Steve Dunleavy sighted in New York City

Tabloid legend Steve Dunleavy has been sighted in New York City, looking good-- and smoking!

Dunleavy (center) was with bigshot political and journalism pals at the Water Club Friday afternoon, when he was photographed with a pair of ageless tabloid television veterans who've each racked up legendary status of his own. Frank Grimes and Steve McPartlin reportedly bumped into Dunleavy as he was on his way outside for a cigarette.

Sightings of the NY Post columnist, formner editor, A Current Affair star and Elvis What Happened author have been few and far between since his retirement in 2008.

Liberace who?

"When this started 30-some years ago, Lee was still a name. Keeping that brand alive has been very difficult. When Liberace passed away, no one really did what they did with the Presley estate. If you turn on XM Radio, you're going to see a Sinatra station, you'll see an Elvis station. When you look at Liberace, his music is well-played, interpreted by a real talent. But it isn't kept alive the way Elvis or Sinatra's is."

--Jeffrey Koep, chairman of the Liberace Foundation board of directors, on Friday's announcement that the Liberace Museum in Las Vegas will close October 17.

All the Elvis master recordings for $763.99

One thousand numbered sets of The Complete Elvis Presley Masters are now on sale for $763.99. The three-box set includes every Elvis recording, digitally remastered, in chronological order, from 1954 through 1974: 30 CDs, 711 master recordings, 103 additional rare recordings, more than 35 hours of Elvis music-- and a 240-page hardcover book. The set ships in October.

AOL News calls on expert for insight into publication of Gary Coleman deathbed photo

Does the Public Benefit
from Celebrity Death Photos?
AolNews.com
by DAVID MOYE

(June 10) -- Photos like the deathbed image of Gary Coleman that Globe magazine is printing on its front page are awful to look at, but do they also tell us a lot about that celebrity ... and our twisted culture?

Depends on who you ask -- and which celebrity is pictured.

Burt Kearns, the former managing editor of "Hard Copy" and "A Current Affair," is the first to admit that deathbed and after-death photos like the ones showing John Lennon at the morgue, Elvis Presley at his funeral or paramedics trying to revive Michael Jackson are "distasteful" and "invasive."

Still, Kearns thinks that in Coleman's case, the photos may ultimately benefit the actor.

"As ugly as they are, they do serve a purpose," Kearns said. "It's easy to criticize the Globe -- as the hypocritical TMZ is doing -- but the photos do present a fuller picture of the ex-wife who sold them. Not only do the photos show Coleman in a heart-wrenching state, but she's in it! This paints a picture of what he was going through."

Kearns says that in the years after "Diff'rent Strokes" went off the air, Coleman became an "angry, cantankerous young man" who griped that people are bad and that he couldn't trust them.

"This is another example of the exploitation he complained about," Kearns said. "Gary Coleman died for our sins."

Although the Globe is being criticized for purchasing the photos, Kearns says it's telling that the headline reads "It Was Murder!"

"It just raises more attention to the fact that ex-wife Shannon Price pulled the plug on him -- something that she may have not had the right to do."

Still, Kearns is fascinated by the way Globe editors are trying to weasel their way out of controversy.

"There seems to be a dividing line between a 'deathbed photo' or an 'after-death photo,'" Kearns said. "The Globe is claiming it's only publishing the photos before his death."

It sounds terrible that Price would sell out Coleman's dignity for a few bucks, but Kearns says he's not the first celebrity treated in such a humiliating fashion by family members.

"When Elvis Presley died, the Enquirer was able to get the death photos by giving tiny cameras to 20 of his relatives," Kearns said. "The editors expected one or two photos at most -- and they got 20!"

Fact is, a deathbed photo is a true sign of a celebrity's iconic status -- notice the lack of celebrity death photos of Dennis Hopper or Rue McClanahan? Kearns sees another benefit: Proof of death.

"Jim Morrison and Tupac Shakur didn't have death photos and that's why some people feel they're still alive," Kearns said...

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE AOL NEWS ARTICLE,"DOES THE PUBLIC BENEFIT FROM CELEBRITY DEATH PHOTOS?", BY DAVID MOYE

Will Larry G Jones fill Danny Gans' shoes?

Can Larry G Jones fill Danny Gans' signature black-and-white spectator shoes?

