Results tagged “celebrity”

Many a Hollywood hopeful or star has come and gone from the headlines in the past five decades, but one name always remained rooted in his by-line at Daily Variety. Army Archerd, the industry rag's longtime columnist died yesterday at 87. "Archerd collapsed at home in Westwood on Monday afternoon and died Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center," notes his LA Times obit. Five years ago Archerd was diagnosed with a rare form of mesothelioma, "which doctors ascribed to his exposure to shipyard asbestos when he was in the Navy during World War II."

Actress Farrah Fawcett, who died Thursday morning after a lengthy battle with cancer, will be honored and mourned in a private funeral service on Tuesday, according to the Huffington Post. The Catholic service is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Downtown.

Michael Jackson, reportedly suffering from a heart attack, was rushed to a local hospital from his Holmby Hills rental estate during the twelve noon hour today. When paramedics arrived around 12:26 p.m., the 50-year-old pop star was not breathing, reported the LA Times. "The call came in because a person was not breathing," said an LAFD official. "When the team arrived, they saw that CPR was already in progress by someone at the home. The person not breathing was transported to UCLA Medical Center and remains there." He was taken to UCLA Medical Center just a few minutes away from the home.

Charlie's Angels darling, Farrah Fawcett, died this morning at 9:28 a.m. at St. John’s Heath Center in Santa Monica where she had returned "for treatment of complications from anal cancer, first diagnosed three years ago," according to People Magazine. She was 62 years old. Her spokesperson is saying the cause of death is the cancer. Ryan O'Neal and Alana Stewart were at her bedside as she passed away, reported TMZ. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, she had become pop culture figure and sex symbol after her role on Charlie's Angels when it began airing in 1976. You will be sorely missed, Farrah Fawcett, sorely missed. RIP.

"It will be cool to be under people's feet," Cameron Diaz joked today about her star. "It really is the place where people can understand exactly that actors are not really stars - they exist on the ground just like everybody else."

              

Although her weight gain and amazing loss has been grabbing tabloid headlines as of late, the real news about Melissa Joan Hart is her new sweets shop that just celebrated its grand opening on Saturday in Sherman Oaks. Meet Sweetharts, a whimsically decorated frozen yogurt, gelato, cake, cupcake, hard and soft candy store.

       

By Gareen Darakjian

This week, the Environmental Media Association's Young Hollywood Board is putting on the gloves and digging deep in support of organic gardening in Los Angeles-area schools. Celebs on the Board, including Nicole Richie, Lance Bass, Rosario Dawson, members of Maroon 5, Amy Smart, Matthew Rhys, Emily VanCamp and Emmanuelle Chriqui, will each adopt an area school, help with the planting, and check in with their gardens during the school year, explains People.

The 52-year-old Vegas performer--the man with many voices--died early this morning from causes not immediately known. The self described "musical impressionist" has been a Vegas mainstay since 1996 and last year earned his 11th consecutive Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year award. His usually sold out show just moved to Steve Wynn's Encore from the Mirage in February. "One of the most unique human beings and entertainers in the world has been taken from us in an unexpected moment," Wynn said in a statement.

Dr. Drew Pinsky and Dr. Mark Young penned the recent book, “The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism Is Seducing America." (LAist Book Review) In this video from 2006, the doctors give a talk at the USC Annenberg School for Communication on celebrity narcissism, and more. Both doctors have Trojan ties. Dr. Young heads the entertainment business program at USC, and Dr. Drew earned his MD from USC Medical School. (The audio sync is a little off -- but not like an old kung fu flick.)

It just takes one "anonymous tipster" to make gossip go viral these days, which is precisely what happened yesterday when celeb scandal-mongers TMZ passed on a report that came from the California Highway Patrol's own website regarding a "possible fatality" at the home of rapper Snoop Dogg that read: "The word is 'Snoop Doggy Dogg has the dead body of his wife in his basement"--a story which grew wings and spread like an STD at a frat house in seconds flat. Snoop, nee Cordozar Calvin Broadus Jr, and his wife, Shante Taylor, have had their share of squabbles, but the rapper's manager has come forward to say that the story is "ridiculous." TMZ, classy lot that they are, added this parting thought to the item: "So this is either really funny ... or really, really, really messed up." Really? Recently, LAist chatted with Snoop about his own quirky sense of humor.

