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• Benedict, actor in `The Jeffersons,' dies at 70

  BOSTON – Paul Benedict, the actor who played the English neighbor Harry Bentley on the sitcom "The Jeffersons," has died.

  He was 70.

  Benedict was found dead Monday on Martha's Vineyard and his brother, Charles, said authorities were still investigating the cause of death.

  Benedict began his acting career in the 1960s in the Theatre Company of Boston, alongside such future stars as Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino.

  Benedict went on to appear in a number of movies, including a role as the oddball director in "The Goodbye Girl" with Richard Dreyfuss. But he was mainly known for his role as Bentley in "The Jeffersons," which ran on CBS from 1975 to '85.

  ...(more) - 12 8 2008 4:55AM

• Zeffirelli: Pope Benedict needs makeover

  ROME - Franco Zeffirelli would like to make over what he called Pope Benedict XVI's "cold" image and his "showy" clothes, an Itali

  an newspaper reported Saturday, saying the film, stage and opera director offered his services in an interview.

  Coming after the media-savvy Pope John Paul II, "Benedict XVI still has a cold way of communicating, little suited to what is happening around him," Zeffirelli was quoted as telling the Turin daily La Stampa.

  "Even his wardrobe needs to be revised," the 84-year-old Zeffirelli was quoted as saying. "These are not times of high-tailored church wear." Instead, his vestments should reflect "sobriety," the director said. "The papal vestments have been done over to be too sumptuous and showy."

  John Paul II, often spontaneous and sometimes outdoorsy, had little use for fancy papal attire. But Benedict has taken to wearing some eye-stopping outfits in his public appearances, including a red velvet cape trimmed with ermine, a fur-trimmed stocking cap that some first mistook for a Santa Claus hat, and bright red Prada loafers.

  Zeffirelli, who has directed ceremonies at the Vatican, sounded eager in the interview to be an image consultant for Benedict.

  "If they give me an official supervisory role, I would dedicate myself to it full time," Zeffirelli was quoted by La Stampa as saying. "There is a great need for it."

  "I know (Joseph) Ratzinger personally," the director said, using the German-born pope's name before he became pontiff. "He's very attentive to the importance of how the sacred is represented."

  ...(more) - 12 16 2007 8:32AM

• Zeffirelli: Pope Benedict needs makeover

  ROME - Franco Zeffirelli would like to make over what he called Pope Benedict XVI's "cold" image and his "showy" clothes, an Itali

  an newspaper reported Saturday, saying the film, stage and opera director offered his services in an interview.

  Coming after the media-savvy Pope John Paul II, "Benedict XVI still has a cold way of communicating, little suited to what is happening around him," Zeffirelli was quoted as telling the Turin daily La Stampa.

  "Even his wardrobe needs to be revised," the 84-year-old Zeffirelli was quoted as saying. "These are not times of high-tailored church wear." Instead, his vestments should reflect "sobriety," the director said. "The papal vestments have been done over to be too sumptuous and showy."

  John Paul II, often spontaneous and sometimes outdoorsy, had little use for fancy papal attire. But Benedict has taken to wearing some eye-stopping outfits in his public appearances, including a red velvet cape trimmed with ermine, a fur-trimmed stocking cap that some first mistook for a Santa Claus hat, and bright red Prada loafers.

  Zeffirelli, who has directed ceremonies at the Vatican, sounded eager in the interview to be an image consultant for Benedict.

  "If they give me an official supervisory role, I would dedicate myself to it full time," Zeffirelli was quoted by La Stampa as saying. "There is a great need for it."

  "I know (Joseph) Ratzinger personally," the director said, using the German-born pope's name before he became pontiff. "He's very attentive to the importance of how the sacred is represented."

  ...(more) - 12 16 2007 8:32AM