Sad news this morning: Legendary showbiz reporter Army Archerd passed away in Los Angeles yesterday, following an extended battle with cancer. He'll long be remembered for the daily 900-word column he wrote for Variety from 1953 to 2005. Archerd had been suffering from mesothelioma, a rare cancer typically caused by asbestos, to which he had been exposed during WWII while in the Navy. He was 87. [Variety]