Kirstie Alley has reportedly decided not to do anymore Jenny Craig commercials, but she is still on their program. Valerie Bertinelli will take over, and Queen Latifah will be starting a new campaign. (You’ve probably already seen the really weird commercial where Queen Latifah is walking down a street and people are shouting cryptic things like “you go girl” and “great idea”. Yeah, the one where she looks as if she’s contemplating punching them out.)
The word “legend” almost seems not enough to describe jazz great Oscar Peterson, who passed away at 82 near Toronto, Canada, of kidney failure this past Sunday Dec 23rd. Peterson was born in Montreal, Canada, on Aug 15, 1925, and has record with many other jazz greats including Dizzy Gillepsie, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker.
Among the awards Peterson has received are a Lifetime Grammy, induction into the International Jazz Hall of Fame, and the Order of Canada - all due in part to the over 200 albums he made. No doubt he’ll recieve additional awards posthumously including a Founder’s Award from the Canadian Songwriter’s Hall of Fame.
When the Spice Girls finally touched down in England to make a scheduled appearance at an event at London’s Heathrow airport for Virgin Atlantic’s new terminal on Thursday, the fab five - Victoria Beckham, Melanie Brown, Geri Halliwell, Melanie Chisholm and an injured Emma Bunton on crutches - were greeted by a suprisingly small group of supporters.
Approximately 500 Spice fans who won a competition to see the Spice Girls at a ”secret location” met up at a hotel to make their way to the airport, however only 250 showed up at the terminal to watch the girls as they attended the event with Virgin Airlines mogul, Sir Richard Branson.
The girls flew in from Los Angeles on their newly-christened ‘Spice One’ Boeing 747 jet, and sources say they angered fans who attended the event by taking to the stage for only a very brief chat - and nearly an hour after they were scheduled to do so.
A source says:
“We’d been working on this event for eight weeks - ensuring the health and safety for the large crowds was all up to standard. We had expected at least 500 fans - that was the amount who won the chance to see the Spice Girls - but less than half came on the day. These are supposed to be the band’s die-hard fan base - and we struggled to fill the small closed-off area at the airport. It was a bit embarrassing. You would think the Spice Girls’ homecoming would whip up more excitement…but evidently not.”
On Monday, the Spice Girls reportedly played to a half-capacity crowd in Las Vegas, Nevada, despite previous claims that the tour was ”completely sold out”.
Mick Jagger’s ex wife, Bianca, has packed her bags and put her things in storage when she was kicked out of her rent controlled apartment on posh Park Avenue in New York on Wednesday after losing a court appeal which would have allowed her to stay.
The former model, who has lived in the apartment for 20 years, was evicted after an appeals court judge upheld an earlier ruling, which restricted her from using the apartment as her primary residence because of her tourist visa, however she claims her landlord kicked her out as a sort of revenge tactic she filed against him in 2003, where she alleged that mold in the apartment had made her sick and was unfit to live in.
Pamela Anderson says there’s no truth to the recent rumors that she and new husband Rick Solomon have signed a deal to front their own reality show for E! which would have the camera’s following them around 24/7 and documenting their life as a couple.
In a recent post on her website, Pam says she had considered doing a show, but it seems like she was eluding to her Vegas show with magician Hans Klok and not anything concerning her family life. She also says she would feel uncomfortable having the camera’s around because of her two children:
“The choices I have to make now are about quality of life…And meaning. Not about money or fame for no good reason.”
I agree with her - I think Pam is one of the few successful parents in Hollywood who has always seemed to take her parental responsibilities very seriously. I don’t think she would ever jeopardize her children for the sake of a money - she doesn’t need to.
Dennis Schulz, who attended a Bon Jovi concert in Edmonton, Canada earlier this year and suffered a dislocated spinal cord and has rendered him paralyzed after he was crushed by other concert goers who were having a fight, is said to be be suing for a reported $14 million dollars.
Schulz has filed a lawsuit against staff, promoters, four fans and the Edmonton venue where the concert was held - but not the band.
Forbes.com lists Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe has being Hollywood’s most overpaid actors because their films flop too often for the studios to see any real profit.
Kidman was said to have raked in an estimated $15 million for her role in “The Golden Compass,” however the film only grossed $26 million uring its first week of release.
Forbes cites Russell Crowe as being the least deserved of his paycheck. For each dollar he got paid, Russell Crowe ‘s films averaged $5.00 of gross income.
Others with less than stellar returns this year were Jim Carey, Will Ferrell and Adam Sandler.
Have newlyweds Pamela Anderson and Rick Solomon signed on for their own reality series? Spies say it’s really true!
According to recent sources, the former Baywatch star and Solomon, who walked down the aisle in Las Vegas in October, are set to star in and produce a new reality show for the E! network. The show - as yet untitled - will reportedly follow the newlyweds as they embark on married life together.
“These two don’t have any boundaries, which is perfect for reality stars.”
Anderson recently gushed to reporters:
“I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. We’re good for each other. We’re in every night - having sex!”
Given how these newlywed reality shows usually go (who can forget Jessica and Nick, Shanna and Travis and now the Hogans - Terry and Linda Bollea), these two will be seperated by the time 2008 comes to a close and Pammy will be back in the arms of Tommy Lee - again.
It’s one thing to make the list of the ”Super Beautiful” and yet quite another to make the list of ”Top 10 Hollywood Meltdowns of 2007.” That said, who now can say she’s had the honor of being tops in both? Why, it’s our Miss Brit - who else?!
Britney had some stiff competition this year, and even managed to beat out Owen Wilson for the coveted spot, but with her no panties philosophy, shaving her head, a couple of weeks in rehab, a forgettable performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, and a divorce from Kevin Federline, not to mention that ongoing custody battle over the kids, there’s nobody who came close this year - but Wilson did come in at the number two spot for his suicide attempt in August.
That said, I give you the Top 10 Hollywood Meltdowns of 2007, as compiled by Us Weekly:
1. Britney Spears
2. Owen Wilson
3. Paris Hilton
4. Lindsay Lohan
5. Amy Winehouse
6. Cameron Diaz
7. Rosie O’Donnell
8. Ellen DeGeneres
9. Alec Baldwin
10. David Hasselhoff
Rock and blues legend Ike Turner died Wednesday at his San Marcos, California home. He was 76.
Turner was born Izear Luster Turner, Jr., in Clarksdale, Mississippi where he began his career as a Mississippi disk jockey and later a bandleader, finding success with the group The Kings of Rhythm with the hit, “Rocket 88″ in 1951. While on the road, the band adopted a revue format for live performances and used the band to try out new talent, among them a virtually unknown young singer named Anna Mae Bullock, who became a solid act in the revue during the 1950’s. Turner and Bullock would later move in together when Bullock found herself pregnant by another member of the band. The couple eventually married and in 1958, Anna would became known the world over as Tina Turner.
Together the pair toured across the country and became a successful duo in the 1970’s, toured with the Rolling Stones and had a hits with their songs, “Proud Mary” and “Nutbush City Limits.” Eventually, the couple separated in 1975 and Tina would later claim that Ike both physically and mentally abused her, revealing that her husband was a control freak who was addicted to cocaine and who would often burn her with cigarettes during their marriage.
