Danny Puff

LONDON (AP) Richard Griffiths was one of the great British stage actors of his generation, a heavy man with a light touch, whether in Shakespeare or Neil Simon. But for millions of movie fans, he will always be grumpy Uncle Vernon, the least magical of characters in the fantastical "Harry Potter" movies.

Griffiths died Thursday at University Hospital in Coventry, central England, from complications following heart surgery, his agent, Simon Beresford, said. He was 65.

"Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe paid tribute to the actor Friday, saying that "any room he walked into was made twice as funny and twice as clever just by his presence."

"I am proud to say I knew him," Radcliffe said.

Griffiths won a Tony Award for "The History Boys" and appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows. But he will be most widely remembered as a pair of contrasting uncles Harry Potter's Uncle Vernon Dursley and Uncle Monty in cult film "Withnail and I."

Griffiths was among a huge roster of British acting talent to appear in the "Harry Potter" series of films released between 2001 and 2011.

His role, as the grudging, magic-fearing guardian of orphaned wizard Harry, was small but pivotal. Griffiths once said he liked playing Uncle Vernon "because that gives me a license to be horrible to kids."

But Radcliffe recalled Griffiths' kindness to the young star.

"Richard was by my side during two of the most important moments of my career," said Radcliffe, who in 2007 starred with Griffiths in a London and Broadway production of "Equus."

"In August 2000, before official production had even begun on 'Potter,' we filmed a shot outside the Dursleys', which was my first ever shot as Harry. I was nervous, and he made me feel at ease.

"Seven years later, we embarked on 'Equus' together. It was my first time doing a play, but, terrified as I was, his encouragement, tutelage and humor made it a joy."

Earlier, Griffiths was the louche, lecherous Uncle Monty to Richard E. Grant's character Withnail in "Withnail and I," a low-budget British comedy about two out-of-work actors that has become a cult classic. Years after its 1987 release, Griffiths said people would regularly shout Monty's most famous lines at him in the street.

"My beloved 'Uncle Monty' Richard Griffiths died last night," Grant tweeted Friday. "Chin-Chin my dear friend."

A huge stage presence with a grace rendered all the more striking by his physical bulk, Griffiths created roles including the charismatic teacher Hector at the emotional heart of Alan Bennett's school drama "The History Boys." He won an Olivier Award for the part in London and a Tony for the Broadway run, and repeated his performance in the 2006 film adaptation.

National Theatre artistic director Nicholas Hytner, who directed "The History Boys," called Griffiths' performance in that play "a masterpiece of wit, delicacy, mischief and desolation, often simultaneously."

Griffiths also played poet W.H. Auden in Bennett's "The Habit of Art," a hugely persuasive performance despite the lack of physical resemblance between the two men.

Griffiths was born in northeast England's Thornaby-on-Tees in 1947 to parents who were deaf and mute an experience he and his directors felt contributed to his exceptional ability to listen and to communicate physically.

"The first language he learned was sign. And therefore his ability to listen to people with his eyes as well as his ears is incredible," Thea Sharrock, who directed "Equus," told The Associated Press in 2008.

Griffiths left school at 15 but later studied drama and spent a decade with the Royal Shakespeare Company, making a specialty of comic parts such as the buffoonish knight Falstaff.

On television, he played a crime-solving chef in 1990s' British TV series "Pie in the Sky," and he had parts in movies ranging from historical dramas "Chariots of Fire" and "Gandhi" to slapstick farce "The Naked Gun 2 ."

Known for his sense of humor, large store of rambling theatrical anecdotes and occasional bursts of temper, Griffiths was renowned for shaming audience members whose cell phones rang during plays by stopping the performance and ordering the offender to leave.

Griffiths' last major stage role was in a West End production of Neil Simon's comedy "The Sunshine Boys" last year opposite Danny DeVito. The pair had been due to reprise their roles in Los Angeles later this year.

Theater director Trevor Nunn, who as head of the Royal Shakespeare Company was one of the first to spot Griffiths' talent, said he was "an actor of rare emotional and indeed tragic power."

"Richard inspired great love and spread much happiness, and as the Shakespeare he loved put it, 'There's a great spirit gone,'" Nunn said.

Griffiths is survived by his wife, Heather Gibson.

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Jill Lawless can be reached at http://Twitter.com/JillLawless

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NEW CITY, N.Y. (AP) Stephen Baldwin, the youngest of four brothers in show business, said Friday he's looking forward to "clearing the wreckage of my past."

Step 1 will be coming up with $300,000 for the tax man.

