Entertainment Briefs May 10, 2010

Actress Lynn Redgrave is laid to rest in NY

KENT, Conn. - Friends and family said final goodbyes to Lynn Redgrave on Saturday and laid the 67-year-old actress to rest near her mother amid the rolling hills of upstate New York.

The star of "Georgy Girl" died Sunday at her home in Kent, Conn., surrounded by her children. She had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002.

At a private funeral near her Connecticut home Saturday morning, pall bearers carried a basket-weave casket adorned with flowers through a light drizzle into the First Congregational Church of Kent. Her older sister, Vanessa Redgrave, was among those attending, along with niece Joely Richardson, and Liam Neeson, widower of her niece Natasha Richardson.

Actor Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave's "Gods and Monsters " co-star, said after the service that she helped him learn to respect his craft.

"Lynn had a real quiet bliss about her, and enthusiasm," Fraser said. "I think if I ever saw her sad, it was in a performance."

Redgrave was buried across the state line in Lithgow, N.Y., in the same rural cemetery where family members said goodbye to Richardson in March 2009. Redgrave was buried near her mother in a private service under brightening skies.

Redgrave's death comes during a difficult time for the famous acting family. Richardson died unexpectedly last year at age 45 from head injuries suffered in a skiing accident and Redgrave's older brother, Corin Redgrave, died last month.

As the youngest child of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, Lynn Redgrave was born into an esteemed British acting dynasty. Not as acclaimed or outspoken as her sister, Vanessa, she still enjoyed a long career as an actress and playwright.

Lynn Redgrave received Oscar nominations for her 1966 star-making turn in "Georgy Girl" and for "Gods and Monsters" more than three decades later. She received Tony nominations for "Mrs. Warren's Profession," ''Shakespeare for My Father" and "The Constant Wife."

Despite her pedigree, Lynn Redgrave was not averse to appearing on TV on shows like "Desperate Housewives" and even became a spokeswoman for Weight Watchers.

Redgrave was divorced from actor-director John Clark. She is survived by children Ben, Pema and Annabel and six grandchildren.

Betty White: golden hosting 'Saturday Night Live'

NEW YORK - Betty White demonstrated how it's done as host of this week's "Saturday Night Live."

Drawing on her six decades in comedy, she was the consummate pro at 88 years old - sweet, sassy, salty, charming and clearly game for anything.

"I'm not new to live TV," she reminded the audience at the top of the show, and recalled that she had starred in a sitcom that aired live back in 1952.

"Of course, back then, we didn't WANT to do it live. We just didn't know how to tape things." A perfectly timed beat. "I don't know what THIS show's excuse is."

Billed by NBC as a special Mother's Day edition, the show had a definitely feminine tone and was a reunion of sorts for "SNL" alumnae, bringing back former regulars including Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer and Molly Shannon. (Jay-Z was musical guest.)

But White was the queen bee, appearing in nearly every bit throughout the 90-minute span - and never failing to punch it up.

As a dotty resident being surveyed by census-taker Fey, White listed other residents in her apartment as Fluffy, Princess, Tigger and Socks.

"These are people we're talking about and not cats, right?" asked the wary Fey.

"There's really no way of knowing," came the reply. "Sometimes when I see their big eyes looking up from my lap, I think that's definitely a homeless guy in a fur coat."

White played the star of a new "CSI" spinoff set in a Florida retirement community, "CSI: Sarasota."

As an investigator (identified as David Caruso's great-aunt), she wasn't buying the story that the victim had died of natural causes.

"Oh, really," she scoffed. "Since when does a 103-year-old man simply drop dead?"

She appeared in three "MacGruber" sketches as the grandmother of the bumbling special-op agent played by Will Forte, each time nagging and berating him as he tried (unsuccessfully, of course) to defuse the ticking bomb.

She played the guest of Gasteyer and Shannon, co-hosts of a public-radio cooking show, in a sketch slyly built around an alternate meaning for "muffin."

"A lot of people like my pumpkin pie, and of course my carrot cake is legendary," White's bakery chef began proudly, "but if there's one thing I'm known for, it's my muffin." She didn't stop there.

And in a filmed short that should find a robust afterlife online, "SNL" cast members paid tribute to White by singing "Thank You for Being A Friend," the theme of her classic sitcom, "The Golden Girls."

"Oh, that was just lovely," said White when they were finished. "But I think I prefer my version," whereupon she pulled a black ski mask over her face and led a growling, rip-roaring death-metal rendition that left everyone reeling.

White, whose "SNL" gig resulted from a half-a-million-strong groundswell on Facebook after her hilarious Snickers commercial on the Super Bowl, took pains to thank Facebook during her opening monologue.

Her way.

"When I first heard about the campaign to get me to host 'Saturday Night Live,' I didn't know what Facebook was," White confessed. Then she exhibited her warm smile and a perfectly timed beat before marveling impishly, "Now that I DO know what it is, I have to say: It seems like a huge waste of time."

— The Associated Press