Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2007 > March
March 2007
Ludacris pulls for Georgetown
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dressed in a long white T-shirt decorated with silver glitter and graphics of rubber band wrapped rolls of hundred dollar bills, the gold and diamond decorated Chris “Ludacris” Bridges spent part of Saturday afternoon signing autographs and visiting with fans.
The Atlanta native, rapper, actor and animated figure on Cartoon Network’s “Class of 3000” was sequestered back in a hotel meeting room minutes before hitting the stage for a 30-minute set as part of the Big Dance in Centennial Park before the first games of the Final Four.
When every bit of paraphernalia had been signed and enough hands had been shaken, Bridges let us hop into the golf cart with him as he (and his reported 41 member entourage) rode from the hotel to backstage and talked to us about basketball, video gaming and Atlanta entertainment options.
Am I a basketball fan?
Yeah, but I don’t get to watch as much I’d like. My favorite team is Georgia Tech. You have to pull for the hometown team.
What’s your favorite team in the Final Four?
Georgetown.
Any money riding on it?
Not yet. I probably will in a minute. Last minute is when I like to make my bets.
Is it more fun to watch basketball or to play a video game in which you are a character?
You mean the Def Jam ones? I’ve been in two of them. It was a great experience. People say I have an animated personality so being in a video game is really only natural for me. It’s just more animated.
Do you play your own games?
Not as much as I would like to do. My stamina is different on different games. Put it this way, I’m pretty good.
What are you doing while you are in town?
I am here until late Monday night. I’m going to the games, of course.
Any places you’re going to hit afterwards?
I am just looking forward to hanging out with my family and friends. And hopefully spending the money I make from my bets.
What would you recommend to an out-of-towner?
Go to all the strip clubs.
Any ones in particular?
All of them.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Franklin tips off festivities
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Special Final Four edition of Peach Buzz!
When it came time to officially open Hoop City, the family-friendly Final Four activities center at the Georgia World Congress Center on Friday afternoon, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin was surrounded by game players and politicos in loud plaid suits.
Just another day at City Hall.
“Atlanta is thrilled to have the Final Four back,” herzzoner told the assembled, sporting a red bloom in the lapel of her black business suit. “It reaches limits I can’t describe.”
Alas, as she tossed out the first ball, the mayor’s abilities on the court did, well, demonstrate a few limits. The zoot-suited Mayor of Hoop City then made Franklin an honorary citizen.
Holding a bottle of his company’s brown fizzy stuff, Coca-Cola regional marketing director Ron Renner told the crowd: “It’s an honor to be your refreshing sponsor for this extremely exciting weekend.” When we approached Renner to pose a follow-up question, the marketing guru graciously declined and gestured for an assistant with a cellphone and a laminated card full of Coke rep names and numbers to assist us. How refreshing.
A Hantastic idea
While technically the Washington, D.C., native is rooting for Georgetown today, street musician Spencer Lancaster was willing to utilize his “Hantastic Hands” to blow tunes through his fingers for any and all Final Four fans passing by on Marietta Street on Friday. Sampling a riff of “Theme From Mission: Impossible,” Lancaster told Buzz: “You see, folks want some hyped-up songs to motivate them. Everybody’s on a mission, you see and everyone is wondering if it’s impossible for their team to win.”
Calm before storm
Crews were constructing exhibits late Friday afternoon as fans began arriving at Centennial Olympic Park for a weekend-long outdoor party called The Big Dance. A CBS crew set up in one corner of the park with a view of the huge AT&T stage. During today’s semifinals telecasts, CBS occasionally will cut to live scenes in the park where non-ticket holders will watch the games on huge TV screens. Florida fan Tim Edwards, 27, said he drove from Gainesville this morning and just wanted to party. “Where are all the bands?” he asked. The answer: Getting ready. — Jeffry Scott
We hear that…
Boston Celtics legend Bob Cousy will be getting some exercise Sunday night. At the downtown Morton’s Steakhouse, the 78-year-old retired “Houdini of the Hardwood” and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer is scheduled to deliver a speech to 50 Final Four attendees in a private dining room. Later, he’ll head over to the posh eatery’s other massive private dining room to sup with a small galaxy of fellow hall of fame stars. Have Final Four Buzz scoop? E-mail buzz@ajc.com or call: 404-526-7218.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Jamie Foxx gets All-Star welcome
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Imagine if an entertainer started a show with about 30 minutes of ribald, rib-hurting stand-up, stepped away for like 5 minutes and came back singing so well no one laughed at the Grammy nominee.
Oh yeah, and he was an Oscar winner.
Kind of hard to fathom, huh? Unless you were in the near-capacity crowd Friday for the first of Jamie Foxx’s three nights at the Fox Theatre.
Though he conceded early in his set that he had been sick most of the week, Foxx strutted on stage, and was received, like a pro athlete ready to pick up his championship ring.
“ATL I’m home!” he said several times. “I’m Jamie Foxx, Oscar winner…but I’m ghetto too.” That meant everybody was fair game.
Media mogul and rumored love interest, Oprah Winfrey: “If I was to [have sex with her], she’d have a brand new episode of her favorite things.”
O.J. Simpson and that book about how he might have murdered: “You done already got away [with it], don’t dance in the end zone…with that murder walk!”
And Michael Richards saying he’s not a racist: “That’s like me wearing a Tevin Campbell T-shirt to a Clay Aiken concert, but I’m not gay.”
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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‘I need a girlfriend,’ Ne-Yo tells audience
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The first of four nights of free Blender Sessions ended close to Friday morning at the Tabernacle. Recent Atlanta transplant Ne-Yo did a six-song set including his first No. 1 single as an artist (“So Sick”), a medley of hits he’s written for other acts (Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable,” Mario’s “Let Me Love You,” Rihanna’s “Unfaithful”), and a few well-received selections from his May 1 sophomore CD, “Because of You.” Photos: Ne-Yo at the Tabernacle
“I need a girlfriend,” Ne-Yo announced before he and his four-piece band, and four dancers, performed “Sexy Love.” “Y’all know I just moved to the ATL right?” he said to the heavily female, near capacity crowd. “I’m official!”
Blender magazine’s Sessions ATL continue tonight at the same downtown venue with Atlanta rapper-actor T.I. Saturday “American Idol” rocker Daughtry is scheduled to appear, and Australian rock group Jet closes things out Sunday.
Free entry is offered on a first come, first served basis, with a ticket. And tickets are available by listening to various radio stations, including V-103, Q-100, Star 94 and 99X.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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‘General Hospital’: Gwinnett edition
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“General Hospital” actress Rebecca Herbst had an interesting February sweeps on the venerable ABC daytime drama. For a month straight, she and her co-workers toiled in a “24”-styled, real-time hostage plot as her pregnant heroine, Elizabeth Spencer, endured ill-timed contractions while performing emergency surgery in a hotel lobby wired to explode.
“I’m looking forward to being away from all that!” a laughing Herbst told Buzz this week. On Saturday night at the Gwinnett Center’s Grand Ballroom at 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Herbst and her hunky co-stars Jason Thompson, Greg Vaughan and Tyler Christopher come to town for an interactive show and autograph session with fans. “For three weeks straight, we had to wear the same dirty clothes and remember which side of our face had a cut on it.”
Off-screen, Herbst has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy along with Genie Francis, who briefly returned to the show last year to play Herbst’s catatonic TV mother-in-law, Laura Spencer. ” I’m so happy for her,” Herbst said. “Since I came on the show 10 years ago, she’s been motherly and sweet to me and took me under her wing. Getting to do scenes with her again was wonderful.”
Bear in mind, watching Herbst and company re-create some of their fave soap dialogue here won’t be a cheap ticket: $150 is the going rate. For info: soapguysshow.com.
‘EVOLVE!’ THIS WEEKEND
The music drifting down from the MidCity Lofts Sky Clubhouse at 845 Spring St. N.W. on Sunday afternoon could eventually help save a young life. The 2 to 6 p.m. “Evolve!” benefit will raise money for YouthPride, the city’s nonprofit that assists gay, lesbian and bisexual teenagers. The money will be earmarked for a new suicide prevention program. On the bill: Atlanta singer-songwriter Guyton Maurice, who will debut selections from his upcoming album “20 Questions” (Buzz is currently punishing the “shuffle” function on our iPod with an advance copy of the long-awaited project) and singer Robbie Russell, the self-described “Lance Armstrong of Dance Music.” The Atlanta songwriting cancer survivor is also a reformed death metal drummer and concert bass violinist. DJs Kim Crawford and Travis Roache also will provide tunes. While there isn’t technically a cover charge, we’re told that donations will go to mental health counseling sessions, staff training and other needed materials on suicide prevention. For more info: www.myspace.com/evolve_yp.
