Quick Takes: A big art find for Madrid

Authorities recovered a collection of art pieces that included works by Picasso, Colombian artist Fernando Botero and Spanish sculptor Eduardo Chillida and which was stolen from a Madrid warehouse last month, Spanish police said Monday.

Specialized Crimes unit chief Dionisio Martin said the art was found in a stolen truck in an industrial area on Madrid’s southern outskirts.

The pieces, recovered Saturday, had a total value of about $6.5 million, Martin said.

He said 35 pieces were stolen and that one remained missing. No arrests have been made so far but the investigation is continuing.

—Associated Press

Apollo to alight at Getty Villa

The city of Pompeii — devastated by Vesuvius in AD 79 — remains one of the top tourist attractions in the world. In March, a statue of the god Apollo recovered from the ancient Roman site will go on display at the Getty Villa in Malibu.

The Getty said that the bronze statue of Apollo Saettante (Apollo as an Archer) from Pompeii will go on view from March 2 to Sept. 12 in an exhibition called “Apollo From Pompeii: Investigating an Ancient Bronze.”

The Apollo Saettante arrived in Los Angeles on loan for study and conservation treatment in 2009 as part of a collaboration with the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. The statue dates from about 100 BC, the Getty said.

—David Ng

Betty White tops on AP list

After a year remarkable for a star of any age, Betty White has been voted the Entertainer of the Year by members of the Associated Press.

White, 88, starred in a TV series, “Hot in Cleveland,” hosted “Saturday Night Live,” was featured in a Super Bowl commercial and received a lifetime achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild.

But more than acclaim, her unlikely, age-defying success resonated deeply with people who saw in her a spirited, hilarious aberration, a woman not dimmed by age but enhanced by it.

“It’s ridiculous,” White said of the honor in an interview from her home in Los Angeles. “They haven’t caught on to me, and I hope they never do.”

There were 102 ballots submitted from U.S. news organizations that make up the AP’s membership. Voters were asked to cast their ballots for who had the most influence on the entertainment world and culture in 2010. Previous winners include Taylor Swift, Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert.

—Associated Press

Morgan ‘well’ after transplant

Actor and comedian Tracy Morgan is recovering from a kidney transplant undergone earlier this month, his publicist said Monday.

Morgan, 42, will miss at least two episodes of the television show “30 Rock,” in which he costars with Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin and plays a caricature of his own days on “Saturday Night Live.” His successful transplant occurred around Dec. 10.

“Tracy is doing well and taking some much needed time to recover after the surgery,” said the publicist’s statement. “He is looking forward to going back to work after the holidays.”

Morgan was diagnosed with diabetes nearly 15 years ago, but said in his first “30 Rock” season he did not take the disease seriously. The episodes Morgan will miss are due to air in March.

—Reuters

London gallery’s birthday treat

London’s Dulwich Picture Gallery turns 200 in January, and the museum is in for a birthday treat of 12 masterpieces from around the world, one for every month of its anniversary year.

The paintings to be loaned to the gallery in the south of the capital include major works by Velazquez, Vermeer, El Greco, Veronese, Rembrandt, Ingres, Van Gogh, Gainsborough, Constable and Hockney.

“It’s like a year-long advent calendar of your dreams,” said gallery director Ian Dejardin.

The Picture Gallery was established in 1811 when art collector Sir Francis Bourgeois died in a riding accident on Dulwich Common, leaving in his will a collection he had amassed with his business partner, Noel Desenfans, to Dulwich College, a boys’ school on the outskirts of London.

—Reuters

Finally

Holiday music: KKJZ-FM (88.1) will serve up a 32-hour marathon of holiday jazz music beginning at 6 a.m. Friday, featuring artists such as Louis Armstrong, Wynton Marsalis, Al Jarreau, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett.