People & Entertainment Last word on Sheen: 'The show is a hit'

PASADENA, Calif. - The top entertainment executive at CBS said Friday the network is concerned about Charlie Sheen's off-camera behavior but it hasn't affected his work as the star of television's most popular comedy.

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Actor Charlie Sheen’s off-camera antics are a concern for CBS, but executives are happy with his show.

Associated Press file

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Ayla Brown

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"We have a high level of concern," said Nina Tassler, CBS entertainment president. "How can we not?"

Sheen's messy personal life has been a godsend for the celebrity industry, providing such TV shows as "Entertainment Tonight," websites such as Deadline.com with gobs of ongoing stories.

The actor's antics have included a wild night that left a New York hotel room in shambles and sent him to a hospital, and a guilty plea last summer to assaulting his wife in Aspen, Colo. Most recently Sheen attracted attention by spending last weekend partying in Las Vegas.

"On a basic human level, there is concern -- this man is a father, he has children, he has a family. Obviously, there's concern on a personal level," Tassler said.

"But you can't look at it simplistically," she added, saying the actor does his job reliably well on "Two and a Half Men."

A reporter suggested a person in a different line of work would be fired for involvement in similar incidents.

"What do you get fired for? Going to work and doing your job?" Tassler asked.

Sheen's Monday night program has increased its audience by 2 percent over last season, the Nielsen Co. said. He signed a new two-year contract at the end of last season that makes him one of the highest-paid actors on prime-time television.

CBS respects the way Warner Bros. Television, the producer of "Two and a Half Men" and Sheen's actual employer, has been handling the situation, Tassler said.

"This show is a hit," she said. "That's all we have to say."

Massachusetts senator's 'Idol' to give Nashville a try

BOSTON - Ayla Brown is going country.

The former "American Idol" contestant is moving to Nashville, Tenn., to test her talents as a country singer.

Her father, Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, told The Associated Press this week that music producers in Nashville "want to work with her."

Ayla Brown's website says she's spending the coming week writing and recording at Starstruck Studios. It says she's moving there in early February.

The senator says he supports all his daughters' activities "as long as they're safe and healthy and using their heads."

Ayla Brown was a basketball star at Boston College. She now is a special correspondent for "The Early Show" on CBS.

She recently returned from entertaining U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Zsa Zsa's leg can't be saved

LOS ANGELES - Doctors in Los Angeles say they have successfully amputated most of Zsa Zsa Gabor's right leg.

They say Friday's surgery at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center was successful and the 93-year-old "Moulin Rouge" and "Queen of Outer Space" star is recovering.

Gabor had an infection in her leg for several months and doctors tried using antibiotics to save the leg. She was hospitalized Jan. 2.

Publicist John Blanchette says the wound wouldn't heal, making the surgery necessary.