NEWS: Rosemary Prinz, Linda Grover, Heigl, Rodriguez

Linda Grover, 76, dies; conceived Global Family Day
Linda Grover, 76, who devoted more than 10 years to establishing Jan. 1 as a worldwide day of peace, died Feb. 20 of uterine and ovarian cancer at the Washington Home and Community Hospices. During her career she serves as head writer for NBC's THE DOCTORS, CBS's SEARCH FOR TOMORROW and ABC's GENERAL HOSPITAL.

Heigl returning to GREY'S ANATOMY on Monday
Heigl’s due back on the GREY'S set on Monday, so it looks like Izzie will be in this season’s final five episodes. What happens after that is anyone’s guess.

UGLY BETTY wedding in the finale
Adam Rodriguez confirmed the worst kept secret in TV land: Hilda and Bobby are getting hitched in the series finale. “Poor Hilda gets her happy ending,” he says with a laugh. “She so deserves it. She’s a good mom, a good daughter, a great person, and you really never get to see her win. She’s always faced with these obstacles and these bad guys that come in and out of her life who never work out. And finally she meets somebody who’s willing to love her the way she deserves to be loved. So to end the show with her getting married and having that Cinderella moment for her is really great. I’m really excited about that. And for the character of Bobby, it’s a great way to show that this guy has really come full circle. He’s willing to get married and be a real grown-up finally. They’re a great couple I think the audience is going to be happy to see them get married and solidify that relationship.”

Nielsen: U.S. Ad Spending Down 9% In 2009
Overall spending was down 9%, from $128.6 billion in 2008 to $117 billion in 2009. Network television was down 9.9%, slightly below average, dropping from $22 billion to $19.8 billion. Syndicated TV was down 14.7%, with spot TV in the 101-2010 markets down 14.2%, and the top 100 markets down 16.1%.

Rosemary Prinz reflects on how times have changed
For 12 years (from 1956 to 1968) Prinz portrayed Penny Hughes on TV's AS THE WORLD TURNS — the Susan Lucci of her day — followed by a short run (in the early 1970s) as Amy Tyler on ALL MY CHILDREN.

"This was way before Women's Lib," she told The Times. "And there were many guidelines."

"You could never get divorced. That's why so many leading men died," she said, breaking into a laugh. "In order to further the story, you had to kill off the guy, because it was a woman's medium. And if you were a leading man, you never got to sign a long-term contract. You knew you were going to get bumped off because you couldn't get divorced."

Colombian TV soaps descend into soft-core porn
The actors and actresses who star in Colombia's TV soaps always seem to be on the verge of becoming the next hot thing - but sometimes the heat gets a little too high.