CDS (CIRQUE DU SOLEIL, DUH!) SET TO GO OTP
For the first time, Cirque du Soleil is making a metro stop outside le Perimeter.
The circus spectacle will make its first appearance at the Gwinnett Arena for two shows June 8-9.
Cirque, a mixture of song, dance and acrobatics, will perform the “Delirium” show that it performed at Philips Arena in April 2006.
Gwinnett Arena expects sellouts, said marketing manager Chris Hendley.
“The last time they went to Philips, we were aggressively going after them,” Hendley said. “We’re definitely excited about having them come in.”
Reviews have not been as positive for “Delirium” as Cirque’s smaller big-top shows, such as the “Corteo” show that played at Atlantic Station in December and January. Still, the “Delirium” tour’s gross was the fifth largest of any tour in North America last year, according to Pollstar.
Tickets go on sale Monday and will range from $39.50 to $125. Tickets will be available at the arena box office at 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth, or at Ticketmaster, 404-249-6400 and www.ticketmaster.com.
HIGH FIVE
The Top 5 singles on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart
1. Akon, “Don’t Matter”
2. Fergie featuring Ludacris, “Glamorous”
3. Beyonce and Shakira, “Beautiful Liar”
4. Mims, “This Is Why I’m Hot”
5. Gym Class Heroes featuring Patrick Stump, “Cupid’s Chokehold”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Warren Beatty is 70. Musician Eric Clapton is 62. Actor Robbie Coltrane (“Harry Potter”) is 57. Actor Paul Reiser is 50. Rapper MC Hammer is 45. Actor Ian Ziering (“Beverly Hills 90210”) is 43. Singer Tracy Chapman is 43. Singer Celine Dion is 39. Singer Norah Jones is 28.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“You do wonder whether she’s destined for ‘Dancing With the Stars’ at some point.”
— Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, on mouthy pundit Ann Coulter
DOUBLE THE BUZZ!
Starting today, AJC readers will get two Buzz columns as the Final Four rolls into town. Through Tuesday, the regular Peach Buzz column remains here. But over in Sports, Buzz will cover all the celeb-enriched parties, fan craziness and events downtown for readers in Final Four Buzz. Send all your Final Four-related Overscenes and tips to buzz@ajc.com.
Contributing: Nick Marino, Ken Sugiura and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Memory lane has its share of pain for Fonda
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jane Fonda aficionados will surely want to tune in to film historian Robert Osborne’s fascinating hourlong chat with the Poncey-Highland resident on tonight’s edition of “Private Screenings” at 8 p.m. on Turner Classic Movies. Unlike the 2005 edition of Bravo’s “Inside the Actors Studio” with James Lipton, Osborne’s chat with Fonda proves a bit more scholarly — and with a lot less creepy, dyed facial hair involved.
With her dog Tulea snoozing by her side, Fonda provides film fans with an insightful tour of her film career of 40-plus years. The two-time Oscar winner concedes to Osborne that not even the actors making a film can predict how good the finished product will be or how it will be perceived.
“It was so awful making ‘Barbarella,’ ” Fonda says in the special. “There was no money. We were doing it all on spit and a prayer. I thought there was no way it could work. And it’s become a cult film. You can’t ever phone it in because you never know.”
She also discloses that her father, Henry Fonda, provided some sage advice about what she should say — and what she shouldn’t — if she got to the Oscar podium after being nominated for “Klute” (the senior Fonda advised his activist offspring against directly referencing the Vietnam War, advice she heeded).
The actress also retells a particularly heartbreaking story about filming “On Golden Pond’s” famous Parcheesi scene with her father and co-star Kate Hepburn that provides a frightening peek inside the elder Fonda’s chilly demeanor.
Fonda tells Osborne: “Whenever I see that movie now, I just sob and sob and sob.”
The interview is followed by a marathon of Fonda flicks on TCM, including “Barefoot in the Park,” “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” “Comes a Horseman” and “The China Syndrome.”
AND WE’RE TELLING YOU … SHE’S COMING BACK AGAIN
Apparently Jennifer Husdon wasn’t joking about that “not going” business. The recent Oscar winner for her portrayal of Effie White (“And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”) in the movie adaptation of “Dreamgirls” is returning to Atlanta on April 8 for New Birth Missionary Baptist Church’s Easter service at the Georgia Dome. (Doors open at 8:30 a.m. Service begins at 10 a.m.)
Fans of the former “American Idol” may recall Hudson was just here earlier this month for entertainment mogul Dallas Austin’s “Don’t Stop The Music” fund-raiser at the Georgia Aquarium. And apparently she’s on quite the appearance run lately, as she presented R&B legend Patti LaBelle with a GLAAD media award in New York earlier this week. (LaBelle, coincidently, was the special performer last year at Bishop Eddie Long’s massive Easter service.)
New Birth’s Easter activities don’t start that Sunday, however. Contemporary gospel talents Smokie Norful, Vanessa Bell Armstrong and Kierra “KiKi” Sheard are scheduled to perform April 4 at the sanctuary. Free tickets are available at New Birth’s Called to Conquer bookstore.
‘HIGH SCHOOL’ ON ICE
FYI, parents: Disney isn’t finished shaking loose your ‘tween’s allowance quite yet. On Wednesday, Buzz Central received word that something called “Disney’s High School Musical: The Ice Tour” will freeze over at Philips Arena Oct. 27 and 28. The “High School” on skates version will feature tunes from the original Disney Channel movie phenomenon, along with new songs from the franchise’s upcoming sequel that’s currently filming. But buyer, beware. The film’s dreamy original cast will not be involved with the chilled-out version this fall.
“We’ll be recruiting some of the world’s most talented skaters to play East High School’s own Troy, Gabriella, Ryan, Sharpay, Chad and Taylor,” rep Nicole Feld explains in a press release.
Ticket prices range from $15 to $35 and go on sale Monday. For details, go to highschoolmusicaltheicetour.com.
‘IDOL’ BOOT FOR SLIGH
Early favorite Chris Sligh lost his magic during his “American Idol” run and became the third contestant to go home Wednesday night.
The 29-year-old Greenville, S.C., singer with massive curly hair, consistent vocal tone and a wry sense of humor failed to pull off a “wow” performance on the show, punctuated by Tuesday night’s languid take on the Police classic “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic.” Judge Simon Cowell dubbed it “a mess.”
Cute yet undistinguished Haley Scarnato escaped another close call, finishing in the final two following a colorless rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors.” Also in the bottom three was bald married crooner Phil Stacey, who also tried his hand at a Police standard “Every Breath You Take” but received better judge feedback than Sligh.
Nine remain. Next week’s guest mentor: Tony Bennett.
HIGH FIVE
The best-selling CDs at Atlanta’s Criminal Records:
1. Modest Mouse, “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank”
2. Arcade Fire, “Neon Bible”
3. LCD Soundsystem, “Sound of Silver”
4. Andrew Bird, “Armchair Apocrypha”
5. Amy Winehouse, “Back to Black”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Comedian Eric Idle is 64. Composer Vangelis (“Chariots of Fire”) is 64. Singer Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction is 48. Comedian Amy Sedaris is 46. Actress Lucy Lawless (“Xena: Warrior Princess”) is 39.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Mary Ann is afraid now. She’s a really nice woman, too. She keeps candy on her desk!”
— New York Times Sunday Styles employee quoted in Wednesday’s New York Daily News, discussing last week’s no-holds-barred newsroom brawl between fashion editor Anita LeClerc and deputy editor Mary Ann Giordano, allegedly involving a fashion beat turf war. An editor had to break up the physical altercation.
Contributing: Sonia Murray and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Day honoring pork a natural for the Capitol
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just when we didn’t think it possible to shove any more pork under the Gold Dome came word Tuesday that Gov. Sonny Perdue had proclaimed it HoneyBaked Ham Day in the state.
The Georgia division of the company that makes the holiday staple (celebrating its 50th anniversary) has headquarters in Norcross. The resolution was introduced in the Legislature by Rep. Tom Rice (R-Norcross).
“Receiving this honor from the governor in recognition of our 50 years in service is something everyone can share with pride,” said Linda van Rees, chairman of the HoneyBaked Ham Co. of Georgia.
