Actor John Spencer, who won an Emmy award for playing chief of staff Leo McGarry on The West Wing, died Friday of a heart attack; he was 58. Spencer's publicist, Ron Hoffman, said that Spencer died at a Los Angeles hospital, and no further details were available at press time. Born in New York to a lower middle-class family, Spencer began his acting career in 1963 with a recurring role on The Patty Duke Show; stage work throughout the country followed, and he earned an Obie award for the Vietnam veteran drama Still Life. Spencer didn't really become known to a wide audience until the mid-80s, though, when a number of character parts in both film and television led to a regular role in the hit series LA Law. His role as tough New York attorney Tommy Mullaney, who was a transplant to Los Angeles, spanned a four-year run, and roles in a number of television movies and feature films (including Cop Land, The Rock, and The Negotiator) followed. But it was The West Wing, which launched in 1999, that brought Spencer his most memorable role, as well as a number of Emmy nominations, five in all; he won the Best Supporting Actor award in 2002. Like his character, Leo McGarry, Spencer was also an alcoholic as well as a self-proclaimed workaholic, and used his own experiences to illuminate Leo's personal and professional lives. Recently, his character (who suffered a heart attack on the show) was tapped as the vice-presidential candidate to Jimmy Smits' presidential contender Matt Santos. Services and funeral arrangements are currently pending. --Prepared by IMDb staff

Tom Cruise stood firm behind his controversial comments about September 11 rescue workers coming off their post-trauma medications when he visited New York City firefighters on Wednesday night. The movie star has been blasted by firefighters suffering the effects of smoke inhalation from the World Trade Center terrorist attacks after urging them to give up their medication as part of a 'purification rundown' favored by his Church of Scientology elders. But public criticism didn't stop Cruise and his pregnant fiancee Katie Holmes from visiting a New York City Rescue Workers Detoxification Project fundraiser, which he helped found in the wake of 9/11. The couple were joined by R&B star Usher. He says, "I started this project out of the great respect I have for the courage and service of the rescue workers. When I started this project I was in position where I knew I could help. I absolutely consider it an honor and a privilege to be here to help these men and women." The annual Tribeca gala raised $1.6 million. The project aids firefighters, emergency medical technicians, police Officers and the many first responders who were exposed to potentially dangerous materials circulating in the air after the collapse of the World Trade Center.

US tabloid the National Enquirer has become the first publication to issue an apology to Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher for printing an extract from an interview editors believe never took place. Hatcher has sent her lawyers after publications who alleged she has sex sessions in the camper van that sits in her driveway, while her young daughter Emerson plays alone yards away in the family home. The actress has fiercely denied making the comments about her sex life and plans to sue the British publication which first ran the story. But Enquirer editors have decided to honor Hatcher by printing an apology in the new issue of the tabloid and naming and shaming the freelance journalist who sold them the alleged interview. In a printed statement, the publication's bosses claim, "We believe that the purported 'world exclusive' interview by Patricia Nolan was fabricated and the story was false. Therefore, we withdraw and retract the statements in that article. In particular, Ms. Hatcher has never engaged in sexual relations with men in a van parked on her property, nor does she leave her child alone in her house while having 'steamy romps' with men in a 'passion wagon'. Ms Hatcher only uses her van for camping trips with her daughter."

Actress Michelle Rodriguez settled two of her four traffic violations by paying fines in court on Tuesday. The 27-year-old was ordered to pay a total of $657 in Hawaii for speeding offences in October and November this year. However, Rodriguez and her Lost co-star Cynthia Watros are scheduled to return to court at the end of the month to face drink-driving charges. The pair were driving separate cars when they were arrested on November 30 within 15 minutes of each other near Honolulu. In June 2004, Rodriguez pleaded no contest in Los Angeles to three more traffic violations - hit and run, driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license. She is currently serving a three-year probation term and could face a driver's license revocation for breaching its terms.

