Sad, sad news in the musical theatre world.

It was announced on Sunday morning that famed composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Webber's spokeswoman has released a statement regarding Webber's condition, which is said to be "in its early stages."

She continued: "Andrew is now undergoing treatment and expects to be fully back at work before the end of the year."

Webber, known for composing such legendary musicals as Phantom of the Opera, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ Superstar is in the process of creating a sequel to Phantom called Love Never Dies.

Rehearsals for Love Never Dies are expected to begin in 2010, with the show opening in London in March 2010 and on Broadway in November.

[Image via WENN.]

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As part of the hearing to determine whether Howard K. Stern, psychiatrist Khristine Eroshevich and Dr. Sandeep Kapoor should face felony charges in the death of Anna Nicole Smith, a California pharmacist Ira Freemen testified that he flat out refused to fill a prescription for Smith.

A mere four days after her son died in September 2006, Eroshevich prescribed Anna high doses of painkillers, muscle relaxants and sedatives, which he viewed as "pharmaceutical suicide."

"If she got ahold of these medications, it could have fatal consequences," he testified.

And five months later, the pharmacist's predictions came true. She died from an overdose!

The prescription called for eight times the recommended dosage of a hypnotic sedative called Dalmane, prompting a toxicologist to state, "she is way out of her league on this."

Earlier this week, another psychiatrist testified that Anna continued to abuse prescription drugs when pregnant with her daughter, despite her efforts to quit.

So sad.

[Image via WENN.]

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We'll this explains their mediawhoring, get rich quick mentality!

According to a former client of Mayumi Heene (aka Balloon Boy's shameless mom), Sunda Croonquist reveals that the family were until recently inhabiting a work studio.

She never noticed that the two of them lived there, but when the children were born, she noticed the conditions worsen.

Apparently, they "were living in conditions that were not acceptable" especially for children. They lived in squalor and "slept on the floor or couches" in a space that did not have a bathroom.

Croonquist continued to say that it "wasn't a home," there was "no cleanliness" and the place "was a mess".

Also, Mayumi worked so hard to make ends meat that she returned to work just two days after giving birth.

And was Mr. Heene too busy in jail?!

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For the first time ever, So You Think You Can Dance judge Mary Murphy has publicly discussed being the victim of a nine-year-long abusive relationship with her former husband.

So brave of her!

Murphy revealed that her ex began raping and beating her only three months after their wedding, and the abuse carried on for nine more years until she gathered up the courage to leave the abuser.

Mary recalled when the physical abuse began:

We'd had another jealous fight, screaming, crashing over furniture, and he said, "I want to have sex."

I was like, "Are you kidding me?! We're fighting here!" He said, "You're my wife, and you'll do what I tell you!"

I pulled out a kitchen knife and screamed, "You're going to have to stab me, because I'm not having sex with you!" He knocked it out of my hands, held me down and raped me.

God, how horrifying!

Murphy explained that over time she became numb to the abuse: "A fight, then rape, then presents: a dress, a diamond bracelet, earrings. In the first year or two, I'd fight back, but eventually, I'd just lie there. Get it over with, I thought. It'll be quick anyway."

Mary said she was too embarrassed to tell the police or the hospital for her injuries, but Murphy hit her all-time low in 1982 while pregnant with their child.

After entering her fourth month, Mary miscarried.

"My husband was disgusted, saying I murdered our baby, because I'd done some light dancing the night before," she revealed. "I was sinking deeper and deeper at that point, just reeling into despair."

It wasn't until her ex-husband traveled back to the Middle East to visit his family and proposed to another woman that Mary was finally ready to leave the jerk.

"I faced him one more time to sign the papers, and then I never heard from him again," Murphy bravely recalled.

Wow, what a story.

And hopefully an inspiration to those who are afraid to seek help!

[Image via WENN.]

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So sad.

At a hearing in El Lay on Tuesday, gruesome details were given about Anna Nicole Smith's quality of life on her last days.

The Playmate was so sick in her final hours that she was nourished with Pedialyte from a baby bottle.

So, when we hear that a judge is using this information to determine whether Anna's lawyer/boyfriend Howard K. Stern should stand trial for conspiring to keep her drugged beyond recognition - we say YES!

According to a detective, she spent her last moments in a coma-like state in a hotel bed covered in her own feces.

She "was unresponsive, her lips were blue and her skin was beginning to be discolored," said Special Agent Danny Santiago.

He also detailed the drugs found in Florida's Seminole Hard Rock Casino hotel room when she died on February 8th 2007 from a prescription drug overdose.