So did the ever-diet-conscious guv partake of the spiral-sliced glazed goodness?
“No, he didn’t,” HoneyBaked rep Zaneta Hubbard told Buzz. “But he got to keep the ham, and we gave him one for his staff.”
A SCENIC GARDEN
Succumbing to sensory overload was something to actively guard against while covering Elton John’s 60th birthday concert Sunday night at Madison Square Garden in New York. Rubbernecking for celebrities and attempting to comprehend the layout of the hulking arena were sizable chores — as was charting the singer’s career-spanning, 34-song set list. Fans who plunked down $20 for the official concert program (all proceeds went to the Elton John AIDS Foundation) got a sneak peek of the 3 1/2-hour event via a list inside. (We even snagged a copy of Sir Elton’s final list, taped near his keyboard onstage.)
In the program were full-page birthday wishes sent along by celeb friends, including U2, Kevin Spacey, Tim Rice, the Pet Shop Boys, George Michael, Billie Jean King, Cliff Richard, Kate Bush, Lenny Kravitz, Andy Roddick and even Mikhail Gorbachev.
VIEW FROM THE SEATS
From our vantage point in Madison Square Garden’s Section 76, we were neighbors with “24” star Kiefer Sutherland, who arrived inconspicuously in an Iron Workers Union Local No. 1 Chicago jacket. Perhaps he was a little too inconspicuous. After the actor ducked out temporarily (a smoke break, we theorized), he had difficulty getting back in. Yes, a Garden usher, nattily dressed in a maroon uniform, completely jacked with TV’s Jack Bauer when Sutherland couldn’t come up with his all-access laminate. So did Sutherland throw the guy over the railing to his certain death below? Did he whip out a gun and shoot the offending official in the kneecaps?
Nope.
He actually started searching his pockets for his pass. Another member of the security team intervened and informed his co-worker that Sutherland did not pose a threat to national security.
The evening’s oddest celebrity sighting came as we were trying to exit the arena early Monday morning. We found ourselves standing next to “To Sir With Love” British pop star Lulu. Sir Elton’s pal and “American Idol” coach was also waiting for the backstage elevator. Taking a cheerful stab at small talk, the adorable petite singer said to the complete strangers surrounding her: “It was a great night, huh?”
DENIED VISA, DOGG, DIDDY DITCH UK GIGS
Rapper Snoop Dogg and his Atlanta restaurateur pal Sean “Diddy” Combs have been forced to scrap a tour of Britain after authorities denied Dogg a visa, according to a statement Tuesday.
The duo, currently on a European tour, had been expected to play five dates in Britain.
“With late notice of Snoop being denied a visa, time has run out, and it is too late to reconfigure the show,” the statement said.
British Home Office rules state that foreign citizens can be barred from entering the country if there are concerns about their presence.
In April 2006, Dogg and five other men were arrested on charges of violent disorder and starting a brawl after they were denied entry to British Airways’ first-class lounge at Heathrow Airport in London.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Ken Howard is 63. Actress Dianne Wiest is 59. Country singer Reba McEntire is 52. Actor Vince Vaughn is 37. Rapper Mr. Cheeks of Lost Boyz is 36. Actress Julia Stiles is 26.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Elton John celebrated his 60th birthday by playing his 60th concert at Madison Square Garden. And then, he beat the Knicks 102 to 94.” — David Letterman, commenting either on the stamina of Sir Elton or the current state of New York’s NBA franchise in his monologue Monday night on “Late Show With David Letterman”
OVERSCENE
Janet Jackson, having difficulty going undetected with an entourage of 20 and a parade of Escalades at Atlantic Station. The pop star/part-time Atlantan and friends dined on sushi and cocktails among the other folks at Strip before heading upstairs to the rooftop VIP section. We’re told that Miss Jackson, “looking beautiful and slim in a curve-hugging print dress,” was also spotted at PJ’s Coffee and Lounge at the Atlanta shopping and dining destination.
Contributing: News services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Loud, proud in Decatur after marathon win
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With cheerleaders, drummers, a few mutant marching band members and some percussion enthusiasts banging on kitchen cookware, the city of Decatur made enough noise to take first place Sunday in the ING Georgia Marathon Neighborhood Challenge.
The financial giant ING offered cash prizes to the top three “cheering sections” in five neighborhoods along the route of the race, with judging based on spirit, crowds and orange-ness. Decatur won $10,000 to be spent on local sports and fitness programs.
The town greeted the 13,000-plus runners with badly rhymed Burma Shave-style signs along the way (sample: “After the race/Come back and visit/Decatur is fun/You don’t want to miss it”), as well as homemade signs (including one that said “Keep MovING”).
“It was well-worth sacrificing my voice,” said Decatur Bulldogs Athletic Booster Club board member Marc Wisniewski, who cheered himself hoarse. Second prize of $5,000 went to NPU-M, which includes downtown, Sweet Auburn and the old Fourth Ward. Third prize of $2,500 went to the folks outside Inman Middle School in the Virginia-Highland area. “Woo-hoo!” said downtown volunteer Jodi Mount. “We had a lot of orange and we had a lot of caffeine.”
HAPPY TRAILS
The French fashion house Hermès, which got its start making saddles, harnesses and other “tacky” gear, has a soft spot for all things equine. So the “Miracles Happen VI” benefit, which raises money for the therapeutic riding program at Chastain Horse Park, fits the Hermès mission like a snug pair of jodhpurs.
Fashion mavens and the horsey set mingled comfortably under a tent at the horse park Saturday night, where black tie and bluejeans were de rigueur. The 400 guests raised about $200,000 for the park’s riding and outreach programs. It was the third year that Hermès was presenting sponsor. “It’s a good match,” said Amy Lance, president and founder of the horse park. “We share a common bond — a love of horses.”
Several guests honored the sponsor by wearing the famous Hermès scarves as ascots or by turning the scarves into eye-catching tops worn with jeans. Mayor Shirley Franklin — minus her signature flower pin — showed up in denims and a floral print jacket, which she bought in Chicago. “And the jeans are clean, too,” declared the mayor.
Chairs of the event were Sallie and Steve Rothschild, whose son Jack is a rider in the Chastain program, which offers riding sessions for children and adults with physical, mental and emotional challenges.
BID ON LES PAUL, KEEP BIG EASY MUSIC ROLLIN’
The Edge is donating his favorite instrument to an auction benefiting Music Rising, a charity the U2 guitarist co-founded to replace musical equipment lost or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
He’s logged thousands of hours of stage and studio time on the 1975 Gibson Les Paul. The 45-year-old musician has used the guitar throughout his years with U2.
“I wanted to give something really significant that would really mean a lot for me to give. It deserved something that I would miss,” the Edge told The Associated Press by phone from France.
The Icons of Music auction, administered by Julien’s Auctions, features 196 items, including a saxophone signed by former President Bill Clinton, a guitar that belonged to Jimi Hendrix and an original Elvis Presley recording contract.
An exhibit of auction items will travel from Los Angeles to Dublin, Ireland, and London before the sale ends April 21 with an event at Manhattan’s Hard Rock Cafe. Fans may bid online (www.juliensauctions.com) or in person.
The Edge’s guitar was expected to fetch between $60,000 to $80,000, according to the auction Web site.
Bandmates Adam Clayton donated a bass guitar, Larry Mullen gave a pair of tom-tom drums and Bono donated a pair of Emporio Armani sunglasses.
“It’s some great poetry to ask the people like myself, who’ve earned a good living from rock ‘n’ roll, to donate items to an auction that would help protect and stave off the decline of the music culture in the Gulf Coast,” he said.
The Edge, whose real name is David Evans, first discovered the area’s musical culture as a young member of U2.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Pop singer Mariah Carey is 37. Director Quentin Tarantino (“Kill Bill”) is 44. NASCAR giant Cale Yarborough is 68.
OVERSCENE
Cast members from “Sweet Charity” sighted having a pre-show bite at nearby Fifth Street wine bar Eno, while headliner Molly Ringwald is seen shopping at Eno’s attached wine and cheese retail shop, the Barrelman.
CELEBRITY DOCKET
Perhaps the dryer wasn’t working. The wife of Velvet Revolver singer Scott Weiland was arrested and charged with torching his clothes outside their Toluca Lake, Calif., home hours after the couple brawled at a luxury hotel, police said Monday.
