Dies at Age 50
Written by Alicia on Jun-26-09 4:01am2009-06-25T14:01:45
UPDATED 3:23 PM: Legendary musician Michael Jackson has died, law enforcement sources have confirmed.
TMZ reports that someone at Jackson's Holmby Hills home called 911 at 12:21 pm. When paramedics arrived at his home, he was not breathing. The Los Angeles Times reports by the time he reached the UCLA Medical center, Jackson was in a coma. He was pronounced dead by doctors this afternoon.
Several months ago, celebrity biographer Ian Halperin claimed Jackson was deathly ill and required a lung transplant. Jackson's rep quickly disputed Halperin's claims.
Jackson was readying for a 50-show run of performances at London's O2 Arena. He had voiced concern about being physically able to complete that many performances.
Jackson is survived by three children: Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, and Prince Michael Jackson.
Michael Jackson was born into a life of showbusiness. At 11 years old he was thrust into the spotlight as he stepped up to the microphone to front the Jackson 5. From that moment on, Michael's life was filmed, photographed and recorded. He grew up in front of the press, and ultimiately, he died in front of the press with TMZ practically live-blogging his hospitalization and subsequent death.
Jackson Family Attorney:
Jackson Was Surrounded By Enablers.
It is not yet known what caused Michael Jackson's death from cardiac arrest; an autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow. But the Jackson family's attorney, Brian Oxman, called CNN to shed light on Michael's medical condition.
Oxman wanted people to know that Michael was not gravely ill, as had been rumored for months. The singer was, however, debilitated by a dependence on prescription medication. He told CNN in a shaking voice:
Michael has always been in very fine physical condition. The one thing which has bothered me so much is the discussion that one day he was going to be dead, and...I don't know if this is that day, I can only tell you that this is something that was not unexpected...the medications which Michael was under, this family has been trying for months and months and months to take care of Michael Jackson.
The people who have surrounded him have been enabling him. If you think the case of Anna Nicole Smith was an abuse, it's nothing in comparison to what we have seen taking place in Michael Jackson's life. Oxman also confirmed that Jackson was struggling to get in shape for the 50 performances he had scheduled at London's O2 Arena.
June 25, 2009
Michael Jackson
Farrah Fawcett
Passes Away at 62
Written by Jake on Jun-26-09 12:25am2009-06-25T10:25:17
Farrah Fawcett, the star of Charlie's Angels who's blinding-white smile and sun-blond hair set the standard for female beauty in the '70s, passed away Thursday morning after a long battle with cancer at the age of 62.
The actress had recently made a documentary, Farah's Story, an unfliching look as Fawcett sought cures in both the United States and Germany.
It was reported on Monday that Ryan O'Neal, Fawcett's long-time companion and father of her 24-year-old son Redmond O'Neal, had asked Fawcett to marry him. Speaking to Barbara Walters, O'Neal said, "We will [marry], as soon as she can say yes... Maybe we can just nod her head."
Last night, it was reported that Fawcett had taken last rites as her condition rapidly worsened. She passed away shortly before 9:30 a.m. Pacific time in a Santa Monica hospital.
Fawcett died in hospital surrounded by friends and family shortly before 9:30 am (1630 GMT), reports said.
"After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away," O'Neal said in a statement released by Fawcett's publicist Arnold Robinson.
"Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world."
O'Neal told People magazine's online edition he had talked to Fawcett through the night.
"She's now with her mother and sister and her God. I loved her with all my heart. I will miss her so very, very much. She was in and out of consciousness. I talked to her all through the night.
"I told her how very much I loved her. She's in a better place now."
Speculation that Fawcett's death was close at hand had mounted after veteran ABC television interviewer Barbara Walters said the actress had been given her last rites earlier Thursday.
Reports said O'Neal and Alana Stewart were at Fawcett's bedside when she passed away at St John's Hospital in Santa Monica.
Earlier this week O'Neal revealed he planned to marry Fawcett, who has been battling cancer for three years. "I've asked her to marry me, again, and she's agreed," O'Neal said.
O'Neal, 68, and Fawcett had been romantically involved off-and-on since 1982. The couple had a son together, Redmond, but never married.
Redmond O'Neal is currently in jail in California for drug offenses and was not at his mother's bedside when she died but spoke to her on the phone before her death Ryan O'Neal told People.
