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 and he is 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 for his recognition for his services to entertainment.
In 2012 he was made an Ambassador St James Saviours, the trust formed to save the iconic Auckland theatre. In 2014 he was made an Ambassador to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand.
In 2016 he was made Patron of the Brotherhood of Auckland Magicians.
Visit David’s Website
‘Under a spell – David Hartnell’s First Love,‘ in the NZ Woman’s Weekly. View the article here on David’s website.
Be in to win monthly DVDs
…simply answer a question correctly, from this week’s column and you will be entered into the draw.
This week: What was “Wilson” who was the only companion Tom Hanks had in the movie Cast Away? Answer by clicking here.
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Monday 5th December 2016I’m not one to gossip but……………Ignore the denials you may read or see on the TV, there’s NO WAY Kim Kardashian is not rethinking her marriage at this point.
Kanye has been unraveling for over at year and making her life miserable. They bought a house two years ago and haven’t been able to move in because Kanye keeps changing his mind about remodelling and décor. He orders rooms to be rebuilt and then tears it all down. After having it redecorated and furnished, he disliked the results and sent everything back and hired a new decorator.
It’s nowhere near habitable and Kanye is still complaining. Kim was left to pay for the ten million spent on the house so far. After her Paris robbery, Kim wanted a whole lot of attention and sympathy and Kanye was too busy to give her more than a few days. They are both exceedingly needy. She moved herself and kids in with her mother.
Kim’s family will NOT talk about Kanye because they all have reservations about him. After the Lamar Odom situation, the Kardashians don’t have high hopes that Kanye will change. But then of course everything thing in a Hollywood relationship can change in a second…stay tuned!
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I had absolutely no idea that Sacha Baron Cohen has been feuding with Donald Trump for thirteen years. It all started back in 2003 when Cohen, playing his character Ali G, coaxed Trump into doing an interview for his HBO show.
It only lasted for 60 seconds and Trump walked off in a huff. He failed to
see the humour in Cohen’s show and described Cohen as a “third-rate loser” and a “disgrace.”
When Cohen playfully pranked Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet at the 2012 Oscars, Trump observed that Cohen should have been beaten to the ground by security guards. Cohen’s character in the upcoming movie Greed is a takeoff on the vulgar rich.
He’s an over-tanned cutthroat billionaire businessman who stashes his money offshore to avoid taxes and lives a gold-plated lavish lifestyle…need I say more?
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As the world’s most celebrated spy, 007’s success with women is second only to his ability to foil villains’ dastardly plots.
But while Ian Fleming’s creation was a notorious lothario, Roger Moore has revealed that Bond bad-guy actor Herve Villechaize was the real womaniser off-screen.
Moore said that Villechaize, who played diminutive henchman Nick Nack in The Man with the Golden Gun, was a ‘sex maniac’ with an ‘unnatural’ lust for women.
Speaking at the Southbank Centre, the veteran 007 actor claimed that while
they were filming in the Far East, Villechaize – who was 3ft 11ins tall – slept with 35 women, many of them prostitutes.
Moore, 89, recalled: ‘He was a very small man and he used to touch me and I
used to say, ‘Don’t touch me. You are diseased.
‘I wasn’t being cruel about his size; it was just that he was a sex maniac. He had a lust for ladies, unnatural. When we were in Hong Kong he would find girls in girly clubs and go with a flashlight, ‘You, you, not you’.’
Moore said that when the cast and crew were leaving Bangkok he asked Villechaize how many women he had slept since they had arrived in the Far East.
He said: ‘He told me 35. I told him that did not count as he paid for them, but he said, ‘Sometimes when I pay they refuse’. Poor man. He never stayed above the first floor in a hotel as he could never reach the buttons in the lift.’
Villechaize shot himself in his Hollywood back garden in the middle of the night in 1993 when he was aged 50. He had suffered with long running medical problems related to his height and was battling an illness related to his undersized lungs.
Despite enjoying a successful acting career which took off after appearing in the Bond film, Villechaize’s life descended into a parade of broken marriages, health problems and legal battles.
After his suicide his girlfriend of the time found a note which read: ‘I love everybody. Nobody is to blame for this.’
Paris-born Villechaize was married twice and was known as a prolific womaniser. His second marriage to Camille Hagen, a 5ft 8ins tall actress 14 years his junior, ended after 15 months with his wife complaining about the women in
her husband’s life, including his first wife, who still worked as his secretary.
Villechaize took pride in his success with women, and once said: ‘I used to exploit my height and let them mother me until I realised I was robbing myself of my masculinity.’
By Tamy Hughs, Daily Mail.
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Michelle Williams looks gorgeous wearing a Michael Kors photo on the cover of Porter magazine’s latest issue, on newsstands December 2.
