Hollywood Gossip - Win Prizes

 
No-one is recognised as knowing more about Hollywood and celebrities than David Hartnell MNZM. He's not only spent a lifetime reporting on Hollywood's trivia, gossip and scandals, but he counts many celebrities among his personal friends. Every Monday morning David will give you an exclusive weekly update on the gossip, scandals and trivia of Hollywood's elite.
 
 
 
David is an award winning broadcaster and columnist he’s also the patron of The Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Inc. Her Majesty The Queen, awarded David the Insignia of a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (formerly an MBE) in the Queen's birthday Honours list 2011.

Visit David's Website

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

David Hartnell: Memoirs of a Gossip Columnist

David Hartnell grew up in a secure but unremarkable suburban life. His interest in things colourful and theatrical led him to championship roller skating and cabaret. On his big OE, he landed a job in Australia and then in the heart of the London cosmetics industry, and eventually attended to the makeup needs of A-listers. He went on to New York and Los Angeles where his career took a new course. Returning home in the mid-seventies led to screen appearances as a purveyor of celebrity gossip, and he continued to travel frequently backwards and forwards to Hollywood.

David rapidly became established as New Zealand's number 1 celebrity gossip columnist on television, radio and print. His visits to Hollywood established his credentials until he became an encyclopaedia of trivia and scandal about the rich and famous – and the public lapped up every word. Today no one in New Zealand is recognised as knowing more about Hollywood. Not only has he spent a lifetime reporting on Hollywood gossip, but he now counts a handful of international celebrities among his lifelong friends.

But behind the glitter and the showbiz glamour, David's story also reveals the private strains he has experienced behind the ever-confident public face. He writes about damaging family secrets, being bullied because he was gay, two name changes and being sued for defamation by a prominent New Zealand singer.

Bursting with remarkable photos and stories of his encounters, including a surprise lunch with Alfred Hitchcock and Bette Davis, his close friendship with the legendary Phyllis Diller, little-known secrets about the Royal Family's crown jewels and many, many more, this book is for anyone who loves behind-the-scenes gossip and enjoys a rollicking good read.

This is David's story, and this time, his lips aren't sealed.

Published by Penguin New Zealand/Australia in store now at $45.00

David Hartnell on the Good Morning Show (3 August 2011)

***

Read David's Best & Worst Dressed List (2012) here.

Read David's interview with New Zealand Woman's Weekly about his new book!

Read David Hartnell Answer’s 12 question in the NZ Herald 30th August 2012

Monday 17th June 2013

I'm not one to gossip but....Graham Norton has split from his partner after two years together and says he would never want to get married as he would be too embarrassed to do so in front of friends.

The 50-year-old TV and radio presenter confirmed to an Irish radio station that he is no longer with Canadian software designer Trevor Patterson. Asked if he was in love, Norton replied: "No, not at the moment."

When he was told anyone would be lucky to have him, The Mirror reports he joked: "If only now, if only now. Tweet me."

Norton previously shared his London flat with Patterson. He said: "I love living alone, which sounds so miserable, doesn't it? But it is one of my greatest joys."

Referring to his labradoodle Bailey and terrier Madge, he said: "I have Bailey and Madge – so I'm never truly alone."

Norton stated his mother often worried he would end up living alone after he came out as gay. He said: "It's an alien choice and an alien form of community that my mother wouldn't understand. But I think she's got over that now. She sees that I've made my own family – a family of friends."

Norton said that he would never want to get married as he would be too embarrassed to do so in front of friends. He said: "I find the self-conscious thing of saying ‘I love you' embarrassing."

Graham Norton previously dated Kristian Seeber for five years before their split in 2006. He added: "I've always lived as a single man but there are definitely moments when I wish it was different."

Scot Robert.

*

Someone sent me these footpath drawings, there amazing and thought you may enjoy them. Sorry I don't now anything more about them – now that's what I call art. They are signed Nikolaj Arndt who obviously must be the artist.








To see a lot more of Nikolaj's art in detail, visit his gallery here.

*

Janet Jackson is becoming more and more estranged from her family. Nobody in her family even knew she was married until they read about it months later. She's been noticeably absent during her mother Katherine's court battle with AEG Live and has kept her distance after Paris Jackson's breakdown and suicide attempt.

Since Michael died Janet's five brothers have been pestering her for money and she's been generous, but feels used. Since she married her billionaire Wissam Al Mana, she's been keeping him away from her brothers because she knows they will hound her husband to invest in their questionable business schemes. If Katherine wins her lawsuit she will undoubtedly share the money with her sons and Janet will be off the hook for awhile.

