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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2009 > January
January 2009
More chances soon to ‘Meet the Browns’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta director and producer Tyler Perry told attendees at the National Association of Television Program Executives conference this week in Las Vegas that TBS is going to give his second sitcom, “Meet the Browns,” an impressive 80-episode commitment this summer.
The Atlanta-based network currently is airing the sitcom’s first 10 test episodes.
The comedy, starring David Mann, opened this month with 3.55 million viewers, not nearly as big as the debut of “House of Payne” in 2007. But its second and third week performances were comparable to that of “House of Payne” at around 3 million viewers.
The sitcom, shot in Perry’s new southwest Atlanta studios, is showing two new episodes a week over five weeks. The show’s viewers slipped to 3.1 million Jan. 14 and 3 million Jan. 21.
The debut of “House of Payne” drew 5.5 million viewers.
When the show comes back this summer, it will be a companion to “House of Payne.”
Locally, “Meet the Browns” drew 182,000 viewers last week and nationally drew more African-American fans than “American Idol.”
A TBS spokeswoman confirmed a deal is imminent though not finalized.
EMULATE A QUEEN
When local hat maker Illona Cardona saw Aretha Franklin’s gray felt hat with an oversize bow, she screamed with delight.
“She looked terrific, and I felt like she was representing — black ladies. Church ladies,” Cardona told Buzz.
Now Cardona, who opened A Tisket a Tasket hat store in Roswell a few months ago, has more reason to cheer. Atlanta women are calling in for that hat. And she can replicate it, claiming the hat worn by the Queen of Soul at the presidential inauguration is actually quite simple. “A rounded crown, like a Jackie O pillbox hat and a bow,” she said.
One big, big bow.
So far, she has six orders for the hat, which costs about $275 to $300. She plans to hand-fold a springtime version in silver silk.
To place an order of for more information, call 404-447-2099.
JUST ‘DESSERTS’ FOR ATLANTA BOOK
Book packager Janice Shay says Atlanta was a far friendlier city than one of its neighbors as she assembled her latest cookbook, “Atlanta Classic Desserts: Recipes From Favorite Restaurants” (Pelican Publishing, $15.95). When Shay landed in Charleston to write the South Carolina version of “Desserts,” there was a dollop of “competitive jealousy” among the chefs, she explained. “In Atlanta, it was ‘Oh, great, you got so and so to participate too? Terrific.’ Atlanta chefs just seem to be more supportive of each other.”
And since Shay wasn’t all that familiar with Atlanta eateries, she hired Georgia Trend dining critic and former AJC professional nibbler Krista Reese to write “Atlanta Desserts.”
Starting at 10 this morning, Reese will be at the Southwestern Flower Show at the Cobb Galleria to introduce attendees to the tome, which features final course faves from Shaun’s, Aria, Rathbun’s, Woodfire Grill, Ecco, French American Brasserie and others. In order to protect her dining critic identity, we’re told that Reese will be sporting an elaborate disguise. Translation: look for the woman in the blue wig. The flower show’s bookstore area is adjacent to the studio stage.
So what exactly are those luscious, powdered-sugar- sprinkled orbs on the book’s cover? Fried Double-Stuf Oreos and bourbon ice cream from the Glenwood in East Atlanta.
Of the discovery, Shay said: “I was both amazed and appalled. But then I tried one. They’re really good.”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Gene Hackman (above) is 79. Actress Vanessa Redgrave (above) is 72. Singer Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane is 67. Musician Phil Collins is 58. Actor Charles S. Dutton (“Roc”) is 58. Actor Christian Bale is 35. Singer Josh Kelley is 29. Actor Wilmer Valderrama (“That ’70s Show”; below), is 29.
OVERSCENE
MLB All-Star and former Atlanta Braves player Brett Butler and Lydia Mondavi, of the Mondavi wine family and founder of 29 Spa at the Mansion on Peachtree, dining “unplugged” Wednesday night at the Mansion’s Neo restaurant in Buckhead. On the last Wednesday of every month, Neo lights candles and hires an acoustic guitarist as diners are gently asked to turn over all cellphones and PDAs to the concierge so they can have “a soothing, technology-free dining experience.” A sign at the door informs diners they’re about to enter a cellphone-free zone.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Helena Oliviero 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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Airlines on board for new cocktails
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Nightlife mogul Rande Gerber welcomed more than 150 Delta and Northwest flight attendants the other night at his latest Atlanta venture, Whiskey Blue, upstairs in the W-Atlanta Buckhead hotel. The occasion: A private party to toast his new partnership with Delta and Northwest that will introduce fliers this spring to the airlines’ upcoming in-flight program, Signature Cocktails by Rande Gerber.
“The timing feels right,” Gerber told Buzz. “Air travel has lost a lot of its glamour these days. People may be flying economy these days but that doesn’t mean that it has to feel like an economy flight.”
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines flight attendants Patricia Ringness (left) and Greg Fisher flank Rande Gerber at a launch party to announce the Gerber signature drinks that Delta will serve.
Gerber and Delta’s solution: the roll out in April of cocktails made with Gerber’s own, all-natural mojito, margarita and cosmopolitan Midnight Bar mixers (after all, even Oprah Winfrey herself has proclaimed the concoctions one of her favorite things).
At the hotel cocktail party, Delta and Northwest flight attendants had a chance to sample and shake up cocktails with the mixers. On board, BusinessElite and first-class customers will score the drinks for free, while coach customers can purchase one of the mixed drinks for $7.
So what did the flight attendants think of the drinks?
“They liked the simplicity of the service,” Gerber said. “You just add the liquor, ice and the mixer and you’re done. We were looking for something easy since flight attendants have so many things requiring their attention.”
And Gerber conceded the in-flight’s program’s other built-in advantage.
“Yes, some people do have some anxiety about flying,” he said, laughing. “If we can help out with that, even better!”
While Gerber says Delta approached him about the partnership, he was only too happy to make the deal happen. His employees in New York and Los Angeles fly Delta exclusively, he said.
“I flew Delta into Atlanta,” he said. “And I also had a margarita!”
BLAKELY READY FOR MAMA SPANX
We’ve been hearing rumblings about a baby bump for weeks now. And now we can confirm that, yes, Spanx founder Sara Blakely is really ready for a few pairs of her own line of Mama Spanx pantyhose. Her company’s reps are confirming to us that the Atlanta businesswoman and her new hubby, Marquis Jets co-owner Jesse Itzler, are expecting.
Said Spanx spokeswoman Misty Elliott in an e-mail to Buzz: “Yes, it’s true: Sara’s baby bump has arrived. We are all so thrilled for Sara and Jesse and looking forward to their new baby. From marriage, to the baby carriage, to our new home at the Sovereign Building [in Buckhead], it’s been another banner year for Sara and Spanx!”
We hear from friends who attended the couple’s wedding last fall in Florida that, unbeknown to the couple, the baby was secretly in attendance at the nuptials.
PREGAME PRICE CUTS
Atlanta Hawks and Thrashers fans looking to recession-proof their wallets should be happy with the latest Philips Arena offer for fans attending home games downtown through Feb. 11. Hawks and Thrashers supporters can enjoy special $1 pregame prices on hot dogs, popcorn and fountain drinks. We’re told that the specials will run from the time doors open until game time.
“We want to show our fans how much we appreciate their support for the teams during these tough economic times,” said Tracy White, Hawks and Thrashers senior vice president of sales and marketing, in an e-mail sent to Buzz.
The $1 food and beverage specials will be available at the general concessions stands on Hawk Walk and the upper concourse through Feb. 10 (Hawks vs. Washington Wizards) and Feb. 11 (Thrashers vs. Chicago Blackhawks).
Another upside for fans? You get to dodge all that unsavory downtown traffic gridlock before faceoff or tipoff.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor John Forsythe is 91. Singer Bettye LaVette is 63. Drummer Tommy Ramone of the Ramones is 57. Talk show host Oprah Winfrey is 55. Singer-guitarist Roddy Frame of Aztec Camera is 45. Director-actor Ed Burns is 41. Actress Heather Graham is 39. Actor Sharif Atkins (“ER”) is 34. Actress Sara Gilbert (“ER,” “Roseanne”; below) is 34. Guitarist Jonny Lang is 28.
OVERSCENE
Pop rockers the Fray lunching Wednesday at the new four-star Market restaurant on Peachtree Road in Buckhead. We’re told Isaac Slade, Joe King, Ben Wysocki and Dave Welsh sampled the tomato and butternut squash soups, the truffled pizza and the tuna burger. The band was in town for a gig at the Variety Playhouse and to talk up its new self-titled album due to drop Tuesday.
Contributing: News services
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines flight attendants Patricia Ringness (left) and Greg Fisher flank Rande Gerber at a launch party to announce the Gerber signature drinks that Delta will serve.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Carter gets new wheels, some ribbing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart got the recent Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter bicycle theft story slightly twisted when the former president guested on the Comedy Central show Monday night, the comic’s heart was in the right place.
During Carter’s two interview segments to promote his latest book, “We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan That Will Work,” Stewart had a set of his-and-hers bikes rolled out and presented them as replacements for the pair reported stolen recently from the Carter Center in Poncey-Highland. Stewart somehow thought the Carters had their bikes stolen during a trip to China.
While he was on the late-night satirical news program, Carter also made it clear that he did not snub fellow former President Bill Clinton at last week’s inauguration of Barack Obama. Stewart played back a TV news clip of Carter blowing past Clinton before the swearing in.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
But Carter explained that he and the former first lady from Plains actually already had spent 15 minutes visiting with Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton before the TV cameras arrived. Carter joked that he momentarily considered bussing the future secretary of state again in front of the cameras, but “I didn’t know how Bill would feel about that!”
Carter also dished about what went on behind the scenes when he and president George W. Bush, former President George H.W. Bush, Clinton and Obama lunched together this month at the White House.
“There’s a pecking order,” said Carter, explaining that the current president is considered the most powerful and that’s why George W. was seated next to the incoming president.
“I was the junior president since I’ve been out of office the longest,” he told Stewart. “I was at the bottom.”
Our fave part of the interview? When Stewart asked if “We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan That Will Work” was Carter’s first foray into fiction.
Carter flashed Stewart a trademark grin and quickly reminded him about his 2003 Revolutionary War novel, “The Hornet’s Nest.”
‘DREAM’ TOUR TO STOP AT PHILIPS
Even as “Working on a Dream,” his lighter-hearted, made-in-Atlanta studio album produced by Brendan O’Brien was hitting stores Tuesday, Bruce Springsteen was announcing his new tour with the E Street Band to promote the project. The “Working on a Dream” tour is scheduled to hit Philips Arena in downtown Atlanta on April 26.
We’re told that tickets are $99 and $69 for reserved seating and general admission floor. They go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday online at www.livenation.com or www.philipsarena.com, or fans can turn up at the Philips Arena box office, or order by phone at 404-249-6400.
For more information: www.brucespringsteen.com.
‘TALENT’ RETURNING FOR AUDITIONS
Last year, NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” not only did auditions here, but also filmed the semifinalists on location at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Former Atlantan and judge David Hasselhoff was thrilled to be back and even visited his childhood home.
Unfortunately, nobody from the area made it to the top 20.
The popular summer show is coming back. The early rounds (before the Hoff & Co. show up) are being held Feb. 7-8 at AmericasMart, 2 W. 235 Williams St. N.W. in downtown Atlanta.
TAKING THE CAKE
In honor of Grant Park’s 126th birthday, local pastry chefs baked a small mountain of cake confections to celebrate the milestone.
At Monday night’s Take the Cake birthday cake competition held at LIT Kitchen in Grant Park, caterer Tony Brewer, Jessicashopsatlanta.com retail guru Jessica Dauler and Grant Park Conservancy board member Beau Grant had the enviable task of tasting the winners first. Out of the 15 entries, pastry chef Joshua John took home the best overall cake award for his three-tier Italian cream creation, Sweet N Sinful scored the best visual award with its five-tier double chocolate cake (complete with Grant Park landmarks), and the best-tasting cake award went to the Laughing Elephant Southern Bakery for its “chocolate density” cake decorated with mallards and an outdoor theme.
Other notables spotted at the birthday soiree: Atlanta Councilwoman Mary Norwood, Kate Atwood of the charity Kate’s Club and Dale DeSena of Taste of Atlanta.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Alan Alda is 73. Singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan (above) is 41. Singer Anthony Hamilton is 38. Singer Joey Fatone of ‘N Sync is 32. Singer Nick Carter of Backstreet Boys is 29. “The Lord of the Rings” actor Elijah Wood is 28.
OVERSCENE
Rapper and Straits restaurateur Ludacris in the studio at KEF Media Associates, cutting a track for a cause. Luda was recording a public service announcement for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s upcoming National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day campaign. We hear the Feb. 7 event will feature nearly two dozen celebs urging others to “Get Educated. Get Tested. Get Treated. And Get Involved.”
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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Pappas still planning to ‘Get Married’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former “Bachelorette” DeAnna Pappas is aware of the irony that she is co-hosting a show called “Get Married,” shot locally and seen on Lifetime every day at 7:30 a.m.
She agreed to do “Get Married” while planning to get hitched to snowboarder Jesse Csincsak — but then she broke up with him in November. Doesn’t this negate the rationale of having her on the show?
“That’s everybody’s No. 1 question,” Pappas tells Buzz. “I don’t think it makes any difference. I love weddings. I love the fashion, the food, the parties.”
She declined to comment about her breakup, though Csincsak himself posted a YouTube video describing the pain he experienced over the split.