Here’s what the 36-year-old Manchester By the Sea actress had to share:
On being a single mom to daughter Matilda with the late Heath Ledger. “I
know a handful of women in similar positions [to me], it’s kind of like a club. It’s a sh*tty club and we don’t want any new members… and all of the current members are exhausted. But man, oh man, it’s lifesaving to have [them]. My friend Busy [Phillips] and her husband Marc [Silverstein] said, ‘Michelle, you’re in like a blackout zone, everybody is now partnered up and
you have to wait for people to start getting divorced.’ Oh my f*cking God…”
On getting into the dating scene: “Talk about a learning process. I think, God, what would I say about it? I feel really sensitive about it and certainly did not expect to be still dating at 36 with an 11-year-old. This is not what I imagined. I’m like a cat, I’m a very domestic creature. I just want to stay home and take care of people. But I’m also happy with myself and just because I might have a desire to be with someone… that won’t lead me to marry the wrong person.”
On finding her life complete: “I watched [Matilda] warm in the sun, in her swimsuit, get on her bicycle and smile and wave as she rode off to go meet her friends. I went back into the house and sobbed because of this incredibly simple moment – common everyday happiness. I really felt like in that moment, like wow, we’ve done it. Not only are we OK, she’s happy. Life has brought us to a place that’s not just surviving, but thriving.”
For more from Michelle, visit Net-A-Porter.com
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The streets of Paris were thriving with dozens of giggly international
models who flew in to appear in the Victoria’s Secret fashion show. Not great news for girls of average height and looks, but Lady Gaga wasn’t bothered in the slightest. She added at least 12 inches to her height with massive platform heels. The fashion addicted singer channelled the late Joan Crawford with massive shoulder pads to her electric blue furry coat.
Gaga looks pretty spectacular for an “average girl” – she was photographed on her way to the Grand Palais where the event is being held.
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Paris Hilton looks stunning on the cover of Galore magazine’s Art Issue, available now.
Here’s what the 35-year-old businesswoman had to share with the mag:
On whether she considers herself an icon: “I’ve been called that by people and I found it very flattering but I’ve never used it to describe myself…It
makes me happy to be an inspiration to people. I am all about girl power and women being fierce and independent. So it’s nice to see women following my lead and doing things on their own instead of just depending on a man.”
On never having plastic surgery: “Yes, I’m very proud that I am all natural and have never had anything done. I am very happy with myself. But I don’t judge others. People should do whatever makes them feel happy. It’s just not something I’ve ever wanted to do.”
On misconceptions that she is a dumb blonde: “If someone hasn’t met me yet, they automatically have their misconceptions about me. As soon as I am in a board room in front of them talking about my business, they immediately know I’m not the dumb blonde they thought I was.”
For more from Paris, visit Galore.com
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Colin Farrell is opening up about a pretty hilarious secret involving his
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them co-star Eddie Redmayne!
The 40-year-old Irish actor recently revealed that he helped Eddie out with
some stage fright at Comic-con by giving him a back rub!
Eddie said Colin calmed his nerves by “giving me a back rub and whispering
sweet nothings into my ear trying to calm me down. He definitely whispered.
He gave me a pep talk, actually. I was really anxious and he sort of gently told me that everything was going to be fine.” (via People)
“I have no idea what I whispered in his ear, maybe, ‘How’s the pressure?’” Colin shared. “I do remember giving him a bit of a massage. He had to go in front of an audience of four or five thousand people at Comic-Con and do some magic trick and get the audience all involved and he was s–ting himself.”
“I don’t remember whispering sweet nothings, I think he’s lying,” Colin added.
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Heidi Klum is opening up about her relationship with Vito Schnabel and being called a cougar as he is 13 years younger than her.
The 43-year-old model is on the cover of Ocean Drive’s December 2016 issue,
in which she talks about getting caught flaunting PDA with Vito, going topless on the beach, and more. Check it out:
On being called a cougar: “It’s not about age. We have an amazing connection, we have fun together, and we love each other. It doesn’t matter
what people say. As long as you know when you close your door in your own
home, you have an amazing time together. That’s really all that matters.”
On being a fan of going topless: “I grew up going to nude beaches with my
parents, so I’m a nudist. I have no problems with nudity at all. I’m very free. When I go to the beach, it’s in a very remote place where there are not a lot of people, and I like to go topless.”
On getting caught by the paparazzi and PDA: “I’m not doing PDA on the beach with tons of people. I go on a boat or I take a hike somewhere. If you would zoom out in the places where I’m with my boyfriend, there’s nobody there. Unfortunately, paparazzi always follow us, in a helicopter or they hang behind a bush or a boat and they come up with scuba gear. But to the outside world, it looks like we’re frolicking on the beach having a show in front of everyone.”
On the best fitting bras: “I love a natural shape. I don’t love big push up bras and boobs right under your neck! That was yesterday. I thought we need to do something different for the super sexy girls who have lots of push up bras but also love no lining inside, where it’s all lace. My whole slogan, what I tell my design team, is always “more boobs, less bra.”
