Oprah Winfrey tops Forbes list of highest-paid celebrities

Although her OWN cable network is struggling for ratings, the Big O is still queen of bringing in the green.

Oprah Winfrey raked in $165 million from May 2011 to May 2012 and landed at No. 1 on Forbes' new list of highest-paid celebrities.

At No. 2 is director Michael Bay, who earned $160 million for "Transformers: Dark of the Moon."

Rounding out the top five are: Steven Spielberg ($130 million, No. 3), Jerry Bruckheimer ($115 million, No. 4), and Eminem's rap mentor, Dr. Dre ($110 million, No. 5).

Other celebs rolling in the dough include Tyler Perry ($105 million, No. 6), Howard Stern ($85 million, No. 7), and Simon Cowell ($90 million, No. 10).

For the full list, go to www.forbes.com.

'Motown' casting on Broadway

Tony-nominated actor Brandon Victor Dixon ("The Color Purple") will play Berry Gordy Jr. and Valisia LeKae ("The Book of Mormon") will play legendary Supremes singer Diana Ross when "Motown: The Musical" opens next year on Broadway.

Motown founder Gordy and producers Kevin McCollum and Doug Morris announced Monday that "Motown: The Musical" will open April 14 at New York's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Preview performances start March 11.

Veteran entertainer Charles Randolph-Wright is directing the show. For more, go to www.motownthemusical.com.

DSO fills spots

With the start of the 2012-13 season just a month away, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra continues to rebuild its post-strike ranks, filling its principal flute and principal percussion positions.

Flutist David Buck, 30, a former member of the Los Angeles Philharmoni! c and Or egon Symphony, and percussionist Joseph Becker, 26, formerly of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, will join the DSO on Sept. 28.

For more on the new season, go to http://dso.org.

Briefly

The Rolling Stones spent time in a Paris recording studio last week, www.rollingstone.com reports. The band was also photographed exiting an unidentified studio Aug. 21. There has been speculation for months about whether the Stones would record this year to mark the group's 50th anniversary.

Madonna, who canceled the Australian leg of her MDNA tour in July, posted an audio message to YouTube on Monday and apologized to her fans. "Please forgive me and know that when I do come to Australia, I will have made the wait worth your while and I will put on the greatest show on Earth," she said. "I haven't forgotten about you." Madge, whose current tour comes home to Joe Louis Arena on Nov. 8, hasn't played a concert Down Under in 20 years.

Robin Roberts said Monday on "Good Morning America" that she'll begin an extended medical leave after Friday's edition of the ABC morning show. Roberts, 51, who has been diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, said she'll be hospitalized next week to prepare for a bone-marrow transplant that will take place about 10 days later. She added that she's "very blessed" and plans to return to "GMA" after she recovers.

"Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" actor Stellan Skarsgard, 61, welcomed a son, his eighth child, on Friday, according to the Hollywood Reporter. It's Skarsgard's second child with wife Megan Everett, 36.

Rihanna and Odd Future R&B singer Frank Ocean have been added to this year's MTV Video Music Awards, the network announced Monday. They'll join previously announced performers One Direction, Taylor Swift, Green Day, Pink and Alicia Keys on Sept. 6.

Sabrina Bryan of the Cheetah Girls will join the 15th season of "Dancing With the Stars" when the competition kicks off Sept. 24, ABC said Monday. Bryan, who previously appeared on the fifth season of "DWTS," beat out Kyle Massey and Carson Kressley for the coveted viewers' choice spot on this season's all-star edition.

COMPILED BY B.J. HAMMERSTEIN, FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER. CONTACT HIM AT 313-223-4528 OR BJHAMMERSTEIN@FREEPRESS.COM.

More Details: Fast takes

1. ODonnell weds girlfriend

Rosie ODonnell, 50, said on her website Monday that she married girlfriend Michelle Rounds, 41, in June. ODonnell, recovering from a recent heart attack, said she and Rounds, who was recently diagnosed with Desmoid tumors, were married inside a hospital before Rounds went into surgery to treat the tumors.

2. Clooney helps Obama

George Clooney headlined a fund-raiser Monday in Switzerland that raised more than $600,000 for President Barack Obamas re-election campaign, the Associated Press reports. Clooney hosted a fund-raiser at his L.A. home in May that raised nearly $15 million for the presidents campaign.

3. New fire at Perrys studio

Official say theyre investigating a Monday fire at the Atlanta studios of filmmaker Tyler Perry, left. Fire authorities, who sent more than 100 firefighters to the same location to battle a May 1 blaze, say there were no reports of injuries Monday.