Pappas, who still lives in Newnan, recently got back from a USO-type trip to Iraq and Kuwait.
She spent a lot of time talking to soldiers. “I was really curious about those in the first year of marriage, how they’re coping with things being away from home so long,” said Pappas, whose father has been in the Navy since he was 18. She has kept in touch with many of the soldiers through e-mail and her MySpace page. (She said she’ll respond to all e-mails off the getmarried.com Web site or her own.)
Not that military personnel are target “Bachelor” viewers, but she said more people recognized her than she expected: “I’m sure a lot of wives made them watch ‘The Bachelor.’ “
Though Pappas is open to more TV gigs, she said there is one genre she won’t pursue again — reality shows.
TEXT AWAY HUNGER
Volunteers Nelson Vera of Doraville, left, and Beatriz Ordonez of Norcross, put away food delivered by the Atlanta Community Food Bank at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Doraville. (VINO WONG / vwong@ajc.com)
When President Barack Obama asked Americans to participate in the national day of service this month, AT&T employees and volunteers, along with hunger charity Share Our Strength, listened. And on Monday, the Atlanta Community Food Bank received a much-needed delivery of 5,000 pounds of food donations collected by the AT&T and SOS folks. As the economy has worsened, demand has only increased at local food charities like ACFB.
And that’s not all AT&T is doing to help the cause. AT&T representative Dawn Benton tells Buzz there’s still time for you to help via AT&T’s text messaging food drive efforts. Through March 1, when AT&T Wireless customers donate $5 to SOS by simply texting the word “share” to 20222 on their mobile device, AT&T will match all donations up to $100,000.
CELEBRITY DOCKET
Rodney Hill Jr., known as rapper “Rocko the Don,” was sentenced Monday to two days in jail and four days of community service for hitting a young woman in 2007.
DeKalb County Solicitor General Robert James said Hill pleaded no contest to battery in a Feb. 11, 2007, altercation at the Velvet Room. A young woman said Hill grabbed her hair and punched her in the face, causing a black eye.
Superior Court Judge Barbara Mobley ordered Hill to perform 32 hours of community service for the Samuel L. Jones Boys and Girls Club.
Hill will be on probation for a year and must take an anger management course.
ROCKER’S RESPONSE
On the Regular Guys morning show Monday, former Atlanta Braves
player John Rocker discussed the verbal altercation he had with 790/The Zone’s Steak Shapiro at the W Hotel Buckhead opening party last week. Rocker’s account is not quite the same as Shapiro’s.
Shapiro said Rocker was eyeballing him all evening: “How does he know if I’m eyeballing him unless he’s eyeballing me?” Rocker mused.
Rocker said Shapiro came up to him and told him to let it go, to let bygones be bygones.
Rocker said it was actually a “thorned olive branch” because he said Shapiro added, “Maybe you can grow up and act like an adult.”
“That rubbed me the wrong way,” Rocker said. He said no. Shapiro, Rocker continued, said “Figures. Redneck.”
Rocker then went off on him verbally. He didn’t deny hurling a few Jewish-related epithets at Shapiro.
“I may have,” he said. But he said it was just aimed at Shapiro.
Rocker denied he was escorted out, despite what multiple witnesses told Buzz last week.
Hotel reps state that the former ballplayer wasn’t on the guest list for the opening.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor James Cromwell (“Babe”) is 69. Drummer Nick Mason of Pink Floyd is 64. Singer Nedra Talley of The Ronettes is 63. Dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov is 61. Actress Mimi Rogers is 53. TV commentator Keith Olbermann is 50. Actress Bridget Fonda is 45. Actor Alan Cumming (“Spy Kids”) is 44. Singer Mike Patton (Faith No More) is 41. Country singer Tracy Lawrence is 41.
OVERSCENE
Atlanta Falcons owner and Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank and family dining at Stats downtown before attending the Hawks game. Arthur enjoyed the ribs while his children ate steaks cooked medium-well. Also, Al Horford of the Hawks came with some friends and shared appetizers with his group. After a win against the Hawks, the Phoenix Suns’ Shaquille O’Neal and a large entourage of friends popped into a VIP room at Atlantic Station’s Ten Pin Alley to bowl and party with pals. We hear other Ten Pin patrons (presumably not Hawks boosters) cheered his arrival.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, David Simpson 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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Little TV, lots of spaghetti for Ernest Borgnine, 92
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Yes, Ernest Borgnine is still alive and well.
Buzz caught up with him by phone just shy of his 92nd birthday as he was out promoting a Turner Classic Movies “Private Screenings” about himself that airs Monday night at 8 on the Atlanta-based cable channel.
“Call me Ernie,” he said, with his signature avuncular laugh.
On Tim Conway (with whom he worked on “McHale’s Navy” and “SpongeBob SquarePants”): “I love him. I remember the first taping of ‘McHale’s Navy.’ He’s doing lines in the forward part of the boat. The boat suddenly stops. He kept going right over the bow into the water. The man will do anything for a laugh!”
On his biggest paycheck for a film: “My best is $100,000 on several films. When I won that Academy Award [for “Marty” in 1955], I was making $75,000 a picture. I didn’t want to jeopardize my pay, so I just asked for another $25,000. It’s hard to believe people now make $20 million a film!”
His favorite current actor: “That guy in that Tom Hanks film [“Forrest Gump”]. Gary Sinise. He’s a fine actor, real fine actor. He’s a much better actor than television deserves.”
What he watches on TV: “I watch a lot of Discovery Channel. [Laughs.] I don’t watch any television shows. It’s all the same.”
On being 92 and still working as the oldest living man with an Oscar for best actor: “I love my work. I’ve done 200 movies! I may be a little forgetful now and then. That’s what we have film for!”
On his diet: “I can’t eat spinach. Too much vitamin K. But I can eat an awful lot of spaghetti!” [Laughs]
Following his animated “Private Screenings” chat with host Robert Osborne tonight, TCM is devoting its line-up to broadcasting some of Borgnine’s best, including “Marty” and “From Here to Eternity.”
ANGIE STONE IN L.A. TO RECORD NEW CD
All things going as expected, Atlanta transplant and powerhouse R&B singer Angie Stone will be in Los Angeles this week for a three-month stay to record her next CD.
She’ll do so all pampered up, courtesy of the two-day spa treatment she took at Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta, where Buzz caught up with her. Stone also found a moment to reconnect with her husband-to-be, whom she met at Four Seasons. “You know, I try to stay out of my personal life but the Four Seasons has a special place for me and my significant other. So yes,” she added smiling as he looked on from a magazine, “this visit is serving many purposes.”
Before the Grammy nominee headed to her next interview, she shared what direction she wants to go with her fifth CD: “It’s something I’ve never done before because I’m a moody person, and a lot of my songs are very hit-home-based. Or moods. But I kind of want a more uptempo album this time around.”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Sports announcer-actor Bob Uecker is 74. Actor Scott Glenn is 70. Singer Jean Knight is 66. Actor David Strathairn is 60. Singer Lucinda Williams is 56. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen is 54. Comedian Ellen DeGeneres is 51. Gospel singer Kirk Franklin (below) is 39.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Sonia Murray and news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Vile mouth gets Rocker thrown out
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former Atlanta Braves player John Rocker was ejected from the W Buckhead hotel’s grand opening late Thursday night after verbally assaulting local sports talker Steak Shapiro.
Hotel security guards escorted Rocker from the premises after he got into a screaming match and hurled ethnic slurs at 790 the Zone’s Shapiro upstairs in the hotel’s Whiskey Blue nightclub, a spokeswoman said.
According to witnesses at the party, Rocker insulted Shapiro repeatedly during the altercation, using various vulgarisms.
Over the years, Shapiro on his show has publicly taken Rocker to task numerous times for his behavior.
Nine years ago this month, Rocker was embroiled in a national controversy after an interview with Sports Illustrated in which he made statements about playing in New York. In the article, he slammed foreigners, gays and the city generally.
“Basically, last night, John proved he was everything I’ve said he was over the years,” Shapiro said Friday. “I saw him staring me up and down. I told him, ‘John, let’s be civil here, that was all a long time ago.’ He told me, ‘It wasn’t that long ago, mother [expletive]. And right away, he pulled out the ‘Jew’ card.”
Whiskey Blue representative Juliet Horn confirmed that Rocker was escorted out of the nightclub after making “inappropriate comments to one of our guests.”
Whiskey Blue owner Rande Gerber was at the hotel for the opening.
Shapiro was a guest of Mit Shah, one of the hotel’s developers. It was immediately unclear how Rocker gained entrance into the club. A hotel rep said Rocker was not on the guest list.
The hotel’s Market restaurant general manager A.D. Allushi said he got between the men in hopes of defusing the argument.
“But I’ll be honest, I only come up to John’s chest,” Allushi said Friday. “Both of those guys are a lot bigger than me. I’ve known John for many years since he was a customer of mine at Bluepointe. He’s always been a very cordial guy. I think last night had more to do with [Rocker and Shapiro’s] past history.”
On Friday, Rocker did not immediately reply to an e-mailed request for comment.
CELEBS COME OUT FOR HOTEL’S DEBUT
Hundreds of other non-slur hurling, well-attired Atlantans had a grand time Thursday night, walking the purple carpet into the hotel’s cozy Living Room lobby designed by “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” celeb designer Thom Filicia. Among the TV stars flown in for the debut in addition to Filicia: “One Tree Hill” actress Sophia Bush, shimmering in a gold dress; “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” actress Michelle Trachtenberg (who also had a memorable multi-episode story arc as arch villainess Georgina Sparks last season on “Gossip Girl” and word is, Georgina might be returning to the CW hit show); and MTV’s “The City” reality show star Olivia Palermo.
And natch, NeNe Leakes, Kim Zolciak and Sheree Whitfield, the dignity-deprived divas from Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” were in attendance, basking in their remaining 15 minutes of fame (which, according to the clock on the wall at Buzz Central, is now on minute 14…).
Whiskey Blue impresario Gerber also attracted attention. We noted several clusters of ladies, sipping lemon martinis, suitably content just to stare at Cindy Crawford’s handsome hubby while he chatted with others. In the next room, guests were busy nibbling on treats in chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s seductively lit Market restaurant.
Atlanta Hawks player Zaza Pachulia and his attractive date almost managed to sneak past us undetected (no small feat, given that the center stands 6 feet, 11 inches). Pachulia was dashing in a tailored gray suit and studious black-framed eyeglasses. Atlanta fashion designer Mychael Knight was also nudging the fashion envelope, pairing a white cardigan sweater with a chic bow tie.
Buckhead Coalition president and former Atlanta Mayor Sam Massell was also there to officially welcome the business to his section of the city.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Saturday: Actor Ernest Borgnine is 92. Singer Aaron Neville is 68. Singer Neil Diamond is 68. Actor Ed Helms (“The Office”) is 34. Actress Mischa Barton (“The O.C.”) is 23.
Sunday: Journalist Edwin Newman is 90. Actor Dean Jones is 78. Blues singer Etta James is 71. Actress Jenifer Lewis (“Meet the Browns,” “Madea’s Family Reunion”) is 52. Actress Ana Ortiz (“Ugly Betty”) is 38. Guitarist Matt Odmark of Jars of Clay is 35. Singer Alicia Keys (below) is 28.
EXPECTING
Collective Soul rocker bros Ed and Dean Roland also attended the W opening, celebrating with Ed’s gorgeous wife, Michaeline. The Rolands were confirming to well-wishing friends that Ed and Michaeline are, indeed, expecting a baby this year.
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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New Brave will show how to deal
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When Braves fans get their first gander at Derek Lowe tonight at the Diamond Gala benefiting the Atlanta Braves Foundation, the ace pitcher just acquired in a four-year, $60 million deal will be, well, dealing.
But at 6 feet, 6 inches tall, the former Los Angeles Dodger won’t exactly be hard to miss behind the blackjack table at the casino-themed fund-raiser at the Intercontinental in Buckhead.
“I just hope I don’t mess things up too bad at dealing!” Lowe told Buzz during an early AM interview Thursday.
“I’m not real great at playing blackjack either. But it’ll be fun to be in a relaxed atmosphere with my new teammates and the fans there in Atlanta.”
Thankfully, the Braves are paying the amazingly consistent 35-year-old to throw balls across the plate. And while the deal came together quickly this month, Lowe isn’t spending a lot of time gazing in the rearview mirror.
“It’s exciting to be able to play for a team I wanted to be a part of,” he said. “Hopefully, I can help get the Braves back to their winning ways.”
Lowe also is energized at the prospects of helping out any baby Braves who might come to him for advice as well. He says he thoroughly enjoyed working with Dodger pitching upstarts Chad Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw while on the left coast.
“I don’t know everything either, so hopefully I’ll be able to learn a few things as well.”
Plus, Lowe realizes he’s been fortunate as a player to be able to learn from a legend like Joe Torre and now veteran Braves manager Bobby Cox.
“Being on a team with managers of that caliber is amazing,” he reflects. “They get instant respect. I’m looking forward to learning the Bobby Cox way of playing the game.”
In addition to his arm, Lowe also is bringing something else to the injury-prone Braves: zero sick days. The pitcher has never been on the disabled list. How do you manage that?
“I can’t really put my finger on it,” he explains. “I just take care of my body. Plus, I didn’t play a lot of baseball in high school. I wasn’t one of those kids who had a baseball in my hand immediately. I had pitched less than 100 games when I was drafted. My plan was to play college basketball.”
On Saturday, fans will have another opportunity to hang with Lowe and his new teammates at the team’s annual AutographFest at Turner Field, another benefit for the Braves Foundation.