Fawcett's son told her "how much he loved her and asked her to please forgive him that he was so very, very sorry," Ryan O'Neal was quoted as saying.
Fawcett emerged as a pop-culture icon in the 1970s and 1980s after her role in "Charlie's Angels" and appearance in a famous poster wearing a red swimsuit that would come to be her defining image.
During the 1970s, Fawcett was married to "Six Million Dollar Man" star Lee Majors, from whom she separated in 1979. In 1982 she began a long romance with actor O'Neal and the couple had a son together, Redmond in 1985.
After splitting from O'Neal in the 1990s, Fawcett faded from view, although she appeared in Robert Altman's 2000 comedy "Dr T and the Women" in a cast that included Richard Gere, Helen Hunt, Laura Dern and Kate Hudson.
In recent years Fawcett's health was the subject of intense scrutiny by a voracious tabloid media.
News of her cancer fight broke in October 2006, sparking an outpouring of support from fans and well-wishers.
In 2007 she declared that months of grueling chemotherapy had seen her beat the cancer despite "excruciating pain and uncertainty." "It never occurred to me to stop fighting -- not ever," she said.
However, in April this year it emerged that the cancer had returned and the actress was gravely ill.
(zimbio/afp)
Sarah Jessica Parker
Choose Unusual Baby Names 
Just when I thought the world of celebrity baby names was getting a tad boring, Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick chose a pair of unusual baby names for their twin daughters, who arrived via surrogate in Ohio on June 21.
Joining big brother James Wilke are twins Marion Loretta Elwell and Tabitha Hodge. Bit of a mouthful. Let’s dig deeper.
According to a report in People, the names “Elwell” and “Hodge” are both family names on Parker’s side of the fence. Thank goodness. I thought for a moment Parker and Broderick had made them up.
That leaves Marion Loretta and Tabitha. Where did they come from? Marion is sort of a unisex name — think Maid Marion of Robin Hood fame, versus John Wayne’s real name, Marion Robert Morrison. (You didn’t know that?).
Loretta — well, I have to believe either Parker or Broderick or both is a big fan of Loretta Lynn, because that’s the most obvious association. (And the best name of the three, IMO).
And finally, Tabitha. Another name loaded with association. Never mind that it means “gazelle” in Aramaic. This name says “Bewitched” to anyone who remembers 60’s TV, and even if you don’t, there was a TV spinoff named Tabitha in the 70’s. I don’t recall Tabitha in the 2005 Nora Ephron flop.
Whatever the origins, it’s a pretty unusual group of names. And it’s definitely not boring! Drop a comment if you know any more about where the names came from.
-zimbio.com-
June 17, 2009
Roman Abramovich
Spectacular $714 million yacht
Many stopped to gawk as the 557-foot (169 metre) yacht glided out of the shipyard in Hamburg, Germany.
The sight was breathtaking, and so is the price. It cost the owner a staggering £300 million ($714 million).
So who is the man who can splash out so much cash in such depressing times?
Chelsea owner and Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
It is the biggest private yacht in existence and comes with a missile-detection system, two helipads, a luxury spa, swimming pool and a miniature submarine, The Daily Mail reported.
Named the Eclipse, it has a military-grade missile defence system, armour-plating around Abramovich's master suite and bullet-proof windows.
There is also a private submarine, which doubles as an escape pod.
The project has been shrouded in such secrecy that at one point, its shipbuilders would only say that a yacht called Eclipse was being built somewhere in Germany.
Abramovich already owns three luxury yachts.
The Daily Mail quoted industry experts as saying that it has been built to overshadow the world's current largest private yacht, a 525-footer owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai.
Eclipse is set to be delivered next year.
The oil magnate, who is the 11th richest man in the world according to Forbes, uses his yachts for specific purposes.
Originally built for a Saudi sheikh, the Pelorus is used for entertaining and boasts room for 22 guests and 40 staff. It has two helipads, an indoor pool and a steam room.
He uses the Ecstasea, which comes complete with Chinese-themed interior, for cruising and the Sussuro for short journeys and to loan to friends.
