Beverly HillSheet An International Look for People Who Make a Difference April/May 2009 Two Dollars First Lady, Michelle Obama Parties Around Town: Huffington, Children’s Burn Foundation, PDS Gypsy Awards, YMF, The Writer The Singer The Song, LA Opera, Save Venice, Vanity Fair, and The Governors Ball Great Hotels of the World The Peninsula of Beverly Hills threw a great party Barbara Lockhart Interior Designer Extraordinaire Washington D.C. Huffington Party Will.i.am Sting and Sharon Stone Mayor Cory Booker, Arianna Huffington & daughter Christina Arianna Huffington, Jessica Alba and Diane Von Furstenberg Kate Walsh Dana Delany and Marc Cherry Teri Hatcher and daughter Emerson Rose Sarah Silverman Arianna Huffington and Don King Robert De Niro Larry King & Arianna Huffington Jesse Jackson, Arianna Huffington & Chris Matthews Jennifer Beals Tracee Ellis Ross (The Daugther of Diana Ross) Sting and Sheryl Crow Josh Groban First Lady Michelle Obama The official White House Photograph Professional Dancers Society Honors Bob Mackie Gypsy Award Carol Burnett, Florence Henderson Bob Mackie Mary Ann Mobley and Alton Ruff PDS President Mitzi Gaynor, Bob Mackie, Carol Burnett,, PDS Chair Joni Berry B arbara Fodor Chairman Angel’s Night May 16th, 2009 Century Plaza Choreographers Joe Tremaine, Tony Charmoli, Randy Doney Gloria Franks, Neile Adams, Kate Edelman Johnson C ase Scaglione, was recently appointed Music Director and Conductor of the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra. The 26-year-old native of Houston, Texas continues in the footsteps of such illustrious conductors as André Previn, Michael Tilson Thomas, Myung-Whun Chung, Daniel Hege, Larry Foster, Lucas Richman, and Jung-Ho Pak, all of whom launched their conducting careers with YMF’s world-renowned pre-professional training orchestra. Mr. Scaglione made his Russian debut in 2007 as an invited guest conductor of the St. Petersburg State Academic Symphony. He has served as guest cover conductor for the Saint Louis Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, and Baltimore Opera. In spring of 2009 Mr. Scaglione is scheduled to cover for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. YMF Conductor The Children’s Burn Foundation Has raised 14 Million in 14 years, Bravo to Them! Case Scaglione, Anne Jeffreys Sterling Lainie Kazan Honoree Tom Harmel & wife Marisa Susan Egan of Disney Fame Richard Sherman & John Williams Al and Lynda Fadel (Trustee) Barbara Fodor, (Benefit Committee) in her very chic chapeau. Barbara Friedman (Children’s Burn Foundation Executive Director) Dick Van Dyke & Wells Fargo Executives Elizabeth & Richard Sherman WCIL’S TEA Ryan (Trustee) & Susan Lynch (Benefit Committee) Ruth Kraft and Dascha Auerbach Stuart June Pulcini and Marj Fasman Barbara Gordon and Phyllis Wiseman Alex and Jean Trebek (Council member) Hostess Betty Deutsch, Marcia Solomon, and Alexis Deutsch Adler Sue Hochberg and Suzie Levin Hostess Betty Deutsch and her 3 daughters, Vicky Deutsch Zakarin, Victoria Deutsch Sutherland, Alexis Deutsch Adler and guest writer Sandra Tsing Loh Doug Mancino (Chairman of the Children’s Burn Foundation), Linda and Alex Cappello (recipients of the Giving New Hope Award) Linda Vitale (Benefit Co-Chair), Kathy Toppino (President, The Council of the Children’s Burn Foundation) and Brenda Gross (Benefit Co-Chair) Save Venice Visits Egypt “The Writer, The Singer, The Song” S ave Venice is an organization that raises funds for the restoration of buildings and selected art works in Venice. This year’s fundraising trip to Egypt was an adventure! There were two very lavish private quarters dinners. They visited a vast amount of sites including, the tombs of King Tut and the longest reigning female Pharaoh Hatshepsut. T Benefit The Blue Ribbon of the Music Center he Blue Ribbon of The Music Center and The Songwriters Hall of Fame presented the fourth “The Writer, The Singer, The Song” The evening was, hosted by Eunice and Hal David, followed by dinner in the Grand Hall of The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Donanne Kasikci and Suzanne Kayne co-chaired. Paul Williams again emceed the evening which