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Albert S Ruddy, the Oscar-winning producer of The Godfather, has died aged 94.

Ruddy died “peacefully” on Saturday at the UCLA Medical Centre in Los Angeles, according to a spokesperson, who added that among his final words were: “The game is over, but we won the game.”

He produced more than 30 films including The Godfather, Million Dollar Baby and The Longest Yard.

His television credits included Hogan’s Heroes and Walker Texas Ranger.

With a cast including Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and Robert Duvall, The Godfather was a critical and commercial sensation and remains among the most beloved and quoted movies in history.

“Al Ruddy was absolutely beautiful to me the whole time on The Godfather; even when they didn’t want me, he wanted me,” Al Pacino said in a statement.

“He gave me the gift of encouragement when I needed it most and I’ll never forget it.”

James Caan (centre right) as Sonny Corleone with his co-stars in the Godfather - Al Pacino, Marlon Brando and John Cazale
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Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, James Caan and John Cazale as the Corleone family in The Godfather

When Ruddy won the best picture Oscar in 1973, the presenter was Clint Eastwood, with whom he would produce Million Dollar Baby, his second best picture winner in 2005.

Upon the 50th anniversary of The Godfather’s release, in 2022, Ruddy himself became a character on screen.

Top Gun: Maverick and Whiplash star Miles Teller played him in The Offer, a Paramount+ miniseries about the making of the film, based on Ruddy’s experiences.

Born in Montreal in 1930, Ruddy moved to the US as a child and was raised in New York City.

After graduating from the University of Southern California, he was working as an architect when he met actor Bernard Fein in the early 1960s.

Ruddy had grown bored with architecture, and he and Fein decided to develop a TV series, even though neither had done any writing.

Producer Albert S. Ruddy holds his Oscar as he makes his acceptance speech at the 45th Annual Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 27, 1973. Ruddy produced "The Godfather," which won the best picture of the year award. (AP Photo)
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Ruddy collecting the best picture Oscar for The Godfather in 1973. Pic: AP

Their original idea was a comedy set in an American prison, but they soon changed their minds.

“We read in the paper that a network was doing a sitcom set in an Italian prisoner of war camp, and we thought, ‘Perfect’,” Ruddy later explained.

“We rewrote our script and set it in a German POW camp in about two days.”

Starring Bob Crane as the wily Colonel Hogan, Hogan’s Heroes ran from 1965-71 on CBS but was criticised for trivialising the Second World War and turning the Nazis into lovable cartoons.

Ruddy remembered network head William Paley called the show’s concept “reprehensible”, but changed his mind after Ruddy “literally acted out an episode”.

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Ruddy then turned to film, with his reputation for managing costs prompting Paramount Pictures head Robert Evans to hire him to produce Mario Puzo’s bestselling novel The Godfather for what was supposed to be a minor, profit-taking gangster film.

“I got a call on a Sunday. ‘Do you want to do The Godfather?'” Ruddy told Vanity Fair.

“I thought they were kidding me, right? I said, ‘Yes, of course, I love that book’ – which I had never read.”

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Ruddy was married to Wanda McDaniel, a sales executive and liaison for Giorgio Armani.

They had two children.

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Oasis gig death: Witness saw similar incident and asks ‘were lessons learned’?

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Oasis gig death: Witness saw similar incident and asks 'were lessons learned'?

A woman who saw a man falling from an upper tier at Wembley Stadium says a similar incident at an Oasis concert over the weekend in which a fan died makes her wonder whether lessons have been learned.

Stephanie Good, 39, said a man fell during a Euro 2020 match between England and Croatia at Wembley in June 2021.

He landed “right next to where we were” on the “stairwell between rows of seats”, she said.

Named as Jon, he reportedly survived but suffered two broken ankles, a fractured femur and fractured pelvis just before kick-off.

Ms Good said she tried to give feedback but was unable to and felt the “emergency response was really lacking”.

Oasis, meanwhile, said they were “shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic death of a fan” at their Wembley concert on Saturday.

The man reportedly fell from the stadium’s upper tier.

In his 40s, he was found with “injuries consistent with a fall” and pronounced dead at the scene, the Met Police said.

Ms Good, an NHS manager from east London, said what happened at the Oasis gig was “so similar” to what she witnessed that it made her wonder “were lessons learned”?

Liam and Noel Gallagher on stage for the first Wembley night of the Oasis reunion tour. Pic: Lewis Evans
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Liam and Noel Gallagher on stage for the first Wembley night of the Oasis reunion tour. Pic: Lewis Evans

During that incident, among stadium staff “nobody seemed to know what to do”, she told the Press Association.

She thinks the man may have been trying to attach a flag to the front of a stand and “somehow managed to fall straight over”.

She said: “They (staff) didn’t seem well-trained in terms of how to respond to a really big emergency.