The world is about to find out as one of the many musical impressionists influenced by the late Las Vegas superstar is about to confront the legend head-on with his own one-man comic singing impressionist show on the Las Vegas Strip-- produced by Gans' close friend, collaborator and drummer.

We told you about musical impressionist Larry G Jones back in January, when he made a splash with a well-timed Tiger Woods parody. while working the Royal Resort Hotel just off the Strip. Now it's been announced that Jones will be moving to Planet Hollywood's Harmon Theatre on June 8th.

"This fast-paced fun filled show features an all-star celebrity cast of rapid-fire voice impressions including many of Las Vegas' biggest headliners. Cher, Elton John, Neil Diamond, Elvis, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Rat Pack are a part of the 75 plus voices Larry performs in each show. When you throw a few comedians, Hollywood celebrities, and presidential voices in the mix, there is enough comedy and music to appeal to just about everyone."

The show is produced by Raphael Erardy, who was Gans' drummer and confidante for 20 years, until Gans' tragic and untimely death at 52 on May 1, 2009.

The Larry G Jones - Comic Singing Impressionist show opens June 8th at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino's Harmon Theater, 3663 S. Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109. The Harmon Theater entrance is located next to Krave Nightclub on the corner of the Las Vegas Blvd. & Harmon Ave. Tickets for the 7pm show will be $47.97 for general admission and VIP/Open bar tickets are available for $67.97. Shows will be nightly except for Sunday and Thursday. For show tickets call 702-836-0830 or book online at LarryGJones.com.

The Danny Gans of Argentina pays tribute

We've pointed out enough self-professed would-be Danny Gans successors from Las Vegas to Des Moines to Boston to London, to end any argument that the legendary musical impressionist who died mysteriously last May 1st was unknown beyond the Las Vegas Strip, and thereby unworthy of attention, investigation or justice. Today, however, that evidence becomes a bit more irrefutable with the posting of a tribute to The Man of Many Voices by Martin Russo, El Hombre de las Mils Voces-- known here as The Danny Gans of Argentina.

Martin is known throughout the Latin world for his dead-on and hilarious impressions of stars like La Mosca, Andrea Bocelli, Julio Iglesias, Luis Miguel and Ricky Martin. "Tribute to Danny Gans" includes his takes on Lionel Richie, The Bee Gees, Nat "King"-- and Natalie-- Cole, James Brown, Rod Stewart, Earth Wind & Fire, Elvis, Tom Jones, Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra, paying tribute to the man who inspired him-- and with his own Las Vegas experience, the performer whose work he would be honored to carry on.

Video: The Danny Gans of Des Moines shows he's ready for the Las Vegas Strip

We've had great response to our posts about the All-American musical impressionist Rick Ludwig, the Danny Gans of Des Moines, Iowa, who's out there most every night with his "i-man show" when he's not delivering singing telegrams, playing deejay and host at karaoke events or belting out his Two Men And A Tune duet show with Big Al Lauderdale.

The video above shows Rick in performance last month at the Prairie Meadows Casino in Altoona, highlighting his impressions of a Toby Keith & Willie Nelson duet, Elvis Presley, Elton John, Johnny Cash and John Denver. The show also included Rick as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, Neil Diamond, Billy Joel, Garth Brooks, Joe Cocker, George Jones, Billy Idol and Ozzy Osbourne.

The video proves the man is a powerhouse performer: a strong singer, excellent impressionist, and family entertainer who should be trading off nights with Frank Caliendo on the Las Vegas Strip. Rick Ludwig is the Terry Fator in waiting!

Rick adds a note: "The camera adds an extra 5-10 pounds to this video. I did a good job of adding an extra 50 over the past 10 years myself!"

UPDATE: Rick Ludwig will be performing his i-man show-- and breaking out new impressions of Joe Cocker and Tiny Tim-- at Trophy's Sports Bar & Grill in Des Moines, from 8 to 10 pm this Wednesday, March 17th (St Patrick's Day!)

The Danny Gans of Des Moines hogs spotlight with Star-Spangled Bacon

Musical impressionist Rick Ludwig, the Danny Gans of Des Moines, Iowa, is not sitting by his phone, waiting for the call from Las Vegas to take the mantle of the fallen Strip superstar. He's out there working his "i-man show," with little of the Sin City production values but a hundred and ten percent of the talent and gumption it takes to get out there and conquer another crowd with a trunk of quick-change costumes, a sound system and an incredible voice as well as knack for mimicry.