On the biggest criticism she’s received: “That I’m too curvy. Too feminine. I got that a lot. That I should be skinnier. And that I’m not edgy enough and a little too happy half of the time. Everyone was always telling me maybe I should skip a meal or I should go on these [diet] pills. I just always stuck to my guns and thought either they want me the way I am or this is not the right job for me.”
On insecurity: “When you’re a normal girl from a small town and no one really takes note of you, and then all of a sudden you’re walking down a catwalk in your lingerie and on the cover of Sports Illustrated and all these people are turning their heads when you go into a restaurant and pointing their finger at you saying, ‘She’s not as pretty in person as she is in photos,’ you get a little insecure. You always get judged, so you have to learn how to handle that.”
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Felicity Jones takes the cover of Glamour magazine’s January 2017 issue
wearing a gorgeous Dior red dress.
Here’s what the 33-year-old Rogue One: A Star Wars Story actress had to
share with the mag:
On equal pay for men and women: “I want to be paid fairly for the work that
I’m doing. That’s what every single woman around the world wants. We want to be paid on parity with a man in a similar position. And I think it’s
important to talk about it.… It’s brave of those women to come forward and
make a point about it. Now younger actresses will have a confidence in those
discussions with their agents and be able to say, ‘Can we make sure that I’m
being paid the right amount for the work that I’m doing?’”
On keeping her personal life private: “When I go to the cinema, the less I know about the person, the more I can invest in them as characters.”
On being a feminist: “I’ve always been a feminist, and what I love in my
work is being able to explore a full-sided woman and not patronise her. Particularly with Jyn, it’s such a rare opportunity to be able to play a female who’s not just thinking about [romantic] relationships.”
For more from Felicity, visit Glamour.com.
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Kathy Griffin has met a lot of different celebrities throughout her career –
and she’s dishing about them in her new book Kathy Griffin’s Celebrity
Run-Ins!
The 56-year-old actress and comedian had some not-so-pleasant things to say
about 45-year-old Mad Men star Jon Hamm.
“You’ll never convince me to like Jon Hamm,” Kathy wrote (via US Weekly). “The vibe I’ve always gotten from him is cold and somewhat disrespectful … toward me. I’m suggesting he’s one of these hot guys who’s mildly funny but actually thinks he’s comedian-level funny.”
Kathy shared that Jon came up to her at a dinner party once while she was
trying to chat up Jack Nicholson. “So when Hammy showed up, too, inside I thought, oh great,” she went on. “He even said to me, ‘What are you doing here?’ I said, ‘I earned my seat at the
table. What are you doing here?’”
Kathy said that Jon continued to get drunk as she was discussing Rupert Murdoch with Jack. “Hammy picks that moment … to start whispering boozy yammering into my ear,” Kathy added. “First it was, ‘You know your Emmy isn’t a real Emmy.’ I let that one go, but then he whispered, ‘You’re so o-o-o-old.’”
“Look, I’ve been told I’m old and not funny by a lot of guys – a lot of hot guys, too – but not when I’m in an intimate conversation space with frickin’ Jack Nicholson, an opportunity I figured I’d never get again,” Kathy wrote. “That’s the real reason I can’t stand Hammy. The double whammy of cruel but not playful comments and the horrible timing. Again, he’s not a comedian, folks. Hopefully done with the drink, but probably still Don Draper-y.”
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Old school singer/songwriter Neil Sedaka popped into Craig’s in L.A. for
dinner and left with a doggie bag. The Breaking Up Is Hard to Do singer had
a string of hits in the 60’s but feels The Beatles ruined his performing
career by changing musical taste.
He went on to great success as a songwriter with songs like Where the Boys Are. At 77, he still tours and performs in the US and around the world. In fact, he’s appearing at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills in January.
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Chris Pratt is opening up about dealing with the loss of his father Daniel while filming his anticipated film Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
“The truth is I ripped open some wounds that had been healing for some time. And I didn’t want to. But I knew it was right for the moment, the 37-year-old actor reveals in the January issue of the British GQ magazine, “There are wounds that are never going to be totally healed. It would probably make for a better story if it was some emotional thing that I hadn’t dealt with… When we face the death of a parent, you sometimes feel regret that you didn’t fully embrace what you had.”
On his audition for Guardians of the Galaxy with director James Gunn: “Within a minute he knew it was me and I knew it was me. And then he just said, any questions? I was like, ‘how much f***ing time do you have? Like, yeah, tell me everything. Tell me the script scene by scene, starting now, to the end, because you f***ing people won’t let me read it. So yeah, I have questions, I have nothing but f***ing questions.’”
