Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, July 29, 1993                   TAG: 9307290005
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

PEOPLE

A lawyer for Steel denied the lawsuit concerned the unwritten biography. "I'm not at liberty to say what it's about" because the lawsuit is under seal, said Charles Morgan, who filed papers May 13.

David Kaye, a lawyer for St. Martin's Press, said the lawsuit concerned a biography of Steel that Lorenzo Benet and Vickie Bane are under contract to write. Benet and Bane wrote a 1992 People magazine article that described Steel's marriages to two ex-convicts.

A judge threw out part of a lawsuit by singer and actress Martha Raye, who claims Bette Midler ripped off her life story for the movie "For the Boys."

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jerry Fields dismissed all claims except breach of contract, said Mary Barnes, a lawyer for Midler, 20th Century Fox and the movie's producer and director.

Raye sued for $5 million last year, claiming breach of contract, fraud and negligence. She claimed to have offered to sell her life story to Midler several years ago.

Paula Abdul took the stand to deny allegations that her singing on her smash debut album, "Forever Your Girl," received a little uncredited help.

The 31-year-old pop star told a federal jury Tuesday that Yvette Marine sang only selected background parts and had "no input" into the lead vocals.

Marine claims that she sang lead vocals on four hits on the 1988 album and that Virgin Records credited her only with singing backup. Marine says her voice was blended with Abdul's to enhance her singing.

Under cross-examination, Abdul was asked if she agreed with a Virgin lawyer's claim that she has "all the vocal talent in the world."

"I have enough vocal talent to sell 12 million albums," she said. "Yes, I guess I have all the vocal talent in the world."