Baldwin, 46, admitted in Rockland County Court that he failed to pay New York state income taxes for 2008, 2009 and 2010. Under a plea bargain, he gets to stay out of jail so he can make some money and can have his record wiped clean if he pays the taxes within a year.

His total bill in taxes, interest and penalties is $400,000, but state Supreme Court Justice Charles Apotheker said $100,000 had already been paid.

Baldwin, currently appearing on "All-Star Celebrity Apprentice," said he never intended to avoid paying taxes and got in trouble by trusting others.

"Unfortunately, I got some really bad suggestions and advice ... from lawyers and accountants," he said outside court.

Baldwin, who lives in Upper Grandview, said he believes he can meet the deadline, noting that his father was a schoolteacher who made $25,000 and raised six kids.

"I just look forward to getting the $300,000 paid in the next year," he said.

He said he's directing a movie starring his brother William and that other "faith-based opportunities" consistent with his principles are emerging. His lawyer said earlier this month that Baldwin would not be taking any roles like his starring turn as a professional thief with a short temper in the 1995 film "The Usual Suspects."

If he doesn't pay all the money within a year, the plea bargain provides for a five-year sentence of probation and repayment within that time.

Besides William, Baldwin's brothers Daniel and Alec the latter was a star of TV's "30 Rock" are also actors. Asked if he was getting any help from the family, Stephen Baldwin said: "Just support as family support. ... The responsibility lies ultimately with myself."

No sentencing date was set. Another court appearance is planned in June to see how repayment is going.

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NEW YORK (AP) Martin Scorsese is developing a TV series based on his 2002 film "Gangs of New York."

The director is partnering with Miramax, which released the Oscar-nominated film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis. The planned show doesn't yet have a TV network.

The series expands on the brutal, 19th-century New York gang world of the film. Miramax says the series will chronicle the birth of organized crime in not just New York but also in cities such as Chicago and New Orleans.

In a statement Thursday, Scorsese says the era was too rich to fully explore in a two-hour film. He says the series "allows us the time and creative freedom to bring this colorful world, and all the implications it had and still does on our society, to life."

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SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) Her show had been cancelled, but that didn't stop alternative folk and rock singer Michelle Shocked from showing up at a Santa Cruz nightclub where she staged a sit-in with tape across her mouth that read "Silenced By Fear."

Moe's Alley was one of several nightclubs that cancelled Shocked's gigs after she made what were considered anti-gay comments during a rambling outburst at a show earlier this month.

On Thursday evening, Moe's Alley owner Bill Welch had replaced her with two local bands that support gay rights, Beaver Fever and Frootie Flavors.

"We will not be bashing Michelle Shocked," he said. "Rather, we will celebrate music, diversity and send some healing Santa Cruz energy her way."

Sitting on the ground outside the venue and strumming her guitar, Shocked was largely ignored and refused to speak. She pointed to a sign inviting people to pick up a Sharpie marker and write on the white disposable safety suit she was wearing.

Earlier this week in an email to The Associated Press and other media, Shocked apologized and said her comments during the San Francisco show were misinterpreted.

"Of course the fault for that is completely my own, and I cannot and do not blame anyone for defending the gay community," she wrote.

On Thursday night, she posted signs that read "Does speech scare you that much?" and on her back she had scrawled "Gimme Wit, Not Spit."

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By Kim Palmer

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - After more than 50 years, loyal fans have one last chance to visit the Easter bunny and other Easter-themed mosaics made of thousands of brightly colored eggs on a lawn in an eastern suburb of Cleveland.

The displays have drawn thousands of visitors each year to the sprawling lawn of Betty and Ron Manolio in Lyndhurst, Ohio, but the 55th annual event this year will be the last.

Eggshelland was created by Ron Manolio, 80, who died in August. This final display is dominated by a 16-foot by 15-foot portrait of the man who each year spent months hollowing out and hand-painting anywhere from 3,000 to 10,000 eggs. A message below the picture reads "thank you all, and goodbye."

This year, Manolio's children and grandchildren set up the 21,630 eggs in 24 colors in a display entitled "A Labor of Love" in tribute to their grandfather. The egg mosaics depict a 45-foot cross, an Easter bunny and an EGGSHELLAND sign propped up in front of the couple's house.

"Our children did this their entire lives. They thought everyone does this," Betty Manolio told Reuters. But the months it takes to design and two to three weekends for installation are too much for the family to keep up.

Egg mosaics in past years have depicted characters from Sesame Street, Winnie-the-Pooh, and Harry Potter and spring scenes.

Manolio said that because her husband was the creative force behind project, it would be too difficult to continue Eggshelland without him.