On being a struggling actor: “Life was a series of choices based on the price backwards on the menu, when you didn’t look at, ooh, what do I want, you look at the lowest number, that’s what you’re going to get. The difference between a large soda and a small soda was the 49 cents, and you didn’t spend the 49 cents. I heard someone say to me if it’s a problem that can be solved by money, it’s not a real problem. And I thought what kind of f***ing asshole would come up with that?”
For more from Chris, visit GQ.co.uk!
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The Princess Diarist
By Carrie Fisher
The Princess Diarist is Carrie Fisher’s intimate, hilarious and revealing
recollection of what happened behind the scenes on one of the most famous
film sets of all time, the first Star Wars movie.
When Carrie Fisher recently discovered the journals she kept during the
filming of the first Star Wars movie, she was astonished to see what they had preserved—plaintive love poems, unbridled musings with youthful naiveté,
and a vulnerability that she barely recognised. Today, her fame as an author, actress, and pop-culture icon is indisputable, but in 1977, Carrie Fisher was just a (sort-of) regular teenager.
With these excerpts from her handwritten notebooks, The Princess Diarist is
Fisher’s intimate and revealing recollection of what happened on one of the
most famous film sets of all time—and what developed behind the scenes.
And today, as she reprises her most iconic role for the latest StarWars trilogy, Fisher also ponders the joys and insanity of celebrity, and the absurdity of a life spawned by Hollywood royalty, only to be surpassed by her own outer-space royalty. Laugh-out-loud hilarious and endlessly quotable, The Princess Diarist brims with the candour and introspection of a diary while offering shrewd insight into the type of stardom that few will ever experience.
I’m not a Star Wars fan but this book is worth every cent, if you want a good show biz read. I thoroughly enjoyed every page turn.
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THE WINERY TOUR 2017 ANNOUNCES OFFICIAL TOUR PARTNERS:
NEW ZEALAND MUSIC FOUNDATION AND THE GLASS PACKAGING FORUM
The Winery Tour 2017 is proud to announce that The New Zealand Music
Foundation will join the tour as the official charity partner.
The charity is dedicated to changing the lives of those in need through music. Having already impacted more than 20,000 people since its launch in 2012, the Foundation has made music therapy and other music-based transformative projects possible in institutions all over New Zealand, using music to change lives by restoring physical, mental and emotional health. It also provides emergency assistance to kiwis working in the music industry that are experiencing illness and hardship and gives free professional counselling to those who would otherwise be unable to access help.
Co-promoter of The Winery Tour, Brent Eccles, says that it is a great fit for The New Zealand Music Foundation to be a part of the tour. “The Winery Tour is an exceptional event, so it’s a perfect match for us to support an exceptional national music charity that is dedicated to helping change the lives of those in need”.
New Zealand Music Foundation General Manager, Peter Dickens, says: “It’s great to have the chance to go to the places around New Zealand where many of the music projects we partner with are based. We’re very excited to be the Tour’s official charity and very grateful for the opportunity.”
The Glass Packaging Forum (GPF) is also joining the Tour in 2017, pleased to be continuing its 10-year partnership with the event. Focused on encouraging fans to recycle their empty bottles after enjoying some of the finest wine our country has to offer during the shows, The GPF is responsible for educating people to separate glass from other types of waste, as glass is an infinitely recyclable product.
Currently 73% of all glass packaging consumed in NZ is collected and recycled, but the Forum aims to increase this number, helped through partnerships such as this one with the Winery Tour. Dedicated glass-recycling bins will be available at all shows on the Winery Tour 2017 so fans can responsibly dispose of the empty bottles.
The Winery Tour 2017 will present twelve shows around New Zealand in the 10th year of the tour, celebrating the Kiwi summer with outstanding music from Brooke Fraser, Bic Runga, and Benny Tipene in some of New Zealand’s most idyllic wineries and outdoor venues.
Tickets are on sale now for $79 (+booking fee). Children under the age of 12 will be granted free entry when accompanied by an adult ticket holder (one child per ticket holder). For ticket information and to purchase please see The Winery Tour website www.winerytour.co.nz – special bus tickets will also be available.
Civic Events presents The Winery Tour 2017 – With Brooke Fraser, Bic Runga, and Benny Tipene
JANUARY
Friday 27 Tauranga Wharepai Domain
Saturday 28 New Plymouth TSB Bowl of Brooklands
FEBRUARY
Friday 3 Hamilton Vilagrad Winery
Saturday 4 Matakana Ascension Wine
Estate
Sunday 5 Whangarei Toll Stadium
Friday 10 Havelock North Black Barn Vineyards
Saturday 11 Wellington Basin Reserve
Sunday 12 Palmerston North Central Energy TrustArena, Fields
Tuesday 14 Blenheim A TASTE OF THE WINERY TOUR – ASB Theatre Marlborough
Friday 17 Upper Moutere Neudorf Vineyards
Saturday 18 Waipara Waipara Hills
Sunday 19 Auckland Villa Maria Winery
*…………………. Until next week my lips are sealed!
