Heigl, Knight out as docs on 'Grey's Anatomy'
Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight are leaving Grey's Anatomy, according to co-star James Pickens Jr.
"Yes, she is," Pickens told Us Weekly when asked whether Heigl, who plays Izzie Stevens, is leaving the ABC hospital drama. "Wherever Katherine goes, I wish her nothing but the best."
Pickens, speaking backstage after last weekend's NAACP Awards lunch in Beverly Hills, expressed similar sentiments regarding Knight, who plays George O'Malley.
"He just wanted to pursue other career paths," Pickens said.
Both actors have made no secret about their unhappiness on Grey's - complaining about a lack of good scripts (Heigl) and lack of screen time (Knight).
Publicists for Knight and for series creator Shonda Rhimes declined comment. Requests for comment from Heigl's publicist and ABC were not returned.
A $100,000 bong?
WIS-TV in Columbia, S.C., is reporting that the owner of the bong used by Michael Phelps at a party in November tried to sell it on eBay for as much as $100,000.
Reporter Jack Kuenzie also said the unidentified owner - and seven others - have been arrested by Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, seven on charges of drug possession and one on charges of drug distribution. The bong has been confiscated by authorities.
Phelps, 23, acknowledged use of the bong after a photograph appeared this month in a British tabloid.
Cover lady
First lady Michelle Obama will appear on the cover of the March issue of Vogue.
Every first lady since Lou Hoover - save Bess Truman - has been featured in the high-fashion magazine, but Obama is only the second to grace the cover. The first was Hillary Clinton.
In an Annie Leibovitz photograph, Obama appears wearing a magenta silk sheath dress by Jason Wu, who also designed her inaugural gown.
Editor at large Andre Leon Talley said Obama didn't need help picking her outfits. "She loves fashion and knows what works for her," Talley said.
TV's top 10
American Idol returned to the top of the TV ratings mountain for the week Feb. 2-8, according to Nielsen Media Research. The Fox show drew 26.6 million viewers to its Tuesday show and 26.4 million to its Wednesday show.
The remaining top 10 (in millions): Grammy Awards, CBS, 19.1; 60 Minutes, CBS, 16.7; Two and a Half Men, CBS, 16.6; CSI: Miami, CBS, 16.1; Grey's Anatomy, ABC, 15.3; House, Fox, 14.9; The Mentalist, CBS, 14.4; NCIS, CBS, 13.9.
New troupe in town
Four recent grads of Towson University's graduate theater program have started a new company - Nine Imaginary Cows Theater Collective - which makes its debut Feb. 26 at Baltimore's Theatre Project.
Temple Crocker, Ben King, Stephanie Santer and Tom Shade will present Shade's There Have Been Other Men in My Wife's Bed. It examines a marriage between two of the performers that has been broken by mistrust. The actors play versions of themselves, "but not necessarily truthful versions," Shade says.
The play will run through March 7.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS
Actor Leslie Nielsen, 83.
Actor Burt Reynolds, 73.
Singer Sheryl Crow, 47.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, 45.
Actress Jennifer Aniston, 40.
Singer D'Angelo, 35.