Mary Weiland, 31, was booked for investigation of felony arson vandalism after officers responded to a call Saturday night that a female was burning clothes. They found a trash can full of smoldering clothes, Sgt. Mathew Ferguson said.
Officers called Weiland, 39, who said the wardrobe was worth $10,000, Ferguson said. The couple’s children, ages 4 and 6, were placed in the custody of family friends.
The arrest culminated a rowdy weekend for Weiland and his wife. Police were called to the nearby boutique Graciela Hotel on Pass Avenue earlier Saturday after the couple got into an argument that left two rooms vandalized, Ferguson said.
“Both rooms had damage and items scattered, broken plates and things. It was looking definitely like items were deliberately destroyed,” Ferguson said. He said the amount of damage exceeded $400.
Contributing: Marylin Johnson and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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‘Office’ actor Ed Helms plays himself at Horizon benefit
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Horizon Theatre found three disparate celebrities with local ties to tell stories about their lives in play form for its ninth annual fund-raiser at the Georgia Tech Hotel Saturday night: civil rights activist and Trumpet Awards founder Xernona Clayton, former “American Idol” finalist and Broadway star Diana DeGarmo, and “The Office”/”The Daily Show” actor Ed Helms.
Clayton, played onstage by look-alike Marguerite Hannah, recounted her early days working with Ted Turner, who slept in his office and walked around in a bath towel, spouting ideas. She would eventually become a close Turner confidante who could sass him and keep him in line. “I got him ready for Jane,” she joked with emcee Holly Firfer, referring to his ex-wife Jane Fonda.
The play for DeGarmo (who was depicted by Megan Hayes) told how, after she made it to the final 24 on “Idol,” she fell very ill. It was during the SARS scare in 2004, and airline officials wouldn’t allow her on a connecting flight in Dallas to Atlanta, so she ended up getting an appendectomy in a Texas hospital. To make matters worse, the hospital’s fire alarm went off and she was wheeled outside in the middle of the procedure.
After her stint on Broadway, the 19-year-old is now back in town to record her second album. Unfortunately, she’s still being harassed by a stalker in Australia, who relentlessly hacks into her computers and phone lines, according to her mother, Brenda.
Rodney Ho / AJC
Helms, a Westminster grad, was the only one to do his own monologue. He had a heart murmur as a child and required surgery at age 14. He recounted how he had a massive crush on a classmate named Allison, and when she sent him balloons while he was recovering, it inspired him to get better much faster. But later, when he returned to school, Allison told him her mother had sent the balloons. Ouch.
“This is where irony comes in,” Helms told the 300 attendees. “So much money and time and energy had gone into this intense effort to fix my heart. And when it was all said and done, it had never been more broken.”
Helms was recently promoted to a regular cast member on NBC’s hilarious “The Office.” But he wouldn’t reveal any plot points to Buzz about his character, Andy, a major kiss-up who returns next month after a stint in anger management.
DO THE MUTE MATH
Last month, “American Idol” finalist Chris Sligh sang “Typical” by Mute Math, an electronica-rock band from New Orleans and one of the most obscure song choices in the history of the show.
Even Mute Math lead singer Paul Meany was flabbergasted — and flattered.
“That was completely surreal,” Meany told Buzz before the band’s sold-out show at the 1,000-capacity Variety Playhouse on Saturday night. “I thought they only sung songs that were popular. We were in Europe at the time. I guess the irony was he was singing before millions of people; we were in some pub playing for 150.”
He said Sligh met the band eight months ago in Greenville, S.C., and told Mute Math’s drummer, Darren King, that he was about to audition for “Idol” and promised to sing a Mute Math song if he made it far enough. “They need to know about you!” Sligh told King, who was naturally skeptical — until it happened.
Meany said the band, whose stage show is crazy frenetic, has been helped by Sligh’s promotion. But Mute Math has already built a solid following through relentless touring (this is the band’s seventh trip to Atlanta in three years) and a popular MySpace page. The band had 139,758 friends as of Sunday afternoon.
RANDOM BITS
Local entrepreneur Sara Blakely, head of footless pantyhose company Spanx, has already been a contestant on a Richard Branson reality show. Now she gets to be a judge on ABC’s “American Inventor,” starting June 6. …
Former 96rock Regular Guys co-host Eric Von Haessler has nabbed a new, non-radio job: head of The Sunday Paper’s Web site. Besides compiling interesting story links, he will compile original content including podcasts and videos.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Actor Leonard Nimoy is 76. Actor Alan Arkin is 73. Actor James Caan is 67. Singer Diana Ross is 63. Singer Steven Tyler of Aerosmith is 59. Singer-actress Vicki Lawrence is 58. Singer Teddy Pendergrass is 57. Actor Martin Short is 57. Singer Kenny Chesney (left) is 39. Actor T.R. Knight is 34. Rapper Juvenile is 32. Actress Keira Knightley is 22.
Contributing: news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Pricey crunk ain’t junk - it’s a world record
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Crunk Ain’t Dead and (big surprise) Lil Jon Ain’t Demure. Pardon the grammar, but that basically sums up the news that Atlanta’s own hip-hop mogul has just made his way into Guinness World Records for largest pendant.
The 73-carat Crunk Ain’t Dead, ahem, “charm” seen frequently hanging from the self-appointed King of Crunk’s neck is valued at approximately $500,000, according to his publicist. (It’s made up of 3,756 round-cut white diamonds set in 18-karat yellow and white gold.)
“We congratulate [Jon] on his remarkable achievement in setting the record for the largest pendant, which stands at 34.4 ounces, 7.5 inches long and 6 inches wide,” Guinness World Records Managing Director Alistair Richards said in a statement.
“It’s an honor to be included on that list,” Jon added in the same statement. “I grew up on reading and hearing about people and celebrities who break records in the Guinness World Records Book and it always fascinated me. … Let’s just see how many rappers try to outdo my pendant and break my record.”
Idols for StarFest
Two veterans of last year’s fifth season of “American Idol” will be among the performers at StarFest 2007 on June 2 at Gwinnett Arena. Leading the lineup: “Idol” reject Chris Daughtry, whose self-titled album was the fastest-selling rock debut since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991 (selling more than 1.9 million copies in 16 weeks).
He’ll be joined by “Idol” runner-up Katharine McPhee; indie rock band Dashboard Confessional, led by Boca Raton, Fla., singer-songwriter Chris Carrabba; and Augustana, which recorded its first album, “All the Stars and Boulevards,” in Atlanta in 2004. Tickets go on sale Thursday at Ticketmaster outlets (ticketmaster.com or by phone at 404-249-6400).
Tough time for T.I.
Less than a year after Atlanta rapper-actor T.I. (aka Clifford Harris Jr.) saw one of his best friends killed in front of him, he has suffered another personal tragedy. His Atlantic Records publicist, Sydney Margetson, confirmed Friday that his longtime on-and-off girlfriend, R&B singer-songwriter Tameka “Tiny” Cottle, lost the daughter they were expecting. He had no information about whether a service was planned.
Just days earlier, T.I. told an MTV News reporter that he and Cottle, who was approximately six months along when she lost the baby Wednesday, had called off their engagement but remained friends. “I love her to death,” the father of five told MTV. “Her children [are] still my children, my children are still her children.” (The two have a son together named King, and other children from previous relationships.)
Last May, T.I.’s assistant and childhood friend Philant Johnson was slain in a post-concert shooting near Cincinnati. The case remains unsolved.
‘BaconFest’ at Dad’s
The kind of food you might see at your typical charity fund-raiser: bacon-wrapped shrimp on a toothpick. What you’ll get at Dad’s Garage’s upcoming fund-raiser? Big ol’ slabs of greasy bacon.
The Inman Park nonprofit theater and improv group is bringing back its popular “BaconFest: The Pork Party of the Century” starting at 2 p.m. March 31. The irreverent theater company promises plenty of beer to wash down the 6,000 pieces of bacon donated by Sara Lee. And there will be live music from Attractive Eighties Women, Pistolero, Three Dog Stevens and Flyght Rysk.
Why bacon? “Everyone loves bacon — even vegetarians secretly love bacon — and it smells pretty awesome while it’s cooking,” said Linnea Frye, Dad’s director of audience development and public relations. For more information, go to dadsgarage.com or call the box office at 404-523-3141.
Titanic reunion
The “king of the world” and his Titanic sweetheart are reuniting on screen. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, who played ill-fated lovers in the 1997 smash film “Titanic,” will work together on “Revolutionary Road,” a new drama about disillusionment, the DreamWorks movie studio said Friday.
