A long-running legal battle between the four children of a late country music songwriter and their evangelist aunt ended Monday when a judge approved placing the family’s share of his catalog into a trust fund for them.

The closing of the estate by a probate judge in Hamilton, north of Cincinnati, ended five years of wrangling between the heirs of late country songwriter Darrell “Wayne” Perry and his sister, Darlene Bishop, who became executor of his estate after he died of throat cancer in 2005 at the age of 55.

His children had challenged her handling of the estate and accused her of persuading him to decline medical care in favor of prayer for the cancer. Bishop had said her brothers’ children have lied about her.

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A bone marrow drive for an 11-year-old “Lion King” star with leukemia has turned out to be one of the hottest matinees on Broadway.

Some 385 people registered as bone marrow donors Sunday in hopes of helping Shannon Tavarez beat leukemia.

Shannon played the role of Young Nala the lion cub in “The Lion King” for seven months before she was diagnosed with the life-threatening blood cancer in April.

Her best shot at recovering and returning to the theater is a bone marrow transplant, which requires a genetic match.

The bone marrow registry DKMS held a bone marrow drive Sunday at St. Malachy’s Roman Catholic Church in the theater district.

Shannon won the role of Young Nala in an open audition — her first ever.

Brazilian jazz great and Latin Grammy winner Paulo Moura has died after a fight against cancer.

A spokeswoman at the Sao Vicente clinic in Rio de Janeiro said Tuesday that Moura died late the night before. He was in the clinic receiving treatment for lymphoma. She spoke on condition of anonymity as she was not authorized to discuss the case.

The 77-year-old clarinet player was famed for his versatility as well as his virtuosity and he ranged across Brazilian folk music, jazz and classical orchestral music.

He won a Latin Grammy in 2000 for the best Brazilian roots album and was nominated but did not win in 2004 for best Latin instrumental album.

In 1962, he played with Sergio Mendes’ group at the historic Bossa Nova night at Carnegie Hall that helped launched the genre’s mass appeal.

Moura was considered by many critics to be one of Brazil’s greatest instrumentalist.

“Dexter” star Michael C. Hall has Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer, and is undergoing successful treatment for the disease, the actor said in a statement released Wednesday.

In the statement, reported by the Associated Press, Hall said it was a “treatable and curable condition.” His spokesman, Craig Bankey, said the disease is in complete remission, according to the AP.

Hall, 38, will be at Sunday night’s Golden Globe awards, where he’s a nominee for his role as as a serial killer in the Showtime series. The show is set in Florida, and based on a series of books by Florida author Jeff Lindsay.

Hall previously starred in HBO’s series “Six Feet Under.”

Bryant Gumbel (Getty Images file photo)

Bryant Gumbel, the one-time host of NBC’s Today and current host of HBO’s Real Sports, announced he underwent surgery for lung cancer on live television this morning, according to The Huffington Post.

Gumbel, who is standing in for Regis Philbin this week on Live With Regis and Kelly, said he had the surgery two months ago to remove a malignant tumor on his lung. He said he kept his surgery private, and that doctors took part of his lung.

Philbin is out, also due to surgery. He had a successful hip replacement recently.

A Boca Raton bakery is making a chocolate cupcake 4-1/2 feet high, 6 feet wide, topped with pink icing, handmade 5-inch sprinkles, and a cherry that’s 12 inches around.

The cupcake (brainchild of Laurie Braden, President of Global TV Concepts and the Big Top Cupcake(tm)) will be unveiled at Mizner Park Amphitheater Oct. 3 (Saturday), prior to the 7 p.m. THINK PINK ROCKS concert, starring AKON, Melanie Fiona, Shontelle, American Yard and DJ Cassidy. Tickets are $30 here.) Read the full story

OK, we all know that to many hot dogs are not that good for us (even if they are great for summer barbecues near the pool), but one Washington, D.C.-based group is suing to force hot dog manufacturers put warning labels on their product.

Today, The Cancer Project filed a lawsuit in Superior Court in Newark on behalf of three New Jersey residents, saying that hot dog makers are failing to warn consumers that eating hot dogs may increase the risk of colorectal cancer.

The group sued Nathan’s Famous, Kraft Foods/Oscar Mayer, Sara Lee, Con Agra Foods, and Marathon Enterprises, and said in the lawsuit that the companies need to put the following warning on their labels:

Warning: Consuming hot dogs and other processed meats increases the risk of cancer.”

For evidence, the group references a 2007 study published by the American Institute for Cancer Research that found that eating one 50-gram serving of processed meat (about the amount in one hot dog) a day increases the risk of colorectal cancer, on average, by 21 percent.

What do you think? Are hot dogs “as American as baseball and apple pie,” or are they potential killers? Sound off by posting a comment below!

Image on The Cancer Project's Web site

Beastie Boys fans got some bad news today, direct from MCA, Adam Yauch, himself.

Yauch has contracted a form of cancer in a gland in his throat, which will force the boys to cancel tour dates and push back the release of their upcoming album. He decided to release the news on YouTube, giving him a direct line to fans.

Here’s Adam, along with Adam “King Ad-Rock” Horowitz, talking about what’s coming next:

No need to apologize, Adam, you just get well. We’ll see you then.

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• Beastie Boy Adam Yauch Has Cancer, Tour Dates and Album Cancelled (radioexile.com)

NBC News next week will air a two-hour special on actress Farrah Fawcett’s battle with cancer.

‘Farrah’s Story’ is described as an extremely personal look at how the former ‘Charlie’s Angels’ star is coping and being treated. Fawcett has anal cancer.

Her friend Alana Stewart shot most of the video. Companion Ryan O’Neal and former ‘Charlie’s Angels’ stars Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson appear.

Fawcett says that she would have liked to have kept her cancer private, but realized others might benefit from learning about her experiences. NBC paid a licensing fee for the footage, but isn’t saying how much.