LOS ANGELES – British actor-comedian Russell Brand is divorcing “California Gurls” songstress Katy Perry after 14 months of what had appeared to be one of Hollywood’s happier marriages.

“Sadly, Katy and I are ending our marriage,” Brand said in a statement to The Associated Press on Friday. “I’ll always adore her and I know we’ll remain friends.”

Brand, 36, offered no other details, but in papers filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, he cited irreconcilable differences.

He and the 27-year-old pop singer were married in October 2010 at a resort inside a tiger reserve in India, and their mutual affection had become a rather sweet feature of the celebrity circuit.

The couple announced their engagement in January 2010 after meeting at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, where Brand hosted and she performed.

The comedian, who once struggled with substance abuse and sex addiction, was effusive about his bride while promoting projects earlier this year, saying marrying Perry has “given me much more strength in what I do.”

“For a long while, what I do professionally was all that mattered to me really,” he said in March. “Now I think, well, whatever I do, I’ll just go back to her, and that’s incredibly comforting.”

Perry praised her husband backstage at the 2011 VMAs in August, where she won three awards and he offered a tribute to Amy Winehouse.

“I’m proud of him, whatever comes out of his mouth, and sometimes it’s very colorful, right?” Perry said of Brand. “That’s why I married him, because he’s smart and I learn a lot.”

Attorneys for Perry, whose name is listed as Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson in the divorce papers, did not respond Friday to calls seeking comment.

The Internet had been abuzz recently with rumors about possible trouble for the couple after they were seen during the holidays without their wedding rings.

Perry’s run of No. 1 singles earned her the distinction of becoming MTV’s first artist of the year earlier this month.

Brand’s recent film credits include “Arthur,” “Hop” and “Get Him to the Greek.” He is among the ensemble starring alongside Tom Cruise in “Rock of Ages.”

All together now, for old time’s sake

As the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, one song will usher in 2012 in time zones around the world: Robert Burns’s “Auld Lang Syne.” Even in Burns’s native Scotland, many people don’t understand all the words, but that’s done nothing to diminish the song’s appeal.

Although it’s most often associated with the new year, “Auld Lang Syne” is a global anthem of remembrance and fraternity: Type the title into YouTube, and more than 32,000 versions come up, sung by everyone from Aretha Franklin to Alvin and the Chipmunks to toddlers and their grannies. The song is sung throughout the English-speaking world and has been translated into more than 40 languages.

“It has traveled and embedded itself in cultures across the globe,” said Burns biographer Robert Crawford. “It’s a malleable song; it’s quite unspecific about the nature of friendship, so it lends itself to many different occasions.”

Its title translates as “old long since,” “for old time’s sake.”

Dick Clark to mark 40th year celebrating his ‘Rockin’ Eve’ TV show

Dec. 31 is always celebratory for Dick Clark, who has become the father figure of New Year’s Eve. But this year, Clark is feeling particularly festive.

His “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” will mark its 40th anniversary, expanding to 5 hours of music performances and reports from celebrations around the world. Clark, of course, will be counting down to midnight from Times Square in New York City.

In recent years, the special has taken on a particular poignancy with Clark’s determination to mark the date on-camera, despite a debilitating stroke in 2004 that impaired his speech. Since resuming his duties on the celebration in 2006, he has a far more limited role, leaving the main hosting responsibilities to Ryan Seacrest.

— From news services