‘Personal issues’ send Jesse James in search of professional help

LOS ANGELES — Jesse James reportedly is seeking professional help to deal with “personal issues” after a cheating scandal that has put his nearly five-year marriage to Sandra Bullock on the line.

His representative told People magazine in a statement Tuesday that James “realized that this time was crucial to help himself, help his family and help save his marriage.”

The representative did not specify the type of treatment facility.

Bullock was on a career high that culminated with an Oscar win for “The Blind Side” just before Internet rumors of James’ infidelity surfaced.

The two walked hand-in-hand down Oscar’s red carpet, celebrated together at the parties afterward and were photographed outside a Long Beach burger joint the day after the awards.

A call placed to James’ representative after business hours Tuesday was not immediately returned.

Stewart headed back to Bradway in Mamet revival

NEW YORK — Patrick Stewart will star in David Mamet’s next Broadway production, a revival of “A Life in the Theatre,” opening this fall.

Producer Jeffrey Richards announced Tuesday that rehearsals will begin Aug. 23 for the play, first seen in Chicago in 1977 and then off-Broadway.

“A Life in the Theatre” is a backstage tale about the relationship between an older performer and a younger performer. The other role is still to be cast. The director is Neil Pepe.

Stewart was last seen on Broadway in 2008, playing the title character in “Macbeth.”

Pepe also directed the 2008 Broadway revival of Mamet’s “Speed-the-Plow.”

Vonn delighted with bit role

LOS ANGELES — Lindsey Vonn is going from Olympic star to “Law & Order” bit player and said she’s delighted about it.

“How many people get to appear on their favorite TV show?” Vonn said Wednesday in a statement released by NBC and series creator Dick Wolf.

In the crime drama’s season finale, the skier will play an administrative assistant with a vital clue in a case involving a terrorist, NBC said. She’s set to film her scene with series stars Jeremy Sisto, Anthony Anderson and Alana de la Garza next week in Brooklyn.

The episode, written and directed by executive producer Rene Balcer, will air in May. The date was not announced.

Vonn, who won a gold medal in downhill skiing and captured a bronze in the super-G, announced during the games that she had been invited to take part in “Law & Order.”

The series, in its 20th season, airs Mondays at 10 p.m. EDT.

Swiss await Polanski ruling

GENEVA — Switzerland’s decision on extraditing Roman Polanski will be made after a California court rules whether he can be sentenced in absentia in a 33-year-old sex case, a Swiss official said Wednesday.

Justice Ministry spokesman Folco Galli said that a judgment on sending the Oscar-winning film director, who is 76, back to Los Angeles was still pending, but he provided the clearest timeline to date for when Swiss authorities may close their examination.

“This action allows the extradition process to adapt to the U.S. proceedings,” Galli said.