The film will be directed by Winslet’s husband, British filmmaker Sam Mendes, who won an Oscar for directing 1999’s dysfunctional family drama “American Beauty.” The DreamWorks project, based on the 1961 novel by Richard Yates, revolves around a suburban couple caught between their hopes for a life of art, culture and sophistication and the everyday drudgery of boring jobs and domesticity.
In “Titanic,” DiCaprio’s working-class character fell in love with a wealthy socialite played by Winslet aboard the doomed ocean liner that sank in the icy North Atlantic in 1912. It became the highest-grossing movie of all time, raking in more than $1.8 billion.
Overscene
At Fleur de Lis Cafe in downtown Atlanta Friday, lunching on salade nicoise: Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and conductor John Adams, who will be conducting his “Transmigration” at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra tonight.
Celebrity birthdays
Saturday: Comedian Louie Anderson is 54. Actor Robert Carradine is 53. Actress Kelly LeBrock is 47. TV personality Star Jones Reynolds is 45. Actress Annabella Sciorra is 43. Actress Lara Flynn Boyle is 37. Actress Keisha Castle-Hughes (“The Nativity Story,” “Whale Rider”) is 17.
Sunday: Movie critic Gene Shalit is 75. Singer Anita Bryant is 67. Singer Aretha Franklin is 65. Actor Paul Michael Glaser (TV’s “Starsky and Hutch”) is 64. Musician Elton John is 60. Actress Bonnie Bedelia is 59. Actress-comedian Mary Gross is 54. Actor James McDaniel (“NYPD Blue”) is 49. Saxophonist Steve Norman of Spandau Ballet is 47. Actress Brenda Strong (“Desperate Housewives”) is 47. Actress Marcia Cross (“Desperate Housewives”) is 45. Actress Lisa Gay Hamilton (“The Practice”) is 43. Actress Sarah Jessica Parker is 42. Singer-guitarist Jeff Healy is 41. Singer Melanie Blatt of All Saints is 32. Singer Katharine McPhee (“American Idol”) is 23.
Contributing: Sonia Murray and news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Dupri signs Jagged Edge to new label
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s been reunion after reunion since Atlanta music mogul Jermaine Dupri assumed the presidency of Island Records Urban Music last month. First, his new position placed him back in the offices with Island Def Jam Chairman Antonio “L.A.” Reid. When Reid was running Atlanta’s LaFace Records years ago, Dupri produced music for LaFace acts TLC and Usher.
Now it’s just been announced that Dupri has given Atlanta R&B quartet Jagged Edge a home on his new label. And as anyone who has followed the group’s career knows, it was Dupri who signed the crooners behind such hit singles as “Let’s Get Married” and “Gotta Be” to their first deal on his So So Def imprint.
Photos: At home with Jagged Edge’s Casey brothers
A MEAL TO KICK OFF THE BIG ‘MEAL’ GALA
To kick off the Nov. 2 “A Meal to Remember” gala — a fund-raiser for Atlanta’s Senior Citizen Services’ Meals on Wheels program — committee members and co-chairs Kathryn Arnett and Marilyn Krone met Thursday to plot their strategy. This year’s 20th anniversary party at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead will celebrate “The Best of New York.”
To get the 50 guests in a Big Apple mood, executive chef Eric Chopin offered them such juicy bites as miniature Weiner schnitzel with lemon caper sauce, sea scallop sandwiches, poached lobster in lemon miso broth, quail with apricot and beet chutney. And, of course, New York cheesecake.
Capping off the luncheon was the announcement from honorary chairs Sandra and Dan Baldwin: The couple was giving a donation of $30,000 for the Meals on Wheels program. “I was totally blown away,” said Krone. “It was so generous, so lovely.” And it was the perfect start toward the evening’s goal of exceeding $400,000.
Tickets are $600. Info: 404-605-8450.
LUCKY SAVANNAH
Designer Marc Jacobs will soon be setting up shop in Savannah.
In April, a Marc by Marc Jacobs store will open on Broughton Street, in the heart of the city’s shopping district. Then on May 19, Jacobs will receive the Andre Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award from the Savannah College of Art and Design at the school’s annual student fashion show. Talley, Vogue magazine’s editor at large, and Paula S. Wallace, SCAD president, will present the award at the 8 p.m. show at Trustees Theater in Savannah.
Past recipients of the honor include Oscar de la Renta, Karl Lagerfeld, Miuccia Prada, Tom Ford and Vera Wang. Jacobs, who recently checked himself into rehab, will not attend the April store opening but will be represented by business partner Robert Duffy. However, the designer will be in town to pick up his SCAD award.
Jacobs, who is also behind the Louis Vuitton label, has been honored six times by the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
Tickets for the 8 p.m. 2007 SCAD fashion show are $20. Purchase them starting May 1 by calling: 912-525-5050. A 4 p.m. show is free and open to the public, with limited seating.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Comedian Marty Allen is 85. Singer Ric Ocasek (the Cars) is 58. Singer Chaka Khan is 54. Actress Marin Hinkle (“Two and a Half Men”) is 41. Singer-keyboardist Damon Albarn of Blur is 39. Actress Keri Russell (“Felicity”) is 31.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Sanjaya, if you can hear me, let me tell you this: Hair and teeth will take you far.”
— “Live With Regis & Kelly” co-host Kelly Ripa on Thursday’s telecast, discussing the much-maligned-but-follically-and-tooth-enamel-blessed 17-year-old “American Idol” contestant who again survived this week’s cut.
Contributing: Marylin Johnson, Sonia Murray, Pierre Ruhe and news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Ivanka Trump expected for Peach mag birthday party
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As it continues to trade paper cuts in a crowded magazine market here, Atlanta Peach is hoping to trump the competition with an ambitious one-year anniversary party. Literally.
The planned April 13 soiree at the Foundry at Puritan Mill downtown will feature Atlanta Peach April/May issue cover gal Ivanka Trump. And the 25-year-old “Apprentice” reality star/model-turned-developer, magazine reps say, is bringing her father Donald along.
The Trumps will be flying into the ATL on a private jet to get updates on the new Trump Towers Atlanta, the family’s two-tower high-rise luxury condo project at 15th and West Peachtree Streets in Midtown. Australian supermodel/DJ Sky Nellor has been booked to provide the tunes for the invitation-only event.
Atlanta Peach editor-in-chief Elizabeth Schulte Roth told Buzz on Wednesday that she somehow endured a trip to Mar-a-Lago, the Donald’s 110,000-square-foot Palm Beach, Fla., mansion, in December to shoot Ivanka for the cover.
“I’m really proud of this, and Ivanka was a complete joy to work with,” Schulte Roth dished. “Guests that got a peek of the happenings included Regis Philbin, Liza Minnelli and of course, [the Donald’s current missus] Melania and [his latest offspring] Baron.”
Schulte Roth says that Melania Trump was a great host, fetching food and beverages for the staff during the shoot: “It was one of those days where you absolutely love your job!”
‘GMA’ VISITS ATLANTA
The first day of spring proved eventful at the Atlanta Botanical Garden Wednesday. First, the bloom and pollen-scented Midtown tourist draw played national host to “Good Morning America” during live cut-ins.
On Wednesday at twilight, the garden hosted a launch party for Flower magazine. Based in Birmingham, the seasonal glossy’s mission is “Enriching Your Life Through Flowers.”
“I’ve been in the airport and bought $40 worth of magazines and never came across anything like we’re doing with Flowers,” editor in chief Margot Shaw told us. “Then a voice in my head said ‘Start a magazine devoted to flowers.’ ” Flowers is set to bloom on newsstands this month.
HOWARD’S HAMMER
It turns out that WSB penny pincher Clark Howard is equally talented at driving 10-penny nails. Buzz learned Wednesday that this Saturday, the radio and TV consumer reporter is due to complete his 25th Habitat for Humanity home at an address in West Atlanta. Howard has been helping the cause since 1996 and has enlisted help over the years from listeners in 15 states in the endeavor. The houses are financed from Howard’s own bank account. Explains Howard: “When somebody owns their own home, there’s a stability and pride that’s so different than somebody who’s a renter.”
It’s almost inspiring enough for us to contemplate extracting ourselves from the rack prior to noon Saturday. At press time Wednesday, we were still examining the possibilities of car pooling with Monica Pearson.
