Celebrity Birthday
John Ashton (Hardball: Charlie)-64Julius Erving (NBA Hall-of-Famer)-62
Julie Walters (Harry Potter movies)-62
Ellen Greene (Pushing Daisies: Vivian)-61
Kyle MacLachlan (Desperate Housewives: Orson)-53
Vijay Singh (Golfer)-49
Rachel Dratch (SNL / 30 Rock: Greta, Barbara, Blue Man)-46
Paul Lieberstein (Producer: The Office)-45
Jeri Ryan (Body of Proof: Kate)-44
Thomas Jane (Hung: Ray)-43
Tamara Mello (Popular: Lily)-42
Lea Salonga-41
Jose Solano (Baywatch: Manny)-41
Michael Chang (Tennis player)-40
James Blunt-38
Drew Barrymore-37
Liza Huber (Passions: Gwen)-37
Tom Higgenson (Plain White T’s)-33
Zach Roerig (The Vampire Diaries: Matt)-27
Daniel E. Smith (The Bold and the Beautiful: Zende)-22
Celebrity News
Osbournes’ Family Bulldog Dies Jack Osbourne’s adorable bulldog Lola – who famously tore up couches and peed all over the place on the family’s MTV reality show – has died at the age of 12. Lola wasn’t just a reality star – she was a Twitter sensation as well, racking up more than 8,000 followers. Jack broke the news yesterday, tweeting, “thank you fall for the kind words about @PrincessLolaO. It’s nice to know she was loved by so many people.” He added, “Lola you were the best friend anyone could ever have. I will love you and miss you always. RIP @PrincessLolaO 00-12.” Lola’s Twitter page was also updated with a message reading, “Thank you ALL for your kind words. I’m in a better place now. Heaven needs a new princess.”
Obama Sings The Blues With Artists President Obama just couldn’t say no. Mick Jagger held out a mic almost by way of command, and soon Obama was belting out the blues with the best of them. The East Room of the White House was transformed into an intimate blues club last night for a concert featuring blues all-stars of the past, present and future – and the President himself. The surprise performance by Obama came at the end of the night when they sang “Sweet Home Chicago,” the blues anthem of Obama’s hometown. Buddy Guy prodded the president, saying he’d heard that Obama sang part of an Al Green song recently, adding, “you gotta keep it up.” Then Jagger handed over the mic, and Obama seemed compelled to comply.
Drew Barrymore Pregnant? Drew Barrymore, who is engaged to Will Kopelman, sparked rumors she might be pregnant with her first child after being spotted with what seems to be a baby scan in her hand. The actress, who’s turning 37 today, was leaving a doctor’s office in Beverly Hills accompanied by her fiancé. While TMZ has a picture of the actress with the baby scan in hand, nothing has been confirmed yet. Her rep refused to comment on the baby speculations.
YouTube Offers Future Of TV YouTube wants Hollywood’s help to reach viewers more familiar with smartphones than TV remotes. The online video giant is aiming to create 25 hours of programming per day with the help of some of the top names in traditional TV. The Google-owned site is spreading its wealth among producers, directors and other filmmakers, using a $100 million pot of money it committed last fall. It’s YouTube’s largest spending on original content so far. The cash has enticed some of TV’s biggest producers, including “CSI” creator Anthony Zuiker. Who is teaming up on a horror series for YouTube.
Luis Guzman Pitches Homeless Shelter Reality Show Luis Guzman is pitching a reality series where homeless shelters would be renovated across the country. The actor says he’s at a point in his life where he wants to give back. He’s still acting though. Guzman can be seen in “Journey 2: Mysterious Island.”
Paris Hilton Wins In Vegas Paris Hilton is even richer now than she was last week. Hilton tweets that she won $30,000 playing blackjack in Las Vegas during her birthday weekend. Hilton tweeted “I love gambling!” She turned 31 on Friday.
Matthew Perry Joins ‘The Good Wife’ Matthew Perry is giving drama another try. He’s joining the cast of “The Good Wife.” He’ll have a recurring role as an attorney. Look for him in the episode airing March 25th.