Annual overhead for the boats is more than £15 million, the report added, and it costs him £73,000 just to fill up the tanks of his current largest boat, the Pelorus.
by The New Paper|16 June 2009
-plushasia.com-
June 14, 2009
Bollywood Oscars
Mixed-marriage love story tops 'Bollywood Oscars' 
by Mathew Scott, AFP|14 June 2009
Macau, China: A tale of the love between a Muslim emperor and his Hindu wife swept the "Bollywood Oscars" at the weekend, earning a clutch of awards including Best Picture and Best Director for Ashutosh Gowariker.
"Jodhaa Akbar" traces the rise of the Mughal emperor Akbar The Great and his love affair with his Hindu wife, played by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
Gowariker said some people had suggested he drop plans to make the movie, given the sensitivity of Hindu-Muslim relations in India.
"When I started this movie I was advised by all my friends not to make this film," Gowariker explained at the annual International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA), being held this year in the southern Chinese territory of Macau.
But Gowariker said the film's massive popularity had "reinstated my faith that we do need a Hindu-Muslim alliance."
"Jodhaa Akbar" saw off "Ghajini," "Rock On," "A Wednesday," "Dostana," and "Race" to take the Best Picture gong.
The movie's lead man, Hrithik Roshan, took Best Performance in a Lead Role (Male), urging his fans among the 8,000 gathered at the Venetian Macau Resort-Hotel to "have the courage to live free and live the truth."
Former Miss World Priyanka Chopra, whose effort as a model dealing with the seedy side of the business in "Fashion" won her Best Performance in a Lead Role (Female), thanked the audience for sitting through the nearly seven-hour ceremony.
"We Indians are everywhere," she added. "The film industry is like one big family and the fans really feel a part of that."
Earlier in the evening, the powerful Bachchan clan had again threatened to steal the limelight.
Family patriarch Amitabh Bachchan was feted by the event's hosts all night, while Rai picked up awards for Star of the Decade (female) and Outstanding Achievement by an Indian in International Cinema.
Rai's husband Abhishek then picked up a gong for Best Performance in a Comedy Role (Male) for his turn in "Dostana," and the couple delighted the audiences with separate song and dance numbers.
Former Miss World Rai provided the night's most poignant moment when rewarded for her work over the past decade.
"It is never a singular effort," she said, before turning her attention to her father, who recently has been battling cancer.
"My father is still here," she said, thanking him for his "sacrifice and grace."
In contrast, Abhishek screamed for joy once on stage and - in reference to questions being raised in the tabloid press about his sexuality - yelled: "Well, I am gay tonight!"
Organisers estimated that the awards would be watched by 500 million TV viewers worldwide, while hundreds of fans gathered outside the Cotai Arena before the event, singing the names of their favourite actors as they took to the carpet.
The extravaganza, now in its 10th year, is staged outside India every year in an effort to increase the international profile of Bollywood films. It features premieres, media sessions, trade forums, and a fashion show.
Sabbas Joseph, director of IIFA, told AFP that this year's awards marked a "golden decade" of achievement for Bollywood.
The triumph of "Slumdog Millionaire," which grabbed eight awards at this year's Oscars, had been just one of the many examples of the industry's achievement in recent years, he said.
The event is being held in the aftermath of a damaging row between producers and multiplex cinemas over how box office receipts are split, a dispute finally settled last week after a two-month stand-off.
But even before the row, India's US$2.3 billion film industry was feeling the pinch from the global economic slowdown, reining in budgets and actors' fees as audience numbers dwindled.
- plushasia.com -
June 09, 2009
Paris Hilton 2
Paris Hilton's Dogs Have Nicer Homes
Than Most Americans
Written by Alicia on Jun-9-09 6:16am/8/2009 23:16 GMT
For those of you still looking for reasons to dislike Paris Hilton, here it is: her dogs live in little poolside bungalows modeled after her own home. The dogs' kennels have wrought iron-balconies, special "Chewy-Vuitton" beds, and wardrobes especially designed for doggie couture. She posted pictures of the ridiculousness on her Twitter this week.
The weirdest part of it? Paris isn't even that caring a pet owner. She once admitted she'd given away a few of her dogs after they became pregnant. While explaining how she accrued 17 dogs, Paris told Ellen DeGeneres, "They keep having babies, and I feel bad to give them away 'cause I feel like if I had a baby and someone gave it away, it'd be mean. So, I feel bad for my dogs."