EDWARDS OUSTED
Savannah’s own Stephanie Edwards, despite comparisons to Beyonce, failed to distinguish herself from a talented field of female singers and was the second one ousted out of the final 12 on “American Idol” Wednesday night.
For British Invasion theme week, Edwards sang Dusty Springfield’s “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” Tuesday but got lukewarm responses from the judges. Simon Cowell dubbed it “cabaret,” a big insult in his book.
Host Ryan Seacrest only pointed out the bottom two vote getters instead of the standard bottom three. The person with the second-lowest votes was a bit of a surprise: Justin Timberlake look-a-like (and sound-a-like) Chris Richardson, despite receiving solid feedback for his take on the Gerry & the Pacemakers ballad “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying.”
Much maligned Sanjaya Malakar survived again. The teen’s cover of the Kinks song “You Really Got Me” inspired a 13-year-old girl to cry in the audience as if she were watching the Beatles circa 1964 and the “Idol” cameras luxuriated over her tears.
STORK REPORT (SORTA)
Actress Angelina Jolie and her newly adopted 3-year-old son left Vietnam in a private jet Wednesday, en route to the boy’s new home in the United States.
Jolie adopted Pax Thien Jolie in Ho Chi Minh City last week, but they later came to Hanoi to pick up a visa allowing him to enter the United States.
Jolie left a pack of disappointed paparazzi in her wake, fleeing from them before boarding the awaiting Gulfstream jet at Noi Bai Airport.
During her week in Vietnam, Jolie spent her time cooped up in luxury hotels, shielding Pax from the photographers that trailed them everywhere.
On the few occasions they came out to do adoption paperwork, they traveled in cars with darkened windows and only emerged after parking in basement garages that were sealed off from the media horde.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Karl Malden is 95. Mime Marcel Marceau is 84. Composer Stephen Sondheim is 77. Actor William Shatner is 76. News anchor Wolf Blitzer is 59. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is 59. Sportscaster Bob Costas is 55. Singer-actress Stephanie Mills is 50. Actor Matthew Modine is 48. Actress Reese Witherspoon is 31.
SICK BAY UPDATE
Kelly Ripa says Regis Philbin, her co-host on “Live With Regis and Kelly,” is back home after having heart bypass surgery last week.
Ripa revealed on Wednesday’s show that Philbin, 75, had been released from the hospital two days ago. “We were sworn to secrecy; I don’t know why,” she said.
“So you couldn’t even mention it to me?” asked comedian Howie Mandel, who was filling in for Philbin. Ripa replied: “I don’t know if I can mention it to you now!”
Ripa, 36, said Philbin might call the daytime talk show Friday to give an update on his recovery.
Philbin told his audience last week that he was having the surgery because “there’s some plaque in some arteries, and I’ve got to get it cleaned out.”
Contributing: news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Dallas Austin’s “apology”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta radio stations and New York Post’s Page Six column have been agog over a lengthy piece of video initially posted on YouTube.com and then yanked from the Web site this week. It features Atlanta record and film producer Dallas Austin talking smack about sleeping with Christina Aguilera and the pop star’s seeming obsession with him. Austin also alleges that Aguilera and Brit soul siren Joss Stone sleep with producers in exchange for music.
On Tuesday, the Atlanta producer issued the following statement to the AJC: “Every action generates an equal and opposite reaction. My statement about Christina Aguilera and Joss Stone was a reaction to an incident I care not to discuss in any forum, and while I may have felt justified, I do owe an apology to Christina, Joss and their families. “The comments I made about Christina Aguilera and Joss Stone were purely an act of retaliation not of malice or cruel intent. As we all have our boiling points, I sincerely apologize as this is not my character nor should I have let anyone’s actions push me to this limit. I have let my family, friends, employees and business associates down with my actions. “All content and any malicious statements that were in my control have been removed from outlets that may have posted this. “Please accept this as my formal statement and apology to all parties involved.”
Aguilera’s rep Cindy Guagenti, meanwhile, told us:
“She’s not commenting on such ridiculous statements, and we are consulting a lawyer to explore her options.”
Representatives from Stone’s label did not respond by press time.
RUE WATCH! RE-ACTIVATED
Yes, “Golden Girls” actress Rue McClanahan (who became a fixture in this space while shooting “The Fighting Temptations” here in 2002) is on her way back to Blanche Devereaux’s hometown.
The reason: her brand-new dishy tell-all memoir, “My First Five Husbands … And the Ones Who Got Away” (Broadway Books, $24.95). And thankfully for you, we’ve already perused the advance galleys of the tome sent to Buzz. Some highlights:
“People always ask me if I’m like Blanche. And I say, ‘Well, Blanche was an oversexed, self-involved, man-killing, vain Southern Belle from Atlanta. And I’m not from Atlanta.”
Further into the memoir, which officially hits stores on April 10, McClanahan discloses: “This book is about the men I have known in both the platonic and biblical senses. Some I knew only slightly, some quite well. Some I’ll love always, some I no longer like very much, and there are a few I’d like to strip naked, tie to a Maypole, smear with sweet syrup near a beehive, then stand back and watch.”
After partaking of McClanahan’s sharp poisonous pen (and checking the index for any references to us), we vowed to never again write about McClanahan’s orange-flavored Metamucil purchases at the Publix on Ponce de Leon Avenue.
She’s set to sign books here April 23 at the Borders on Peachtree Road in Buckhead at 7:30 p.m. At press time, we were tentatively considering grabbing a lawn chair and getting in the autographing line …
OVERSCENE
Designer Donna Karan dining on bone-in ribeye steak and chopped salad with three business associates at Morton’s the Steakhouse in Buckhead.
‘GRINDHOUSE’ STARS MEET PERDUE
“Grindhouse” stars Kurt Russell, Tracie Thoms and Zoe Bell surprised race fans when they turned up at the Kobalt Tools 500 on Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. We’re told that the celebrity sighting and photo op with Gov. Sonny Perdue was the original brainchild of Quentin Tarantino, who directed and wrote the upcoming horror double feature with Robert Rodriguez. Tarantino, you see, is a pal of NASCAR driver Carl Edwards, natch. However, the “Pulp Fiction” director ended up staying in Hollywood to do final edits on “Grindhouse,” which is being readied for a press junket in Los Angeles this weekend, prior to its bow in theaters April 6.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Eddie Money is 58. Actor Matthew Broderick is 45. Actress-comedian Rosie O’Donnell is 45.
UNCOUPLING
Actress Uma Thurman and hotelier Andre Balazs have split up. Her New York-based publicist, Robert Garlock, says the couple — who have been together on and off for three years — are no longer an item.
Thurman, 36, who received an Oscar nomination for 1994’s “Pulp Fiction,” filed for divorce from actor Ethan Hawke in 2004. They have two children.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“People perceive and misunderstand me completely. Just because I’m a famous person does not make me exempt from love.”— Increasingly incoherent “American Idol” judge Paula Abdul on “Extra” Tuesday
Contributing: News services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Mayer gets the really big room this time
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former Buckhead Boy and Eddie’s Attic graduate John Mayer will have a considerably bigger stage when he returns to town Aug. 5.
The singer-songwriter is booked in Philips Arena. Opening the date will be songwriter-pianist-gymnast Ben Folds and Brit soul phenom James Morrison, who just released debut disc “Undiscovered” stateside. Tickets, $45.50-$55.50, go on sale Saturday at noon.
VICK COMMITS TO EATERY — MOM’S LASAGNA, TOO
The development of the Tasting Room, the East Point restaurant recently opened by Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, has been in the works for six months.
But one of the main dishes on the menu has been around for a lot longer than that.
Vick, majority shareholder in the trendy eatery/wine bar’s three-person investment group, used his influence to get his mother Brenda’s lasagna offered up for public consumption.
In fact, it might have been tougher for Vick to get her to give up the recipe than it was to persuade his co-owners to make it available as an entree.
The chefs preparing the dish might have to make extra on game days.
“I’m going to bring the whole team in,” Vick said. “We’ll come by after a big game — win, lose or draw — and have a nice meal, taste some wine and have a good time.”
Vick also said he’s not going to be an absentee owner.
“I’ve got to come by the restaurant and check things out,” he said. “I’ve got to make time. This is a part of my life now, and it’s an obligation to me.”
Photos: Vick at The Tasting Room launch
HONORARY THRASHER
Singer Josh Groban not only sold out his Saturday night gig at Philips, he also scored a Thrashers jersey from arena rep Kevin Preast and Live Nation exec Peter Conlon.