featured multi-award winning songwriters Ashford & Simpson, Jeff Barry, Alan Bergman, Felix Cavaliere, Hal David and Williams accompanied by the vocal talents of Seidah Garrett, Darlene Love, Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr., Kenny Rankin and Steve Tyrell. Karen Sherry produced with Walter Grauman and Ron Rosen co-producing. “The evening was a huge success because of the intimacy of the individual stories and the renowned artists that participate,” said Eunice David. The Proceeds from the benefit when to the Educational Programs of The Blue Ribbon, a major support group of The Los Angeles Music Center, and The Songwriters Hall of Fame. Caroline Bassett at the entrance og King Tut’s Tomb Cat Pollon & Dr. Bruce Horten Dr. Lanny Bell & Robert Wilk Bob & Bea Guthrie Blue Ribbon President Judith Krantz & Evening Co-host Eunice David Marilyn & Alan Bergman Nickolas Ashford & Alan Bergman Michel Langlois de Langlade Carol & Frederik with Molly & David Borthwick Hal David & Kenny Rankin Marilyn McCoo, Billy Davis Jr., Eunice David Cat Pollon & pals in the desert 20 min. outside of Cairo Bea Guthrie & Caroline Firestone Aaron Lieber Barbara de Portago & Randy Fishburn Deep inside a tomb where the color is somewhat well preserved Hal David, Donna & Felix Cavaliere Judge Malcolm Lucas & Fiorenza Lucas Darlene Love’s 2 backup singers, Jeff Barry, Darlene Love Barbara Lockhart Interior Designer Extraordinaire B arbara Lockhart is one of America’s preeminent Architectural Interior Designers. Barbara Lockhart is not only one of America’s best Interior Designers, she is a very elegant dresser who speaks to the word “Designer”. Recently, Lockhart was recognized at the International Design Awards, with the Lifetime Achievement of Interior Design. A few months back Lockhart was the first Recipient of the Interior Design Lifetime Achievement Award for Recognition of Outstanding Practice and Contributions to the Profession. The inimitable designer has been bestowed with the most coveted awards in her field, such as the National S.M. Hexter Most Outstanding Interior Designer in America Award for the New York Central 20th Century Limited Train design. Lockhart was highlighted by the State of CaliforBarbara Lockhart Receiving Double nia, the City of Los Angeles, the City of BevHonorary Doctorate for Fine Arts and erly Hills, and the City of West Hollywood naming Humanities from the University of Akron, Ohio. May 13 Barbara Lockhart Day. Lockhart was graced by Christies as one of 20 innovators of the 20th Century style and was selected as one of Americas Elite 1000. The unparalleled designer has been granted a double Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts and Humanities from the University of Akron in Ohio. The American Society of Interior Designer’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Design Excellence.First designer to receive this award. arbara Lockhart Commercial projects of note include the Stephen S. Wise Temple, The Original Le Dome Restaurant for which she was rendered the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Design Award, The reborn Chasen’s Restaurant with the Private Jockey Club in Beverly Hills, and The Marriot View Restaurant in Washington D.C. Lockhart was the owner and designer of the popular restaurant Colors On Bedford and has received the Beverly Hills Architectural Award for Interior and Exterior Design. Since selling Colors On Bedford Barbara Lockhart has resumed her Interior Design Career full time and is currently working on exciting and challenging projects (her passion). For 30 years Barbara has been collecting antiques and pieces of unique cultural importance which now occupy several warehouses. Barbara Lockhart and Diego Giacometti B For more information 310.276.8228 Lockhart’s impressive residential resume includes: the William Randolph Hearst/Marion Davies Estate and private residences designed with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Her projects are worldwide. Lockhart’s extraordinary talent, diversity and deft design integrity is evident throughout many of the world’s top residential properties, fashionable restaurants, hotels, and