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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2008 > April
April 2008
Paula Abdul (sort of) explains kooky actions to Q100
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
During a call to Q100 Wednesday morning, “American Idol” judge Paula Abdul attempted to explain her loopy behavior on the hit Fox Television show’s live broadcast Tuesday night. LISTEN TO EXCERPT.
Whether she succeeded or not depended on how much listeners could comprehend.
During “A.I.’s” broadcast Tuesday night, (SEE VIDEO) Abdul attempted to critique contestant Jason Castro on his two performances from the Neil Diamond songbook. The problem?
At the time of Abdul’s comments mid-way through the show, the dreadlocked singer had one performed song, “Forever in Blue Jeans.”
During the show Abdul also confused contestants Brooke White and Syesha Mercado.
On Q100 Wednesday, Abdul blamed the screw up on “A.I.” producers, explaining that the judges were not alerted to the change in format until the show was live.
Abdul also disputed claims from conspiracy-minded Internet bloggers that the judges were handed pre-scripted comments in advance.
Q100’s Bert Weiss also asked Abdul point-blank if her confused state on-air Tuesday was possibly the result of medication taken for an old neck injury.
Responded Abdul: “I do have pain in my neck. But I don’t take drugs that make me act differently on show days.”
Abdul said her neck injury was the result of a plane crash 12 years ago.
“I have never been drunk in my life,” she continued. “Or done recreational drugs. I don’t condone it.”
Abdul said that while the show was in commercial breaks Tuesday night, judge Simon Cowell argued with producers about the last-minute format change. She also indicated that Cowell and judge Randy Jackson had words with producers after the show concluded.
During the often rambling live radio interview, Abdul didn’t address exactly how the chaotic scene backstage resulted in her thinking that Castro had performed twice.
But she did explain to listeners that “American Idol” has a full dress rehearsal with the contestants and an audience prior to the live national telecast.
Summed up Abdul: “It was embarrassing and kooky.”
After she hung up, Q100 went into a commercial break. Then she unexpectedly rang the radio station back.
When she was put back live on the air, Abdul realized she had phoned the same radio station twice, apologized and said: “I’m getting my notes all mixed up.”
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK on Rodney Ho’s ‘A.I.’ blog
JUDGE: STEVE AND VIKKI ADS CAN STAY
On Tuesday, Fulton County Superior Court judge Alfred Dempsey ruled that those B98.5 FM TV spots featuring the station’s upcoming morning team of Steve McCoy and Vikki Locke can remain on the air and that they did not violate the terms of the pair’s noncompete clause at Star 94, their former employer. Lincoln Financial, Star 94’s parent company, was seeking a temporary restraining order on the ads. Star 94 general manager Mark Kanov told Buzz on Wednesday that he has no plans to pursue the lawsuit any further. “We are disappointed that the judge ruled on a technicality, a loophole, and not the intent of the agreement with Steve and Vikki,” Kanov said. “Steve and Vikki did not honor what they previously agreed to.”
Cox Radio attorney Jim Demetry, who represented Locke and McCoy at Tuesday’s hearing, was satisfied with the ruling.
“Steve and Vikki were pleased but not surprised by the judge’s decision,” Demetry told Buzz. “They look forward to returning to the airwaves on WSB-FM and reconnecting with their listeners.”
McCoy and Locke will debut on B98.5 FM on July 1.
B98.5 FM is a part of Cox Enterprises, which also owns The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
A ‘SEMI’ WINNING STREAK
What you’ll see tonight at the Uptown Comedy Club may look like a stand-up routine, but in a lot of ways it could be considered comedian-actor Jay Phillips’ victory lap. The Los Angeles-based talent has seen the first three major movies he’s appeared in — “Semi-Pro,” “Prom Night” and “Baby Mama” — all debut in the No. 1 spot in the box office.
“This has been a real good run,” Phillips told Buzz before his multi-night stand at Uptown, ending Sunday. “But that little bit of movie money — that’s gone. I’ve still got a mortgage to pay. And I got caught up in that mortgage craziness, too. It went up. So you know, see the show, have some laughs, help a brother out.”
Though Phillips was joking a bit, clearly his fortunes are bright. The comedian who provided the “urban voice” on a Baltimore radio station after Atlanta’s Frank Ski left now has a pilot for a sketch comedy show (“Man Stroke Woman”), another pilot for a proposed spoof on BET, for BET (“Da Network”) and an appearance on Martin Lawrence’s upcoming show on Starz (“1st Amendment Stand Up”) all in the can. Plus, he’s developing another show for Comedy Central, called “Mind of the Quiet Dude.” Explained Phillips: “I mean, obviously I’m fortunate with what’s been happening with the movies. But I can’t act like I’ve made it, yet.”
Singer Judy Collins is 69. Bassist Johnny Colt (Black Crowes) is 42. Country singer Tim McGraw is 41. Bassist D’Arcy Wretzky (Smashing Pumpkins) is 40.
TRANSITIONS
Emeril’s Atlanta has been packed with diners this week who wanted one last taste of Emeril’s Essence before the Buckhead eatery closed for good after dinner service Wednesday. We’re told that the restaurant’s dry goods will be donated to Atlanta’s Project Open Hand. Also, chef de cuisine Michael Blydenstein and general manager Averriel Thomas are hoping to stay in town, pending new gigs. All traces of Emeril’s Atlanta, meanwhile, have been removed from the New Orleans-based company’s Web site.
Contributing: Sonia Murray, Rodney Ho 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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Fergie helps Japanese star with ATL shoot
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While stateside success has thus far eluded Japanese pop star Kumi Koda, the rubberneckers were still out in force Tuesday during the performer’s video shoot for her new single, “That Ain’t Cool,” at Atlantic Station.
Of course, the strained neck muscles may have been inspired by Black Eyed Peas vocalist Fergie, who was there to lend her vocals and visuals to the filming.
We’re told that Fergie steamed up more than a few pairs of sunglasses when she arrived on set in skin-tight black pants and a skimpy top that complemented the serious crunch time the pop star’s spent in the gym on her abs.
According to the All Music Guide, Kumi Koda, 25, considered a major Japanese pop singer, has released six albums and “That Ain’t Cool” is poised to become her 40th single.
The petite Kumi emerged on set wearing a provocative tiny top and gray shiny leggings.
The pair were first spotted shooting in a parking deck at the Midtown shopping destination Tuesday, and we’re told that a shoot at Twelve hotel was on the schedule for Tuesday night.
Pop fans can expect “That Ain’t Cool” to hit stores — and with friends like Fergie, dare we surmise, MTV? — later this spring.
JACKSON WORTH THE WAIT FOR FANS
Joyce Walker, 65, got up at 4 a.m. Tuesday to drive from her Lawrenceville home to Scott’s Bookstore in Newnan to see her favorite country artist, Alan Jackson. Part of her trip was traveled on the portion of I-85 named for the singer.
But Jackson wouldn’t start signing copies of his CD alongside his wife, Denise, who was signing copies of her second book, until 2 p.m.
“We froze to death,” Walker said of the eight hours she and her son, Mike, waited on the sidewalk. “But it was so worth it. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
The Jacksons said they were thrilled by the turnout of hundreds of fans wrapping around the courthouse square bookstore.
“I was a little nervous,” Denise Jackson said. “But when Alan said he’d come with me, I was more confident. We really haven’t been in Newnan for years, so this response is overwhelming.”
HENDRIX OR HOAX?
Vivid Entertainment is releasing a sex tape allegedly starring Jimi Hendrix.
The Los Angeles-based adult entertainment company said it obtained the sex tape from a memorabilia collector.
The 11 minutes of footage, reportedly shot in a hotel room about 40 years ago, features Hendrix — or someone who looks like him — engaged in various sexual acts with two women.
The company said it consulted with experts to authenticate the footage. But Charles R. Cross, author of the Hendrix biography “Room Full of Mirrors,” has seen the film and doubts the man is Hendrix.
Cross said the face and nostrils of the man depicted in the video don’t match Hendrix. He also said the man in the tape is wearing more rings that Hendrix was known to wear.
“This is somebody that looks like Jimi or is pretending to look like him, but it certainly didn’t look like a dead-on match to me,” Cross told The Associated Press during a telephone interview Tuesday.
Hendrix, who headlined the legendary Woodstock Festival in 1969, died of a drug overdose in 1970.
Seattle-based representatives for Hendrix’s estate declined to comment about the tape. It could not immediately be determined Tuesday whether the man in the film breaks into a searing rock guitar rendition of the national anthem during the 11-minute clip.
CELEBRITY DOCKET
TMZ is reporting that “CSI’s” Gary Dourdan has been arrested in Palm Springs, Calif., “on suspicion of possessing heroin, cocaine and ecstasy and prescription drugs.” Law enforcement sources told the celeb Web site and TV show that the actor was asleep in his car at 5:21 a.m. when they approached the vehicle and made the bust.
Dourdan was taken to Palm Springs jail and later posted $5,000 bail.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress Cloris Leachman is 82. Singer Willie Nelson is 75. Actor Adrian Pasdar (“Heroes”) is 43. Singer Akon is 35. Actor Johnny Galecki (“The Big Bang Theory,” “Roseanne”) is 33. Rapper Lloyd Banks is 26. Actress Kirsten Dunst is 26. Country singer Tyler Wilkinson of the Wilkinsons is 24.
OVERSCENE
Dunwoody High School grad and “Remember the Titans” actor Kip Pardue brunching on a jumbo lump crab cake with two friends at Tap in Midtown.
Former NBA great Charles Barkley having cocktails with friends in the basement at Stats downtown. Collective Soul guitarist Dean Roland was also spotted in the sports bar having drinks before taking in a Hawks playoff game at Philips Arena.
Contributing: Kathy Jefcoats 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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Two tributes get to the soul of ‘Godfather’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Finally, we’re all going to have a chance to get an up close look-see at those incomparable “Godfather of Soul” capes. Two exhibitions, featuring artifacts from the late James Brown’s life and career, are in the works.
On Monday, Augusta Museum of History marketing rep Rebekah Henry provided details to Buzz on the singer’s adopted hometown’s upcoming tribute to him, starting Saturday.
This week, the Augusta Museum of History will unveil “The Godfather of Soul, Mr. James Brown,” the first major exhibition devoted to the life and legacy of Brown, set to run through May 2011.
In an e-mail sent to Buzz, we’re told the exhibit “will span Brown’s life — from his early poverty-stricken years growing up in a brothel in East Augusta where he would dance and shine shoes for money, to his heyday as a two-time Grammy Award winner and as one of the initial artists to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”
It will also spotlight Brown’s in-depth roles helping to advance race relations and education.
Via a statement, Nancy Glaser, executive director of the Augusta Museum of History, told Buzz: “James Brown had an incredible impact on so many genres of music and his achievements and influence on the industry are tremendous. Born in South Carolina and raised in downtown Augusta, Brown’s earliest musical influences came from the sounds on the street and in the churches of the South. I can think of no more fitting tribute than this exhibition taking place in the town he loved.”
Deanna Brown Thomas, daughter of James Brown and a member of the museum’s board of trustees, released the following statement: “The family is very humbled. I just know that Dad would have always wanted his personal items to be on display — to be in the Augusta Museum of History, his home, where he’s from; it means a lot to the family to know it was something that he would have wanted, and we know that he would have been happy.”
This summer, another exhibit of Brown memorabilia is being organized for South Carolina State University.
Interim university President Leonard McIntyre tells The (Charleston) Post and Courier that he has secured the rights to show the items, which include clothing, shoes, awards, furniture and sheet music, through a contact he has with the late singer’s estate.
Brown died in Atlanta on Christmas Day 2006. He was 73.
SUPERHERO SUMMIT
Perhaps, because they’re both recognized crime fighters, herzzoner’s security detail didn’t attempt to interfere when Marvel superhero Iron Man approached Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin at the Inman Park Festival over the weekend. Of course, it also may have been because Franklin’s grandson Keson was extremely excited to see the large red and yellow guy who bows on the big screen this Friday. We’re told the two exchanged greetings and a quick hug before Iron Man departed to no doubt seek out a quick snack of funnel cake and motor oil. At deadline Monday, there was no official word whether Franklin had suitably influenced Iron Man to weld some fresh blooms to his lapel.
NOT SO FAIR PHOTO?
Here’s yet another cautionary tale about why you should actively dissuade your teen daughter from becoming a global pop star gazillionaire. Miley Cyrus is taking issue with a photo of herself that’s going around, but it’s not another amateur, Internet snapshot — it’s the handiwork of Annie Leibovitz.
“I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be ‘artistic’ and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed,” Cyrus said in a statement through her publicist. “I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about.”
The photos, appearing in the upcoming issue of Vanity Fair, were taken by Leibovitz, a renowned celebrity photographer.
The Cyrus pictures accompany an interview with the 15-year-old pop star and her father, singer Billy Ray Cyrus. They include shots of the teen wrapped in what appears to be a satin bedsheet, looking over her shoulder with her back exposed.
The Disney Channel, which airs Cyrus’ TV show, “Hannah Montana,” was also critical of Vanity Fair.
“Unfortunately, as the article suggests, a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines,” a network statement said.
“I’m sorry that my portrait of Miley has been misinterpreted,” Leibovitz said in a statement released by Vanity Fair. “Miley and I looked at fashion photographs together and we discussed the picture in that context before we shot it. The photograph is a simple, classic portrait, shot with very little makeup, and I think it is very beautiful.”
STORK REPORT
Actress Amy Poehler is a real-life “Baby Mama.”
Poehler, who co-stars with Tina Fey in the hit pregnancy comedy, is expecting her first child with husband Will Arnett, the couple’s publicist, Lewis Kay, said Monday.
Kay declined to give further details.
The couple were married in 2003. The baby is due sometime this fall.
Poehler, 36, is a cast member on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” She co-starred with Arnett, 38, in the 2007 comedy “Blades of Glory.”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Bluesman Otis Rush is 74. Country singer Duane Allen of the Oak Ridge Boys is 65. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld is 54. Actor Daniel Day-Lewis is 51. Actress Michelle Pfeiffer is 50. Actress Eve Plumb (“The Brady Bunch”) is 50. Actress Uma Thurman is 38. Rapper Master P is 38.
OVERSCENE
Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers and Atlanta Hawks center Zaza Pachulia spotted at different tables over the weekend at Veni Vidi Vici in Midtown. But when Pachulia heard Rivers was also in the Italian eatery, he asked to speak to him. VVV manager J. Scott Havron graciously paired the two for a photo together.