David H. W. Hartnell MNZM copyright 2016
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Monday 28th November 2016
I’m not one to gossip but…………… Matt Smith has spoken for the first time about being threatened at gunpoint while filming royal drama The Crown in South Africa.
The actor, who plays Prince Philip in the Netflix show, revealed that the incident took place while he was enjoying an evening out with a friend in a “rough” Cape Town bar. The pair were forced to make a swift exit when a man produced a firearm and threatened them.
Matt, 34, told the Mr Porter website that the man had approached them and
asked: “What are you looking at?”… “We were drunk. We said, ‘Nothing mate.
No worries.’ He was like, ‘I’ll shoot you, bru.’ He had a gun! “Really stupidly we just went to the bar across the street. I don’t know why we didn’t just leave altogether. He came up to the window, and went [tap, tap, tap], no word of a lie, he had a Crocodile Dundee knife in his hand. A bouncer came up and was like, ‘Get out of here!'”
Matt is soon due to return to South Africa for filming of the second series of The Crown. Thankfully, the dramatic incident has done nothing to hamper his enjoyment playing the Queen’s husband. “He’s quite a liberating character to play because, in the royal family, he gets to speak his mind and no one else does,” the Doctor Who star observed. “Everyone else is bound by this sort of strange protocol.”
Matt has previously admitted that he “didn’t expect to” end up liking the royal, and said he thinks the pair might actually share some personality traits. “He is chivalrous and virtuous and he’s loyal, and I like to think, in my friendships and my relationship, I value loyalty. But… I can be difficult and I can be acerbic and I can be cruel.”
The first ten-part series of The Crown begins with the wedding of the Queen, then Princess Elizabeth, in 1947 and continues through until the Suez Crisis of 1956. Matt stars alongside Claire Foy as the monarch, and John Lithgow as
Winston Churchill, with Jared Harris as King George VI and Victoria Hamilton as the Queen Mother.
The Crown TV series is amazing and well worth a look, very lavish and stunningly filmed.
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Well, this is awkward! A top aide for Donald Trump’s transition team told
the BBC yesterday that Sir Elton John, who endorsed Hillary Clinton and
performed at several fundraisers for her and called Trump a “barbarian,”
would be playing at the Trump’s inauguration in January.
“Sir Elton John is going to be doing our concert on the [national] mall for
Inauguration,” said Anthony Scaramucci, the vice chair of the presidential
inaugural committee.
He then went on to say how a performance by a gay singer is yet another
example of how Trump will be “the first American president in U.S. history
that enters the White House with a pro-gay rights stance.”
Never mind the fact that he will be accompanied by the most antigay American Vice President in recent history. Sir Elton’s team, however, was quick to squash the rumour. “Sir Elton will not be performing at Trump’s inauguration,” his rep said.
Still, Trump reportedly remains a very big fan of Sir Elton’s music, and often played it at his campaign rallies across the country. According to the New York Post, his favourite Sir Elton John song is 1971’s Tiny Dancer.
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British Comedy legend Ronnie Corbett has left £3.5 million to his family in
his will.
The Two Ronnies genius died in March aged 85 after secretly battling motor
neurone disease for a year. But the 5ft 1in star made sure widow Anne, 83,
and his two daughters were looked after he passed away.
And big-hearted Ronnie also left nine legacies to his grandchildren and
godsons – and even to his long-standing PA.
Pictured left: Anne, Ronnie and yours truly
Edinburgh-born Ronnie won national fame with late comedy pal Ronnie Barker in sketch show The Two Ronnies, a huge hit in the 1970s and ’80s. He also starred in David Frost’s The Frost Report and sitcom Sorry! But the funny man had health issues in recent years, and died in hospital with Anne and daughters Emma, 49, and Sophie, 48, at his side.
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Betty White wants someone to ask her out!
The 94-year-old actress – who was previously married to Dick Barker and Lane Allen in the 1940s and TV host Allen Ludden from 1963 until his death in 1981 – admitted men are a ‘hobby’ of hers, but she never gets approached to go on dates because of her age.
Asked if she’s more like Sue Ann Nivens from The Mary Tyler Moore Show or her Golden Girls alter ego Rose Nylund, she said: ‘I haven’t a clue. I
would probably say Sue Ann Nivens.
‘Well, she liked men! So does Betty. It’s kind of a hobby of mine. But the
men don’t know it.’
Asked if she still dates, she bemoaned: ‘Nobody asks me. Who’s gonna wanna ask out a 94-year-old woman? It just doesn’t happen.’
But when Today host Al Roker reassured her there are definitely interested men, she jokingly asked: ‘Well, how old are you?’
Despite her long years in the industry, Betty insists she ‘never’ takes her success for granted. She added: ‘How can you not enjoy it?’ But the veteran actress admitted the industry has changed for women over the years.
