CELEBRITY WATCH
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June 20, 2000
Web posted at: 2:39 p.m. EDT (1839 GMT)

From staff and wire reports

Today's buzz stories:

• Mick doesn't want world to know what he makes
• What a wonderful Wilberforce: Charles gives university $2 million
• Leach settles with states over vacation pitch
• B.B. King brings the blues to Big Apple

NEW YORK -- Mick Jagger is reluctant to reveal just how much he's raking in.

A Family Court official ordered the Rolling Stones rocker Monday to disclose his net worth to help determine what Jagger should provide for a son he fathered.

"Why should the entire world know what he is worth in order (for the court) to fix support for a 1-year-old?" lawyer John Vassallo said after a hearing, noting that Jagger can pay any reasonable child support ordered by the court.

In March, examiner David Kirshblum ordered Jagger to pay $10,000 in child support for son Lucas Morad Jagger.

But the boy's mom, Brazilian model Luciana Morad, now wants $35,000, saying she needs more for rent, nannies, and trips to Europe and Brazil, among other things.

WILBERFORCE, Ohio -- Ray Charles was so wild about Wilberforce University, he decided to give it $2 million.

The musician, who made the gift through the Ray Charles Robinson Foundation for Hearing Disorders, visited the 1,000-student, historically black university in December to receive an honorary doctorate.

"I was impressed on my campus visit with the quality of the students and the faculty," Charles said. "In my small way, I wanted to be part of this great history."

The largest single gift in the school's history will fund entertainment scholarships and pay visiting artists.

HARTFORD, Connecticut -- When Robin Leach touts a fabulous vacation from now on, you can be pretty sure he's real familiar with it.

The ex-host of "The Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" reached a settlement with attorneys general from 12 states regarding an endorsement of some Florida vacations, they announced Monday.

An ad featuring Leach promised dream vacations on behalf of National Travel Services Inc. and Plaza Resorts Inc. of Fort Lauderdale, but consumers said the packages didn't live up. The states said Leach didn't investigate the packages and couldn't back up the claims.

Leach didn't admit he did anything wrong, saying the travel business used his image without permission, but he did agree to endorse only products with which he's personally familiar, in keeping with Federal Trade Commission rules.

"The lawsuit really is a powerful warning to celebrity pitchmen that they will be held accountable," Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said.

NEW YORK -- B.B. King didn't let iffy business abilities get in the way of his latest blues music venture. He just hired someone else to run it.

"I'm a terrible businessman. Awful," said King, whose B.B. King Blues Club & Grill opened Tuesday in Times Square. "But when you find people you trust, you'll be OK."

King, who at age 74 still plays 200 shows a year, will perform for the opening week, followed by a lineup that includes Robert Green, Koko Taylor and Chaka Khan.