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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Summer Film Fest lineup at Fox announced
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Rolling Stones’ concert film “Shine a Light” will start this year’s Coca-Cola Summer Film Festival at the Fox Theatre. The Fox has set the series’ first seven films, including showings of the classics “Casablanca” and “Ben-Hur.” Seven films for August will be selected later. The schedule: “Shine a Light” — 7:30 p.m. June 5; “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!” — 2 p.m. June 8; “Atonement” — 7 p.m. June 8; “Casablanca” — 7:30 p.m. June 17; “No Country for Old Men” — 7:30 p.m. June 18; “Enchanted” — 2 p.m. July 13; and “Ben-Hur” — 7 p.m. July 13.
Kevin Mazur/WPC Piecemeal, Inc.
Rolling Stones Mick Jagger (from left), Ronnie Wood, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts star in the concert film “Shine a Light,” which will kick off the Coca-Cola Summer Film Festival in June.
Tickets will go on sale May 19. Individual tickets will be $7 (12-ticket packs are $60). The pre-show with Larry Douglas Embury performing on the “Mighty Mo” organ and a sing-along and classic cartoon all will be returning.
Like the lineup? Tell us what you think on Bob Longino’s MovieTalk blog.
ALSO: Check out movies scheduled for Screen on the Green in Centennial Park.
Time to dress up for book’s debut
Pull out the old cotillion gown and rev up Grandpa’s Ford F-100, it’s time to go read.
“Girls in Trucks” author Katie Crouch will discuss and sign her debut novel at Wordsmiths Books in Decatur on Tuesday, and the Wordsmiths folks are hoping the crowd will come prepared.
Anybody, guy or gal, who shows up in a high-society ball gown or a pickup gets entered into a contest to win gift certificates or free books.
The story is an old one: Southern society girl goes to New York, wrestles with her past and present, heads home after a tragedy and sees South Carolina in a new light.
But it’s different, Russ Marshalek, marketing director at Wordsmiths swears. “I will go so far to pick it as one of my favorites for the year already,” he says, describing it as the “Southern, female David Sedaris.”
It’s not exactly autobiographical, but Crouch said it’s not exactly fictional, either.
Crouch grew up in Charleston, studied in New York and spent five years putting together the book.
Check it out at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Wordsmiths Books, 545 N. McDonough St., Decatur.
Word warriors, get set for spelling bee
This ought to be F-U-N. The fifth annual “Vox Rox” spelling bee starts at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Park Tavern’s Garden Tent. Billed as “March Madness” meets geek chic, the event benefits VOX, a youth development organization where teens put together a newspaper and Web site.
Comedians Spencer Stephens, Matt Horgan and Tim Stoltenberg will emcee. Corporations can put their word warriors in the game for a $2,500 sponsorship that includes a table for 10 for the cheering section. Current corporate competitors include The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dow Lohnes, Georgia Power Co., Kilpatrick Stockton, Southern Co. and Turner Broadcasting.
Individuals can sign up for $500, including a table for five spectators or $1,000 for a table for 10. Call 404-614-0040, e-mail anna@voxrox.org or see www.voxrox.org/bee for info.
Party celebrates jazz festival
Jazz lovers came out to City Hall East last week for a preview party celebrating the 31st annual Atlanta Jazz Festival, held May 24-26 at Woodruff Park. (details: www.atlantafestivals.com ).
We visited with Camille Russell Love, director of the city’s Office of Cultural Affairs, Nnena Nchege, jazz festival project supervisor, and JoAnn Haden-Miller, cultural and heritage marketing director in the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The event featured live jazz (of course) and samples from restaurants including Se’ Vauge, Chima, City Grill, Dailey’s, Ray’s in the City, the Loft at Castleberry Hill and Villa Christina.
Mayor Shirley Franklin, a fan of classics like Miles Davis, Nina Simone and Ella Fitzgerald, told the crowd she’d studied ballet but declared she’d come back in the next life as a jazz dancer.
“Some people would say I’m stuck in the past,” she joked. “I’m an old-timer.”
Since the fest is moving to Woodruff Park, we asked the mayor — given a recent CVB study confirming that panhandling is getting worse — how she thinks the 2005 ordinance banning aggressive panhandling is working.
“I’m not going to answer that,” she said.
Well, gosh.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress-singer Ann-Margret is 67. “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno is 58. Singer-bassist Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth is 55. Rapper Too Short is 42. Actress Bridget Moynahan is 37. Actor Chris Young is 37. Rapper Big Gipp of Goodie Mob is 35. Actor Jorge Garcia (“Lost”) is 35. Actress Penelope Cruz is 34. Actress Jessica Alba (“Dark Angel”) is 27. QUOTE OF THE DAY
“She’s had 100 hairstyles in her history, but tomorrow’s is a mystery.”
— WSB’s Mark Winne on the ever-changing coiffures of colleague Monica Pearson. Winne made his quip while he served as emcee for the recent Heroes, Saints and Legends gala at the Piedmont Driving Club, benefiting the Foundation of Wesley Woods.
Contributing: Jennifer Brett, Tracy Brown, Bob Longino 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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Ludacris opens new restaurant with AIDS benefit
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Musician, actor and entrepreneur Chris Bridges (who pops up on the young peoples’ iPods as rapper Ludacris) was beaming Thursday night as he welcomed guests to his latest venture, Straits restaurant at 793 Juniper St. in Midtown.
Special
AID Atlanta executive director Tracy Elliott (from left), actress Jennifer Holliday, Chris Bridges (aka Ludacris) and chef Chris Yeo at the Straits AID Atlanta benefit private dinner Thursday.
The former site of Spice was acquired by Bridges last year initially as a real estate investment (the reformed crack house fetched $2.7 million last year in the renovated neighborhood). But after meeting chef Chris Yeo at a Ludacris Foundation benefit here last year and tasting his Singaporean cuisine in his Straits restaurant in San Francisco, Bridges decided to expose folks in his hometown to the Asian flavors.
“The seasoning of the food is what really got me,” Bridges told Buzz, clad in a beautifully tailored dark blue suit and accented with a sparkling diamond stud earring roughly the size of Vinings. “Atlanta is such a great melting pot, but this kind of food was lacking here. But I don’t want people to get things twisted. I originally bought this as a real estate investment. But after meeting Chris, bringing Straits to Atlanta became something I wanted to do. And believe me, whenever I’m in town, I’ll be here eating!”
Yeo told us he’s loved relocating to Atlanta as he and his Left Coast team reassembled here to prep Straits Atlanta.
“I’m really excited about introducing this cuisine to Atlanta,” the fedora-favoring foodie told us.
And the one ingredient Atlantans should try?
“Definitely the Chinese sausage,” he suggested. “It’s sweeter and more caramelized.”
Past the exposed kitchen where the staff was expertly chopping cilantro and steaming rice, Buzz managed to slide past the “Wine Cellar” signage and sneak downstairs to the private Opium Lounge where bottle service will be offered to VIPs.
Light from numerous votive candles danced on the exposed brick wall in the cool basement space. The comfy couches, adorned with gold pillows and seating for 40 could prove quite a draw for Bridges’ countless celebrity friends.
We especially loved the very private darkened area, seemingly designed for two pairs of canoodling couples. …
STAR-STUDDED NIGHT
Joining Ludacris at the Straits AID Atlanta benefit private dinner Thursday night: pop star Fergie, rapper Rich Boy, former “Webster” star Emmanuel Lewis, “Dreamgirls” Tony winner Jennifer Holliday and former Atlanta Falcon Jamal Anderson.
While we were at Straits, Atlanta celebrity shutterbug Ben Rose was busy shooting the bold-faced names at the 11th annual BMI Atlanta Unsigned Urban Showcase at Luckie Food Lounge downtown. Rose tells us that Lil Wayne headlined the show and the aforementioned Fergie stopped by (she even visited with Lil Wayne on his tour bus before he went on stage). Chart topper Usher and wife Tameka also were spotted with J-Lac, Usher’s little bro.
CELEBRITY DOCKET
Since it’s a day of the week ending with a “y,” we can confidently report that soul singer Amy Winehouse has once again been arrested.
The Grammy winner was booked on suspicion of assault Friday following reports that she scuffled with two men during a wild night out in London, Sky News television reported.
The 24-year-old, who recently entered rehab after years of singing about it, arrived at a central London police station to answer questions relating to the alleged incident, her representatives said.
Police didn’t directly confirm that Winehouse was in custody, saying only that a 24-year-old woman was being held on suspicion of assault.
British authorities don’t usually name suspects until they have been charged.
Winehouse didn’t say anything to assembled photographers and cameramen as she walked into the station late Friday afternoon.
A witness was quoted in London newspapers as saying he was hit by Winehouse when he got in her way while she was playing pool at a bar and then head-butted another who was trying to hail her a cab in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
And kids, that’s spelled C-L-A-S-S-Y.
OVERSCENE
Former president, author, “Man From Plains” documentary subject and current Bush administration irritant Jimmy Carter at Twain’s Billiards in Decatur.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I don’t have any friends and don’t have any intention of making any. People will stab you in the back, mistreat you, talk about you behind your back, steal from you. [They’re] only there because you’re a celebrity or because they want to get something from you.”
Former child actor Gary Coleman, 40, with Shannon Price, 22, his wife of 10 months, on upcoming episodes of “Divorce Court” set to air May 1-2.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Today: Actress-comedian Carol Burnett is 75. Guitarist-songwriter Duane Eddy is 70. Drummer Roger Taylor of Duran Duran is 48. Actor Jet Li (above) is 45. Singer T-Boz of TLC is 38. Actor Tom Welling (“Smallville”) is 31. Actress Jordana Brewster (“The Fast and The Furious”) is 28.
Sunday: Actor Jack Klugman is 86. Singer Kate Pierson of the B-52’s is 60. Guitarist Ace Frehley (Kiss) is 57. Singer-guitarist Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy is 24.
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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A good sign for Newnan power couple
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It was already a big deal from the start: Country superstar Alan Jackson and his successful author wife, Denise, coming back to Newnan Tuesday to receive the first Richard Brooks Award — along with late writer Erskine Caldwell — for their contributions to the arts in Coweta County.
But you know, Denise has a new book out (“The Road Home”). So hours before the 7 p.m. ceremony at the Centre for Performing and Visual Arts (1523 Lower Fayetteville Road), she has made plans to sign it and her first best-seller, “It’s All About Him,” at 2 p.m. at Scotts Books (28 S. Court Square, 770-253-2960) in Newnan.
Now Buzz has learned that hubby will join his wife in the signing, offering up his “Alan Jackson” to his recent No. 1 CD, “Good Time.” It will be the first one they’ve ever done together.
ROBOT VISITS ‘COLBERT REPORT’
Rufus Terrill and his 300-pound robot, Bum Bot, have gone under Stephen Colbert’s comedic lens. The Atlanta bar owner and the robot he built to combat drug dealers and petty thieves were scheduled to make an appearance Thursday night on Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report.”
“I know they’ll make me look like an idiot,” he said. “But that’s OK. It was fun.”
A Comedy Central representative confirmed the piece called “Difference Makers: Bum Bot” was moved up from a later scheduled date.
If you missed it, you can watch one of the repeats today, which air on Comedy Central at 10:30 a.m. and
2:30 and 8:30 p.m.
Terrill, who has made plans to run for mayor of Atlanta (on an anti-crime platform, of course), said producers for the show asked him more than 100 questions over four hours and draped an American flag on his robot, which is outfitted with red lights, infrared video camera and a water cannon.
“They made it look like a super hero,” he said. Terrill, who was first featured in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in February, owns O’Terrill’s pub in downtown Atlanta.
DOVE AWARDS
Casting Crowns singer Mark Hall of McDonough collected four trophies and TobyMac won artist of the year at Wednesday’s 39th annual Dove Awards, which celebrate the best in gospel music.
Hall, who was the night’s leading nominee with six, won song of the year and pop/contemporary recorded song of the year for “East to West,” which he co-wrote with Bernie Herms.
His participation on the multi-artist worship project “Glory Revealed” brought Hall individual honors for special event album of the year, as well as inspirational recorded song of the year for “By His Wounds.”
His band also had four nominations and won three: group of the year, best pop/contemporary album of the year for “The Altar and the Door” and pop/contemporary recorded song of the year for “East to West.”
“I’m so thankful just to get to be part of the songs,” Hall said.
TobyMac also won artist of the year in 1996 as a member of dc Talk. His latest album, “Portable Sounds,” debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart.
“Are you kidding? This is crazy, man. I thought I was Mr. Pre-Televised awards,” joked TobyMac, whose real name is Toby McKeehan. “God has been faithful time and again to surround me with people that sharpen me and that make me better.”
Besides artist of the year, TobyMac took home Dove Awards for rock/contemporary album for “Portable Sounds” and short-form video for his hit “Boomin.”
Chris Tomlin won male vocalist of the year and Natalie Grant was awarded female vocalist. Those were their third consecutive wins in their respective categories.
“This is quite amazing. Thank God for letting me sing and give a voice to people around the world to worship him,” Tomlin said.
Grant said she was thankful for the freedom to express herself freely.
“I think we forget often what a privilege it is to be in a country where we can record music that boldly proclaims our passion for Jesus Christ. What a gift,” Grant said.
Brandon Heath won new artist of the year.
‘IDOL’ HOPEFUL OUSTED, BUT UPBEAT
Former Fado Irish Pub waitress Carly Smithson was downright chipper Thursday despite being eliminated the night before on “American Idol” and finishing sixth.
“I feel like ‘American Idol’ has given me such a gift,” she said. “I enjoyed every moment. I think I made enough of an impact to be able to reach a good fan base. Now I get to be me without the theme nights and make a cool record.”
Smithson — who was sweet, heartfelt and conversational during a news conference — sometimes came across as angry and remote onstage. She blamed it on the pressure and the high expectations the judges placed on her early on.
Smithson lived in Atlanta from 2003 to 2005 but didn’t sing while here because she felt burned by the music industry after her career died on the vine with MCA Records earlier this decade. “I needed to leave [singing] to love it more,” she said.
And what about that big tattoo on her right arm, which everyone thought was Amy Winehouse? “It’s a geisha,” she said with a chuckle. “It’s just not colored in. I love the tattoo but it really bothered me it wasn’t finished. We never got any time. … By the time it’s done, she’ll look nothing like Amy Winehouse!”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Al Pacino is 68. Bassist Stu Cook of Creedence Clearwater Revival is 63. Singer Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA is 63. Actor Hank Azaria (“The Simpsons”) is 44.”Early Show” host Jane Clayson is 41. Actress Renee Zellweger is 39. Actor Jason Lee (“My Name Is Earl,” “Almost Famous”) is 38.
Contributing: Sonia Murray, Rodney Ho 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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Terrill, robot to take on mayor’s race
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Running on an anti-crime platform, Rufus Terrill and the robot he calls Bum Bot will be running for mayor of Atlanta.
“I’ll wait till June to make an official announcement,” he told Buzz. “But yes, I plan to run. I want Atlanta to have safe streets.”
