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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2008 > September
September 2008
Leon protege nearly misses ‘Senior Year’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Acworth actor Justin Martin had almost given up on landing a role in “High Musical 3: Senior Year,” the upcoming second sequel of the Disney tween gold mine franchise.
“The casting directors told me I was just too small,” Martin, 14, tells Buzz.
Then “High School Musical” director Kenny Ortega saw Martin’s audition tape and wanted to know why he hadn’t had a chance to see Justin.
“After a few weeks went by, I got the call,” Martin recalls. “It was amazing. Kenny is a wonderful director and a great guy to work with.”
There was an extensive four-month shoot for the upcoming Oct. 24 theatrical release, and weeks of rehearsal before that. In the film, Martin plays a new character, Donny, who’s a sophomore with a crazy friend Jimmy, a fellow underclassman and a girl-crazy would-be rocker.
“My character is the more calm guy who tries to keep Jimmy from falling off the face of the Earth,” Martin explains. “He’s the stage manager. The guy who helps his friends from going crazy.”
Martin says some of the elaborate musical numbers in the family-friendly film took a week or more to create. He’s well aware that his profile is about to be enhanced substantially when “High School Musical 3” hits theaters next month.
“I never would have thought I’d ever get to be a part of such a huge phenomenon,” he says.
Even at 14, Martin is an amazingly centered young man. His old True Colors Theatre mentor Kenny Leon cast him last year in the new ABC TV movie version of “A Raisin in the Sun.” He played Sean “Diddy” Combs’ son in the critically acclaimed film (now out on DVD) without being intimidated by the hip-hop impresario.
“When I’m on the job, I don’t really get star-struck,” Martin told us. “I’m able to keep my focus.”
Martin says he learned that level of professionalism at an early age working with Leon at Atlanta’s True Colors Theatre: “Kenny has really helped me to craft myself as an actor. He gave me an important piece of advice — don’t act, become the person.”
A TASTE OF THE TOUR
Normally, we pop into the Palm at the Westin Buckhead to hear general manager Willy Cellucci spin a yarn as juicy as his joint’s steaks. But the other night, Cellucci was prepped for show as well as tell. In honor of the annual Tour Championship taking place at East Lake Golf Club, Cellucci had commissioned an impressive new PGA Hall of Fame mural that now greets guests at the eatery’s entrance.
“We wanted to do something special to honor the guys,” said Cellucci, himself an avid golfer. “They’re such good guys, and so many of them have become Palm customers over the years. It’s a pretty impressive group of guys I’ve gotten to meet over the years,”
Included in the mural, accented with a lush grass background that took a week to create: David Toms, Stewart Cink, Aaron Baddeley, Rocco Mediate, Butch Harmon and Mark Calcavecchia.
Among those swinging a club at this year’s Tour Championship spotted sawing into a steak at the Palm last week: Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, Mike Weir and Tim Clark.
‘BEAUTIFUL’ INTERACTIVITY
To commemorate its 10th annual “Most Beautiful Atlantans” issue, Jezebel magazine is asking readers to nominate themselves this year.
“It’s a way of being interactive and by now, most of our readers know we’re looking for more than just outer beauty,” Jezebel editor Beth Weitzman explained over lunch.
So, we had to ask: Do most Jez readers, er, embody the necessary levels of self-esteem to nominate themselves, or do friends do it for them?
“Believe it or not, most people nominate themselves!” Weitzman said laughing. “You’ve got to be pretty self-confident to do that.”
Weitzman stresses this isn’t just a beauty contest.
“We’re looking for people who are involved in their communities, who are giving back to the city. Otherwise, we’d just call it the Models Issue!”
To nominate yourself, go to jezebelmagazine.com by Friday.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Author Elie Wiesel is 80. Singer Johnny Mathis is 73. Actor Barry Williams (“The Brady Bunch”) is 54. Country singer Marty Stuart is 50. Singer Trey Anastasio (Phish) is 44. Actor Kieran Culkin is 26. Rapper T-Pain is 24.
TRANSITIONS
The Clubhouse restaurant at Lenox Square has quietly shuttered its doors in its prime storefront location at the Buckhead retail emporium. When Buzz attempted to phone Monday for an explanation, we were greeted with a recorded message saying the restaurant’s number had been disconnected.
SICK BAY UPDATE
Part-time Atlantan turned “Dancing With the Stars” contestant Toni Braxton confirmed to B98.5FM’s Steve and Vikki Monday that her recent heart ailments (she suffers from angina attacks) haven’t hampered her high-stepping on the ABC reality show. “At first, I was a little scared to work,” the singer said. “It was scary, but I’m OK.”
As a safety measure, Braxton says she’s examined by her cardiologist before and after each live “Dancing” performance.
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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Blais preps for Flip chain, maybe TV
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta’s own Richard Blais is still working the “Top Chef” juju, hoping to parlay his TV exposure into … more TV exposure.
Blais, who was at Piedmont Park for three “Top Chef Tour” demonstrations Saturday with season three runner-up Casey Thompson, said he’s pitching ideas to cable networks such as Bravo (of course), A&E and TLC. He just taped a “Movie & a Makeover” bit for TBS, too.
Buzz checked out the third hourlong cooking demo. Thompson was the lead cook this time, allowing Blais to do most of the talking before 40 or so foodies squeezed into the tour bus space.
“Being on stage like this helps prepare me for TV,” Blais told Buzz afterwards, jokingly adding, “I’m working on my corny jokes and dead air.”
Thompson’s original plan to cook a squash soup was squashed when the dishwasher accidentally dumped the squash. So she did impromptu shopping at the weekly Green Market, found some okra and eggplant, threw in some sweet peppers, cilantro, jasmine rice, fish sauce and a pouch of Curry Simple to make a tasty creation.
“This is our version of the Quick Fire Challenge,” Blais quipped, referencing a weekly “Top Chef” staple.
Blais and Thompson dished about fellow contestants, the judges and their current projects. While Thompson is moving to San Francisco to work with some wineries, Blais recently left Home to open a chain of burger joints called Flip. He hopes to open the first one on Howell Mill Road in October featuring a signature liquid nitrogen milkshake bar.
“Yes, I’ll have the bacon milkshake,” he said, noting a creation from the show. “Each Flip will be regional. So here, we’ll have a Krispy Kreme milkshake.”
Krispy Kreme vs. bacon in a shake? Hmm … hard to guess which one will be more popular!
A FANTASY RIDE
On Saturday, Six Flags Over Georgia’s Goliath roller coaster was rechristened — for the day — The Goliath Fantasy Ride, in honor of Atlanta Grammy winner Ciara.
No, it had nothing to do with the way she writhes in videos.
Instead, it was an early promotion for her third CD “Fantasy Ride,” due in December, along with a way to give three students from her local alma mater, Riverdale High School, a free day at the park. Students Ashley Clayton, Shaneka Pickering and Muoi Ung all won an essay contest, for which they were asked to write about whom they admired. Believe it or not, none of them said Ciara. (Clayton and Pickering picked their moms; Ung said Martin Luther King Jr.)
Before the trio got to their front-row “Fantasy Ride” with the R&B singer, Ciara signed the artwork for her new “Go Girl” single for hundreds of fans who just happened to be at Six Flags. “This is a blessing!” said Ciara. “I mean, I used to come here religiously when I was younger. I remember when I used to have to save up money for a season pass — or try to get the hook-up.”
Ciara’s parents and other members of her family joined her during her afternoon-long visit. So of course Buzz had to ask what they thought about the “nude” shot of her on the current issue of Vibe magazine. She maintains it was Photoshopped.
“I had on a bikini.” Before mom and dad saw it, “I got them on the three-way [phone call] to explain. And they — like they always have been — were supportive.”
HIGH FIVE
Music
The top-selling albums at Decatur CD for the week ending Sept. 27:
1. TV on the Radio, “Dear Science”
2. Calexio, “Carried to Dust”
3. Kings of Leon, “Only By the Night”
4. Okkervil River, “The Stand Ins”
5. Dead Confederate, “Wrecking Ball”
Courtesy: Decatur CD
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Critics of the bailout plan say it will save Wall Street while it would do virtually nothing to help out Main Street. And as always, you’re on your own, Martin Luther King Boulevard.”
“Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update” anchor Amy Poehler
during this week’s faux newscast.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Jerry Lee Lewis is 73. Actor Ian McShane is 66. TV personality Bryant Gumbel is 60. PBS newswoman Gwen Ifill is 53. Actress Emily Lloyd is 38. Actress Natasha Gregson Wagner is 38. Guitarist Josh Farro of Paramore is 21.
Contributing: 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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Dogs, ‘Bama fans roll on the Fur Bus
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The anxiety over finding gas has been a boon for Atlanta’s wackiest recreational transportation service, the Fur Bus. The phone was ringing off the hook Friday as gas supplies remained scarce. It seems that University of Georgia and University of Alabama football fans are desperate to find a ride up to Athens for Saturday’s kickoff.
As of Friday afternoon, three Fur Buses were completely booked and three additional coaches had to be added to the company’s fleet headed up Atlanta Highway.
And for the Fur Bus fleet, gas is not a problem. All the company’s vehicles run on diesel.
“We’re busy!” Fur Bus general operations representative Allyson Greenfield told Buzz. “People are concerned about this, so a lot of them have decided to travel together.”
It doesn’t hurt that the $100 per person Fur Bus fare includes a cookout, open bar, safe transportation to and from the stadium and a parking spot outside UGA’s famous arch.
Added Greenfield: “Some fans who have booked seats don’t even have tickets. I think it’s more about just being there for the Georgia-Alabama matchup that’s important for a lot of people.”
On the off chance that things get dull between interceptions, Fur Bus president Trey Humphreys is packing his costumes (Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race participants will recall that Humphreys routinely wears outrageous Uncle Sam-themed outfits atop the bus each July Fourth).
Alas, Humphreys wouldn’t go into details about whether he’ll don his signature synchronized swimmer’s onesie for the occasion. But he has ruled out one particular color scheme.
Said Humphreys: “I won’t be wearing red and black. I prefer to stand out.”
For info: www.furbus.com.
SMILEY ON THE RADIO GETS THE HOT SLOT
Just last month, Rickey Smiley told the AJC how much he wanted to be on the radio in Atlanta with his syndicated morning show, bragging that he could take on Steve Harvey, Tom Joyner and V-103’s formidable Frank Ski and Wanda Smith.
Lo and behold, the popular stand-up comic has his chance: Hot 107.9 has officially dumped “the A Team” in favor of the more economical option of a syndicated show. Smiley, a Birmingham native, has a penchant for doing prank calls. (On Friday, his new station played a few samples, such as Smiley posing as an old woman asking a tattoo parlor for a $10 tattoo of the “Last Supper” on her back.)
Smiley’s syndication is run by Radio One, which, not so coincidentally, owns Hot. His program starts airing on the station Oct. 6.
While Griff lost his job in August, two other key “A Team” players are being moved to different time slots. On Monday, Rashan Ali will start doing middays, while Emperor Searcy returns to afternoons.
Ali will be far from the only female voice at mid-day. While she replaces Maria More, she’ll compete with V-103’s Porsche Foxx and Kara at 95.5/the Beat.
SPA SPORTS GREENER GRAND OPENING
OH2 Medical Spa, which is touting itself as the only medical spa in the country constructed in compliance with the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) Green Building Rating System, celebrated its grand opening in style Thursday night in Alpharetta. One impressive feat? Spa co-founder Randy Rudderman ended up designing and contracting the build-out of the medical spa himself. He learned so much about recycled building and debris materials, water and energy conservation that he’s becoming LEED-certified himself. The spa’s other impressive feat: getting a gaggle of bold-faced Atlantans up Ga. 400 for the opening soiree, which benefited the Captain Planet Foundation. Attendees included Mindspring founder Charles Brewer’s wife Ginny Brewer and friend Ann Dahlia; real estate guru David Tufts; WXIA’s Karyn Greer and Tom Sullivan; photographer Parish Kohanim; personal shopper Robanne Schulman; and jewelry designers Jennifer Jiunta and Mark Edge.
Organizers made showing up especially appealing for at least one impeccably toothed attendee. We hear a limo was sent for an always-gracious grinner. …
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Saturday: Actress Jayne Meadows is 88. Director Arthur Penn is 86. Producer Don Cornelius (“Soul Train”) is 72. Singer Meat Loaf is 57. Singer-actor-director Shaun Cassidy is 50. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow is 36. Rapper Lil’ Wayne is 26. Singer Avril Lavigne is 24.
Sunday: Blues singer Koko Taylor is 80. Actress Brigitte Bardot is 74. Singer Ben E. King is 70. Writer-director-actor John Sayles is 58. Actress-comedian Janeane Garofalo is 44. Actress Naomi Watts is 40. Rapper Young Jeezy is 31. Actress Hilary Duff is 21.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I haven’t seen anyone worth getting up for yet.”
An unidentified blond bombshell, surveying the eligible men from her seat in the decidedly female-heavy patio crowd at JCT on Thursday night during Atlanta singer-songwriter Ben Deignan’s set.
Contributing: 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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T.I. stops by V-103 on 28th birthday
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
V-103’s Frank Ski and Wanda Smith scored the first in-studio interview with Atlanta rapper/actor T.I. Thursday morning as the artist, also known as Tip Harris, celebrated his 28th birthday. The performer will release his much-anticipated album “Paper Trail” on Tuesday. On air, Ski acknowledged the rapper’s ability to compartmentalize and multitask: Much of the record was written and recorded as T.I. was facing down multiple federal weapons charges (the rapper pleaded guilty; sentencing has been delayed while he completes his community service).
Ski asked: “Do you feel like God is saying, ‘OK, Tip, you’ve got a second chance. What are gonna do with it?’ “
Replied T.I.: “Yeah, sure, absolutely.”
And Buzz realized we want to be adopted by T.I.’s mama when she called in to wish her son a happy birthday. Alluding to how she handled her weapons-wielding son’s takedown in a Walgreens parking lot last year: “Prayer. You take it one day at a time. That’s all I could do, even before that little incident.”
Buzz’s mama? Well, she routinely made a bigger deal out of us walking our Keds across a freshly mopped kitchen floor. …
W HOTEL IN BUCKHEAD GOES FOR COOL
Here’s a basic rule at Buzz Central: A social gathering filled with gorgeous models being paid to lounge around in sexy robes is usually the sign of a great party.
Or a not-so-subtle indication that you’ve stumbled into the Playboy Mansion.
Rest assured, we were definitely in the upstairs private reception suite at Bluepointe in Buckhead on Wednesday night as the W Atlanta Buckhead hotel reps gave guests a sneak peek of what to expect this November when the much-anticipated, high-end hipster hotel opens at 3377 Peachtree Road. The models were showcasing the bath accessories in each room.