notable personalities. Barbara Lockhart has been active as a Founder of the Los Angeles Music Center, A Founding Member of The Blue Ribbon 400 sponsored by Dorothy Chandler, A Charter Founder of the Museum of Contemporary Art – MOCA, Co-Founder of the Friends of Southeast Symphony. She is a Board Member of several charity organizations including Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler’s Giving Vision. Equally, Barbara Lockhart has been the honoree of many charitable organizations including The City of Hope “Woman of the Year” Spirit of Life Award for Pediatric Cancer Research. The same altruistic attention and acumen that she applies to her work, she applies to charitable causes. Barbara has established the Barbara Lockhart Educational Foundation for the Arts which supports Fine Arts thru Martial Arts. Barbara at Christies with Personal Collection of Signed Diego Giacometti. Exhibited at Christies in New York Dr. Irene Kassorla and Dr. Norman Friedmann. Barbara helped Irene with her home when they were both students at UCLA. Standing Room Only Jimmy, Gila Michael and Annie Murphey Barbara with Fernando Diaz at the Century Club (one of her outstanding design projects) receiving the American Society Interior Designer's (ASID) First Lifetime Achievement Award. Sandy and Stuart Newmark. Devoted clients and friends for more than 30 years. Hostess Gila Michael, honoring party for Barbara Lockhart and her friends, had an overflowing crowd. Ambassador Isaq & Hafizah Shahryar. Enthusiastic clients. Barbara designed their Palisades Residence, Afghanistan Embassy in Washington D.C. and Solar Business Offices. Barbara's Lovely Daughter Liz Blackman Mason. Lester Lofton President of Kent State University Douglas Mancino Trustee of Kent State University Barbara Lockhart and Stephen Sokany Kent State University Vice President of Institutional Advancement. Barbara Lockhart’s Design Projects New York Apartment at the Essex House Central Park South The Beverly Hills resident of Stuart and Sandy Newmark Barbara with Rabbi Isaiah Zeldin at the Stephen S. Wise Temple. (An edifice of her designs) Barbara Lockhart New York Central 20th Century Limited Train won the National S.M. Hexter Award for the Most Outstanding Interior Designer in America. Barbara was the owner and designer of the popular restaurant Colors On Bedford and has received the Beverly Hills Architectural Award for Interior and Exterior Design. The Original Le Dome Restaurant won the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Design Award. Lockhart’s impressive resume includes the William Randolph Hearst/Marion Davies Estate and private residences designed with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. The Private Jockey Club at Chasen’s Restaurant in Beverly Hills. (The most beautiful entertainment room in Beverly Hills) Rabbi Isaiah Zeldin Tina Fey, Must have had a stomach ache? Jessica Biel, this looks like a real Towel Rack Angelina Jolie, The Emeralds of the night, the ring 44cts. maybe all of this belongs to the Colombian Government? The text on her arm is the location of birth of each of her children. Sam Mendes and Kate Winslet, Where is the other half of her Lace Gown? Amy Adams, needs a younger hairdo, to go with her gown split Miley Cyrus, This is the first time Tinka Bell has ever left Disneyland to go to the Oscars, she is missing her crown and wand. Anne Hathaway Mermaid on the run Reese Witherspoon, How many gowns is this? Beyonce, “The Worst Dress” of the evening. Meryl Streep, Gray means Sad, Meryl has been nominated 15 times more than any other person and has won four times, she could not be Sad, so where it is this gown coming from? Marisa Tomei, This reminds me of going to the linen closet and having everything fall out including all the sheets and pillowcases. Penelope Cruz, This beautiful Pierre Balmain gown is older than some Countries (60 years old) it was bought at a Thrift Shop Bravo to Her! The County’s New Face Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas M ark RidleyThomas: A New Force on LA County’s Board of Supervisors. Mark Ridley Thomas is well known to Angelenos. However, for