBeal," first achieved success on Broadway, getting raves for playing Laura in "The Glass Menagerie" in 1994. "Onstage, I feel at home, comfortable, accepted, whole. It's like a drug for me," she said, laughing. "It doesn't sound too healthy, does it?"

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Franklin

Payment gets limo company to back off Aretha Franklin

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Michigan (CNN) -- A limousine company is dropping its lawsuit against Aretha Franklin after receiving two personal checks totaling $3,753.58 from the singer. All Star Limousine had sued the Queen of Soul, demanding payment for 18 limo runs. Company owner Bob Beutel had said earlier that he was reluctant to take on the queen of soul in court. "I just think it is a shame to finally go to these measures to get paid what we were due," Beutel said. Franklin, who lives in Bloomfield Hills, was preparing for a concert and unavailable for comment Wednesday, a spokeswoman said.

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Drifters' Johnny Moore dead at 64

LONDON (CNN) -- Johnny Moore, the lead singer for the 1960s and '70s group The Drifters, died suddenly on his way to a London hospital Wednesday, his agent said. He was 64. Moore apparently had been suffering from breathing difficulties. He is best remembered for crooning hits like "Under the Boardwalk" and "Saturday Night At The Movies." He was last seen on stage in Britain when he appeared on television just before Christmas, performing "Come On Over To My Place."

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Kaelin

Appeals court revives Kato's case against tabloid

SAN FRANCISCO (CNN) -- A federal appeals court has ruled that Brian "Kato" Kaelin can still sue a tabloid over a questionable headline. O.J. Simpson's former house guest, who was thrust into the national spotlight in 1994 when Simpson's ex-wife and her friend were fatally stabbed, had sued the owners of the National Examiner for a 1995 headline that read, "Cops Think Kato Did It."

The tabloid was actually referring to perjury, but Kaelin argued that it could lead people to believe he actually committed the double murders, which Simpson was acquitted of in 1995. But a federal district judge in Los Angeles dismissed Kaelin's case in a summary judgment without trial. Now, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court has made a new ruling that revives the case. "I'm sure he'll be ecstatic," said Gary Bostwick, Kaelin's lawyer. "He was very, very upset about (the case). It bothered him a lot and he was really hurt."

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Reuters Limited contributed to this report.

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