Names and faces
■ Lady Gaga’s dog walker was shot and two of the singer’s French bulldogs were stolen in Hollywood during an armed robbery, police said. The dog walker was shot once Wednesday night and is expected to survive his injuries, according to Los Angeles Police Capt. Jonathan Tippett, commander of the department’s Robbery-Homicide Division. The man was walking three of Lady Gaga’s dogs at the time but one escaped and was later found safe. While Tippett confirmed that the dogs belong to pop star Lady Gaga, he said it’s unclear whether the dog walker was targeted because of his celebrity client. Lady Gaga, who is in Rome to film a movie, is offering a $500,000 reward for the return of her dogs — whose names are Koji and Gustav — with no questions asked, according to her representative. An email address for tips, KojiandGustav@gmail.com, has been set up. Police responded around 9:40 p.m. following several 911 calls reporting a man screaming and the sound of a gunshot, said Capt. Steven Lurie of the department’s Hollywood Division. The victim, whose name has not been released, was walking the dogs when a four-door sedan pulled over and two men tried to steal the animals. Tippett said that when the dog walker tried to fight them off, he was shot by one of the men.
■ Mr. Potato Head is no longer a mister. Hasbro, the company that’s made the potato-shaped plastic toy for nearly 70 years, is giving the spud a gender neutral new name: Potato Head. The change will appear on boxes this year. Potato Heads Many toymakers have been updating their classic brands in recent years, hoping to relate to today’s children and reflect more modern families. “It’s a potato,” said Ali Mierzejewski, editor in chief at toy review site The Toy Insider. “But kids like to see themselves in the toys they are playing with.” Barbie, for example, has tried to shed its blonde image and now comes in multiple skin tones and body shapes. The Thomas the Tank Engine toy line added more female characters. And American Girl is now selling a boy doll. As part of the rebranding, Hasbro will release a new Potato Head play set this fall that will let kids create their own type of families, including two moms or two dads. The Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head characters, which both have appeared in the “Toy Story” movies, will live on in some form, Hasbro said, but didn’t provide details. Mr. Potato Head first hit the toy scene in 1952, when it didn’t even come with a plastic potato — kids had to supply their own vegetable to poke eyes, a nose or mustache into. Hasbro, which also makes Monopoly and My Little Pony, bought the brand and eventually added a plastic spud.