THE MOREHOUSE MEN
Atlanta author John Eaves will officially unveil his much-anticipated “Speakers of the House: Morehouse Men Reflect on Their Journey to Manhood” Tuesday night at Manuel’s Tavern in Poncey-Highland. The book profiles 30 of the Atlanta institution’s more notable graduates in the diverse fields of medicine, law, politics, ministry and entertainment. The tome even touts a photograph of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s charming 1948 Morehouse commencement photo. Among the folks who give their first-person accounts: former Godfather’s Pizza CEO now radio host Herman Cain, former NBA player Harold Ellis, U.S. Olympian Edwin Moses, former Surgeon General David Satcher, fashion guru Marcellous Jones, filmmaker Spike Lee and Atlanta City Councilmen Caesar Mitchell and H. Lamar Willis. Explains Morehouse President Walter Massey in the book’s foreword: “This book could not have been written at a more propitious time — a time when the overwhelming majority of stories we read and hear about black men in America are negative. In stark contrast, the stories these Morehouse men tell about their lives and their success … are truly inspirational.” Tonight’s reception is 6-9. To RSVP, go to www.johneavesbooks.com.
MONEY FOR THE KIDS
Children were on the minds of many of the 325 guests at Saturday night’s Down Under Ball at the InterContinental Hotel in Buckhead. The black-tie event, a fund-raiser for UNICEF and its children’s programs, was hosted by the Australian-New Zealand-American Chamber of Commerce.
One hot item for sale was UNICEF’s School-in-a-Box, which went for a donation of $250. The portable aluminum box, which can be delivered to impoverished sites around the world, contains basic supplies and materials for a teacher and 80 children. It also includes a wooden teaching clock and plastic cubes for counting, and the box lid can double as a blackboard when coated with paint included in the kit. According to Barron Segar, UNICEF’s Southeastern director, 80 kits were sold, raising $20,000. The rest of the proceeds, including that from the live and silent auctions, were still being added up.
Segar said the ball was probably the only one in Atlanta this year to book a live kangaroo, a python and a singing kookaburra for guests to ogle.
The evening also honored five Atlantans for their humanitarian work: A.D. Frazier; Angela and Pano Karatassos; Wayne Kraska and Pamela Smart.
HIP-HOP AND WOMEN
Let’s hope that Spelman College’s Cosby Auditorium is open 24 hours. It may be occupied that long this evening as the school hosts a national panel and town hall meeting on the topic “Does Hip-Hop Hate Women?” at 6:30.
Part of a national tour called Rap Sessions, the panel will look at the conflicts within the hip-hop community over the portrayal of women in videos and lyrics, which has been a source of controversy at Spelman.
Participants include rapper Yo-Yo; Duke University professor Mark Anthony Neal; former Essence magazine editor Joan Morgan; Vanderbilt professor Tracy Sharpley Whiting; and Bakari Kitwana, author of “Why White Kids Love Hip-Hop.”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Producer Carl Reiner is 85. Drummer Carl Palmer (Emerson, Lake and Palmer) is 57. Spike Lee (below) is 50. Actress Holly Hunter is 49. Singer Chester Bennington of Linkin Park is 31.
Contributing: Marylin Johnson, Phil Kloer, Steve Wyche and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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B-52s’ Schneider attends first hockey game
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This may be the first time B-52s lead singer Fred Schneider and the Atlanta Thrashers have ever been in the same sentence together.
Credit Captain Planet Foundation Chairwoman Laura Turner Seydel, who invited the singer to the Thrashers game Sunday at Philips Arena. In the past, the B-52s have performed at the Earth-friendly foundation’s Christmas fund-raiser and Schneider provided vocals for the theme song for a Captain Planet cartoon. (Seydel is Ted Turner’s daughter whose favorite B-52’s song is “Love Shack.”)
Rodney Ho/AJC Staff
While sitting in prime hockey real estate on the floor, Schneider said he was enjoying his virgin hockey experience, taking a break from recording a new CD with his group in Athens.
“This is my first game, and it’s totally exciting,” he told Buzz while nibbling on pizza, steamed vegetables and roasted potatoes. “The pucks are slamming against the glass, and so are the players! I’m waiting for a puck to fly up and hit me in the head.”
During the game, as he watched a Buffalo Sabres player check a Thrashers player hard, Schneider noted, “I can’t tell what’s a penalty and what isn’t.”
And until Sunday, he thought a Zamboni was a calliope.
“I’m a terrible skater,” Schneider added. “I’ve landed on my [expletive] many times.”
OUR ‘WORK OUT’ GUY
Andre Riley, a Georgia Perimeter College grad who spent part of his childhood and adulthood in Atlanta, is now enjoying life as part of Jackie Warner’s trainer posse on Bravo’s modest hit “Work Out.” (Season 2 starts Tuesday.)
Riley, a professional trainer who hung out with Lil Jon before he became the King of Crunk and helped train the late Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes when Riley lived here from 1992 to 2000, said he never hung out with gays and lesbians before he joined Warner’s Beverly Hills gym in 2005. But Warner, a lesbian, quickly won him over.
“She’s straightforward,” he told Buzz. “We really connect.”
Riley isn’t one of the dramatic characters on the show, like Jesse (the cocky teacher’s pet) or Rebecca (the flirt), and he gets very little airtime in the first two episodes Bravo sent to Buzz. But he said he starts an inner-city boot camp and will be seen more in the future. “I don’t make a big fuss,” he admitted.
Riley also appeared on “Fear Factor” in early 2005 and won a trip to Belize and some cash. “I had to eat cow tongue and lamb brain,” he recalled. ” ‘Work Out’ is much easier!”
MORE FIRE FALLOUT
The Buckhead Village party scene has dwindled in recent years to a mere shadow of its former self. The always trendy Tongue & Groove has managed to survive, one of only a handful of bars and clubs left on the strip after violence and traffic caused the city of Atlanta to crack down earlier this decade.
But even that esteemed club is not immune to problems. Last June, a bartender set afire a pyramid of drinks, which fell over and injured a patron. The unidentified bartender was fired and arrested for disorderly conduct. “Our insurance handled the victim,” co-owner Michael Krohngold told Buzz on Friday. “Fortunately, it wasn’t life threatening or permanently disfiguring.”
He thought that was it. Then in December, he received a letter from the License Review Board. “It’s the type of thing that makes you gulp,” he said.
As reported in Creative Loafing, the board on Jan. 30 recommended the club be fined $1,000 and, even worse, lose its alcohol license for 45 days. Barney Simms, the board chairman, told Buzz that in his six years on the board, this was the first time he had heard of a customer being injured due to the negligence of a club, and he felt the recommended punishment was fair.
Mayor Shirley Franklin has 90 days to make a decision. If she rules against the club, Tongue & Groove attorney Alan Begner said it will appeal.
SURPRISE! YOU’RE IN
Ron Clark, the energetic best-selling educator whose story was a popular TNT film starring Matthew Perry last summer, used “American Idol” tactics Saturday before 60 unsuspecting middle-school-aged children who had applied to enter his Ron Clark Academy in south Atlanta this fall.
After the children were told to gather at the Carver YMCA for a final interview, Clark split them into three groups and implied that some would make it and some wouldn’t, depending on what color ball they would get from a fishbowl.
But it was all a feint. In the end, he said, all of them were in!
“The parents jumped to their feet, and in my whole life I have never seen so many grown men cry,” Clark wrote in an e-mail after the event, which Mayor Shirley Franklin attended. “One child fell to the floor, and we had to struggle to get her to her feet. She was overwhelmed.”
The experimental school, for which Clark raised all the money privately through donations, will employ his teaching methods, which focus on high expectations, relevant teaching and plenty of travel. About 360 kids applied for those 60 slots.
HIGH FIVE
Hot 107.9 Top songs, March 10-16
1. “Rock Star,” Da Shop Boyz
2. “2 Step,” DJ Unk
3. “Tattoo,” Alliance
4. “Go Getta,” Young Jeezy
5. “Poppin’,” Chris Brown
— Mediabase 24/7
LATE-NIGHT JOKES
“According to a recent poll, anti-American sentiment is running high in Mexico. Half of Mexico’s population say they have a negative view of the United States, and the other half are already here.” Jay Leno, March 15
“The movie ‘300’ is setting box-office records, but there is a controversy. The country of Iran is reportedly angry over the depiction of the Persian Empire in the movie ‘300.’ Not only that, the Syrian government’s upset that Eddie Murphy didn’t win an Oscar for ‘Dreamgirls.’ ” Conan O’Brien, March 14
“A Taliban commander was caught and was disguised as a woman… . He faces up to 25 years in prison or a year on ‘The View.’ ” David Letterman, March 13
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress Ursula Andress is 71. Actress Glenn Close is 60. Actor Bruce Willis is 52.
