Culturite

Authorities in Memphis say Isaac Hayes apparently died of a stroke. The deep-voiced soul singer died Sunday after he was found unconscious at his Memphis residence.

Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Shular said Tuesday that paperwork filed by Hayes’ family physician, Dr. David Kraus, lists the cause of death as a stroke.

Shular said no autopsy has been performed. No official determination has been released by the medical examiner’s office or filed with the Memphis health department, which issues death certificates.

Family members found Hayes lying on the floor of his home beside a treadmill that was still switched on. Relatives said Hayes was under a doctor’s care but did not give specifics.

Mark David Chapman, the man convicted of murdering John Lennon outside the former Beatle’s Manhattan apartment building in 1980, was denied a request for parole Tuesday, New York prison authorities said.

The two-member New York State Board of Parole said in its brief decision that discretional release for Chapman, 53, is “not compatible with the welfare of society at large.”

The board said Chapman’s release “would tend to deprecate the seriousness” of the crime he committed “and undermine respect for the law.”

It called Lennon’s murder “a horrendously tragic event which has impacted many individuals.”

Chapman was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1981 for Lennon’s murder, but became eligible for parole after 20 years.

In 1990, Chapman expressed his remorse for having shot Lennon to death but his first parole request in 2000 was denied because board members said he still had the same desire for “fame and notoriety” that led to the murder.

Tuesday was the fifth time Chapman was denied parole, after refusals in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006. He is serving his time in Attica maximum security prison in northern New York state.

“Gutter balls only, please!” someone yells during a rehearsal at the Lucky Strike bowling alley for the CW’s new series “90210.” So co-stars Jessica Stroup and Shenae Grimes downplay their bowling skills.

The spin-off on the fabled ’90s teen drama premieres September 2 (8 p.m. EDT). If the show mimics the hot bodies, hip fashion and angst-ridden affluence of “Beverly Hills, 90210,” it will also play edgier and less preachy, says co-executive producer Gabe Sachs.

“Look, we’re not stupid,” Sachs says. “We know people are probably expecting a cheese fest and that’s just not what we do.”

Sachs and partner Jeff Judah cut their teeth as producers on the quirky yet short-lived teen series “Freaks and Geeks” and “Life as We Know It.”