For ticket info and details on both events: www.braves.com.
USING BUBBLY TO BREAK OUT
Former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell has found his way into the pages of Forbes magazine this month. The former politician, convicted in 2006 of tax evasion, is featured in reporter Kai Falkenberg’s story, “Time Off For Bad Behavior (White collar offenders can get a year off their terms for doing rehab. Funny how many suddenly discover they have abuse problems).”
Whoops.
Yes, the article faithfully recounts how Campbell claimed to be an alcoholic (a result of all those taxing mayoral toasts, you see). In his AJC reporting last year, our colleague Bill Rankin memorably wrote that Campbell described himself in prison documents as a “champagne alcoholic.” Falkenberg’s story recounts Campbell’s antics, along with folks like former ImClone exec Samuel Waksai, a convicted insider trader, who did successfully receive a shorter sentence after completing a prison rehab program.
The strategy didn’t work as well for Campbell, who was due to be released four months early until his story went flat with feds and he was placed back in the pokey. Campbell was finally released last fall.
HAPPY NEW YEAR AT STEEL
Interested in dining with a dragon? Friday night, Steel Restaurant and Lounge in Midtown is ringing in the Chinese New Year with a traditional lion and dragon dance courtesy of young people from The Chien Hong School of Kung Fu (any money placed inside the traditional red envelopes and fed to the dragon goes directly to the school as a fund-raiser).
This week, Buzz was at the eatery as chef Chris Maher rolled out samples from his three-course Chinese New Year menu, highlighted by prawn and cilantro steamed dumplings, Chinese longevity noodles, a stir fry chicken dish with chilies (that a fire-breathing dragon would love, incidentally) and a deliciously sweet sea bass with ginger wilted spinach. A dessert course features banana egg rolls. The three courses are an economical $35 per person. The New Year dance will unfurl tonight, Saturday and Monday night at 8:30.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress Chita Rivera (above) is 76. Singer Anita Pointer of the Pointer Sisters is 61. Singer-guitarist Robin Zander of Cheap Trick is 56. Singer Anita Baker is 51. Actress Tiffani Thiessen (“Beverly Hills, 90210”) is 35. Bassist Nick Harmer (below), of Death Cab For Cutie is 34.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I don’t want to hear from third, fourth or fifth cousins. They can just send me a text message!”
Shocked “Doubt” supporting actress nominee VIOLA DAVIS on “Good Morning America,” on the flurry of phone calls she was about to receive Thursday after the unexpected Oscar nomination
Contributing: News services
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Make a bid on Carter’s oil paintings
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After enduring temps in the 20s at Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration Tuesday morning, former President Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter might just be looking forward to this year’s Carter Center benefit.
Carter Center reps tell Buzz this year’s Winter Weekend Celebration will be Feb. 7 in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Buzz readers may recall that last year’s annual fundraiser featured a hard maple wood bench handcrafted by the president that ended up fetching $300,000.
This year’s signature items show off yet another creative facet of the renaissance president from Plains. Supporters have the opportunity to bid on a series of original artwork painted by Carter, including “Building and Coke Sign” (an oil on canvas, 16 by 12 inches, painted in October 2004).
Of the building from his hometown featured in the work, the president explains: “The Coca-Cola Co. repainted this old sign for me.”
To our art-untrained eyes, however, the classic Coke sign is a dead-ringer for the one painted on the side of Manuel’s Tavern in Poncey Highland, a longtime Carter family favorite.
Another painting spotlights the farm bell depicted in Carter’s best-selling memoir “An Hour Before Daylight.”
Among the other one-of-a-kind treasures the Carters plan to part with:
• The only baseball in the world hand-signed by five U.S. presidents (Carter, Gerald Ford, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush).
• A certificate commemorating the upcoming 40th anniversary (July 21, 2009) of the first man on the moon, signed by Apollo astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins and Neil Armstrong.
• A football signed by 22 Heisman Trophy winners including Sam Bradford, the 2008 Heisman winner.
• A fly-fishing trip with the Carters at Brigadoon Lodge in North Georgia.
As always, bidders can get an early looksee at the items via the cartercenter.org Web site at www.cartercenter.org/
HAWKS ON TWITTER
Ever feel like you’re being followed? Paranoia aside, PDA-addicted Atlanta Hawks fans now have a new tool at their disposal to keep up with the team. You can follow (and potentially entice the team to follow you) the latest lineup changes, weekly podcast alerts and injury reports via the team’s profile on Twitter (search: atlanta_hawks). Official Hawks blogger Micah Hart (hawks.portspaces.com/hawksbasketblog) is supplying the informative, whimsical updates for the social networking site.
And according to Hart’s update Wednesday, the team’s parent company, Atlanta Spirit, was celebrating Tuesday night’s win on the ice with its NHL team. Twittered Hart: “Thrashers won three straight so free doughnuts this morning at the office.”
And while that particular entry might be a bit on the mundane side, fans unable to make it out to games tell us they are coming to appreciate Hart’s excited postings during games. Basically, he supplies updates. They pretend to pay attention to their spouses.
STRONGER SIGNAL FOR SOUTH 107
South 107 is about to get a signal giddyap.
Last week, the Federal Communications Commission approved a major signal upgrade for the Rome-based country station. The strength increase, which will take effect this year, will enable the station’s signal to cover more of metro Atlanta.
Currently, South 107 can make it into Cobb County but has trouble inside the Perimeter. The tower will remain in Kingston, between Rome and Cartersville, about 55 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta. But it will penetrate about 20 miles farther into Atlanta (as well as Chattanooga).
Keith Daniels, operations manager, said South 107, even in its punched-up form, will continue to focus its energies on northwest Georgia and won’t necessarily compete directly with Kicks 101.5, which emanates out of downtown Atlanta.
South 107 also has picked up NASCAR radio coverage from 106.7, which used to be a country station but switched to oldies nearly a year ago.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress Piper Laurie is 77. Actor John Hurt is 69. Singer Steve Perry (Journey) is 60. Actress Linda Blair is 50. Actress Diane Lane is 44. Rap DJ-actor Jazzy Jeff is 44. Actor Balthazar Getty is 34. Actor Christopher Kennedy Masterson (“Malcolm in the Middle”) is 29. “7th Heaven” actress Beverley Mitchell is 28.
STORK REPORT
It’s a boy!
Country singer Jo Dee Messina and her husband are announcing the birth of their first child.
Craig Campbell, the singer’s spokesman, says Noah Roger Deffenbaugh was born Monday afternoon at a Nashville-area hospital. He weighed 6 pounds, 15 ounces. Messina, 38, and Chris Deffenbaugh were married in October 2007.
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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Star president: Obama sells
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If there were any doubt about whether President Obama has achieved icon status, go no farther than Underground Atlanta, where Obama shirts were stacked alongside those depicting Jimi Hendrix and Marvin Gaye.
And among the glittery shirts were ones saying, “Barack Star,” or simply, “President.”
But perhaps most telling was the small line forming outside of the shop named Best of Atlanta. The attraction? A life-sized cardboard cutout of the president.
Stephanie Rushin of College Park and Jerome Banks of Norcross paused to get their shot with the newly inaugurated president.
They had just watched the inauguration at Centennial Olympic Park when the two-dimensional president caught their eye.
Store clerk Adam Gamlouch said sales of Obama merchandise had slowed after a busy Monday. The life-size image of Obama, however, has been the real draw.
But store clerk Fanke Banjo in African Pride thinks the shirts, posters and pins will sell for the next four years.
“It’s history,” she said. “So everyone will want to buy it, then buy the new edition.”
Meanwhile, out in Barbara Asher Square near the Five Points MARTA station, Dwight Lewis of Alpharetta (at right) was selling everything from $25 Obama sweatshirts to $3 magnets.
“Everything’s selling,” he said around 1 p.m. on Tuesday. “Today’s been real good since I’ve been open at 7:30 a.m.”
But perhaps it was mobile vendor Marshall Williams who was having the best day. The West End resident had already sold 150 Obama pins by 1 p.m. on Tuesday.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress Ann Wedgeworth (“Evening Shade”) is 75. Blues singer Snooks Eaglin is 73. Singer Mac Davis is 67. Actress Jill Eikenberry is 62. Singer-songwriter Billy Ocean is 59. Actor Robby Benson is 53. Actress Geena Davis is 53. Actress Charlotte Ross (“NYPD Blue”) is 41. Drummer Mark Trojanowski of Sister Hazel is 39. Singer Cat Power is 37. Singer Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) of the Spice Girls is 33. Singer Nokio of
Dru Hill is 30.
EX-BRAVES COACH JOINS 680 THE FAN
Leo Mazzone, former Braves pitching coach and lately a baseball analyst on national TV, has signed on to the morning show on sports station 680 The Fan with Christopher Rude and Perry Laurentino. Mazzone was a key member of the Braves when they were a playoff team. He left in 2005 for a short stint with the Baltimore Orioles and now lives in Roswell.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Rachel Tobin Ramos 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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Inauguration Buzz: Free to dance ‘At Last’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It was perhaps only fitting that pop star and actress Beyonce serenaded the nation’s first African-American president with a faithful interpretation of the Etta James standard “At Last” as President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama glided through their first inaugural dance together Tuesday night.
At the Neighborhood Ball, in Washington, the president looked dapper in white tie while the first lady wore a shimmering white, one-shouldered, floor-length gown. Designed by Jason Wu, it featured a ruched bodice, fluffy appliques with white floral details and sparkly beading.
Minutes after the slow dance, the pace picked up as Shakira, Mary J. Blige, Faith Hill and Mariah Carey sang along with Stevie Wonder to his “Sign, Sealed, Delivered.”
The Obamas were due to dance through 10 such events throughout the evening.
Michelle Obama started the day warming up the chilly Washington weather with a lemongrass-yellow coat and matching dress made of Swiss wool lace, created by Isabel Toledo, the Cuban-born American designer.
“We’re all grateful for this opportunity, and we don’t even have a PR person!” said Toledo, 48, who has been making clothes in New York for 25 years. Toledo didn’t know for certain that Obama had selected her ensemble until she turned on the television Tuesday morning.
“I wanted to pick a very optimistic color, that had sunshine,” she said. “I wanted her to feel charmed, and in that way would charm everybody.”
The nation’s new first lady paired the outfit with green gloves from J. Crew and green shoes.
Style.com executive editor Nicole Phelps raved: A “classic choice — rather conservative compared to some of the things she’s worn so far.”
HAND GESTURE OF THE DAY
White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel greeted one well-wisher Tuesday morning by placing his thumb on his nose and wiggling his fingers. Alas, the gesture was captured by live feed television cameras and beamed around the globe.
MYSTERY MEMENTO
So what was inside that beautifully wrapped white-and-red box Michelle Obama handed Laura Bush at the presidential coffee klatch Tuesday morning? According to the first lady’s press office, it was a pen and a blank journal to aid Bush as she pens her memoirs. Bush received a reported $1.6 million advance on the tome due out next year via Scribner.
STYLE-WATCHING
• Laura Bush in a dove-gray skirt suit and matching coat.
• Malia Obama in a double-breasted periwinkle-blue coat with a blue-ribbon bow at the waist, from Crewcuts by J. Crew.
• Sasha Obama wearing a pink coat with orange scarf and satin belt, from Crewcuts by J. Crew; with a coral-colored dress peeking out at the hem.
• Joe Biden in a bright blue tie and a navy Hickey Freeman suit he bought at the Nordstrom’s in King of Prussia, Pa.
• Jill Biden wearing bright red coat and high black leather boots.
HAT TRICKS
Tonya Lewis Lee, wife of Morehouse College grad and filmmaker Spike Lee, was not taking any responsibility for what was on her hubby’s head as the couple braved temps in the 20s in Washington. Taking a gander at Lee’s white New York Yankees cap with matching fur-lined earflaps, Lewis Lee told ABC News: “Don’t blame me for that. That was all him.” The director, well-known for starting his movies with “A Spike Lee Joint,” shugged and said: “It’s my Yankees winter joint.”
QUOTES OF THE DAY
“How good-looking is my wife?” — PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, at the first inaugural ball
“I’m playing Madea. He’s in the White House. It’s a whole different story.” — TYLER PERRY, Atlanta director and film studio owner, on the differences between him and Barack Obama, on “Entertainment Tonight”
OVERSCENE
With fame and fortune apparently comes another perk: A front-row seat to history.
Smokey Robinson, rapper/actor/restaurateur Sean Diddy Combs and Denzel Washington made it to the speakers’ box on the inaugural platform. Bruce Springsteen was there with his wife, Patti Scialfa, not far from director/actor Christopher Guest and his wife, Jamie Lee Curtis. Boxing great Muhammad Ali had a seat, as did actor John Cusack and director Stephen Spielberg.
Leonardo DiCaprio whipped out his own camera, while Magic Johnson patiently posed for photographs.
Dustin Hoffman signed autographs for fans. Actress Susan Sarandon was spotted with her director/sig other Tim Robbins .
Oprah Winfrey was alongside steady Stedman Graham.
But by day’s end, at least one pop performer was pooped. Singer Sheryl Crow, doing a sound check for a performance Tuesday night at the Midwestern Ball, said she was homesick.
“I have not seen my child in four days. I’m miserable,” she told her band between songs.
News services contributed to this article.
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For Jim Belushi, Blues Brothers gig will be a spiritual affair
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Actor Jim Belushi can’t wait to rock the house once again at The Tabernacle downtown. Atlantans will recall as The Blues Brothers, Belushi, along with founding member Dan Aykroyd, memorably played two nights at the historic place of worship during the 1996 Summer Olympics.
