CELEBRITY WATCH
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From staff and wire reports

LOS ANGELES, California -- Hoyt Curtin, who composed the catchy theme songs to cartoons such as "The Flintstones" and "The Jetsons," has died. He was 78.

Curtin died on December 3 following a long illness, said his son, Chris Curtin.

Curtin began composing for Hanna-Barbera in 1957 and wrote music for countless cartoon shows, including "Huckleberry Hound," "Yogi Bear" and "Scooby Doo." Curtin's most famous creation was the theme song to "The Flintstones," which he wrote in a panic in 1960 because the show was running behind schedule.

"It's a catchy little tune," Curtin said in a 1994 interview. "Just a simple thing arranged for jazz and singers."

HOLLYWOOD, California -- Malcolm may soon get his chance to be front and center. Fox Television is developing a big-screen version of the hit sitcom, "Malcolm in the Middle."

Linwood Boomer, who created the series about a middle-class family of four brothers and their exasperated parents, will produce and co-write the movie version for New Regency and 20th Century Fox.

While no deals are currently in place, New Regency says it's intended that the show's actors will star in the big-screen version as well.

NEW YORK – Talk-show host/comedienne/actress Rosie O'Donnell may be adding "lawyer" to her resume. O'Donnell, who dropped out of Boston University one semester short of graduation, is planning on getting a law degree, reports US Weekly magazine.

She could start taking classes in 2002 if she doesn't renew her TV contract when it expires then, according to the magazine. In an interview last month with "Today" show host Katie Couric, O'Donnell said that it was unlikely she would renew her contract.

O'Donnell recently announced she would be taking over the women's magazine, McCall's, which would be renamed Rosie's McCall's, starting next year.

LOS ANGELES, California -- Gervase Peterson may have been voted off the island, but now he's been voted president of the United States.

Peterson will spoof himself in "There Goes the Nation," a new cyber-show on the Web site urbanentertainment.com. He'll play Darwin Speeks, a "Survivor"-like character whose notoriety takes him all the way to the White House. The show airs on the Web site December 18.

Peterson has extended his so-called 15 minutes of fame into guest roles on "The Hughleys," "Nash Bridges" and MTV's "Say What? Karaoke."