Monitor

MARRIED
Vince Vaughn, 39, and Kyla Weber tied the knot Jan. 2 at a small ceremony in Lake Forest, Ill…. Dreadlocked American Idol alumnus Jason Castro, 22 — who finished fourth in season 7 — wed Mandy Mayhall on Jan. 2 near Dallas.

HOSPITALIZED
Artie Lange, 42, a Howard Stern sidekick since 2001, was reportedly admitted to a New Jersey hospital on Jan. 2 for undisclosed reasons. During his Jan. 4 radio show, Stern called him ”a tremendous contributor” and denied that Lange would be leaving Stern, despite the fact that the comedian has been on indefinite leave since December…. Rush Limbaugh, 58, was hospitalized Dec. 30 with chest pains while vacationing in Honolulu. Doctors found no sign of heart problems, and the conservative radio host was released two days later. ”I have been treated to the best health care the world has to offer, and that is right here in the United States of America,” Limbaugh said Jan. 1. The commentator was scheduled to return to the airwaves Jan. 6.

BIRTHS
Matthew McConaughey, 40, and his girlfriend, model Camila Alves, 26, welcomed daughter Vida on Jan. 3 in L.A. The couple also has a son, Levi, 1…. Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson, 43, and wife Allison Bridges became parents to daughter Cheyenne on Dec. 26 in L.A. Robinson also has a son, Ryder, 6, with ex-wife Kate Hudson…. Former Dancing With the Stars champ (and Indy car racer) Hélio Castroneves, 34, and girlfriend Adriana Henao welcomed daughter Mikaella in Atlanta on Dec. 28.

UPDATE
Morgan Freeman, 72, is now the voice of CBS Evening News. On Jan. 4, his new intro replaced a voice-over by the late, legendary anchor Walter Cronkite, who died last July.

COURTS
On Dec. 30, a judge sentenced a former Ohio police chief, Barry Carpenter, 40, to 32 months in prison for breaking into the house of Michelle Ross, the surrogate mother who carried the twin girls of Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick. Carpenter was accused of attempting to sell items from Ross’ home to paparazzi. Carpenter’s lawyer has said he plans to appeal…. Redmond O’Neal, 24, son of Ryan O’Neal and the late Farrah Fawcett, was arrested Dec. 29 for a drug offense while on a 24-hour pass from a rehab center. On Jan. 5, an L.A. judge sentenced O’Neal, who’s been in rehab since September, to a 30-day drug-treatment program in jail for violating his probation on a previous drug charge. O’Neal is due back in court Feb. 2.

BACK AT WORK
Regis Philbin, 78, resumed cohosting Live With Regis and Kelly on Jan. 4 after a monthlong hiatus to recover from hip-replacement surgery. Philbin made his entrance while pushing a walker, only to chuck the device across the stage a few moments later.

REUNION
Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, 45, announced Dec. 31 on Twitter that the Grammy-winning grunge band, which split in 1997, will reunite this year.

DEATHS
Curtis Allina, 87, the candy executive who oversaw the creation of the now-iconic Pez candy ”character dispensers,” died Dec. 15 in Olympia, Wash…. David Gerber, 86, the Emmy-winning producer behind pioneering multiracial TV shows Police Story, Room 222, and In the Heat of the Night, died Jan. 2 of heart failure in L.A.
— With additional reporting by Stewart Allen

Casey Johnson (1979-2010)
On Jan. 4, 30-year-old Casey Johnson, pharmaceutical heiress and fiancée of reality star Tila Tequila, was found dead in her L.A. home. ”There was no evidence of foul play,” said LAPD officer Sara Faden. (At press time, the L.A. coroner’s office, which is conducting an autopsy, had not determined the cause of death. Johnson had a history of drug abuse, but a police source told People.com that diabetes could have played a role.) Johnson may not have been a household name, but as the great-great-granddaughter of Johnson & Johnson cofounder Robert Wood Johnson — and daughter of New York Jets owner Robert Wood Johnson IV — she grew up on the socialite scene with famous friends, including Paris Hilton. Johnson told Vanity Fair in 2006 that she turned down Hilton’s offer to costar in The Simple Life, calling it ”the stupidest mistake of my life.” (Hilton’s sister, Nicky, is reportedly godmother to Johnson’s adopted daughter, Ava.) On Jan. 5, Paris tweeted: ”In bed crying, looking at baby pictures of Casey, Nicky and I. I feel like I’ve lost a sister.” Johnson, who once dated Yahoo! CEO Terry Semel’s daughter Courtenay, got engaged to Tequila last month. The star of MTV’s A Shot at Love tweeted Jan. 5, ”We will Marry when I see U in Heaven.”
— Archana Ram