*

Thought you may like to see this Larry King interview back in 2001 after the death of Liberace.

Larry King talks about Liberace with panel: Jamie James, Debbie Reynolds, Phyllis Diller, Robert Goulet, Gladys Luckie, Mike Douglas, Will Collins.

Original broadcast Aug 7, 2001.



*

Michael Barrymore appeared on the BBC Nolan Show on how his world collapsed around him. This is a great interview by both interviewer and Michael, it's well worth a look.



*

Last thusday Jim Nabors turned 83, best known for his role as Gomer Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show and on Gomer Pyle USMC, he married Stan Cadwallader on January 15 after 38 years together.

They live in Hawaii but got married in the state of Washington where same-sex marriage is legal.

Although he says he is not a gay marriage activist, Jim did want to make things with Stan legal: ‘It's pretty obvious that we had no rights as a couple, yet when you've been together 38 years, I think something's got to happen there, you've got to solidify something.  And at my age, it's probably the best thing to do.'

Jim and I at his home in Hawaii many moon's ago infact back in the 80's, he is a delightful man – very funny with a great singing voice.

*

Freckle-face Hollywood actor Eddie Redmayne is probably going to be starring as physicist Stephen Hawking in Theory Of Everything, the film directed by Man on Wire‘s Oscar-winner James Marsh. The biopic could hand Redmayne the opportunity to display the same kind of tour-de-force performance that won Daniel Day-Lewis an Oscar for My Left Foot. The movie will focus on the relationship between Hawking and his wife – either his first, Jane Wilde, or his second, Elaine Mason.



*
 
Wizardly actor and gay rights activist Sir Ian McKellen is donating his time to the New Zealand Labour Party for a fundraising lunch in Wellington on 23 June.

The antipodean country has become a second home to the British actor as he has been working there for more than a decade for his role as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the new Hobbit trilogy.

McKellen is appearing at the Labour Party lunch on the invitation of general secretary Tim Barnett, an old friend of the actor's. They first met when Barnett was the first executive director of leading UK LGBT rights organization Stonewall in the early 1990s.

'I ended that job when I emigrated to New Zealand, but we kept in touch and when he came here in 2000 to start filming Lord of the Rings we re-established contact,' said Barnett, New Zealand's second openly-gay MP, to Gay NZ.

'As he ends his time here, and thinking about all that has happened in law reform here through that period, we wanted to mark that with an event. He was happy to help.'

Tickets for the lunch in the Old Museums' Building's great hall, part of the Massey University campus, are $790, for a seat at McKellen's table and $250 to $200, to join the lunch at another table.

By Anna Leach

*

If you're in the mood to laugh out loud, go and see the movie This is the End. It's about a bunch of actors facing the end of the world and everybody plays caricatures of themselves!

James Franco's movie persona is a pretentious pseudo intellectual with a big dose of vanity. Seth Rogan is an arrogant pothead and Jonah Hill is a fawning fussbudget. Imagine these actors, plus Michael Cera, Rihanna, Paul Rudd, and Jason Segel, among many other famous faces, at a huge party at James Franco's Hollywood Hills compound on the night the world suddenly erupts in a fury of explosions, fire and monsters.



Half the actors are lost in a giant sinkhole outside and a few are left to barricade themselves inside the house and see what happens. Some of the dialog making fun of "actors" is hilarious and the guys skewer their own reputations. It's vulgar and the plot is iffy, but the one-liners are priceless and you"ll definitely have fun.

*

Not many people are accused of owing 150 million (US) in taxes... HELLO!  I'm talking about Aussie actor and Crocodile Dundee star Paul Hogan. His first Crocodile movie pulled in around 328 million (US) (although who really knows because the figures might have been jiggled a bit.) His two following Croc movies didn't do as well but they made a nice profit.

For the past seven years Paul has been pursued by the Australian income tax people. (He compared them to the Taliban.) He was accused of concealing money in offshore accounts. The issue was recently settled with no details forthcoming. Paul and his wife Linda have been living in Malibu and making even more money by buying and selling properties in the US. According to Richard Mineards at The Montecito Journal, the Hogans just sold a Santa Barbara beachfront property for 12.9 million (US), so who needs crocodiles...

Above: Linda Kozlowski and Paul Hogan with their son Chance

*

GREAT DVDs TO WATCH OUT FOR

Lincoln
Universal

As the Civil War continues to rage, America's president struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield and as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves. Steven Spielberg directs Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln, a revealing drama that focuses on the 16th President's tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.