But guests shouldn’t expect a carbon copy of the hotel brand’s Perimeter or Midtown destinations. “Think country club cool,” said incoming Buckhead W general manager Marylouise Fitzgibbon, who recently has transitioned from the Perimeter property to helm the company’s latest Atlanta endeavor.
“The Midtown W is all about techno glam,” Fitzgibbon told Buzz. “That’s perfect for Midtown but we’ve conceived the Buckhead property as something utterly unique for here.”
Fitzgibbon leaned in and added: “I live in Buckhead and so do my girlfriends. Believe me, none of us want some New York hotel concept crammed down our throats. We want it to be a place where both the Buckhead residents and visitors will feel completely at home.”
Still, Atlantans did get treated to one unfamiliar taste at the party: The Amazon Cooler martini, an eco-friendly cocktail made with Veev Acai Spirits, basil leaves, lemon juice, simple syrup and a cucumber slice.
We’re told Whiskey Blue nightclub owner Rande Gerber overnighted a case of Veev (it’s not readily available here) so Atlantans could sample one of his New York club’s best-selling cocktail concoctions. As with the Midtown W, Gerber also will oversee a Whiskey nightclub concept at the Buckhead W this fall.
The drinks evaporated long before the cucumber garnishes could lose their crispness.
And take it from us: We’ve chatted up a lot of stuffy hotel GMs over the years; Fitzgibbon just might just be the most vivacious and vibrant we’ve met. For example, on Thursday, Fitzgibbon sent us an e-mail invite to a hotel hard-hat tour and dished that a disco ball had just been installed in her Buckhead W office.
MACINTOSH HAPPY ABOUT ‘LES MIZ’
Sir Cameron Macintosh — the British producer who created an entertainment empire from such mega-musicals as “Cats,” “Phantom of the Opera” and “Les Misérables” — was in town taking in the Theater of the Stars’ new streamlined version of “Les Miz.”
And according to TOTS publicist Karen Hatchett, Sir Cameron gave the show his royal seal of approval. “He was very happy about it,” Hatchett told Buzz. “He said he was a bit nervous initially to make changes in the way the show has always been done, but he felt good about our approach and about the set/scenic design and creative team. … He was excited about the good response to the show here.”
The Atlanta production traded the original turntable staging concept for video projections based on the drawings of “Les Miz” novelist Victor Hugo. The musical runs through Sunday at the Fox Theatre (404-817-8700, ticketmaster.com).
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Fitness expert Jack LaLanne is 94. Singer Bryan Ferry is 63. Actress Melissa Sue Anderson (“Little House on the Prairie”) is 46. Singer Tracey Thorn of Everything But the Girl is 46. Actor Jim Caviezel (“The Passion of the Christ”) is 40. Singer Christina Milian (above) is 27.
OVERSCENE
Among those paying tribute at Wednesday’s memorial service for Buckhead Stan Milton Oasis hair salon owner Stan Milton at Peachtree Christian Church: B98.5 FM’s Steve McCoy and Vikki Locke, Dr. Peter Abramson, Spanx spokeswoman Misty Elliott, psychotherapist Karin Smithson, salon owner Richie Arpino and Legendary Event catering owner Tony Conway.
Contributing: Wendell Brock 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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A couple of ATL fans react to Aiken news
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As you may have heard, second season “American Idol” runner-up Clay Aiken is on the cover of this Friday’s People magazine next to the headline: “Yes, I’m gay.” One liberal dose of smelling salts and a mug of lavender-scented green tea later, Buzz had recovered enough to ask some local folks familiar with the singer for their thoughts on the announcement.
Erin Lee, a 32-year-old legal secretary from Stone Mountain, has seen Aiken in concert 25 times, but hesitates to describe herself as a Claymate. On Wednesday, she said she had become disillusioned over time by Aiken’s cagey comments about his sexuality and is relieved he’s finally letting it out. “The elephant is finally out of the room, thank goodness,” she said. “Maybe he’ll be happier and won’t be so creepy about it.”
Atlanta singer Vanessa Olivarez, who was on “American Idol” the same year as Aiken, said she respected his choice to stay private all these years about his sexuality but supports his move now.
“His career is established enough that it’s OK if he comes out,” she told Buzz on Wednesday. “He’s built a fan base with all these religious Christians. Clay himself is very religious. This will show them that you can be gay and religious.”
Olivarez said Aiken never said a word about his sexuality during the show in 2003 but “my gaydar — or Claydar — has always been beeping since I met him. It’s something everyone always knew.”
On the mag’s cover, Aiken is holding his infant son, Parker Foster Aiken, who was conceived via in vitro fertilization with friend and producer Jaymes Foster. The singer says his son helped him address the issue.
“It was the first decision I made as a father,” Aiken told People. “I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things. I wasn’t raised that way, and I’m not going to raise a child to do that.”
WEBCAST FAN SAVES DAY FOR BIOFUEL RACERS
And folks trying to find gas in metro Atlanta think they’ve got it tough. Atlantans Brian Pierce, 36, and Nik Bristow, 27, managed to complete their (almost) nonstop, veggie-powered version of the famed Cannonball Run on Wednesday, making it from New York to Los Angeles in less than 40 hours — though their trip almost ended in Flagstaff, Ariz.
The co-workers at Atlanta-based ad agency Fitzgerald & Co. had planned to drive Pierce’s biodiesel-powered Volkswagen Jetta TDI nonstop, pausing only to change drivers and refueling from onboard cans carrying BioWillie, singer Willie Nelson’s own branded biofuel. They soon learned, though, that they had less fuel than they needed: Their plastic jugs hadn’t been filled all the way.
But a fan following their live Webcast of the consciousness-raising Willie Run came to their rescue. Indiana trucking agent David J. LaFaive enlisted a driver near Phoenix to deliver three jugs of fuel to the VW in Flagstaff. He met them just in time, Pierce said. “We had about a gallon left.”
“We thought the whole thing was ruined, but the people who were watching and rooting for us saved the day.”
DELTALINA WAGS HER FINGER AT THE DOME
Here’s another reason to get off the couch and into the Georgia Dome for Atlanta Falcons home games this season. Buckhead-based Delta flight attendant Katherine Lee has shot a series of instructional yet hilarious “Delta Safety First” intros for each pre-game at home. Lee, aka Deltalina, the fetching redhead who has been wagging her finger at Delta passengers this year on the airline’s new pre-flight video, also has become a breakout star on YouTube. So why exactly is Deltalina popping up on the Jumbotron at the Dome? Delta is the official airline of the Falcons, you see.
In her video welcome to fans at last Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Lee authoritatively told fans: “In the event of a Falcons touchdown, opposing fans may notice a sudden increase in volume inside the Georgia Dome. This is normal. For the safety of all Kansas City Chiefs fans, please remain in your seats and as quiet as possible.”
Apparently, Deltalina’s finger wagging worked: The Falcons beat the Chiefs 38-14.
The airline video star also has her own Facebook fan page these days, We Love Deltalina and It Shows.
To check out Lee’s most recent Falcons video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyUQWIuwzlk.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Newswoman Barbara Walters is 79. Actor Michael Douglas is 64. Actor Mark Hamill is 57. Actress Heather Locklear is 47. Actress Aida Turturro (“The Sopranos”) is 46. Actor Will Smith is 40. Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones is 39. Rapper T.I. is 28.
OVERSCENE
Rappers Busta Rhymes and Ice-T, record mogul “L.A.” Reid, New York Knicks players Malik Rose and Quentin Richardson, and the birthday boy’s gal pal, Janet Jackson, helping Atlanta producer Jermaine Dupri celebrate his 36th Tuesday night at Tenjune nightclub in New York.
Contributing: Bo Emerson, 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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Celebrity school super Cox on ‘Good Morning America’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Even though “Good Morning America” co-anchor Diane Sawyer ended up mistakenly demoting her to a teacher Tuesday morning, state Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox awoke early to do a local shot on the ABC show to discuss her recent million-dollar win on Fox’s “Are You Smarter Than a 5th-Grader?”
Cox appeared live with students from the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf. Conceded Cox to Sawyer: “There were quite a few people who had decided I wasn’t going to do well.” Cox has elected to donate her winnings to Georgia schools, even though her kids, who helped her cram for the Jeff Foxworthy series, were less certain they wanted to see the windfall blow away. “That was always the intent,” Cox told Sawyer. “They just wanted me to do well and make Georgia proud.”
The recent People magazine profile subject also commented on her new official “smarter than a fifth-grader” status. Joked Cox: “When you’re a teacher, the idea that the kids might be smarter than you is standard operating procedure!”
WSB reporter Ross Cavitt also sneaked onto the national telecast during ABC’s report on our city’s scarce gas situation Tuesday. Cavitt was briefly seen helping to push a fuel-famished car into a gas station while he was out reporting on shortages.
OVERSCENE
At Terminus Center Buckhead Flying Biscuit Cafe: rapper-actor Bow Wow, record producer-songwriter Jazze Pha, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and WXIA anchor Brenda Wood. At the West Paces Ferry Flying Biscuit Cafe location, meanwhile, servers report waiting on TV Judge Glenda Hatchett, “House of Payne” actress Cassi Davis, rapper Bonecrusher, former Falcons player Warrick Dunn and record and film producer Dallas Austin.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers is 66. Actor Kevin Sorbo (“Hercules: Legendary Journeys”) is 50. Actress-writer Nia Vardalos (“My Big Fat Greek Wedding”) is 46. Singer-guitarist Marty Cintron of No Mercy is 37. Guitarist Juan DeVevo of Casting Crowns is 33. Actor Kyle Sullivan (“Malcolm in the Middle”) is 20.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I just put on my Spanx and I’m ready to go. “
“The Office” star Steve Carell on his pre-Emmy Awards regimen (while giving Atlanta Spanx founder Sara Blakely’s signature product a shout-out) on “Entertainment Tonight.”
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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Tyler Perry donates truckload of food to charity
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For a few minutes on Tuesday morning, relief finally flickered across the face of Hosea Feed the Hungry executive director Elisabeth Omilami.
For weeks, the Atlanta charity started in 1971 by Omilami’s father, civil rights icon Hosea Williams, has battled bare shelves. There’s been a steady uptick in folks needing food from the nonprofit as the economy has headed further and further south.
But Tuesday morning, Atlanta director/writer/producer/actor Tyler Perry showed up with a Publix truck full of food to feed more than 1,000 families for two weeks.
“When you feed the hungry, you become that job,” Omilami told Buzz. “It follows you home every night. So many people are struggling just to pay their rent and put gas in their cars right now. It’s wonderful to have Tyler stand with us again as he did in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He understands our needs because he’s been there.”
Perry joked with the assembled media pointing cameras at him as he maneuvered a large hydraulic hand truck loaded down with a pallet of spring water. “The Family That Preys” director was inspired to make the donation after seeing the empty shelves on TV during a report on the donation-challenged charity last week on WSB-TV’s news.
“[WSB reporter] Carol Sbarge just showed up last week,” Omilami recalled. “We didn’t call her. And then Tyler saw the piece and decided to act. It’s faith that gets you through situations like this.”
Perry, casually dressed in jeans, a blue shirt and matching Braves cap, gamely constructed boxes as he helped Omilami pack up the donations of green beans, stew and other staples.
The actor said the charity was close to his heart because he’s been out on the street himself.
“I can’t imagine being in that position right now, especially with children,” Perry said, shaking his head. “If more people who are in my position or corporations who are in an even better situation all do their share, we could help a lot of people in need right now.”
Still, Omilami knows one exceptionally generous donation won’t single-handedly solve the problem.
“People can’t forget about the working poor right now,” she said. “They need us more than ever.
If you’d like to make a donation: www.hoseafeedthehungry.com.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Stylist Stan Milton set the cutting edge
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The city seemed a little less stylish Monday as word spread about the passing of Buckhead hair salon owner Stan Milton. For more than 25 years, Milton created some of the city’s signature coifs as he built one of Atlanta’s premier salons.
Milton (right, with client Susan Forehand) died Monday at Piedmont Hospital after a lengthy illness. In 2007, he moved his mainstay Miami Circle business to the Eclipse Building on Pharr Road.
Among his high-profile clients? B98.5 FM’s Vikki Locke.
“Many, many women have him to thank for their cutting-edge looks,” Locke told us. “I just loved talking to him. He was a very deep, spiritual person. You would end up talking to him about things you wouldn’t even talk about with your husband.”
While Milton had stopped seeing visitors in recent days, he and Locke kept in touch via text messages.
“I hold Stan in the highest regard for his integrity and his regard for people,” said Susan Forehand, a client of 26 years. “What Stan did best for clients was looking beneath the surface for each person’s inner beauty and bringing that out in each.”
Carter-Barnes Hair Artisans co-owner Carey Carter competed with Milton for high-end clients but admired him greatly. “Just the name Stan Milton says ‘quality’ to our entire city,” Carter said. “And back in an era when hairdressers were typically perceived as just that, he elevated us as artists. His death is a huge loss to our industry.”
In tribute to Milton, the Stan Milton Oasis salon will be closed through Wednesday.
A memorial service will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Peachtree Christian Church at 1580 Peachtree St. N.W.
THIS JUST IN
Atlanta’s own teen pro tennis phenom Donald Young has been added to the already-impressive list of celebs participating in the 2008 Advanta World Team Tennis Smash Hits fund-raiser to be held Oct. 12 at Kennesaw State University.
Young will compete against Andy Roddick at the benefit for part-time Atlantan and tennis buff Sir Elton John’s AIDS Foundation.
For more info or tickets: www.ejaf.org/smashhits08.
BISON STAMPEDE SET FOR DOWNTOWN
Ted’s Montana Grill co-owner George McKerrow Jr. took time out from flyfishing, horseback riding and creating new business strategies with company namesake Ted Turner to phone Buzz Central from Montana on Monday. McKerrow was calling to spread the word about the bison burger chain’s inaugural Ted’s Montana Grill Bison Stampede 5K Race and Family Fun Run set for Oct. 4 at 8:30 a.m. at the chain’s flagship downtown store at 133 Luckie St. N.W.
“It’s a way for us to bring attention to downtown and also to raise some money for the ecological causes that we’re committed to,” said McKerrow. Proceeds from the race will benefit the Captain Planet Foundation, the Clear Air Campaign, the Georgia Conservancy and the PATH Foundation. Pre-registration is $20 for adults and $15 for children 14 and under. For info, call 770-518-8002 or www.tedsmontanagrill.com/bisonstampede.
Between leisure activities, McKerrow said he and CNN founder Turner spent the weekend with one eye on the economic reports and the proposed government bailout Congress is mulling.
“It’s pretty scary,” the Longhorn Steakhouse founder conceded. “Nobody really knows where the bottom is to this thing. And casual dining establishments like ours have been the hardest hit. Folks at the top are a little better insulated and other people are looking to fast food right now. Our customers are the middle class folks getting squeezed the most right now. We’ve all got to chin up and get through it. The strong will survive.”
