July 14, 1999
Web posted at: 5:53 p.m. EDT (2153 GMT)

• Arkansas joins lawsuit against Leach
• Stallones and studios reach terms
• Landau contemplates an appeal
• Hollywood mayor doesn't miss a beat with new pacemaker

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (CNN) -- Arkansas is joining a lawsuit against "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" host Robin Leach. That state and seven others allege that he and travel companies he promoted led customers, falsely, to believe they'd won free vacations.

Arkansas Attorney General Mark Pryor says what they actually "won" was the opportunity to pay up to $1,000 for a seven-day Florida vacation and a day-trip ferry ride with "Las Vegas-style" bingo.

"There is nothing free or fabulous about these bogus offers," Pryor says. "These 'discount vacation packages' often cost consumers more than airfare, hotel and fees would cost them separately."

Previous lawsuits have been filed in Connecticut, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

No comment reported from Leach, his attorney or the travel companies. A representative for Leach has earlier said that he's no longer affiliated with the businesses.

Frank and Sylvester Stallone

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Actor Sylvester Stallone, 53, and his brother Frank, 48, have reached a settlement in a two-year breach-of-contract case with two film companies, an attorney involved in the case says. The case stems from a Mafia-themed comedy that was never released.

They came to an agreement Monday night, as the case neared trial. Details of the settlement are to be kept confidential, says Barry Cohen, an attorney for Frank Stallone.

"We worked really hard to settle the case," says Richard Charnley, one of the lawyers representing DEM Productions, movie distributor FM Entertainment and producers Alan and Diane Mehrez.

Sylvester Stallone had sued the film companies and producers in July 1997, accusing them of improperly using his name and likeness to promote "The Good Life," which featured his lesser-known sibling, Frank.

The lawsuit alleged the star of the "Rocky" and "Rambo" series performed a cameo in the film for minimal compensation, but that the producers had promoted the movie as a Sylvester Stallone picture. The Stallones sought a court order to block distribution and pay compensatory damages of $20 million -- the elder Stallone's standard starring fee. At one point, the film companies had countersued.

Landau

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- A jury has ruled against Oscar-winning actor Martin Landau and his partners in a lawsuit involving a $30 million deal they say they thought they'd made with investors for movie projects.

The actor and his associates at Silver Street Pictures Inc. say Centre Reinsurance Co. of New York made an oral agreement to them in 1996 to back movies. Federal jurors decided on Monday there wasn't enough evidence such a deal had been made.

"Our position was we were still negotiating," says William Price, the attorney for the insurance company. "We're delighted that the jury was able to decipher the evidence and find in our favor."

Gregory Dovel, the attorney for Silver Street, says Landau hasn't decided whether to appeal.

Landau's acting career spans 44 years. His 1995 Academy Award was for his work as Bela Lugosi in the film "Ed Wood." First known to the television audience for "Mission Impossible," he went on to appear in Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest" (1959), drew an Academy nomination for his work in "Crimes and Misdemeanors" (1989) and appears in this year's release "EdTV."

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Hollywood's honorary mayor, 76-year-old Johnny Grant, is back at work after having a pacemaker installed on Monday.

Within hours, he was back at his desk, arranging his 51st USO tour, this time planned for Yugoslavia's Serbian province of Kosovo and to Macedonia, says Ana Holler, a spokeswoman for the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

For decades, Grant has served as master of ceremonies when new stars were placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.