Fed up with drug dealers and petty thieves who, he says, roam the streets outside his downtown bar, O’Terrill’s pub, Terrill crafted a 300-pound robot complete with red lights, spotlight, infrared video camera and a water cannon.
Terrill, a 57-year-old ex-Marine, operates the cube-shaped robot via a remote control packed with two joysticks.
Terrill ran for lieutenant governor in 2006.
“I came fifth out of five,” he said. “Doesn’t that sound better than last?”
With the election more than a year away, it’s unclear who he’ll be up against. Mayor Shirley Franklin won’t be running because of term limits. Consumer guru Clark Howard is considering a run for mayor, and City Council President Lisa Borders, council members Mary Norwood and Ceasar Mitchell and state Sen. Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta) also may throw their hats into the ring.
And while he still has details of his campaign plan to iron out, he promised to give his robot a key role in his administration.
“He’ll be my chief of staff or sergeant of arms.”
STAR JONES FILES FOR DIVORCE
Three years after tying the knot in a spectacular, over-the-top affair that caused some backlash, Star Jones has decided to end her marriage to banker Al Reynolds.
The 46-year-old TV personality quietly filed divorce papers March 26 in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan.
The records are sealed, syndicated entertainment show “Entertainment Tonight” reported Wednesday.
But a representative for Shadow PR, which represents Jones, confirmed to The Associated Press that she is seeking to end the union.
In a statement to “Entertainment Tonight,” Jones said: “Several years ago I made an error in judgment by inviting the media into the most intimate area of my life. A month ago I filed for divorce.
“The dissolution of a marriage is a difficult time in anyone’s life that requires privacy with one’s thoughts. I have committed myself to handling this situation with dignity and grace and look forward to emerging from this period as a stronger and wiser woman.”
It’s not the approach Jones took when she threw her uber-lavish, Park Avenue wedding to Reynolds in November 2004.
She received criticism for endlessly discussing the wedding — and plugging its sponsors — as a co-host on ABC’s “The View.”
The negative reaction to the affair, which was attended by guests ranging from Sen. Hillary Clinton to Spike Lee, was cited by Barbara Walters as a reason why Jones’ contract wasn’t renewed by ABC’s “The View” in 2006.
The former prosecutor recently hosted a talk show on truTV.
GOLF TOURNAMENT GETS SUPPORT
Rhubarb Jones, after 23 years, lost his job as Atlanta’s longest-running morning host when Citadel Broadcasting killed the Eagle on Feb. 29. But using former sister station Kicks 101.5, Citadel continued to support his 16th annual celebrity golf tournament for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
In the end, he still managed to raise about $160,000. Though that’s down from $190,000 last year, he was happy he was able to hold the event, which he plans to continue next year, with or without a radio partner.
Jones is not bitter about Citadel’s moves. “I didn’t take it personally,” he said. “It was just business.”
It doesn’t hurt that he’s still under an iron-clad five-year contract with Citadel, which pays him to do nothing until April 1, 2009. Plus, he already has a new job lined up to teach mass communication classes at Kennesaw State University starting later this year.
He also hasn’t ruled out going back to radio at some point if the opportunity is right.
Friends and fans slapped Jones on the back and posed for pictures, offering condolences for his job loss. Former Braves players Rick Camp, Ron Gant and Brian Jordan played golf for charity. And country legend Charlie Daniels came out as usual, rockin’ his violin on “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.”
FOR ‘LION KING’ TICKET HOLDERS
If you have tickets to the 1 p.m. Sunday matinee of “The Lion King,” you really, really need to pay attention to this item. Sunday’s Tour de Georgia bicycle race is going to be closing a number of streets near and on the way to the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center on Piedmont Avenue, where the popular musical is being staged, and the closings are scheduled to start about 12:40 to 12:45 p.m. So if you want to see the start of “The Lion King” — and the first 15 minutes are flat-out awesome — you really need to plan to be there by 12:30 p.m. Otherwise, bring a nice CD to play in the car for your kids as you drive past roadblocks and curse.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress Shirley MacLaine is 74. Actress-singer-director Barbra Streisand is 66. Country singer Richard Sterban of the Oak Ridge Boys is 65. Drummer Doug Clifford (Creedence Clearwater Revival) is 63. Actress Melinda Clarke (“The O.C.”) is 39. Actor Eric Balfour (“24”) is 31. Singer Kelly Clarkson (above) (“American Idol”) is 26.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Phil Kloer 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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Emeril heads to exit as Catherall enters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Even as Atlantans were getting word Tuesday that Emeril’s Atlanta would close in Buckhead April 30, Atlanta restaurateur Tom Catherall was preparing to sign a lease agreement to move into the space at 3300 Lenox Road.
This October, Catherall will debut Aja (named for the classic 1977 Steely Dan album) in the current Emeril’s space after a million dollar interior overhaul.
Catherall is the chef and entrepreneur behind the city’s successful concepts like Twist, Shout, Prime, Goldfish and Strip (this week, his latest, Home, with Atlanta kitchen wizard and “Top Chef” contestant Richard Blais behind the stove, moves into the former Posh space at 111 W. Paces Ferry Road).
Catherall dished exclusively to Buzz Tuesday about his detailed plans for Aja.
“People love Chinese food but hate Chinese restaurants,” he explained. “They always seem to have lousy music and bad wine. We’re focusing on great food, fine wine and a nice atmosphere.”
Catherall says the concept will incorporate elements of Chinese, Indian and Thai cooking.
But not together.
“Fusion always leads to confusion,” Catherall explained. “I hate fusion.”
For the Thai portion of the menu, Catherall says he is seeking to enlist Charlie and Nan Niyomkul, the successful chef/owners behind Nan and Tamarind eateries in Midtown as consultants. Catherall is also planning treats like spring rolls and dumplings to be offered via Dim sum carts “for snacking.”
An unidentified Asian chef currently working in New York has been approached to helm the Aja kitchen.
“I’m very excited,” Catherall said. “Right now, there are no Asian restaurants in Buckhead. We’re hoping to change that.”
As for why Emeril’s failed at the prime One Alliance Center Buckhead address, Catherall points to the absence of owner/chef and Food Network icon Emeril Lagasse in his Atlanta kitchen.
“I guarantee if Emeril were in that kitchen, it would not be closing,” Catherall said. “I’m in my restaurants every day. It’s a relationship you develop with the diner. You’ve got to physically be in your store for it to succeed.”
GREAT EXPECTATIONS, SLOWING SALES
So what’s the story behind the end of Emeril’s Atlanta? In a statement to Buzz Central, the superstar chef didn’t mince words.
“Emeril’s Atlanta is the only restaurant we have ever closed and we are very sad about having to do so,” Lagasse said in the statement. “We tried very hard for four years to achieve the results we had hoped for. We will miss having a presence here. We have made a lot of friends in the Atlanta community but unfortunately were never able to generate the volume we expected when we entered the market.”
Reps for Emeril’s Homebase on Monday said the closure “was a difficult business decision based on the restaurant’s not having consistently met sales expectations. The Emeril’s restaurant company remains strong and will continue to expand into new locations.”
Lagasse currently operates 10 other restaurants in five cities, including his newest, Table 10, which opened in February in Las Vegas.
The Atlanta Emeril’s 53 full-time and part-time staffers, however, are being looked after. The company announced it would offer a severance package to all employees and work to place staffers at its other locations across the country.
COUPLING/UNCOUPLING
A village clerk in Scarsdale, N.Y., says a marriage license for Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z, dated April 4 and signed by the person who officiated at the wedding, has indeed been filed with the state.
The license was received by mail last Friday, says Scarsdale clerk Donna Conkling. She would not say who officiated.
The celebrities and their representatives had refused to confirm widespread rumors about the marriage.
Meanwhile, performer Kanye West and his fiancée, fashion designer Alexis Phifer, have reportedly broken off their engagement, according to a report posted on People.com. West and Phifer have been dating on and off since 2002.
According to the report, Phifer was spotted last week in New York on the red carpet without her engagement ring at an “Evening in Vogue” event where her clothing line was featured.
HIGH FIVE
Television
The Top Five OnDemand programs for the week of April 7-13 as determined by Comcast customers in metro Atlanta:
1. Lil Wayne, “Lollipop,” music video, Music Choice
2. Lil Wil, “My Dougie,” music video, Music Choice
3. “Family Guy,” “The King is Dead” episode, TBS
4. Ashanti, “The Way That I Love You,” music video, Music Choice
5. Jordan Sparks, “No Air,” music video, Music Choice
Courtesy: Rentrak’s OnDemand Essentials
OVERSCENE
Sevendust singer Lajon Witherspoon at Tap Gastropub in Midtown. We’re told the alternative metal band frontman enjoyed a Number’s Ale.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Director Michael Moore is 54. Actress Judy Davis is 53. Comedian George Lopez is 47. Actress Melina Kanakaredes (“Providence”) is 41. Actor Kal Penn (“Harold and Kumar”) is 31.
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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Steve and Vikki sued in dispute over ads
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Last fall, on their final broadcast Steve McCoy and Vikki Locke’s co-workers greeting them held red and white signs aloft that informed them; “Star 94 FM Will Always Love Steve & Vikki!!”
Sometimes love can prove conditional.
After sending a cease and desist order last week, legal reps for Lincoln Financial, the parent company of Star 94 FM, are now suing their former morning team for breach of contract. The suit was filed last week in Fulton County after TV spots featuring the popular pair began airing on Atlanta TV, touting their return July 1 to host a new morning show at B98.5 FM.
The suit claims the airing of the spots violates the terms of a six-month non-compete clause in their Star 94 contracts.
Through a statement e-mailed to Buzz Central, Cox Radio President and CEO Bob Neil stated: “We are confident that there have been no violations of Steve and Vikki’s non-compete clause. It’s a shame that Steve and Vikki are being badgered while following the rules in pursuing their new career opportunities. Following their release from Star 94, Cox Radio eagerly welcomes these A-plus rated personalities to B98.5 FM.”
Last week in an interview with Buzz, Star 94 general manager Mark Kanov, the duo’s boss of many years, conceded that the current situation saddened him. But he explained that “Steve and Vikki just aged out of what Star 94 is about,” demographics-wise. The station’s new AM show, “The Morning Mess” was hired with the goal of youthening Star 94’s overall audience.
Atlanta attorney Everett Doffermyre, who is representing Lincoln Financial in the suit, did not immediately return a phone call Monday. McCoy and Locke were not available for comment. On Monday, the Steve and Vikki B98.5 FM TV spots remained on air.
B98.5 FM is a part of Cox Enterprises, which also owns The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
‘IRON’-CLAD PROCLAMATION
Politicians love to honor a winner.
Typically, the winners are athletes or entertainers. But on Monday, the Atlanta City Council celebrated the feat of its conquering culinary champion, Kevin Rathbun.
You may remember Rathbun, owner of some of the top restaurants in town, bested famed New York chef Bobby Flay on the Food Network’s “Iron Chef America.” The competition of cooking five dishes in 60 minutes using a particular ingredient — in Rathbun’s case, elk — took place last year and was aired in February.
Councilman H. Lamar Willis presented Rathbun and his staff with a proclamation for his victory.
The proclamation praised Rathbun for the win. He was also honored for raising $11,000 for the Atlanta Community Food Bank by hosting a benefit screening of the contest at Kevin Rathbun Steak.
Rathbun said the high-energy contest not only brought his restaurants some acclaim, but it got him out of going to the doctor.
“Being on ‘Iron Chef America’ was pretty much a stress test,” Rathbun told the council. “I’m still alive. My doctor called me the day after and said you don’t have to come in for a physical this year. You’re not going to have a heart attack anytime soon.”
SINGER REED RECALLS BLUESMAN COSTELLO
Upon her return to town Monday, Atlanta blues vocalist Francine Reed wistfully recalled Sean Costello, the 28-year-old Atlanta blues phenom who died unexpectedly last week on the eve of his 29th birthday. Last year while performing in San Francisco, Reed was out on her morning walk on Mason Street when she saw the fellow Atlanta performer’s name on the marquee outside the club Biscuits & Blues. After her show that night, she popped in to say hello during Costello’s late set.
“Oh, you know he was so thrilled to see someone from Atlanta, baby!” Reed told Buzz. “He called me up to the stage and we did ‘Evil Gal Blues’ and ‘Stormy Monday’ together. I just showed up to hear him and to watch him. It’s all just so tragic but I believe there’s a reason that God does what he does. He was a sweet boy. He was more like a son to me than a peer. I always called him ‘young ‘un.’ “
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress Charlotte Rae (“The Facts of Life”) is 82. Actress Estelle Harris (“Seinfeld”) is 76. Actor Jack Nicholson is 71. Director John Waters is 62. Singer Peter Frampton is 58. Actor Eric Mabius (“Ugly Betty”) is 37. Singer-guitarist Daniel Johns of Silverchair is 29.
SICK BAY
After rehearsing in Atlanta this month for the appearances, the Allman Brothers Band is now canceling the band’s annual run of performances at the Beacon Theatre in New York as founding member and Savannah resident Gregg Allman continues to recover from hepatitis C.
The band had been scheduled to play 15 sold-out shows at the Beacon.
The Allman Brothers Band announced on its Web site that the shows would be rescheduled for early 2009, the 40th anniversary of its founding.
“New York’s a second home to us,” Allman, 60, said in a statement. “We love playing there and are as disappointed as anybody not to be able to get there this time.”
Contributing: Eric Stirgus 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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Style cop Clinton Kelly polices Atlanta
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Clinton Kelly is no paper doll, though that is the moniker one of his adoring Atlanta fans bestowed on him during his Saturday visit to Macy’s Lenox Square. The living, breathing co-host of TLC’s “What Not to Wear,” was in town to help women of a certain size get a handle on style.
“It’s not a piece of cake to look good,” Kelly said before listing his four core rules: a bra that fits, shapewear, trying on lots of clothes and tailoring. Plus-size models hit the runway as Kelly served up commentary on everything from the importance of embroidery placement to lifetime queens, a reference (at least in part) to model Debbie Shannon, who is Ms. Plus America for life.
After the show, Kelly, who wore a custom-made gray pinstripe suit by Seize sur Vingt of New York and a striped blue shirt to accent his baby blues (one of his best features, thank you), took more questions from the audience and offered live criticism as he coached Atlanta women on the appropriateness of pantyhose, pointy-toe shoes and rolled pant cuffs (uh, never).
After five years of wardrobe critiquing on television, Kelly has certainly seen his share of fashion faux pas. But what really gets him riled?
“I have much more sympathy for someone who at least looks like she tried,” he said. It’s also mildly irritating when women say they want effortless style but don’t want to do the work, such as when his tailoring tip is constantly met with a collective groan.
