Jack Wild, the former teen idol who earned an Oscar nomination for his role as the Artful Dodger in the movie musical Oliver!, died Wednesday after a long battle with mouth cancer; he was 53. Wild had initially been diagnosed with cancer in 2000, and was left unable to speak after undergoing chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy; he blamed his illness on years of heavy drinking and smoking, and was quoted as saying, "My lifestyle had made me a walking time bomb." Born in 1952 in northern England, Wild was discovered by a talent scout while playing soccer. He was cast in the London stage production of Oliver!, and his engaging, energetic portrait of the pickpocket the Artful Dodger, who sang one of the show's most famous songs, "Consider Yourself," won him acclaim as well as the role in the Oscar-winning 1968 film adaptation. His success in the film, which earned him Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations, led to the lead role in the 1970 children's show H.R. Pufnstuf, one of the first television projects from producers Sid and Marty Krofft. The fantastical, sometimes surreal show, centering around a lost boy named Jimmy, his magic flute, and the helpful, six-foot dragon of the title, cemented Wild's status as a teen idol, and he also released three music albums while a TV star. By the mid-70s, however, Wild's fame had faded, and he worked only fitfully through the 80s and 90s as he struggled with alcoholism, though he did have a small role in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. His last film credit was for the 2005 film Moussaka & Chips, which featured his Oliver! co-star Ron Moody. Wild is survived by his wife, Claire Harding. --Prepared by IMDb staff

Actress Jessica Alba has reportedly threatened Playboy lothario Hugh Hefner with legal action, insisting the March issue of his magazine suggests she poses "nude or semi-nude." The Fantastic Four beauty shot off a legal warning to the magazine mogul after realizing her image had been placed on the cover of the soft-porn publication, without her knowledge or consent. The letter demands Playboy immediately stops distributing the offending issue, and Alba insists a "monetary settlement" is appropriate. Alba's lawyer Brian Wolf claims the actress had previously turned down a substantial payment to be a Playboy cover girl and accuses the publication of tricking Colombia Pictures into allowing them a promotional shot from forthcoming film Into The Blue. Colombia Pictures have also written to Hefner, slamming the "outrageous, unethical behavior utilized by Playboy personnel to obtain" the racy shot.

Screen beauty Eva Mendes has hit out at rumors she is dating Walk The Line star Joaquin Phoenix. The Hitch actress, who is already in a long-term relationship, sparked rumors of a romance with Phoenix after the pair showed up at New York City restaurant La Esquina on Monday night. A source tells gossip site PageSix.com, "They were absolutely adorable together" and reports they "held hands and danced together" at Club Butter after dinner. The source adds, "It was weird - everyone knows she has a longtime boyfriend." However, Mendes' spokeswoman Nicole Caruso insists the actress was simply socializing with a work colleague, saying, "They are just friends. They are in town doing a movie together called We Own The Night with Mark Wahlberg. Eva is still with her boyfriend."

Actress Sophia Bush has applied for her five-month marriage to her One Tree Hill co-star Chad Michael Murray to be annulled, citing fraud. The 23-year-old, who separated from Murray, 24, in September, has filed documents with the Los Angeles Superior Court. In October a friend of Bush's told People magazine, "Sophia went into the marriage believing in the sanctity of marriage, and Chad simply did not share that vision." Hollywood divorce attorney Sorrell Trope said fraud claims are "difficult to prove," and advises the star to take the case to the divorce courts should her annulment application fail. The actress has recently been linked with a number of stars including actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Austin Nichols.

