Results tagged “celebs”

Speaking of domestic violence, Actor Tom Sizemore was arrested on those charges late last night. Police picked him up on the 100 block of Beaudry Avenue around 10:45 p.m. He remained in jail this morning in lieu of a $20,000 bail. "Over the last few years, Sizemore, 47, has developed a troubled history with the law," says the LA Times. "In August 2003 he was convicted of misdemeanor charges of physically abusing and harassing his ex-girlfriend, the former 'Hollywood Madam' Heidi Fleiss. In February 2005 Sizemore failed a court-ordered drug test after he was caught trying to use a prosthetic penis to defeat a urine test and was ordered into drug rehabilitation for two years." He was arrested in 2007 for possessing methamphetamine.

A family hired forensics expert said today that he believed David Carradine's death was not a suicide, but the cause of death could not determined until he received more information from Thai authorities, the Associated Press reported today. Carradine was found hanging dead last week, with ropes tied around his neck, wrists and genitals, in a Bangkok hotel. Thai officials original suspected suicide, but later said it could have been accidental, too, because the way he was found indicated a possible act of auto-erotic asphyxiation. It could be a few weeks before the private forensics expert receives more information from Thailand so he can complete his report.

              

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

After a jury found Phil Spector guilty of actress Lana Clarkson's murder, a judge today sentenced the music producer to 15 years to life for second-degree murder and four years for personal use of a gun. "Six years ago, Phil Spector was barely a blip on the American celebrity radar screen," explained the Associated Press of his past. "Although his music lived on, his name and face were only dimly recalled by rock music aficionados until a shooting at his Alhambra mansion propelled him to notoriety." A lottery was done for people who wanted to witness the sentence, noted the LA Weekly. "Deptartment 106 is packing out with media, D.A. types and lottery-drawn spectators," they said.

A robbery at Paris Hilton's Sherman Oaks home left the heiress $2 million less in jewelry and other items early this morning. Anonymous LAPD sources told the LA Times "the burglar or burglars got into the house through an unlocked door." Paris wasn't home at the time of the crime, but security video apparently caught a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt and gloves inside the home (he reportedly ransacked her bedroom). There have been over 70 homes robbed in the hills--some of them owned by famous names--over the past year, but police do not believe this was connected at this time.

Yesterday, thousands of homeless were served at the Los Angeles Mission, home of the Anne Douglas Center for Women. Actor Kirk and Anne Douglass hosted the Thanksgiving dinner with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Cindy Crawford, Corbin Bleu, Jennifer Love Hewitt and other notable names joining in on the serving line.

Councilman Dennis Zine's, who created a regional Paparazzi Task Force this summer, has proposed an ordinance to keep paparazzi a modest 20 feet away from schools, hospitals and medical facilities when recording celebrities. Zine defines the prohibition for photographers and videographers taking photos/video for a "'commercial purpose" defined as the expectation of a sale, financial gain, or other remuneration. However, the celebrity or facility can give consent for photographs. But does 20 feet matter? With a long lens or a great zoom function, the product won't change much. What will happen is an easier walk from the door to the curb for the celebs.

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

As if you wouldn't.

There's a relatively new local blog on the scene called Blazing Shark. Albeit a bit, ohhhh, NSFW (in words, not photos), it's all about the red headed Westsider's sexually adventurous life (she even flirts on Twitter). Her most recent post reminisces on some successful celebrity stalking earlier this year.

One of Hollywood's most offensively funny and wickedly hot (sorry boys, she only likes silver foxes) comedians, Chelsea Handler of E!'s Chelsea Lately will be named "Queen of the Carnival" at West Hollywood's annual Halloween party next week Friday night. And not to leave her little nugget of an assistant out of it, Chuy will be crowned “Little King of the Carnival.”

In a court case that's so pedestrian other than the defendant (and even that could be disputed), it's big news. The Britney Spears driving without a valid license case has finally come to a close, days after the the jury tried, but failed, to agree on a verdict.

Mr. Blackwell, the Los Angeles fashion critic and designer known for his annual list of the worst dressed celebrities, died Sunday at age 86 from an intestinal infection. In early August, Blackwell was reportedly unconscious in an undisclosed Los Angeles-area hospital.

TMZ is reporting that actor Nick Nolte's Malibu home suffered $1 million in structural damage and a half million in content damage after a fire reported at 11:34 a.m. this morning. From TMZ: "When firefighters arrived, the Malibu house was burning and Nolte was trying to put the blaze out himself. We're told the fire started in a bedroom -- some sort of electrical malfunction. Nolte suffered smoke inhalation and abrasions. He's still at the house and plans to see his Dr. today."