The irony is that most women already know when their style is shabby, he said. “There is a little voice in your head that lets you know if you look good and if you’re following the things you heard on ‘What Not to Wear,’” said Kelly. “If you don’t look in the mirror and say, ‘I’m looking really cute today,’ you’re not listening to that voice.”
Dunwoody High does it again
Dunwoody High School’s most famous grad of recent vintage may be “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest, but don’t forget Kip Pardue.
Pardue, 31, is co-starring in an ABC Family original film, “Princess,” playing an Ivy League grad who can’t get his act together until he meets a mysterious princess who is hiding big-time secrets. The film debuted Sunday night and will repeat again this coming Saturday at 8 p.m.
“It’s a very sweet movie,” Pardue told Buzz. “I got to smile and be a bit of a hero. And I don’t have to wear tights!”
Pardue broke into Hollywood as a production assistant for a short-lived Molly Ringwald sitcom “Townies” in the mid ’90s. His most notable commercial films were “Remember the Titans” (2000) and “Rules of Attraction” (2002), and he has since opted for less commercial, artsier fare. He shied away from “American Pie” type films that could have raised his prominence and went with his heart.
“It made my career a bit more difficult in the eyes of Middle America,” he said. “This ABC Family film is the most commercial thing I’ve done in a long time.”
Pardue played wide receiver at Dunwoody High School and remains a die-hard Dawgs fan. “I go to a game at least once a year,” he said. “My sister married a University of Georgia grad, and he has season tickets. Nothing beats a Saturday in Athens.”
Pardue was Seacrest’s high school football teammate: “Super nice guy. We don’t see each other. He’s obviously very busy. But he was always a showman, very articulate, very driven.”
Red Clay revisited
Apparently Anthony David means what he says when the Atlanta R&B singer insists he wants to make sure everybody has a chance to hear his single “Words.” Two years after the duet with Atlanta Grammy winner India Arie first appeared on David’s second independent CD, “The Red Clay Chronicles,” he was making a video for the ballad around Atlanta this past weekend.
“Words” first started enjoying a local resurgence a few months ago when V-103 program director Reggie Rouse went into Sound Shop in the Mall West End, actually looking for “old-school” music. Manager Desiree Williams recommended “Words,” and the next day — according to David’s manager, Richard Dunn — it was getting airplay on the top-rated station in the city.
“This feels so great,” beamed David, during a shooting break at PC&E Sound Stage. Matching him smile for smile was Arie, who made her one-time background singer the first signee on her new label, Soulbird Music. (His major label bow “Acey Deucey” — a combination of singles from both of his previous efforts on local indie Brash Music — is due in stores June 17.) “I’m excited to watch my friend get what he wants,” she said. “I love his music. I believe in what he believes in … and just look at Tony in that monitor. He’s looking sexy!”
Celebrity birthdays
Singer Iggy Pop is 61. Actress Patti LuPone is 59. Actor Tony Danza is 57. Actress Andie MacDowell is 50. Singer Robert Smith of The Cure is 49. Guitarist Michael Timmins of Cowboy Junkies is 49. Actor-director John Cameron Mitchell (“Hedwig and the Angry Inch”) is 45. Rapper Michael Franti of Spearhead is 42. Actor James McAvoy (“The Last King of Scotland,” “The Chronicles of Narnia”) is 29.
Foxy Brown is free
Rapper Foxy Brown was released from jail Friday after serving an eight-month sentence for violating probation. “The first place I want to go is church. I’ve got to get on my knees,” said Brown. She actually went shopping in Harlem, ate some soul food and had a reunion with her mother, Judith Marchand, as VH1 cameras captured the action for an upcoming reality show. Brown, whose real name is Ingrid Marchand, was sentenced in September 2007 to a year in jail for violating the terms of her probation after she was accused of hitting a woman with a cellphone.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Phil Kloer, 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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T.I. can’t vote; urges others to cast ballots
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This weekend, Atlanta rapper-actor T.I. will make what is believed to be his first out-of-town trip since he was arrested in October for — and later pleaded guilty to — three firearms violation charges. The artist born Clifford Harris Jr. will headline the National Hip-Hop Summit in Philadelphia on Sunday. (Buzz assumes this will count toward the 1,000-plus hours of community service he must do; part of the plea deal he struck last month.)
“We are going to encourage young people to go out to vote,” T.I. says in a news release. “I personally know the value of having the right to vote and it taken away from you, but I will add my voice to help inspire others to take seriously this right and responsibility.”
“T.I.’s commitment to serve and to give back to the community is a shining example of the best of hip-hop,” adds entertainment mogul Russell Simmons, whose Hip-Hop Summit Action Network is one of the sponsors of the Turn Up the Vote National Hip-Hop Summit at Temple University. Other Atlanta artists expected to participate include Ciara, Lyfe Jennings and Gorilla Zoe.
RUDY MEETS MADEA
The Hollywood Reporter is, well, reporting that ever-busy Atlanta director Tyler Perry is casting decidedly against type for his next “Madea” comedy to be shot here. Former “Cosby Show” kid Keshia Knight Pulliam, who played Rudy (the most adorable member of the Huxtable family), has signed on to play a prostitute in “Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail.” In the feature film adaptation of Perry’s hit stage play, “his outrageous matriarch Madea comes to the aid of Pulliam’s hooker Candy, who is being preyed upon by another inmate named Big Sal,” according to the Reporter. Actor Derek Luke has also signed on to portray a lawyer in the flick “who has a past with Candy.”
‘SUPERNANNY’ MAKES HOUSE CALL
Jo Frost, best known as ABC’s “Supernanny,” made her second trip to metro Atlanta this week for the reality show, this time helping a family in a Marietta subdivision. (ABC requested we not reveal the family yet.)
Buzz watched Frost enter and leave the home from her black London taxi, first in severe tan formalwear as if it were “observation” day. Later, she changed into a casual blue shirt and let her hair down to appear as if she’s on “training” days and filmed more shots of her coming and going.
At one point, director G.T. Taylor told her to grab a basketball and take a shot at the basket on the driveway. In one take, Frost swished it, looked impishly into the camera and went on her merry way to the door. “Genius!” Taylor exclaimed.
So here’s the reality: Shots of Frost outside a home may appear on TV to have been filmed over multiple days but for logistical reasons are all done in a single day. And the producers will make it look seamless: This staff of 20 is packed with veterans of shows such as “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” “Survivor,” “The Apprentice” and “Flavor of Love.”
But the crew notes that what happens inside, the meat of the show, all happens without a script. It’s simply Frost doling out her stern advice to Americans who seem more agreeable to critiques because of her soothing British tones.
In an interview at the start of the day, Frost said she is on the road 11 months out of the year shooting episodes for both the U.S. and the U.K. versions of “Supernanny.” (More than 100 have aired combined in both countries over four years.) But with 16 years-plus of nanny experience, she still loves advising families. Any plans for her own children one day? “Yes,” she said, with a chuckle, “but I’d have to be Houdini right now!”
On her off time during her stay, she hopes to visit the Georgia Aquarium and swim with the whale sharks.
This episode is set to air later this year or early next year.
OVERSCENE
Singer-songwriter R.L. of Next, Jody Breeze of Atlanta rap group Boyz N Da Hood and DJ Trauma Thursday night at R&B Live at the Luckie Lounge, headlined by R&B singer/”Dancing With the Stars” contestant Mario and Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry. … Vocalists Anthony David, Algebra, Nicci Gilbert of Brownstone and former Atlanta Falcon Bob Whitfield that same evening at the Atlanta bow of Brit sensation Estelle, hosted by multi-Grammy winner John Legend at Sugar Hill at Underground Atlanta. … But the biggest surprise of the night had to be superstar (and former Atlanta resident) Whitney Houston showing up with R&B artist Ray J before he hit the catwalk at Hot-107.9’s “Hot Off the Runway” fashion show at Compound. The A-Team Morning Show’s Beyoncé reported that Houston gave Ray J a big kiss before he modeled; while the A-Team’s Griff remarked that Houston’s wig was, well, askew.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Saturday: Actor Tim Curry is 62. Actress Ashley Judd is 40. Actor James Franco (“Spider-Man” films, “Freaks and Geeks”) is 30. Actress Kate Hudson is 29. Actor Hayden Christensen (“Star Wars Episodes II and III”) is 27.
Sunday: Actor George Takei (“Star Trek”) is 71. Actor Gregory Itzin (“24”) is 60. Actress Carmen Electra is 36. Actor Joey Lawrence (“Blossom,” “Brotherly Love”) is 32.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I guess that’s what martinis and Valium will do for you.”
Dave FM midday DJ Mara Davis (right) joking with her in-studio guest/mother Arlene Davis Friday on Arlene’s admission that she lost track of seven years while parenting in the 1970s.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, 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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Country crooner sings praises to his mama
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta viewers will recall “Gimme the Mike,” the local singing competition that aired on WSB in summer 2004.
Red-hot country singer Jason Michael Carroll, who is gigging Friday night at Whiskey River in Macon, owes much to the Raleigh edition of the show.
And one slightly manipulative mama.
“She went online, signed me up and filled out the forms,” Carroll, 29, told Buzz laughing. “Then she told me, ‘Do it for your mother.’ ” The singer recently made his first live appearance on “Good Morning America” performing “I Can Sleep When I’m Dead,” the third hit single from his debut album, “Waitin’ in the Country.” At song’s end, he credited his biggest fan when he leaned into a camera and said, “Hi, Mom!”
While the rocking country tune is a tribute to living life to the fullest while shooting Red Bull and Visine, Carroll first captured the nation’s ears last year via the single “Alyssa Lies,” a tear-inducing ballad about child abuse.
“I’m a dark writer, but that was dark even for me,” Carroll concedes. “It took me six months to write just the first verse and chorus. Sometimes the songs just choose you.”
Carroll’s growing fan base (he’s currently the opening act on a tour with Carrie Underwood and has an upcoming gig at the Georgia Mountain Fair) is still getting accustomed to pairing his voice with his face.
While he looks like a European runway model or the eldest Hanson brother, his beer-soaked baritone sounds yanked all the way up from his boots.
“At shows, people used to look past me, waiting for Jason Michael Carroll to come out,” he recalls, laughing. “It was like, ‘I’m the guy!’ “
Carroll said he first discovered his impressive lower register singing along to his family’s Chuck Wagon Gang gospel tapes.
“I always wanted to sing the high parts and then one day my mom was running the vacuum and heard me in my room singing the bass part.”
When his slack-jawed mama put down the Hoover, Carroll knew he was onto something.
Explains Carroll: “It’s the day that happens to all 13-year-old boys!”
For info: www.jasonmichaelcarroll.com.
SO, WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH BUCKHEAD?
Ousted “American Idol” contestant Michael Johns finally addressed the show’s pesky habit of identifying him as hailing from Buckhead during a phoner with Q100 Thursday morning. The former C.J.’s Landing rocker told the Bert Show: “I lived in Atlanta for six years. I didn’t even know there was an actual Buckhead, Georgia. Then I saw in the press [i.e., this little ole column] that Buckhead, Georgia, was willing to claim me. There are like 3,000 people there [well, more like 200]. It’s all pretty funny.”
Johns said four pals from Atlanta are visiting him in Los Angeles. Over the weekend, he also got to catch a live broadcast of “Saturday Night Live” with host Ashton Kutcher in New York. Apparently, life outside the “A.I” fishbowl ain’t all bad: “At the after-party, Demi Moore grabbed me and hugged me. I couldn’t believe it!”
‘EVOLVE’ TONIGHT
While “Evolve,” tonight’s fund-raiser at the Bill Lowe Gallery in Midtown, benefits a Youthpride counseling program that helps teens battle depression and suicide, the evening is also a very personal tribute for the best friend of co-chair Jay Richey.
The annual fund-raiser derives its positive message from Richey’s pal Keith Cheung who lost his fight against depression on New Year’s Eve 2005. Richey tells us that Cheung had a license plate with the word on it created after a failed suicide attempt to remind himself “to be better than he was.”
After his death, Cheung’s family gave Richey the license plate, which is now on his car.
The festive evening will feature guest spins by DJs Travis Roache and Kim Crawford and a mini-set by Atlanta singer-songwriter Guyton Maurice. Q100’s Melissa Carter will emcee.
The events runs 6-10 p.m. at 1447 Peachtree St. For info: www.youthpride.org or 404-521-9711.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress Barbara Hale (“Perry Mason”) is 87. Actor Eric Roberts is 52. Actress Melody Thomas Scott (“Young and the Restless”) is 52. Talk show host Conan O’Brien (above) is 45. Actor Eric McCormack (“Will and Grace”) is 45. Actress America Ferrera (“Ugly Betty”) is 24. Actress Alia Shawkat (“Arrested Development”) is 19.
UNCOUPLING
Divorced, but still best friends
Comic and actor Wayne Brady (right) is officially single again.
Brady, 35, has been living separately from his wife, Mandie, for four years, but the couple’s divorce was just finalized this week.
According to papers filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, the pair married in April 1999 and officially separated in April 2006, citing irreconcilable differences. They have one daughter, 5-year-old Maile Brady.
“Mandie is my best friend. We still love each other and we are raising our beautiful daughter, Maile, together as a team,” Brady said in a statement.
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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Akon used fake criminal past to boost music career?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist Akon has said for years that he was the head of a notorious car jacking ring that ultimately landed him in jail for several years. But is it true? A new report by The Smoking Gun says no.
The 35-year-old Senegalese-American, who recently bought a palatial metro Atlanta home, gained fame in 2004 with his debut album “Trouble”, and its hit single “Locked Up” (VIDEO). Touting a turbulent history filled with criminal pursuits and prison life, the artist has sold millions of albums, including last year’s “Konvicted.” He also named his record label Konvict Music.
But according to the report, despite a half-dozen arrests the only conviction Akon has on record is a 1998 gun possession charge, which got him three years probation. Also in 1998, he was arrested in metro Atlanta for possession of a stolen BMW. Akon, who was born Aliuane Badara Thiam, reportedly spent several months in a DeKalb County jail before all charges were dropped.
“So there was no conviction. There was no prison term between 1999 and 2002. And he was never ‘facing 75 years,’ as the singer claimed in one videotaped interview,” the report says.
Akon, who’s currently on an international tour, has faced controversy before. Last April, he was criticized for sexually explicit dancing with a 15-year-old during a concert in Trinidad & Tobago. The event was widely publicized in videos across the Web, many of which were ordered to be removed for copyright infringement. He said he didn’t know she was underage and no charges were filed.
Also last year, he was charged after allegedly assaulting a fan during a concert in Fishkill, N.Y. (VIDEO)
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Strand Theatre gets Turner Classic art
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Turner Classic Movies, based in Atlanta, recently donated seven pieces of original art from its personal collection to the Friends of the Strand Inc. in Marietta for its renovation of the Strand Theatre.
