Bacharach sues over stumble

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Burt Bacharach has sued a company headed by Indiana Pacers owner Melvin Simon for $15 million, saying he needed shoulder-replacement surgery after stumbling in a darkened ballroom.

The lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court said the 71-year-old composer-conductor fell and injured his left shoulder at the Indiana Roof Ballroom during a sound check on April 5, 2000. Bacharach was scheduled to perform at the downtown venue.

Named as defendants are the ballroom's owner and operator, Melvin Simon and Associates, a private real estate investment trust, and Claypool Holdings LLC. Melvin Simon and Associates is affiliated with Simon Property Group, a publicly traded, Indianapolis-based company that owns or manages 251 shopping centers.

Bacharach, composer of "That's What Friends Are For" and "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," stumbled at a drop on the main floor of the ballroom, which was dark at the time, his complaint says.

Eminem, wife agree on divorce

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (AP) -- Rap superstar Eminem has reached a divorce agreement with his wife that gives them joint custody of their 5-year-old daughter.

The couple worked out a temporary divorce agreement last week that also gives Eminem their $450,000 home, the rapper's lawyer said. His wife, Kim Mathers, would receive $475,000 in cash to purchase a house.

The couple agreed to joint legal and physical custody of their daughter, Hailie Jade.

Erin Moran grows up

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Joanie Cunningham has grown up.

Actress Erin Moran, now 39, is half of a two-person cast on tour with Neil Simon's "They're Playing Our Song." The musical comes to town for a single performance Thursday, at The Egg.

"I've always been scared to do a play," Moran said by telephone during a stop in Montgomery, Ala., three weeks into the tour. "I don't know why, because doing 'Happy Days' was like a play with three cameras."

The "Happy Days" sitcom ran on ABC from 1974 to 1984. Moran played Ron Howard's little sister. She co-starred with Scott Baio in a short-lived spinoff, "Joanie Loves Chachi."

She took the stage for the first time last year in Simon's "Lost in Yonkers."

Moran said she finds herself naturally drawn to Simon's work.

"He writes so much to how human beings act and feel," she said. "It's so easy to say his words."

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NEW YORK (AP) -- World Wrestling Federation superstar Chyna says Lil' Kim would make "a great tag-team partner."

"I just bought the Lil' Kim album," Chyna told Vibe magazine in its April issue. "I wasn't too familiar with her music, but I bought it for the album cover. I loved her makeup and her outfit."

Chyna told Vibe she listens to all types of music, but when asked to name her favorite rapper, she replied, "I like the old stuff. Like ... like ... I like that 'Funky Cold Medina."'

Then she laughed.

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NEW YORK (AP) -- As NBC's "Saturday Night Live" enjoys a ratings revival so too do the hedonistic post-show parties, which peaked back in the 1970s with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd knocking back quarts of beer with guests and jamming as the Blues Brothers.

Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time cast members Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan, Chris Parnell and Tracy Morgan are regulars at the latest after-show festivities -- and post-festivities festivities -- which continue long past the 4 a.m. bar closing hours, The New York Times said Sunday.

The bar bashes have become so popular that cast members have started rotating the location every Saturday and sharing entry code words with a chosen few.

During the show's heyday, party guests included David Bowie, Keith Richards and members of the Grateful Dead. Recent sightings include Ben Affleck and Heather Graham, and comedian Garry Shandling.