Drugs including Chloral Hydrate, Diazepam, Clonazepam, carisoprodol, Topamax, Cipro and Tamiflu were found strewn about the room.

And it seems that Howard K. Stern, Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, and Dr. Khristina Eroshevich pleaded not guilty to providing Anna with 44 different prescription drugs. Some of them were even made out to Stern under several different spellings of his name.

He even denied hospital care!!!! A hotel employee called a local doctor after Anna complained of flu-like symptoms when she arrived on February 5th, but Stern cancelled the visit because he "didn't want any leaks getting out about Anna's physical condition."

When Anna finally stopped breathing, she was being watched by the wife of her bodyguard, nurse Tasma Brighthaupt. She called her husband after she could not locate Smith's pulse and proceeded to perform CPR.

Most surprisingly, Stern was not even present when Anna passed! According to Brighthaupt, "he had to go see a boat."

SHADY!!!!!!

[Image via WENN.]

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In an open email to fans and the world, the accomplished Tyler Perry opened up about about his own dark past, which included an abusive father and a female neighbor who molested him at the age of 10.

The executive producer of Precious has made no secret about his destructive childhood, but proceeds to elaborate more on it, in order to help those see that from terrible strife can come tremendous success.

He speaks in depth about his father, who was constantly physically abusing him, for minor crimes like stealing cookies or even reading books:

"He got the vacuum cleaner extension cord and trapped me in a room and beat me until the skin was coming off my back. To this day, I don't know what would make a person do something like that to a child."

Nor do we, but it certainly is a horrible image to think about.

As for his tragic experience with molestation, he writes briefly of another encounter with a man at his church when he was a child. Years later, when the man died without a cent to his name, the family asked Tyler to pay for the funeral. He had refused, not now he wishes he hadn't:

"There is something so powerful to me in burying the man that molested me. I would have dug the grave myself."

And after all that, now he is a millionaire! A respected gentleman of the Hollywood industry. It is sad to think about what he has gone through in his life, but it is something to marvel at to know he rose about the pain to create an amazing life for himself.

We guess the point of all this is for young people to see that if he can do it, anyone can.

[Image via WENN.]

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Unemployment rates in NYC are alive and well!

Ruthless publishing giant Condé Nast has shocked the media world by announcing the closing celebrated magazines such as Modern Bride, Elegant Bride, Cookie and Gourmet this morning!

Despite its loss in ad pages, the folding of Gourmet, a magazine with enormous influence in the food world, comes as a shock!! The culinary bible has been published since 1940 and is survived by its much newer rival Bon Appétit.

The bride and children mags were offshoots of much larger titles owned by the company, so its exile was more expected.

Plus, who can afford to have a big wedding or kids these days!

These were the first closings announced by the company in the recent months, although a warning was given for several publications to cut their budget by 25%. Yet, it doesn't seem they were given much time to implement those changes!

It is not be said how many employees Condé Nasty has kicked to the curb, but we bet Anna Wintour is comfortably polishing her Louis Vuitton pitchfork in hell her secure work environment!

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As we mentioned earlier, actor Dennis Hopper was rushed to a New York City hospital on Wednesday.

The 73-year-old was taken to the emergency room, but no details were released about the reason.

Turns out Hopper was suffering from dehydration.

According to his manager, Hopper was suffering from severe flu-like symptoms and had to be treated for dehydration. Adding that thankfully Hopper is "now back in his hotel room and feeling much better."

Unfortunately, Dennis had to cancel interview appearances for his new Starz seires, Crash. But his manager adds that "Dennis would like to thank everyone for their well wishes and he looks forward to getting back to work on Crash."

So glad he's doing better!

[Image via WENN.]

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Well, it's not the most sensitive country concerning human rights!

In the mountain community of Kumning in southern China, live 120 residents all under 4ft 3inches tall.

They live in a commune and fast-growing tourist attraction as the inhabitants have built mushroom houses and constantly dress like fairy-tale characters.

WTF?!

"As small people we are used to being pushed around and exploited by big people. But here there aren't any big people and everything we do is for us," said spokesman Fu Tien of the community equipped with its own police force and fire brigade.

Although the village has sparked serious debate, most feel that this is best form of employment for these people due to the surplus of labor in China.

"We might feel aghast at treating humans this way but this is the best way the Chinese government can deal with the situation right now," wrote a commenter on the GoKunming site. "Go back a hundred years or so in our culture and we will see that we did the same thing à la the freakshows and the circus."

Sad.

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