The duo, along with Belushi’s Sacred Hearts Band is returning to the venue Feb. 7 to raise money for Hillels of Georgia, the Jewish student union. Aykroyd and Belushi are acquainted with local parents who help run the nonprofit to enrich the lives of university students.
For Belushi, returning to the Tabernacle is a spiritual experience.
“Playing that place is just amazing,” Belushi told Buzz. “That big organ. I truly felt a spiritual thing while we were on that stage. I can’t wait to experience that again.”
Belushi has a couple of distinct memories from those Blues Brothers gigs here in ‘96. For example, backstage, he got into a fight with legendary Stax guitarist Steve Cropper.
“When a Chicago boy and a Memphis boy square off, nobody wins,” Belushi recalled laughing. “Everything’s cool now though. We’re very good friends these days.”
He also recalls “Blues Brothers 2000” actor John Goodman (pictured with Aykroyd and Belushi above) turning white backstage.
“It was so hot in there, I thought John was going to pass out,” he remembered. “We got him some water and he was fine.”
In addition to the concert, Belushi and Aykroyd will also host a motorcycle ride from Marietta to downtown on Feb. 7 at 3 p.m. For a $25 donation, attendees will get to participate in the ride and get access to the band’s afternoon sound check.
The Blues Brothers Atlanta reunion officially kicks off this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. with a screening of the original 1980 flick, “The Blues Brothers” at The Plaza Theatre in Midtown. Tickets are $8 and the Blues Brothers Mobile will greet movie fans. The original film starred Belushi’s late brother, John Belushi.
Belushi concedes it took some convincing from his brother’s bandmate to convince him to join The Blues Brothers 14 years ago.
“Danny told me, ‘John willed this to you.’ I told him, ‘Danny, I saw John’s will.’ He said, ‘Well, this is a will he gave only me.’ Finally, I said, ‘Well, if you don’t have a problem with this, I don’t know why I should!’”
For tickets and more info: www.bluesbrothersatl.com and plazaatlanta.com.
‘GHOSTS’ AT THE AQUARIUM?
When you suspect you’ve got ghosts, it’s always good to get a second opinion. The Sci Fi Channel’s “Ghost Hunters” will be in Atlanta soon to check on reported other-wordly apparitions at the Georgia Aquarium. They’ll be looking at “Titanic Aquatic,” the exhibit the downtown attraction is running about the 20th century ill-fated boating accident, as well as the area around the construction of its dolphin exhibit. This is the second time the fish tank has been investigated for things that go bump in the night. Aquarium officials brought in Roswell Georgia Paranormal Investigations in October. The group said it recorded ethereal voices and sightings of shadowy figures roaming darkened corridors. The aquarium tells Buzz “Ghost Hunters” will film its investigation and unveil its findings in a national broadcast later this year.
STUDENT’S FASHION DESIGN TO AIR ON TV
Grady High School fashion student Perri Campis has her TiVo set for Wednesday morning’s broadcast of 11 Alive’s “Atlanta & Company.” That’s when co-host Holly Firfer is set to give the colorful outfit Campis designed for last weekend’s Doggies on the Catwalk benefit at Grady its television debut when she wears it on-air.
Last week’s fashion show spotlighted original fashions designed by the school’s Urban Couture students for the participating local celebs and their canines.
It might be time for a return visit from Animal Planet “It’s Me or the Dog” trainer Victoria Stilwell for Firfer and her husband, Shawn Arnold. The pair, along with problematic pooch Kashmir were featured on an episode last fall.
On Friday night, Kashmir yanked Firfer into the miniature illuminated dog houses on the catwalk, knocking the roof off a few of the structures.
“This is why I’m not having kids!” Firfer told us as Kashmir playfully licked us.
Our advice?
Firfer should hand Kashmir over to fellow model, Action News anchor Monica Pearson. With a single command, Pearson’s meticulously trained retired police dog, Chief, lay down on the runway while his owner gave her student designer Dane White a big hug.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Slim Whitman is 85. Actress Patricia Neal is 83. Comedian Arte Johnson is 80. Director David Lynch is 63. Guitarist Paul Stanley of Kiss is 57. TV host Bill Maher is 53. Actor James Denton (“Desperate Housewives”) is 46. Actor Rainn Wilson (“The Office”) is 43. Singer Edwin McCain is 39. Actor Skeet Ulrich (“Jericho”) is 39.
UNCOUPLING
Atlanta producer Jermaine Dupri and his sig other Janet Jackson from their deals at Island Def Jam Records. Jackson has parted ways from the label saying it failed to properly promote her last album. Dupri has exited as the label’s president of urban music. “It was a situation where it felt very stagnant to me,” he tells essence.com. “It wasn’t giving me the open door that I thought it was going to. It wasn’t aggressive enough and it was a big letdown for me.”
Contributing: Leon Stafford 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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Bow Wow takes stage in D.C.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta rapper-actor Bow Wow has signed on as the only hip-hop artist to perform at the “Kids’ Inaugural: We Are The Future,” Tuesday night at the Verizon Center in Washington that incoming first lady Michelle Obama and her daughters Malia and Sasha will host for the children of military families.
“Awww man! I can’t even explain what an honor it is to be asked to perform at such an important event during such a historic time,” Bow Wow told Buzz, adding that he will perform “Marco Polo” and “Shortie Like Mine.” “I keep telling people that I’m already looking forward to the day that I get to look back and tell my future kids what it was like to be a part of the change we’re all about to experience.”
Fans can see the “Kids’ Inaugural” concert on the Disney Channel tonight from 8 to 9:30. It will be simulcast on Radio Disney and streamed on Disney.com after the telecast.
Atlanta R&B band Brick has been asked to perform for “The Africa and International Friends Inaugural Ball” Tuesday night at the Gaylord Hotel — along with Patti LaBelle and The O’Jays — according to Brick lead vocalist/saxophonist/flutist Jimmy Brown. (President-elect Barack Obama’s late father was born in Kenya.)
“Of course it’s an honor,” said Brown, whose group is known for such mid-’70s singles as “Dazz,” “Dusic” and “Ain’t Gonna Hurt Nobody.” “The Inaugural Committee called our promoter about two weeks ago; and I mean, why would we say no?”
Fellow Atlantan Usher and local Grammy winner Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland were also in the nation’s capital Sunday night to perform at “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial,” an inaugural special live on HBO. SEE PHOTOS
CNN TO REPLAY ‘DREAM’ SPEECH
Today, on the eve of President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration, television viewers will have rare access to history as CNN will replay the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in its entirety.
The speech, which the civil rights leader delivered on Aug. 28, 1963, will air at noon today during the network’s “From MLK to Today” special from 9 a.m. to
4 p.m. CNN anchors Soledad O’Brien, Don Lemon and political analyst Roland Martin will host the special from the National Mall.
Federal courts ruled in 1999 that the oft-quoted speech did not constitute “general publication,” giving the King family the rights to it and the ability to charge a fee for redistribution. However, the family, known for closely guarding King’s image and documents, is not requiring CNN to pay licensing fees for its use, according to CNN spokeswoman Meryl Conant.
FOR THE KID KEEPS ON GIVING
Christmas is long over, but Atlanta-based nonprofit For the Kid in All of Us kept the giving going recently by donating $65,000 to
13 North Georgia organizations and two local elementary schools.
Among those receiving donations Friday were Atlanta Public School’s Dobbs Elementary School, DeKalb County’s Hightower Elementary School, and agencies including Sheltering Arms for Kids, CHRIS Kids, AID Atlanta and YouthPride.
The donation followed last month’s donation of more than 5,000 toys and gift cards to kids in need by the group, gathered at its annual Toy Party last month.
“It was a tough economic year but I couldn’t be more proud of our accomplishments,” said Frank Bragg, president of For the Kid in All of Us. “The toys, gift cards and our year-end cash donation help all of these schools and organizations enrich the lives of the children in their care.”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress Jean Stapleton is 86. Actress Tippi Hedren is 79. Movie director Richard Lester is 77. Singer Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers is 70. Actor-singer Michael Crawford is 67. Country singer Dolly Parton (below) is 63. TV chef Paula Deen is 62. Singer Martha Davis of The Motels is 58. Actor Desi Arnaz Jr. is 56. Actress Katey Sagal (“Married …With Children”) is 52. Actress Drea de Matteo (“Joey,” “The Sopranos”) is 37.
Contributing: Katie Leslie, 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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Play moment strikes chord for local actor
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
2004 Collins Hill High School graduate John Edwards, who portrays Duane, one of Seaweed’s ridiculously talented singing and dancing pals in the touring production of “Hairspray,” which runs through Sunday at the Cobb Energy Centre, will never forget where he was on election night.
Onstage in Canada, the cast had just completed integrating “The Corny Collins Show” in 1962 Baltimore and performed the hit musical’s rousing call-to-action finale “You Can’t Stop the Beat.” After the curtain call, the cast got backstage and gazed up at their new president-elect, Barack Obama, on TV.
“Doing that number and then getting the news that Barack Obama was our new president was just a beautiful moment,” the Suwanee resident told Buzz on Friday.
While he’s way too young to have experienced it personally, Edwards says bringing the inspirational musical to his and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s hometown for the King holiday weekend on the eve of Obama’s inauguration is a powerful thing.
” ‘Hairspray’ was the first Broadway show I ever saw in New York,” he says. “To actually be in the show, especially right now at this moment in history, is such an honor. The show is so much fun, but I also love the message we’re putting out there for young people. It’s a show about tolerance; it tells kids to fight for your dream and that it’s OK to be different.”
Edwards says the piece of dialogue that hits him hardest each night is when Seaweed (singer and dancer Christian White) tells his little sister Inez (Marsena Eunice Bowers), who wants to dance on the segregated TV show: “There’s us and there’s them. That’s just the way it is.”
This week, Edwards’ own little sisters and major “Hairspray” fans Jacqueline and Joy Edwards and Jada Causey, along with brother Jeremy Edwards, got to see their brother bust down racial barriers along with the rest of the cast.
“This is the first time they’re seeing it live,” he says. “They have the soundtrack and the DVD of the movie. I was going to take them to Broadway to see it. Instead, I got to experience it here at home with them!”
CHEF PEACOCK IS D.C.-BOUND
Buzz caught up with Scott Peacock as he was picking up a box of Maldon sea salt at Cook’s Warehouse.
“I’m going to Washington D.C. this evening, and I don’t want to go looking for it there,” said the Watershed chef and go-to Southern food expert.
The occasion? A $500-a-plate dinner that Peacock will cook in a private Georgetown home for guests celebrating the inauguration of Barack Obama. This dinner, one of 12 around the nation’s capital, was spearheaded by Alice Waters and organized by the group Art.Food.Hope as a fundraiser for D.C.-area green markets and a local food bank. Other participating chefs include Craft’s Tom Colicchio and Rick Bayless, whose haute Mexican restaurant, Topolobampo, is a Chicago favorite of the president-elect.
“We were told to prepare a casual three-course meal like we’d prepare for friends and family,” said Peacock, who was bringing flour milled from a colonial-era cultivar of wheat and rendered lard to make ham biscuits. Also on the menu: roast pork, braised greens, glazed sweet potatoes, field peas and corn bread. The 40-some guests will include novelist Michael Chabon, author and Decatur native Roy Blount Jr. and musician T-Bone Burnett along with his wife, “Thelma and Louise” screenwriter Callie Khouri. Students from the Sidwell Friends school (that Malia and Sasha Obama now attend) will serve. They’ll want to snag some of Peacock’s banana pudding for dessert. “I thought about an apple dessert because apples are local and more in season, but banana pudding just felt right,” said the chef.
DOOLEY, NIXON HIT THE HIGH WATER
Look for a legendary Georgia Bulldog among the sailing vessels today at the Atlanta Boat Show at the Georgia World Congress Center downtown. Yup, Vince Dooley will be there to greet fans and sign his latest book, “Dooley’s Play Book: The 34 Most Memorable Plays in Georgia Football History.”
Former Atlanta Brave Otis Nixon also will be on hand to hang with Braves fans and to drum up support for his second annual Fishing for Cancer Tournament, a benefit for the Strikeout Foundation scheduled for Sept. 26. Nixon, who played for the Braves from 1991-1993 and in 1999, is an active boating enthusiast. For more information: www.atlantaboatshow.com and www.otisnixon.com.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Saturday: Actress Betty White 87. Actor James Earl Jones is 78. Talk-show host Maury Povich is 70. Actor Jim Carrey is 47. Actor Naveen Andrews (“Lost”) is 40. Musician Kid Rock is 38. Actor Freddy Rodriguez (“Six Feet Under”) is 34. Singer Ray J is 28.
Sunday: Actor-director Kevin Costner is 54. Actor Jesse L. Martin (“Law and Order”) is 40. Singer Jonathan Davis of Korn is 38.
OVERSCENE
Buckhead’s own Souper Jenny business owner Jenny Levison in New York, whipping up a batch of her famous My Dad’s Turkey Chili live Friday on “Today” with co-hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb while promoting her new tome, “Souper Jenny Cooks.” Aside from allowing her to add in the raw turkey, Levison did her level best to keep the kitchen-phobic Gifford away from her pots. Gazing into a pot of cooked turkey, Gifford exclaimed at one point: “I thought it was cheese at first!”
Contributing: John Kessler 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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Local celebs, pooches will dress in style
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Psst, Monica Pearson: We got a gander at your dress for tonight’s Doggies on the Catwalk fashion show at Grady High School in Midtown. And girl, you’re gonna look good.