“Their stewards were kind of paralysed a little bit by fear, or they just weren’t well trained and didn’t know how to call for paramedics.

“It was us who were sort of shouting at them that they needed to get some paramedics.

“The first person on the scene wasn’t a stadium paramedic or St John Ambulance. It was an off-duty firefighter who had seen the guy fall and ran down to just try and offer some help.”

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Regarding the follow-up, Ms Good said staff moved spectators to other seats but did not ask for witness statements.

She added: “They didn’t seek any input from people who’d seen the incident or the aftermath of it. They didn’t seem interested in speaking to anybody about it.

“I was a bit concerned, because I felt that the emergency response was really lacking.”

She then tried to get in touch to give feedback, but was unable to do so and did not receive a response to a message on social media, she said.

A Wembley spokesperson said: “Wembley Stadium operates to a very high health and safety standard, fully meeting legal requirements for the safety of spectators and staff, and is certified to and compliant with the ISO 45001 standard.

“We work very closely and collaboratively with all relevant event delivery stakeholders – including event owners, local authorities, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority and the police – to deliver events to high standards of safety, security and service for everyone attending or working in the venue.”

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TV presenter Jay Blades charged with two counts of rape 

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TV presenter Jay Blades charged with two counts of rape 

TV presenter Jay Blades has been charged with two counts of rape, police have confirmed.

West Mercia Police said the 55-year-old is due to appear in court next week.

The force said: “Jason Blades, 55, of Claverley in Shropshire, has been charged with two counts of rape.

“He is due to appear at Telford Magistrates’ Court on 13 August 2025.”

Blades found fame on the furniture restoration programme The Repair Shop after he started presenting in 2017.

A furniture restorer, he was the face of the popular BBC show that featured people having their treasured objects repaired and rejuvenated.

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Blades was also the presenter of the BBC’s Money For Nothing until 2020 and took part in Celebrity Masterchef, Celebrity Bake Off, and Comic Relief.

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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs denied bail again ahead of sentencing

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Sean 'Diddy' Combs denied bail again ahead of sentencing

Sean “Diddy” Combs has been denied bail ahead of his sentencing on prostitution-related charges.

Judge Arun Subramanian said the hip-hop mogul had failed to show sufficient evidence he is not a flight risk and also cited admissions of previous violence made during his trial.

Combs, 55, has been in prison since his arrest in September last year.

During a two-month trial, jurors heard allegations that he had coerced former girlfriends, including singer and model Cassie Ventura, into having drug-fuelled sex marathons with male sex workers, while he watched and filmed them.

Sean "Diddy" Combs reacts after verdicts are read of the five counts against him, during Combs' sex trafficking trial in New York City, New
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Diddy fell to his knees after the verdict was delivered last month. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg

In July, he was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution – but cleared of more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking, which carried potential life sentences.

The rapper’s legal team hailed this a “victory” and immediately applied for bail ahead of sentencing, citing his acquittal on the top charges.

After this was denied, they submitted another application last week. Judge Subramanian has now rejected the request again.

In denying the motion for bail, the judge found Combs had failed to show sufficient evidence to counter arguments he is a flight risk, writing in a court filing: “Increasing the amount of the bond or devising additional conditions doesn’t change the calculus given the circumstances and heavy burden of proof that Combs bears.”

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U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian gives legal instructions to the jury, during Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial in New York City
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Judge Arun Subramanian heard Diddy’s trial and will also sentence the rapper

He also found that an argument by the music star’s legal team that the squalor and danger of the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), where he is being held, did not warrant release.

“The public outcry concerning these conditions has come from all corners,” the judge wrote. “But as Combs acknowledges, MDC staff has been able to keep him safe and attend to his needs, even during an incident of threatened violence from an inmate.”

As well as Combs’s bail application, his legal team has also filed a motion calling for him to be acquitted or given a new trial on the prostitution-related charges only.

The judge has not yet responded to this application.

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How the Diddy trial unfolded

How long could Diddy be jailed for?

Combs is due to be sentenced on 3 October and could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.

Discussions on sentencing guidelines which followed the jury’s verdict suggest it is unlikely he will be jailed for this long, with an estimate of around two to five years, taking into account time already served.

However, it is ultimately up to Judge Arun Subramanian to decide the rapper’s punishment.

On Friday, Donald Trump was asked during an interview about a potential pardon for Combs following speculation about the issue.

The president said it was unlikely, adding that the rapper was “very hostile” during his presidential campaign.

Combs, who co-founded Bad Boy Records and launched the career of the late Notorious BIG, was for decades a huge figure in pop culture – a Grammy-winning hip-hop artist and business entrepreneur, who presided over an empire ranging from fashion to reality TV.

As well as the criminal conviction, he is also facing several civil lawsuits.

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