‘Mr. Bates’ has real-life trouble
Actor Brendan Coyle, who played beleaguered valet John Bates on TV drama “Downton Abbey,” has been banned from driving after being caught behind the wheel after drinking.
Coyle appeared at King’s Lynn Magistrates’ Court in eastern England Thursday under his real name, David Coyle, and pleaded guilty to drunken driving.
Police said he was stopped while driving a BMW convertible on a nearby road on Jan. 1. A breath test recorded him as almost three times the legal alcohol limit for driving.
The Eastern Daily Press newspaper said Coyle’s lawyer told the hearing that the actor was returning from an alcohol rehabilitation clinic in Thailand when he was stopped.
Coyle, who is 52, was banned from driving for 50 months and ordered to do 100 hours’ unpaid work.
The Boss has a book deal
Simon & Schuster announced Thursday that Bruce Springsteen has spent the past several years working on a memoir, which will come out Sept. 27, four days after Springsteen turns 67.
The title, of course, is “Born to Run.” Financial terms were not disclosed, although his deal is almost certainly worth millions.
“Writing about yourself is a funny business,” Springsteen said in a statement that will appear in his book. “But in a project like this, the writer has made one promise, to show the reader his mind. In these pages, I’ve tried to do this.”
According to Simon & Schuster, Springsteen will tell his story with “disarming candor” as he remembers his childhood in New Jersey, his rise to superstardom and “the personal struggles” that inspired such classics as “Born to Run” and “Thunder Road.”
Springsteen has long spoken of his love for John Steinbeck, Flannery O’Connor and other authors. He is writing the book himself and began working on it in 2009.
Woman to repay Piscopo
A New Jersey woman has admitted stealing money from former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Joe Piscopo.
Under terms of a plea agreement, 40-year-old Jennifer LaRocca of Hackettstown pleaded guilty to theft.
LaRocca admitted her husband was hired to pay Piscopo’s bills and she unlawfully wrote checks for her own expenses using the funds between 2010 and 2014.
LaRocca has agreed to pay nearly $171,000 in restitution.
Morris County (New Jersey) prosecutors will recommend she be sentenced in April to probation on the condition she makes the payments.