The benefit, featuring Atlanta celebs and their pets in matching frocks created by Grady High School teacher Vincent Martinez’s dizzyingly talented Urban Couture fashion students, hits the high school gym tonight at 7. The evening is a fund-raiser for Pets Are Loving Support.
Student Dané White, 18, was adding ruffles to Pearson’s aqua dress when we popped by this week. White said a meeting with the veteran WSB-TV anchorwoman helped inspire the modification.
“Normally, I think of newscasters as being kind of snobby or stuffy,” White explained. “But she’s not like that at all. Meeting her, I got a real sense of her personality. Plus, she doesn’t mind wearing color, which is good.”
Student designer JoDeanah Noble, 17, had a major obstacle when working on her dress for 2009 Miss Georgia USA, Lilburn’s Kimberly Ann Gittings. She didn’t know the measurements — since Gittings hadn’t yet been crowned — when she got the assignment last year.
“I made some alterations,” Noble explained. “It’s easier to take something in than to try and make something larger.”
While tonight’s fashion show features some of the city’s best-known women in media, including Pearson, “Atlanta & Company” co-host Holly Firfer, Dave FM’s Mara Davis, former Atlanta Peach publisher Elizabeth Schulte Roth and “Better Mornings” reporter Corinna Allen, we hear one participant was proving to be quite the D-I-V-A.
It seems CliqueAtlanta.com founder Tonya Ellerby is deathly afraid of dogs and had some misgivings about her royal blue frock’s hemline.
Ellerby’s designer, Vogue Lee-McWilliams, was consulting with Martinez on modifying the length.
“These are real-life problems that designers really run into, and there’s usually a deadline involved,” Martinez explained. And Lee-McWilliams’ smart solution more than lived up to her stylish first name. Ellerby will no doubt love it.
And on the chance she doesn’t?
Well, Martinez has booked male model Jay McCracken and a drowsy Jack Russell to escort the social scene Web site creator down the catwalk.
For info or tickets: www.palsatlanta.org or 404-876-7257.
BOORTZ ON LINE ONE
As usual, when Donna Boortz rang her syndicated Libertarian yakker hubby Neal Boortz Tuesday, his BlackBerry Storm cheerfully chirped a calypso ringtone.
The problem: The New York Times best-selling author was seated next to President George W. Bush in the Oval Office at the time.
“We were instructed to turn off our phones,” Boortz told Buzz.
“But I had been taking pictures in the Roosevelt Room, and I accidentally left it on.
“Later, I apologized to the president and he told me, ‘You should have handed it to me. I would have answered it for you.’ “
During the informal visit, Boortz and a handful of other personally invited guests of the prez discussed everything from the economy to terrorism.
It marked his third visit during Bush’s tenure. One reason Boortz was snapping a few pics? He likely won’t be back in those hallowed halls over the next four years.
Quipped Boortz: “I don’t expect to be invited back.”
The WSB-AM broadcaster concedes it was a no-brainer when he had to decide whether to risk ticking off the leader of the free world or his wife.
“Listen, he’s got one week left,” he reasoned. “But I’ve got the rest of my life with my wife!”
SEVEN YEARS OF SMOOTH OVER
Lovers of Dave Koz and Boney Jones are crying in their green apple martinis today. Smooth Jazz 107.5 is going away after seven years.
Jocks Greg Fitzgerald and Dave Kosh have been let go, confirmed market manager Tim Davies. But Davies wouldn’t say when 107.5 will switch to a new format.
The most logical move would be taking Grown Folks 102.5, which is on a very weak signal, to 107.5, a significantly stronger one.
At 102.5, Steve Harvey and Michael Baisden currently draw huge numbers, despite the wimpy signal, but could deliver even bigger ones on 107.5.
“It’s a nationwide epidemic,” said Bob Baldwin, a local jazz artist who had hosted a “new urban jazz” show on Saturday nights on the station.
In the past two years, smooth jazz has disappeared off the FM airwaves in New York; Washington, D.C.; Baltimore; and Philadelphia, to name a few.
“The whole East Coast,” Baldwin said, “smooth jazz has become a dying art.”
Locally, ratings for Smooth Jazz, which blends contemporary jazz with R&B, have slipped the past two years.
In the most recent monthly numbers provided by Arbitron for December, the station was ranked 19th among 25- to 54-year-olds and 16th place overall.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Director John Carpenter is 61. Actress-dancer Debbie Allen is 59. Singer Sade is 50. Singer Maxine Jones of En Vogue is 43. Supermodel Kate Moss is 35. Guitarist Nick Valensi of The Strokes is 28.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It’s very interesting, but I don’t watch a lot of it. Simon Cowell owns the world.”
Former boy band member Paul McCartney discussing “American Idol” on “The View” this week.
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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Ann Coulter hangs up on Steve & Vikki
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Conservative pundit Ann Coulter let a dial tone do the talking for her during an off-air phone interview with B98.5 FM morning team Steve McCoy and Vikki Locke Wednesday morning. The New York Times best-selling author was supposed to discuss her latest book, “Guilty: Liberal ‘Victims’ and Their Assault on America.”
Coulter grew irritated with the duo when they introduced her to Los Angeles handwriting expert Bart Baggett, who was on the line to analyze Coulter’s John Hancock.
The GOP go-to gal’s response: “Oh, well, you two have fun with that.”
Click.
“In all honesty, I thought that combative thing was just her shtick,” Locke told us. “But she’s really a little out there.”
The duo was recording the interview for broadcast today. It’s scheduled to air at 7:15 a.m.
Three years ago this month, McCoy and Locke made national headlines after then “View” co-host Star Jones Reynolds famously hung up on them when they asked about her then-alleged gastric bypass.
“I immediately thought, ‘We’ve got another Star Jones on our hands!’ ” McCoy told Buzz, laughing. “In nearly every interview I’ve seen with her, she and the host are fighting. I was really hoping that we could present another side of Ann Coulter. I mean, the two of us are hardly Mike Wallace.”
Baggett was about to tell Coulter he found her handwriting characteristic of someone “strong, opinionated and daring.”
And apparently, Coulter’s dust-up with McCoy and Locke continued to foul her mood through the rest of her scheduled radio interviews Wednesday as well. At one point, Coulter booker Jake Ray texted Locke the following message: “I’m in hell!”
Still, McCoy and Locke were working behind the scenes Wednesday to try to coax Coulter back on the airwaves live this morning to conclude the interview.
EXPECTING
A publicist for singer and frequent Atlanta visitor Jill Scott is confirming that the Grammy-winning R&B performer and her husband-to-be, Atlanta percussionist Lil John Roberts, are expecting their first child in April.
And at the top of Scott’s Web site, she’s even asking fans to predict what her first delivery will be — girl, boy, twins or triplets.
Scott first revealed the news while promoting HBO’s “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.” She found out she was pregnant just before filming for the show began in Botswana. “The first trimester I spent in Botswana,” she says in a story from Celebrity Baby Scoop on the site. “That was one of the biggest challenges of my life. First trimester! You’re sick every morning. It was seven hours time difference, the heat, the bugs, the 14-hour days.”
BRAVO FOR SNOW
Essence magazine is reporting on its Web site that DeShawn Snow has been bounced from “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” for its second season. Says Snow on essence.com: “One of the producers called me yesterday and said that they wouldn’t take my option. I was ‘too human for a circus show’ and that, because the show did so well, they are about to pump up the drama and they didn’t think that I would fit in. [The producer] gave me an example, saying that during the reunion (taped at the Biltmore in Midtown) when I found out what a few of the other ladies said about me, they were expecting me to say more. But I’m not the type to go ‘television’ and start acting crazy because somebody’s talking about me. I’m fine with the decision. It wasn’t my decision. They let me go, and there are no hard feelings. I am thankful for the opportunity.”
Our take?
Bravo did Snow a favor. When an alleged “reality” show perceives you as too classy to be a part of a weekly flaming car crash, you should take it as a compliment.
PHOTO POLL: Who would you have kicked off?
PHOTO POLL: Who should be on ‘Real Housewives’?
INMAN PARK GRAPE SOURS
The Inman Park franchise of the Grape that pop star Usher opened to widespread publicity in late 2006 has popped its final cork, according to its parent company. The shop — a wine bar, bistro and wine retailer rolled into one — did not reopen in the new year and did not renew its liquor license with the Georgia Department of Revenue.
Currently, three local branches of the Grape remain: in the Vinings Jubilee shopping center, Phipps Plaza and Atlantic Station. The Atlanta-based Grape Enterprise Group Inc., which both owns and franchises shops mostly throughout the Southeast, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November. Its franchise locations, such as the one in Inman Park, were not party to the filing.
When Usher Raymond IV first met with reporters at the opening of the Inman Park branch wearing a cabernet-purple blazer, he spoke of opening franchises in locales as far-flung as Shanghai and South America. Those plans never came to fruition.
A request for comment from Usher’s publicist was not returned this week.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress Margaret O’Brien (“Meet Me in St. Louis”) is 72. Singer Captain Beefheart is 68. Actor-director Mario Van Peebles is 52. Singer Lisa Lisa of Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam is 42. Actor Chad Lowe is 41. Actress Regina King is 38. Actor Eddie Cahill (“CSI: New York”) is 31.
Contributing: John Kessler 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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Ron Clark Academy singers set for 4 balls at inauguration
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Buzz wonders how many times a day Atlanta teacher Ron Clark feels compelled to pinch himself. The Ron Clark Academy founder and 20 of his charges are headed to Washington next week to perform at a series of inaugural balls celebrating the presidency of Barack Obama.
AP
Ron Clark Academy students will perform their new song, “Dear Obama,” during at least four inaugural balls Tuesday. At one of the events, the students will share the stage with Atlanta pop singer Usher and R&B legend Patti LaBelle.
As Buzz readers will recall, the students wrote the new song as a follow-up to their YouTube hit “Vote However U Like,” which initially landed the kids on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” CNN and BET. The song was written to the tune of Atlanta rapper T.I.’s megahit “Whatever You Like.”
In December, the kids scored a follow-up appearance caroling on “GMA” during a guest stint on the ABC morning show by Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin.
Last fall, Clark also was selected for business bible Georgia Trend’s elite “40 Under 40” list.
Oh, and then the school received a $365,000 check for Christmas from longtime admirer Oprah Winfrey, who selected the Ron Clark Academy as one of her favorite things last holiday season.
Clark is also known for writing the best-selling teaching book “The Essential 55” and being memorably portrayed by “Friends” actor Matthew Perry in the TNT movie “The Ron Clark Story.”
MORE LAUGHS FOR MIDTOWN
The managing partner of the Funny Farm in Roswell is set to open a new comedy venture at the Laughing Skull Lounge, a modest space next to the Vortex in Midtown.
The Vortex owns the space.
Marshall Chiles, who runs and books the Funny Farm, will license the space. He had been looking for an intown space to expand the Funny Farm name. He figured he could get a good deal in these economically tough times. And he decided it would be less risky and potentially more lucrative to use an existing space with an existing name next to a decidedly entrenched and popular restaurant. The crowd is a bit artsy, a bit edgy, a bit subversive. Those are the types of comedy acts Chiles plans to book.
The comedy will be “more progressive, rawer, more avant garde” than the Funny Farm. “We want to take the Vortex brand and lay it over comedy,” he said. “It has to be fresh, not homogenous.”
The two soft-opening shows are at 10 p.m. Jan. 22 with Greg Proops (“Who’s Line Is It Anyway?”) and at 10 p.m. Feb. 5 with Jimmy Dore (Comedy Central). The official opening show is one of Chiles’ favorite comics, Bert Kreisher, the weekend of Feb. 12.
DRU HILL DEUX?
Atlanta R&B singer-syndicated radio personality Keith Sweat has teamed up with B2 Entertainment (the producers who graced the world with “Being Bobby Brown”) to bring back — he hopes —Dru Hill.
The one-hour special is called “Keith Sweat’s Platinum House,” and it’s set to air Feb. 23 on Peachtree TV.
The show’s premise: Sweat has the R&B group members move to Atlanta and live together for 30 days to (again, hopefully) resolve their differences and maybe, just maybe, start working on their first album together since 2002.
“My purpose in producing ‘Platinum House’ stems from my history with R&B groups of the late ’80s and ’90s,” Sweat said via a news release. “Many of these groups consisted of some very talented individuals, but they also seem to have their problems. They have a lot of anger and frustration that they need to release.”
Rubber-necking viewers, meanwhile, hope they’ll do all that “releasing” in front of rolling cameras.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
“60 Minutes” commentator Andy Rooneyis 90. Blues singer Clarence Carter is 73. Actress Faye Dunaway (below) is 68. Actress Holland Taylor (“Two and a Half Men”) is 66. Rapper LL Cool J is 41. Actor Jason Bateman is 40. Musician Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters is 40. Singer-guitarist Caleb Followill of Kings of Leon is 27.
SICK BAY
A publicist for Howie Mandel says he’s out of the hospital and plans to return to work today.
Mandel was in Toronto taping his new show, “Howie Do It!,” when he was taken to the hospital with an irregular heartbeat Monday, said Lewis Kay, publicist for the 53-year-old comedian and game show host.
Mandel was conscious and breathing when police officers responded to a report of a man with a medical condition at a downtown hotel Monday evening. Family members went with him to St. Michael’s Hospital, police said.