I have to admit I really didn't want to see this movie because the subject didn't spin my wheel's. But I have to eat my words big time, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I thought both Sally Fields and Daniel Day-Lewis were amazing!

*

ilver Linings Playbook
Roadshow

After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.

*

Stolen
Roadshow

A former thief, Will Montgomery (Cage) is released from prison for a bank robbery of $10 Million. He decides to visit his estranged daughter, Alison, whom he hasn't seen in eight years. But then an old partner (Lucas), who many believed to have died, kidnaps Alison and locks her in the trunk of his medallion taxi cab and demands ransom: the $10 million he believes Will still has. Since he doesn't, Will has to rob another bank as the detective that put him away (Huston) tracks him down again.

*

Movie 43
Roadshow

From the twisted minds of producers Peter Farrelly (Hall Pass, Shallow Hal) and Charles Wessler (There's Something About Mary, Dumb & Dumber), comes Movie 43 - the outrageous new ensemble comedy starring some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

Movie 43 is not for the easily-offended and contains jaw-dropping, sometimes shockingly disturbing, but always entertaining intertwined storylines you'll have to see to believe.

*

Room on the Broom
Roadshow

Room on the Broom is a magical tale about friendship and family.
 
A kind witch invites a surprising collection of animals to join her on her broom, much to the frustration of her cat. The gang ultimately saves the witch from a fearsome dragon and in gratitude she rewards them with a magnificent new broom which has room for everyone.

*

Playing for Keeps
Roadshow

A romantic comedy about a charming, down-on-his luck former soccer star (Butler) who returns home to put his life back together. Looking for a way to rebuild his relationship with his son, he gets roped into coaching the boys' soccer team. But his attempts to finally become an "adult" are met with hilarious challenges from the attractive "soccer moms" who pursue him at every turn.

*

HOLLYWOOD TRIVIA TO GO

The Commerce Bank of Beverly Hills was made famous by the TV series 'The Beverly Hillbillies' in the 60s. Mr. Milburn Drysdale ran the bank, and it was the bank, which housed the $50,000,000 of the Clampits. People started to think the bank was real, and quite a few very wealthy Beverly Hills residents inquired about depositing their fortunes with it. The power of television!

*

As a teenager, Kate Jackson, ex-'Charlie's Angels', set her sights on becoming a professional tennis player. She got an appetite for acting after a short run in a summer stock show. Years later she came up with the idea for a TV series about three karate-chopping women detectives, the studio liked it, and 'Charlie's Angels' was born.

*

When the network was putting together the 'Mary Tyler Moore Show' the producers sent out word that they wanted a Betty White type to play the double-edged Sue Ann Nivens, but the producers never offered the role to Betty herself. One day she sashayed in and offered herself for the role. They couldn't believe their luck.

*

The most popular movie shown on American TV is Casablanca; it is also the movie which has had most reruns on TV.

*

'I Love Lucy' TV star Vivian Vance's contract stipulated that she stay twenty pounds overweight for her role as Ethel Mertz. The show's producers and directors wanted her to look older and frumpier than Lucille Ball, even though in real life there was only thirteen days between them.

*

Larry Hagman, who plays JR Ewing in 'Dallas', got his first taste of TV soap operas in 1961, in the afternoon show 'The Edge of the Night' in which he played a lawyer. He was with the show for three years, then left New York for Hollywood, where he played Major Tony Nelson in the smash-hit comedy series 'I Dream of Jeannie'.

*

Robin Williams once picked up $150 dollars a day miming on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York at weekends. This was in the 1960s, long before he burst on to the TV screens as Mork in 'Mork & Mindy', which became the biggest TV comedy hit of 1978 and '79.

*

The Desilu TV studio contracted Walter Winchell to narrate the series 'The Untouchables' for $25,000 per episode.

*

Emma Samms had a dream of following in her mother's footsteps as a ballerina. But at the age of sixteen her dreams were dashed by a hip injury that threatened to cripple her for life if she didn't give up dancing. At twenty-six, she landed the role of Holly Sutton on TV soap 'General Hospital', then went on to the superstar world of Fallon in 'Dynasty'.

*

The licence plate 'LA LAW' seen in the opening segments of the hit TV series belongs to a lawyer named Richard Niederberg, who receives a very modest fee for its use.

*

Comedian David Brenner has guested on more TV chat shows than any other performer in America.

*

Because of the very strict laws, which protect child actors, twins are often used. In the TV series 'Bewitched', twins Erin and Diane Murphy played Tabitha Stevens.