Nicole Kidman's aides have fired back at reports the Aussie actress will be Mrs. Keith Urban by the time 2006 begins by ruling out rumors of a tropical wedding. The Moulin Rouge! star and her country singer boyfriend are reportedly planning a New Year's Eve beach wedding in Fiji - something Kidman's publicists are keen to dispel, stating: "There's no truth in this." And they're using the latest marriage rumors to blast other reports that Kidman is pregnant, adding, "Nicole is 100 percent not pregnant."

Renee Zellweger and Kenny Chesney have added more mystery to their shock marriage split by meeting up for secret romantic dates in New York City and Connecticut. Diners and waitresses who have spotted the former couple enjoying each other's company at out-of-the-way restaurants report the pair look like they are still together. But they did split - after just 128 days of marriage - when Zellweger filed for divorce, citing fraud among her mysterious reasons. One diner, who spotted the couple at intimate Italian restaurant Mario's in Rock Hill, Connecticut, says, "They just kept looking at each other... They were cuddling during their meal." Friends claim their secret dinner meetings are a sure sign the pair are planning to scrap divorce proceedings and reconcile.

Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire is reportedly planning to propose to his girlfriend of two years, Jennifer Meyer. According to friends of the 30-year-old actor, the decision to pop the big question came when he learned that his best pal Leonardo DiCaprio's romance with Gisele Bundchen had fizzled out. A source says, "Leo is still down about losing Gisele, and he told Tobey that if he really loves Jen, he should step up to the table and not twiddle his thumbs about marriage. He told me he absolutely wants to marry Jennifer in the coming year. He doesn't want to lose her! I think she'd marry Tobey in a second!" Meyer, 28, is the daughter of Universal Studios president Ron Meyer.

Sean Penn, Jamie Foxx, Danny Glover and rapper Snoop Dogg are among the thousands of mourners expected to turn out for the funeral of executed former gang leader Stanley 'Tookie' Williams early next week. Williams, 51, was killed by lethal injection in a Californian prison on Tuesday for four murders during robberies in 1979. His death sentence sparked outrage after he picked up a Nobel Peace Prize nomination for his death row writings, which urged young people not to form gangs. Williams' celebrity supporters campaigned relentlessly for clemency ahead of the execution and many, including Snoop Dogg and human rights activists Jesse Jackson, are tipped to speak at his funeral. The ceremony will be held in Los Angeles, before his ashes are scattered in South Africa.

The US version of The Office, medical drama Grey's Anatomy and comedy My Name Is Earl are leading the nominations at the 2006 Writers Guild Of America awards. The 12 person team behind ABC's Grey's Anatomy are up for Best Dramatic Series and Best New Series, while the 13 writers for NBC's My Name Is Earl are up for Best Comedy Series and Best New Series. The 11 person team behind the American version of British funnyman's BBC series The Office are fighting for Best Comedy Series and Best New Series. Other shows up for awards at the February 4 ceremony include Curb Your Enthusiasm, House, The West Wing, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Malcolm In The Middle and Desperate Housewives.

Funnyman Steve Martin has filmed a new public service announcement in a bid to urge filmgoers to turn off their mobile phones at the movies. The actor recreates his recent role as bumbling detective Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther for the new big screen advertisement, which will be shown at cinemas across America this Christmas. In the public service announcement, Martin's Clouseau complains when a cell phone starts ringing while he's watching a movie, and then realizes it's his. He then switches his phone to vibrate and receives a shock every time it goes off. The short ends with the line, "Don't be a Clouseau, get a clue. Please turn your cell phones off and refrain from talking during the movie."

American talk show host Nancy Grace has won a permanent restraining order against a mental health patient, who she claims has been stalking her. The CNN TV presenter was given a court order in New York City on Wednesday, against Joseph Raymond Loegering, who allegedly harassed her with phone calls and emails. According to court papers, Loegering claimed he was in love with the 47-year-old and "has engaged in a continuous pattern of harassment and stalking of plaintiff by email and telephone and by attempting to enter her place of employment."