"Actually, I was amazed we were doing it for 55 years," she said. "If he (Ron) was still around I think we would do it until we both died. I'm going to miss it next year."

Others will miss Eggshelland too. On a typical day, cars line up on their street and around the corner to catch a glimpse the display that began with a mere 750 eggs saved over the course of a year in 1957. At Eggshelland's peak in the 1970s local police were called to direct traffic.

Local and national media have described Eggshelland as a childhood fantasy land but in truth the phenomena has quite an adult following including a website dedicated to its 55-year history and its creators (http://eggshellandeaster.tripod.com), and a 2004 award-winning documentary on their efforts.

Eggshelland will be up until April 5th. After that, Manolio hasn't yet decided what will happen to the eggs. Previously, they stored the eggs for the year and replaced those that had broken.

"We haven't decided what to do with them. We've gotten some calls," Manolio said. "My grandchildren, of course, told me to put them on eBay."

(Editing by Jackie Frank)

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NEW YORK (AP) India.Arie is laughing off talk that she may have lightened her skin.

The R&B songstress is known for singing about being authentic and celebrating one's true self. But some accused India.Arie of lightening her skin when a publicity photo for her song "Cocoa Butter" released this week made it look as though she were several shades lighter than her dark brown complexion.

But India.Arie took to Twitter on Friday to deny the accusations, saying she has no desire to bleach her skin because she loves herself and her brown skin "more than ever." She also said that "magnificent lighting" is the cause for her "glow."

She added that she'd like to keep the conversation going, though, on the issue of racism and colorism in the black community.

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By Nate Raymond

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. shareholder lawsuit accusing smartphone manufacturer BlackBerry of seeking to fraudulently obscure its falling market position was dismissed on Friday.

U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan in Manhattan granted the company's motion to dismiss the proposed class-action lawsuit, finding the plaintiffs failed to adequately allege that the company or various executives had made deliberate and material misstatements.

Sullivan said BlackBerry clearly had failed to keep pace with rivals in developing smartphones and information technology, and "have paid a price for their mistakes by way of demotions, terminations and sizable financial setbacks."

"Nevertheless, corporate failings alone do not give rise to a securities fraud claim," Sullivan said.

David Brower, a lawyer for the plaintiffs at Brower Piven, declined comment. A spokeswoman for BlackBerry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

BlackBerry, known as Research In Motion Ltd until recently, has sought to achieve a turnaround its new Z10 smartphones after years of losing market share as consumers moved to Apple Inc's iPhone as well as smartphones using Google Inc's Android software.

The lawsuit, filed in 2011 by investor Robert Shemian, sought to recover losses on behalf of U.S. shareholders who bought the company's stock from December 2010 through June 2011.

The lawsuit followed series of setbacks the company suffered in 2011. The complaint cites slowing sales of its aging BlackBerry phone product line, delays in releasing a new operating system and a botched launch of its first tablet.

The lawsuit contended all those setbacks were known by the company and its executives, who nonetheless allegedly began misleading investors, who bought its stock at inflated prices.

From February 11, 2011 to June 17, 2011, when the company announced disappointing earnings and announced layoffs, the company's stock slid from $69.86 to $27.25.

The case is Shemian v. Research In Motion Limited, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-04068.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York)

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NEW YORK (AP) Lil Wayne says he's an epileptic and has had seizures for years.

In an interview with Los Angeles-based radio station Power 106 on Thursday, the 30-year-old rapper said epilepsy caused his most recent health scare earlier this month when he was rushed to a hospital. Wayne said he had three back-to-back seizures.

The Grammy winner says: "I've had a bunch of seizures, y'all just never hear about them."

Wayne says he "could've died" and that the recent seizures were a result of "just plain stress, no rest, overworking myself."

He released his 10th album, "I Am Not a Human Being II," this week. He'll embark on a 40-city tour in July with rappers T.I. and Future.

The New Orleans native, whose given name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., is one of the biggest stars not only of his genre but in all music.

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) It's back.

The virtual reality headset, the gizmo that was supposed to seamlessly transport wearers to three-dimensional virtual worlds, has made a remarkable return at this year's Game Developers Conference, an annual gathering of video game makers in San Francisco.

After drumming up hype over the past year and banking $2.4 million from crowdfunding, the Irvine, Calif.-based company Oculus VR captured the conference's attention this week with the Oculus Rift, its VR headset that's more like a pair of ski goggles than those bulky gaming helmets of the 1990s that usually left users with headaches.