ISAAC HAYES’ ESTATE REVEALED
Late soul man and former Atlantan Isaac Hayes has left his estate to his wife, Adjowa, his children and the Isaac Hayes Foundation, which promotes literacy, music and nutrition, according to his will.
The will was filed last week in Memphis Probate Court. The Commercial Appeal in Memphis reported that the value and contents of Hayes’ estate hasn’t been filed.
Part of Hayes’ humanitarian work included building a school in Ghana.
The 65-year-old singer and composer died Aug. 10.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Mickey Rooney is 88. Singer Julio Iglesias is 65. Singer Bruce Springsteen is 59. Actor Jason Alexander (“Seinfeld”) is 49. Atlanta music producer Jermaine Dupri is 36.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Well, as I remember, it was pretty good.”
Ex-President Bill Clinton on the economy during his years in the White House on “The View.” He was answering criticism that his administration was partly responsible for setting in motion the current economic crisis.
OVERSCENE
Former Atlanta Braves player Otis Nixon posing for pictures at Hudson Grill & Bar. Former Braves player John Rocker and Kansas City Chiefs player Tank Johnson enjoying family-style dining at Vita on Peachtree Road.
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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Travel Channel host hits sites across Atlanta
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Buzz Central’s various vibrating handheld devices worked overtime during the weekend as Travel Channel “Passport to Great Weekends” host Samantha Brown hit town.
Buzz tipsters spotted Brown all over town and dutifully passed along the sightings.
On Saturday night, Brown and her camera crew took in the sights and sounds of Turner Field. Brown had a pitching lesson with John Smoltz and impressed all by burning a ball at 36 mph in the fan favorite “Throwing Heat” game. She also got in step with the Heavy Hitters drum corps before taking in the game in a suite with Parkview High School grad Katie Francoeur, wife of Atlanta Brave Jeff Francoeur, and other Braves spouses.
Brown and crew also were overseen shooting segments at the Georgia Aquarium, the Varsity, Underground Atlanta and Chateau Elan in Braselton. She also scored a taste and a tour of Rathbun’s in Inman Park, courtesy of owner/chef Kevin Rathbun.
Q100 FM’s shopping goddess Jessica Dauler, meanwhile, introduced Brown to the city’s many and varied retail emporiums.
“To be honest, I think Samantha and her crew were really surprised how modern and cosmopolitan a city Atlanta has become for shopping,” Dauler said Sunday. The pair roamed the racks at Lenox Square mall and Phipps Plaza, ending up with a $300,000 shopping spree at Mednikow Jewelers at Phipps Plaza.
The bling came complete with its own security guard.
“It was very ‘Men in Black,’ ” Dauler recounted laughing. “With the multiple SUVs and security, we were probably better protected than the president. It was an incredible experience.”
At Opera nightclub in Midtown, the red carpet was literally rolled out for Brown’s visit on Friday night. Inside, bottles of Veuve Clicquot bubbly were awaiting the Travel Channel traveler.
We’re told the Atlanta-centric edition of “Passport to Great Weekends” will air next spring.
DANCING FROM THE STREET WOWS
Sure, “So You Think You Can Dance” and “Dancing With the Stars” get all the attention. But Buzz loves MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew,” which shook up the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center Saturday night.
Five of the show’s most notable groups (all of whom come from the Prince school of spelling) reprised favorite routines from the show and showcased a few new ones, too.
It was an impressive, high-energy display of street dance, choreographed acrobatics and break dancing that kept the young crowd on its feet the entire two hours.
Season 1 winners JabbaWockeeZ, in Kabuki-style masks that evoke Blue Man Group, Insane Clown Posse and “Phantom of the Opera,” embodied kinetic precision and grace. They could headline their own Vegas act now.
Season 2 winners Super Cr3w showed off hip-hop stylings with a vengeance, Break Sk8 proved that old-fashioned roller skates can actually be cool and A.S.I.I.D gave us the heartwarming story of Joey Antonio, the chipper near-deaf dancer.
But Buzz’s favorite was Fanny Pak, a Los Angeles crew who brought a wicked sense of humor, especially during a “Carrie”-like prom scene where one dancer poisons the rest.
Georgia got plenty of musical love during the show. The groups danced to Ne-Yo, Akon and James Brown, and got the entire audience to do the Soulja Boy dance. They also did a lovely tribute to part-time Atlantan Janet Jackson and her bro, Michael. The finale featured a frenetic dance-off with 30 dancers wowing the crowd on a relatively cramped stage.
KICKS TIX
Monday at 10 a.m., tickets for the Kicks Country Jam featuring Gary Allan, Joe Nichols, Eric Church and Heidi Newfield go on sale. The show is Nov. 1 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park.
Tickets can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets, the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre box office or charged by phone at 404-249-6400.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer David Coverdale (Whitesnake, Deep Purple) is 57. Singer Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde is 51. Singer Joan Jett is 50. Opera singer Andrea Bocelli is 50. Actor Scott Baio is 47. Actor Tom Felton (“Harry Potter” films) is 21.
OVERSCENE
Actors Greg Kinnear (star of the new film “Flash of Genius”) and Dennis Quaid (star of the upcoming “The Express”) hanging out at the bar at Bluepointe in Buckhead before dinner at Dantanna’s. Both actors were busy around town, promoting their new fall theatrical releases.
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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Seems puppet was for the birds (of prey)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When the Center for Puppetry Arts’ Jeff Domke and Alan Louis set out to photograph their brand-new brown thrasher puppet for the center’s Web site Friday morning outside the Midtown facility, they had some unexpected company.
A red-tailed hawk mistook the assembled cardboard, glue and string for breakfast and dive-bombed the pair.
“It was pretty shocking,” Domke told Buzz after the incident. “We were taking pictures of our new thrasher puppet using the sky as a backdrop when all of a sudden, I saw these wings coming at me out of the corner of my eye.”
Domke said one of the bird’s talons brushed against his skull. “I felt the cold, clammy skin of his leg on my right hand.”
Domke surmises that the sudden jerking of his arm may have frightened the hawk away.
Added Louis in an e-mail: “I suppose the hawk paid us a compliment on Jeff’s design ability, but maybe socks and brown paper bags are safer in the end.”
The red-tailed hawk then flapped its way to a nearby chain-link fence where it hung out, studying the unnerved puppet persons. Eventually, it departed, presumably on its way to a Chick-fil-A drive-thru.
The replica of the Georgia state bird is being developed as an art activity for elementary schools teaching Georgia history.
The close call had Domke reconsidering his weekend outdoor activities.
Said Domke: “I’m supposed to mow the lawn this weekend. I may wear a helmet.”
MISS JACKSON ON BABIES, DANCING AND HER EARLY HITS
What was on part-time Atlantan Janet Jackson’s mind when she spoke with us to promote her Oct. 5 Philips Arena Rock Witchu tour date here?
>>> Settling down and having kids with longtime boyfriend, Atlanta music mogul Jermaine Dupri: “At some point, it’s coming. … I know he’s waiting for me. I’m the one that’s holding up the whole thing. … I don’t know, I guess I’ll just have to see. But it’s coming.”
>>> The part she likes most in the “Rock Witchu” tour: When she touches on material from her pre-“Control” days — specifically songs from her first two albums “Janet Jackson” and “Dream Street,” including “Young Love. “That’s my favorite part of the show. … People feel like I haven’t ever acknowledged those songs. It’s too bad it’s so short. It brings me so much joy.”
>>> Her next direction musically, after her last CD, “Discipline”: “Dance is my thing. I love dance. I love dance music. … Certain people didn’t like the direction I took [with ‘Discipline’], within the company … [it wanted] a much calmer, kind of a Sade-ish route. … But to do a whole album like that, I’m not ready for that just yet. … I’m still a girl who loves to dance. So it’s dance music for me.”
TUNES FOR TOTS TIX GO ON SALE
Athens jam-rockers Widespread Panic were inducted Saturday night into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, but this morning the band will be busy giving back to Georgia public school music programs.
Tickets for its Tunes For Tots fund-raiser show, Oct. 19 at the Tabernacle, went on sale Saturday online only, at Ticketmaster.com. There will be 100 “Private VIP Cocktail Party with Widespread Panic” tickets sold, which will not only get you early admittance into the show, but hors d’oeuvres catered by Hugh Acheson of Athens’ Five & Ten restaurant, open premium bar and a 2008 Tunes For Tots poster autographed by the group. Panic’s previous Tunes’ efforts have raised some $375,000 for Georgia Public Schools music programs.
OVERSCENE
Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin dining on stuffed cabbage rolls, lentil soup and a glass of Stoole Pinot Noir at Zaya in Inman Park.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“When y’all walk in front of that spotlight, it’s like the eclipse of the sun. You can’t see me anymore.”
Legendary Party chairwoman Sally Dorsey, lightly scolding guests for inadvertently ruining the view at Thursday night’s patron party, hosted by Jack Sawyer and Dr. Bill Torres. The Legendary Party, benefiting the Shepherd Center, will be Nov. 1 at the Buckhead Ritz-Carlton.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Saturday: Actress Sophia Loren is 74. Singers Gunnar and Matthew Nelson of Nelson are 41. Rapper Yung Joc is 26.
Sunday: Actor Larry Hagman is 77. Poet-songwriter Leonard Cohen is 74. Author Stephen King is 61. Actor Bill Murray is 58. Writer-producer Ethan Coen is 51. Actor Rob Morrow (“Numb3rs”) is 46. Actress Cheryl Hines (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”) is 43. Country singer Faith Hill is 41. Actor Luke Wilson is 37. Actress Maggie Grace (“Lost”) is 25. Actors Nikolas and Lorenzo Brino (“7th Heaven”) are 10.
Contributing: Sonia Murray, Jennifer Brett 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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Falcons let Quaid try out his arm
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While he was in town promoting “The Express,” his upcoming football flick, actor Dennis Quaid popped into the Atlanta Falcons practice in Flowery Branch on Wednesday to pass the pigskin.
And since Quaid portrays former Syracuse University football coach Ben Schwartzwalder in the fall film, he made it a point to swing by new Falcons head coach Mike Smith’s office.
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan complimented the actor on the film, which Ryan caught at an advance screening this week. And then it was out to the field to see what moves Quaid had on the gridiron.
The left-handed actor successfully caught a few passes from Ryan and D.J. Shockley. But possibly realizing the pro players were going easy on the guy who only pretends to play for pay, Quaid quickly shed his leather jacket and had Shockley moving backward down the field in order to see how far the Hollywood pretty boy could actually throw.
The rest of the Falcons gathered around to cheer Quaid on as Shockley’s teammates ribbed him, saying, “He throws better than you!”
When one of his Falcons fans inquired about whether he ever gets tired of making sports flicks (“The Express” is his sixth, after all), Quaid quipped: “I’m always looking to make a golf movie, so if you know of a good one. …”
Alas, maybe six sports movies aren’t enough, after all.
After practice, Quaid and entourage dropped by Lefty’s BBQ in Buford to sample a rack of ribs and some Brunswick stew. The staff at Lefty’s was enthralled, save the eatery’s manager, who conceded: “I’m sorry, I don’t know who you are.”
Quaid joked: “That’s all right. I don’t know who you are, either!”
“The Express” hits theaters Oct. 10.
CABBAGE PATCH KIDS STILL ALL RIGHT AT 25
Cleveland’s BabyLand General Hospital will celebrate the 25th birthday of the Cabbage Patch Kids mass market debut this weekend, but creator and Cleveland native Xavier Roberts probably won’t be on hand. Roberts, 53, is a little shy, he said during a phone interview this week, and they’re expecting a bumper crop of Cabbage Patch fans in the North Georgia town.
Roberts said he splits his time these days between Midtown, Gainesville and London. If he wants to be recognized as the man whose signature is splashed across the left buttock of 115 million “babies,” he dons his trademark cowboy hat. If he just wants to be a guy grabbing a bite to eat, he leaves it at home. “You probably don’t know me,” Roberts joked, “but I could be the father of one of your kids.”
Cleveland will celebrate the Cabbage Patch Kids’ birthday and its Fall Leaf Festival starting at 10 a.m. Saturday.
The festival and BabyLand festivities are free. For details: www.cleveland betterhometown.org or www .cabbagepatchkids.com.
DEEN DISHES ON CLINTON CANCELLATION
In the October issue of Ladies’ Home Journal (Buzz only reads this for the fanciful jack-o’-lantern pumpkin pie recipes, mind you), Savannah restaurateur Paula Deen discusses why her scheduled chat with former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was abruptly canceled earlier this year. “I was going to meet her in North Carolina, where she was campaigning,” Deen told the mag. “I was gonna interview her on the foods she grew up on, very light and nonpolitical. But at the last minute her people called and said she couldn’t do it. I think because of my relationship with Smithfield.” Pro-union protesters routinely dog the Smithfield spokeswoman at public appearances across the country as they seek to unionize the food processor’s North Carolina plant.
Theorized Deen: “My guess is the union people called and said to Hillary’s people, ‘If you allow that woman to interview you, we’re going to tell everybody you’re not for the union.’ So the interview was canceled and my heart was broken. It was probably political and that’s not my agenda.”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
“Inside the Actors Studio” host James Lipton is 82. Actor Adam West (“Batman,” above) is 80. Singer Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers is 68. Country singer Trisha Yearwood is 44. News anchor Soledad O’Brien is 42. Comedian Jimmy Fallon (“Saturday Night Live”) is 34. Actress/host Alison Sweeney (“Days of Our Lives,” “The Biggest Loser”) is 32. Rapper Eamon is 25.
SICK BAY
WXIA-TV reporter Jerry Carnes has chosen to go public with his prostate cancer battle.
Carnes, who was diagnosed in early August, said that at first he didn’t want to say anything, but realized that wasn’t his nature. “I rely a lot on faith and prayer,” he said. “I talked to my wife. I realized this is the kind of thing people need to know about. A lot of people I know don’t get tested for it. I can spread the word. I’d feel heartbroken if I kept this to myself and someone I knew didn’t get tested and discovered he had prostate cancer and it’s too late.”
Since cancer runs in his family (his father is going through chemo for prostate cancer), he’s chosen to have his prostate removed. The doctor caught his cancer early and Carnes plans to have the procedure in November.
Contributing: Jamie Gumbrecht, 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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Of chili dogs, fried pies: Oh, the memories
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
p>Not surprisingly, PBA 30’s 80th anniversary salute to the city’s favorite drive-in, “What’ll Ya Have: A History of the Varsity,” has become one of the most-watched programs during this month’s pledge drive. A final encore of the documentary airs at 8 tonight. Lots of bold-faced fans lend their memories of the North Avenue chili dog emporium, founded in 1928 by Atlanta businessman Frank Gordy. Wearing a paper Varsity hat and nibbling from a familiar red and white box, former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland recalls cruising the hot dog stand as a Lithonia High School student in 1960. Former Coke CEO Doug Ivester, a fried peach pie fan, calls the Varsity “the cathedral of hot dogs.” U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson says his parents’ first date occurred there. Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce President Sam Williams reflects: “The girls would drive by and you would wave at them. ‘Bird-dogging at the V’ is what we called it in those days.”