19-year-old R&B singer Chris Brown will be appearing in court in Los Angeles this afternoon to enter his plea on felony assault charges, according to cbs2.com. The performer stands accused of "assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury and making a criminal threat." The victim is his off-and-on girlfriend Rihanna, who has been keeping her distance from Brown in recent days, despite reports the couple were seen together vacationing and working on a duet a few weeks ago. The couple have been the subject of much scrutiny since the pre-Grammy night events whereupon Brown allegedly attacked Rihanna following a verbal dispute in a parked car. Because the crimes Brown stands accused of are felonies, he must appear in court in person today for arraignment. If convicted, he faces punishment ranging from probation to five years in prison.

Let's face it: Celebrities are people, too. People who...Twitter. The wherefores and hows of the issue notwithstanding, sometimes a 140 or less character Tweet is worth a thousand words. Or, if you are Sandie Guy and a fan of Demi Moore, it's worth your life.

Friday night, the Beverly Hills Police issued a warrant carrying a $50,000 bail for actress Lindsay Lohan in connection with her duo of DUI arrests from 2007. However, the 22-year-old party girl "won't be in court today to respond," but her attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley will appear on her behalf, reports the Daily News. "Holley said she believes the warrant was issued as the result of a misunderstanding and that it should be cleared up in court." The warrant is connected to Lohan's probation, which stipulates she must report to her probation officer, undergo drug testing, participate in alcohol abuse education classes, perform community service, and serve time in jail (she served a whopping 84 minutes). In 2007, the starlet "pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of being under the influence of cocaine, no contest to two counts of driving with a blood-alcohol level above .08 percent and one count of reckless driving."

Yesterday, the Beverly Hills Police Department issued an arrest warrant for actress Lindsay Lohan, according to the Huffington Post. The BHPD released this statement last night:

In response to media inquiries, [the] Beverly Hills Police Department is confirming a warrant was in fact issued today [March 13] for the arrest of Lindsay Lohan. The $50,000 warrant issued by the Beverly Hills Superior Court stems from a May 2007 arrest of Miss Lohan for DUI and hit-and-run. The circumstances leading to the issuance of the warrant by the court are not readily available at this time. It is our hope that Miss Lohan will surrender herself so that this matter will be resolved in a timely manner.

Think the saga of OctoMom is played out? RadarOnline.com sure doesn't.

Maybe all headline-making R&B star Chris Brown needed was some face time with girlfriend Rihanna under her beach "Umbrella." It seems the pair are back together now, three weeks after their Grammy no-show, Brown's arrest, and Rihanna's battered mug made news and drove the young lovers apart, according to People magazine. The rag mag relies on unnamed sources to spill the dirt on the duo, who were expected to next meet in court here in LA, and not "at one of Sean 'Diddy' Combs's homes, on Miami Beach's Star Island," where they are reported to be right now. Says the anon source: "While Chris is reflective and saddened about what happened, he is really happy to be with the woman he loves." Many had hoped this horrible incident would lead to Rihanna speaking up for herself and on behalf of abused women everywhere, perhaps bringing to light--as Tina Turner did more than a generation ago--that physical abuse in a romantic pairing still happens in the spotlight. It seems this latest chapter only teaches us that love hurts. Ouch.

Happy Mardi Gras, everyone! Laissez les bons temps rouler...

In Los Angeles, A-list celebrities wait in line in front of you at Caffe Primo, while B-list celebrities make your nonfat mocha. That is to say, there’s ‘stars’ everywhere, and it’s easy (even in fashion, perhaps) to be unimpressed. In Spokane, Washington, however, celebrities are a bit harder to come by. Strange, since this is exactly where you can find Barats and Bereta, longtime internet video sensations. With millions of hits, numerous accolades, and a one-year NBC deal behind them, the two mid-twenties comedy boys just keep on working, producing videos and doing a lot of fresh, live work. There isn’t the sense of urgency that you might find in a starving artist living in downtown LA, but you certainly like to believe Barats and Bereta have the skill and determination to be successful.