"Developers who start working on VR games now are going to be able to do cool things," said Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey. "This is the first time when the technology, software, community and rendering power is all really there."

While VR technology has successfully been employed in recent years for military and medical training purposes, it's been too expensive, clunky or just plain bad for most at-home gamers. Oculus VR's headset is armed with stereoscopic 3-D, low-latency head tracking and a 110-degree field of view, and the company expects it to cost just a few hundred bucks.

A line at the conference snaked around the expo floor with attendees waiting for a chance to plop the glasses on their head and play a few minutes of "Hawken," an upcoming first-person shooter that puts players inside levitating war machines.

Attendance was also at capacity for a Thursday talk called "Virtual Reality: The Holy Grail of Gaming" led by Luckey. When he asked the crowd who'd ordered development prototypes of the technology, dozens of hands shot into the air.

"There's been a lot of promise over several decades with the VR helmet idea, but I think a lot of us feel like Oculus and other devices like it are starting to get it right," said Simon Carless, executive vice president at UBM Tech Game Network, which organizes the Game Developers Conference. "We may have a competitive and interesting-to-use device, which you could strap to your head and have really immersive gaming as a result."

Sony and Microsoft are reportedly working on similar peripherals, as are other companies. Luckey contends that the innovations Nintendo made with its Wii U, Sony is planning with its upcoming PlayStation 4 and Microsoft is likely tinkering with for its successor to the Xbox 360 don't seem like enough.

"We're seeing better graphics and social networks, but those aren't things that are going to fundamentally change the kind of experiences that gamers can have," said Luckey.

A growing list of high-profile game makers have sung the device's praises, including Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, "Minecraft" mastermind Markus Peterson, id Software's John Carmack, "Gears of War" chief Cliff Bleszinski and Valve boss Gabe Newell.

Valve is planning to release a VR version of its first-person shooter "Team Fortress 2" for the Rift, but Luckey is hoping that designers in attendance at this week's conference begin creating games especially for the doodad.

"The doors are already open," noted Luckey. "People are already telling us things they want to do with the Rift that they can't do with traditional games."

Luckey said prototype versions of the technology are being distributed to developers now, and he anticipates releasing a version for consumers by next year.

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Online:

http://www.oculusvr.com

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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang.

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CASABLANCA, Morocco (AP) A Moroccan rapper known for his protest songs said Friday after completing a yearlong prison sentence that he will be concentrating on his studies and improving his music and is unsure about further activism.

Mouad Belghouat's angry rap songs excoriating the gaps between rich and poor in Morocco provided the soundtrack to the North African kingdom's Arab Spring protest movement in 2011 that called for social justice and greater democracy.

But while Belghouat, known as El-Haqed or "the enraged," was in prison, the February 20 movement, as it was known, faded away as popular ire with the state was defused by a string of reforms promulgated by the king.

"I will concentrate more on my studies I have my high school exams to pass in June," said a pale, subdued 26-year-old Belghouat to journalists and activists, showing only occasional flashes of his trademark irreverent sense of humor. "I played around a lot before, and in prison I discovered the importance of reading more."

The rapper appeared in glasses, which supporters say he now needs because of how his health deteriorated in prison where he said he experienced harassment and even went on hunger strike at one point to protest conditions.

Belghouat was convicted in May for insulting a public official over his song "Dogs of the State," which was addressed to the police. An online video accompanying the song portrayed a police officer with a donkey's head prompting the lawsuit by authorities.

"You are paid to protect the citizens, not to steal their money," said one lyric. The song then asks the police to arrest the wealthy businessmen who have divided the country up for themselves.

Morocco, a popular tourist destination for Europeans, has one of the highest discrepancies between rich and poor in the Arab world, according to international development agencies.

"It was a huge relief when he was released," said Abdullah Abaakil, an activist with the February 20 movement that introduced the rapper at the news conference. He emphasized that Belghouat was key for the movement to reach out to young people, especially in the country's myriad slums. "He suffered for all of us... he more than did his part."

As the protests died away, dozens of activists from the February 20 movement have been arrested and imprisoned. A statement by 18 local non-governmental organizations in December said at least 58 activists were in prison.

Belghouat, who described in an Associated Press interview last year how he would go to poor neighborhoods to raise people's awareness about the injustices in the country, was noncommittal about his future as an activist.

"I am just out of prison, and I'm still tired, so I need a bit of time to answer this question about how I will assess the situation of the February 20 in the country," he said, though he didn't rule out staying involved. "And if tomorrow there was a demonstration for February 20, I might well join, why not?"

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Associated Press reporter Smail Bellaoualli contributed to this report.

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