all of his political accomplishments Mark has always believed in neighborhood participation in government decision making. Mark’s latest fight on behalf of the community is the reopening of the Martin Luther King hospital. He is on a mission to raise two hundred million dollars in both public and private funds, to reopen this vital hospital the community so desperately needs. Mark has never been one to see a critical wound in the community and not try to heal it. The Mark Ridley-Thomas community knows that Mark is the leader they can depend on to get the job done. L.F. The community knows that Mark is the leader they can depend on to get the job done. Mark Ridley-Thomas was overwhelmingly elected Los Angeles County Supervisor for the Second District on November 4, 2008. With nearly 2.3 million people, the Second District includes Carson, Compton, Culver City, Gardena, Hawthorne, Inglewood and Lynwood, portions or all of ten out of fifteen Los Angeles City Council Districts and the unincorporated communities, of Alondra Park, Athens, Del Aire, Dominguez, East Compton, El Camino Village, Florence, Ladera Heights, Lennox, View Park, West Athens, West Carson, West Compton and Willowbrook. Against the backdrop of a nationally historic election, voters of the Second District made their own mark on history by electing the first African America male ever to serve on the County Board of Supervisors. Prior to his election to the Board, Supervisor Ridley-Thomas served the 26th District in the California State Senate where he chaired the Senate’s Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development and its two subcommittees on Professional Sports and Entertainment, and The Economy, Workforce Preparation and Development. In addition to his chairmanship duties, Ridley-Thomas served on the Senate Appropriations, Energy, Utilities and Communications, Health and Public Safety committees. In January 2008, he became Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus and led the Caucus in unprecedented levels of cooperation and collaboration with counterparts in the Latino, and Asian-Pacific Islander Legislative Caucuses. His legislative work addressed a broad range of issues with implications for economic and workforce development, health care, public safety, education, budget accountability, consumer protection and civic participation. (See here for legislative accomplishments). Mark Ridley-Thomas was first elected to public office in 1991 and served with distinction on the Los Angeles City Council for nearly a dozen years and departing as Council President pro Tempore. He later served two terms in the California State Assembly, where he chaired the Assembly Democratic Caucus. He is widely regarded as the foremost advocate of neighborhood participation in government decision-making. By virtue of his founding of the Empowerment Congress, arguably the region’s most successful experiment in neighborhoodbased civic engagement, he is considered the founder of the Neighborhood Council movement,. Ridley-Thomas’ political career was preceded by a decade of service as executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Los Angeles, which followed a brief but successful five-year stint as a high school teacher. He is a graduate of Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles and earned a baccalaureate degree in Social Relations (minor in Government) and a master’s degree in Religious Studies (concentration in Christian ethics) from Immaculate Heart College. Mr. Ridley-Thomas went on to receive his Ph.D. in Social Ethics and Policy Analysis from the University of Southern California. He is married to Avis Ridley-Thomas, the Director of the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office Dispute Resolution Center. They are the proud parents of twin sons, Sebastian and Sinclair who are seniors at the historic Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. 