*

Carroll O'Connor played in twenty-seven movies and over 120 TV shows before he landed the role of the bigot Archie Bunker in the super hit 'All In The Family', which grossed him around three million dollars annually in the mid 1970s.

*

In 1981, Elizabeth Taylor was the first movie superstar to guest on an American soap opera. The soap was 'General Hospital', where she played a widow called Helena Cassidine. She thus made soap operas respectable and many big movie stars have followed in her footsteps with guest roles.

*

Jackie Coogan, one of Hollywood's first child stars, played Uncle Fester in TV's send-up horror series 'The Adams Family'. In the early 70s he won Emmy Awards for directing episodes of M*A*S*H and the TV series 'The White Shadow'.

*

Mary Tyler Moore's face was never seen on the TV series 'Richard Diamond', even though she played the switchboard operator...but my lips are sealed!

Copyright David Hartnell 2013
____________________________________________________________________

WIN...

Alan Patridge's Mid Morning Matters

Comic genius Steve Coogan brings one of his classic characters back to the screen. In this series, Alan Partridge, a comic icon in the UK on par with Basil Fawlty and David Brent, hosts a fictional radio show for “North Norfolk Digital.” Along with his sidekick Simon (Edinburgh comedy award winner Tim Key), Partridge discusses some of the most important matters facing the world today…like what he ate for lunch the previous Sunday.

This week's question: Who was the first movie superstar to guest on an American soap opera?

Please send your answer, along with your name and address details to us here.

[Please also note that you must be a GrownUps member to enter the draw - please register Free here if you are not currently a member]

Click here for recent winners.

____________________________________________________________________

Monday 10th June 2013

I'm not one to gossip but....From The Globe and Mail "Cast in River of No Return, an Otto Preminger-helmed Western, [Marilyn Monroe] travelled to the Canadian Rockies to film. That August, while shooting a scene in the river, Ms. Monroe injured her ankle and retired to the Banff Springs Hotel to recuperate.

John Vachon, a Look magazine photographer sent to shoot the set, took about 200 photos of the 27-year-old actress as she recovered at the hotel and toured the town, gaining unusual access to the star. Just two of these made it into the magazine; the others were stowed away for over half a century. More than 100 of the images have been collected into the book Marilyn, August 1953. In this photo, she waves to the camera from an open, one-seat chairlift, suspended high over the evergreen-covered valley."

*

I was sorry to hear of the death of Ester William over this past Friday, she was a lovely lady. I had the pleasure of meeting her several times, she was very funny and always looked elegant. She was a great MGM star who headlined a series of "aquamusicals" for the famed studio which featured synchronized swimming and diving.

Esther hadn't made a movie since 1963 but the star of such classics as Million Dollar Mermaid and Dangerous When Wet was remembered warmly today after it was announced that she had died at the age of 91. Miss Williams had remained in the public eye with lines of swimwear, occasional TV interviews and her recent autobiography.

Her long time friend and publicist, Harlan Boll, shared this funny anecdote earlier today on Facebook: She swam every day and usually in the nude. When I mentioned that her neighbour could see her pool from their upstairs window she said "If Brendan Fraser gets a thrill out of watching me swim, then let him."



Here is a wonderful interview she did with Diane Sawyer in 2007:



*

The Jackson family was WARNED it would open up a big can of worms if they proceeded with their lawsuit against AEG Live, charging that the company's negligence caused Michael Jackson's death. Many negative things about Michael's life – his drug addiction and child molestations charges, in particular – would be brought up and examined. NOT a good thing for his surviving children. But the Jackson family was determined to make AEG PAY for Michael's death.

An AEG executive described the lawsuit as "extortion." Certainly Paris and her brothers were shocked to learn that their beloved father was a raging drug addict. Who knows what their school friends have been whispering. Paris, 15, has grown up without a mother – until recently when she sought a friendship with her birth mother, Debbie Rowe. This greed inspired trial could easily have contributed to Paris's despair.

JC Hollywood

*

BBC America just released the first promotional image of its upcoming biopic, Burton and Taylor starring Helena Bonham Carter and Dominic West. Now, I'm sure y'all are going, "But wait! Wasn't there already a movie about Liz and Dick titled... Liz and Dick that came out like two seconds ago?!" Yes. Yes, there was. We're trying to forget get it even exists. And this brand-spanking new movie is just what the doctor ordered! (I hope)

*

UK diehard Doctor Who fans are calling for the BBC in the UK to hire Jon Pertwee's son Sean, 48, as the new Time Lord. Now Matt Smith, 30, is quitting the role, they think it would be "totally fitting" for the son of an actor who played The Doc to inherit the part.