Mandel also hosts the NBC game show “Deal or No Deal.” His hidden-camera prank show “Howie Do It!” premiered last week.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Sonia Murray and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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New comedy “lounge” next to Midtown Vortex opening
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The managing partner of the Funny Farm in Roswell is set to open a new comedy venture at the Laughing Skull Lounge, a modest space next to the Vortex in Midtown.
The Vortex owns the space. Chiles is licensing it. For a few years, it was the Peachtree Playhouse and did boffo business with the play “Peachtree Battle.” When those owners opened their own space up the street around 2004, Vortex owner Michael Benoit turned it into the Laughing Skull Lounge. The Dames Aflame burlesque show played there regularly and he would book private parties and events geared to artists.
Marshall Chiles, who runs and books the Funny Farm, has been looking for an in-town space to expand the Funny Farm name. He figured he could get a good deal in these economically tough times. But instead of opening a brand new space, he decided it would be less risky and potentially more lucrative to use an existing space with an existing name next to a decidedly entrenched and popular restaurant. The crowd is a bit artsy, a bit edgy, a bit subversive. That’s the type of comedy act Chiles is going to book.
Chiles said this is not technically a “comedy club,” with its “cheese” factor. He’s keeping it a “lounge.” And it’s a space that fits only about 74 people compared to 200-plus at Uptown Comedy Corner, the Funny Farm and the Punchline, the grand-daddy of the comedy clubs off Roswell Road.
The comedy will be “more progressive, rawer, more avant garde” vs. the Funny Farm. “We want to take the Vortex brand and lay it over comedy,” he said. “It has to be fresh, not homogenous.”
“I plan on selling out almost every show,” he said. Tickets can be had at www.vortextcomedy.com starting either Wednesday or Thursday. “It’s a bit smaller than I had planned but I can make it work. I’ll be spending a lot on advertising to make it a hip happening place.”
Chiles said a lot of his buddies in Midtown were unwilling to go to a comedy club in Norcross but are psyched to go to one right down the street.
The two soft-opening shows are January 22 at 10 p.m. with Greg Proops (“Who’s Line is It Anyway?”) and Feb. 5 at 10 p.m. with Jimmy Dore (Comedy Central). The official opening is one of Chiles’ favorite comics Bert Kreisher the weekend of Feb. 12.
Back in 2002, Chiles was able to turn the Funny Farm into a viable northside alternative to the Punchline. He has brought in plenty of big names, from “Last Comic Standing” winner Alonzo Bodden to VH1 regular Doug Benson to his biggest get a few years ago, Bob Saget. (Chiles himself is a standup comic and he opened for Saget last year at the Tabernacle.)
Buzz was at the 8 p.m show this past Saturday with Rich Hall (“Not Necessarily the News”), which was sold out despite the fact Hall is hardly a household name.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Taurus Restaurant staffers may move to Serpas True Food
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Taurus Restaurant — the critically acclaimed South Buckhead spot run by former Canoe chef Gary Mennie — is the latest victim of the economic downturn.
The restaurant closed after New Year’s Eve dinner. “We had a lot of reservations from regular customers we didn’t want to disappoint,” said Molly Belviso, a manager, who blamed the poor economy for the downturn in business. “Atlanta just has so many restaurants.”
As the city’s foodies will recall, Mennie first made his name in Atlanta at Canoe, where he helmed the kitchen for 10 years.
He opened Taurus in late 2005 with a media splash and a menu that offered a wide variety of steaks and chops, yet expanded beyond typical steakhouse. Initially, folks from the surrounding South Buckhead neighborhood turned up in droves to sample the meat-centric cuisine and to be seen in the sexy red-hued room.
Belviso tells us that many of the front-of-the-house staffers are moving en masse to Serpas True Food, slated to open soon in the Studioplex development in the Old Fourth Ward.
A call to Mennie’s cellphone was not returned immediately returned Monday.
SICK BAY
In a call to the AJC on Monday, sports radio co-host Buck Belue of 680/The Fan confirmed that he has Bell’s Palsy, a paralysis of the cranial nerve. He’s not sure exactly when he’ll be back on the air but will continue to blog.
“I could work if I didn’t have to talk on the radio four hours a day,” he said. “It’s a little frustrating. I’m not the most patient guy in the world being out right now with all this football going on.”
The afternoon co-host with John Kincade was out last week, but the station wasn’t disclosing what was wrong with him. Belue said it could take a couple of weeks to months before he’s fully recovered.
He said the ailment may have been brought on by a combination of a respiratory cold he had before Christmas and stress.
A couple weeks back, “I thought I was going to have a freaking stroke watching Georgia practice,” he said. He went to the hospital and they diagnosed him with Bell’s Palsy.
“It’s a nerve in my left cheek,” he said. “I couldn’t close my left eye. I had numbness on the left side of my face. I have a droopy left eye, some slurred speech.” Belue was on his way to a doctor’s appointment Monday when he called. Buzz, along with Rodney Ho’s Radio blog, will keep listeners updated on Belue’s condition and when he’s slated to go back on air.
Belue, 49, has been with the Fan for more than eight years and is a football specialist. The former UGA star and Kincade have the highest-rated show on the station.
A SUGARY SWEET SURPRISE
Former (and future?) Atlanta Brave Andruw Jones surprised wife Nicole with a birthday party over the weekend at Aja in Buckhead. We’re told that the birthday girl and pals, including pop star Keith Sweat, Jaden’s Ladder charity executive director Oneta Bobbett, Atlanta Falcon Brian Finneran and wife Erin, Falcon Ovie Mughelli and retired NBA player Charles Oakley dined on family style Asian cuisine.
We hear that everyone was hugely impressed with the one-of-a-kind cake created especially for Nicole by Highland Bakery cake queen Karen Portaleo. The beach-themed confection featured Gucci sunglasses, a Louis Vuitton suitcase and a sugar-spun rendering of Nicole’s favorite sandals.
OVERSCENE
San Francisco 49ers player Walt Harris and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson snacking at Stats sports bar downtown. We’re told that Harris enjoyed the spicy Buffalo wings and old-fashioned meatloaf, while Johnson noshed on the tuna Tataki salad.
STORK REPORT
It’s a boy!
Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal and Argentine actress Dolores Fonzi are parents.
Garcia Bernal’s spokeswoman Icunacury Acosta says the baby is named Lazaro. He was born last week in Madrid, Spain.
Acosta said in a statement Monday that the new parents and baby are “very happy, tired and in excellent health.”
Garcia Bernal became an international star with the movie “Amores Perros.” He also appeared in “The Motorcycle Diaries” and “Babel.”
He may soon be arranging play dates with his lifelong friend, Mexican actor Diego Luna.
Luna became a dad in August when his wife, Camila Sodi, gave birth to a boy.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress Frances Sternhagen is 79. Comedian Rip Taylor is 75. Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (“The New Adventures of Old Christine”) is 48. Country singer Trace Adkins is 47. Actor Patrick Dempsey is 43. Actor Orlando Bloom is 32.
Contributing: John Kessler, 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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Family’s secret soup recipes spilled in book
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For more than 50 years, Jarvin Levison has practiced corporate law here in Atlanta. Yet, he’s currently more widely known for his legendary turkey chili recipe, which is ladled up daily at his daughter Jenny Levison’s thriving Buckhead business, Souper Jenny.
After decades of secrecy, the recipe for the economical dish he first whipped up for his housemates while attending Emory University School of Law in the late 1940s is being made public in a brand-new cookbook, “Souper Jenny Cooks” (Schroder Media, $19.95) by Jenny Levison. The recipe is the cornerstone of the family business. It’s only proper, then, that her dad pens the book’s forward.
“This was either a really great idea or a really terrible one!” explains Jenny Levison about publishing her soup eatery’s most prized recipes. “The only thing that possibly saves us is that there is a lot of chopping involved. And food always tastes better when other people cook for you.”
Amazingly, readers will get a real sense of the Souper Jenny dining experience just by flicking through the book (short of scratch and sniff pages, mind you). Photos of her loyal staff and customers, along with hunger-pang-inducing photography, simmer throughout the book. Levison and her co-workers, many of whom are theater-trained, are as likely to break into song for customers as serve up the chicken tortilla soup, too.
“That was really important to me,” she explains. “The early drafts just had lots of pictures of pretty food. I wanted it to focus more on the people”
Handwritten customer comment cards actually serve as the cookbook’s back cover. Among the more hilarious entries: “My Only Request: Adopt Me!” and “Can You Cater My Wedding? After I Find a Husband or a Boyfriend At the Very Least?”
Perhaps the most touching tribute in the book belongs to Jarvin Levison.
“I’m especially proud that My Dad’s Turkey Chili is the one [menu] item that never changes — her security blanket. My Dad’s Turkey Chili has made me more famous than my 50-plus years practicing law, involvement in local and state politics and nonprofit activities. Jenny is a ‘souper’ daughter and a ‘souper, souper’ mother to Jonah. I bask in her sunshine.”
BALDWIN BROTHER TALKS OSCAR BUZZ
Buzz stopped by Turner Studios on Friday and met Alec Baldwin for a few moments. He was in town to tape segments for the upcoming season of “Essentials” on Turner Classic Movies with Robert Osborne. He wouldn’t talk about his book on divorce or “30 Rock” or his inauguration plans. But he did mentioned two current Oscar contenders he’s really enjoyed: “The Wrestler,” with Mickey Rourke, and “Slumdog Millionaire,” which has already won a slew of film awards.
“I thought ‘Slumdog’ was very fresh, an absolutely fabulous story,” Baldwin said. “Danny Boyle is an incredible director. It’s impossible to make a great movie without a great director and no known actors.”
SPORTS RADIO GETS NEW ‘GUY’S GAL’
About 90 percent of sports talk listeners are men, but that doesn’t mean they don’t mind hearing an occasional female voice thrown in.
790/The Zone has replaced Sandra Golden as the morning show’s token female with Cayci Johnson, a 30-year-old St. Louis native who describes herself as “a guy’s gal.” In fact, she doesn’t mind that Steak Shapiro & Co. have dubbed her job “sports babe.”
“My dad was a coach. I was always in the locker room. I love sports. I’m a bit raunchy in my humor.”
At age 6, she said, she won $500 in a March Madness pool. Sadly, Johnson has yet to beat that — but she keeps trying!
IN BRIEF
680/The Fan’s Buck Belue was off the air last week for a bronchial-related illness, but boss David Dickey said not to worry. He stayed home as a precaution, and he’ll be back soon, Dickey said.
Savannah’s Rudy Gettinger has been successful not only in losing weight but endearing herself to Style Network viewers.Style has given her show “Rudy” a second season. Her first season averaged about 400,000 viewers per new episode, double Style’s typical prime time audience.
John Lemley, former local host of “All Things Considered,” is now the noon to 3 p.m. classical music host on WABE-FM. His replacement has not been named.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Country singer Ray Price is 83. Actress Kirstie Alley is 58. Political commentator Rush Limbaugh is 58. Country singer Ricky Van Shelton is 57. Radio personality Howard Stern is 55. News correspondent Christiane Amanpour is 51. Singer-filmmaker Rob Zombie is 43. Singer Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine is 39. Singer Dan Haseltine of Jars of Clay is 36. Singer Amerie is 29.
OVERSCENE
R&B sensation Monica celebrating her birthday and the New Year at the Ludacris-owned Midtown eatery Straits. The private celebration was sponsored by premium Asian spirits distiller Ty Ku. A Mexican Samurai cocktail was the evening’s signature libation. Among the celebs spotted in addition to the restaurant’s owner: T.I., Young Joc, D Woods (from MTV’s “Making the Band”), music producer Jazze Pha and Shawty Lo. We’re told the thirsty crowd drank through two cases of Ty Ku in two hours …
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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Jimmy Carter to sign books at his library
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hopefully, former president Jimmy Carter is resting up his writing hand. The folks at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum tell Buzz his next book-signing is set for Jan. 21. The public event has been booked for the day after Carter’s latest, “We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan That Will Work” (Simon & Schuster, $27), hits the nation’s bookstore shelves.
“With everything that’s going on in the world right now, there couldn’t be a more important topic,” Carter Library public affairs rep. Tony Clark told Buzz.
On Amazon.com, the forthcoming book is described as “Urgent, balanced and passionate. Carter argues that the present moment is a unique time for achieving peace in the Middle East. There will be no progress without courageous and sustained U.S. leadership. President-elect Barack Obama is committed to a personal effort to exert that leadership, starting early in his administration. This is President Carter’s call to action.”
As most Atlantans know, in addition to being a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Carter is well known for his record-breaking autographing sessions (the human eye can occasionally lag behind while trying to follow Carter’s super-human signature).
The secret, Clark explains, is Carter’s trademark “push and pull maneuver” which involves an attendant to his left opening a book to the signature page and another attendant on his right who hands off the signed book to the buyer.
Clark concedes he’s occasionally needled other authors when they sign at the library. “I tell them, ‘Well, you’re almost as fast as President Carter.’”
But as always, there are substantial rules to follow at the president’s signing (after all, do you really want to run afoul of numerous Secret Service agents?). Books will be available for purchase at the library, or you can bring in other Carter-penned tomes with you. The president will sign up to 10 books per person. The signing begins at 5 p.m., but attendees can begin lining up at 3 p.m. There will be no picture-taking or personalized books.
If you can’t make it out, order your autographed by calling 404-865-7131 by noon Jan. 21.
Happy 107th!
Ann Nixon Cooper, perhaps the nation’s most famous 107-year-old, celebrated her birthday with a dinner attended by former United Nations ambassador and Atlanta mayor Andrew Young and his wife Carolyn Friday night. As you’ll recall, Cooper, a first-time voter this fall, became an instant international celebrity on election night when president-elect Barack Obama referenced her in his nationally televised speech in Chicago’s Grant Park.