12 Beverly Hills Sheet DALE OLSON One of the first icons of entertainment I met when I moved to California in l953 was the naughty and delicious MAE WEST, a meeting and continuing relationship that is chronicled in CHARLOTTE CHANDLER'S new personalized biography of the enduring show business superstar, “SHE ALWAYS KNEW HOW.”And, as usual, Charlotte gets it right in the most intimate way as she allows us to feel part of personal conversaations with Mae in her famous Ravenswood apartment and glamorous silken while bedrooom. We learn all about the inner Mae West, her unwavering self-confidence even in the face of the morality charges of the time, and the uncanny ability to function beyond her time. Chandler brings years of interviews and conversations with West and her closest colleagues to experience the glamour and, yes, sexual exuberance of West, whose bold, provocative films were credited with saving Paramount Pictures during the great depression, and her unabashed style for opening avenues for women in personal and professional life. Never compromising and always aware of who she was and who her audience was, she flouted and changed the rules at a time when they were never meant to be bandied with. Chandler, as in her earlier books (Groucho Marx, Billy Wilder,Alfred Hitchcock, Bette Davis, Ingrid Bergman) that have made her the widely respected Biographer of the entertainment industry, mixes the intimate comments and observations of West’s closest associates for the first time in this best reflection of the star to date, including her longtime companion Paul Novak, the LA Times critic Kevin Thomas, whom she so admired, her beloved and tragic sister Beverly, and Tim Malachosky, the teenage fan who became her most trusted associate for her last l2 years and has himself amassed a vast collection of West costumes and memorabilia preserved in his own coffee table tribute to his idol. . Yes, it is true Mae West and Charlotte Chandler shows us that she truly “Always Knew How.” A must read for anyone interested in show business feminine fortitude long before her time… KIRK DOUGLAS invited us into his life for the most intimate inspection of a human soul I have ever experienced when he presented four performances of a remarkable reflection of achievement and vulnerability a no holds barred autobiographical oral essay at the theatre bearing his name and financed by the Anne and Kirk Douglas Foundation in Culver City. Calling it “BEFORE I FORGET,” the 92-year-old actor, author and uber philanthropist (theatre for young talent, 50 renovated playgrounds for children, Motion Picture Relief Home Alzheimer’s unit) proved he has forgotten nothing and can still deliver with gusto, elan and an unwavering sense of humor. It was warts and all as he movingly discussed his birth as a ragman’s son, a lifelong need of approval from an uneducated immigrant father incapable of emotional support, and a healthy drive for personal achievement. Just as he has shown in 87 movies, plays and personal appearances and in a remarkable understanding of what life really is, he tells it straight and with dignity, giving much of the credit to his remarkable wife of 50 years, Anne, who never let him stop believing in himself. Even when felled by a stroke, her support was unwavering, to the degree, “I wanted to have breakfast in bed and feel sorry for myself,” he admits, when she said “O.K., sleep in the kitchen!” Bravo, Anne! What Kirk may not have known all these years is that his father in his inabilities gave him a gift, the gift of himself becoming a remarkable father to four extraordinary boys, the gift of motive and achievement and the ability to strive for perfection, and a love for humanity that resulted in extraordinary philanthropy. After all, it was Kirk Douglas who boldly hired Dalton Trumbo to write “Spartacus,” putting the unfairly blacklisted writer’s name on the screenplay and breaking the blacklist in Hollywood. If he had done only that, he would be the hero of Hollywood, but he was impelled to turn his own financial gains into aid for those in need and a projection of hope for the children who he knows are our future. What a gift his unknowing father gave him, an example of how to live life to the fullest and then to transfer to all of us. Thank you, Kirk, and your Dad, for this before we forget. I pray there were cameras to record this for those young people who can