01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, March 30, 2004

An actor who has appeared on episodes of ER and The Drew Carey Show was shot twice by his father while he was eating lunch, police said.

Vincent Ford Jr. , 42, who uses the professional name Keith Diamond, had flown home to Queens, New York, to visit his ailing mother, the police said. He was eating in the family's kitchen Sunday afternoon when his father, Vincent Ford Sr., 81, walked in and shot him in the chin and torso, the police said.

The actor was taken to Mary Immaculate Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition Sunday night, said Detective Bernard Gifford, a police spokesman.

The police arrested the senior Ford on charges of first-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon. A .32-caliber revolver was found at the scene.

The motive in the shooting was unknown, but neighbors said Vincent Ford Sr. had Alzheimer's disease or dementia, according to published reports.

Scary Spice Melanie Brown is coming to Broadway.

Brown joins the cast of Rent on April 15, playing Mimi in the Jonathan Larson musical, which transplants Puccini's La Boheme to New York's East Village in the 1990s.

Brown, a former Spice Girl, is signed through Sept. 21, said Don Summa, a spokesman for the show, but the 28-year-old singer will be out of the musical for four weeks beginning sometime in mid-June to fulfill previous commitments.

On Sunday night, Denzel Washington ,Bob Dylan ,Ashanti ,Quincy Jones ,Mo'Nique ,Tracy Morgan and Willie Nelson were among the celebrities who celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Apollo at a gala concert taped for broadcast on NBC.

The evening was filled with memories, tributes and music. Herbie Hancock , along with Harry Connick Jr. and trumpeter Arturo Sandoval , paid tribute to the music of Duke Ellington . Dylan sang "A Change Is Gonna Come," made famous by Sam Cooke. Natalie Cole also performed, Willie Nelson and James Ingram sang the songs of Ray Charles , and Quincy Jones was given an award.

Apollo at 70: A Hot Night in Harlem will air June 19.

Close, but no dream job.

Brown University student Maggie Haskins made it to the final round of ESPN's Dream Job competition Sunday night, but the grand prize -- a one-year contract as an anchor on ESPN's SportsCenter -- went to University of Missouri student Mike Hall. Haskins and fellow contestant Zachariah Selwyn were voted off by the panel of judges (Tony Kornheiser ,Al Jaffe and Kit Hoover) , after the first round of anchoring tasks.

Then Hall and Aaron Levine had to perform a final SportsCenter segment that included highlights, breaking news and interviewing an athlete by satellite. Hall talked to quarterback Peyton Manning , Levine got baseketball star Carmelo Anthony. Compiled by Lifebeat editor Alexis Magner Miller from staff and wire reports.