She said: ‘[In my early days], it was a privilege to be allowed to work at that time.’ And the Boston Legal actress has no plans to retire any time soon. She simply asked: ‘Why?’
Betty credits kindness as the key to her career longevity. She explained: ‘You don’t say the hurtful thing even if you’re irritated or upset because that sticks, that sticks around..
‘Everybody should have or cultivate a passion. Don’t be afraid to really get hooked on something, because that will refurbish your entry.’
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I’m sure you all know that Florence Henderson the actress who was the mum in The Brady Bunch died on Thanksgiving night (November 24th) at the age of 82 after being hospitalised the night before. She passed away from heart failure and was surrounded by friends and family at the time of her death.
Florence was active right up until her death. She made an appearance in the
audience at the American TV series Dancing With the Stars just days before
she died. She was a constant fixture on the show this season while supporting her The Brady Bunch co-star Maureen McCormick. I interviewed Florence many years ago in Hollywood, and she was so down to earth and never bought into the Hollywood drama of it all.
Pictured left: With Maureen several days before she died.
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TV star Ellen DeGeneres nearly missed out on receiving the Medal of Freedom from President Obama last night when the White House didn’t recognise her.
Or rather, they probably did but the star tweeted that she had forgotten her
ID. The award was presented at the White House in a special ceremony held by President Obama.
But the star tweeted a coy looking picture of herself sitting on a park bench near the White House, with the caption: “They haven’t let me in to the White House yet because I forgot my ID. #NotJoking #PresidentialMedalOfFreedom”.
It’s almost two decades since Ellen came out – long before most stars felt able to, and in a time when showbiz and Hollywood readily refused work to LGBT people for fear of the reaction.
President Obama spoke of how her decision to come out and to be a role model for LGBT Americans had initially harmed her career, calling for people to recognise her convictions.
In his speech to invited guests and dignitaries, President Obama said that Ellen “reminds us that we have more in common than we realise.
“It’s easy to forget now, when we’ve come so far, where now marriage is equal under the law, just how much courage was required for Ellen to come out on the most public of stages almost 20 years ago. Just how important it was, not just to the LGBT community, but for all of us to see somebody so full of kindness and light, somebody we liked so much, somebody who could be our neighbour, or our colleague, or our sister, challenge our own assumptions.
“Remind us that we have more in common that we realise. Push our country in the direction of justice. What an incredible burden that was to bear, to risk your career like that. People don’t do that very often. And then to have the hopes of millions on your shoulders,” Obama said during the presentation. The award is “presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavours.”
Among the 21 recipients this year are Robert De Niro, Bill and Melinda Gates, Tom Hanks, Diana Ross, Vin Scully and Bruce Springsteen.
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After nearly two years off our screens, Celia Dawson and Alan – played by
Anne Reid and Derek Jacobi – will reunite for two new episodes of the BBC drama.
Last Tango in Halifax started airing on BBC One on 20 November 2012, and
tells the story of two widowed elderly people, who fall in love and remarry
much later in life.
Alan and Celia, two childhood sweethearts who have been apart for 60 years
are reunited by Facebook, meet, fall in love and plan to marry.
And the Yorkshire-based drama, written by Sally Wainwright, returns for two episodes this December and will jump ahead to two years after Kate’s tragic death. The two episodes will focus on Celia’s daughter Caroline Mckenzie-Dawson –
played by Sarah Lancashire – embarking upon a new job and family home, following the death of her wife.
Her move doesn’t go down all that well with Celia and Alan, but the pair have plenty to distract them as Celia lands a part in the local production of Blithe Spirit.
Meanwhile, Alan’s daughter Gillian – played by Nicole Walker – has to contend with issues from her past coming back to haunt her. Can she prevent them from affecting her relationship with her brother-in-law Robbie?
It’s not yet known exactly when Last Tango in Halifax’s two-parter will air over the festive period. The series, which Sally was inspired to write by witnessing the happiness her mother’s second marriage brought her late in life, pulled in over eight million viewers to its series three finale.
Sarah Lancashire said: “It’s brilliant to be back filming Last Tango in Halifax again and to be back with everyone. “This Christmas special is a very eventful one and it will be great to see how everyone’s lives have changed over the past two years.”
RED Production Company’s Founder and Executive Producer Nicola Shindler added: “Sally has created an absolutely fantastic two part special, with a very engaging plot and a brilliant combination of comedy and drama.
“We can’t wait to share this much-loved show with fans over the festive period.”
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Leah Remini and Ellen DeGeneres sat down for a discussion about leaving the Church of Scientology in a new interview on The Ellen Show.
“The Church does have all your secrets from when you were a child, but that isn’t the reason why people don’t leave the Church. People don’t leave the Church because they actually believe what they’re doing is good. It’s very hard for me to attack something that I believed in, and I believed in it wholeheartedly my whole life. It’s a difficult position to be in,” Leah explained.
