Names and Faces

FILE - In this July 22, 2014 file photo, actor Nathan Lane speaks on stage during the “Live from Lincoln Center”  "The Nance" panel at the the PBS 2014 Summer TCA in Beverly Hills, Calif.  Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers announced Monday, Sept. 29, that the Broadway actor known for his starring role in "The Producers" has a deal for a picture book, "Naughty Mabel." Scheduled for next fall, the book was co-written by Lane and his partner, Devlin Elliott, and will be illustrated by Dan Krall. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - In this July 22, 2014 file photo, actor Nathan Lane speaks on stage during the “Live from Lincoln Center” "The Nance" panel at the the PBS 2014 Summer TCA in Beverly Hills, Calif. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers announced Monday, Sept. 29, that the Broadway actor known for his starring role in "The Producers" has a deal for a picture book, "Naughty Mabel." Scheduled for next fall, the book was co-written by Lane and his partner, Devlin Elliott, and will be illustrated by Dan Krall. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

Nathan Lane's first book is no shaggy-dog story. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers announced Monday that the Broadway actor known for his starring role in The Producers has a deal for a picture book, Naughty Mabel. Scheduled for next fall, the book was co-written by Lane and his domestic partner, Devlin Elliott, and will be illustrated by Dan Krall. In a statement issued through his publisher, Lane said he and Elliott were inspired by their overindulged, well-groomed French bulldog, known to her owners as "the queen of the Hamptons." The book is the first of a planned series about Mabel's misadventures.

Jane Fonda told an audience of activists and philanthropists that her mother had been sexually abused as a child before eventually committing suicide at 42. Fonda shared the personal story at an event commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Rape Treatment Center, which provides comprehensive free treatment for sexual assault victims. She hosted the Rape Foundation's annual fundraising brunch Sunday at billionaire Ron Burkle's Greenacres estate in Beverly Hills. Fonda said that while writing her memoirs, she reviewed her mother's medical records and learned she had been sexually abused when she was 8 years old. Frances Ford Seymour committed suicide when Fonda was 12. "The minute that I read that, everything fell into place," Fonda said from a small stage set up in Burkle's sprawling backyard. "I knew why the promiscuity, the endless plastic surgery, the guilt, the inability to love or be intimate, and I was able to forgive her and forgive myself." She said sexual violence is "epidemic," vowing, "I will support the Rape Treatment Center for the rest of my life." Lily Tomlin introduced Fonda, her 9 to 5 co-star and longtime friend. David Schwimmer and Eric McCormack also spoke during the luncheon, where guests included Viola Davis, Emmy Rossum and Sam Waterson. Gail Abarbanel, founder of the Rape Treatment Center and president of the Rape Foundation, introduced several rape survivors, including the mother of the victim of the 2012 Steubenville High School assault in Ohio. She noted her daughter's bravery in pressing charges against her attackers -- star football players who had the support of the community. The Rape Foundation provides free medical, psychological and legal services to children and adults, as well as training for first responders and sexual assault prevention programs nationwide.

A Section on 09/30/2014

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