Andy Sharp / AJC
Work under way at the Strand Theatre.
The 200-pound art pieces range in size and are large-as-life photographs set into custom steel frames by Scott Strader, a metal sculptor in Atlanta who grew up in Marietta. The photographs are from classic movie scenes and sets, and they depict images such as Mickey Rooney and Shirley Temple dancing.
“We plan to hang these unique art pieces in the lobby of the Strand, as well as one of our event rooms,” said Christy Rosell, director of business development and marketing for the Strand in a news release. “The pieces are truly one-of-a-kind and Turner’s timing was unbelievable. We couldn’t have dreamed up better art for the Strand’s walls.”
PR FIRM MARKS PJ DAY IN STYLE
If you went to work Wednesday in work-appropriate attire, you missed a holiday — Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day.
The eight women at the local public relations firm 360 Media celebrated the day in a pajama fest.
“We all look ridiculous,” laughed Jennifer Pirich.
And then she gave it a little PR spin.
“Let’s just say we are very comfortable.”
Pirich wore her blue plaid pajamas and fuzzy brown slippers.
“I was looking at a calendar with all of these wacky holidays and I showed them to my boss, and she said, ‘We must do this.’ “
And her boss, Tara Murphy, even went to a meeting in her gray-striped pajamas and flip-flops.
MARTHA STEWART’S DOG PAW PAW DIES
Martha Stewart’s dog Paw Paw, who was a familiar face on her television show and in her magazine, has died of renal failure.
The 60-pound chow, whose full name was Kublai Khan Paw Paw Chow Chow Chow, was almost 13. Stewart had owned him since he was born, and had named him Paw Paw for his large paws, a spokeswoman said.
Again, Martha Stewart’s dog has passed. We shall end in silence.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Liz Phair is 41. Actress Jennifer Garner (“Alias”) is 36. Singer Victoria Beckham of the Spice Girls is 34. Actress Dee Dee Davis (“The Bernie Mac Show”) is 12.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Hitting 4-0 becomes big deal on TV Land
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hitting the age of 40 can be a depressing moment, an acknowledgment of middle age and a farewell to youth. But TV Land, which revels in nostalgia, celebrates the 40th year with a TV show dubbed “The Big 4-0.”
The debut episode at 10 Wednesday night features the Georgia Tech sports chaplain and former NFL player Derrick Moore (pictured at right).
“Don’t call me middle aged!” Moore told Buzz. “I refuse to succumb to that!”
Moore’s 40th birthday party last fall (filmed a few weeks after his real birthday) featured a football game between his ex-NFL buds and current Georgia Tech players. The concession: flag football, not full contact.
“Being around these college students, I do work out, but I’m nowhere near where I was,” said Moore, who played with the Atlanta Falcons, the Detroit Lions and the Carolina Panthers in the early to mid-1990s.
But he and his older brethren did OK during the game. Heck, Moore even scored a touchdown.
He said he actually pulled a hamstring the morning of the game but didn’t say anything. As an offensive lineman, “I was lucky I didn’t have to sprint hard,” he said.
Moore conceded that the Tech players did give their paunchier counterparts a break at times. But it was “as much fun as I could have had,” he said. “At this stage in my life and playing with the guys I mentor here at Tech, that’s one of the highest honors.”
Will mayor go for a ‘come back’?
The City Too Busy to Hate. Every Day is an Opening Day. City Lights, Southern Nights. Throw ‘em all away. Kenny Leon thinks he’s got the ultimate tagline for Atlanta. At the annual meeting Tuesday of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, Broadway and Atlanta stage director Leon took a few minutes in his emcee duties to pitch a slogan for the city to Mayor Shirley Franklin, who was in attendance. “Atlanta, you gotta come back,” said an enthusiastic Leon as he waited for the mayor to come around. “Sleep on it,” he said to roars of laughter.
West loves Disney
Star 94 DJ Tripp West is in Florida for a job interview, of a sort, but he won’t be quitting his radio gig.
West, who lives OTP in Powder Springs, is one of three finalists competing for the job of chief magic official at Walt Disney World. The CMO will serve as a goodwill ambassador during the coming year, making trips to the Magic Kingdom near Orlando and Disneyland in California. It’s not a paying job, but West says he isn’t in it for the money.
“I grew up going to Disney World,” he says. “It’s a place I’m always truly happy.”
West and two other top vote getters in an online poll will compete Thursday and Friday in contests such as folding towels into animals and stroller derby. The winner will be named April 22.
You can vote online at www.DreamCMO.com.
Sick bay update
Songstress Toni Braxton won’t return to the stage on the Las Vegas Strip until at least next month.
The Flamingo Las Vegas says the part-time Alpharetta resident’s show will remain dark this week while the 40-year-old Grammy winner has more medical tests following her April 7 hospitalization for chest pain. Braxton was released the following day, but last week’s shows were canceled.
Flamingo President Don Marrandino said her Tuesday-through-Saturday shows are also off, and Braxton will take advantage of a previously scheduled two-week break.
She is due to resume her show at the Flamingo Showroom on May 6.
The exact cause of Braxton’s chest pain hasn’t been made public. She has been treated in the past for pericarditis, a viral inflammation of the heart. Her Las Vegas act, “Toni Braxton: Revealed,” is in the midst of a two-year run at the Flamingo.
Overscene
John Ramsey, the father of JonBenet Ramsey, dining at La Tavola Trattoria in Virginia-Highland. We’re told Ramsey ordered the lasagna and the cheese plate for dessert.
Stork Report
It’s a boy!
Actress Cate Blanchett has given birth to her third son.
Blanchett (below), 38, delivered Ignatius Martin Upton in Sydney on Sunday, said Tim McKeough, media relations manager at the Sydney Theatre Company, where Blanchett and her playwright husband are co-artistic directors.
“All are well and very happy,” McKeough said Monday.
The baby weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces, he said.
Blanchett and husband Andrew Upton have two other sons: Dashiell, 6, and Roman, 3.
Celebrity birthdays
Singer Bobby Vinton is 73. Midnight Oil singer-turned-politician Peter Garrett is 55. Actress Ellen Barkin is 54. Singer Jimmy Osmond is 45. Actor-comedian Martin Lawrence is 43. Actor Jon Cryer is 43. Actor Peter Billingsley (“A Christmas Story”) is 37. Actor Lukas Haas is 32.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Leon Stafford, Clint Williams 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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Prized tornado pic raffled off to help victims
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta photographer Shane Durrance’s eerie image of downtown’s only documented tornado strike served as both a reminder of how much remains to be rebuilt and as a fund-raiser Monday night.
A 22-inch-by-12-inch image of the tornado looming over the downtown skyline on canvas was transformed into a raffle item Monday night on the one-month anniversary of the storm as Cabbagetown-area eateries banded together to raise money for tornado victims. The canvas was on display at Stella Neighborhood Trattoria. Local restaurants donated 15 percent of each check Monday night to the disaster relief fund.
Durrance, 34, snapped the photo from the sixth floor of his Howell Mill Road home just as the storm hit downtown March 14. Since then, Durrance has appeared on “Good Morning America,” the syndicated “Neal Boortz Show” (heard locally on its flagship station WSB-AM) and on WXIA-TV and its sister NBC affiliate in Los Angeles.
“I’ve been taking photographs for eight years, and I’ll probably never take another photo as important,” Durrance told Buzz on Monday. “What are the chances of a tornado hitting a city and being able to capture the image during a lightning strike in the first place? Probably a million to one.”
Durrance didn’t even realize he had captured the twister until he e-mailed the photo to WXIA-TV chief meteorologist Paul Ossmann.
Explained Durrance: “He was the one who told me that the tornado was in the shot, to the left. It was pitch black. I had no idea.”
Still, the photograph that has now spawned its own Web site, www.atlantatornado.org, and a separate phone line in Durrance’s studio, has created a few storm clouds of its own over the past four weeks.
“I have a small folder of hate mail that I’ve saved,” Durrance told us. “Some people feel I shouldn’t be making money from it. Others are convinced I Photoshopped it. But I sent it in to the TV news as soon as I took it. It’s the real deal, bro. I’m a commercial photographer. This is what I do. There’s historical value in the photo. But I also have friends in Cabbagetown who were affected by this thing. I can understand how some people might be upset.”
Durrance says the money he’s made from the fluke photo has helped the cash-strapped shutterbug stay in his home.
“I was darn close to being evicted,” Durrance disclosed. “It’s not like I took a vacation. With the money I’ve made, I paid my bills.”
In addition to the donated image featured at Monday night’s fund-raiser, Durrance is also planning an exhibition of his storm photos as a Red Cross benefit.
CELEBS ADDED FOR ANGELOU TRIBUTE
Legendary music producer Quincy Jones, singer-songwriter India Arie and director Kenny Leon are the latest celebrity additions to the upcoming 80th birthday celebration for poet and author Maya Angelou, set for May 4 at the Woodruff Arts Center in Midtown. The evening is a benefit for the newly created Dr. Maya Angelou Teen Center at the Andrew and Walter Young YMCA complex in southwest Atlanta. Other famous folk already confirmed: director-writer-actor Tyler Perry, actress Lynn Whitfield, Chris Tucker, R&B and gospel singer Candi Station, Elder Bernice King, along with all three namesakes of the local YMCA center.
Tickets ranging from $100 to $500 remain available and can and be purchased through the Woodruff Arts Center box office by calling 404-733-5000 or by visiting www.woodruffcenter
tickets.org.
Alas, talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, who cites Angelou as a mentor, still hasn’t publicly RSVP-ed for the event.
BLACK CROWES SET TO HIT 90 CITIES
A local stop has been booked on the upcoming ambitious 90-city tour of the Black Crowes as the Atlanta-birthed band hits the road to support its latest disc, “Warpaint.” The 24-year-old act (some of us are even ancient enough to remember them in their Mr. Crowes Garden salad days) featuring brothers Chris and Rich Robinson kicks off the tour June 27 in Hershey, Pa., and ends it with a five-night finale at the Fillmore in San Francisco in December. The Black Crowes are scheduled to appear Oct. 5 at the new Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Alpharetta. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on June 21.
OVERSCENE
Las Vegas Palms Casino hotel owner George Maloof and 15 companions, including Detroit Lions wide receiver and former Georgia Tech star Calvin Johnson, dining at Veni Vidi Vici in Midtown after attending the Hawks-Celtics basketball game downtown.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“If she were so pro-gun, she would have shot her husband already.”
“The View’s” Joy Behar on-air Monday discussing presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s (right) Second Amendment-affirming stump speeches over the weekend
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Country singer Roy Clark is 75. Actress Emma Thompson is 49. Singer Samantha Fox is 42. Guitarist Ed O’Brien of Radiohead is 40. Actor Seth Rogen (“Knocked Up”) is 26. Actress Emma Watson (“Harry Potter” movies) is 18.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Author Gene Hackman to promote novel
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
They’re a little giddy over at the Margaret Mitchell House and Literary Center at the moment. Authors? A dime a dozen. But Oscar-winning actors? That’s when the vapors set in. So they’re hyperventilating a bit over landing Gene Hackman to promote his novel “Escape from Andersonville,” which he co-wrote with Daniel Lenihan (both pictured above).
“To me this is the biggest name I’ve ever booked,” said Julie Bookman, director of the Literary Center. Hackman and Lenihan will appear May 16 at the Atlanta History Center, 130 W. Paces Ferry Road, for a 6 p.m. reception, 7 p.m. program and 8 p.m. signing. Tickets are $35, but for that you get nibbles, wine, a copy of the book and you get to tell Hackman how much you liked him in the first “Poseidon Adventure” (not that cheesy remake) while he’s scribbling in your book. Proceeds go to the PEN/Faulkner Authors in Schools program; no word yet on whether Hackman will pop into any schools here.
This is the third novel the two have collaborated on and is set, in case you weren’t clear, in the infamous Confederate Civil War prison in south-central Georgia near Americus.
Host of “The Daily Show” returns to stage
Before he was host of ”The Daily Show” or host of the Oscars, or a best-selling author or even remotely famous for being funny, Jon Stewart (right) was a stand-up comedian.
He still is, when he has the time. With “The Daily Show” on four nights a week, 40 weeks a year, Stewart doesn’t have a lot of time to be a road warrior. But he’s coming to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre for two shows (7:30 and 10 p.m.) on May 10, even though he’s not doing a tour. Tickets are a very impressive $77, $57 and $47, which isn’t much compared to what the Eagles are getting in May at Encore Park. It should still net Stewart a nice payday.
Two shows; 2,750 seats in Cobb; average seat price about $60. Even without a sellout, that’s probably going to pull a gross between $200,000 and $300,000. And he doesn’t have to pay any roadies. Despite such payoffs, Stewart doesn’t have the time to do much stand-up these days, said Steve Albini, publicist for “The Daily Show,” and he only does occasional shows.
Stewart took over hosting duties on “The Daily Show” in 1999 from Craig Kilborn and turned it from a lightweight, celebrity-driven show into a political heavyweight that regularly skewers newsmakers, politicians and the media. All three current presidential candidates have appeared on the show to court the show’s coveted audience of younger viewers who tend not to watch other TV news shows. “The Daily Show” has won two Peabody Awards and spun off the best-selling book “America: The Book” and another Comedy Central show, “The Colbert Report.”
Story of Georgia woman’s execution told in film
Writer-director Ralph Wilcox has signed a deal with distributor American World Pictures for his movie “The Lena Baker Story,” and his film will screen at May’s Cannes Market for potential worldwide distribution (see the trailer here). Made in Colquitt, in southwest Georgia, and set mostly in the 1940s, “Lena Baker” is the real-life story of the only woman ever to be executed in Georgia’s electric chair. She later was posthumously pardoned. The film had its world premiere last week at the Atlanta Film Festival.
Baker’s (Tichina Arnold) sad, affecting story involved mistreatment by her white employer (Atlanta actor Chris Burns), who beat her, and his father (Peter Coyote), who held her captive as a sex slave. After Coyote’s character was killed in a struggle with Baker over a gun, she was quickly convicted and later executed.
“Lena’s legacy has been to inspire and that all her trials and tribulations did not go in vain.” Arnold said. “What attracted me to this story is that it is so parallel to what a lot of women live right now — being abused by their counterparts or their husbands. Lena was always stuck between that rock and a hard place. She wasn’t afforded many opportunities.”
The Cannes Market, where “Lena Baker” will be screened May 16, is an annual companion to the Cannes Film Festival.