“They claim that they have the technology to get you to the highest enlightenment of that spiritual side of you and to be the best part of you,” Leah continued. “There’s a lot of things that are good in Scientology, because I wouldn’t have been in it. And that’s the thing: A lot of people trivialise it: ‘Oh, it’s Xenu and it’s a volcano and it’s jumping on couches and acting crazy.’ These people are victims. We’ve been victimised. We believed in something because it starts out very normal. I could be a better Leah, I could be a better mother, I could be a better sister, I could be a better friend—not to you, because I’ve been fantastic—but we all want those things. What Scientology offers is a bigger game. You’re part of an elite group saving the planet.”
“But again, my story pales in comparison to what happened to other people, how people are bullied into silence. We don’t have $3 billion (US) to protect ourselves, right? So, what I have is I’m an actress, and I’m able to speak, and I’m able to give a voice to people who might not have an Ellen to go on. For that, I feel lucky and I feel blessed. That’s kind of what my path is right now,” Leah continued.
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Nicole Kidman is telling the story of when she first met her ex husband Tom Cruise – during her audition for 1990s Days of Thunder.
“I remember walking in, I remember being so nervous and seeing Tom Cruise drive up in a Porsche, I think it was,” Nicole recalled to People magazine.
“He got out of the car and walked through and I was like, ‘Ah.’ My jaw dropped. Then I had to go in and audition in front of Tony Scott. Sweet
Tony. [Producers] Don Simpson, Jerry Bruckheimer, Robert Towne and Tom. I was like, ‘No way, I’m not going to get this.’ They called that afternoon and I had the job.
“I was just like, ‘Oh my god, Mom!’ Yeah, that was huge. Huge,” Nicole
continued. “You know, obviously, changed my life extraordinarily. So grateful for the film, for everything that came with it. It was a big, important part of my life.”
Tom and Nicole married in 1990 and divorced in 2001.
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Jon Hamm looks so handsome on the cover of GQ Australia’s Men of the Year issue after being named the International Man of the Decade!
Here’s what the 45-year-old Mad Men star had to share with the mag:
On landing the role of Don Draper: “Getting a role like that, all of sudden, the rest of your life looks really different. The game changes, and you’re like, I’m the same person I was a year ago – five minutes ago.”
On fame and wealth: “As soon as you make a lot of money in this country, you
don’t have to pay for anything. I try to give it away to people. I give it to shelters. But it accumulates.”
For more from Jon, visit GQ.com.au.
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Jennifer Lawrence is on the cover of Vanity Fair’s holiday issue and she opens up to the magazine about her fear of fans, her thoughts on new boyfriend Darren Aronofsky, and more!
The 26-year-old Oscar-winning actress would not confirm her relationship
with Darren, but she said, “he is a visionary.” Check out what she shared
with the mag:
On her friendship with Emma Stone: “She texted me that she got my number from Woody Harrelson. I replied, ‘F–k off!’ And we’ve been really good friends ever since.” The two of them texted every day for a year after that.
“I feel like it was our version of The Notebook—365 texts.”
On her dog, Pippi Longstocking: “I am a psychotic dog mom in a way that I am genuinely embarrassed about. If I could put her inside me and give birth to her I would.” Because of this, Lawrence jokes that having actual children, “would be dangerous. My kids would be incredibly jealous because I would still be way more attentive to Pippi than I would to them.”
On her struggle for privacy and her fear of fans: “You might think you know me, but when you approach me you’re a total stranger to me and I’m scared. I get very protective of my space. It took me a long time to be able to do that. But if I’m eating dinner and somebody comes up and a flash goes off from someone’s iPhone camera, I am really rude to that person. Then other people at the restaurant will see and be like, ‘Oh, damn, I don’t want to do that.’ Privacy is a full-time job and I work very hard at it.”
On never being a bridesmaid again: “All of my friends are getting married and having babies. Weddings rock, but I will never be a bridesmaid again. There needs to be a bridesmaids’ union. It’s horrendous. If anyone asks me again, I’m going to say, ‘No. That part of my life is over. I appreciate the ask.’ If I do ever get married, I don’t think I will have bridesmaids. How can I rank my friends?”
On insecurity at Paris Fashion Week: “[It’s] the most intimidating time to be alive. You get ready in your hotel and you’re like, ‘I look awesome.’ Then you walk outside, see the outfits and people who are like seven feet tall, and are like, ‘I am a piece of garbage. I’m not going out anymore.’”
Read the full article now at VanityFair.com
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Former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham has said because of her fame she wants to rid the world of HIV and AIDS.
The singer turned fashion designer currently supports women with HIV to give birth to healthy children.
“Many of us live incredibly lucky, blessed lives and we have a responsibility to help others less fortunate in whichever way we can,” she told The Metro.