profit by the example he and his family project…CENTER THEATRE GROUP and MICHAEL RITCHIE brought us Kirk Douglas and now they are bringing us one of my favorite musicals in a revival of “AIN’T MISBEHAVIN,” the Fats Waller musical with Armelia McQueen from the original cast ad the fabulous Roz Ryan. I’ll be there and you should be, too, opening April 24 at the Ahmanson. Great!...I’ve known Shirley MacLaine’s daughter, SACHI PARKER, who lived her first l2 years in Japan with producer dad, Steve,almost since birth and watched her build a successful film, TV and stage career until 15 years ago when she married Greenwich, Ct. businessman/entrepreneur FRANK MURRAY and started her own family. Now, Sachi is starring in the hottest film in Japan, “THE WITCH OF THE WEST IS DEAD” which was the talk of this year’s Palm Springs Film Festival. Sachi, who projects a sexy 30’s, stole the show as a grandmother who protects her offspring from possible suicide in this soft, moving drama the Festival was so hot on they gave it four sold-out screenings. Hey, distributors, this year’s foreign film “Oscar” went to a Japanese film and this one is an audience winner. Let’s put it in a theatre and grab next year’s “Oscar”, too…BOB MACKIE doesn’t dance and doesn’t sing, but he admits that he was glued to the screen whenever the great musicals were playing and wanted to grow up to become Ann Miller. So, the PROFESSIONAL DANCERS SOCIETY, an affiliate of THE ACTORS FUND FOR EVERYONE IN ENTERTAINMENT, picked Bob for this year’s Gypsy Award honoring outstanding achievement in dance. And why not? PDS prexy MITZI GAYNOR explained, “Has made all of us look good” and Lee Hale’s spectacular film clips of Bob’s spectacular career proved it to be true, as we saw the amazing costumes he has provided over the years for Mitzi, who was the first to discover his uncanny talents, to Carol Burnett, Cher, Ann-Margret, and virtually every musical performer who has tiptoed through films, television, stage and night clubs. Wow! Gaynor was joined by the iconic Burnett to present the award to Mackie, as more than 600 dancers, choreographers and dance enthusiasts headed by PDS Chair Joni Berry filled the Beverly Hilton International Ballroom to applaud the costumes that so enhanced their performances. On hand with icons of the dance world, were Joe Benincasa, Executive Director of the Actors Fund who flew in from N. Y. to tell the group of the monies spent for dancers in need, Bravo! Lee Hale’s amazing film clips made it all so visually exciting and the award winning young “Groovaloos” showed what dancers are doing today, including a fantastic youngster twirling on his head. What will they do next? I even saw phanthropist Loreen Arbus, who has largely been responsible (along with super actor Robert Duvall) with returning the exotic Tango to popularity. Now, lets get a few more big musicals going on screen, huh? 8 Oscars including “Best Picture” Slumdog Millionaire Danny Boyle and Rubina Ali Qureshi Anil Kapoor Dev Patel and Freida Pinto Danny Boyle and Jim Gianopulos Danny Boyle and cast member’s Ben Kingsley, Best Actor for the movie, Gandhi 1982, and Daniela Lavender LA OPERA Opening night Das Rheingold Edye Broad (underwriter) and James Conlon Margie and Dave Barry-Underwriters of Das Rheingold Ambassador Frank and Cathy Baxter Das Rheingold director, Achim Freyer with Carol and Warner Henry Beverly Hills Sheet April / May 2009 Credits Contributing editors, Cover stories by: Christina Basi, Jennifer Lucy, Entertainment: Dale Olson and Anita Talbert, Starr Sisters Terry L. King, Executive Travel Editor, Link Mathewson Travel Editor, and Newport Beach Reporter, Dasha Stuart Travel Editor, Correspondents: Earl Heath, Sports Editor, Heather Moore, Asssociate Travel Editor, William Moore, European Travel Editor, Lester Sloan and Chonita Holmes, Life Style and Travel Editors Photographers: Cover Location: William Randolph Hearst/Marion Davies Estate First Lady Michelle Obama: White House photo LA Opera: Lee Salem Oscars and Vanity Fair: Berliner Studio Save Venice: Mary Hilliard Beverly Hills Sheet is published bi-monthly by Forbes Publishing Editor-in-chief, LaVetta - Editorial and Advertising offices at: 5455 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1508, Los Angeles, CA 90036 Tel 323.938.9411 - Fax 323.938.1933 Not responsible for unsolicited materials Copyright 2009 Artistic Director: Free Design Studio, Hollywood email:[email protected] www.beverlyhillsheet.com STARR SISTERS Old & New Hollywood HOLLYWOOD TRIANGLES REDUX…Oscar’s Fickle Finger of Fate brought America’s long suffering sweetheart Jennifer Aniston within a fart’s whiff of her ex Brad Pitt and his fertile inamorata Angelina Jolie. It looked like Jen might faint as she did her Oscar presenting stint with Jack Black, facing down a smiling Brad & Angelina in the front row. Too bad for Jen there was no orchestra pit this year. An insider reported: “She had been crying in the car on her way to the Oscars. She was very nervous and had to redo her makeup in the garage.” Yes, we all must move on after finding out that he’s just not that into you, but try it with two billion prying, pitying eyes transfixed on you. Tinseltown triangulation is actually a time honored blood sport. In 1958, Elizabeth Taylor shamelessly stole hubby Eddie Fisher from her best friend, Debbie Reynolds. Then Liz won the Oscar and public expiation by almost dying that year. Emboldened, the married la Taylor squared her triangle in 1962 by publicly pilfering Richard Burton from his devoted wife Sybil during the Rome shoot of “Cleopatra”. Incidentally, it was in Rome that Angelina VERY publicly fell in love with the married Brad on the set of “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”. That’s amore. While Burton dubbed his peccadillo “Le Scandale”, Aniston refers to her betrayal as “the insane Bermuda Triangle.” While the Vatican and the Pope labeled Elizabeth Taylor a “moral vagrant”, Jen is more modern about her straying ex, noting: “He’s missing a sensitivity chip”. In a supreme irony, it was recently revealed that Angelina and Madonna share an ex-lover, an actress named Jenny Shimizu…And that’s showbiz! TURNING RED ON THE RED CARPET...In the pre-Oscar show, Ryan Seacrest asked “Slumdog Millionaire” star Dev Patel what his family back in India thought about the movie’s success. Ryan didn’t know that Dev was brought up in Harrow, a tony section of London, and the young actor’s parents are from Nairobi, Kenya. Director Danny Boyle met and auditioned Patel in London. THE CREEPY STAGE PARENT CLUB...The newest member of this lamentable club appears to be the “Slumdog” dad of the 10 year old Indian boy who starred in the Academy Award winning film. Since his tuxedoed attendance at the Oscars, little Azharuddin Ismail has gone to Disneyland, arrived back to a hero’s welcome in Mumbai and returned to his home, a makeshift shack in the slums. Azharruddin’s father was caught on camera a few days after his acclaimed son’s return from the Oscar ceremonies beating the weeping boy in the streets after he begged for some rest. Azharuddin (who played Salim as a child) was reportedly paid $1,000 during the filming with another $35,000 plus going into a trust that he can access when he turns 21. Director Danny Boyle also supplies the boy with an English language school education, $30 a week allowance and is purchasing the boy’s family a new home out of the slums for $30,000. The father is demanding all this money, and more, NOW. Boyle contends the money is in trust to protect the young boy from fiscal predators and to assure his future long after the sitars and stars of “Slumdog” are forgotten by a fawning world. Jackie Coogan, wherever you are, protect this kid. Charter member creepy stage dads include Jessica Simpson’s manager/father, Christian Pastor Joe, who sings heavenly praises about his daughter and her earthly anatomy: “She’s just sexy…She’s got Double D’s! You can’t cover those suckers up!” Preceding Pastor Joe in the “creepy dad” category by over 70 years was Jean Harlow’s smarmy stepfather Mario Bello. After molesting her, the original blonde bombshell’s braggadocio stepdad pimped her out to his gangster friends including Bugsy Siegel and Abe Zwillman. The latter got Harlow a two -picture deal with Columbia. The studio