Bret Michaels injured at Tonys; DMX avoids more jail time

Poison's Bret Michaels, right, and C.C. DeVille performed at the Tonys.

Bret Michaels performed at the Tony Awards, and all he got was a nose fracture - and a busted lip.

According to Michaels' spokesman, the rock singer had X-rays taken after getting clocked in the head by a piece of a set at Sunday's Radio City Music Hall ceremony.

Publicist Joann Mignano says Michaels, who performed with his 1980s hair-metal band Poison, fractured his nose and had to get three stitches in his lip. He also got a CAT scan yesterday as a precaution.

The band performed "Nothin' But a Good Time" with the cast of Rock of Ages, and as Michaels exited the stage, a descending set piece smacked him on the head and knocked him to the ground.

Although he's "pretty bruised up," Mignano says, Michaels was in good spirits.

Rapper DMX was sentenced in Phoenix yesterday to more than a year of probation, avoiding more time in Arizona jails after spending two years in and out of the state's legal system.

DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, pleaded guilty in May to attempted aggravated assault after authorities said he threw a meal tray at a jail officer. He had been in jail serving a sentence for felony theft, drug possession, and animal cruelty and was released in May after nearly 80 days in custody.

In the latest incident, he was sentenced in Maricopa County Superior Court to 18 months of supervised probation and ordered to pay various fines and fees. He also was credited with time served and was allowed to serve his probation and undergo a counseling program in Florida, where he planned to return.

Bette Midler admits it takes a little work to keep her Las Vegas Strip show fresh - especially now that it's hit its 100th performance.

The entertainer marked the milestone Sunday in the Caesars Palace Colosseum. In a recent interview, she said focus was the key to keeping her song-and-sass act from "becoming a little like groundhog day, not a lot like groundhog day, but a little."

"I have to be in a concentrated place. Otherwise, I forget what I'm doing there," said Milder.

The performance kicked off a four-week run at the Colosseum; Midler has another 100 shows left on her contract. Since opening in February, 2008, the show has gotten tighter and quicker, she said, becoming the sort of "whirlwind" Las Vegas audiences expect.

The challenge, she says, is keeping up the pace during weeks off. "I try to keep my weight down so I don't have to redo my costumes every time I come back, which is really the hardest part," she said.

The busy schedule has kept her from closely following the political debate stirring up many in her fan base.

On the gay marriage debate, Midler said: "I watch from time to time. To tell you the truth, I'm not on the front lines, I'm in the zone."

She later added: "But I'm all in favor of gay marriage. I think it's fabulous."

Still, she has found time for some political distractions.

Midler performed at a fundraiser for Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid last month, her first opportunity to meet President Barack Obama.

She said she praised the president for his work promoting organic food through the White House garden. Midler has long been an advocate for community gardens through her New York Restoration Project.

Midler, a fellow Hawaiian, also gave the president a gift for his daughters: a bedazzled ukulele.

"He looked at it like he'd never seen such a thing before."

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On the Net:

http://www.bettemilder.com

/AP-CS-06-08-09 1223EDT

Officials in Gainesville, Fla., have renamed the city's downtown plaza after rock and roll legend and former Florida resident Bo Diddley.

Diddley died in June, 2008. Officials honored him Friday by unveiling a mural and renaming the downtown space the Bo Diddley Community Plaza. Diddley lived in Archer, a few miles southwest of Gainesville, and played at the plaza in 2006.

Diddley's grandson Garry Mitchell thanked the city at the ceremony, and he and other family members gave city officials one of Diddley's guitars.

"Gainesville's been really good to my granddad," Mitchell said. "Thank you for your encouragement and your prayers. Long live Rock and Roll!"

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