Contributing: news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Fonda’s star power has its ups and downs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jane Fonda fans may be a bit put off by “Save the Date!” cards mailed out this week to remind folks of the May 7 Atlanta premiere of “Georgia Rule” at the Woodruff Arts Center benefiting the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention.
The two-time Oscar winner is bumped to the bottom third of the Universal movie poster.
Lindsay Lohan, the troubled young actress who is helping to keep the celebrity tabloid industry solvent with her seemingly endless nightclub exploits, scores top billing, while Oscar nominee Felicity Huffman occupies the center of the promotional item.
The Atlantan does get top billing, however, in the upcoming movie’s trailer available at www.georgiarulemovie.net. In the two-minute-plus clip, fans get their first exposure to Fonda’s feisty, rule-loving Idaho grandmother.
In the trailer, Fonda’s character utilizes a baseball bat to kneecap a visitor who takes the Lord’s name in vain at her house. Upon reuniting with her grandmother, Lohan’s character informs her: “You don’t look evil.” Fonda cracks in reply: “Makeup helps.”
The film, helmed by “Pretty Woman” director Garry Marshall, has netted an R-rating for “sexual content and some language,” according to the Motion Picture Association of America.
But our fave moment of the trailer? When Fonda takes a hose to a misbehaving Lohan. Alas, she only uses it to spray water on her.
The movie opens nationally May 11.
For tickets to the G-CAPP screening, go to http://gcapp.org
Neigh to that nuzzle A cocktail party was thrown for the Budweiser Clydesdales on Thursday night at Zoo Atlanta.
Most of the evening’s honorees, however, were less than social, preferring to show us their hindsides inside swanky stalls. Bud, the young Dalmatian who had accompanied the show horses to Atlanta for today’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, was a bit more extroverted, sticking his head through the bars to bark at us.
Clydesdale Chris, however, was the exception. Led by a handler named Jeremy, Chris graciously posed for pictures and caught a few female admirers off guard when he unexpectedly burrowed his head into their cleavage. Explained Jeremy to Buzz: “He has a habit of doing that. He loves women’s perfume. Once during a Maxim magazine photo shoot, Chris even inadvertently took off a model’s top.”
Inadvertently?
Delaying the angst Nickelback fans will have to wait an additional week to see their favorite mopey rockers. The act postponed its sold-out show Friday night at Gwinnett Arena after singer/guitarist Chad Kroeger strained his voice. Tickets for the show, with opening act Three Days Grace, will be honored Thursday at the venue. Via a statement, Kroeger said: “Atlanta is one of our favorite places to play. The fans are especially good to us here and we want to make sure they get the full Nickelback show. We will be back on Thursday ready to rock this town!” Consider yourself warned.
Concert canceled As details emerged Friday about Boston lead singer Brad Delp’s suicide in Atkinson, N.H., local fans of the 1970s rock act encountered a unique announcement regarding the group’s summer tour stop here. The Associated Press reported that Delp died of carbon monoxide poisoning from two lit charcoal grills and car exhaust fumes.
According to a note paper-clipped to the singer’s shirt, Delp disclosed: “I am a lonely soul… . To whoever finds this, I have hopefully committed suicide. Plan B was to asphyxiate myself in my car. I take complete and sole responsibility for my present situation. I have lost my desire to live.”
In local ads showcasing Chastain Park Amphitheatre’s concert series featuring Van Morrison, Stevie Nicks, B.B. King and others, promoters handled the delicate situation with a single word typed across the box advertising Boston’s planned July 8 gig with REO Speedwagon: “Canceled!”
(Personally, the exclamation point really brought it home for us… .)
SICK BAY UPDATE Kelly Ripa says Regis Philbin, her co-host on “Live With Regis and Kelly,” is in good shape after having heart bypass surgery this week. Ripa said Philbin, 75, came through his surgery Wednesday with flying colors. “He is already up joking around with the nurses and the doctors and harassing people and picking on people,” Ripa said in New York. The doctor “told us what we already knew: that Regis Philbin has the heart of a 19-year-old.” Ripa, 36, said she plans to keep her promise to give Philbin some special attention: a sponge bath. MTV’s Damien Fahey, who was filling in for Philbin on Thursday’s show, had a better idea: “It would be nice to bathe him on-air, you know what I mean? We replace the desk with a tub, we run some warm water.” Ripa replied: “That’s the pay-per-view special.”
HIGH FIVE Top downloaded albums 1. Amy Winehouse, “Back to Black” 2. James Morrison, “Undiscovered” 3. Arcade Fire, “Neon Bible” 4. Nine Inch Nails, “Year Zero” 5. Neil Young, “Live at Massey Hall 1971” — iTunes Store
Celebrity birthdays Today: Guitarist Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship is 66. Singer-songwriter John Sebastian of the Lovin’ Spoonful is 63. Actor Patrick Duffy is 58. Actor Kurt Russell is 56. Actor Gary Sinise is 52. Actor Rob Lowe is 43. Sunday: Actor Peter Graves is 81. Country singer Charley Pride is 69. Rapper-actress Queen Latifah is 37. Comedian Dane Cook (“Employee of the Month”) is 35. Singer Adam Levine of Maroon 5 is 28.
Contributing: news service.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Gabrielle Union shooting ‘Football Wives’ pilot
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Before Dallas Austin Foundation gala attendee Gabrielle Union blew out of town this week, we managed to get some scoop from the actress on the pressing commitments back in Hollywood that cut her Atlanta visit short.
Union disclosed that she’s been cast in the currently shooting pilot of “Football Wives,” the U.S. version of “Footballers Wives,” the hit U.K. soap. And in terms of casting, the upcoming ABC prime-time soap has a chance to be the network’s next “Brothers and Sisters.”
In addition to Union, the cast includes “Idlewild” actor Ving Rhames, “Dawson’s Creek” grad James Van Der Beek, “Xena” actress Lucy Lawless, “Invasion” actor Eddie Cibrian, “Love, Inc.” actress Holly Robinson Peete and Union’s “Daddy’s Little Girls” co-star Brian J. White.
“My character’s name is Chardonnay Lane, and she’s not the nicest girl around,” Union told us, flashing a big smile. “She’s a pop star on her way up, and for a girl from Nebraska, she’s really fun to play! I’ve joked on set that I also go by Pinot Grigio.”
Union also has fond memories of shooting Atlanta director-writer Tyler Perry’s “Daddy’s Little Girls” here last year. Of the recently released flick that underperformed at the box office, Union cracked to the assembled media, “And I’m sure everyone saw that movie, right?”
While in town, Union said her haunts included Justin’s, the Atlanta Fish Market, Two Urban Licks and Atlantic Station. “I pretty much blew my per diem at all those boutiques at Atlantic Station, too!” she disclosed.
And her favorite Atlanta eatery? “Any place that serves biscuits, basically!” she replied.
‘BUTTERFLY’ BALL INFO
Incomparable charitable fund-raiser Sally Dorsey introduced the team behind this fall’s Shepherd Center benefit on Thursday afternoon at Posh in Buckhead, describing the gracious women alternately as “someone who will run naked down Peachtree Street if it means helping the Shepherd Center” and “a woman who has probably had more last names than even me!”
And people wonder why we never have a capped pen when we’re in Dorsey’s presence.
The Nov. 3 evening at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, titled “Metamorphosis: The Legend of the Butterfly,” was described to the assembled media as “the ball of the year.” And whether or not the actual event will live up to the hype, one thing is certain— the money will be going to a noble cause. Center co-founder Alana Shepherd told us the money will be earmarked for a $16 million expansion project that will include the new Irene and George Woodruff Residence Center on the center’s grounds.
“The families of the patients are emotionally fragile, as well,” Shepherd explained. “We need to have the families nearby, and to actually have them on the campus will be great.”
The apartment units will come complete with high-speed Internet service so family members can update friends and other family members on patient progress. Patients will be able to visit family members as well. For tickets, call 404-350-7778, or go to www.shepherd.org.
PANDA GOES FOR RIDE
If someone tells you pandas are ponderous creatures, merely point to Mei Lan, the 200-plus mph bear.