LONDON – Shiver me timbers!
Actor Johnny Depp shocked a London school by answering a pupil’s fan letter and visiting classes dressed as his character from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie series, teachers said Friday.
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Depp, 47, responded after 9-year-old Beatrice Delap sent a letter pleading for help in leading a mutiny against her teachers at Meridian Primary School in Greenwich, a district in southeastern London.
Dressed as his character Captain Jack Sparrow, Depp performed pirate songs and dances for the pupils during the visit with four other cast members Wednesday.
The actor is currently filming “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” at the nearby Old Naval College, an opulent 17th-century seafaring center designed by architect Christopher Wren, whose other works include London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral.
In her letter to Depp, Delap wrote: “We are a bunch of budding young pirates and we’re having trouble mutinying against the teachers! We’d love it if you could come and help!”
Teachers said they encourage pupils to write for a real audience in classes.
“This just goes to show it can reap great rewards,” acting head teacher Jo Graham said.
“The children across the whole school greeted Captain Sparrow with great applause and sang him their own pirate song,” the school said in a message on its website. “The event was great fun and the whole school are delighted to see that such creative writing for a real audience and purpose can lead to great things.”
Couple sentenced for trying to extort cash from Stamos
MARQUETTE, Mich. – A Michigan couple convicted of trying to extort money from actor John Stamos have each been sentenced to four years in prison.
Allison Coss and Scott Sippola were accused of demanding $680,000 from Stamos in exchange for embarrassing photos they claimed to have of him. They threatened to sell the pictures to the tabloids if he didn’t agree. The FBI says the pictures never existed. The Mining Journal of Marquette said a federal judge Friday gave the same punishment to Coss and Sippola.
Clinton Foundation gives to Penn fund
LOS ANGELES – The William J. Clinton Foundation is donating $500,000 to the J/P Haitian Relief Organization founded by Sean Penn.
The former president says the money will help provide health care, education and job training to tens of thousands of people displaced by the earthquake that struck Haiti in January.
Penn’s organization manages a refugee camp in Port-au-Prince and is working to relocate its 55,000 residents. The group also provides medical services, counseling and educational seminars.
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