This weekend it was the 3rd annual Blue Ribbon National Bacon Festival, where Rick, in his "Big Elvis" persona, brought home the bacon with The National Anthem.


Now, sure it's funny, with the guy in the pig suit standing behind the big Elvis. But take time and listen to Rick's voice (and hang in to the very end to watch the pig and hear Rick bring home the bacon at 1:30!). The man's got the goods-- and dozens of other voices. This is wholesome, family, Gansian entertainment.

Sez Rick: "It was a rush! The bacon-covered caramel donuts were awesome! Elvis really enjoyed it!"

Chip Lightman, make that call!

From Rick Ludwig's website:

What is the i-Man Show?

What does the "i" stand for? Good question. The "i" stands for Impressionist, which is defined one way by Merriam-Webster as "an entertainer who does impressions." And an Impression is defined as "an imitation or representation of salient features in an artistic or theatrical medium; especially : an imitation in caricature of a noted personality as a form of theatrical entertainment.

That's what Rick Ludwig does when he sings and does impressions of some of the biggest artists of yesterday and today, which include... Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, Neil Diamond, Elton John, Billy Joel, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, John Denver, Toby Keith, Billy Idol, Ozzy Osbourne and Joe Cocker just to name a few.

Rick's resourceful and comedic use of costumes and props for these artists brings life to his characters and accompanies his vocal talents to make for an "impressive" and unforgettable evening of entertainment.

Who is Rick Ludwig?

Rick Ludwig is one of the Midwest's best kept secrets when it comes to variety style vocal performance and impersonations of the greatest singers since the 1950s until the present. Rick sings over 100 different songs from over 30 different artists spanning over 50 years and he also impersonates many of these artists with costumes or hilarious props. Rick's incredible 4 octave range (from bass to falsetto) allows him to do almost any song made for a man (and them some).

Rick has performed (sang) at over 3,500 shows from 1990-present, including, but not limited to wedding ceremonies, wedding receptions, corporate parties, karaoke shows, singing telegrams, senior citizen centers, nightclubs, casino shows and even funerals.

Rick began singing in public at a very young age of four in church, performing special numbers. The love for singing has always been in his blood! He is a natural when it comes to singing like the original artists and impersonating their famous moves! Rick has even been compared to the late, great Vegas entertainer/singer/impersonator Danny Gans, by some big fans of Danny's that saw his show several times.

Rick performs the oldies, classic country, new country (including hits on the radio today), classic pop and rock & roll songs and even contemporary Christian and gospel songs. He also likes to throw in a few Patriotic songs every now and then.

Rick Ludwig: The Danny Gans of Des Moines is ready to take his act to Las Vegas

Attention, Las Vegas! Rick Ludwig is prepared to step up to fill a big pair of red socks and black-and-white spectator shoes.

We told you about musical impressionist Rick Ludwig and his "i-man show" as part of our series on artists across America who plow on, inspired by the work, life and example of Danny Gans.

Some rely on a tux, a microphone and a band. Rick Ludwig does it all, with costumes, props, and his own musical accompaniment, and as a result he is the one-man musical impressionism star of greater Des Moines, Iowa, and definitely qualifies as one of the hardest-working men in show business. Definitely a homegrown Heartland talent, he's dedicated to his family and community, while working overtime at entertaining with everything from DJing to karaoke parties to singing telegrams to his locally legendary i-man shows wherever he can pull out his trunk and set up.


Last night, it was the Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino in Altoona. Tonight, Trophy’s Sports Bar & Grill in Des Moines. Soon, Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip? In an exclusive online interview, Rick Ludwig tells us he’s prepared to bring his act to Las Vegas and, just maybe, fill the void left by the passing of the great Danny Gans. And like Garth Brooks, who took over the showroom Danny Gans left vacant, he’s willing to fly in on weekends so he can have the rest of the week with his wife and kids.

Tabloid Baby’s Sam Peters put up the questions .

So, you’re obviously a big talent. What shows have you got lined up?

All local Des Moines shows for now. Haven't pursued too much nationwide yet, but I wouldn't rule that out for future. Still fine-tuning the show here locally.

How long have you been doing your show?

My very first i-Man show was New Year's Eve 2007, which was the low-quality (I apologize) video that you have seen on YouTube. However, I have been singing since I was 4 in my mom's former church in front of 100 or so (so that would be 1970 roughly).