On Sunday, she’ll preside over a birthday bash at her Martin Luther King Drive home.
“The cake is actually three sections,” her grandson Kenneth Mannings told us. “There’s a ‘1’ section, an ‘0’ section and a ‘7’ section. Hopefully it will be big enough. That’s how we’ve done it traditionally these last several years.”
Still, this is Cooper’s first birthday as an international celebrity. And yes, there have been autograph requests.
“We were in a jewelry store at Phipps Plaza the week before Christmas, and a salesperson asked to be photographed with her,” Mannings said.
And while the president-elect has invited her to Washington, D.C., to personally observe the inauguration, her plans are to sit in her den, surrounded by friends and family, and take in the pomp and circumstance on her 24-inch RCA television.
Casting calls!
BET is shooting its upcoming season of the gospel talent search show “Sunday Best” in Atlanta. Auditions are at the Georgia World Congress Center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today. For details, call 1-866-405-BEST.
If you also happen to have unruly teen-agers or are willing to take such a teen into your house for some TV time, a new cable spin-off of “Supernanny” will be holding an open casting call near the food court at Underground Atlanta at the same time. Shoot two birds with one stone!
Celebrity birthdays
Today: Singer Rod Stewart is 64. Singer-keyboardist Donald Fagen of Steely Dan is 61. Singer Pat Benatar is 56. Singer Shawn Colvin is 53. Rapper Chris Smith of Kris Kross is 30.
Sunday: Saxophonist Clarence Clemons of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band is 67. Country singer Naomi Judd is 63. Guitarist Vicki Peterson of The Bangles is 51. Actress Kim Coles (“Living Single”) is 47. Guitarist Tom Dumont of No Doubt is 41. Singer Mary J. Blige is 38. Musician Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers is 38. Actress Amanda Peet is 37.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Hideaway team reunites for good cause
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Johnny’s Hideaway namesake Johnny Esposito is teaming up with the iconic Atlanta nightclub’s former DJ Alan White tonight for a couple of great causes.
The longtime pals are throwing an old-fashioned record hop at the Knights of Columbus at 2620 Buford Highway N.E for members of “The Greatest Generation.” Or anybody who can dance like one. Everything from Glenn Miller to Benny Goodman to Frank Sinatra and 1950s doo wop groups will be on the turntable. The evening also is a benefit for the 77-year-old retired nightclub veteran’s favorite charity, the American Diabetes Association. It’s an ailment that is currently ravaging Esposito’s circulation and overall health.
“I’m not doin’ too good, to be honest,” Esposito told us Thursday morning during a brief phone call. “But I’m committed.” Choking up, Esposito added: “I’m doing this for folks with diabetes. I’m gonna be there if I gotta use a wheelchair.”
When we called White, 67, he was busy pulling a copy of Esposito’s signature song: Sinatra’s 1958 hit “All My Tomorrows.”
“We used to fight all the time when we worked together,” White recalled, laughing. “Johnny was always trying to push me back to the big band stuff, and I was always trying to pull him ahead.”
White recalled receiving an advance test-pressing of Madonna’s “Vogue” in the late 1980s. He pleaded with Esposito to give it a trial spin at the Hideaway.
Esposito’s response: “We’re not playing any Ma-doo-doo in my joint!”
After White explained the song was really a tribute to classic Hollywood, Esposito allowed a single spin of the Material Girl’s future hit. Patrons packed onto the Hideaway dance floor.
Recalled White: “He walked up, put a $100 bill in my tip jar and told me: ‘You can play that record any time you want. Thanks for paying attention.’ That’s Johnny. If the customers liked it, so did he.”
Johnny’s Seniors Dance, tonight from 8 to midnight. $13 cover. For info: www.djalanwhite.com.
‘DESIGN’-ING OUTSIDE THE PERIMETER
“Top Design” judge and Elle Decor chief Margaret Russell was spotted — gasp! — OTP this week, where she hosted a cocktail reception and lecture with designer friend Darryl Carter at the Thomasville furniture emporium by Perimeter Mall.
Sporting a foot brace on one leg and a fetching black pump on the other, Russell gushed that she loves Atlantans because “they ask questions.”
Russell admitted she normally plants Elle Decor employees in the audience to get a Q&A going. But here in Atlanta (even outside the Perimeter), it’s never necessary.
So will the petite home decor magnate appear in another season of “Top Design?”
“It’s up to Bravo,” she said.
And the answer is yes, her eyes are as piercing in person as they appear onscreen.
A REAL BRIDAL TRAIN
We hear from our sources at Turner Field that the home of the Atlanta Braves is pinch-hitting today as a wedding chapel. That’s where train aficionado Horace Hunter, 87, plans to marry his sweetheart Camilla Jackson, 80. The Selma, Ala.-based couple is getting hitched aboard the historic rail car at the Braves Museum and Hall of Fame (ball players routinely traveled from game to game via train from the beginning of the sport until well into the 1950s, you see).
We’re told that Hunter met his bride in September 2007 at the senior living facility in Selma where they both reside. They began dating a year ago.
What convinced Jackson to go out with Hunter? Well, you younger guys may want to take some notes.
Hunter told her: “I see everything beautiful in you and what I expect of the wife I’m looking for.”
Camilla was smitten.
The couple is scheduled to honeymoon back in Selma.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Joan Baez is 68. Guitarist Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin is 65. Singer Dave Matthews of the Dave Matthews Band is 42. Singer A.J. McLean of the Backstreet Boys is 31. Guitarist Drew Brown of OneRepublic is 25. Singer Paolo Nutini is 22.
OVERSCENE
Jane’s Addiction and Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Dave Navarro checking into the W Atlanta Midtown and “Felicity” actor Scott Speedman shopping in the hotel’s gift shop.
“Real Housewives of Atlanta” cast member Kim Zolciak eating lunch and chain smoking at Twist at Phipps Plaza. And yes, she was sporting her trademark blond weave.
Contributing: Katie Leslie 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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Whitfield court case set for Monday
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On the show “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” Sheree Whitfield expressed a desire for a “seven figure” settlement from her ex-husband and former Atlanta Falcons player Bob Whitfield. She has since said very little about the case because of legal wranglings.
She received a settlement last year but wasn’t happy with it. So she has appealed it all the way to the Georgia Supreme Court. The case is scheduled to be heard Monday.
Her attorneys have painted her as a high school graduate with limited skills to earn income. If the settlement remains the same, she won’t be able to stay at her $2.6 million home. She receives $113,422 a year from the divorce, not enough for her to live the lifestyle she’s used to and clearly not at the level that the hit Bravo show conveys. Sheree also received a lump sum of $775,000, shares of Whitfield’s retirement pension, nearly half the marital property and child support.
Additional factoids thoughtfully provided by a Fulton County court public information officer:
Whitfield is “appealing a Fulton County Court’s refusal to grant her alimony and a new trial. Under a 2003 pilot project, the high court has agreed to review all challenges to final divorce decrees that are not deemed frivolous.”
“Bob and Sheree Whitfield separated after three years of marriage in 2003 and divorced after seven in 2007. … The trial court awarded her custody of the children and $2,142.87 a month in child support. It also awarded her a division of the marital property totaling more than $1.1 million and including a lump sum payment of $775,000. It gave her half of the marital portion of three NFL retirement plans. But the court did not award alimony.
“The court awarded him nearly all the real estate, including four homes, and the recording studio, Patchwerks, which he founded. Her lawyers moved for a new trial over the denial of alimony. The lower court denied the motion, and she now appeals to the Supreme Court.”
The possible upside to all this divorce drama? If cameras are allowed into the courtroom, the second season of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” potentially could provide 15 or more seconds of watchable television. Oh, and if Sheree somehow manages a bigger payday, perhaps the alleged fashion “designer” will be able to afford classes in sewing and stitching — services she unsuccessfully farmed out to others in Season 1.
CELEBRITY DOCKET
Atlanta rapper-machine gun enthusiast T.I. has paid an $8,000 overdue lawyer bill for the mother of two of his sons, telling a judge the debt was an oversight.
Lawyers for LaShon Dixon asked a Fulton County judge to intervene after the 28-year-old rapper, whose real name is Clifford Harris, failed to pay in November. He had agreed to the payment as part of an ongoing child support case.
T.I. brought a check for the money owed, effectively settling the matter. During the Tuesday hearing, which lasted more than four hours, he told the judge the order to pay got lost when he changed assistants.
“It was just a clerical error, totally innocent,” he said. “I will accept full responsibility for that.”
T.I. is scheduled to be sentenced on federal weapons charges in March. He is expected to serve at least a year in federal prison.
MORE TIME FOR TICKET-HOLDERS
There’s good news for Falcons season ticket-holders who, in this economic climate, are still on the fence about whether to re-up for the 2009 season this fall. The Falcons organization is giving you more time to decide. In a note to fans posted at www.atlantafalcons.com, season tickets-holders are being informed: “Due to sensitivity to the economy and the holiday season, the 2009 early renewal deadline has been extended to Jan. 30, 2009.”
Oh, and the Falcons and Ticketmaster are also offering a technological enhancement to season ticket-holders for the 2009 season as well.
If you find yourself unable to use your tickets, you can forward them via e-mail to friends or family for a fee of $1.95 per ticket (remember, this is Ticketmaster, a company that has never found a service fee it hasn’t felt compelled to pass along to consumers). You can forward tickets anywhere up until two hours before game time.
Consider it an alternative to standing in the Georgia Dome parking lot on Sunday afternoons.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Shirley Bassey is 72. Guitarist Robby Krieger of the Doors is 63. Singer David Bowie is 62. Singer R. Kelly is 42. Guitarist Disashi Lumumbo-Kasongo of Gym Class Heroes is 26.
STORK REPORT
It’s a girl!
It’s baby No. 2 for Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck. Affleck’s spokesman, Shawn Sachs, and Garner’s spokeswoman, Leslie Sloane-Zelnik, are confirming that Garner gave birth to their second daughter but would not provide additional details. Garner and Affleck, both 36, were married in June 2005. Garner gave birth to daughter Violet in December 2005. Mommy and daddy met on the set of “Daredevil,” and they began dating in 2004.
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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High Rise’ Web series ready to film
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Steve Barnes, former 99X and Dave FM morning host and actor-producer, is about to start production on a new local TV series called “High Rise,” which he said will be a bit like “Melrose Place” but less campy. “Think ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ ” he said.
The show will be available online at www.highrisetheseries.com twice a week, starting March 31 for 10 weeks. It also will be available at Comcast on Demand. It will air in five-minute segments adding up to a total of 100 minutes.
The cast will feature local actors, including Bryan Brendle, Leland Jones, Kaira Akita, Greg Corbett, Heather Smith, Rob Pralgo and Cynthia Evans. Barnes will have a recurring role as an entertainment attorney (think something akin to Emmy-winner Jeremy Piven’s Ari Gold on “Entourage”). He said his former Dave FM host and current “Atlanta & Company” co-host Holly Firfer has netted a small role as well. He invited former 99X host Jimmy Baron to play a record executive, but he said Baron was out of town on the scheduled shooting day.
The show’s two writers are Mike Stiles, a former Star 94 morning show producer for Steve McCoy and Vikki Locke and currently a part of the Atlanta sketch comedy ensemble Sketchworks, and Charles Van Eman, a former actor who was on “All My Children.”
Barnes also got local rock singer Shawn Mullins (“Lullaby”) to play a bartender-singer, and Mullins will be performing some tunes for the show.
Production starts Jan. 25 in Buckhead at the Terminus building.
Barnes has lined up plenty of advertisers to help finance the production, including AirTran, Kraft and Hennessy, Jaguar and Land Rover. People who watch the show online will be eligible to win prizes such as AirTran tickets. There is also a social networking setup on the Web site.
“I had this idea a year ago,” Barnes said. “I wanted to do this ‘Melrose Place’ in a high rise. I saw this beautiful building, Terminus. I thought, ‘Man, that’s a perfect place to do a drama.’”
PASTA AT ‘69 PRICES
Spaghetti Factory general manager Patrick Kirkland was bracing for a saucy tsunami Tuesday night as the Ponce de Leon Avenue institution prepped for the national pasta chain’s 40th anniversary. You see, Spaghetti Factory president Chris Dussin opted to honor his mother and father’s iconic business by rolling back the dinner menu to 1969 prices.
Consequently, a complete meal, including a salad, dessert, bread and a classic entree like spaghetti with mizithra cheese, was going for about $3 a head (kids ate for $2) Tuesday night. In these tough economic times, diners circled the date in marinara.
The chain’s sole metro Atlanta location was expecting 800 diners (Tuesday nights normally generate about 200 patrons). Reservations weren’t taken, and dinner was being served on a first-come, first-serve basis. On Monday and Tuesday nights this month, diners will enjoy 40 percent-off dinner discounts as well.
“Today is a mandatory work day,” Kirkland told Buzz on Tuesday. “We’re going to be turning and burning. We’ve got cooler after cooler after cooler of sauce ready to go.”
At staff lineup Tuesday just before the eatery opened those heavy wooden doors to the public, Kirkland had one piece of advice: “The most important thing is to keep a smile on your face. You can completely change someone’s dining experience just by doing that. For us, it’s a top priority.”
Let’s just hope all those lucky pasta-slurping patrons remembered to tip like it was 2009.
ADJUSTING ITS HALO
Emotions were mixed Monday night as Halo Lounge hosted its final industry night celebration before a renovation project. Promoting the evening on its MySpace page, Halo reps invited nightcrawlers to “come say goodbye to Halo as you know it.”