88-year-old veteran actor Ricardo Montalban has died, abc7.com is reporting. The news was announced by City Council President Eric Garcetti today; Montaban lived in Garcetti's district, and died at his home there in the Doheny Estates. Garcetti says: "The Ricardo Montalban Theatre in my Council District - where the next generations of performers participate in plays, musicals, and concerts - stands as a fitting tribute to this consummate performer." Montalban was born in Mexico in 1920, and had a long-spanning career in film, television, and radio. Two of his best-known roles were as Mr. Roarke on the TV show Fantasy Island (1977-1984) and as Star Trek's villainous Khan. Montalban's wife of 63 years, Georgiana, died just over a year ago. The cause of Montalban's death has not been released.

He might be needing to move on from his fantasy-driven life on his legendary Santa Barbara estate, but Michael Jackson still knows how to do things in style. The onetime "King of Pop" recently moved into a Bel Air home for the totally reasonable price of $100k a month rent. The home, according to the LA Times, is "a French chateau estate built in 2002" and "has seven bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, 12 fireplaces and a theater" but, there is "nary a Ferris wheel or exotic animal in sight."

Andre Young Jr, the 20-year-old son of rap icon Dr. Dre, was found dead in the family's Woodland Hills home this past August. He'd been out with friends the night before, but was unresponsive when his mother, Jenita Porter, tried to rouse him that morning, and was pronounced dead by paramedics. According to People, The Los Angeles County Coroner announced yesterday after months of waiting for the toxicology report that the cause of Young's death was "from an overdose of heroin and morphine," and that the case was both closed and ruled as accidental.

He might have played a big box book retailer in 1998's You've Got Mail, but in real life, actor Tom Hanks is pitching for the little guy, namely Pacific Palisades' Village Books. Local blog Tabloid Baby explains that Hanks is trying to help efforts to save the store by signing books there tonight.

If you've ever wanted to adopt your own entourage and get world-class A-list treatment, apparently Los Angeles International Airport is the place to go. So throw on your best pair of sweats, grab your $1000 handbag, and slip on those shades! Of course, you might want to enlist your own security detail, because yesterday "the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday decided against any new regulations to control paparazzi at [LAX]" reports the Daily News.

Gossip is floating around that Toluca Lake's sweetheart Kirsten Dunst and Playa del Rey's Why Tuesday? blogger Jacob Soboroff are dating. The Daily Star is reporting that Dunst is "back on the dating scene after breaking up with 'secret' boyfriend Justin Long... The 26-year-old actress is working with Soboroff on a documentary about voting, and the two have become more than close friends... The new couple was spotted shopping together at art store Blick last week."

     

The man who was shot and killed yesterday in a Scientology building parking lot has not been officially identified, but police say he is from Florence, Oregon and was involved with the church "a long time ago."

LA Observed has shared a new New Yorker story on legendary music icon Prince, who has been living in Los Angeles for the past two years. Recently the Artist Formerly Known as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince played Coachella, declaring as he left the stage: "Coachella will always be Prince's house." Lest he confuse himself or his fans, he actually now calls the "rarefied gated nouveau complex of Beverly Park" here in LA his home.

Oprah this morning spoke to Rob Lowe on the phone about the "Tea Fire" burning two miles from her home in Montecito near Santa Barbara. Lowe, who also lives in the neighborhood, was home last night when the fire began, but knew nothing of it until his wife called. "This thing came on so fast, you wouldn't believe it... I walked out [my door] and my jaw just dropped," he explained to Oprah. He did not smell any smoke because of the wind direction. Lowe helped pry open the gates at a neighbors house to rescue them. Lowe's house was undamaged when he spoke to Oprah. KNX1070 has the full audio.

      

TMZ follows up on the now identified dead woman found outside "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul's Sherman Oaks home: "The woman found dead in front of Paula Abdul's house last night was a featured contestant on 'American Idol.' Paula Goodspeed appeared on Season 5 in 2006. During her audition she said she's an artist and the first pic she ever drew was of Paula Abdul. 'Idol' produced a 3 minute and 40 second featurette on Goodspeed and her passion for Paula. She did not make the cut, after Ryan Seacrest proclaimed, 'And the love affair is over.'"