In 1985, I began as a part-time DJ while attending Central College in Pella, Iowa (Harry Smith's college). In 1991, I purchased my first karaoke system, began doing it at private parties and weddings and then expanded into the clubs in 1993.

In 1994 I left my day job as a computer programmer and in 1995 when full-time into the DJ & Karaoke business.

I began singing in clubs as a performer in about 1996-1997. Began doing Singing Telegrams around 2001.

So you’re a show biz vet. Are you a native of Des Moines?

I’m from Ottumwa, Iowa. That’s the hometown of Tom Arnold and, fictionally, Radar from M*A*S*H. I moved to Des Moines in 1989 to begin a day job at the Principal Financial Group downtown.

Say you get the call from Sin City. Would you be willing to relocate?

If the right opportunity came along, I might be willing to relocate in a few years, once my kids are a bit older. I have four (three girls aged 14, 7 and 6, with one boy, 13). However, I think it would be fun to maybe perform in a Las Vegas casino one or two nights a week-- say a Monday or Tuesday-- and then fly back home to Iowa. Airfare is cheap from DSM to Vegas.

A talent like you was bound to get noticed. Have you ever applied for a show like America's Got Talent?

As for American Idol, was always too old. They need Geezers Got Talent or Old Farts Got Talent and I'd be all over that. Just kidding. I haven't done the America's Got Talent because I'm way too busy with my DJ, Karaoke and Singing Telegram business. I don't know when I'd get time off! I guess it wouldn't hurt to pursue some day and give them a taste of i-Man or something.

I did win $2,500 in a karaoke contest at Prairie Meadows in Altoona back in 2007. I got second place, dressed as my Big Elvis and Disco Dude characters (kind of a pre-cursor to i-Man, I think). I used some of that money to buy additional costume stuff. (See pictures on RickLudwigShow.com.

Of course, it all gets back to Danny Gans. How did The Man of Many Voices inspire you?

A couple visited one of my karaoke shows back in 2006 while I was singing a few Elvis and Johnny Cash songs. I wasn’t in costume, just imitating their voices, and they told me I reminded them of Danny Gans from Las Vegas, who they went to see at least once a year. I said, “Danny who?”

I basically lived under a rock at that time, because I had only been to Vegas twice before that for DJ conventions and still didn't know who Danny Gans was. A few weeks later, this couple returned to the show with a videotape of Danny Gans and loaned it to me to watch. “Wow! That's what I wanna do” I said.

Maybe not Vegas right away, but I loved the idea of imitating voices and also dressing the part.

So that's how I got hooked. I went to see Danny in February 2007 during a DJ convention and I was like a little kid in a candy store. He was awesome!!!

Okay. You run the gamut. But what are your favorite impressions?

Elvis, Johnny Cash, Elton John and I do a split-personality character of half Toby Keith, half Willie Nelson. I sing the duet Beer For My Horses, doing both parts back and forth. lol. People go crazy over that one. It's unique for Iowa.

I also just added Ozzy costume and am still working that one out.

See Rick Ludwig live tonight at Trophy’s Sports Bar & Grill iN Des Moines tonight from 7 to 10, and next Saturday, February 20th at Rookie's Sports Bar & Grill 9-1 in Clive, Iowa.

Louie, Sammy, Rich, Pete & Lance: All-Stars unite for Las Vegas animal fundraiser

A Murderers' Row of Las Vegas legends gathered last night at a Funny Bones fundraiser for animal rescue organizations. From left, Louie Anderson, Elvis opener Sammy Shore, Rich Little, Pete Barbutti (whom we saw play piano with a broom when he opened for Sinatra at Carnegie Hall) and magician Lance Burton give the full house a night to remember.

Rick Ludwig is the Des Moines Danny Gans

Will Las Vegas ever see another Danny Gans? That's like asking of Las Vegas will ever see another Elvis, Louis Prima or Cook E. Jarr. The likes of the musical impressionist, with his special mainstream gifts, unique background and mysterious life, will never be seen again-- not that there aren't many who would assume his mantle if given the chance.

There are the obvious Gansabees, like Frank Caliendo toiling at the Monte Carlo, or Larry G. Jones, working just off the Strip with Gans' old drummer and pal Raphael Erardy, but one man who just may be working his way toward Gansstyle greatest is plugging away in Des Moines, Iowa, chasing his dream through Singing Telegrams, Phonegrams and karaoke in the voices and personnae of Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson, Elton John, Billy Joel, John Denver, Johnny Cash and-- well, you name it.


