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A brilliant academic and campaigner, Marilyn French will be best remembered for her life-changing feminist novel, The Women's Room. Kate Mosse pays tributeYesterday I was called by a friend at the Guardian, telling me that Marilyn French, author of the feminist classic, The Women's Room, had died. I was tramping the wet fields of Sussex, looking for a lost dog, worried that the roast I'd slung in the oven was probably burning. It seemed both a peculiarly domestic setting to hear of the death of so important, so radical, a writer - and, at the same time, strangely appropriate.Later I looked out my old Sphere edition of French's iconic novel of 1977. Battered and tatty, the silver mirror cover was still easy to find on my crowded bookshelves. The title, in bright yellow capital letters, against a black silhouette of a keyhole; the strap line - This Novel Changes Lives - in a bigger typeface than the author's name. I thumbed through it with affection, and an odd sadness for the passing of

Praised by Backstage Magazine for 'one of those rare voices with a soothing, almost hypnotic quality' award winning vocalist and actress Jill O?Hara, the original female lead in the Burt Bacharach-Hal David-Neil Simon Broadway musical Promises, Promises, reunites with Burt Bacharach at the annual spring gala for 92nd Street Y. What The World Needs Now?The Music of Burt Bacharach will take place at Kaufmann Concert Hall, 1395 Lexington Avenue, New York, Monday, May 18. Jill introduced the Bacharach/David pop classics I?ll Never Fall In Love Again, Knowing When To Leave and Whoever You Are I Love You. O?Hara went on to win a Tony nomination, the Theater World Award and New Jersey Journal Award for Best Actress In A Musical, while the cast album earned a Grammy Award. The concert event will also feature performances by Dionne Warwick, Sarah Dash and Elvis Costello. Proceeds from the Spring Gala support the 92nd Street Y's myriad of programs. Tickets are available by calling 212-415-5488 o

Music superstar Christina Aguilera has signed on for her first big screen project -- read on for more details. The four-time Grammy Award winner will star in Screen Gem's 'Burlesque,' Variety reports. Aguilera will play a talented singer from a small town who finds success and love while performing at a burlesque club in Los Angeles, says the trade paper.

Academy Award-winning actor Robert Duvall has fired a verbal salvo against plans to build a Wal-Mart Supercenter near a Virginia ...

The MTV Movie Awards will never outrank the Oscars when it comes to the prestige factor associated with a win. But where it outdoes the Oscars - and 99% of...

''Ruined' took the award for play and Brit import 'Billy Elliot' scored the laurel for tuner, while Scottish production 'Black Watch' nabbed the title for foreign production. A special citation went to director Matthew Warchus and the cast of 'The Norman Conquests' on Broadway. Career citations went to Angela Lansbury, currently appearing in 'Blithe Spirit,' and to Gerard Alessandrini, creator of the long-running 'Forbidden Broadway' series of legit spoofs.'...

TV News: 'Australians,' 'Border' also take home awards -- Nine's crime drama 'Underbelly' was the big winner at the 51st Logies, Australia's annual TV awards.

The show has captivated audiences this season, winning its Tuesday time period weekly among key demographics.

The first ever Just For Laughs Chicago comedy festival seems to be getting bigger and bigger by the week. The latest show joining the lineup is 'Comedy Blowout Hits Chi-Town,' hosted...

Venerable US newspaper and its biggest union suspend talks over job guarantees that the management wants to endThe future of the Boston Globe hangs in the balance following tense round-the-clock negotiations aimed at achieving $20m (£13m) of cost cuts to save the 137-year-old US newspaper.One of the biggest names in US journalism, the Globe sells 323,000 daily copies, making it the highest selling paper in New England and the 14th largest in the US. But its owner, the New York Times Company, has threatened to shut the paper unless it can stem losses expected to reach $85m this year.The Globe's difficulties follow the failure of leading US titles, including the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, in the worst downturn since the Great Depression. Classified advertising has evaporated because of its dependance on jobs, cars and property - all of which have been badly hit by the recession.The NYT Company had set a deadline of last Friday to reach a deal with unions on sweeping cuts, and later ex