Entertainment Briefs for April 2, 2010
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 16 years, 5 months AGO
Lindsey Vonn gets her 'Law & Order' wish next week
LOS ANGELES - Lindsey Vonn is going from Olympic star to "Law & Order" bit player and said she's delighted about it.
"How many people get to appear on their favorite TV show?" Vonn said Wednesday in a statement released by NBC and series creator Dick Wolf.
In the crime drama's season finale, the skier will play an administrative assistant with a vital clue in a case involving a terrorist, NBC said. She's set to film her scene with series stars Jeremy Sisto, Anthony Anderson and Alana de la Garza next week in Brooklyn.
The air date for the episode, written and directed by executive producer Rene Balcer, will air in May. The date was not announced.
Vonn, who won a gold medal in downhill skiing and captured a bronze in the super-G, announced during the games that she had been invited to take part in "Law & Order."
The series, in its 20th season, airs Mondays.
James Van Der Beek finalizes divorce terms
LOS ANGELES - Court records show James Van Der Beek has finalized the terms of his divorce from his wife of nearly seven years.
The former "Dawson's Creek" star's divorce from actress Heather McComb will be official June 3.
The pair went through mediation to resolve the terms of the breakup. Van Der Beek will pay McComb spousal support through 2012.
Van Der Beek and McComb were married in July 2003 and have no children. He filed for divorce in November but stated in court filings they had separated months earlier.
The 33-year-old actor has appeared in numerous television series and starred in films such as "Varsity Blues" and "The Rules of Attraction."
McComb has appeared as a supporting actress in several movies and television shows.
Shaq's mom writes motivational book
CLEVELAND - Shaquille O'Neal's mom has written a tell-all book - about herself.
Inspired and motivated by her superstar son, Lucille O'Neal is promoting, "Walk Like You Have Somewhere to Go: From Mental Welfare to Mental Wealth," a book that chronicles her life as an unwed teen mother, struggles with alcohol and her determination to get a college degree in her 40s.
On Wednesday, she signed copies of the book at Quicken Loans Arena before her son's team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, hosted the Milwaukee Bucks. Shaquille O'Neal is currently sidelined with a thumb injury but is expected to return for the NBA playoffs.
His mom said the book has been "in me for years." A mother of four and grandmother of 14, she decided to write it to help motivate others who may see her now and not realize the difficulties she has overcome.