Our fave factoid: The Athens and Atlanta locations employ vastly different mustard applications, demonstrated in the film. Examining the methods in super slo-mo, Buzz discerned that Athens mustard slingers apply the condiment meticulously, akin to a yellow stripe on an interstate. Atlantans favor an arc, like an abstract painter artfully flinging paint onto a canvas. Or as author Roy Blount Jr. more articulately voices it in “What’ll Ya Have”: “They’re doing God’s work.”
A FAMILY FOR HOPE
Snellville is the town where everybody is somebody. Even four-legged residents. Hope, the kitty whose likeness will grace some Georgia license plates starting in December, has found a home in the Gwinnett County city. “She’s already sleeping in the bed,” said Josie Wind. She spotted Hope’s photo with an AJC story about the competition to pick the feline to be featured on the license plate. Then Wind and her sons, Nathan, 14, and John, 8, drove to the Georgia SPCA shelter in Suwanee where Hope had lived for three months.
After learning they’d been chosen to adopt Hope, they ended up taking Mavis, an orange and white cat, home as well.
Proceeds from Hope’s plates will benefit spay/neuter programs. They’ll be available in December for a one-time $25 fee in addition to regular tag fees. Drivers can request them at tag offices.
Wind can’t wait to buy one. “I’ll be the first in line,” she said.
MICHELLE NUNN: INFLUENTIAL PERSON
The Nonprofit Times last month named Michelle Nunn, CEO of Atlanta’s Points of Light Institute, to its annual list of 50 most influential U.S. people in the nonprofit sector. It is the second time Nunn has made the list. In 2007, Nunn oversaw the merger of the Hands on Network, which she led in Atlanta, with the Points of Light Foundation in Washington. The resulting Points of Light Institute is the nation’s largest volunteer coordinating organization, directing 785,000 volunteers in thousands of community service projects last year. It has affiliates across the country and in other countries.
Nunn is on the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. She has received a variety of awards and recently was named by Georgia Trend Magazine as one of the “100 most influential Georgians.”
DINING WITH DENZEL
A group of local Boys & Girls Club of America staffers were headed home from Washington on Wednesday, having broken bread with actor Denzel Washington. The Academy Award-winning actor headlined at a breakfast meeting to launch the organization’s “Be Great” campaign.
“He’s a passionate advocate for our cause,” said Artis Stevens, senior director of marketing strategy and operations. “He’s a club alum, so he knows the impact of caring people being involved in his life.”
Washington was active in his native Mount Vernon, N.Y. The Boys & Girls Club of America is headquartered in Atlanta. The group from here traveling to Washington included president Roxanne Spillett, senior legal counsel Kristine Morain and staffers Evan McElroy, Jan Still-Lindeman and Angela Richmond.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Jimmie Rodgers is 75. Actor Robert Blake is 75. Actor Fred Willard is 69. Singer-actor Frankie Avalon is 68. Guitarist Kerry Livgren (Kansas) is 59. Actor James Gandolfini (“The Sopranos”) is 47. Singer Joanne Catherall of Human League is 46. Actress Holly Robinson Peete (“Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper”) is 44. Singer Ricky Bell (Bell Biv Devoe, New Edition) is 41. Actress Jada Pinkett Smith is 37. Actor James Marsden (“The Notebook,” “Ally McBeal”) is 35. Rapper Xzibit is 34. Actors Taylor and Brandon Porter (“Party of Five”) are 15.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I just wanna say, it’s not bad to wear a promise ring because not every guy and a girl wants to be a slut, OK?”
— “American Idol” champ Jordin Sparks, defending the Jonas Brothers at the MTV Video Music Awards after host Russell Brand joked about the siblings, all of whom wear purity rings to symbolize a vow not to have premarital sex
Contributing: Sandra Eckstein, Richard Eldredge, Chris Quinn 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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Port Arthur’s needs close to Falcon’s heart
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As his hometown of Port Arthur, Texas, struggled to get back on its feet Tuesday after Hurricane Ike, Atlanta Falcons player Jonathan Babineaux was busy doing his part.
The defensive tackle was signing autographs for fans who showed up to support Soles 4 Souls at the Shoe Carnival in Duluth. The gently worn or new shoes were going to those in need here and to folks affected by Ike.
“For the most part, everyone’s all right,” Babineaux told Buzz. “But there’s a lot of wind damage and the power is still out. My mom is actually staying here with me until it’s safe to go home.”
His commitment to Port Arthur doesn’t end there. After Babineaux and his brother, Seattle Seahawks player Jordan Babineaux, noticed a spike in lupus cases in their hometown, the siblings formed the Babineaux Brothers Foundation.
On Monday, the pair will co-host the inaugural Drive for Lupus Now golf tournament at Towne Lake Hills Golf Club in Woodstock with the PGA Tour’s Jason Bohn and Mark Strickland. The event benefits the Lupus Foundation of America, Georgia chapter.
“Our goal is to raise money but also awareness,” Babineaux explained. “Until we saw the number of cases go up in Port Arthur, we didn’t know much about the disease. We realized a lot of other people needed to be educated about it as well.”
So which brother is the better golfer?
“If I’m being honest, I have to say Jordan is right now!” he conceded, laughing. “But things can change.”
On the subject of football, Babineaux says leadership changes in the Falcons organization have re-energized the team this season.
“A lot of new doors have opened with a new general manager and a new head coach,” he explained. “We’ve really bonded as a team. We’re young but we’re ready to fight. We even feel it from the fans this season. They’re excited, too.”
So when Babineaux kicks back after work, what’s waiting for him on the TiVo?
“General Hospital.”
“[Port Charles mob kingpin] Sonny Corinthos is my favorite character,” he said. “Having the mob in there brings a lot of men into the show.” And it doesn’t hurt that former Playboy centerfold Kelly Monaco plays mob moll Samantha McCall on the soap, either.
Said Babineaux: “Let’s just say she’s very entertaining and, um, energetic!”
For more info on Drive for Lupus: Go online to www.lfaga.org, call 770-333-5930, or e-mail info@lfaga.org.
GOSPEL MUSIC AT CITY HALL
Anyone visiting Atlanta City Hall may have thought they were in the wrong place Monday.
Instead of hearing politicians arguing with each other, the sounds of gospel music echoed in the atrium and inside the City Council Chamber.
“Victory is mine. Victory is mine,” sang gospel music legend Dorothy Norwood.
Norwood, Stellar Award winner Dottie Peoples and other gospel singers were at City Hall to recognize September as Gospel Music Heritage Month in Atlanta. The idea came after the Atlanta-based Gospel Music Channel worked with members of Congress to pass federal legislation that recognized September as National Gospel Music Heritage Month.
“As my grandfather would say, let the council say, ‘Amen,’ ” remarked City Council President Lisa Borders.
OVERSCENE
Former heavyweight champ and “Dancing With the Stars” contestant Evander Holyfield sharing some tapas and mini burgers with friends at Shout in Midtown. We’re told that Holyfield later retired upstairs to the dance floor.
BET HIP-HOP AWARDS RETURN
We experienced a “No bang, no flash” flashback at Buzz Central on Tuesday. Yes, the third annual BET Hip-Hop Awards will return once again to the city and the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center on Oct. 18. At last year’s festivities, Atlantans were treated to a star-studded awards show and an international headline-grabbing federal weapons bust co-starring main nominee T.I. and a Walgreens parking lot. The nominees include Lil Wayne with 12 nominations, Kanye West with seven and Jay-Z with six. Atlantans up for awards are Big Boi, Ludacris, T-Pain, Ne-Yo, Nas, Akon, Shawty Lo, Rocko, Yung Berg, V-103’s Greg Street, DJ Drama, DJ Toomp, Bangladesh, Young Jeezy and Yung Joc. And yes, T.I. is a nominee, for best live performance, best lyricist and MVP of the year.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Fee Waybill of the Tubes is 58. Director Baz Luhrmann (“Moulin Rouge”) is 46. Singer BeBe Winans is 46. Actor Kyle Chandler (“Friday Night Lights”) is 43. Rapper Doug E. Fresh is 42. Actor Matthew Settle (“Gossip Girl”) is 39. Bassist Jon Walker of Panic at the Disco is 23.
BY THE NUMBERS
Atlanta-based TNT on Tuesday renewed its drama “Raising the Bar” for a sophomore year after just three episodes despite some warning signs it might not end up being the network’s next “Closer.” TNT was initially buoyed by the show’s Labor Day opening, which drew 7.7 million viewers, the biggest debut in basic cable history. But numbers have dropped off sharply for the past two episodes, with the show losing nearly half its audience by the third week.
Perhaps Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s stringy hair — or the pedestrian characters and plots — turned people off.
Meanwhile, NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” featuring Tina Fey as Sarah Palin pulled in its biggest season-opening numbers since its emotional post-9/11 season debut in 2001. The show didn’t do as well in Atlanta as in most other major cities, but still drew a respectable 180,000 viewers.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We had some extra money lying around.”
“American Idol” host and Dunwoody High School grad Ryan Seacrest joking with Ellen DeGeneres on “Ellen” about “Idol” adding a fourth judge this season
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Sonia Murray, 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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Benefit show is more than just for Lyric
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’ve interviewed Carter-Barnes Hair Artisans co-owner Carey Carter many times over the years, yet he continues to surprise us. Over dinner the other night at Spice Market in Midtown, the Atlanta businessman quietly disclosed that at age 18, he played the lead role in the musical “Tom Sawyer” at Oglethorpe University.
“I had the straw hat and the painted-on freckles and everything,” the retired song-and-dance man told Buzz. “I was a horrible singer but I was a good dancer.”
Carter says it’s that love for musical theater that’s led him to co-chair this fall’s “Atlanta Lyric Theatre Gives Its Regards to Broadway” benefit for his favorite local musical theater. His co-chairs for the Nov. 15 gala at the Midtown W hotel are Nancy Gallups and Mary Welch Rogers.
Former “American Idol” contestant Diana DeGarmo will perform at the benefit, along with the Grady High School choral group, Carter’s secret weapon from last fall’s fund-raiser for Murphy-Harpst Children’s Center in Cedartown. The talented high schoolers ended up stealing the show and helped to raise $400,000 for the Cedartown facility.
“I’m so excited to have those kids coming back to help out,” Carter said. “I think it was the purity of their performance that just wowed everyone. They just sang their hearts out for us.”
We’re told the evening’s opening number will be performed by one of the city’s most recognized residents (Here’s a hint: When this woman teams up with her old pal Carter to emcee a charity live auction, it usually ends up making news.)
This fall, the Lyric begins its 28th season at the recently renovated Strand Theatre in Marietta.
“As a great admirer of musical theater, I’m distressed that there’s such a void of it in Atlanta,” Carter explained. “You can drive to itty-bitty towns in Georgia who are doing more in musical theater. It’s important to spotlight the work the Lyric is doing. Plus, artistic young people like the students at Grady High need stages like the Lyric’s when they’re ready to go to the next level. That’s what this evening is all about.”
Tickets are $250 or $2,500 for a table of 10. Info: 404-377-9948 or www.altantalyrictheatre.com.
PASAQUAN DEEMED HISTORIC PLACE
The late visionary folk artist Eddie Owens Martin, aka St. EOM, would be a happy man today. Pasaquan, the environment near Buena Vista, southeast of Columbus, as strange and colorful as the man who built it, is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
A band of dedicated volunteers have worked to save the fantastical 4-acre site — peopled with figures from St. EOM’s personal mythology and bedecked with geometric patterns — from the fate of the Rev. Howard Finster’s decaying Paradise Gardens in North Georgia. It will be open to visitors on Oct. 4.
OUTSYDER ASSIST FOR SPEARS
The comeback continues for pop pin-up Britney Spears, and it has just been announced that Atlantans will have a hand in it.
Burgeoning local production team the Outsyders crafted “Womanizer,” the first single from Spears’ Dec. 2 release, “Circus.” (Appropriate title, huh?)
The news of the sixth studio album and single comes just a week after Spears won her first — plus two more — MTV Video Music Awards and registered a much-touted, but rather uneventful, appearance.
HEADLOCKS AT HOME PLATE
Braves fans might be the teensiest bit embarrassed by the $1 hotdog promotion Thursday nights at Turner Field. Still, this year’s less than stellar season couldn’t hold a tomahawk to what the team looked like back in 1976 when brand-new owner Ted Turner took over. As author Ron Green Jr. sagely observes in his new book, “101 Reasons to Love the Braves,” Turner resorted to all kinds of wacky stunts to spike stadium attendance. For example, reason No. 64: “When Turner took ownership, the franchise needed an infusion of energy, not to mention talent. To bring fans to the park, Turner created a different promotion for every home game. Among the most memorable was Wedlock and Headlock Day. Thirty-four couples were married at home plate before the game. Afterward, a professional wrestling match was staged on the field.”
Pass the mustard.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress Lauren Bacall is 84. Blues singer B.B. King is 83. Actor Peter Falk is 81. Singer Marc Anthony is 40. Comedian Amy Poehler (“Saturday Night Live”) is 37. Musician Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers is 16.
OVERSCENE
Houston Rockets point guard Steve Francis at Stats downtown, dining on a sampler platter and a chicken sandwich while trying not to think about what Hurricane Ike was doing to his hometown. Actor William H. Macy ordering a veggie scramble and rosemary-dusted potatoes at the Midtown Flying Biscuit Cafe. His server, Cherry Delrosario, tells us Macy ordered his potatoes “cremated.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It was like ‘Barefoot in the Park’ Junior. ”
B98.5 FM’s Will Gara reflecting on his surreal Saturday
night. The Steve & Vikki producer’s evening began with a conversation with James Redford (son of Robert) at a fund-raiser downtown at the Tabernacle. Gara ended the night at Solstice in Grant Park, where he bumped
into Vanessa Vadim, Jane Fonda’s daughter.
Contributing: Catherine Fox, 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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Buckhead Club shows off new digs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
To mark its 20th anniversary, the Buckhead Club is celebrating by giving itself a glamorous makeover. The elite private club, founded by Atlanta businessman Justus C. Martin Jr., (and now boasting 1,300 members) has moved from its original location at the Atlanta Financial Center to the 26th floor of the new Sovereign Building at 3344 Peachtree Road N.E.
On Saturday night, club members were given a sneak peek of the chic modern facility that officially opens today. The evening generated donations for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Ovarian Cancer Institute.
Floor-to-ceiling windows offer impressive views of not only the Midtown and downtown skylines but Stone Mountian and Kennesaw Mountain as well (when smog and humidity don’t interfere with the view, that is).