*

Both Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas's first wife Diandra are very agitated about the fact that Michael has implied that his throat cancer was caused by a sex disease. Both women want the world to know that they do NOT carry HPV, and Michael has started backtracking. However, it's clear to us that Michael is referring back to his days as a raving sex-addict.

Michael was a cheater who bedded almost every leading lady (are you reading this, Sharon Stone?) every attractive bit player, producer's daughters, and his wife's best friends. In his heyday, he was known for his trysts at every fancy hotel in LA and New York. He thinks it was those youthful indiscretions that led to his cancer, not so much the smoking and drinking, but who knows?

JC Hollywood

*

Quote Unquote: Lauren Bacall Sets the Record Straight on Legends

"I don't like 'legend.' I mean, I don't like the category. And to begin with, to me, a legend is something that is not on the earth, that is dead. Because legends are built and evolve in the past. They're not the present. I don't like categories either, in any event. I mean, you know, it's like they say, this one is the second Garbo, that one is the second Bogart. There are no seconds. You are what you are, everyone is an individual."



I met Lauren on a number of occasions and she is a stunning woman with looks to match, mind you she calls a spade a spade.

*

Actors Abbie Cornish, Radha Mitchell, Isabelle Cornish, Sophie Monk and Isabel Lucas; musicians John Butler, Xavier Rudd, Tame Impala's Kevin Parker and Missy Higgins and cricketer Peter Siddle are solidly in the running among contestants in People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia-Pacific's annual Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity contest on PETAAsiaPacific.com.
 
Other vegetarian celebrities in the contest include former US President Bill Clinton; actors Emily Deschanel, Portia de Rossi, Natalie Portman, Joaquin Phoenix, Russell Brand, Pamela Anderson, Mischa Barton, Tobey Maguire, Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway and talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres.
 
Why are more and more trendsetters choosing to go vegetarian? Healthy vegetarian meals can help reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease and strokes. Plus, meat-eaters are nine times more likely to be obese than vegetarians are, making a vegetarian diet the easiest way to stay slim and sexy.
 
The contest runs through 18 June. Votes are one of the factors that will help PETA decide the winners – one male and one female – of the Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity contest. PETA will ultimately decide the winners based on several factors, including the number of votes received.
 
For more information and to cast your vote to help PETA pick the winners, please click here.

*

Shore is Magic! 2013 - Family Comedy Magic Show

Click on the poster to enlarge it.

The "Shore Is Magic!" family comedy magic show features performances by some of the top magicians in New Zealand. Magic and illusion, comedy, ventriloquism, special guest performers and more! Join us for an enchanting good old-fashioned live variety show suitable for all ages.

The best value family entertainment in town! Adults just $15 each, children just $10 each. Special family concession (2A3C) $50, save $10.

The must-see "Shore Is Magic!" show is on for two days and three performances only:

Friday July 5th - 7:30pm
Saturday July 6th - 2:30pm
Saturday July 6th - 7:30pm

The venue is the lovely Rose Theatre, School Road Belmont, North Shore.

Cash door sales available, we do recommend that you reserve your tickets by calling 0800 385 167 or by visiting www.scmc.co.nz

I went last year and it was a real treat, so don't miss out this year. I know that the tickets sell out very fast – so don't leave it too late.

*

Almost 75 years (or three-quarters of a century, if you want to make it sound longer) after its wonderful Technicolor debut, The Wizard of Oz has been converted to 3-D and IMAX for a one-week theatrical run in the US this September. The restoration is said to be the film industry's highest-profile conversion yet of a classic 2-D movie.

Studios have already remastered movies like Titanic, Jurassic Park, and Raiders of the Lost Ark, and now they hope to dazzle audiences with digitally enhanced sound and images, bringing the Oz gang into 3-D focus. "The sound is exceptional, the sharpness is exceptional," said Greg Foster, the head of IMAX Entertainment, who is partial. "But it's the colour that stands out. What they could do is truly amazing, maybe what people felt when they first saw it."

*

Actor Richard Thorp, Alan Turner on Emmerdale for more than 30 years, has died at the age of 81. He had been the longest-serving cast member on the ITV soap, having made his first appearance on 23 March 1982. Thorp also starred as squadron leader Henry Maudslay in iconic 1955 film The Dam Busters.

In a statement, the show remembered him as a "true professional and a complete gentleman" who would be "greatly missed". "Richard's death is a sad loss to Emmerdale, of which he was at the heart for so many wonderful years," said Kate Oates, Emmerdale's series producer. "He will be missed by every single member of our production whose lives he touched."