Georgia man told to stay away from supermodel
Brady Green of Dublin has been ordered to stay away from supermodel Tyra Banks or face going to jail. According to a criminal complaint filed in New York, Green has followed Banks from coast to coast since January, sent her letters and flowers and tried to telephone her. He was arrested when he showed up several times at the Manhattan building where “The Tyra Banks Show” is taped and asked to speak to her. Banks told police that Green’s actions had caused her to fear that she was in danger. Police charged Green, 37, with stalking, criminal trespass and harassment.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Country singer Loretta Lynn is 73. Actress Julie Christie is 68. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore is 63. Actor John Shea (“Lois and Clark”) is 59. Actor Brad Garrett (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) is 48. Actor Robert Carlyle (“Angela’s Ashes,” “The Full Monty”) is 47. Singer-guitarist John Bell of Widespread Panic is 46. Actor Anthony Michael Hall is 40. Actor Adrien Brody (“The Pianist”) is 35. Singer David Miller of Il Divo is 35. Rapper Da Brat is 34. Actor Antwon Tanner (“One Tree Hill”) is 33. Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar is 31. Actress Abigail Breslin (“Little Miss Sunshine”) is 12.
CELEBRITY DOCKET
Vanilla Ice was held without bond Friday following his arrest on a charge of simple domestic battery after an alleged argument with his wife at their South Florida home. The 39-year-old rapper’s wife called the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday night, saying he had kicked and hit her. She later told deputies he had only pushed her, the arrest report said. The report said Vanilla Ice denied pushing her. Vanilla Ice spent a night in jail in 2001 after being arrested following a domestic dispute.
Got a tip for Peach Buzz? 404-526-2749 or buzz@ajc.com
Contributing: Bob Longino 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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Usher’s wedding singer recounts the tears
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With songstress Lalah Hathaway in town Saturday to perform at Michael Baisden Live, we couldn’t help but ask the R&B singer about her last, hush-hush appearance in our fair state — at Atlanta superstar Usher’s Chateau Elan nuptials.
“It was a great experience,” said Hathaway, who performed at the request of the bride, Tameka Foster Raymond. “I mean, I’ve sung at weddings before. But it was a little different. It was fancier. It was exciting because it’s Usher. It was very top-secret too. [She said she got five days’ notice.] Very small ceremony. Really beautiful wedding. A really beautiful reception. [Eighties rapper] Doug E. Fresh did it, so I danced for about four hours straight. It was fabulous.
“One of the things I remember most is when I started singing [her first No. 1 hit, a cover of Luther Vandross’ ‘Forever, For Always, For Love’] everyone stood up and turned around when she was coming down the aisle,” Hathaway added. “So I guess they didn’t see me. And people were telling me later that they thought it was the record playing — which I guess is a compliment. Everyone cried when I sang, which I guess is good, too. But um, they looked very in love and very happy. They were just two people in love who got married and I sang at their wedding.”
For tickets and more information on her appearance Saturday at Center Stage, go to www.centerstage-atlanta.com or www.ticketmaster.com or call 404-885-1365 or 404-249-6400.
‘IDOL’IZED BARGAINS
The boys at Atlanta’s Esperanza Clothing Co. were understandably bummed when former Buckhead resident Michael Johns was unexpectedly booted from “American Idol” on Thursday night. After all, over a period of months, Johns exposed millions of viewers to Esperanza’s Atlanta-centric hipster brand. • Map it and review it
“It was a huge shock for us,” co-owner Daniel Barbalho told us Friday. “Michael was way better than eighth-best.”
Blaine Terry, a 27-year-old Buckhead salesman and a close friend of Johns’, said he received hundreds of text messages from outraged friends, family and acquaintances. “One of my friend’s mothers called my friend and said she felt like she lost a son,” Terry said. As for Terry? “A bottle of scotch later, I’m OK.”
Still, the owners of Esperanza are taking life’s lemons and turning them into a boffo yard sale today, featuring many of the T-shirts (such as the classic “Bring Back The Point”) Johns wore on-air. Fans can snap up bargain-priced shirts and enjoy a hot dog, a brew and possibly end up as a future Esperanza model by checking out the sale from 9 a.m. “till the cows come home” at 1396 Wessyngton Road in Atlanta, right off of North Highland in Morningside.
HURSTON: ‘A GENUINE AMERICAN IDOL’
For those of you who missed it when it was broadcast the other night (A tiny distraction titled “American Idol: Idol Gives Back” was on up against it …), you can catch the excellent PBS “American Masters” documentary “Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun” at 4:30 p.m. Sunday on PBA 30. One of our favorite people, Atlanta author and University of Georgia journalism professor Valerie Boyd is featured prominently in the doc alongside the likes of Alice Walker and Maya Angelou. In 2003, Boyd published “Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston,” which is largely considered the definitive Zora bio.
Thankfully, the former AJC arts editor still takes our calls.
“It really captured her,” Boyd told us of the doc. “It captured Hurston’s luminous spirit. You wanted to know her.”
Not surprisingly, the forever humble Boyd didn’t throw a viewing party for herself. She was out for a quiet dinner with a friend Wednesday night.
But she did TiVo it.
“When I came home, I had e-mails waiting from friends who had watched it,” Boyd said. “I was only going to watch 10 minutes and then go to bed. But naturally, I got pulled into it. Zora’s a genuine American idol.”
HIGH FIVE
Music
Top-selling albums this week at Decatur CD:
1. R.E.M., “Accelerate”
2. Bon Iver, “For Emma, Forever Ago”
3. Levon Helm, “Dirt Farmer”
4. Liam Finn, “I’ll Be Lightning”
5. Black Keys, “Attack & Release”
Source: Decatur CD
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Saturday: Jazz musician Herbie Hancock is 68. Talk show host David Letterman is 61. Singer-actor David Cassidy is 58. Singer Amy Ray (right) of the Indigo Girls is 44. Actress Jennifer Morrison (“House”) is 29. Singer-guitarist Brendon Urie of Panic at the Disco is 21.
Sunday: Musician Al Green is 62. Actress-comedian Caroline Rhea (“The Biggest Loser”) is 44. Actor Ricky Schroder is 38. Singer Nellie McKay is 26.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, 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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Judge Hatchett gets help from Fulton D.A.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When a San Diego mother named Patrice brought her 15-year-old son, Khayree, before Glenda Hatchett in her “Judge Hatchett” TV courtroom recently, the former Fulton County Juvenile Court judge reached out to an old Emory University Law School classmate for help.
Consequently, since the show aired this week, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard’s (right, with wife Petrina) phone hasn’t stopped ringing. Hatchett flew the 15-year-old (who had career aspirations of becoming a drug dealer) to Howard’s downtown Atlanta offices for an episode titled “D.A. Intervention.”
“Unfortunately, it’s something I see all the time in this job,” Howard told Buzz. “So often, these kids don’t have anyone to talk to, and they end up headed down the wrong street.”
In an attempt to turn Khayree’s career path around, Howard had a few visual aids ready. He had a before and after photo of an Atlanta 15-year-old who had worked as a drug dealer. The after photo was an autopsy image of the teen after he was fatally shot on the job.
“Sometimes photos of that nature don’t make an impression on some kids,” Howard reflected. “But with [Khayree] I sensed they might make an impression. He was soft-spoken. He was paying a lot of attention. He stared at the photo of [the dealer] in life and then at the post-autopsy photo. I could tell it got to him.”
Khayree wasn’t the only one.
Howard’s office has steadily handled calls this week since the episode ran nationally Wednesday.
“We had a call from North Carolina,” Howard says, amazed. “The person on the phone said, ‘I’m a drug addict. Can you help me?’ You never know just how far outreach like this will help. It’s important. And Glenda’s an old friend.”
When we suggested that Fulton County Superior Court Judge Marvin Arrington was attempting the same kind of outreach on a smaller level in his courtroom recently, Howard agreed.
Explained Howard: “Judge Arrington’s motives were extremely positive. When you see cases like this every day, you feel compelled to do something. In my case, I told [Khayree], ‘I’m from a small town. If I can do this, anyone can.’ You just hope that you can break through to these kids while there’s still time.”
Artists added to Classic Chastain
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has added jazz trumpeter Chris Botti, singer-songwriters Paula Cole and Melissa Etheridge, pop icon Frankie Valli and rockers Sister Hazel to the 35th anniversary of the Delta Classic Chastain concert series at Chastain. The season opens June 14 and features 27 shows throughout the summer on most Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings through September. Cole and Botti are booked June 14, Valli on June 18, Etheridge on June 20 and Sister Hazel is set for Aug. 23.
Single tickets go on sale May 12 to the general public. Subscriptions are now available. Both subscription packages and single tickets are available through the ASO Season Ticket Office (1280 Peachtree St. at 15th Street) at 404-733-4800 and classicchastain.com.
Sir Elton raises money for Clinton
Experience is central to Democrat Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid, and Wednesday night she tapped one of pop music’s most venerable rockers to help fill her campaign coffers with $2.5 million.
Peachtree Road resident Elton John played a benefit concert for Clinton at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
“I’ve always been a Hillary supporter,” John, 61, said before launching into his 1970 breakthrough hits, “Your Song” and “Border Song.” “There is no one more qualified to lead America.”
The English singer, composer and pianist added: “I’m amazed by the misogynistic attitudes of some of the people in this country. And I say to hell with them …. I love you Hillary, I’ll be there for you.”
The cheapest tickets, $125 and $250, sold out quickly, campaign aides said. The other seats were filled by fans paying as much as $2,300, the limit for an individual’s contribution to a federal candidate.
Preceding John on stage were Clinton, her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and their daughter, Chelsea.
Hillary Clinton struck a defiant, underdog note in describing her battle against Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.
“What I want you to know is I’m still standing, and I believe this country is worth fighting for,” the New York senator said, playing off the title of one of John’s hits. “So we’re taking our campaign to Pennsylvania and all the states that haven’t voted.” Pennsylvania votes April 22.
STORK REPORT
It’s a girl!
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and first lady Mary Perdue welcomed their ninth grandchild, Anna Katherine Perdue, this week. Anna Katherine is the daughter of Jim and Stephanie Perdue.
Anna Katherine, who was born early Wednesday, arrived weighing 6 pounds, 15 ounces. She was welcomed by brothers Jake and Judd Perdue.
“Mary and I are proud to welcome another beautiful grandchild,” the governor said. “We are blessed to have such a wonderful family and we are eager to share our love with its newest member.”
The Perdues now have five grandsons and four granddaughters.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Joel Grey is 76. Actress Louise Lasser is 69. Actor Meshach Taylor (“Designing Women,” “Dave’s World”) is 61. Actor Bill Irwin is 58. Country singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale is 51. Singer Joss Stone is 21.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Guns, goulash among Deen boys’ favorites
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Before they signed books for fans at the Kroger on North Decatur Road in Decatur Tuesday night, Buzz had an opportunity to discuss spaghetti casserole, “homemade” haircuts and BB guns with Jamie and Bobby Deen.
The Savannah Lady and Sons restaurateurs and Food Network hosts were in town to introduce Atlantans to their brand new, down-home cookbook, “Y’all Come Eat” (Meredith Books, $24.95).
While the big yellow sign used for the book’s cover shoot was borrowed, the University of Georgia beer tub and bulldog belong to the brothers.
JOEY IVANSCO / AJC
Paula Deen’s sons, Bobby (left) and Jamie, have a new cookbook, “Y’all Come Eat,” on bookstore shelves. The brothers share recipes and childhood memories and photographs in the book.
Two years ago, Bobby surprised his older brother with Champ, a great-great-grandson of famed college mascot Uga VI owned by Savannah attorney Sonny Seiler.
Explained Bobby to Buzz: “You just can’t find a more memorable gift for your brother than a dog that can produce the worst gas in the world!”
Both Deen boys say the recipes in the book evoke many childhood memories for them. Before mama Paula Deen became a fixture on the Food Network, she was a single mom struggling to put food on the table.
“That goulash recipe is still what I ask for each April 28 for my birthday dinner,” Bobby says. The childhood pictures included in the book also jog memories.
Dishes Bobby: “Mama cut our hair with the same scissors she used to wrap Christmas presents with. That’s why our bangs are so uneven!”
The boys also included a hilariously-dated 1972 pic of Paula in a gravity-defying ‘do.
“You know our mama,” Bobby explained. “She has no shame. And she’s rockin’ that beehive, isn’t she?!”
Added Jamie: “I think she must have slept with her head in a Hefty bag. At 7 in the morning, it would look completely perfect.”
In addition to including his wife Brooke’s famed meatloaf recipe (“It’s so good I skip lunch, have a slice for dinner and then make a sandwich for dessert”), Jamie says one of his favorite photos in the book is from Christmas 1975. Eight-year-old Jamie is posing with a real bow and arrow while 5-year-old Bobby, clad in Atlanta Falcons PJs, is wielding a BB gun.
“You wouldn’t see a Christmas photo like that nowadays, would you?” Jamie concedes, laughing. “But hey, just so y’all know, I was always a responsible older brother. I always gave Bobby a headstart and I always aimed below the head!”
Somewhere in Savannah, we think we just heard their mama take a swig of Diet Coke, sneak a puff on a Virginia Slims 120s and cackle like crazy.
BACK FROM BEIJING
“China was absolutely fantastic,” says Ian Schwarber, frontman of Athens’ band Blue Flashing Light. He and his bandmates recently returned from a mini-tour of China, where they performed in Beijing and at the annual International Peach Blossom Festival in Chengdu from mid-to-late March.
The anthemic rock quintet was selected to perform at the festival by the Atlanta-based U.S.-China Cultural and Educational Foundation.
Schwarber was blown away by the response from the audiences. “I would come out and start clapping and they’d all start clapping with me,” he says. “We certainly had the experience of a lifetime.”
“It’s so humbling,” Schwarber says of the enthusiastic response the band received. “You might think your head could blow up over there, but in reality you know you’re returning to America where you have to work … to put people in seats, so you just enjoy it.”
In the village where the peach originated, Schwarber even received a peach blossom crown from the daughter of a local mayor. The crowning denoted that she would be amenable to a proposal of marriage. Schwarber graciously declined.
FRIED FIZZ!
For us, spring doesn’t arrive when we have to use a snow shovel to clear a pollen path to the BuzzMobile.
No, here at Buzz Central, spring has officially sprung when we get the Georgia Renaissance Festival menu in advance of the festival’s start this weekend off of Exit 61 on I-85 South. This year’s addition to a menu that already boasts turkey legs and macaroni and cheese on a stick?
Fried Coca-Cola.
Explains festival rep Sarah Petermann in an e-mail: “It’s Atlanta’s own Coca-Cola, delicately swirled in a secret pastry batter, then expertly fried to perfection. This mysterious concoction is topped off with whipped cream, cinnamon sugar, all dressed with a cherry on top.”
The delicacy debuted at the 2007 Texas State Fair.
Also new to the menu this season: The King’s Cod Piece.