Rick Ludwig is his name. Remember that name. We were led to the YouTube video again through a "Danny Gans" Google alert. The video description says:

"Similar to show like late, great Danny Gans in Las Vegas. Visit www.imanshow.com. Demo lasts about 6 min. with costume changes for 11 different artists in this order... Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Frankie Valli, Frank Sinatra, Elton John, Billy Joel, Johnny Cash, John Denver, Willie Nelson and Toby Keith. For hire 515-208-1782 or visit imanshow.com."

Who cares that it's an "i-man" show? Look past the production values and see a true artist with quite a set of pipes. America's Got Talent, look no further...

69!

Johnny Kats in the Las Vegas Sun:

"I'd had my curiosity about Tom Jones rejuvenated over the holidays, when I was talking with members of Elvis Presley's inner circle for a story... commemorating the anniversary of Presley's 75th birthday. During these interviews, Jones' name kept surfacing as a model for Presley had Presley lived to entertain into his 60s and 70s.

"You can see the similarities. Jones moves well and can still sing anything...

"Even today, women shriek and throw their underwear at Jones, who often acknowledges the act with such deft — a sideways glance, or a smirk — it's difficult to tell if he's honored or bored. Probably the former. When a woman from the back of the room shouted, 'Take OFF the coat!' Jones promised, 'Later, it's all coming off.' It was unclear if he meant later in the show, or later that night. Probably the latter..."

The dead boy in Anita Pallenberg's bed

We saw the photos of Anita Pallenberg in the Daily Mail, held up at 65 as some kind of Dorian Gray portrait of the Rolling Stones, filed in the Marianne Faithfull bin of wreckage left on the side of the Mick and Keith's fastlane. Anita will be remembered for Barbarella, her three-in-a-tub scene with Jagger in Performance, and Brian Jones. We tend to remember her as Keith Richards' piggish Elvis-bloated hausfrau in South Salem, New York around the time her alleged teenage lover wound up dead in her and Keith's bed, shot through the head in what was never proven to be a game of Russian Roulette. We were working for the area's weekly newspaper chain, chasing down stories of Satanic activity in the area. A cop had claimed he'd been beaten down by a gang of guys in hooded cloaks; we found evidence of cult meetings on the grounds of a local convent; our attempts to connect it all to the crime scene inside the beautiful white country house with the mailbox painted in rasta colours got us and the story into Rolling Stone magazine, courtesy of a Random Notes writer named Kurt Loder.


It was July 20, 1979. The victim was a 17-year-old kid named Scott Cantrell. He was working as a handyman at the Richards estate and fell in love with Pallenberg, Richards' common-law wife, at at 37 well past her prime and fattened by excess in the Rolling Stones' most debauched disco days. In late June, he'd moved into the house with Pallenberg and her and Richards' 10-year-old son, Marlon. Richards was away recording an album in France on the night of July 20th.

According to People magazine:

"...On the night of July 20 Scott wasn't working. He was with Anita under the covers of her bed but fully dressed and watching a TV commemoration of the first moon landing. Richards' factotum Jeffrey Sessler came upstairs with sandwiches. 'They were drinking wine and laughing,' he recalls. 'They were feeling good. He was not in a depression.' When Sessler left, Anita told police, she got up to tidy the room. She heard a click—then a shot. Spinning around, she saw Scott bleeding from the head, gagging. She turned him over to help him breathe, she said, and found a .38-caliber Smith and Wesson, which she carried to a nearby bureau top. Two hours later Scott died at Northern Westchester Hospital."


In the end, the death was ruled a suicide, but the family never bought it. Anita Pallenberg was charged with having handguns without a permit and possessing a stolen gun -- the death weapon had disappeared from a Fort Lauderdale sheriff's office.

That was 1979. Keith Richards met Patti Hansen at Studio 54 that year. They were married in 1983.

Dakota Fanning is Cherie Currie

The first trailers are out for The Runaways, the movie about the Seventies jailbait rock 'n' group fronted by Tabloid Baby pal Cherie Currie, who's played by Dakota Fanning (while the girl from Twilight brings her sullen charm to Joan Jett and Elvis' granddaughter is in there somewhere), and it looks like it rocks tabloid at its finest. Cherie, whether rocking the microphone or a chainsaw (look it up) is a doll (and one of the coolest women we know), and the movie is based at long last on her harrowing rock 'n roll suburban memoir Neon Angel, which we expect to be republished with a cool new cover and hit the best seller list when the movie hits.