What pet owner can afford mini-bungalows, but can't be bothered to spay and neuter her pets?
Paris, that's who. But what's to be expected of someone who names her dog "Harajuku Bitch"?
- zimbio-
June 05, 2009
David Carradine
'Kill Bill' Actor David
Carradine Found Dead
Written by olivia on Jun-5-09 12:25am/4/2009 17:25 GMT
**Update: Sources close to the late actor now say that his death was "accidental."**
Seventy-two-year-old actor David Carradine was found dead today of an apparent suicide in a Thailand hotel. Thailand's news site The Nation reported that evidence on the scene suggested he hung himself, and there were no signs of struggle.
Carradine was in the country to film a movie called Stretch. The film crew became concerned when he failed to show up for dinner last night and they couldn't reach him, but they assumed he was just resting. A hotel maid found him in a closet this morning.
His manager Chuck Binder said,
[His death is] shocking and sad. He was full of life, always wanting to work ... a great person. Carradine is best known for his role in the 1970s television series Kung Fu, for which he received an Emmy nomination. Younger audiences will recognize him as the title character in Quentin Tarantino's epic Kill Bill.
-zimbio-
Mandy Moore
Gets backs to basics on new CD
Jun-5-09 10:07pm/5/2009 15:07 GMT
From: www.ap.org
Mandy Moore doesn't mind being perpetually seen as the "good girl" — even if she thinks that image is a bit skewed.
"You know what? It's fair to say that I am proud and honored that the perception out there is that I'm a good person. That's, to me, the highest compliment. I try to be a good person," the 25-year-old entertainer said in a recent interview. "But I don't think it's completely accurate to say that I'm just good. There is balance in life. You can't have good without a little bad."
Her latest album, "Amanda Leigh," may underscore her point. At first listen, the perfectly perky first single, "I Could Break Your Heart Every Day of the Week," sounds like something tailor-made for today's tweens. But listen again and you'll hear a lyric, co-written by Moore, which sounds as if it was coming from a dominatrix: "Squeeze the life out of you/Wrap you in sheets/I could break your heart any day of the week."
"It's very tongue in cheek, not to be taken to heart by any means," Moore said. "It's sassy, if you will, and a little edgier and no-nonsense — a side of myself that doesn't really come out too often. But it was sort of fun to go there for the sake of the music."
With a folk-rock-pop fusion, "Amanda Leigh" — which takes its title from her given name — tips its hat to mid-1970s era Joni Mitchell and also pays homage to Paul and Linda McCartney's crunchy-granola classic "Ram" (1971). The CD also marks Moore's first release with indie Storefront Recordings after a decade with major recording labels.
"Starting out when you're 14 and signing to a major record label sort of in the heyday of pop music and overspending and sort of all that gluttony, it's really nice to sort of really come back to what's important," said Moore, who first rose to fame as a 15-year-old with the bubblegum song "Candy," then matured in her sound and style over various recordings and became known as an actress for films including "A Walk to Remember."
When she was in the early stages of putting together the album, Moore's ex-boyfriend, DJ AM (Adam Goldstein), and musician Travis Barker were seriously injured in a September plane crash that killed two crew members and two other passengers. Moore sprinted to be at his side in an Augusta, Ga. burn unit — which, Moore said, some media outlets took the wrong way.
"It kind of saddened me," she recalled. "When everything went down it was like, 'Oh, they're dating again.' I was like, 'In this day and age with everything that's going on in the world, it made me sad that there was not a value to friendship,' which, to me is often more important than the other stuff, anyway."
Earlier this year, Moore married famously tortured singer-songwriter Ryan Adams. Moore says the indie artist couldn't help but influence her new album just by his presence — but he didn't contribute in any direct way.
Though some of considered the union an odd pairing, Moore bristles when it's suggested that the "good girl" and her new alt-country husband are a case of opposites attracting.
"To be perfectly honest, I can understand the interest and fascination with our relationship, but there's definitely more than what meets the eye," she said. "I don't think it's a very yin-and-yang relationship. In fact, I feel like we're probably a lot more like most people would imagine and that's wonderful. ... Life is good. I lucked out."
-Zimbio-