“The view was definitely a factor for us when choosing the new location,” Buckhead Club membership director Kellyann Dunning told Buzz during our advance tour.
One big difference with the new space? Members can now enjoy Lounge 26, a proper dedicated cocktail space with seductive Halogen lighting and sleek surfaces. Also new for the club: the Meridian Ballroom that will be utilized for business conferences, holiday parties and wedding receptions.
Buckhead Club executive chef Daniel Andre is still overseeing the club’s menu for its brand new Peachtree Dining Room. Wine enthusiasts can rent boxes for their favorite bottles in the club’s glass-and-wood wine room as well.
Guests who already have popped in for a visit include: Secretary of State Karen Handel; Fulton County Commissioner Rob Pitts; and Buckhead Coalition president Sam Massell.
Arriving guests were greeted outside by a brand new public art installation titled “Foxes,” created by R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe. The seven romping golden foxes are clustered around the Sovereign’s front entrance.
Of the piece, the Decatur native writes: ” ‘Foxes’ marks one of the first large-scale sculpture pieces I have done from the 2006-‘08 workshop. Inspiration for the piece includes questions of permanence and ephemerality and memorabilia. In this case, small plastic toys, their mass-produced uniformity and challenging that, each of their individual markings.”
FRAM BACK IN THE ATL THIS WEEKEND
Leslie Fram may have left Atlanta for a big-time gig at a new rock station in New York, but you’ll be seeing plenty of her this weekend.
First, Fram will be at Smith’s Olde Bar Friday to host “Fram Jam,” an Americana showcase for the Atlantis Music Conference. She’ll then co-host the Georgia Music Hall of Fame ceremonies Saturday with Monica Pearson at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Fram, who ran 99X and co-hosted the morning show for more than 15 years, until the legendary station was taken off the FM airwaves in January, is now program director at New York’s 101.9/WRXP-FM, an intriguing blend of classic rock, alternative rock and new rock. It combines elements of Dave FM, the current Rock 100.5 and 99X, playing cuts by the Who, Van Halen, the Ramones, Depeche Mode, the Strokes, Nickelback and newers bands such as The Hold Steady and Kings of Leon.
“It’s freaking amazing,” Fram said, while Buzz visited the station’s modest West Village digs in a converted smooth jazz studio during her morning show with former MTV “120 Minutes” host and Athens native Matt Pinfield. “The city is really embracing this. We’re playing a lot of music this market hasn’t heard in a long time.”
She also gets to interview folks like Brian Johnson of AC/DC she would not have been able to at 99X.
Plus, she said there are three or four concerts a night she could go to. An inveterate workaholic, she already works 12 to 15 hours a day at the station, so she says she has to be more selective about what acts to see any given night. “Otherwise, I’d die!” she said.
But as Steve Craig, the former 99X midday guy who recently took over WRXP’s mid-days, noted, Fram is in heaven during this honeymoon period.
“This is like the early days of 99X,” he said. The station has only been on a few months, so it’s too soon to say if New York will embrace the Fram oeuvre the way Atlanta did during the 1990s.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Tommy Lee Jones (right) is 62. Movie director Oliver Stone is 62. Actor Josh Charles (“Sports Night”) is 37. Actress Amy Davidson (“8 Simple Rules”) is 29.
SICK BAY
Buckhead hair salon owner Richie Arpino is recovering from a double-hernia operation. The official word is that the charitable hairburner suffered the ailment after a rigorous kickboxing class. Late last week, Arpino was still crashed at home, accepting get-well wishes via his Facebook page. His updated status to friends: “I feel like I gave birth to triplets. From now on, it’s yoga!”
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Comic arrested on drug charges
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Blue-collar Atlanta comic Ron White was arrested Wednesday in Vero Beach, Fla., and charged with possession of marijuana.
Police had received an anonymous tip and were waiting for White when his plane landed at Vero Beach Municipal Airport, said Vero Beach police spokesman John Morrison.
When confronted by officers, White surrendered the less than 3 grams of marijuana and small glass smoking pipe he was carrying on him in a small bag, and he consented to a body search, Morrison said.
The entertainer told the officers the marijuana was for medicinal purposes but had no proof to back up that claim, Morrison said. Authorities also searched the interior but found no other signs of illegal drugs.
White, 51, was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, both misdemeanors. He posted $1,000 bond and was released by the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday.
According to two pilots who formerly worked for White, it wasn’t the first time the comedian carried drugs onto his plane.
“They finally nailed him,” said Scott Wolcott of Conyers, a pilot fired by White in May after an alleged cockpit altercation. “He smokes marijuana like a chain smoker smokes cigarettes.”
The cockpit fight was about White’s drug use, Wolcott said, adding, “We put our foot down. Just by having any trace of his secondhand marijuana smoke in our bodies, we could lose our pilot’s licenses for good.”
The comedian regularly smoked marijuana during their flights, said former co-pilot Chris LaPlante — so much, in fact, “we wore oxygen masks” so they would not become impaired.
“Now it’s proven that we were telling the truth,” LaPlante said.
The comedian’s attorney, Terry Lloyd of Lawrenceville, said the pilots are “disgruntled former employees” who are seeking money they say they’re owed by his client. “The person making this complaint was fired,” Lloyd said.
Wolcott and LaPlante have said that on May 11, as they were flying White’s private jet over New York, an intoxicated White burst into the cockpit and threatened to fight them and crash the plane.
The Federal Aviation Administration has been investigating, though the pilots who made the allegations say they aren’t expecting anything to come of it. Lloyd said he’s tried to contact FAA officials “six times, but they have not returned my calls.”
Lloyd said he doesn’t expect any additional charges for his client after Wednesday’s arrest. He sounded optimistic how things would turn out. “As a general rule in these kind of cases,” he said, “he’ll likely end up with a fine and probation, with the charges dismissed, but each case varies.”
White, a Texas native, owns a home in Atlanta. He rose to fame this decade touring with his fellow “Blue Collar Comics” including Atlanta native Jeff Foxworthy, as well as Bill Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy.
‘SOMETHING’ SOLD
If you’re friends with Brookhaven author Emily Giffin, you may want to spring for a bottle of bubbly this weekend. Publishers Weekly is reporting that the film rights to the novelist’s 2005 debut, “Something Borrowed,” have been acquired by Oscar winner Hilary Swank and her producing partner Molly Smith as a potential screen vehicle for Swank.
Actually, you may want to pick up two bottles. The deal also includes the rights to Giffin’s sequel, “Something Blue,” as well.
PLAYING M. OBAMA?
While “Saturday Night Live” boasts former Atlantan Kenan Thompson, rival Fox show “Mad TV” now has its own Atlantan: newcomer Erica Ash.
“I’m one of those people who finds humor in absolutely everything,” said Ash, who graduated from DeKalb County’s Columbia High School and Emory University. “I can create characters from people walking down the street.”
After Emory, she ventured to Japan to teach — but quit the job soon after she arrived. Without telling her parents, Ash got jobs modeling, dancing and singing.
Soon after her return to the United States, she played Nala on the national tour of “The Lion King” for two years, followed by jobs in “Spamalot” with John O’Hurley in Las Vegas, then “The Big Gay Sketch Show” on the Logo channel.
Ash said she has plenty of characters up her sleeve for “Mad TV,” which opens its 14th season at 11 tonight. And she’s working on her Michelle Obama. “I’m going to claim that,” she said. “I’m being totally presumptuous but I am.”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Today: Actress Eileen Fulton (“As the World Turns”) is 75. Singer-guitarist Dave Mustaine of Megadeth is 47. Radio and TV personality Tavis Smiley is 44. Atlanta actor-director Tyler Perry (“The Family That Preys”) is 39. Singer Fiona Apple is 31. Actor Ben Savage (“Boy Meets World”) is 28.
Sunday: Actor Walter Koenig (“Star Trek”) is 72. Singer-songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman is 52. Singer Morten Harket of A-ha is 49. Singer Mark Hall of Casting Crowns is 39. Rapper Nas is 35. Singer Amy Winehouse is 25.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I hear her catatonic state is very good.
I’m a bit jealous. “
“General Hospital” actress Genie Francis to B98.5 FM’s Steve McCoy and Vikki Locke, on the brown wig worn by an extra while her legendary soap character Laura Spencer languished in a mental facility over the past two years. This month, the Emmy winner returns to her signature role on the ABC soap.
Contributing: Christian Boone, John Hollis, 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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Paula Deen lands Michelle Obama for cook show taping
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Leave it to Savannah’s own Paula Deen to snag a potential future first lady for her Food Network show, “Paula’s Party.” Michelle Obama recently taped an episode of the program in the coastal city, set to air Sept. 20. People.com has a sneak peek clip of the episode. In it, Obama tells Deen what she first cooked for her future husband back when they were dating. The dish: seafood gumbo chock full of lobster, mussels and shrimp.
“It was an impressive first attempt,” Obama told Deen. “I must have really been in love. I haven’t cooked it since!”
Reassured Deen: “It was so good that once was enough.”
Of her special guest, Deen told People: “She was everything I thought she would be: smart, great sense of humor and loves to talk about her family. Did I tell you she is in the best shape ever? Everyone was staring at her amazing arms!”
If the Obamas make it to the White House, they can count on at least one home-cooked meal. Deen has promised to make the family her famous fried chicken.
DANCER ADDS COVERGIRL TO HER RESUME
“Dancing With the Stars” blond bombshell Julianne Hough was getting the first gander at her debut Atlanta Peach magazine cover when she phoned into Buzz Central on Thursday.
“It’s just beautiful,” the 20-year-old, two-time “Dancing” champ gushed to Buzz. “I loved the entire experience of shooting the Peach cover. I got to wear Versace and the cutest little Gucci dress. At one point, I put on these shoes that were a little big on me. It felt like playing dress-up, like, when you were little and you were trying on your mom’s shoes.”
But her brother Derek, a fellow “Dancing With the Stars” dancer, and her sisters help keep her grounded amid all the glitz.
“I might look all glamorous on that magazine cover but they keep me in line,” she said.
Between glossy magazine fashion shoots, however, Hough is busy keeping Cody Linley, her latest “Dancing” partner, in line. Hough told us the 18-year-old “Hannah Montana” actor should be ready for the grueling competition when the show returns to ABC on Sept. 22.
“Right now, Cody is definitely getting better,” she said. “But I had to crack the whip a little bit yesterday. This is the first time I’ve worked with someone who’s actually younger than me on the show. I think I’ve been babying him a little bit too much. I don’t let him work that charm thing on me at all either!”
As for Toni Braxton, our local celebrity “Dancing” contestant this season, Hough says she hasn’t yet seen the singer dance.
“But I’m sure she’s going to be fabulous,” she predicted. “I’ve met her. She’s so sweet! I think she’s amazingly talented.”
Atlanta Peach editor Drew Brown tells us Hough was a pro throughout the mag’s lengthy photo shoot in Nashville.
“At one point we had her pinned up in this gorgeous Alice Temperly gown and 5-inch heels,” Brown said. “And she was dancing and jumping around. I remember thinking, ‘Great, if she sprains an ankle, I’ll have the entire ABC [“Dancing With the Stars”] legal team breathing down my neck!’ “
The September issue of Atlanta Peach is on stands now.
‘ELEVATE’-ING THE LOWE GALLERY
The Bill Lowe Gallery’s namesake didn’t mince words when describing the arduous eight months he’s endured since closing up shop at the 19-year-old business’ original space on Bennett Street.
“People were wondering if we would make it,” Bill Lowe told Buzz on Thursday.
Tonight, art aficionados will get to tour the new Pershing Point multilevel space at 1555 Peachtree St., Suite 100, in Midtown. Slow construction on the space, a slower economy and a temporary move down the street this year didn’t do much to raise Lowe’s spirits.
“I had a very firm idea of what I wanted in the new space. We didn’t want to lose our bohemian roots, but we also wanted to elevate the conversation with the new space. And all the way, the meter was ticking and money was burning. I’m thrilled we’re finally through the gantlet!”
Tonight, in the gorgeous space with soaring 22-foot ceilings designed by the architecture firm Gensler & Associates, art lovers will enjoy the space’s premiere exhibition, featuring works by Thrush Holmes, Jimmy O’Neal, Dusty Griffith and Sam Glankoff. Call for info: 404-352-8114.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Country singer George Jones is 77. Singer Ben Folds is 42. Actor Paul Walker (“The Fast and the Furious”) is 35. Country singer Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland is 34. Actor Benjamin Mc-Kenzie (“The O.C.”) is 30. Singer Ruben Studdard is 30. Singer-actress Jennifer Hudson (“American Idol,” “Dreamgirls”) is 27.
CELEBRITY DOCKET
The mother of two of T.I.’s children has sued the platinum-selling Atlanta rapper for child support, saying she is having a hard time supporting the boys and wants a court-ordered arrangement for payment.
Lashon Dixon and T.I. have known each other since they were teenagers and dated before he reached megastar status. They have two sons together, ages 7 and 8.
Dixon says T.I. gives her about $2,000 a month to care for the boys, but she wants to schedule a more stable stipend that is commensurate with his success. Both parties appeared in Fulton County Superior Court on Thursday.
In March, T.I. is expected to be sentenced to at least a year in prison on federal weapon possession charges.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I think I saw two Madea movies before I realized she was played by a man.”
“The View” den mother Barbara Walters to Atlanta director Tyler Perry during Thursday’s live broadcast of the ABC Daytime program. We pray she was joking.
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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Boortz producer getting Web heat over Crocs suit
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Usually, it’s “Neal Boortz Show” executive producer Belinda Skelton’s boss who is the target of angry blog comments. But the poison keyboards turned on the Atlanta mom Wednesday after the media began reporting on her family’s lawsuit against Crocs footwear filed in U.S. District Court. The suit filed by Skelton’s husband, Clark Meyer, is asking for $2 million after the couple’s 4-year-old son (shown below) was injured last month at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport when the popular plastic footwear he was wearing got caught in a moving escalator.
Multiple toes were broken on their son’s right foot and his big toe came “within millimeters” of being lost.
On Wednesday, angry commenters at wsbradio.com posted some unkind things about Skelton and questioned her parenting skills.
Wrote a blog commenter who identified himself as “Ted”: “Crocs are not shoes. They’re [junk] your kids scream for.” Added a blogger identifying himself as “Randy”: “Gee, do you think two million is enough? You are a real piece of work.”
But Boortz listener “Melanie R” defended Skelton on the Web site, posting: “Belinda: I think you are strong for acting out to protect kids.”
Skelton conceded that she was avoiding the message boards Wednesday. “It’s days like this when you find out who your friends are,” she told Buzz with a sigh. Skelton said money was not a factor in filing the suit.
“We struggled, and we prayed over this,” she said. “But we felt that someone had to force Crocs to do the right thing. We want a warning tag on those shoes.”
Skelton said her 4-year-old won’t discuss last month’s incident and can’t curl his toes.