Exclusive! Lewis Bailey's Christmas playlist!

A few days after we brought you the playlist for the Disneyland's Main Street USA Christmas music loop, A CD arrived in the Tabloid Baby mailbox containing Lewis Bailey's latest Christmas mixtape. The world-renowned videographer, photojournalist and homebricker from Bailey Mountain, Georgia, is also Tabloid Baby's country music expert, so we were more than a bit surprised to find barely a country song among the lot-- unless you count Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree by Bailey cousin Brenda Mae Tarpley-- but settled in for a long car ride as we were transported back to the days we'd pick up the Christmas compilation albums at the Firestone Tire store.

The list of Lewis' Yuletide selections follows. Now find the songs!

Sleighride Leroy Anderson
Run Run Rudolph Chuck Berry
No Place Like Home for The Holidays Perry Como
It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas Perry Como & The Fontane Sisters & The Mitchell Ayres Orchestra
Christmas Island The Fontane Sisters
White Christmas Bing Crosby
Sleighride The Andrew Sisters
Jingle Bell Rock Bobby Helm
Santa Claus Is Back in Town Elvis Presley
Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree Brenda Lee
Please Come Home for Christmas Charles Brown
Blue Christmas Elvis Presley
Let It Snow Vaughn Monroe
Merry Merry Christmas Baby Dodie Stevens
Here Comes Santa Claus Gene Autry
Merry Christmas Baby Charles Brown
I'll Be Home for Christmas Elvis Presley
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer Gene Autry
The Christmas Song Nat "King" Cole
Santa Baby Eartha Kitt
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters
Silent Night Bing Crosby
Silver Bells Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely
White Christmas The Drifters
Winter Wonderland Louis Armstrong
Please Come Home for Christmas The Eagles
Holly Jolly Christmas Burl Ives
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) Darlene Love
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas Judy Garland

Carrot Top is a classic clown

The Las Vegas Sun website is carrying a long, serious profile of Carrot Top, whom writer John Katsilometes takes pains to refer to by his given name, Scott Thompson, a member of the Las Vegas Strip Laugh Pack. The article is an appreciation and a keeper for all comedy fans, and the accompanying photo places Carrot Top squarely in the tradition of underappreciated comic talents, in the manner of the Clash using London Calling to stake its lineage to Elvis.

Barry Manilow, what happened?

Word today that Barry Manilow will soon announce he's quitting his longtime engagement at the Las Vegas Hilton comes two days after Barry sent a memo to his fan club insisting he's not sick (just a "skinny guy" who's "filled with energy" and still has his hair) and a day after he launched a subscription website to show archival footage of his past concerts.


Barry's likeness has been plastered along the side of the hotel-casino where Elvis and Wayne Newton once ruled, and his Manilow giftshop off the Hilton lobby has been a Las Vegas favorite, featuring not only t-shirts, jewelry and memorabilia, but bottles of the legendary Manilow water.


Hilton execs announced Barry's longterm deal in December 2004.

The Manilow.tv site will run a new concert each month.

Hate radio gives way to Sinatra & company

For about a year now, the sixth radio button in our car was set to KGIL 1260 AM in Los Angeles. That's where, while punching among Randi Rhodes, Sean Hannity, Michael Medved, Ron Reagan Jr. and Stephanie Miller, we'd get our doses of hate from Glenn Beck and Lars Larson and settle in for old school jazzman hilarity from Michael Savage, the crackpot hipster who offers the most inspired, personal, nuttiest radio since the passing of the late Howard Stern.

On weekends, when the other stations were selling nutritional aids, KGIL would switch to standards-- songs of people like Frank Sinatra, Louis Prima, Rosemary Clooney, Diana Krall and Mel Torme.

Now, suddenly, the hate is gone and only the songs remain. For the past week or so, the station's been switched to an all-standards format, and while much has been written about the all-news station KFWB switching this month to all-talk and Dr. Laura, we haven't seen any word of this revolution, which should have made big news amid the Savage British ban and Glenn Beck boycott alone.


