Marvin Hamlisch 1944-2012

LA Times: Celebrated composer Marvin Hamlisch, best known for the Tony Award-winning "A Chorus Line" and the movie classic "The Sting," has died in Los Angeles. He was 68.

Family spokesman Jason Lee said Hamlisch died Monday after a brief illness, but he did not provide additional details, according to the Associated Press.

Hamlisch was a prolific composer. His work included the Oscar-winning score and song for "The Way We Were," as well as "Sophie's Choice," "Ordinary People," "Ice Castles" and, most recently, "The Informant."

Nora Ephron Dies at 71

People Magazine: Nora Ephron, one of the most powerful figures in Hollywood as the creative force behind such blockbusters as You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally, died on Tuesday at age 71.

The three-time Oscar nominee died in New York of pneumonia brought on by acute myeloid leukemia, her son Jacob Bernstein tells The New York Times.

Sarah Palin's Blockbuster

I think it needs a new title.

The Undefeated, the much-hyped Palin documentary, bombed during its second week in theaters, bringing in just $24,000 in ticket sales across 14 screens. The movie’s per theater average, touted as a relative bright spot by promoters, plummeted from $6,513 to $1,713, according to estimates by the industry website Box Office Mojo.

Kathryn Grayson Dies at 88

NY Times: Kathryn Grayson, the petite singer and actress whose operatic voice and campus-sweetheart beauty embodied the glamour of Hollywood movie musicals in the 1940s and ’50s, died Wednesday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 88.

Bettie Page Dies at 85

NY TIMES: Bettie Page, a legendary pinup girl whose photographs in the nude, in bondage and in naughty-but-nice poses appeared in men’s magazines and private stashes across America in the 1950s and set the stage for the sexual revolution of the rebellious ’60s, died Thursday in Los Angeles. She was 85.

If Only Life Imitated Art

I just caught the end of The American President while channel surfing.