“It was the most traumatic thing I’ve ever been through as a parent,” she said. “If some of these bloggers had to lie next to my son at night and listen as he has nightmares, maybe they would feel differently. My husband and I are struggling a lot right now.”
Still, Skelton has the support of her boss when she goes to work each weekday.
Said Skelton: “Neal is like my big brother. He can beat up on me, but God help anyone else who tries it!”
Skelton works for WSB Radio, a station owned by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s parent company, Cox Enterprises Inc.
In an e-mail to Buzz Wednesday, Crocs spokeswoman Tia Mattson told us the company “does not comment on litigation.”
You can comment on the radio/tv blog here.
BY THE NUMBERS
Locally, Georgia schools Superintendent Kathy Cox drew more viewers than supermodel Kathy Ireland last Friday on Fox’s “Are You Smarter Than a 5th-Grader?” Cox’s $1 million victory at 9 p.m. was the top nonsports program last week with 312,000 viewers, according to Nielsen ratings, compared to 226,000 viewers for Ireland’s portion at 8 p.m.
The Jeff Foxworthy-hosted quiz show finished in 14th place nationwide with a respectable 8.6 million viewers.
The MTV Video Music Awards, which featured a live video by Atlanta’s T.I., ranked 15th in Atlanta with 204,000 viewers and 16th nationally with 8.2 million, the program’s best showing in years.
STORK REPORT
People.com is reporting that Atlanta R&B superstar Usher Raymond and his bride of 13 months, Tameka, are expecting their second child.
“A source close to the singer,” the site says, confirmed the news. That unidentified source added that Mrs. Raymond “was spotted wearing a belly-disguising outfit during Usher’s Sept. 4 NFL kickoff concert in New York. The dress was ‘very deceiving.’ … ‘You couldn’t tell she was pregnant when she was sitting down’. “
Raymond’s record label publicists have yet to address numerous inquiries about their pregnancy; and the couple’s recent publicist on more personal matters said she no longer represents them.
The Raymonds had their first child, Usher Raymond V — whom they call Cinco — on Nov. 26, 2007.
Joked the singer to the AJC after the first birth: “My wife is very fertile. I think she wouldn’t mind having another one right now!”
‘FACE TO FACE’ WITH FALCONS’ TURNER
Impressed Atlanta Falcons fans who cheered on Michael Turner as he set a new single-game rushing record (220 yards on 22 carries) during last Sunday’s game at the Georgia Dome may want to head to Buckhead Thursday night. Turner will be the guest of honor tonight at ESPN Zone as he’s interviewed for a taping of WXIA’s “Falcons Face-to-Face” pregame show. We’re told the taping will begin at 7:30 p.m. The taping is open to the public, and Falcons fans will have an opportunity to score Falcons tickets and gear, along with autographs from Turner.
RAMSEY: ‘I FORGIVE THE MEDIA’
Former Atlantan John Ramsey says he has forgiven the news media for the “cyberspace lynching” he and his wife Patsy endured until prosecutors cleared them in the 1996 killing of their 6-year-old daughter, JonBenet.
Ramsey appeared on an episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” broadcast Wednesday.
He said he considers new DNA tests that point to an outsider to be progress in the case.
The interview was Ramsey’s first national TV appearance since prosecutors cleared his family in July. Patsy Ramsey died of cancer in 2006.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Movie director Brian De Palma is 68. Drummer Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead is 65. Musician Moby is 43. Singer Harry Connick Jr. is 41. Guitarist Jon Buckland of Coldplay is 31. Rapper Ludacris is 31. Singer Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum is 27.
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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After Games, Taylor’s had busy schedule
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Angelo Taylor was back in town sporting some serious bling on Tuesday — the two gold medals he won last month in Beijing. Despite his triumph at the Summer Olympics — the 29-year-old took gold in the men’s 400-meter hurdles and as a member of the 1,600-meter relay team — he says he has room for progress.
“I had a great race,” said Taylor, who spoke to reporters at Georgia Tech, which he attended and where he trained for the 2008 Games. “There are some things I can improve on.”
He didn’t get to do much sightseeing in Beijing, but gives high marks to the Olympic Village, where most athletes lived during the Games.
“It was a very comfortable living situation,” he said. “The food was actually good. We had 24-hour McDonald’s.”
(Buzz item within an item: He ran into former Tech standout Chris Bosh and former Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy star Dwight Howard, who won gold medals as members of the U.S. men’s basketball team, under the Golden Arches.)
Taylor hasn’t been home much since the Games ended. He had some meets in Europe, then took a trip to New York, where he visited the Friars Club, stopped by BET’s 106 & Park and got to ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange. He’s off again for some meets in Stuttgart, Germany, and then back home this month.
Asked if he plans any appearances in metro Atlanta, he said, “We have some things lined up.”
Taylor, of Decatur, won his first gold medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He made the 2004 team but, hampered by injury, did not reach the finals. He has his sights set on the 2012 Games in London.
“I’m just going to run until the wheels fall off,” he said.
By the way, Taylor’s 3-year-old sons, Xavier and Isaiah, don’t really understand what the shiny medals around their dad’s neck signify, but they must look like really cool toys.
“They were grabbing on them. They wanted to swing around my neck,” Taylor said. “I was like, you can’t do that! I think I will leave them in a safety lock box.”
The medals, that is. Not the twins.
MORE NEWS WITH A SPORTS BENT
Atlanta tennis player Donald Young is back from the U.S. Open in time for Sunset Showtime, a charity event benefiting the Atlanta Youth Tennis Foundation and the Youngs’ Tennis in Motion Academy. Young will play an exhibition match against John Isner before a screening of “Unstrung,” an ESPN-produced documentary centered on the U.S. Hardcourts Championship. Young is featured in the film. The event starts at 6 p.m.; tickets, including food and beverages, are $100. Info: 239-593-3900. … Former Atlanta Falcon Warrick Dunn will host his sixth annual gala benefiting the Warrick Dunn Foundation at 7 p.m. Oct. 13 at the Westin in Buckhead. Dunn and former and current NFL players always thrill the crowd as they take turns down the catwalk at this fun celeb fashion show. The event also features live and silent auction items, including a Super Bowl XLII package. The cost is $175 per ticket. Info: www.warrickdunnfoundation.org.
MOTORCYCLE: 1. LION: 1. SNAKE: 1. DJ: 0.
Over the years, country DJ Moby has been in a motorcycle accident and bitten (literally) by a lion. Now he’s in a north Fulton County hospital for a snakebite.
The “yeah baby!” host now heard on South 107, WNGC-FM and 92.5/the Bear thought it was wise to try to catch a copperhead snake in his driveway Monday. He did nab it, but it also nipped him on the right forefinger, forcing him to get anti-venom treatment.
“It big time swelled up,” he told Buzz on Tuesday, while still in the hospital. “It turned red and black and flesh sloughed off around the wound. It’s nasty!”
Good news: Moby, whose real name is James Carney, may have lost a bit of his dignity but won’t lose his finger.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Country singer Tommy Overstreet is 71. Actor Greg Mullavey (“Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman”) is 69. Jazz vibrophonist Roy Ayers is 68. Singer Danny Hutton of Three Dog Night is 66. Singer Jose Feliciano is 63. Actor Tom Ligon (“Oz,” “Another World”) is 63. Actress Judy Geeson (“Mad About You”) is 60. Guitarist Joe Perry of Aerosmith is 58. Actress Amy Irving is 55. Director Chris Columbus is 50. Actor Colin Firth is 48. Singer-guitarist David Lowery of Cracker is 48. Guitarist Stevie D. of Buckcherry is 42. Drummer Robin Goodridge of Bush is 42. Singer-guitarist Miles Zuniga of Fastball is 42. Rapper Big Daddy Kane is 40. Director Guy Ritchie is 40. Actor Ryan Phillippe is 34. Bassist Mikey Way (My Chemical Romance) is 28.
ATLANTA’S OWN
October’s Vanity Fair magazine features mini-profiles on people it has declared the 100 leaders of the information age (Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin tops the list, followed by media mogul Rupert Murdoch). CNN’s Anderson Cooper (right), whom VF calls “among the best journalists on TV,” and actor-filmmaker Tyler Perry, whom the mag says has “found a fanatical following among the underserved demographic of older, churchgoing African-Americans,” were included in a list of “nexters,” a complement of up-and-comers.
Contributing: 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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Parents wage food fight on allergies
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The start of the school year brings out the teacher in Cumming mom Justine Chiang. The native Atlantan’s two daughters, Alex, 6, and Ansley, 3, have severe food allergies that could be fatal if not properly treated. So at the start of each school year, Chiang makes a trip to school to educate teachers and classmates.
Wednesday night, Chiang joins forces with fellow parents WSB consumer advocate Clark Howard and CNN Headline News anchor Mike Galanos to raise money for Atlanta’s Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network during a benefit auction at Paul’s Restaurant in Buckhead. Howard and Galanos also have children with food allergy ailments.
“This is really a joint opportunity to raise awareness and to educate,” Chiang, the event co-chair, told Buzz Monday. “It’s a hidden disability. As parents, we always have to be aware of what’s around the kids.”
Chiang’s 6-year-old, for example, carries two EpiPens with her, two more are stored with the school nurse and mom has another set with her.
“Teaching someone how to use an EpiPen in the case of an emergency could make a huge difference,” she says.
While Wednesday night’s $50 per person benefit will feature fancy hors d’oeuvres from the kitchen of chef Paul Albrecht (right), attendees should be able to nibble worry-free.
“The evening is primarily for adults who are supporters and who don’t suffer directly from food allergies,” explains Chiang. Still, all dishes containing allergens will have them listed and each appetizer will be labeled.
Organizers lucked out, as well.
Says Chiang: “Paul’s doesn’t actually use pine nuts to create their pesto. We got lucky!”
The benefit starts at 7 p.m. at Paul’s, 10 Kings Circle, Atlanta, N.E. For tickets: 703-563-3083.
SIDDONS CANCELS BOOK SIGNING
This is sure to disappoint the 300 or so fans of author Anne Rivers Siddons. The native Atlantan has canceled her Wednesday night appearance at the Margaret Mitchell House, where she was due to introduce locals to her latest novel, “Off Season.” According to an e-mailed statement from Rivers publicist Evan Boorstyn, the 72-year-old writer had to cancel due to a family emergency. “She will reschedule as soon as possible and thanks all her readers for their continued support and understanding.”
Buzz will be sure to pass along a new date when it’s determined.
OVERSCENE
“Six Feet Under” actress Frances Conroy, original “Dream Girls” Broadway cast member Sheryl Lee Ralph, actress/director Jasmine Guy and Emmy winner Leslie Jordan dining separately at Einstein’s in Midtown.
Former Cleveland Indians (and 1997 Braves) outfielder Kenny Lofton and Sacramento Kings and former Georgia Tech basketball player Travis Best dining at the Flying Biscuit Cafe in the Terminus building in Buckhead.
MADEA TO CRASH ‘FAMILY’ OUTING
Moviegoers heading to the theaters this weekend to catch Tyler Perry’s latest, “The Family That Preys” also will get a sneak peek at an old favorite. We hear that audiences will be treated to an advance preview from the next installment of the Madea saga, “Madea Goes to Jail.” (You may recall that Perry’s mother of all matriarch’s was last seen in a cameo, being taken down by DeKalb County law enforcement after an interstate police chase in this spring’s “Meet the Browns.”) The next Madea-centric comedy is due out Feb. 20, 2009.
Our take, having already viewed an advance screening of “The Family That Preys”? With Alfre Woodard and Kathy Bates at the helm and surrounded by scheming offspring, there’s already plenty of mama drama hard-wired into “Family” without Madea poking her pistol into the proceedings …
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Tom Wopat is 57. Musician-producer Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) is 56. Actor Hugh Grant (above) is 48. Actor-comedian Adam Sandler is 42. Model Rachel Hunter is 39. Actor Goran Visnjic (“ER”) is 36. Singer Michael Buble is 33. Actress Michelle Williams (“Brokeback Mountain,” “Dawson’s Creek”) is 28.
UNCOUPLING
John Mark Karr and fiancee Brooke Simmons have ended their engagement. Karr, as you may recall, became famous after falsely confessing to the murder of 6-year-old Jon Benet Ramsey. In an interview that aired Monday on TV’s “Extra,” Simmons explained: “His personality and my personality clashed. … John is a very vocal fighter, and sometimes those words hurt worse than physical pain.”
While Karr has been officially cleared in the Ramsey investigation, Simmons says of police: “Why they let him go so quick, I don’t understand. I think they dropped the ball too quick on that with him.”
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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Hannity, Boortz give Palin praise
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fox News star Sean Hannity dubbed his partnering with fellow WSB-AM (750) radio host Neal Boortz Friday at Cobb Energy Centre as “Abbott and Costello.”
Indeed, Hannity and Boortz have been tight since they competed with each other on rival Atlanta radio stations in the early 1990s. While their bosses considered them bitter competitors when Hannity was on WGST-AM (640), they used to call each other during commercial breaks and compare notes.
“If I had that hair,” the follicle-challenged Boortz said, pointing at Hannity’s thick locks, “it’d be ‘Boortz and Colmes!’ “
When Boortz told a story about being at a nasty hotel in Denver during the Democratic convention and finding an adult toy behind the bed, Hannity, in mock exasperation, said, “Did you ever grow out of the age of 14?”
“You have to grow old,” Boortz retorted. “You don’t have to mature.”
And since they had just come back from two weeks of political conventions, the pair brought in former presidential candidate and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Clinton adviser Dick Morris to (mostly) bash Barack Obama and universally praise John McCain’s new vice presidential pick, Sarah Palin.
“She’s authentic,” Hannity said. He compared her grace and confidence to Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and feels the media has been “demeaning” with its scrutiny.
Then he offered $100 to an audience member to properly define “community organizer,” a job Obama once held and Palin mocked last Wednesday. Paraphrasing her speech, a woman in the fifth row said, “A mayor without responsibilities.” A bemused Hannity opened his wallet and gave her $100.
Boortz quickly cracked, “You want my $100, you’re going to have to earn it!”
‘PEACHTREE BATTLE’ ENDS WITH SELL-OUT
After more than 1,300 performances and seven years, the play “Peachtree Battle” threw out its final quip Sunday afternoon, a record-breaking run that may be difficult to beat.
Buzz stopped by Saturday afternoon at Ansley Park Playhouse for a special showing (sold out, of course) featuring Anna House as the drunk yet lovable grandma with the sky-high hair, Azalea Wieuca. House had left the cast last year after more than 1,000 times but decided to do it one more time for nostalgia’s sake.
For House, it was like jumping back on a bike as she showed her usual impeccable comic timing to the very end. Holding roses moments after the last curtain call, she said she’s proud of her work on the play. “It’s the end of an era after seven years,” she said sadly, then mused, “I’ve had marriages that didn’t last as long!”
