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From staff and wire reports

Spector loses prized car, files suit

LOS ANGELES, California -- It's one thing to be busy. It's another to be so busy that you lose track of your favorite car.

That's apparently what happened to Phil Spector, and now he wants someone to pay, Variety reports.

Spector, the legendary "Wall of Sound" music producer of acts like the Beatles, the Ramones and the Ronettes, found out recently that his record-breaking 1964 Cobra Daytona coupe was no longer in storage near Los Angeles. It had been sold, instead, to a collector in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for $4 million.

In a suit filed to get the car back, Spector says he never gave or sold the car to anyone, and he was shocked to find it missing.

The confusion stems from the suicide death of the car's keeper, Donna O'Hara. Her mother apparently claimed she was the rightful heir to the car after her daughter's death and sold it to a Montecito, California, dealer for $3 million, who then flipped it for $4 million to the collector.

Marilyn's skirt gets new home

LOS ANGELES, California -- Actress Debbie Reynolds' prized collection of movie memorabilia, homeless since her hotel and casino venture in Las Vegas, Nevada, went broke in 1997, will reportedly be displayed in part of the $500 million entertainment, dining and retail project now under construction on Hollywood Boulevard.

The collection includes Judy Garland's gingham dress in "The Wizard of Oz" (1939), a pair of Garland's ruby slippers, and the billowing "subway skirt" which Marilyn Monroe wrestled with in "The Seven Year Itch" (1955).

Reynolds' foundation is expected to complete a deal this week with TrizecHahn Corp., Variety reports.

The collection will take up the top floor of the entertainment complex, which also will be the site of the Kodak Theatre, the new home of the annual Oscar presentations.

It's "a dream come true," said Reynolds, 69.

"This is Hollywood's history," she said. "It's the only work I've known since I was 16. It's my family."

Ouch! Jamie Lee Curtis makes laughing hurt

LOS ANGELES, California -- Toothpicks and thumbtacks -- two things that help keep Jamie Lee Curtis from ruining a comic take while shooting a film.

The actress, who currently stars in the comedy/thriller "The Tailor of Panama," says she laughs easily at co-stars' lines -- so easily that she has to find a way to keep a straight face.

"I have every trick in the book to stop laughing, including putting thumbtacks in my shoes. My favorite is to take a toothpick and squeeze it between two fingers because I laugh really easily," she tells The Associated Press.

Her comedy roles include 1983's "Trading Places" and 1988's "A Fish Called Wanda." Curtis also starred in 1994's "True Lies" with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and says there might a sequel to the hit film in the future.

"But I have yet to be given a start date or where to show up," she says. "So until I am, I can only say that we have talked about it, we have hoped it would happen. I think at some point it gets too late. There's a slight past due date that may show up and we haven't hit it yet."

Melissa Joan Hart: Racing 'changed my life'

NEW YORK -- Melissa Joan Hart enjoys life in the fast lane -- auto racing, that is.

Though the star of the WB's "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" admits she's a "techie weenie," she often logs onto the Internet to read about her passion. Her favorite site is www.cart.com., the auto racing organization's site that tracks the latest on burned rubber and checkered flags.

"It started when I raced in the Long Beach Celebrity Grand Prix," Hart, 25, says in Teen magazine's May issue. "It changed my life. Racing proved to me that, even if I start with baby steps, I can learn to do anything."

The next time her sitcom is on hiatus, Hart says she plans to take part in the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving to hone her skills.