The recession took its toll on the 2009 Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. While Jerry and his kids raked in an impressive $60,481, 231, last year's take was $65,031,393.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Jerry Lewis brings down the house
Jerry Lewis and his Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon are headed into the homestretch. Click here to help.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
The Telethon is on
The Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon is underway. It's the 44th national broadcast, Jerry's 58th telethon and he's looking all of his 83 years. Walked on after an introduction by some Irish stepdancers. Stage manager Debbie Williams had the first word as she leaned in to hand him the microphone he'd forgotten. He kicked off with a couple of ancient sex jokes (punchlines: "I forgot where I lived" and "Twenty-two years ago, I had sex with a parrot. I thought you were my son."), then went into Barry Manilow's Can't Smile Without You: "We can't laugh, we can't sing unless we hear those telephones ring." Nirvana. If Jerry can make it through the next 22 hours, so can we. Check your local listings. Click here to help.
'Grieving' Greg Lott shocks Australia with secret Farrah Fawcett love and sex affair
Greg Lott’s claims and evidence of a secret. late-life love affair with Farrah Fawcett are now creating a storm in Australia, as the story that broke in the UK and was reported here is now splashed across the Down Under version of OK! magazine.
We told you on August 29th that Lott had gone public in the Daily Mail with explosive revelations that he and Farrah had been secret lovers for the past eleven years. He produced not only photographs and memories but letters from Farrah, including one in which she writes:
"Sitting here missing you more than I can say and tell you, I had the most wonderful time with you Everything was more than perfect. Thank you for making it so special. No stressure. Great food, great weather, great sex, great, great you!”
The Texan Lott is well known in pop culture history as Farrah’s football hero boyfriend from the University of Texas at Austin who lost her to Hollywood. Articles from the time show that he and Farrah reconnected in the late Nineties after her split from longtime boyfriend Ryan O’Neal, and in 2006 he partnered with Farrah in running her website.
In the weeks before Farrah’s death from cancer, Lott contacted Tabloid Baby to complain that his formerly unlimited access to his dear friend had been cut off by Ryan O’Neal. Lott maintained a vigil in Los Angeles for months, until her death from cancer on June 25th.
Much of the OK! interview and details are identical to the those in the Daily Mail article. Lott goes farther in his attack oin O’Neal, however, calling him a “psychopath.”
The article also contains a very interesting paragraph amid the memories in which Lott says he no longer has plans for to write the book book he'd announced in July:
“For all his sincerity and sentimentality, Greg Lott is aware of how this looks—secrets revealed by the former lover of a celebrity. And Greg candidly admits that he’s had a checquered past, including two prison terms for drug trafficking. But he insists he’s not in it for the fame of the money (he was not paid for his interview or for the letters and pictures). “My critics will say I am a disgruntled lover from the ‘60s and I’m looking for a pay day,’ he says. ‘I’m wondering where that pay day might be. I’m not looking to write a book. I don’t have a books deal and I don’t have agenda. But I do have a broken heart and Farrah doesn’t have a voice any more. I would never have spoken out now except that some people are trying to rewrite history, What we had was very real. I am grieving.’”
Danny Gans autobiography contains chapter touching on his drug use; coauthor admits book wasn't really completed the day before Gans died
Danny Gans' ghostwriter turned co-author admits today that the musical impressionist's autobiography was not really completed the day before he died. Although the legend began on the day of the Las Vegas superstar's untimely death and has been repeated often in the months since, RG Ryan now admits that he had only finished a "rough draft" of the book-- which is now said to contain a chapter that at least touches on an explanation for Gans' secret use of painkilling drugs.
Ryan's revelation-- and the effort to address the details of Gans' untimely death in a suitable fashion-- could help explain the delay in publishing The Voices In My Head, which was snatched up within days of Gans' shocking passing on May 1st by the owner of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and promised for a rush-release in June (publication is now set for October).
Ryan, a local writer, poet and musician who is also billed today in Norm Clarke's Review-Journal column as a "former minister," had intimated that the delays were due to negotiations with Gans' family over his writing credit.
Ryan tells Norm that the book will include a chapter called "The Glory and The Pain," detailing Gans' "incredible struggles to overcome pain."
Writes Norm:
"The pain came not just from sports injuries, but two car accidents. One involved being rear-ended by a garbage truck about eight years ago. The other happened about five years ago when his car hit a water puddle and hydroplaned into a light pole.
"On some nights, when his pain was unbearable, Gans signaled his band leader to play a song, 'because Danny would have to run off stage and throw up,' Ryan said."
Norm reports that Ryan and Gans' estate do not go into the details of how managed that pain, or what led to the overdose of hydromorphone (described my Norm as "a powerful opiate also known as Dilaudid, the highly addictive drug... nicknamed 'drugstore heroin.'")
Ryan claims, "It never came up in our conversations (12 to 15 hours of interviews). The only thing he ever said about that to me was that he stuck to ibuprofen, because all that other stuff-- he said he had doctors prescribe heavy-duty stuff-- it dried out his voice."