One of the first steps to fighting a problem is informing the public of what's legally right and wrong. After yesterday's meeting of the Regional Paparazzi Taskforce led by LA City Councilmember Dennis Zine, the group released this one page document highlighting laws paps break on a regular basis to score that big money shot (laws cited are state, Los Angeles, Malibu and Beverly Hills). But what's a little ticket or some short jail time when you just made $27,000 from a couple of shots? To them, it's just a cost of doing business. A downloadable version of the guide will soon be available on Zine's website.

Times are not getting easier for Ed McMahon. First his Studio City home faced foreclosure in June which led to this photo from the set of a rap video for FreeCreditReport.com, a financial Web site owned by credit bureau Experian (the video will come out in October). Now he is being sued over an alleged loan from Merv Griffin's company.

In her own words, Ellen DeGeneres on why Prop 8, which seeks to eliminate gay marriage, is a confusing one to vote on: ''The wording of Prop 8 is tricky. It's like if someone asked you, 'You don't want dessert, right?' But you do want dessert so you say, 'Yes,' which really means you don't want dessert. And if you say, 'No,' which means you do want dessert -- it sounds like you don't. Either way, you don't get what you want. See -- confusing. Just like Prop. 8.'' A yes vote will stop gay marriage, a no vote will keep gay marriage. DeGeneres married her gay partner Portia De Rossi this summer.

                                   

Stand Up To Cancer announced on Sunday that "from its launch on May 28, 2008, through September 5, 2008’s historic simultaneous commercial-free telecast, the initiative has raised more than $100 million to accelerate ground-breaking research and bring new therapies to patients more quickly."

  

Woody Allen's latest movie, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, made $3.7 million this weekend. But he was in town a couple weeks ago for the world premiere and we happened upon him and his family while riding our bikes in Beverly Hills.

Joe Dolce, former editor in chief of Star magazine, blogs at the Huffington Post about the increasing reported skirmishes between celebrities and the paparazzi. Dolce leaves the blame, not only on the paps, but on the magazines that pay for the photos and the celebs themselves. He offers suggestions for each involved party while knowing full well that it's all easier than said. Here's his thoughts on how celebs should act:

Direct to our e-mail inbox, one pubic relations person at a well known firm got a little sassy about what she found in Sam Zell's LA Times today: "I thought it was hilarious. Even though the LA Times is going to hell and laid off a ton of people last week, I am so glad it doesn't mean that I will be deprived of 'The Hills' coverage that helps me get through the day. (You have no idea what is it is like wondering what Audrina Patridge's 'sitting around the house outfit is.')"

New footage has been released of one of the weekend's brawls at Paradise Cove in Malibu, this one shot by a mother who was there with her son. This particular scene proves some of the beach goers were acting just as bad as the paparazzi.

On Saturday, two paparazzi were reportedly injured when a group of surfers ousted them from Paradise Cove in Malibu. One paparazzo said his camera was tossed in the ocean and on the video you can hear someone make a slight death threat: "you're going to drown." It all started when Matthew McConaughey said he wished they would go away. The other surfers took it upon themselves to do so.

No longer hosting the show in Las Vegas, MTV is moving their annual Video Music Awards ceremony to Paramount Studios on September 7, according to the Associated Press. The plan is to broadcast from the studio lot, rooftops and city streets making this edition possibly a very local and special show for Los Angeles. "With Paramount Pictures as the ideal setting, the glamour and musical heritage of L.A. are sure to be catalysts for creating explosive pop culture moments that the VMAs are known for," the president of MTV Networks Music Group, Van Toffler, said in a statement.

At least three paparazzi photographers were attacked in the Los Angeles area over the weekend in two separate incidents. On Friday evening as Britney Spears returned from a trip to Louisiana, a push-and-shove incident occurred between her body guard and a photographer outside an LAX terminal resulting in a minor abrasion to the paparazzo's face, but no charges were filed. On Saturday, two photographers were attacked by a group of surfers protecting Matthew McConaughey's wish to not be filmed while surfing at Paradise Cove. One paparazzo is reported to have several injuries and a water-soaked broken camera and another with a broken nose.

Coolio was arrested early this morning on a routine traffic stop after officers saw that his tags had expired on his 1996 Hummer at the intersection of Sunset Blvd. and Sweetzer Ave.

"Our California dream is reality. Brad Altman and I can now marry. We are overjoyed! At long last, the barrier to full marriage rights for same-sex couples has been torn down. We are equal with all citizens of our state!" wrote actor George Takei in his blog:

At first glance, this looks like many of the crazy out-of-touch ranting signs seen around Los Angeles. But after some sleuthing, LAist Featured Photos contributor ~db~ and another Flickr user found this is for real.

After being involved in an accident that turned into a hit-and-run in West Hollywood yesterday afternoon, Drew Barrymore followed fleeing vehicle obtaining the license plate number.