*The third-season premiere of TNT’s “The Closer” broke its own ratings record Monday, scoring 8.8 million viewers and 6.3 million households, according to Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research. The numbers for the cop drama, starring Kyra Sedgwick, set a new high for a series on ad-supported cable.
*Larry Seidlin, the wisecracking judge who presided in the dispute over Anna Nicole Smith’s remains and was lampooned for his sobbing announcement of the verdict, will resign next month. Seidlin gave no specifics on his plans, though rumors have swirled for months that he was considering a deal for a TV court show.
*”Nympheas,” a painting of water lilies by Claude Monet, sold at a Sotheby’s auction in London on Tuesday for $36.8 million. The price is the second highest ever for a Monet at auction, outstripping the $35.6 million paid Monday at Christie’s for “Waterloo Bridge, Temps Couvert.”
*Keri Russell is a mom. The actress welcomed her first child, a boy named River Russell Deary, on June 9 in New York, her publicist, Jill Fritzo, said Tuesday. Russell, 31, married Shane Deary, a contractor, in Manhattan on Valentine’s Day.
*Lawyers for Michael Jackson have settled a lawsuit brought by a finance company that claimed the pop star cheated it out of $48 million. The lawsuit by Prescient Acquisition, of Hackensack, N.J., was settled Monday just as jury selection was to begin. Terms of the settlement were not released.
*Tony Danza will reprise his lead role as Max Bialystock in the Las Vegas version of Mel Brooks’ hit Broadway show “The Producers.” He signed to take over Aug. 13 as the down-on-his-luck producer who hatches a wildly successful play despite his best attempts to fail.
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Personals was compiled by Alan Leo from Tribune news services and staff reports.