head owed Abe a lot of money. Harlow’s smothering mother Jean and her incestuous stepfather managed her career, siphoning off huge sums of money from her bank account. Movie star Jean struggled to pay their bills, including Bello’s staggering gambling debts. Only Jean’s death at age 26 severed the umbilical cord between the obsessed, emotional blackmailer mother and “The Baby”. Gypsy Rose Lee and her sister June Havoc had the Godzilla of all stage mothers, a loud mouthed, dangerous matriarch called Mother Rose Hovick. Mama threw the girls out on the 1920’s vaudeville circuit when they were barely out of diapers to fulfill her unrealized show business aspirations and to pay the bills. The singing and dancing star of the show, Baby June, ran off at 16 to marry a boy in the act. Mother Rose had him arrested. She showed up at the police station packing heat. In a murderous rage, Mama pulled the trigger, but luckily for the lad the safety was on. Mommy Dearest then forced the frightened, pubescent Louise to become a stripper. Mama Rose’s new meal ticket dutifully christened herself Gypsy Rose Lee and headlined at Minsky’s Burlesque. Known as a “high class” stripper because she read intellectual books and wore opera length gloves, Gypsy became the toast of the Manhattan elite and wrote a bestselling mystery thriller. The two sisters continued to get demands for money from their lying, cheating, intimidating mother. Mama opened a lesbian boardinghouse and proved to be as good a hostess as she was a mother when she shot one of her guests dead. According to Gypsy’s son Erik Preminger, Mama Rose killed her own lover after she made a pass at Gypsy. Mama beat the rap and continued to shake down her daughters until the day she was mercifully buried six feet under. QUOTES OF THE DAY “Life is about creating new opportunities, not waiting for them to come to you.” Salma Hayek, who recently breast fed a hungry black baby in Sierra Leone, edging out Madonna AND Angelina as Africa’s Premier Star Mom “For her (Greta Garbo) and her alone, I could have been a lesbian.” Joan Crawford, who repeatedly tried to set up Marilyn Monroe even after the starlet rejected her advances, protesting: “I don’t go that way.” Oscar winning Jews reflect… “I can’t listen to too much Wagner because I start to get the urge to conquer Poland.” Woody Allen “Every night I dress up like Poland and my husband invades me.” Bette Midler on her lovelife with German spouse, Martin von Hasselberg “Kate Winslet is always naked, sitting on the toilet or running buck naked. I want to be the kind of actress who can really be comfortable with my body like that.” Halle Berry “I don’t think I will get naked in a movie again. I can’t keep getting away with it and I don’t want to become THAT actress…” Kate Winslet, who exposed her Full Monty in 10 films “The best smell in the world is that of the man you love.” Jennifer Aniston, which brings us back to her near fainting at the Oscars [email protected] Listen to podcasts on iTunes or StarrSecrets.com The Peninsula, Beverly Hills T he Peninsula is the only hotel left in Beverly Hills that has true Old World charm, Grace and Elegance. The beauty of the Peninsula can’t be matched for its open, airy scenery and flowers. Superb service and attention to fine details. It’s not a cold marble mausoleum where you feel you are in an underground cave. This hotel is resplendent in the finer details of luxury. Whatever your reason for coming: vacation, business breakfast, brunch, high tea, or dinner its unparalleled ambiance is the best the city has to offer. When you go to the Peninsula you have truly gone home. The Peninsula Hotel Angeleno Publisher Alan Klein & Spencer Yeo, Dir Marketing Peninsula BH Aaron and Renée Kumetz General Manager Chefs Judy & Gordon Davidson Chinese Dancers Offer Nissenbaum Offer Nissenbaum & Councilwoman Linda Briskman Chinese Garden on the Patio Offer Nissenbaum & Miryam Janol The Ken Kerzner Family & Bonnie Nissenbaum Mayor Barry Brucker & Robert Zarnegin Kazanjian Since 1918 Diamonds and Rubies deco earrings Kazanjian Bros. Beverly Hills 310.278.0811
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