How Michael Clark Duncan Picks Up Women
Michael Clark Duncan says you can find love in the produce department at your local grocery store. He did. The actor told Jay Leno that’s how he met his girlfriend of two years, Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth, best known for her stint on “The Apprentice.” Duncan says he didn’t have a cute line at all, he said something stupid like “you’re the mean girl from ‘The Apprentice.’” After she walked away, he told himself he’d never have this opportunity again, so “go get her.” And he did. Duncan stars in “The Finder” on Fox and the movie “From the Rough.”
Rob Schneider Into Zen Comic actor Rob Schneider says he’s a Zen Buddhist. The star of the CBS sitcom “Rob” says that means just going with the flow and not taking anything too seriously. Schneider says Zen Buddhism allows him to “breathe out” stress, because it teaches him that there’s no ultimate meaning – that “there’s no place to be” and “nothing that needs to be done.” Schneider says life “doesn’t mean anything,” so people should just do whatever makes them happy.
Magic Johnson, Diddy To Run New Comcast Channels Comcast will launch four minority-owned networks on its cable TV systems in the next two years, including channels spearheaded by music mogul Sean “P. Diddy” Combs and NBA great Magic Johnson. Two of the networks are majority black-owned while two are majority American-Hispanic-owned, with all of them programming in English, Comcast said. Diddy’s channel, Revolt, will have programming that includes music videos, live performances, music news and interviews. Revolt is scheduled to launch in 2013. Aspire, to be led by Johnson, will dedicate itself to enlightening and positive programming aimed at black families. It will air movies, documentaries, music and comedy, as well as faith and inspirational programs. It will launch this summer. El Rey, proposed by director Robert Rodriguez, is designed to be an action-packed, general entertainment network for Latino and general audiences.
Colbert To Release Kids’ Book About A Flag Pole
Stephen Colbert is releasing a children’s book. Grand Central Publishing said it will publish “I Am a Pole (And So Can You!)” on May 8th. In a two-part “Colbert Report” segment that aired last month, Colbert previewed the book with “Where the Wild Things Are” author Maurice Sendak. Claiming he was looking to “cash-in” on celebrity children’s books, Colbert penned an illustrated story about a flag pole’s quest for identity. Sendak called the book “terribly ordinary” but acknowledged, “The sad thing is I like it.” Grand Central previously published Colbert’s 2007 bestseller, “I Am America (And So Can You!).” It will also publish his next book, “America Again: Re-Becoming the Greatness We Never Weren’t” in October.
Music News
Adele Fingers The Brit Awards In an act of defiance against “the suits” who interrupted her acceptance speech from British Album of the Year, Adele flipped the bird to the crowd at last night’s Brit Awards. The 23-year-old, who won six Grammys last week, had also picked up the Brit for Best Female Artist of the Year at the show. Adele explained after the awards that the gesture wasn’t intended for her fans and that she wished nothing but the best for them. “I was about to thank the British public for their support and they cut me off, and I’m sorry if I offended anyone” she said. “But the suits offended me, so thank you very much for all of your support.”
Bonnaroo Tickets To Go Back On Sale Ticket sales for Bonnaroo’s annual music festival will resume at noon Saturday. Organizers say high demand and technical problems caused a suspension of sales on February 18th. The four-day Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival will be held June 7-10 in Manchester, about 65 miles southeast of Nashville. This year’s lineup includes the reunited Beach Boys, along with The Civil Wars, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Phish and Bon Iver. Find out more at www.bonnaroo.com.
Man Burns New Jersey Flag To Protest Whitney Houston Honor A Michigan man has burned a New Jersey state flag to protest flags in that state being lowered to half-staff Saturday in honor of Whitney Houston. John Burri lost a son in Iraq and believes that honor should be reserved for those who gave their lives in service. Burri tied the flag to the back of his car and dragged it around two veterans memorials near Grand Rapids and the cemetery where his son is buried. Then he burned it in his outdoor grill. Burri says he didn’t mean to degrade the people of New Jersey. He says, “This is just how much it hurt, and sometimes you have to do something a little tragic to get your point across.”
