NEW YORK -- David Levine, an artist whose witty caricatures illustrated The New York Review of Books for more than 40 years, has died. He was 83.
Levine died Tuesday at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan of prostate cancer and complications from other ailments. His death was confirmed by Robert Silvers, editor of The New York Review, who called Levine "the greatest caricaturist of his time."
Levine's drawings of politicians, celebrities, writers and historical figures typically had large heads and exaggerated features -- Albert Einstein with a nimbus of hair, Richard Nixon all 5 o'clock shadow and ski-slope nose. In one well-known image from 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson pulls up his shirt to reveal a gallbladder-operation scar shaped like the map of Vietnam.
The drawings defined the look of The New York Review, which sold them on calendars and T-shirts. From a few months after it began publishing in 1963 until he was diagnosed with the eye disease macular degeneration in 2006, Levine contributed more than 3,800 drawings to the Review, which has continued to illustrate its articles with old Levine drawings.
Tyra Banks to end talk show after 5th season
NEW YORK -- Tyra Banks is pulling the plug on her talk show.
The former model says the syndicated "The Tyra Show" will end after its fifth season. Banks says she's sticking with the reality show "America's Next Top Model" and is forming a new production studio with plans to make movies. She also promised new digital projects, but wouldn't give details.
In a statement on her Web site, Banks also paid tribute to talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey, who's ending her talk show in 2011.
About her own show, Banks told fans: "I've been loving having fun, coming into your living rooms, bedrooms, hair salons for the past five years."
Lil Wayne performs in hometown
From wire reports
NEW ORLEANS -- Lil Wayne emerged as a top-selling musician known for his clever wordplay and risque lyrics, but like rappers before him, he's staring down a year behind bars at the peak of his career.
The artist returned to his hometown of New Orleans for a performance Monday on what he's calling his farewell tour.
"I'm nothing without you," he told the screaming crowd of thousands of fans at the New Orleans Arena after opening the concert with "A Milli," which last year earned him a Grammy for best rap solo.
The 27-year-old rapper, whose real name is Dwayne Carter, pleaded guilty in October to a weapons possession charge and will be sentenced Feb. 9. His plea deal calls for a year in jail.
The charge stemmed from a 2007 traffic stop of his tour bus in New York when authorities said they smelled marijuana, and as they approached, he tossed aside a bag with a loaded .40-caliber handgun.
In a separate case, he also faces trial in March on felony drug possession and weapons charges in Yuma County, Ariz. More recently, he had to postpone a show one day after authorities stopped two of his buses in Texas and found marijuana. The case has been referred to the sheriff's office.