Thorp's character started out in the show as the hard-drinking, womanizing and bullying manager of Home Farm. But he mellowed over the years, going on to be landlord of the Woolpack pub and open a B&B.

Thorp's breakthrough role in The Dam Busters came at the age of 23. The actor had auditioned for a smaller role but was given the part of Maudslay because he looked like him. He went on to appear in The Barretts of Wimpole Street and There's Always a Thursday before joining hit TV series Emergency Ward 10. Before joining Emmerdale, Thorp appeared in a number of TV shows including Crossroads and To the Manor Born.

The actor told the Daily Mail in 2010 he was "too lazy" to pursue a career in Hollywood and admitted he liked the security of regular soap income. The same year, he told the Radio Times that he "ought to have regrets about staying" at Emmerdale for so long but did not. "There was no point in me moving on because I wasn't good enough," he said.

Past and present cast members have been paying tribute.

Chris Bisson, who plays Jai Sharma on the soap, said he was sorry to hear the news and that Thorp "was always a gentleman".

Adele Silva, who played Kelly Windsor on the soap, said he was a "lovely man and [the] coolest guy I've seen with a Harley!"

Danny Miller, who played Aaron Livesy, said it was "devastating news". "A legend and a true gentlemen, he will be missed dearly!" he wrote.

*

While watching the delicious HBO movie "Behind the Candelabra" (which is a great movie) I was struck by the similarities between Liberace's relationship with Scott Thorson, and Calvin Klein's relationship with Nick Gruber. It's the SAME story without the mink and rhinestones!

Not long ago, Nick was shopping around a book about their time together and we managed to learn many of the details. Both Nick and Scott grew up in foster homes and were young and naïve when they met their celebrity boyfriends-to-be. Both Liberace and Calvin showered gifts upon their lovers - jewelry, designer clothing, and cars. (Which they eventually took BACK.)

Liberace and Calvin both talked about "adopting" their boyfriends and they both had large and sometimes unusual, sex appetites. Both urged their lovers to take diet pills and had plastic surgery with them. Both young men eventually felt "trapped" like birds in a gilded cage, and turned to drugs. Drug use got both boyfriends kicked out and left stranded. Nick, who also claims to be bisexual, ALMOST followed in Scott's footsteps and published his book, but last we heard he and Calvin were back together and on vacation.

Liberace’s home in Las Vegas is now in ruins, click on the link to watch. Very Sad!



*

Every Dog Has Its Day - 1001 things you didn't know about man's best friend

By Max Cryer
 
How much is that doggie in the window?...
 
Why has Fido become a generic term for all dogs? Why do people say it's raining cats and dogs? Dogs never eat other dogs, so why is it a dog-eat-dog world? Did any dogs survive the Titanic? Do mad dogs really go out in the midday sun? And exactly why are the 'dog's bollocks' the best?
 
Max Cryer's new book is a splendid collection of historical facts and eccentricities of language that will delight all dog-lovers and anyone with a morsel of interest in the world around them.
 
Every Dog Has Its Day pays homage to man's best friend, telling the stories of famous dogs in history, tracing the origins of some of our favourite breeds, showing how dogs have become a significant part of our language, and describing the amazing range of activities in which dogs are involved.
 
Written with Max Cryer's characteristic light touch and sense of humour, every page contains unexpected facts and fascinating stories – Why do people say something is "dog-eared"? Where did the breed name Rottweiler come from? Why did hundreds of people collect dog faeces and sell it? - Every Dog Has Its Day is one "barking mad" book!

Maybe the book should have been called - 1001 things not many people know about man's best friend! - because there are plenty of things in the book that people "did" know about man's best friend. This book would make a great gift for any dog lover.
 
Release date 21 June, $29.99
 
*

The West and East coast chapters of the Writers Guild of America put their heads together to evaluate talk shows, daytime dramas, primetime shows, cartoons, variety shows, and pretty much everything else on the tube to come up with this definitive list of the best-written shows of all time. The Sopranos tops the list, with Seinfeld, 1959′s The Twilight Zone, All in the Family, and M*A*S*H completing the top five.

"This list is not only a tribute to great TV," said the east and west coast WGA presidents in a joint statement, "it is a dedication to all writers who devote their hearts and minds to advancing their craft."