Never fear, we’re told. The 7-year-old beloved club housed in the Biltmore building at 817 W. Peachtree St. isn’t going off the grid for long.
The club is promoting its next industry night (Monday nights that are traditionally reserved for those in the service industry who have worked through the weekend) on Jan. 12.
Sotto Sotto restaurant owner Riccardo Ullio was on hand Monday night to mark the occasion.
“It’s a small, casual place where it’s easy to end up knowing everyone,” he explained of the club’s appeal. “It’s a club where you always feel comfortable.”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Kenny Loggins is 61. “CSI: Miami” actor David Caruso is 53. “CBS Evening News” anchor Katie Couric is 52. Actor Nicolas Cage is 45. Country singer John Rich of Big and Rich is 35. Actor Dustin Diamond of “Saved by the Bell” is 32.
COUPLING
“Late Late Show” host Craig Ferguson’s ring finger had some fresh bling adorning it when he returned to his CBS show from his holiday break.
Ferguson held his left hand up to the camera and announced that he’d gotten married. The 46-year-old talk-show host said he’d tied the knot with art dealer Megan Wallace Cunningham.
He suggested that he and Megan be referred to as “Cragan.” This is Ferguson’s third marriage. He has a 7-year-old son, Milo, from his second marriage.
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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Turner called king of U.S. landowners
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you own 45,000 bison, you need a place to put them.
America’s 100 largest landowners are celebrated in the latest issue of The Land Report (the Magazine of the American Landowner), and Captain Outrageous, Ted Turner, is No.1, with 2 million acres in Montana, Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, New Mexico, Argentina and Tierra del Fuego.
In the special “America’s Largest Landowner” issue (sort of The Land Report’s combo “Sexiest Man Alive”/”Swimsuit Issue”), editor Eric O’Keefe explains that the subject is especially timely in today’s economic environment.
“It boils down to this,” O’Keefe writes. “When was the last time a credit default swap brought down a forest?”
Which brings us to Turner, a man who’s made a fortune over the years and openly admits to losing one in recent years as well.
The Land Report reprints an excerpt from his new memoir, “Call Me Ted,” where Turner explains that his South American purchases were motivated by a desire to find warm fly-fishing locales, where he could retreat during the North American winters.
And natch, the former owner of the MGM film library also takes the opportunity to quote from his favorite epic flick.
“I’m often reminded of Scarlett O’Hara’s father in ‘Gone With the Wind,’ ” he writes.
“He told her, ‘Why, the land’s the only thing in the world worth working for, worth fighting for, worth dying for, because it’s the only thing that lasts.’ I’ve realized this to be true, and I’m proud to know that I’ve done what I can to make sure that my land is protected.”
Also on the list are Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezos (No. 23), Denver Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke (No. 10), and the Adams brothers, Danny, Doug and Larry, of Atlanta (No. 88).
HOWARD DEBUTS ON HEADLINE NEWS
In case you neglected to TiVo Clark Howard’s new show on Headline News, which debuted this past weekend (and repeated six times at 6 a.m., noon and 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday), here are a few highlights for Buzz readers:
In addition to summarizing many of his radio calls locals hear on WSB-AM, Howard also gets his own funky Headline News theme song.
He shot the show in his local WSB studio (which is slyly disguised as a makeshift TV studio set) and opens with his familiar radio tagline:
“America, we’re living in tough economic times. But I have good news. I’m Clark Howard and I’m here to show you how to save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off.”
Then Headline News cut to cartoon graphics, as if Howard’s life is a comic book.
“Ever since I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by money,” recounts the consumer guru. “Making it. Saving it. Studying it. By the time I was 31, I earned enough to retire [he sold a travel agency].
“So I embarked on a new mission: helping take care of your money.” Technically, the show doesn’t disclose the fact that this happened more than two decades ago (in show biz, why reveal your age when you don’t look it?).
Howard also offered a one-minute consumer tip about the stock market, essentially:
A large percentage of people over the age of 65 have too much cash in stocks. (And 27 percent of people 55-64 have 90 percent or more in stocks. Wrong!).
Later, Howard took a call about selling time shares (if you can’t, donate it for the tax deduction, he suggests).
Another caller had a credit card closed because she hadn’t used it in two years and she’s worried her credit score will hurt. (It will, but not a lot, since she hadn’t used it.)
He then addressed a “pay off your IRS taxes” scam you may encounter in late-night TV ads. Using two of our faves from the Clark Howard glossary, he describes said folk as “Scuzzoids” and “crooks.”
‘TODAY’ WEDDING COUPLE UPDATE
Atlanta’s LaDonna and Darnell Suggs, the winners of “The Today Show” annual free wedding competition last year, checked in with Buzz to say they are not only still happily married but they’ve also started a charity foundation.
After an incredible nine-day trip to Bora Bora on NBC’s tab (including a personal butler), the pair have continued life as engineers, with speaking engagements and charity events for organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club.
The pair also established the Suggs Foundation a few weeks ago to encourage young adults to go into the sciences.
Check their Web site, www.meetthesuggs.com, for more details.
(And if you enjoy hype, their home page immodestly dubs them “America’s Favorite Couple!”).
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress Bonnie Franklin is 65. Guitarist Malcolm Young of AC/DC is 56. Actor-comedian Rowan Atkinson (“Mr. Bean”) is 54. Singer Kathy Sledge of Sister Sledge is 50. Director John Singleton is 41. Actor Danny Pintauro (“Who’s the Boss”) is 33.
STORK REPORT
It’s twin girls!
A publicist for the “Ugly Betty” actress Rebecca Romijn confirms twin daughters Dolly Rebecca Rose and Charlie Tamara Tulip were born to Romijn and actor Jerry O’Connell Dec. 28. They are the couple’s first children.
Publicist Lewis Kay says in a statement that “mother, father and both girls are all home and doing well.”
Romijn, 36, and O’Connell, 34, were married in 2007.
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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Emory grad Natalia Livingston returning to ‘General Hospital’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Actress Natalia Livingston celebrated the arrival of 2009 by phoning Buzz Central with a sizable scoop: The “General Hospital” fan favorite is returning to the ABC soap on Jan. 15.
Last year, the Emmy winner departed the show after her character, heroine Emily Quartermaine, was murdered. Livingston limped through the final months of her contract gamely playing her character’s ghost, a figment of her prince paramour Nikolas Cassadine’s brain tumor (did we mention this is a soap?).
This time out, “General Hospital” head writer Robert Guza Jr. has created a brand new character for the Emory University sociology grad.
But her local family and friends had a hard time extracting information on the latest Port Charles resident from Livingston during her holiday visit here.
“Her name is Rebecca and she works at the hospital,” Livingston spilled. “She’s going to come in and shake things up. It’ll be interesting to see how the characters react to her. I’m not sure I’m allowed to tell you more than that!”
And when Rebecca strolls into “General Hospital,” folks other than the now-cured Nikolas will think they’re seeing ghosts. However, Rebecca has short blond tresses.
“There is going to be some trial and error as this character gets fleshed out,” Livingston explained. “We had one hourlong conversation and then I started work the next day. There’s a molding process for the character. One minute, I had long dark hair and the next, it was all cut off and I was a blonde!”
Still, Livingston is looking forward to helping to create a character from scratch (she took over the role of Emily from future “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” actress Amber Tamblyn in 2004).
“In many ways, Emily was very similar to me,” she says. “Now, I’m stepping out of my comfort zone with this new character. It’s a very fun challenge.”
Plus, Rebecca is poised to be very different from the perennial peace-maker nice girl, Emily.
“Rebecca doesn’t feel the need to be nice to everyone, let’s just say!” Livingston said, laughing. “She goes against the grain. With her, if I don’t feel like smiling, I don’t have to.”
OVERSCENE
Atlanta Falcon Brian Finneran and wife, Erin, celebrating their 13th anniversary over a bottle of red wine and sushi at Steel Restaurant and Lounge in Midtown.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Robert Duvall is 78. Talk-show host Charlie Rose is 67. Actress Diane Keaton is 63. Actor Ted Lange (“The Love Boat”) is 61. Guitarist Chris Stein of Blondie is 59. Singer Marilyn Manson is 40. Actress January Jones (“Mad Men”) is 31.
Contributing: News services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Help others and be part of the solution
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Help others and be part of the solution
It’s a new year but it’s the same old batch of resolutions: lose weight, get rich or fall in love, right? Perhaps not.
Several local celebs are joining a new “I Am the Solution” campaign designed to inspire Atlantans to make at least one 2009 resolution dedicated to helping others.
Those making the “I Am the Solution” pledge include Atlanta Falcons linebacker Keith Brooking, OutKast member Big Boi, Atlanta Braves player Jeff Francoeur, Collective Soul bandmate brothers Ed and Dean Roland and design guru Vern Yip.
Also on the list is nonprofit Captain Planet Foundation chair Laura Turner-Seydel, who has resolved to teach families to plant their own gardens and grow their own food.
Brooking, who has promised to provide athletic shoes to at least 1,000 foster care children in Georgia, was kind enough to call Buzz from Arizona on the eve of today’s playoff game to talk about why he’s decided to get involved.
“This could be a powerful message that regardless of one’s resources, people can make a difference and they can really take ownership of something,” he told Buzz. His foundation already helps foster children in many ways, including clothing, transportation and helping fund shelter in Coweta County. He said he was inspired by his mom, who despite limited finances, cared for many foster children.
Of course, we had to ask about the game, too.
“I’m very excited. I’ve gone through some tough times and it’s been a roller coaster and it’s great to be here. I’ve always appreciated being in the playoffs but I feel like I have a greater appreciation this time. I love these guys and I am here because of them. We are a team. We are a great team and we could really make a run in this thing.”
The resolutions campaign was officially launched this week by Families First, an Atlanta-based nonprofit agency serving children and families in need. Everyone — not just celebs — is welcome to join. More info: www.iam-thesolution.org.
SEACREST COMES HOME — SORT OF
If you don’t already get enough of Ryan Seacrest on “American Idol,” the E! cable network and American Top 40 countdown on Star 94, you’ll be hearing more of him from noon to 3 p.m. each weekday on that same top 40 station.
Seacrest is coming full circle. The Dunwoody High grad started his career at Star 94 in the early 1990s in high school as a fill-in DJ there before moving to Los Angeles to pursue his Hollywood dreams. Star picked up his weekly weekend countdown show as soon as he took over in 2004 for Casey Kasem.
He’s been doing a morning show on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles since 2004 as well. Last year, the show was syndicated and is heard on about 70 stations nationwide, including the top 40 station in New York City. Star 94’s version will be a “best of” compilation of whatever Seacrest does that morning in L.A.
At the same time, Tripp West, who has been at Star for 11 years, seven of them as midday host, will be leaving. His contract isn’t up until May but he said Star is allowing him the time for a job hunt. If he finds the right thing before May, he’ll be released from his contract.
West, who also runs a DJ company (www.liquid
mindproduction.com), said he’s fine with the move, and understands why Star is doing it. “Eleven years was a great run,” he said. “I’m very excited about the challenge moving forward.”
Look for Seacrest’s show to debut on Star this month.
AN MTV JAM
Atlanta-based Camp Jam is getting some nice national exposure today via MTV. The network’s “True Life” doc series is featuring the chain of rock ‘n’ roll camps on the show’s latest segment, “Camp’d Out — I’m Going to Rock Camp.” As locals know, Camp Jam is the brainchild of 38 Special guitarist/songwriter Jeff Carlisi and business partner Dan Lipson. The camps provide a unique summer experience for teens. Camp Jam started in Atlanta in 2004 and has since expanded into 18 cities across North America.
We’re told that MTV cameras followed kids around at the Camp Jam overnight rock camp in Chicago this past summer, “capturing the kids learning from rock stars how to be in a band, record and write songs, develop stage presence and put on a concert in front of friends and family at the end of the week.” One Atlantan featured prominently in the episode? Local indie rocker Nick Niespodziani from the band Y.O.U. The concert finale of the MTV episode was shot at the House of Blues in Chicago.
Look for “True Life’s” rock camp episode on MTV.
HIGH FIVE
Concerts
The top five most expensive tickets in 2008, according to Ticketmaster Entertainment:
1. Madonna, $378
2. AC/DC, $263
3. Tina Turner, $263
4. Celine Dion, $240
5. Coldplay, $224
— Courtesy of Ticketmaster
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Saturday: Record producer George Martin is 83. Actor Robert Loggia is 79. Actor Dabney Coleman is 77. Actor-director Mel Gibson is 53. Actor Jason Marsden is 34. Actress Danica McKellar is 34. Singer Kimberley Locke is 31. R&B singer Lloyd is 23.
Sunday: Actress Dyan Cannon is 72. Country singer Patty Loveless is 52. Singer and Decatur native Michael Stipe of R.E.M. is 49.
CELEBRITY DOCKET
Actor Matt Dillon (right) was charged with driving at an excessive speed for allegedly going 106 mph on an interstate highway, Vermont State Police said. Dillon, 44, was pulled over by a trooper on I-91 in Newbury about 10 p.m. Tuesday. He was driving a rented 2009 Chevrolet Impala.
The posted speed limit is 65 mph, so Dillon was charged criminally under a statute that bans going more than 30 mph above the limit while traveling 60 mph or more.
He is scheduled to appear in Vermont District Court on Jan. 21. If convicted, he could get three months in jail and be fined $300.
Upside? Who knew the new Impala could even achieve speeds of 106 mph?
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Helena Oliviero and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
