CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

X xxxxy

xxxxxx x

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is having second thoughts about having ended the series with heroine Hermione Granger paired up romantically with Ron Weasley.

The hugely successful author tells Wonderland magazine she chose the red-haired Ron for Hermione for very personal reasons having little to do with literature.

She told the magazine she “wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment” and said the couple might eventually need relationship counseling.

The soon-to-be published interviewed was reported in the Sunday Times in London, which also quoted actress Emma Watson, who played Hermione, expressing doubts about the viability of her character’s relationship with Ron.

She told the newspaper that many fans doubt Ron can make Hermione happy over time.

Many fans had hoped Harry and Hermione would become a couple.

X xxxxy

xxxxxx x

Fran Drescher recently turned a corner in her life. She's gotten a new pet, a new man and a new job — on Broadway.

The Emmy Award-nominated former star of “The Nanny” is making her Broadway debut today as the wicked stepmother in “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella,” a step she knows is outside her comfort zone. “People should always push themselves to feel the butterflies in the stomach, to get nervous, to learn something you didn’t know before,” the 56-year-old says.

Drescher takes over from Tony Award-winner Harriet Harris on Tuesday night for a 10-week engagement through April 13 at the Broadway Theatre. Cinderella is also switching, from Tony-nominated Laura Osnes to “Call Me Maybe” Canadian pop star Carly Rae Jepsen.

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Comedian David Brenner is 78. Actor Gary Conway ("Burke's Law") is 78. Drummer John Steel of The Animals is 73. Singer Florence LaRue of the Fifth Dimension is 70. Singer Alice Cooper is 66. Actor Michael Beck is 65. Actress Lisa Eichhorn is 62. Singer Tim Booth of James is 54. Country singer Clint Black is 52. Guitarist Noodles of The Offspring is 51. Country bassist Dave Buchanan of Yankee Grey is 48. Bassist Rick Burch of Jimmy Eat World is 39. Singer Natalie Imbruglia is 39. Rapper Cam'ron is 38. Singer Gavin DeGraw is 37.

Associated Press