Academy Award-nominated movie Paradise Now is under attack from Israeli families who lost children in Palestinian suicide attacks, and they are urging Oscar officials to disqualify the film. The bereaved relatives claim to have a 32,000 signature-strong petition against the movie's nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. The movie charts two West Bank friends hired to be suicide bombers in Tel Aviv. Yossi Zur, whose teenage son Asaf was killed in a bus bombing, says, "What they call 'Paradise Now' we call 'Hell Now', each and every day. It is a mission of the free world not to give such movies a prize." The controversial film, which won a Golden Globe award for Best Foreign Language Film in January, explores the perspectives of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, and whether their frustration justifies resorting to violence. Steven Spielberg's multi Oscar-nominated movie Munich, about 11 Israeli athletes massacred at the 1972 Olympic Games, has also met with controversy. Film industry experts claim an Oscar nomination has never been withdrawn since the awards began in 1928.

George Clooney thanks newswoman Barbara Walters for killing his marriage plans because women are now convinced he'll never wed them. Walters interviewed Clooney a decade ago for one of her TV specials, during which the movie star swore he'd never wed again because "I wasn't very good at it." And when the actor, who was married to actress Talia Balsam in the early 1990s, re-teamed with Walters for a new special, which aired in America last night he admitted his anti-marriage stance has saved him a lot of time. He told Walters, "To this day, everywhere I go, they'll go, 'He's never gonna get married again.' Because of you, I don't have to (discuss marriage). It's out there. You've done all of the work for me and I thank you for that."

Photographers got more that they bargained for at a Hollywood fashion show on Tuesday night when a wardrobe malfunction left one of Lindsay Lohan's breasts exposed on the red carpet. The Herbie: Fully Loaded actress was unaware she was revealing a little too much until a GM 10 event staff member pointed out her boob, but the actress/singer took the slip-up lightly and giggled. She later stunned again when she donned a Valentino gown and joined Eva Longoria and Mischa Barton on the catwalk.

Pop superstar Madonna is to make her festival debut this spring when she performs at California's renowned Coachella festival. The singer will headline the Dance Tent on the event's second night and is already relishing the thought. She says, "I've never performed at a festival. I'm especially excited about playing Coachella before I start my own tour." Festival promoter Paul Tollett adds the big name signing came by chance. He explains, "We've got Daft Punk headlining the Dance Tent the first night and we were looking for something else that good. It just came up and we're super excited. She's so dance oriented right now." Madonna has previously performed at day events, including last summer's charity supergig Live 8, but her April 30 Californian appearance will be the pop queen's first weekend slot.

Sarah Jessica Parker has laughed off reports of friction with her Failure To Launch co-star Matthew McConaughey. An insider recently told MSNBC's The Scoop that the hunky actor found Parker "peculiar" and "couldn't bear (her)." However, the actress speaks highly of her onscreen sweetheart, saying he was "a pleasure to work with." The 40-year-old star adds she has been a victim of malicious gossip since reports of drama on the set of her long-running Sex And The City series surfaced years ago. She says, "I got branded as a bitch by gossips desperate for there to be bitter rivalry when the cameras stopped running. Matthew was a dream...the rumors are laughable."

Actor Dennis Weaver's widow, Gerry, has vowed to continue his work with environmental and humanitarian causes. The Gunsmoke and McCloud star succumbed to cancer last Friday at the age of 81. She says, "I intend to carry on his legacy. He's been inspiring me since I was 17-years-old - we were married for 60 years - so I'm sure he will continue to do so." Weaver reports that Dennis' Institute Of Ecolonomics, the non-profit organization dedicated to finding positive, economically sound solutions for environmental problems, is "going strong with lots of projects." One of the institute's main focuses is a bio-diesel fuel program that the actor had started, with country singer Willie Nelson helping to promote it.

Christopher Lee has hailed Irishman Pierce Brosnan as the best actor to ever play suave superspy James Bond. Lee, who played Bond villain Scaramanga in 1973 installment The Man With The Golden Gun and recently defended the casting of new 007 Daniel Craig, insists Brosnan depicted Bond exactly as author Ian Flaming intended. He says, "In my opinion - and I think I know as much, if not more about Bond than anyone, particularly about the characters on whom Ian told me Bond was based, Pierce Brosnan was by far the best and closest to the character."