“[Defeating the virus] would be a huge contribution to the world for future
generations.”
Victoria, who is a goodwill ambassador for the UN’s anti-AIDS programme, and David were at the Global Gift Gala fundraiser on Saturday.
Having met people living with HIV in places like Kenya, the 42-year-old said: “The main thing I learnt is prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV is possible with affordable, readily available medications.”
Last week, Posh Spice revealed a t-shirt designed by her five-year-old daughter, Harper which is to be sold to raise money for World AIDS day on December 1. The World Health Organisation believe there are at least 36.9 million people
living with HIV around the world. In 2014, there were an estimated two million new infections, though the new infection rate has dropped around 41% since 2001.
The number of people dying from an AIDS-related cause dropped to 1.2 million in 2014, down from 2.3 million in 2005
…………………. Until next week my lips are sealed!
David H. W. Hartnell MNZM copyright 2016
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Monday 21st November 2016
I’m not one to gossip but…………… Sir Elton John has announced that he’s signed a deal to write the memoir of his “crazy life.”
The idea of Elton telling all is a tantalising one, and the book is slated for release in 2019. But what with all the various out-of-court settlements, non-disclosure agreements and other such arrangements he’s demanded over the years, we’re not entirely sure what details he’s going to be able to include.
Regardless, he may want to run his proposed manuscript by his legal team.
We’re not experts but if he attempts to publish some of the details he’s
been pitching to his editors, he may well find himself in a little bit of trouble.
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Barbra Streisand may have turned 74 this year, but her latest magazine shoot proves she can still give women half her age a run for their money.
The Hollywood star looks incredible as she poses on the magazine’s latest cover wearing nothing but a white shirt and a pair of high heels. As she perches on top of a stool, Barbra’s slender pins take centre stage as she crosses them seductively. The black pair of peep-toe heels and sexy black tights help elongate her legs as she smiles for the camera.
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The crystal-encrusted gown Marilyn Monroe wore to serenade John F Kennedy
has sold for a record breaking $4.8million (US).
Monroe infamously sang Happy Birthday to the then president in the slinky,
flesh-coloured gown, which smashed its pre-sale estimate of $3 million (US)
at auction in Los Angeles.
Bought by the museum chain Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, it beat the record set by another of Marilyn’s dresses – her white costume from The Seven Year
Itch – which sold for $4.6million (US) in 2011.
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As Bob Hope’s daughter, a city councilman and preservation advocates square off to determine the future of the 15,000-square-foot home, the entertainer’s family scores a significant preliminary victory: “We’re just trying to honour what my parents decreed.”
In an unexpected turn of events, the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage
Commission has told the Los Angeles City Council that they do not support
the designation of Bob Hope’s 15,000-square-foot Toluca Lake home as a landmark.
The decision by the commission, made public in a Thursday morning hearing, does not necessarily end efforts to landmark Hope’s former estate at 10346 Moorpark St. — a process that has been spearheaded by Los Angeles City Councilman David Ryu — but it makes the path to designate the property a landmark much more complicated.
In September, Ryu submitted an emergency motion to start the landmark process after news outlets reported that Hope’s daughter, Linda, was pursuing plans to demolish all or part of the home in an effort to sell it.
The estate, first listed in 2013, is presently listed for $22 million.
“That’s just not true,” Linda Hope tells The Hollywood Reporter, insisting that demolition permits were filed by a potential buyer or an agent working on his behalf. “I’ve never taken any steps to demolish any part of that property.”
A review of the demolition permit reveals that no effort to tear down the main house was made — the paperwork, filed by a contract, mentions just a garage, pool house and another outbuilding. The recent emergency motion pitted Ryu, and the staff of the city’s Office of Historic Resources, against Hope, who argued that she was well within her rights to sell the house and that she would, in fact, be defying the wishes of her mother, Dolores, if she did otherwise.
“My mother’s will specified that the house be sold and the proceeds go the Bob & Dolores Hope Foundation — to make sure that veterans and people in need in the Los Angeles area could benefit,” Linda says. “I am the CEO of the foundation and I have an actual fiduciary responsibility to do what’s best for the foundation. It has cost the foundation nearly $1 million a year to maintain this property.”
Ken Bernstein, the manager of the Office of Historic Resources office, tells THR that although the estate did not meet the criteria as an architectural landmark, his staff determined that the house should be designated as a landmark because of its “historic cultural significance.” The commission has effectively overruled the staff.
“Bob Hope’s association with this property lasted for six decades. His iconic role in the entertainment industry clearly made him a historic personage and this is the property most associated with his life,” Bernstein says.
The house was originally built in 1939 by noted architect Richard Finkelhor, and in 2003 Hope died in the home at the age of 100. Dolores passed away eight years later. Over the years, the Toluca Lake home was visited by many Hollywood luminaries, including Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby.
Linda Hope insists that the cultural, historical and