In any case, it's brilliant, and with our AM radio buttons bookended by Radio Disney and Radio Dino, the only real downside is that it doesn't come with FM audio. On a ride to the store tonight, we heard Sammy Davis Jr., Lou Rawls & Dianne Reeves and Sinatra singing That's Life, while a couple of nights ago we heard a great guitar tune and used Shazam to identify it as Off Key, the English language version of Antonio Carlos Jobim's Desifinado performed by John Pizzarelli. We bought it on iTunes.

It turns out the official changeover takes place tomorrow.

(Wikipedia says: "KGIL (1260 AM) is a radio station licensed to Beverly Hills, California... On August 27, 2009, the station switched to a mix of oldies and adult standards as "Retro 1260." As of August 31, Mike Sakellarides, heard for 25 years on KOST-FM, is the new morning man, followed in middays by former KKGO DJ Nick Tyler. Jeff Serr, formerly of KMGG, KBIG, and KODJ, does afternoons. Retro 1260 emphasizes vocals and plays Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke, the Beatles, and the Beach Boys, as well as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Steve Tyrell, and Michael Feinstein. As of September 4, 2009, KGIL streams online at http://1260.am/.")

Exclusive! Comedy legend Chris Bearde opens comedy school!

Comedy genius Chris Bearde, the man who arrived from Australia to write Laugh-In, Elvis' 1968 special, create The Gong Show, direct a movie starring The Hudson Brothers (well, nobody's perfect), and most recently stand out as the lone and brave political comedian dishing out dozens of one liners and laughs at conservatives' expese day after day at the essential Beardes's Eye View site, announced minutes ago that he is accepting students at the until-now legendarily rumoured Chris Bearde School of Comedy.

Chris writes on Facebook:

"The Comedy School that rocks!! The School was started in Las Vegas. It's a six weeks course open to anyone with a sense of humor. At the end of the course the students get to perform on a live stage in front of a large audience.

"We are starting the school soon in LA and will be looking for students. Some of our initial students have already appeared in movies and television shows. Call us at 310.598.6345. and ask for Carolyn. Come to our offices in Santa Monica and talk... if you're a funny person you get to enroll... however we don't like people who condone torture or Sarah Palin...."

Farrah Fawcett's life and death become an E! True Hollywood Story

When NBC Dateline took Farrah Fawcett’s cancer documentary (as was its right since the network paid for it) and turned it into a morbid maudlin “mainstream news” version of a tabloid television special, critics groaned, millions watched in horror, the original producer sued and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences gave it an Emmy nomination.

When The E! True Hollywood Story dedicates an hour to “the life and legacy of the iconic Hollywood beauty” on Wednesday night, there may not be awards cast in its direction, but viewers can expect they'll be able to sit down to a compelling hour of tabloid show business biography.

The E! True Hollywood Story is television’s premier entertainment biography show, turning each of its stories into a down-and-dirty Hollywood noir, laying its subjects bare while treating them with the respect and awe that their achievements and status command. Whether Natalie Wood or Ray Combs, Liberace or Jan-Michael Vincent, Rebecca Schaeffer or Joe Piscopo, all the THS subjects wind up together in the equivalent of a low-rent Sunset Boulevard motel-- not diminished but enshrined equally as True Hollywood Stars, for why else would we care so much about their personal travails?


It’s a pre-TMZ approach that comes closest to the Hollywood myth-handling of the early days of tabloid television when James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis were still fertile subject matter.

As for the series’ latest portrait of Farrah-- she was featured in 1999, in Season 3-- take it from the press release :

“In 1976, a famous hairstyle and a red swimsuit turned unknown actress Farrah Fawcett into a pop culture icon, but the Texas-born beauty never lost her girl-next-door humility and charm. Diagnosed with cancer in 2006, Fawcett was also an inspiration to many people as she waged a courageous battle with the disease that ultimately took her life. THS chronicles the complicated journey of this blonde bombshell through intimate interviews with those who knew her best…”

The hour-long episode features a rare interview with Farrah’s college friend Sylvia Dorsey, “who sat with Fawcett in the hospital during her final days, along with Farrah’s longtime stylist Mela Murphy and “Charlie’s Angels” creator Leonard Goldberg.

There are also “never-before seen photos taken by her best friend, Alana Stewart.”

In light of the turmoil among those closest to Farrah in the weeks preceding and after her death, those alone should make for a very interesting hour, while adding to the bigger picture.

“Farrah Fawcett: The E! True Hollywood Story” premieres Wednesday, August 5th at 10 pm Eastern and Pacific, and ten show up throughout the E! schedule.