Showbiz: Last act in Harrison Ford's 20-year marriage

Actor Harrison Ford and screenwriter Melissa Mathison have officially ended their marriage of nearly 20 years, according to court papers made public yesterday.

A final decree in the uncontested divorce was entered on Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the documents said.

A spokeswoman for the 61-year-old star confirmed that the divorce was final but had no further comment.

Ford, whose most famous roles include the swaggering Star Wars space hero Han Solo and the rugged adventurer Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, married Mathison in March 1983. They met in 1976 while she was working as an assistant on the set of Apocalypse Now.

Mathison, 53, went on to become a successful screenwriter, earning an Oscar nomination for 1982's hit E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. She also wrote Kundun (1997) and The Black Stallion (1979).

The couple announced in November 2000 that they were separating and hoped to work out their differences, but Mathison filed for legal separation the following August, seeking custody of their two teenage children.

Custody arrangements under the divorce were not disclosed in the court documents. Ford also has two adult sons from his first marriage, which ended in divorce in 1979.

For the past two years, Ford has been dating TV's former Ally McBeal star Calista Flockhart, 39. She and her adopted son, Liam, reportedly moved in with Ford last year.

Son for Hudson

It's a boy for actress Kate Hudson and her husband, musician Chris Robinson.

Ryder Russell Robinson was born Wednesday in Los Angeles. He weighed 3.9kg, said the couple's spokesman, Brad Cafarelli. The baby is the couple's first child.

Hudson, 24, is the daughter of actress Goldie Hawn. She and former Black Crowes singer Robinson, 37, have been married since 2000.

Charles so hip

Ray Charles says he'll return to the stage in March after recovering from hip replacement surgery.

His March 2 concert at New York City's Lincoln Centre will be his first performance in eight months.

"I am absolutely thrilled at the prospect of going back to work before the public I love," Charles, 73, said.

"Music and performing are in my blood. I need them like oxygen."

Charles last performed in July, but acute discomfort in his left hip forced the singer-pianist to cancel his remaining tour dates. It was the first time Charles had cancelled a tour in 53 years.

He is undergoing physiotherapy at his Beverly Hills home and recording a duets album with several musicians, including Norah Jones, James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt and Willie Nelson, spokesman Jerry Digney said.

A movie based on his life story, Unchain My Heart: The Ray Charles Story, starring Jamie Foxx, has finished filming.

Beatles up close

Candid footage of the Fab Four from the height of Beatlemania is to be seen for the first time to mark the 40th anniversary of their United States debut.

The access-all-areas film recorded their first footsteps in America, capturing John, Paul, George and Ringo's effect on a huge new audience.

It is now to be issued on DVD next month and includes groundbreaking moments such as the Beatles' legendary appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.

The intimate scenes were shot by pioneering film-makers Albert and David Maysles, who shot closely at the shoulder of the quartet.

They formed part of a black-and-white 40-minute film shown in the US and on British TV in 1964. But the footage has now been upgraded and extended to 80 minutes using previously unseen footage.

And the DVD - called The Beatles' First US Visit - also includes a 50-minute "making of" with further scenes which have not been used before.

Cox pregnant

Courteney Cox has found a way to fill her spare time post-Friends. The star is expecting her first child with husband and fellow actor David Arquette, reports E!Online.

No other details were released by the couple's publicist.

They have talked publicly about their infertility woes and just recently denied a report that Cox was with child.

Rumours of a pregnancy began when Arquette's brother, Alexis, let slip the potential family secret while taping Sharon Osbourne's talk show in October.

Cox's publicist rushed to deny the story and the segment was re-edited before making it to air to exclude the announcement.

Just weeks before Alexis' slip up, the duo had revealed their conception woes to 20/20's Barbara Walters. In her effort to become a mum, Cox told Walters she has suffered "many miscarriages".