*

Abstract Entertainment presents

Britain's best-loved psychic - Sally Morgan

Touring Nationally in July
 
As the author of three best-selling books and the star of many TV series and documentaries, PSYCHIC SALLY MORGAN became a trusted friend of top show-business celebrities and Royalty alike, famously, reading for the likes of George Michael, Katie Price, Natalie Imbruglia, and most notably the late Princess Diana – she was her psychic for over four years.

Sally Morgan is one of the most recognised and best-loved psychics today. She is an ordinary woman with an extraordinary gift: she has a phenomenal ability to speak with people from beyond the grave. Now for the first time ever, Psychic Sally Morgan will bring her incredible interactive stage show to New Zealand.

Abstract Entertainment proudly announces today that Sally will appear in five live shows in July and August. Tickets to her tour Psychic Sally: On The Road go on sale on June 10.

Psychic Sally Morgan Tour Dates:

AUCKLAND - Bruce Mason Centre, July 30, Book: Ticketmaster
 
HAMILTON - Clarence St Theatre, July 31, Book: Ticketek
 
TAURANGA - Bay Court Theatre, August 1, Book: Ticketdirect
 
ROTORUA - Civic Theatre, August 2, Book: Ticketmaster
 
TAUPO - Great Lakes Centre, Taupo August 3, Book: Ticketek
 
Psychic Sally Morgan has had paranormal experiences since she was a young girl, sighting her first ghost aged four. But it wasn't until her late teens that she really understood how unique this gift was. In her early thirties she set up her own psychic practice and became a professional medium.
 
In 2008 Psychic Sally Morgan took to the stage and has since sold out hundreds of performances and left thousands astounded by her ability to deliver messages with incredible accuracy. Her vibrant personality and straight talking nature has attracted a whole new audience to the spiritual world; even previously outselling A-list artists including Sir Paul McCartney and Rihanna on many ticketing websites.
 
Her live shows are an ideal way to witness mediumship in its rawest form. This is Psychic Sally Morgan on her own without any TV crew or flashy gimmicks. Instead you will see how these incredible messages with the spirit world build from beginning to end. Each show is completely unpredictable, and with the highly charged atmosphere, the emotional messages come thick and fast. For people who have never been to a live psychic performance before, they are in for a dramatic and hopefully life-affirming evening. Simply sit back, be open-minded and make sure you come forward if you think there is a message for you.... seeing is believing!
 
Psychic Sally Morgan is a highly respected, professional medium with a lifetime of experience and unbelievable stories. Her abilities were scientifically tested in 2005 by Professor Gary Schwartz, a Harvard University Ph.D. graduate, who now works as a professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Arizona in the US. After a series of tests and investigations, Prof Schwartz commented, "Sally is one of the most accurate mediums I have ever come across. I would rate her as one of the top five in the world." Prof Schwartz is so confident in Sally's ability that he has even named his hypothesis after her.

Over the years Psychic Sally Morgan has filmed several TV series including three highly-successful series of Psychic Sally: On The Road and a fly-on-the-wall documentary titled Psychic Sally's Big Fat Operation showing her life changing gastric bypass operation. Most recently she was the winner of a Halloween special of Celebrity Come Dine With Me raising funds for her supported charity.

As well as many exciting TV challenges Psychic Sally Morgan has had three best-selling books. The first was her biography My Psychic Life, this was then followed by Healing Spirits and Life After Death.

*

GREAT DVDs TO WATCH OUT FOR

Anna Karenina
Universal

Anna Karenina is acclaimed director Joe Wright's bold, theatrical new vision of the epic story of love, stirringly adapted from Leo Tolstoy's great novel by Academy Award winner Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love). The film marks the third collaboration of the director with Academy Award-nominated actress Keira Knightley and Academy Award-nominated producers Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, and Paul Webster, following their award-winning box office successes Pride & Prejudice and Atonement. The timeless story powerfully explores the capacity for love that surges through the human heart, while illuminating the lavish society that was imperial Russia.

The year is 1874. Vibrant and beautiful, Anna Karenina (Keira Knightley) has what any of her contemporaries would aspire to: she is the wife of Karenin (Jude Law), a high-ranking government official to whom she has borne a son, and her social standing in St. Petersburg could scarcely be higher. She journeys to Moscow after a letter from her philandering brother Oblonsky (Matthew Macfadyen) arrives, asking for Anna to come and help save his marriage to Dolly (Kelly Macdonald). En route, Anna makes the acquaintance of Countess Vronsky (Olivia Williams), who is then met at the train station by her son, the dashing cavalry officer Vronsky (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). When Anna is introduced to Vronsky, there is a mutual spark of instant attraction that cannot--and will not--be ignored.