Described thusly: “It’s a whale of a fish sandwich, served in a warm bun and topped with freshly chopped homemade cole slaw. It’s a foot-long serving of delicate and tasty fish that will take two hands to eat.” (Especially when you’re simultaneously juggling multiple servings of fried fizz like us …)
Info: 770-964-8575
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner is 82. Actress Cynthia Nixon (“Sex and the City”) is 42. Singer Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance is 31. Actress Keshia Knight Pulliam (“The Cosby Show”) is 29.
SICK BAY
Braxton ailment not disclosed
Part-time Alpharetta resident Toni Braxton (right) has been hospitalized in Las Vegas.
Flamingo Hotel-Casino spokeswoman Deanna Pettit says the 40-year-old singer has an undisclosed ailment that isn’t life-threatening. Braxton was taken to a hospital Monday night.
Braxton has an extended stint at the Flamingo hotel. Tuesday’s show was canceled.
Contributing: Shane Harrison 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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Steve Craig back on the mike
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A veteran member of the old 99X staff is back on the air. At least online at 99X.com and high-def radio where the former Atlanta radio station now exists. Midday DJ Steve Craig, a part of 99X since its inception, has resumed his familiar 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-through-Friday shift at 99X.com and 99.7 HD2, following a two-month break.
In a statement sent to Buzz Central, Craig said: “I’ve always believed in 99X. It’s been my life for 16 years and I’m excited to be a part of the next generation of 99X.COM. From media centers in their living room to mobile devices everyone and everything is online now. We’re doing what we’ve always done best at 99X. Set the trends and stay ahead of evolution.”
And no, we have no idea what “stay ahead of evolution” means either. …
HESTON TRIBUTE SET
As anticipated, Atlanta-based Turner Classic Movies announced Monday that the basic cable channel will tear up its planned schedule this Friday in order to honor Charlton Heston, who died over the weekend at age 84.
On Friday, the network will present a 15-hour marathon of memorable Heston performances, including his Oscar-winning role in “Ben-Hur” (1959). Also featured will be two opportunities to watch an in-depth conversation between Heston and TCM host Robert Osborne in the TCM original special “Private Screenings: Charlton Heston.”
In a statement sent to Buzz, Osborne reflected: “Charlton Heston was a towering man both in person and on screen. He was also one of the nicest, most courteous gentlemen I ever met. He will forever stand tall among those rare few we know as genuine Movie Stars.” For those setting their TiVos, the marathon begins at 2:30 p.m. and runs through early Saturday. For a full line-up: www.tcm.com.
OVERSCENE
Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Takeo Spikes and TLC member Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins dining at Two Urban Licks in Midtown. Spikes enjoyed the braised pork with macaroni and New York cheddar with pork jus while Watkins ordered the shrimp with andouille sausage, chile herb rice and saffron shellfish broth.
Former Atlanta Falcon Alge Crumpler at Stats downtown watching the North Carolina-Kansas basketball game. Also spotted at Stats: New York Mets third baseman David Wright sampling a pressed chicken sandwich, chicken nachos and tuna tataki and washing it down with Blue Moon brew. Atlanta Thrashers players Eric Boulton, Eric Perrin, Jim Slater and Chris Thorburn celebrating their 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning with Southern hummus, barbecue candy cane ribs, chicken nachos and beers.
Married actors Tony Shalhoub of “Monk” and Brooke Adams of “Days of Heaven” taking in a performance of “Indulgences” at Dad’s Garage Theatre Company in Inman Park.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Comedian Shecky Greene is 82. Original Mouseketeer Darlene Gillespie is 67. Singer-actor John Schneider is 48. Singer Julian Lennon is 45. Rapper Biz Markie is 44. Actress Robin Wright Penn is 42. Actress Patricia Arquette is 40.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It was completely mutual. … We’re both fine. … We broke up over text so … it’s like ‘peace out.’ “
Singer Carrie Underwood discussing the method of ending her relationship with actor Chace Crawford
Contributing: Bob Longino 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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Bobby Brown points finger at Whitney
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In his new tell-all book, former Atlantan Bobby Brown says many of his troubles came out of his marriage to Whitney Houston. He told People magazine, “My story needs to be told.”
He said the marriage was doomed from the beginning and he never used cocaine until “after I met Whitney.”
Brown, 39, split with Houston, 44, in 2006. The couple has one daughter, 15-year-old Bobbi Kristina. The divorce became final in April 2007.
In a statement, Houston said she is “sad that Bobby feels he needs to say such things but she chooses to take the high road and will not speak badly about the father of her child even if it’s to set the record straight.”
Her old mentor, record company boss Clive Davis, added that Houston is focusing on relaunching her pop career, not Brown’s claims Whitney was responsible for his own descent into drug addiction. “I’m sure that this week has been traumatic, but she’s committed and looking forward to her new life,” Davis told People magazine.
Dionne Warwick, who is related to Houston, also spoke out in support for her as she faces new allegations from her ex-hubby.
Warwick said Houston is “overcoming” her recent problems and working again, according to Entertainmentwise.com.
Grammy winners still celebrated
Two months after the 50th annual Grammy Awards were handed out in Los Angeles, local winners and nominees still were being celebrated Saturday night at the new W Hotel Midtown.
The Atlanta chapter of the Recording Academy — which puts on the Grammys — held a well-attended party for the 30-plus acts with Georgia ties who were nominated this year. Only one of the four 2008 Georgia winners attended, however. There to present DJ Toomp with his big blue Tiffany’s box was fellow Grammy winner Ciara. “We all know Toomp, we all love Toomp, and I’m so happy to help honor Toomp,” Ciara said before the producer picked up his pair of engraved champagne glasses. Also in the ballroom were past Grammy winners (Ann Nesby), nominees (Freddy Cole), other local musicians (Dallas Austin’s new group Just A Girl, singer/vocal coach Jan Smith, producer Drumma Boy) and industry execs (Block Entertainment’s Rico Brooks, TPF Management’s Phillana Williams). As the Grammy nominees and winners walked out, Gifted Presence’s Rebecca Lightsey handed them gift bags stuffed with beauty products including a $5,000 teeth-whitening certificate.
Jay-Z and Beyonce a new duo?
It looks like Jay-Z and Beyonce may have tied the knot.
There was a swirl of activity Friday at the rap mogul’s Tribeca apartment. Delivery trucks funneled in and out of the building, dropping off silver candelabras and white flowers. A white tent was set up on the roof, and stars including Beyonce’s former Destiny’s Child bandmates, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, along with Gwyneth Paltrow, were spotted arriving.
A swarm of media camped outside the building was in a state of frenzy, snapping and shouting at any sport utility vehicle that drove down the cobblestone street.
The Web sites of celebrity magazines People and Us Weekly reported the couple married and threw a lavish but small party at the apartment Friday, citing unidentified sources who are friends with the pair. The Web sites reported their families attended the party.
Rumors circulated all week about the event after a report that the couple had taken out a marriage license in Scarsdale, N.Y. Representatives for Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z declined to comment on reports ahead of the event. Jay-Z’s publicist had no comment Saturday.
The couple, who apparently have dated for six years, have never publicly acknowledged they are together. Knowles, 26, and Jay-Z, 38, whose real name is Shawn Carter, have collaborated on the songs “‘03 Bonnie and Clyde” and “Crazy in Love.”
Britain challenges Snoop Dog decision Britain is appealing a court’s decision to allow Snoop Dogg into the country, the Border Agency said Friday. He was barred after he was arrested on charges of violent disorder at London’s Heathrow Airport in 2006. But the hip-hop heavyweight successfully appealed and received entry clearance from an asylum and immigration tribunal in January.
The Border Agency said Friday it will challenge the ruling at a hearing.
In March 2007, Snoop Dogg (real name: Cordozar Calvin Broadus Jr.) was forced to cancel a tour of Britain with fellow rap icon Sean “Diddy” Combs after authorities denied him a visa.
That followed an incident in which Snoop Dogg and five others were arrested on charges of violent disorder and starting a brawl at Heathrow in which seven officers were injured. Trouble flared when some in his party were denied entry to British Airways’ first-class lounge at the airport.
DeGarmo to inspire youth to volunteer
“American Idol” finalist and metro Atlanta gal Diana DeGarmo will be the honorary spokeswoman for Global Youth Service Day, considered the largest volunteering charity event in the world.
The three-day event is designed to get young people motivated and involved in everything from climate change to literacy programs and mentoring, as well as more engaged in current events. In past years, millions of kids have gathered in more than 100 countries to discuss global issues and volunteering.
The April 25-27 event is co-sponsored by CMT One Country and Youth Service America.
HIGH FIVE
The top-selling books at Wordsmiths Books for the week ending April 6 (in no particular order):
“The Somnambulist” by Jonathan Barnes
“The Memory of Water” by Karen White
“Deep Economy” by Bill McKibben
“Tunnels” by Roderick Gordon
“In the Defense of Food” by Michael Pollan
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor James Garner is 80. Actor Wayne Rogers (“MASH”) is 75. Movie director Francis Ford Coppola is 69. Singer John Oates of Hall and Oates is 59. Actor Jackie Chan is 54. Actor Russell Crowe is 44.
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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Fire, water help spice up Straits eatery
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rapper/restaurateur Ludacris and chef/owner Chris Yeo are giving the former Spice space at 793 Juniper St. in Midtown a million-dollar makeover as they prepare for the April 25 opening of Straits Restaurant.
As we’ve previously reported, Straits will feature a modern Singaporean menu. For weeks now, the Johnson Studio has been busy transforming the 218-seat space into an eatery that will pay “homage to [Singaporean] heritage with a subtle Eastern influence,” including “a dual focus on the elements of fire and water, incorporating a color scheme featuring vibrant reds and rich browns, including dark woods and chocolate brown leather.”
Additionally, there will be two flanking fireplaces with votive lighting along open brick shafts, a lounge entry area off the bar with banquette seating and a gold-leafed red painted wall with window slots, which will allow for natural light during the day and “sexy mood lighting at night.”
“With a nod to water, edge-lit glass shelves with LED lighting will span the bi-level wall behind the downstairs bar.”
Did we mention the 12-seat private dining room and the 40-seat downstairs Opium Lounge?
According to the advance scoop supplied to Buzz Friday, the restaurant’s name “comes from the Straits of Malacca, a waterway which flows between Malaysia and Singapore, where the lifeline of the two countries flows together, exchanging their cultures.”
We’re told that Straits will be open for dinner seven days a week, from 5 p.m. to midnight Monday through Wednesday, from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Thursday through Saturday and from 5 to 11 p.m. Sunday. Straits will serve Sunday brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Straits has three locations in California.
For more info, please go to: www.straitsrestaurants.com.
A SWEET SHOW
It was a hurrah of a homecoming.
From the moment Jennifer Nettles sang the opening lines to “Baby Girl,” to the thunderous applause after “Stay,” to the shots of Turner Field, Eddie’s Attic and West Peachtree Street shown during “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” to the rocking encore (a cover of Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar On Me”), Atlanta country duo Sugarland’s concert Thursday night at the Fox Theatre felt more like a victory parade than concert performance. Minus the floats and confetti.
“People come up to me and say how nice it must be to be living your dream,” Nettles said before “Something More.” “And I’m telling you what, Atlanta, Georgia — I’m looking at all of your smiling faces and you know what I’m saying? ‘[You’re] damn right!’ “
Hours before the first of his band’s two sold-out performances at the Fox, Kristian Bush looked around in a kind of awe about what was about to happen.
Sugarland has been nominated for a Grammy, won two CMT Music Awards, a CMA and an American Music Award — but in all of his years toiling the Atlanta music scene, “I have never played the Fox. This is already major, and the show hasn’t started.”
HIGH FIVE
The top-selling albums at Decatur CD for the week ending April 5:
1. R.E.M., “Accelerate”
2. Lazyeye, “Lights in the Attic”
3. Gnarls Barkley, “The Odd Couple”
4. The Black Keys, “Attack & Release”
5. Van Morrison, “Keep it Simple”
Source: Decatur CD
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I don’t think I’ll ever film another music video with a hot girl in it. There’s no way that any other girl is going to compare to how hot my girl is.”
— Singer/songwriter and Augusta native Josh Kelley (pictured) on his wife, “Grey’s Anatomy” actress Katherine Heigl. The newlyweds met on the set of Kelly’s “Only You” video in 2005.
SUPERMODEL DOCKET UPDATE
Now, Buzz dutifully brings you this public service announcement: Supermodel Naomi Campbell is back on the loose. Yes, the jewel-encrusted BlackBerry bruiser was released on bail Friday.
London’s Metropolitan Police said she was released pending further inquiries and told to report to a police station in late May.
The supermodel was arrested Thursday on suspicion of assaulting an officer at Heathrow Airport.
Witnesses said Campbell was aboard a plane due for Los Angeles when she became involved in a dispute because one of her bags had been lost. Campbell allegedly spit on an officer.
Campbell spokeswoman Annabel Fox said Campbell was traveling to the U.S. to attend a memorial service and had boarded the plane when she was told one of her two checked bags was missing.
British Airways “decided to resolve this by insisting she leave the flight and then called the police to forcibly eject her,” Fox said.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Today: Actor Mitch Pileggi (“The X Files”) is 56. Country singer Troy Gentry of Montgomery Gentry is 41. Rapper-producer Pharrell Williams is 35.
Sunday: Country singer Merle Haggard is 71. Actor Billy Dee Williams is 71. Actor Paul Rudd is 39. Actor Zach Braff (“Scrubs”) is 33.
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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Bargain price for charity fashion show
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Could Atlanta’s economy be in worse shape than previously thought? On Thursday, Buzz heard from multiple sources that hundreds of tickets remain available for Sunday night’s highly touted “Revival” Pecan Pie Couture fashion show and benefit for Seeds of Nutrition Atlanta at Opera nightclub in Midtown.
What’s interesting is that the event’s host committee is made up of about 50 of the city’s most influential, connected and charitably generous power brokers, including Sandra and Dan Baldwin, Aida and Allan Flamm, Drs. Nancy and Jeffrey Gallups, Angela and Pano Karatassos, Jada and Tom Loveless, Alissa Portman and Uri Vaknin.
The evening will feature the unveiling of Pecan Pie Couture’s 2008 fashion line with live musical performances by Francine Reed, Big Mike Geier, the Thin White Clouds, Dames Aflame and others to raise money for Seeds of Nutrition Atlanta, a nonprofit that teaches schoolkids about food “through an immersive experience of growing, cooking and eating.”
So are tickets $500 or $1,000 a pop?
Nope.
Try $25 in advance or $30 at the door.
Pecan Pie Couture founder Clint Zeagler was quick to defend his host committee when the likes of us started asking nosy questions Thursday.
“They’ve done an incredible job,” Zeagler said, while conceding that about 500 tickets remained available online. “I couldn’t have asked for a better committee. I think we’re going to be fine. I’m super excited about the whole show.”
One theory being floated: Advance tickets are only available through ticketalternative.com and some supporters may be wary of purchasing tickets online.