Co-founder John Gibson told Buzz after the show how grateful he was for the audiences. His partner Anthony Morris noted that “Battle” in its first four years was often sold out months in advance and even toward the end was still filling enough seats to make money.
But the pair want to focus on the film version of “Battle,” which is stripped of local jokes about Smyrna and Gov. Sonny Perdue but keeps the bones of the wacky family interactions. Sony has picked it up and will soon be casting, Gibson said. A popular play the pair created back in the 1990s called “Veranda” will take over the space next month.
In the meantime, House’s teased wig will be encased in glass and placed in the lobby — an heirloom for the ages.
COLBERT’S DNA HEADED TO SPACE
Should this world ever cease to exist, Stephen Colbert will live on.
The comedian’s DNA will be digitized and sent to the International Space Station, Comedy Central was to announce today.
In October, video game designer Richard Garriott will travel to the station and deposit Colbert’s genes.
Garriott, one of few private citizens to travel into space, is collecting material for a time capsule of human DNA. The host of “The Colbert Report” will essentially be preserved so that aliens can clone him. “In the unlikely event that Earth and humanity are destroyed, mankind can be resurrected with Stephen Colbert’s DNA,” Garriott said.
HIGH FIVE
Sports moms
Despite what Sarah Palin said about hockey moms being like pit bulls with lipstick, there are other ways to spot the puck parents among us. From AskHockeyMom.com, here’s a sampling from “Top Ways to Spot a Hockey Mom.”
5. She thinks anything televised would be a lot more interesting if checking were allowed.
4. She’s found a way to work broken $200 hockey sticks into her home décor.
3. She sends her kids to the penalty box instead of time-outs.
2. In the back of her van, she carries a fleece blanket and a winter coat — in August.
1. She knows every way possible of getting bloodstains out.
Courtesy: AskHockeyMom.com
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Comedian Sid Caesar is 86. Singer Aimee Mann (at Variety Playhouse this past Friday) is 48. Actor David Arquette is 37. Actor Henry Thomas (“E.T.”) is 37. Actor Larenz Tate is 33. Singer Pink is 29. Actor Jonathan Taylor Thomas (“Home Improvement”) is 27.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Bo Emerson 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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Rathbun not a whole-hearted Falcons fan
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Saturday, September 06, 2008
In Food & Wine magazine’s brand-new 2008 NFL Talking Pigskin online preview, Atlanta chef Kevin Rathbun has been selected to represent his hometown and to whip up a culinary creation worthy of the Atlanta Falcons, his hometown team.
Thankfully, the man who recently won “Iron Chef America” by using elk stops short of using an actual falcon in his recipe.
Instead, Rathbun tempts readers with a recipe for roast squab with bacon and grapes (the Rathbun’s chef’s secret weapon: two tablespoons of crushed juniper berries).
In addition to cooking for the Falcons front office personnel and supporting the NFL’s Taste of the NFL charity, Rathbun (a recovering Kansas City Chiefs fan, he admits) tells FoodandWine.com: “I kind of represent the Falcons now. The coach [Mike Smith] comes to my restaurant a lot. I’ve met the coach and the owner [Arthur Blank]. I like football in general —- people in the restaurant business just seem to keep up with it.”
Rathbun concedes he has a bit of trouble getting in the spirit on game day.
“I’m the size of a house; they don’t really make [Falcons] shirts 4XL. I’d probably have to sew two together.”
So far, the chef is right on the money with the predictions he made for the Falcons in the foodie publication. For example, he said rookie Matt Ryan would get the nod as starting quarterback.
Alas, when asked who he’ll be rooting for when the Chiefs roll into the Georgia Dome this season, Rathbun told Food & Wine: “Well, I’ll cheer for the Falcons because they recognize me in the stands, but underneath I’ll probably be hoping the Chiefs pummel them. I will definitely do Kansas City barbecue for the tailgate!”
As of deadline Friday, diehard Falcons fans had yet to flip Rathbun a, well, dirty bird.
Transitions
Reporter/anchor Jaquitta Williams is leaving WSB-TV Sept. 12 after four years at the station and 20 years in the TV news business. And yes, her recent bout with breast cancer was a factor.
“When I came back from my cancer journey in January, I was different,” she told Buzz Friday. “I wanted my life to be more enjoyable. I wanted to do other things.”
While thinking about staying or going, she looked for signs. She found two: her BlackBerry stopped working, then her laptop was stolen out of the WSB-TV van while she covered a church fire.
Ultimately, she had nothing but good things to say about WSB itself and was appreciative that they let her tell her breast cancer story on air. (Essence magazine has a story about her in October’s issue.)
Williams said she has a new job lined up but, out of respect for WSB, won’t reveal what it is until after she leaves.
Better yet, she noted: “I am cancer-free. My last mammogram in August was clean. I’m in a wonderful place. I’m so excited!”
Meanwhile, DJ Kaedy Kiely starts her gig at 97.1/The River as morning host on Sept. 18. The station is not personality-focused, and the morning show is heavily music-oriented. But Kiely has tons of experience and will be the primary presence at community events. She’ll contribute music news and interviews to the Web site.
Jackson adds muscle to Witchu
Part-time Atlantan Janet Jackson announced Friday that hip-hop innovator LL Cool J will join her upcoming Rock Witchu tour. The Live Nation-produced tour begins Sept. 10 at the GM Place in Vancouver, with LL Cool J joining on Sept. 25 at the Allstate Arena in Chicago. The Rock Witchu tour will coincide with the release of Ladies Love Cool James’ 13th album, “Exit 13,” set for release on Sept. 9. The pair will hit Philips Arena Oct. 5. For info: www.livenation.com.
Celebrity birthdays
Today: Singer-bassist Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) is 65. “Pushing Daisies” actress Swoosie Kurtz is 64. Comedian-actress Jane Curtin is 61. Alpharetta comedian Jeff Foxworthy is 50. Actor-comedian Michael Winslow (“Police Academy”) is 50. Singer Macy Gray is 38. Rapper Foxy Brown is 29.
Sunday: Jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins is 78. Singer Gloria Gaynor is 59. Singer Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders is 57. Actor Michael Emerson (“Lost”) is 54.
HIGH FIVE
Television
The Top On Demand programs for the week of Aug. 25-31 as determined by Comcast customers in metro Atlanta:
Bow Wow, “Marco Polo,” music video, Music Choice
Lil’ Wayne, “A Milli,” music video, Music Choice
Big Kuntry King, “Da Baddest,” music video, Music Choice
Yung Berg, “The Business,” music video, Music Choice
“I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry,” movie, HBO
Courtesy: Rentrak’s OnDemand Essentials
COUPLING
So which column do People magazine editors comb through to learn about the latest in young love? Buzz, natch. In the celebrity weekly’s “Scoop” page, People is reporting on the budding romance between dreamy teens Jonas Brother Joe Jonas and singer Taylor Swift. The glossy credits us with first reporting on Swift dancing near the soundboard during the trio’s set when they played Lakewood Amphitheatre Aug. 20.
Contributing: 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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Starlet finds a new ZIP code
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former Georgia resident AnnaLynne McCord played evil teen temptress Eden last season in FX’s “Nip/Tuck,” a memorable role in which she seduced one of the adult characters, poisoned her mom’s lesbian lover Julia, then shot Julia in the head.
Now McCord is on CW’s highly hyped remake of “Beverly Hills 90210,” simply called “90210,” which debuted to relatively big ratings Tuesday night. (It was the top show in Atlanta.)
This time, the 21-year-old plays bad girl Naomi, who in the first episode befriended the main character Annie Wilson, then was caught copying Annie’s English paper. By the end of hour two, she had lost her main squeeze Ethan.
“Eden was a pure sociopath. Naomi is a PG version of Eden,” McCord told Buzz Wednesday by phone during a break while shooting episode six.
Naomi may be manipulative but she’s not stupid. McCord said she ad-libbed the line in which she snidely said she could have easily written the paper she copied on her own — if she had bothered.
McCord missed out on these high school shenanigans since she grew up home schooled in Tucker and Monroe. She acted in local plays, her first at age 9 when she memorized the entire script. “I’m blessed with a photographic memory,” she said.
She moved to New York at age 15 but her acting career only took off when she moved to Los Angeles in 2006. She quickly nabbed a lead role in “Day of the Dead 2” (“I got to shoot guns!”), guest spots in shows such as “Ugly Betty” and “Cold Case,” then the bigger jobs in “Nip/Tuck” and “90210.”
Though McCord was too young to catch the original “90210” in its prime, she quickly caught up via DVD. And she naturally has nothing but good things to say about Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth, who reprised their old personas. “Shannen and Jennie are super nice,” she said. “I think a lot of people watched the first episode to see them. Let’s hope they stay to see the rest of us.”
2ND SHOW ADDED
While pop icons Madonna and Janet Jackson’s fall tours are still struggling because of our lean economic times, legend Tina Turner has added a second Philips Arena show to her itinerary. The singer also will perform Nov. 10 at the venue. Advance tickets go on sale Sept. 8 for American Express card users; general public tickets will go on sale Sept. 15 at 10 a.m.
RULING FAVORS NE-YO
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has ordered a concert promoter to pay Atlanta singer-songwriter Ne-Yo more than $700,000 stemming from a lawsuit filed earlier this year.
Ne-Yo was dropped from R. Kelly’s tour last year after two shows. He claimed he was dropped because he had upstaged Kelly, an allegation the singer vehemently denied.
Kelly was not a party to the lawsuit. Ne-Yo (real name: Shaffer Smith) instead sued the tour’s promoter, Georgia-based Rowe Entertainment Inc.
Rowe Entertainment never answered the lawsuit, and last week Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Malcolm Mackey ordered the company to pay Ne-Yo and his touring company $700,320. Rowe Entertainment said in a statement posted on its Web site after the lawsuit’s filing that it couldn’t obtain a “final, fully executed contract” from Ne-Yo’s agent.
CELEBRITY DOCKET
Atlanta singer Akon is headed to trial on criminal charges he tossed a fan offstage at an upstate New York concert last summer.
The 35-year-old singer is accused of ejecting a teenager from the stage during a June 2007 concert at a minor league baseball stadium near Poughkeepsie. Another concertgoer said she suffered a concussion when the boy landed on her.
Akon, whose real name is Aliaune Thiam, asked for the jury trial during a brief appearance with his lawyer in Fishkill Town Court on Wednesday. He’s due back in court for trial Dec. 1 unless a deal is negotiated.
He pleaded not guilty in December to misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a minor and second-degree harassment.
In court Wednesday, Judge Harold Epstein met privately with Akon’s lawyer, Andrea Zellan, and Dutchess County Assistant District Attorney Anthony Parisi before announcing the case would go to trial unless a deal is reached.
“We are pleased that Judge Epstein adjourned the case to a date certain for either a trial or a negotiated resolution,” Zellan said in a prepared statement. “Akon looks forward to putting this incident behind him, and in the meantime he will continue to meet every requirement set forth by the court.”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Comedian-actor Bob Newhart is 79. Actor George Lazenby is 69. Actor William Devane is 69. Actress Raquel Welch is 68. Singer Loudon Wainwright III is 62. Cartoonist Cathy Guisewite (“Cathy”) is 58. TV personality-musician Dweezil Zappa is 39. Actress Rose McGowan is 35. Actor Skandar Keynes (“The Chronicles of Narnia”) is 17.
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 biodiesel run
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlantan Nik Bristol is a man who comes up with harebrained ideas. His friend Brian Pierce usually knocks him down.
But when Bristol suggested a nonstop “Cannonball Run”-type drive from New York to Los Angeles using biodiesel, Pierce didn’t flinch.
They hooked up with Willie Nelson’s BioWillie biodiesel company, and will start the tour in Manhattan on Sept. 22 in a Volks-wagen Jetta diesel. The pair plans to drive to Los Angeles in under 40 hours with zero fuel stops.
“With the current fuel crisis, we want to highlight the fact diesel is more fuel efficient than regular gasoline,” Bristol said, noting the Jetta can get 45 mpg.
They will carry 75 gallons of fuel, with the ability to refill from inside the vehicle while driving. The duo will stop only to switch drivers, eschewing bathroom breaks.
And no, they won’t be wearing diapers. Instead, they plan to go on a liquid diet featuring Ensure, chicken broth and juice five days before the trip. During the drive, they’ll use catheters feeding urine into a repository that solidifies the liquid into gelatinous bricks.
Neither man has talked to Nelson directly, though they’ve exchanged e-mails. They hope the singer can show up when they start their run, since he’ll be in the vicinity doing a concert.
For more info: www.willierun.com.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Radio personality Paul Harvey is 90. Singer Merald “Bubba” Knight of Gladys Knight and the Pips is 66. Drummer Martin Chambers of The Pretenders is 57. Actor-comedian Damon Wayans is 48. Actress Ione Skye is 37. Actor Wes Bentley (“American Beauty”) is 30. Singer Beyoncé Knowles is 27. Actor Trevor Gagnon (“The New Adventures of Old Christine”) is 13.
OVERSCENE
Actor Wesley Snipes (right) sitting on the patio at W Atlanta Midtown. Members of the R&B group Danity Kane were also spotted in the hotel lobby.
ATLANTA’S OWN
With the Braves 19 games out of first place, Jeff Francoeur batting .232 and their playoff hopes scotched, here’s an incentive to take in a remaining game or two at Turner Field in the next two weeks: $1 hot dogs! Yes, Braves reps announced Wednesday that beginning tonight and for all remaining Thursday night games, hot dogs will be a buck at several concession stands in the park. At deadline Wednesday, Buzz could not confirm a report that the park would begin offering an open bar if Chipper Jones (above) injures one more body part this season.
Contributing: 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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‘Noah’s Arc’ stars celebrate at Atlanta festival
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s been lazily compared to “Sex and the City.” But in its two seasons, “Noah’s Arc” became not only the first original scripted series on the fledgling gay and lesbian-centric cable channel Logo, it was also the first TV drama to center on the lives of gay male African-Americans living in Los Angeles. And the show managed to delve into subjects that would surely stump even Carrie Bradshaw and Co.
The series blended comedy and high drama as budding screenwriter Noah and his friends Alex, Ricky and Chance dealt with brothers “on the down low,” dating HIV-positive partners, gay bashing, “thug loving” and the societal stigma involving masculine men dating more feminine guys.
And like “Sex and the City,” fans are rabid for more quality time with the characters. “Noah” actors Darryl Stephens and Jensen Atwood and series creator Patrik-Ian Polk were in town over the holiday weekend to attend the city’s annual Black Gay Pride celebration.
Oh, and to introduce fans to a sample of “Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom,” the feature film due in theaters Oct. 24.
“Everyone was so excited,” Stephens told Buzz Tuesday morning. “It’s been over a year [since the last original TV episode aired on Logo]. I didn’t know if people would still care about these characters or not.”