Adam Lambert To Sing With Queen For British Festival Adam Lambert will be Queen’s frontman for one day. Lambert will perform with Queen at the Sonisphere Festival at Knebworth Park in Britain on July 7th. Knebworth was the site of Queen’s final concert with Freddie Mercury in August 1986. Guitarist Brian May says judging from the mail he’s gotten about the matter, “this decision will make a lot of people very happy.” He says Lambert would have met with Mercury’s approval. Lambert says Mercury is his personal hero and he’s honored to pay his respects to Mercury’s memory.
Chris Brown, Rihanna Music Hits The Internet As many had speculated, Rihanna and Chris Brown did indeed hook up for a musical collaboration. Two songs featuring the singers have hit the Internet. Brown is singing on the remix of Rihanna’s track “Birthday Cake,” and she’s on the remix of his song “Turn Up the Music.” Brown tweeted a link to the new version of “Turn Up the Music.” Rihanna later retweeted it. She also tweeted about the remix for “Birthday Cake.” Brown admitted assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna at a pre-Grammy Awards party in 2009. He’s serving five years of probation for the felony attack. He made his return to the Grammys this year, performing twice and winning Best R&B Album. Rihanna also performed at the show and picked up a trophy. Brown also tweeted “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” to Rihanna, who turned 24 Monday. While some fans were up in the arms about the ex-couple working together, they both addressed the issue via Twitter as well. “They can say whatever, Ima do whatever... No pain is forever... YUP! YOU KNOW THIS,” Rihanna wrote. Brown tweeted, “Let them be mad! We make music. Don’t like it, don’t listen!”
More Music From The Boss After already releasing the single “We Take Care Of Our Own,” Bruce Springsteen is rolling out each new song from his new album, “Wrecking Ball,” through a series of streaming previews. The campaign kicked off Monday with “Easy Money” streaming on Backstreets.com, and yesterday featured “Shackled and Drawn,” which was streaming at Rollingstone.com. The remaining nine tunes will roll out daily on various websites until March 2nd, with the album’s official release scheduled for March 6th.
Justin Bieber Announces New Book He’s only 17, but Justin Bieber is releasing his second book. HarperCollins announced it will publish “Justin Bieber: Just Getting Started.” The book is described as “the second official photographic book” from the multiplatinum-selling superstar. The company says it will be released worldwide in September. The new book promises a look inside Bieber’s world, including touring the globe, making a movie and recording his new album. His first book, titled “First Step 2 Forever: My Story,” was published in October 2010. It has sold more than a million copies in 25 languages.
Joe Jackson’s Wrongful Death Lawsuit Thrown Out Joe Jackson’s wrongful death lawsuit on Michael Jackson’s death was thrown out of court. TMZ reports that Joe’s lawsuit, which was filed against AEG and Conrad Murray, was tossed because he filed the lawsuit after Katherine Jackson filed hers on behalf of herself and Michael’s children. It’s not clear why Joe filed his own lawsuit instead of joining Katherine’s, though it’s possible Katherine didn’t let him sign on. Either way, only one lawsuit can be filed for wrongful death, and since Joe’s was last to be filed, it was thrown out.
D.A. Says Conrad Murray Danger To Society The D.A. is alarmed that Dr. Conrad Murray is asking the trial judge to spring him from prison while he appeals his conviction in the death of Michael Jackson, arguing Murray is a danger to society. According to the new documents, prosecutors say Murray has shown no remorse for his “reckless and criminal conduct that directly caused Michael Jackson’s death.” The D.A. also claims Murray is a flight risk because he no longer has strong ties to California now that his medical license has been revoked.
Whitney Houston’s Gold Hearse Instead of a somber black hearse, followed by black limousines, Whitney Houston’s funeral procession featured gold-colored vehicles. But it wasn’t special treatment for the star. Turns out the golden Lincoln hearse, with an italicized “W” on the rear window and the trio of gold Lincoln Town Car stretch limos that came behind it are a signature of the Whigham Funeral Home in Newark that handled the arrangements. A spokeswoman said that the home has used gold vehicles for years. “That’s our trademark,” she said.
E-Mail
Print