The evening’s host co-chair Carey Carter told us Thursday: “There’s been an incredible buzz about the event. For $25, how can you not support something as worthy as that?”
The veteran charitable fund-raiser did allow, however, that Atlantans are known for frequently waiting until the last minute to firm up their social calendars.
Explained Carter: “With the ticket price point as low as it is, patrons are most likely waiting until Sunday night to buy their tickets. That way, an extra $5 per ticket will be raised.”
For info:www.pecanpiecouture.com
CUPCAKE POPS A BLOGGER’S TREAT
Right about now, Suwanee cupcake baker Angie Dudley’s Web site at www.bakerella.com should be short-circuiting.
Dudley was a guest on Thursday’s edition of “The Martha Stewart Show” as part of something called “Cupcake Week” (apparently, Stewart couldn’t wait for May sweeps for the sweet-themed week). Dudley introduced the woman perhaps best known for teaching America how to make its own household cleanser to her Cupcake Pops creations.
The recipe for the mini candy-coated cakes on a stick is posted on www.marthastewart.com.
Of the experience, Dudley writes on her site: “Who knew that starting a little blog about baking could turn into something so exciting?”
MAYOR DUPRI?
Pssst, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin: Music mogul Jermaine Dupri is eyeing that flower in your lapel. On the invitations to the party that Dupri is co-hosting with Jay Z next week at his Studio 72 nightclub in Tucker, the producer-songwriter-rapper-author has added a new job title to his résumé: “The Mayor of Atlanta.”
The soiree is set to begin after Jay Z’s “Heart of the City” tour stop at Philips Arena downtown Tuesday night.
The invitation also seeks to put a large crimp in Buzz’s preferred wardrobe, stating: “This is where the stars hang out, dress code is young, fly and flashy. No white tees, baseball caps, athletic apparel or jerseys.”
Perhaps, best of all: The after-party tickets range in price from $40 to $70. So what kind of perks does spending the additional $30 get you?
The $70 ticket-holders are allowed to cut in line.
At presstime Thursday, Buzz was still awaiting a progress report from Dupri on the city’s ongoing multi-billion dollar sewer overhaul project. …
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Author-poet Maya Angelou (above) is 80. Writer-producer David E. Kelley (“Boston Legal”) is 52. Actor Robert Downey Jr. is 43. Singer Jill Scott is 36. Actor James Roday (“Psych”) is 32. Actress Jamie Lynn Spears (“Zoey 101”) is 17.
CELEBRITY DOCKET
The ever-congenial Naomi Campbell was arrested at Heathrow Airport in London Thursday for allegedly spitting at a police officer, Sky News reported.
Police said a 37-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of assaulting police. The Metropolitan Police spokesman refused to identify the woman, or say whether the incident took place inside the terminal or aboard a plane. He spoke on the condition of anonymity, in line with police policy.
Upside? At least, the anger management-impaired, entitled supermodel didn’t heave her bejeweled BlackBerry at an underling this go-round.
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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Elton, Elvis team up
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Singer-songwriter Elvis Costello has a new part-time job, thanks to Peachtree Road resident Sir Elton John. The pianist’s Rocket Pictures production company has inked Costello to host a new Sundance Channel TV show, “Spectacle: Elvis Costello With …” According to Billboard.com, the company initially will produce 13 one-hour episodes.
“I’m not interested in extracting some dark secret,” Costello tells Billboard. “I’d rather hear about a bright secret, a deep love or a curiosity that might be otherwise obscured by fame. This is a wonderful opportunity to talk in complete thoughts about music, movies, art or even vaudeville, then frame it with unique and illustrative performances.”
“I thought it would be sensational to use his knowledge and intelligence to explore the artistry of musicians and other fascinating people involved in making great music, as well as true music aficionados,” John says.
A portion of proceeds from the show’s income will be donated to the Global Fund’s work on AIDS relief in Africa.
Costello fans, meanwhile, can expect his next studio album “Momofuku,” to drop on vinyl on April 22 with a CD version following on May 6.
HAVE A SEAT ON PITTYPAT’S PORCH
Pittypat’s Porch owners Guy and Deb Thomson (not to mention countless tourists) were encouraged Wednesday when a portion of Andrew Young International Boulevard finally reopened. The downtown Atlanta Southern eatery institution (it first opened in 1967), at 25 Andrew Young International, has been shuttered since March 15 as a result of the tornado that smacked into the nearby Westin Peachtree Plaza.
Falling glass and general chaos in the area prevented the Southern hospitality hub named for Scarlett O’Hara’s Atlanta aunt in “Gone With the Wind” from serving up its daily helpings of Twelve Oaks BBQ Ribs and pecan pie.
Pittypat’s is now due to reopen at 5 p.m. Saturday.
“One man called and asked if we would feed him if he got here walking sideways!” Pittypat’s sales director Anita Hulata told Buzz Wednesday. “I told him, ‘Darlin,’ I’d love to but we’re not even cooking in the kitchen right now but I’d be willing to share my banana with you,’ “
The veteran Atlantan who’s worked downtown for decades says that even she was surprised by the destruction the freak tornado caused two weeks ago.
“When I was a little girl, my daddy took me out in front of Loew’s Grand Theater when the Winecoff [hotel] caught on fire [Dec. 7, 1946],” she recalled. “But a tornado? That’s something I’ve never seen in downtown Atlanta.”
Hulata says she’s been helping to answer phones since the unexpected closing and is looking forward to Pittypat’s famed “rocking chair lounge” again being filled with guests this weekend.
Hooted Hulata: “Honey, the fried chicken will be smelling up half of downtown if we’re lucky. Y’all come by!”
SICK BAY UPDATE
Roger Ebert will resume writing reviews later this month, but will not rejoin his syndicated TV show because he’s still unable to speak. In a letter published in Tuesday’s Chicago Sun-Times, the Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic and co-host of TV’s “Ebert & Roeper” said surgery in January ended in complications, and his ability to speak was not restored. He said the return of speech would require another surgery. Ebert’s last published reviews, which also run in the AJC’s “Movies & More” section on Fridays, ran in February.
“But I still have all my other abilities, including the love of viewing movies and writing about them,” Ebert said.
Ebert, 65, had surgery in 2006 to remove a cancerous growth on his salivary gland. Ebert said he remains cancer-free, and is not ready to think about more surgery.
HIGH FIVE
Music
Top album sales at Criminal Records in Little Five Points for the week ending March 29:
1. Stephen Malkmus, “Real Emotional Trash,” LP & CD
2. Raveonettes, “Lust Lust Lust,” LP & CD
3. The Gutter Twins, “Saturnalia,” LP & CD
4.The Kills, “Midnight Boom” CD
5. Destroyer, “Trouble in Dreams,” LP & CD
Courtesy: Criminal Records
OVERSCENE
Gnarls Barkley member Cee-Lo Green dining with his family at Rare Soul Tapas Restaurant in Midtown. We’re told the group “enjoyed a variety of soul-food tapas dishes, including the lobster mac and cheese, South Georgia peach cobbler and flaming Bananas Foster.”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress-singer Doris Day is 84. Singer Wayne Newton is 66. Singer Richard Thompson is 59. Actor Alec Baldwin is 50. Actor David Hyde Pierce (“Frasier”) is 49. Comedian-actor Eddie Murphy is 47. Singer Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) is 40. Actress Jennie Garth (“Beverly Hills 90210”) is 36. Actress Cobie Smulders (“How I Met Your Mother”) is 26. Actress Amanda Bynes 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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Stickler for details misses big April Fool’s sign
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Stickler for details misses big picture
As usual, an April Fools’ joke awaited restaurateur Fabrice Vergez when he arrived for work at French American Brasserie downtown Tuesday.
But inexplicably, Vergez, a Frenchman who’s built a solid reputation in this town for being able to detect a water spot on a wineglass from across a crowded restaurant, blew right past it.
FAB manager Cindy Brown had replaced the towering F A B gold letters out front with C A B to stand for Cindy’s American Brasserie.
“One of our servers had to take him outside to compliment him on the new company name,” Brown told Buzz, laughing. “It really amazed me that he didn’t see it coming in because his attention to detail is intense.”
Brown had contacted the eatery’s sign folks to replace the first letter in the sign with a gaudy sticker in the shape of a C.
Last year, Brown swapped out the old black and white photos brought over from Brasserie Le Coze’s old Lenox Square location and replaced them with black and white shots of the servers and kitchen staff. She also informed an anxious Vergez, who was awaiting a crucial health code report from government officials, that the posh eatery had failed the inspection.
The temporary restaurant rebranding was technically Brown’s Plan B this year. Originally, she was going to hide the FAB wait staff and hire local celebs to arrive in server garb Tuesday, but Vergez busted Brown early.
Additionally, FAB diners were treated to an April Fools’ Day menu as well, featuring “Ex-Wife Pate” and “Grilled Zebra Penne Pasta With White Stripes Only.”
The more traditional signage should be back up by the time you read this.
So, how exactly does Vergez’s nine-year manager get away with these pranks year after year?
“Oh, that’s an easy one,” Brown explains. “I’m his fiancee. It prevents me from getting fired!”
Union: ‘I will not … see people be victimized’
Actress Gabrielle Union, who visited Atlanta in December to promote the film “The Perfect Holiday,” is suing two metro Atlantans who allegedly posted a fabricated job opening involving her name on Craigslist.org.
Union’s invasion of privacy lawsuit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, alleges that Steve Raymond, who purportedly lives in Morrow, and Calvin High, who purportedly resides in Morrow or Forest Park, fraudulently advertised a job opening for an assistant for a Hollywood actress. When potential applicants called, Union’s Atlanta attorney Tony Mulrain claims, the actress’s name was mentioned.
According to the lawsuit, Union does not know the defendants and at no time either advertised or authorized a job opening listing.
“What scares me the most is that people associate my name with safety for women, and there’s a trust in that,” Union told Buzz on Tuesday. “What happens when these people who show up who knows where to interview for a job that doesn’t exist?”
The lawsuit seeks punitive damages in excess of $100,000.
Mulrain said the lawsuit, which sought an injunction for the defendants to cease the alleged action, was filed because “Gabrielle was concerned about the safety of women. We don’t know what the endgame was. Was it to lure women to a particular location or to use sensitive information, including Social Security numbers, for identity theft? At this point we can only surmise.”
Attempts to reach the defendants were unsuccessful. A phone number listed in the suit as a contact number for potential job applicants has been temporarily disconnected. That number is also listed on switchboard.com as belonging to High.
Union, who starred in “Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls,” said she felt compelled to act with a suit.
“It’s not enough for me to sit back and hope women are OK,” she said. “I will not stand by and see people be victimized. “
Overscene
University of Georgia head football coach Mark Richt charming the pants onto even the Georgia Tech fans during a visit to H. Stockton menswear at the retailer’s Midtown location on Peachtree and 14th streets Tuesday.
“He shook a lot of hands and thrilled a lot of folks,” Court Stockton told Buzz. While he was there, Richt also checked out some red and black ties (natch), but also a couple of red and white models just for variety. Stockton reports that the store, a fave of Richt’s, will likely fit him with some “dressier stuff, suits and such” for the coming season later on this year.
Quote of the day
‘Oh, my God, there goes Rod Stewart!’
A decidedly younger music fan at Blake’s on the Park upon seeing Barry Manilow cross 10th Street over the weekend as reported to Buzz by veteran Atlanta mixologist Max Westlake.
Collapsed lung sidelines singer
Jazz singer Nancy Wilson is in the hospital for treatment of a collapsed lung, a spokeswoman said.
The 71-year-old Grammy winner was expected to recover but will not be able to make a performance scheduled in Memphis next weekend, said Devra Levy, wife of Wilson’s manager, John Levy.
Wilson’s lung was being reinflated at Hi-Desert Medical Center in Joshua Tree, Calif., and she was in good spirits, Devra Levy told The Associated Press.
Contributing: Bob Longino and news services.
Celebrity birthdays Singer Leon Russell is 66. Singer Emmylou Harris is 61.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Here’s the lowdown on Manilow visit
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Before playing his previously postponed concert at Philips Arena over the weekend, Barry Manilow popped up at various locales around town Saturday. Thankfully, local Fanilows were on red alert and generously supplied sightings to Buzz Central Monday.
The pop icon and five friends started with brunch at Einstein’s in Midtown. The singer had the salmon scramble, sweet potato fries, coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice.
Thankfully, the Einstein’s wait staff has an eye for detail any reporter would crave.
In an e-mail dispatch to Buzz, they spilled that Manilow was wearing “skin tight jeans that hugged his svelte legs like leather. His hair was peppered with blonde and platinum highlights, resembling a Rod Stewart coif.”
Dark shades covered his face.
Later, Manilow and crew hopped into a waiting black SUV and headed to Outwrite Books.
So what exactly did Manilow purchase at the nationally recognized Midtown gay and lesbian bookstore and coffee shop?
A racy calendar perhaps?
A “Naked Boys Singing” DVD?
A Celine Dion CD at least?
Here’s the official, on-the-record word from Outwrite owner Philip Rafshoon: Manilow and party purchased multiple copies of the current Oprah Winfrey book pick “A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose” by Eckhart Tolle.
It’s gonna be a loong week.
A PERSONAL CONNECTION
As R&B fans across the country awoke to the news Monday that 39-year-old Sean Levert had died, of still unknown circumstances, V-103 morning announcer Wanda Smith was charged with having to break the news to the late singer’s Atlanta-based niece.
“[Carlysia’s] mom called me around 2 this morning,” Smith told Buzz early Monday, “and my fiancé answered the phone. She was screaming and yelling and crying … and she wanted me to go with her to Spelman to tell her.” The co-host of the top-rated “Frank [Ski] and Wanda Morning Show” was a longtime friend of Carlysia’s father, the late R&B singer Gerald Levert, and met his daughter and her mother Carlene Pearson about 10 years ago. “I’ve been like Mommy 2 to Carlysia,” Smith said. “And I’m so proud of her. She’s been so strong, I just want Atlanta to pray for her and her mom, and keep them strong.”
Two years ago Sean’s older brother, Gerald, died of a heart attack. He was 40. Sean — also the son of R&B legend Eddie Levert of the O’Jays — was reportedly found dead in a Cleveland jail in Ohio where he was held for allegedly failing to pay about $80,000 in child support. Sean, Gerald and Marc Gordon were in a group called LeVert, with such hit singles as “Casanova” and “(Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop) Goes My Mind” and “Baby I’m Ready.”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress Debbie Reynolds is 76. Actor Don Hastings (“As The World Turns”) is 74. Actress Ali MacGraw is 70. Rapper-actor Method Man is 37.
OVERSCENE
New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas sitting at the bar at Shout restaurant in Midtown watching hoops action.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, 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.
