honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, January 5, 2009

Travoltas mourn their son's death

— Advertiser news services

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Travolta and Preston.

spacer spacer
Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Paris Hilton

spacer spacer
Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Pat Hingle

spacer spacer

FREEPORT, Bahamas — John Travolta said yesterday he and his wife, Kelly Preston, are "heartbroken" over the death of their chronically ill 16-year-old son, who collapsed at the family's vacation home on Grand Bahama.

Police Superintendent Basil Rahming has said a caretaker found Jett Travolta unconscious in a bathroom late Friday morning and he was later pronounced dead at a Freeport hospital. The youth, who was prone to seizures, was last seen entering the bathroom on Thursday, according to Rahming's police statement.

"We are heartbroken that our time with him was so brief. We will cherish the time we had with him for the rest of our lives," Travolta and Preston said in their first public statement since Jett's death.

The Bahamas' health minister, Dr. Hubert Minnis, has said that a second, U.S.-certified pathologist, will fly in today to assist with the teenager's autopsy.

HILTON HEIST MAY BE INSIDE JOB

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Police Department investigators believe the $2 million jewelry heist at Paris Hilton's Mulholland Estates mansion last month probably was done by someone familiar with the home's layout.

Detectives are investigating a number of potential suspects based on information gathered from the scene and interviews with Hilton.

Hilton's bedroom was ransacked during the overnight burglary, but police sources said security video showed a thief who knew the home and was able to quickly find Hilton's jewelry collection, which includes several family heirlooms.

"I think whoever did this, definitely has been (in my home) before. We have some suspects that I'm thinking of," Hilton said in a recent television interview with E! News.

'COMMISSIONER GORDON' DIES

CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. — Pat Hingle, a veteran actor whose career included a recurring role as Commissioner Gordon in several Batman movies in the 1990s, has died after battling blood cancer. He was 84.

A family friend said Hingle died at his home in Carolina Beach shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday. A family spokeswoman said Hingle was diagnosed with myelodysplasia in November 2006.

Hingle's career in movies and television spanned six decades, and he was also nominated for a Tony Award in 1958. Hingle's last movie was "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," which was released in 2006.

'MARLEY' STILL TOP DOG AT BOX OFFICE

LOS ANGELES — Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson and their little dog have not lost their box office bite.

The family tale "Marley & Me," starring Aniston and Wilson as owners of an adorably mischievous pooch, took in $24.1 million to finish as the No. 1 movie for a second-straight weekend, according to studio estimates yesterday.

The flick raised its total to $106.5 million since opening Christmas Day.

With no new wide releases, the weekend shaped up largely like the previous one, with the Adam Sandler comedy "Bedtime Stories" in second place with $20.3 million.

Rounding out the top five were Paramount's romantic drama "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" with $18.4 million, MGM's World War II saga "Valkyrie" with $14 million and the Warner Bros. comedy "Yes Man" with $13.9 million.