Polk says that in lieu of a third season, Logo approached him about a theatrical extension of the franchise that has attracted female fans like Janet Jackson, Wanda Sykes and Phoebe Snow (who has a cameo in and contributed a song for “Broom”).
Explains Polk: “We’re hopeful that ‘Noah’s’ fans will be as dedicated as the ‘Sex and the City’ fans who made that film a priority. I’ve heard from guys who look like your typical thug from South Central Los Angeles who’s got his grandmother watching ‘Noah!’ For a lot of families, watching it together creates an opportunity for dialogue.”
Atwood’s character of Wade, who began in the series as a successful Hollywood screenwriter questioning his sexuality, is back for the feature film as well.
Says Atwood: “We’d been away from each other for over a year but when the cast got back together for the film, it all came back. The ‘Noah’s Arc’ cast just has an energy of its own. We spark off each other.”
BUILDING HIS BRAND TO A ‘BOWL’?
Like the NFL teams beginning their new seasons, Usher is hoping to go all the way to the Super Bowl.
The Atlanta R&B singer will perform the season’s kickoff concert on Thursday in New York’s Columbus Circle along with Keith Urban and Natasha Bedingfield. The 3 p.m. concert will take place just before the season opener, when the Washington Redskins take on the Super Bowl champion New York Giants.
Like the Redskins and Giants, Usher is aiming for the big game in February. The Super Bowl is one of the most sought-after gigs in music.
“I don’t think it’s too early to consider it,” said Usher, speaking from Atlanta. “Certainly being associated with the organization makes that a lot more possible. There have been conversations for a lot of years about me being part of a performance at a Super Bowl. I’m hoping that this leads, definitely, to that. This whole process is basically you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”
Usher feels that he’s sufficiently built up his “brand” during the past decade (sometimes it’s easy to forget that the 29-year-old singer has been around that long). Recent Super Bowl performers include Prince and Tom Petty.
BREAKING THE ‘BAR’
Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s scraggly hair didn’t scare away curious viewers of Atlanta-based TNT’s new drama “Raising the Bar.”
On Labor Day, the Steve Bochco (“NYPD Blue”) production opened at 7.7 million viewers, the biggest series debut ever for an ad-supported cable network. That excludes the likes of HBO, Disney and the broadcast networks but is still impressive.
Two factors helped the drama, which is about lawyers in the district attorney’s office and public defenders’ office: coming on after TNT’s biggest show “The Closer”; and the fact the broadcast networks were airing political and hurricane-related news and no scripted dramas at 10 p.m.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
“Beetle Bailey” creator Mort Walker is 85. Singer-guitarist Al Jardine (Beach Boys) is 66. Guitarist Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols is 53. Actor Charlie Sheen is 43.
OVERSCENE
Taking in the Atlanta Dream-Connecticut Sun basketball game at Philips Arena downtown: WNBA President Donna Orender; rapper/ restaurateur Ludacris; R&B artist Jarvis, NBA legend Julius “Dr. J” Erving; 76er Royal Ivey; Atlanta Hawk Solomon Jones; Q of the musical group 112; V103’s Ryan Cameron; WXIA anchor Karyn Greer; and Atlanta City Council president Lisa Borders.
Contributing: 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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Very special T-shirt a tribute to Skip Caray
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta boys behind the Esperanza Clothing Co. have come up with a way to pay tribute to beloved Braves announcer Skip Caray while raising funds for one of the late Atlanta icon’s favorite charities.
This week, Esperanza is offering 100 limited-edition, individually numbered, custom-made “Remember Skip” T-shirts, complete with a microphone-and-baseball-bat emblazoned logo.
“Baseball lost a broadcasting legend this summer with Skip Caray’s passing,” explains Esperanza’s Bart Sasso. “Being the Braves fans we are here, we felt it only right to create a shirt in his memory.”
Twenty percent of the proceeds from the sales of each shirt will be donated to Camp Twin Lakes, one of Caray’s favorite local charities. The shirts are $30 and can be ordered from esperanza-atl.com.
We’re told that given the limited run of the commemorative shirt, each T will be made to order, according to each customer’s requested size specifics.
LOCALS LAND ON ‘TOP DESIGN’
NOVEMBERAtlanta’s population of reality show contestants will grow by two Wednesday thanks to a double dose of local love on Bravo’s new season of “Top Design.”
Kerry Howard, who owns Howard House Interiors (www.howardhouseinc.
NOVEMBERcom), and Natalie Williams, the youngest contestant this season, both are vying for $100,000 and mucho publicity.
Judge India Hicks, a fashion model and designer, told Buzz she loved Howard’s sense of humor as well as his nickname “Big Daddy.”
“He asked me to call him George Clooney,” she said. “He’s a true gent.”
Williams, said designer and show mentor Todd Oldham, “was referred to as the party gal. She has a lot of youthful energy.”
Howard himself describes his style as “very eclectic. I like to mix old and new pieces, antiques and contemporary. I prefer clean lines, not a lot of frou frou.”
Williams, a SCAD graduate who had been working at Yessicks Design Center in Alpharetta, said the show producers found her and she has no clue how.
“Being 24, I’m still a baby,” she told Buzz. “The show was nothing I expected. In the real world, we have our own contractors and seamstresses. Here, you have to do stuff on your own.”
Season 2 of “Top Design” starts Wednesday at 10 p.m. after “Project Runway.”
TRISHA YEARWOOD’S UNEXPECTED LANDING
Monticello native Trisha Yearwood had a harrowing experience on a recent flight to Oklahoma when her plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Baltimore.
The country singer was shaken but undeterred; she caught another flight home a few hours later.
“I’m pretty spiritual about it,” she explains. “I turn it over to God and think, ‘There’s nothing I can do about it.’ “
Yearwood, her sister and some friends were returning Aug. 18 from a three-day walk in Boston to benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer research fund when they heard a loud pop.
Yearwood, 43, said the front left window of the plane had cracked.
“By the time we got on the ground, the crack on the front of the plane’s window was huge, and getting bigger by the second,” she said.
When they reached the ground, she recalled, “It was like in the movies when they land and you see all the firetrucks and emergency crews. That’s a real experience.”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Meinhardt Raabe (Munchkin coroner in “The Wizard of Oz”) is 93. Jazz pianist Horace Silver is 80. Sportscaster Terry Bradshaw is 60. Actor Mark Harmon is 57. Actor Keanu Reeves is 44. Actress Salma Hayek is 42. Drummer Spencer Smith of Panic at the Disco is 21.
OVERSCENE
Former Buckhead boy John Mayer surprising his old pal, performer David Ryan Harris, during his set at Loft in Midtown. Later, the singer-songwriter was spotted at the Cheetah strip club in Midtown and at Tongue & Groove in Buckhead. Mayer was in town for a weekend gig at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Alpharetta.
Contributing: 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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Brown took stage — and took control
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On Labor Day 2008, Buzz thought it appropriate to recognize “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business,” who played his final Atlanta concert at Chastain Park five years ago this weekend.
Augusta’s own R&B legend, the late James Brown, is the subject of the brand new “I Got the Feelin’: James Brown in the ’60s,” a fascinating, sometimes horrifying, three-DVD set from Shout Factory.
The package contains the ultra-rare April 5, 1968, concert Brown performed at the Boston Garden, just 24 hours after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. American cities had descended into chaos as racial tensions spilled into the streets and Boston officials were desperate to keep the peace.
At the last minute, Boston Mayor Kevin White opted against canceling Brown’s scheduled show in his city. Instead, White urged Bostonians to stay home. Just hours before the show, White contacted WGBH and requested the station broadcast the show live.
WGBH producer and director Russ Morash and crew turned up. Today, Morash is best known as one of the creators of “The French Chef,” Julia Child’s ground-breaking public television cooking show. Suffice it to say, Morash didn’t know much about soul music.
Says Morash in the set’s excellent accompanying doc: “To have a madman belting it out and destroying our equipment was not something we were used to.”
Facing a mostly empty venue, an unseen TV audience and a small squadron of cops lining the stage, Brown got up on stage and performed an epic 90-minute concert. His jacket soaked through with sweat, Brown was about to launch into his encore of “I Can’t Stand Myself” when things threatened to unravel.
In the DVD’s most-difficult-to-watch sequence, a young fan gets up on stage to dance with his idol and a uniformed cop flings him off the stage.
Other fans and cops rushed the stage when the singer stopped the show.
“Wait a minute, wait a minute!” Brown tells both parties as the lights come up. “We are black, don’t make us all look bad. I asked the police to step back because I thought I could get some respect from my own people. Are we together or ain’t we?!”
The crowd and the cops did as the Godfather of Soul instructed.
Brown finished the show and promptly mash-potatoed off stage.
WGBH re-aired the concert throughout the night. Calm was maintained.
CORRESPONDENCE FROM CELEBRITY
Local jewelry designer Mickey Lynn got a star-studded surprise when she opened her mail this month and found a handwritten note from none other than A-list celeb Courteney Cox. Lynn had sent Cox a special necklace from her zodiac collection aimed at moms (Cox and her daughter are both Geminis). Considering Cox probably gets tons of swag from more well-known designers, the note was super sweet, especially the un-Courteney-like pink ink with which it was written.
1980S LIVE ON
A nearly full house at Chastain Park Amphitheatre on Friday night got a four-hour dollop of ’80s nostalgia.
The Human Regeneration tour featuring Naked Eyes, Flock of Seagulls, ABC, Belinda Carlisle and the Human League wrapped up in Atlanta with a big push by B98.5 pegged to the arrival of Steve McCoy and Vikki Locke.
Many of the acts were loose and happy. Pete Byrne, lead singer of Naked Eyes, changed the lyrics to one of his songs for a gal in the front row: “How’s your sandwich?” He then had fans in 1980s garb dance on stage to “Promises, Promises.”
Martin Fry, lead singer of ABC, had purchased Halloween masks of Barack Obama and John McCain and had his two keyboardists wear them during “Look of Love.” And he high-fived the front row, saying, “If Neil Diamond can do this, so can I!”
And Belinda Carlisle looked and sounded great at age 50, getting the crowd pumped with Go Go’s classics such as “We Got the Beat” and “Our Lips Are Sealed.” She even bounced back with a smile after tripping backward on a floor speaker during “Leave a Light On.”
“I haven’t done that in a long time!” she mused on stage.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Comedian-actress Lily Tomlin is 69. Singer Barry Gibb (above) of the Bee Gees is 62. Talk show host Dr. Phil is 58. Singer Gloria Estefan is 51. Actor Ricardo Antonio Chavira (“Desperate Housewives”) is 37. Guitarist Joe Trohman of Fall Out Boy is 24.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Nedra Rhone 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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Smooth Jazz, Hot, Praise lose air staff
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Radio One, which owns Hot 107.9, Smooth Jazz 107.5 and Praise 97.5, cut air staff this week locally and nationally. Among the victims: Morning man Griff and mid-day jock Maria More at Hot, veteran DJ Rene Miller at Smooth and mid-day host Sonja Hamm at Praise.
This appears to be a cost-cutting measure, though bosses at Radio One have not returned calls for comment. For now at Hot, Rashan Ali and Emperor Searcy will continue to hold the fort on the morning show, the A Team, minus standup comic Griff.
In a written statement to the press, Griff thanked God for his time at Hot: “When I got home today, I read a book that said: ‘On this day the will of God is done in my life.’ That was all the closure I needed.”
Kevin Watson, manager for comic Rickey Smiley, told Buzz Friday that Smiley is in negotiations to add his syndicated show to Hot, but nothing has been finalized yet.
Smiley is in 20 markets nationwide including Dallas and Miami. Radio One handles syndication for Smiley.
CON, FOOTBALL FANS INVADE DOWNTOWN
It’s Tigers vs. Trekkies today in downtown Atlanta as a fun little clash of cultures plays out. Tens of thousands of fans of Alabama and Clemson football are here for the Chick-fil-A College Kickoff, and tens of thousands of revelers are here for DragonCon, the massive pop culture and fantasy convention.
Actually, maybe the two groups will get along very well wherever they encounter one another. Both have lots of hard-core obsessives who like to dress up in eye-catching outfits and paint their faces. Both are partial to insider jargon and intense group bonding. And both have been known to get a little drink on.
The Con folks have their big parade at 10 a.m. today, starting at Woodruff Park and working north on Peachtree Street. That’s where you will find your grown-ups dressed as Imperial Stormtroopers from “Star Wars.”
The College Kickoff FanFest and FanZone for both teams’ fans starts at noon at Centennial Olympic Park. That’s where you’ll find your grown-ups with tiger paws painted on their faces. Is this a great city or what?
‘LIKE’-ING IT AT NO. 1
According to the Billboard Hot 100 chart at least, pleading guilty to federal weapons possession charges has only enhanced rapper T.I.’s sales figures.
This week, the Atlantan scored a new record for the biggest jump to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, as his latest single, “Whatever You Like” rocketed up the charts from No. 71 to No. 1 in its third week on the chart.
According to Billboard, “A No. 1 opening on Hot Digital Songs with debut-week sales of 205,000 downloads is the impetus for the record-setting Hot 100 move, which surpasses the 64-1 hike taken by Maroon 5’s ‘Makes Me Wonder’ in the May 12, 2007, issue.”
Billboard also observes that “Like” is T.I.’s first chart-topper as a lead artist (he contributed to Justin Timberlake’s 2006 chart-topper, “My Love”) and his opening-week digital sales is the best by a rap track since Nielsen SoundScan began compiling download data in 2003.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Saturday: Country singer Kitty Wells is 89. Actor Bill Daily (“I Dream of Jeannie,” “The Bob Newhart Show”) is 81. Actor-turned-politician Ben Jones (“The Dukes of Hazzard”) is 67. Actress Peggy Lipton (“The Mod Squad”) is 61. Comedian Lewis Black (“The Daily Show”) is 60. Actor Michael Chiklis (“The Fantastic Four,” “The Shield”) is 45. Actress Cameron Diaz is 36. Guitarist Ryan Ross of Panic At The Disco is 22.
Sunday: Singer Van Morrison is 63. Actor Richard Gere is 59. Drummer Gina Schock of The Go-Go’s is 51. Singer Deborah Gibson is 38. Actor Chris Tucker (“Rush Hour”) is 36. Actress Sara Ramirez (“Grey’s Anatomy”) is 33.
HIGH FIVE
Music
The top-selling albums this week at Decatur CD:
1. Randy Newman, “Harps and Angels”
2. Stereolab, “Chemical Chords”
3. Gentleman Jesse, “Gentleman Jesse”
4. Janelle Monae, “Metropolis”
5. Matthew Sweet, “Sunshine Lies”
Courtesy: Decatur CD
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I cried my eyelashes off.”
Talk show queen, faux eyelash and Barack Obama supporter Oprah Winfrey to the Associated Press following his acceptance speech Thursday night.
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.
