Hollywood Headliners

• Television's Mr. Wizard, Don Herbert, died of bone cancer June 12 at his Bell Canyon home.
• The Real World: San Diego's Frankie (you remember her? the girl with the lip piercing, goth makeup and crazy hair) passed away at her mother's home in Michigan. Having suffered from cystic fibrosis (and leaving the house in San Diego prematurely because of it), the exact cause of death, while officially unkown, is believed to be from complications of her illness.
• After ten turbulent seasons, The Sopranos finally ended its run on HBO on Sunday, June 10. In one of the most controversial endings of a series in a long while, the Soprano family was seen sitting at a diner, where Tony Soprano selected "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey from a tableside jukebox. Tony looks up and sees someone apparently approaching their table, and the screen goes black for a full five seconds before the credits begin to roll. While this ending has provided loyal viewers with little to no closure on the series and its characters, the creators of ABC's Lost promise to not repeat this sort of ending. "We will not be ending with a blackout," said Carlton Cuse, referring to the black screen that delivered an unresolved ending to HBO's mob drama. "I'm not sure there is any ending that will satisfy everyone...Our hope is that the ending will be ... the logical conclusion of the story."
• Amidst controversy that he is the father of Melanie Brown's (aka Scary Spice) 2-month old daughter, Angel Iris Murphy Brown, Eddie Murphy has finally taken a paternity test. I don't know which is less-classy: the fact that Murphy is being so unsupportive, or that Brown named her kid Murphy Brown.

Theater Headliners

• Jake Gyllenhaal may be heading to Broadway in the fall. Pardon me while I swoon...The play is a political drama entitled Farragut North, and Gyllenhaal was featured in a private reading earlier this year. While Gyllenhaal has appeared onstage in London in Kenneth Lonergan's revival of This is Our Youth, Farragut North would mark his Broadway debut.
• The June 26th opening of Xanadu: The Musical has been postponed (with no alternate date announced) after one of the shows stars, James Carpinello, sustained a foot injury while rehearsing, you guessed it, on roller skates. Carpinellos understudy has stepped in for two performances, and there is no word as to the degree or length of the injury or recovery. Maybe Xanadu will turn in to Xanadon't.
• In a huge bloodbath of closing notices, Company (which won Best Musical Revival last weekend at the Tony's), Radio Golf (August Wilson's final play), and Mayumana's Be will all play their final performances on July 1. I know Company has been struggling at the box office, but I've never seen a show win a Tony and then close down a few weeks later!
• Andrew Lloyd Webber doesn't know how to take a hint. His new kitten, Otto, somehow succeeded in destroying the music he has written for the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, brilliantly titled Phantom in Manhattan. That's right, I said Phantom in Manhattan. Guess it's his payback for Phantom to surpass Cats as the longest running musical in history. Or a hint to give up on the sequel. You pick.

Hollywood Headliners

• Dina Lohan missed a family court date which concerned granting her estranged husband visitation rights to their 3 kids because she was preparing to visit Lindsay in rehab. The judge warned Dina not to miss any more court dates -- or else. Hmm, looks like Paris might have a cellmate after all!
• The third (and hopefully final) installment of Pirates of the Caribbean turned out not to have the staying power of Spiderman 3, after it was bumped from #1 at the box office after only week by the newly released Ocean's 13. Wait, people are actually going to see that movie? Talk about revenge of the triologies.
• This is somewhat old news now, but soap opera and Dangerous Minds actor Shemar Moore was charged with a DUI last week, adding to the ever growing list of celebs with the mark on their legal and driving record. And have I talked about Tracy Morgan too? Yeah, well now he has an ankle bracelet that detects if he drinks at all. Stylin'
• The Spice Girls are preparing for a reuinion tour. Apparently
• Pictures have surfaced on the internet of La Lohan and Nick Lachey's new arm candy, Vanessa Minillo, holding knives in seductive poses. Taken at a party in summer 2006, some photos shows La Lohan holding a knife to Minillo's throat, while others depict Minillo pulling La Lohan's tank top down and pointing a knife at her chest. Unfortunately we know the outcome of those photos, and it is nothing exciting.
• Kanye West recently celebrated his 30th birthday, but the party did not go off without a snag. The writing on his cake read, "Happy Birthday Kayne." Who's Kayne? When interviewed leaving his party, he responded to the misspelling saying, "Cake decorators don't like black people." Just kidding. It's his party, and he can crunk if he wants to!
• The Spice Girls are planning a long-awaited reunion tour, after finally able to get "Sporty Spice" Melanie C on board. Do I really need to make a joke about this?

Hollywood Headliners

• Katie Holmes wants more kids. God help us all.
  Who knew this charade would last so long! Remember the good old days when everyone thought Suri Cruise was a fake, and a ploy by Scientologists to get more interests in their religion?!


• There are only 3 shopping days left until Paris Hilton's deadline to report to jail. I'm sure she will not go quietly, but if she was smart she would turn herself in a few days early to assure privacy as she reports for her sentence. Then again, if she was smart she wouldn't have gotten a DUI, driven on a suspended liscence, and broken her parole twice.
  Paris' sister Nicky was reported to defend her sister, saying it is ridiculous to be sent to jail for a traffic violation. Lord, I hope Paris realizes that she's going to jail for violating her parole on multiple occasions, and not for a traffic violation! I guess her sister is just as smart as she is.


• Speaking of DUI's (you had to know this was coming), Lindsay Lohan was slapped with a DUI after she crashed her car into a burb on Sunset Blvd. It was bound to happen sometime, we just all thought she made be able to make it to 21 first. Wondering why La Lohan didn't just ahve someone drive her out if she wanted to drink. Well, apparently she did have a chauffeur all night long, then he dropped her off at her condo and she left in her car with two other passengers. That not good enough for you? La Lohan reportedly LEFT THE SCENE before police showed up. Smart. And what's more, police are looking into a substance they believe to be cocaine that they found inside her car (although La Lohan was not carrying it). STILL not enough for you? She's now back in rehab. Not the same one she went to earlier this year, though (although this incident is proof of their great track record). She's in Promises Treatment Center in Malibu, where Britney was a few months ago. Which is good, because look at how good THAT situation turned out.


• I know this is old news, but Rosie O'Donnell has left The View earlier than her contract states. After making a comment in which critics suggested she referred to American soldiers as "terrorists," Rosie confronted Elisabeth Hasselbeck for not defending her. They did a split screen of the argument (which, having watched the blowout, was honestly the best way to cover the altercation), and after she saw it, Rosie decided it was time for her to leave. I have to say I'm extremely relieved. Now I can hopefully completely stop watching that show. Too much post-menopausal estrogen going on over there.