Morning Report - News from July 10, 1999

Amicable Parting: Rolling Stone lead singer Mick Jagger and Texas model Jerry Hall have “amicably and formally agreed to separate,” and to obtain an annulment, their attorneys said Friday. The two reached a “mutually acceptable legal and financial settlement” after a brief hearing in the High Court in central London, they added. “Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall are determined that their friendship and mutual respect will endure. They will always be linked through the great shared love they have for their four children and their determination to both play their full part as parents,” a joint statement said. Details of the financial settlement were kept secret. Hall was believed to have been seeking up to $47 million and the couple’s luxury home in southwest London as her slice of Jagger’s estimated fortune of $240 million. The wording of the statement, referring to an annulment rather than divorce, indicated that Hall had accepted Jagger’s contention that their 1990 marriage according to Hindu rites on the Indonesian island of Bali was not legally binding. She had filed for divorce in January after Brazilian model Luciana Morad claimed she was pregnant with Jagger’s child. Morad gave birth to a son on May 17. Jagger, 55, and Hall, 43, have been together for at least 21 years. Hall was represented by Mishcon de Reya, the same law firm that Princess Diana used in her divorce from Prince Charles.

ART

Rothschild Record: The sale of artworks stolen by the Nazis from the Austrian branch of the Rothschild family set a record Thursday night as the highest ever in Europe involving a single owner. The total sale of 224 lots, including paintings, furniture and an illuminated manuscript of the collection of Barons Nathaniel and Albert von Rothschild, amounted to $90 million and set 27 world records. Among the record-setters was “Portrait by Frans Hals,” one of nine Old Master paintings, which went for $12.8 million, while the King Louis XVI Commode, which went for $10.9 million, broke the world record for a piece of French furniture. The top lot of the evening, the Rothschild Prayerbook, brought in $13.3 million, a record for an illuminated manuscript.

PEOPLE

‘Unsafe Left Turn’: Actor Jack Nicholson smashed up his automobile in a two-car accident that appeared to be primarily his fault, but no one was seriously hurt, police said Friday. The wreck occurred when the Oscar-winning actor was turning onto Mulholland Drive in the Hollywood Hills and collided with another car in the intersection early Thursday, Los Angeles police spokesman Mike Partaine said, adding: “Nobody has been charged, there’s no evidence of any criminal misconduct, nobody was driving under the influence, nobody was cited or arrested or anything like that.” Nicholson, 62, suffered a “slight laceration” to his right hand, and his passenger, a 29-year-old woman who was not identified, sustained no visible injuries, Partaine said. He added that “the primary cause of the accident is listed as an unsafe left turn on the part of Mr. Nicholson, with a contributing factor of speed on the part of the other car.”

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Road Heroes: Courtney Love and members of her band Hole came to the aid of two crash victims after an accident on the Trans Canada Highway outside Strathmore, Alberta. Members of the band were en route Thursday to Calgary for the Edgefest music festival when they saw a car flip about 18 miles outside of town. The rockers brought the two victims inside their bus and offered them first aid until help arrived, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said. The victims were later taken to a hospital. Police constable Daryl Bedard said Love later offered the victims free festival tickets.

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Liberty’s Champions: The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California presents its 1999 Torch of Liberty Award to film director Martin Scorsese and to Jason Flom, senior A&R; executive with Atlantic Records, Monday evening in Beverly Hills. Warren Beatty will present the award to Scorsese. Ramona Ripston, executive director, said the award was “created to acknowledge the invaluable contributions made by individuals from the arts and entertainment industry and the media whose work affirms the democratic principles that underlie the promise of ‘liberty and justice for all.’ ” A spokesman for the ACLU on Friday cited Scorsese’s films “Last Temptation of Christ” (1988) and “Kundun” (1997). Flom is being honored for his activities fighting mandatory minimum sentencing, and his award will be presented by Julie Stewart, president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums.

QUICK TAKES

Nickelodeon has signed a deal with Televisa, Mexico’s leading broadcaster, to launch a two-hour programming block beginning Monday. The weeknight block will feature dubbed versions of the animated shows “Rugrats,” “Hey Arnold!,” “Aaahh!! Real Monsters” and “Rocko’s Modern Life.” . . . Liam Neeson will chat online about his role as a Jedi master in “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace” on Monday at 9 a.m. at https://www.talkcity.com. . . . “Mystery Men” star Kel Mitchell, best known for his roles on Nickelodeon’s “Kenan and Kel” and the film “Good Burger,” will arrive at Universal Studios Hollywood today at 2 p.m. in “Mystery Men’s” 22-foot Corvette, billed as the world’s longest sports car, and perform the movie’s theme and other songs. The movie opens July 30. . . . Talk host Kenny Morse of KRLA-AM (1110) goes solo with his two Saturday shows beginning today and has changed their names. Now it’s “The Driving Show” from 2 to 4 p.m. and “Saturday Night With Kenny Morse & Friends” from 7 to 10 p.m.