Singer Michael Jackson Sues Auction House

On Wednesday, the singer Michael Jackson filed a lawsuit against Julien's Auction House to halt the scheduled sale of thousands of his personal items. The lawsuit claims that the founder Darren Julien promised to send Jackson an inventory of sale items, but Jackson hasn't given the permission to move them all. Many of the items that are up for auction are also considered priceless and irreplaceable. The attempt to sell them was described as malicious, fraudulent, extreme, outrageous, and without any legal justification as described in the lawsuit.

In December, Julien's Auction House announced that it would hold a five day auction in April for more than 2,000 of Jackson's personal items, including awards, clothing, celebrity signed items, a customized Harley Davidson, a Rolls Royce limousine, and artwork. Jackson's company authorized the auction house to remove the items from Neverland Ranch but not to sell them without Jackson's permission.

Actor James Earl Jones Gets SAG Life Achievement Award

The actor James Earl Jones is going to receive the 2008 Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in January. He has been devoted to advanced literacy, the arts, and local and national humanities. He was the voice of Darth Vader in the “Star Wars” movies and was the voice of Mufasa in the Disney movie “The Lion King.” He has already received two Tony awards, three Emmy awards, an Oscar nomination, and the National Medal of Arts.

Ozzy Osbourne Throws Garage Sale

Ozzy Osbourne put up some of his personal items for a charity sale ran by Julien’s Auctions. Items put up for auction included a coat with embroidered bats, sneakers with skulls on them, and a pair of Ozzy’s trademark round glasses. Ozzy fans were bidding against art buyers who also wanted the items. For most of the items the fans were outbidding the art buyers. People came from as far as Germany to try to buy the items. Items that were on the Osbourne’s MTV reality show were the most popular.

The bat embroidered coat sold for $3,300, the skull sneakers sold for $2,625, and the trademark glasses sold for $5,250. The coffee cup that Ozzy often used sold for $1,625. A dog bed that was given to Ozzy’s wife, Sharon, by Elton John sold for $2,375. Many fine art buyers wanted the sculpture by French artist Edouard Drouot and a painting by Gabriel Joseph Marie Augustin Ferrier. A pool table sold for$11,250. The entire auction made $800,000. All of the money will go to the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Grave Headstone Repossessed

It is reported in Springville, Utah that a cemetery headstone of a teenager who died in a car crash was repossessed after a $750 bill was unpaid. Memorial Art Monument said, "If we gave a stone to everybody, we'd be out of business."

The teenager and two of his friends died when the car they were riding in smashed into a sport utility vehicle a year ago.

Memorial Art Memorial said the bills they sent were returned and they couldn't reach the teenager's mother, who had agreed a year ago to pay the balance, so they had to repossess the headstone. The teenager's former classmates raised enough money to pay the bill and it will be put back this week.