*

Doctor Who: Visitation Special Edition
BBC
 
It's 1666, and England is in the grip of the Great Plague. But when the Doctor and his companions arrive, they discover an even greater threat: the entire planet is in danger. As the Grim Reaper stalks the countryside, the Doctor uncovers an alien menace intent on wiping out humanity and claiming our planet for themselves. The Terileptils have arrived – and only the Doctor can stop them...
 
*

Doctor Who: Series 7, Part 2
BBC

The much anticipated Doctor Who Series 7 Part 2 continues the series with 8 more epic adventures and the 2012 Christmas Special. We are introduced to the Doctors new companion Clara Oswald, played by Jenna-Louise Coleman, following the farewell of Amy & Rory at the end of Series 7 Part 1.
 
The Doctor kicks off this new run of adventures by searching for his companion Clara – an Impossible Girl he's already lost twice. Together they find themselves battling monsters on distant alien planets, trapped in a Russian submarine with a deadly passenger, chasing terrifying ghosts, delving into the heart of the TARDIS, facing the Crimson Horror in Victorian Yorkshire, and coming face to face with an army of upgraded Cybermen. The action grows and the Doctor's oldest secret threatens to be revealed as the world's longest running science fiction series builds toward its explosive 50th anniversary.

*

Angelina Ballerina: Musical Moves
ABC

Angelina Ballerina, a beloved publishing property for close to three decades, is a little star with big dreams of becoming a prima ballerina. This feisty little mouse works hard to reach her goals and along the way, always learns from her mistakes. When little girls share in Angelina's experiences, they're inspired to go after their big dreams too.

*

The Wotwots: Shiver me Wotties
ABC

Made in New Zealand at the famous Weta Workshop studios The WotWots is an enchanting pre-school series that follows the adventures of two adorable siblings from outer space, SpottyWot and DottyWot. This delightful pair of enquiring minds have come to Earth to explore and to marvel at the extraordinary diversity of life on the blue planet. The show celebrates this joy of discovery and demonstrates the positive values that are the building blocks of a true and enduring friendship.


*

HOLLYWOOD TRIVIA TO GO

Kim Basinger got a sexy tip from reading a bio on the late Marilyn Monroe. She read Marilyn got that very sexy wiggle in her walk by shortening the heel on her left shoe by a quarter of an inch. Maybe that's why Kim has that sexy wriggle in her walk to day.

*
 
Drew Barrymore remembered as the beautiful young girl in E.T, at a young age checked herself an alcoholism treatment center. She revealed that she had begun drinking at the age of eight and began using drugs at the age of 11.

*
 
In 1989 Rob Lowe, as part of an agreement, the DA agreed not to prosecute him over his famous sex videotapes and Rob had to lecture in Los Angeles schools on the dangers of drugs. It turned out that the Los Angeles School Board didn't want any part of the young Hollywood star. The board's president said, "It appears on the surface he has, at minimum, dubious judgment."

After the much-publicised video sexcapades, hundred's of jokes circulated around the world, one was that Rob's next movie would be "Two Men And A Baby." As the news of the sordid video sexcapades hit the front pages of every tabloid, Rob was in the middle of shooting a movie called "Bad Influence"- it was all about a drifter who secretly videotaped a businessman having sex with a woman.

*
 
The 1998 September American issue of "Movieline" featuring a near naked shot of Liz Hurley, wearing nothing but a strategically placed fur was deemed far too risque by the prudish Yanks. It was considered too raunchy for news stands and magazine racks to display. Only the magazine subscribers got to see the original pic of Liz, while copies bought in the shops had her in a full-length dress.

*
 
Baywatch star David Hasselhoff peeled off to his birthday suit for the 25th anniversary issue of Cosmopolitan magazine. He follows in the footsteps of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Burt Reynolds, Jim Brown and John Davidson.

*
 
In 1969 Jim Morrison was fined for exposing himself during a Miami concert. In a bizarre 1970 white witchcraft ceremony Jim "married" rock writer Patricia Kennealy, she later had an abortion when he made it clear he would have nothing to do with the child.

*
 
In the 1970 movie comedy "The Owl and The Pussycat" Barbra Streisand did a nude scene only on the condition that she would have the full right to veto it if she didn't like the way it looked on the screen. She didn't like it at all so Barbra And the movie studio struck a compromise. They did use the scene but the detail was totally obscured in the final print.

Years later a print appeared from the nude scene which had not been obscured, it was printed in a rather sleazy magazine called High Society. Barbra sued the magazine and won...but my lips are sealed!

Copyright David Hartnell 2013

Print | Bookmark