"When Gans died, 'I was just as shocked as anyone else. Obviously he was taking something stronger than Motrin,' Ryan said."
Ryan tells Norm that Gans was "pushing very hard to get a number of things wrapped up. But I didn't pick up any sign that he had a premonition that he was going to die."
"Ryan described the book as a 'comprehensive, intimate look into the heart and soul of a man who, from the time he was 7 years old, was targeted to the goal of being a professional baseball player.'"
Norm also reports that Ryan "finished a rough draft the day Gans died."
A "rough draft" is usually the first version of a work that requires correcting, rewriting, revising and polishing. In the case of a book, it is far from the final, finished version.
Ryan had told us via email that the entire book "was finished at eleven AM on Thursday. We were supposed to get together at four Friday afternoon, May 1."
The autobiography myth was one of several that were spread in the hours after Gans death. Another, later retracted by Norm, was that Gans switched the final song in what was his final show from his usual medley of African American singing impressions to Bobby Darin's "The Curtain Falls."
Ryan's revelation-- and the effort to address the details of Gans' untimely death in a suitable fashion-- could help explain the delay in publishing The Voices In My Head, which was snatched up within days of Gans' shocking passing on May 1st by the owner of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and promised for a rush-release in June (publication is now set for October).
Ryan, a local writer, poet and musician who is also billed today in Norm Clarke's Review-Journal column as a "former minister," had intimated that the delays were due to negotiations with Gans' family over his writing credit.
Ryan tells Norm that the book will include a chapter called "The Glory and The Pain," detailing Gans' "incredible struggles to overcome pain."
Writes Norm:
"The pain came not just from sports injuries, but two car accidents. One involved being rear-ended by a garbage truck about eight years ago. The other happened about five years ago when his car hit a water puddle and hydroplaned into a light pole.
"On some nights, when his pain was unbearable, Gans signaled his band leader to play a song, 'because Danny would have to run off stage and throw up,' Ryan said."
Norm reports that Ryan and Gans' estate do not go into the details of how managed that pain, or what led to the overdose of hydromorphone (described my Norm as "a powerful opiate also known as Dilaudid, the highly addictive drug... nicknamed 'drugstore heroin.'")
Ryan claims, "It never came up in our conversations (12 to 15 hours of interviews). The only thing he ever said about that to me was that he stuck to ibuprofen, because all that other stuff-- he said he had doctors prescribe heavy-duty stuff-- it dried out his voice."
"When Gans died, 'I was just as shocked as anyone else. Obviously he was taking something stronger than Motrin,' Ryan said."
Ryan tells Norm that Gans was "pushing very hard to get a number of things wrapped up. But I didn't pick up any sign that he had a premonition that he was going to die."
"Ryan described the book as a 'comprehensive, intimate look into the heart and soul of a man who, from the time he was 7 years old, was targeted to the goal of being a professional baseball player.'"
Norm also reports that Ryan "finished a rough draft the day Gans died."
A "rough draft" is usually the first version of a work that requires correcting, rewriting, revising and polishing. In the case of a book, it is far from the final, finished version.
Ryan had told us via email that the entire book "was finished at eleven AM on Thursday. We were supposed to get together at four Friday afternoon, May 1."
The autobiography myth was one of several that were spread in the hours after Gans death. Another, later retracted by Norm, was that Gans switched the final song in what was his final show from his usual medley of African American singing impressions to Bobby Darin's "The Curtain Falls."
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Rod Stewart is shorter than his wife
Seen in Los Angeles the other night. Every picture tells a story.
The missing man
This weekend's Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon will feature a tribute to Ed McMahon, Jerry's co-host for 40 years, who died in June.
You can click here to donate in Ed's memory.
Friday, September 04, 2009
Jerry Lewis Telethon returns this weekend
The Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association Labor Day Telethon starts Sunday, September 6th at 9 pm and runs through Monday, September 7th at 6:30 pm (check your local listings). With the recent passing of Telethon sidekick Ed McMahon (as well as the bestowing of Jerry's Academy Award), this year's broadcast is bound to be even more poignant than usual.
It was twenty years ago that Tabloid Baby's author provided the first and last intimate behind-the-scenes look at the telethon and the man at the center. The entire story is recounted in the book, Tabloid Baby.
Click here to learn how to help-- and donate.
Click here to learn how to help-- and donate.
Michael Jackson's brother hires Danny Gans' manager
There's no longer any denying an intimate relationship between the deaths of Michael Jackson and Danny Gans.
Gans' manager Chip Lightman tastefully chose the day of Michael Jackson's funeral to announce that he's been hired by Jacko's brother Jermaine to help launch a "comeback," beginning with convention and corporate bookings.
According to Norm Clarke in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Lightman (known for phoning beauty queen-turned-TV entertainment reporter Alicia Jacobs in the early hours of May 1st to inform her that her good friend had been pronounced dead only minutes earlier) has not booked any Vegas gigs. Norm says Lightman "employed a similar strategy with Gans, who went on to become a Las Vegas headliner sensation."Lightman said Jermaine Jackson, who had limited success as a solo act, is putting together a show based on his hits (two top 10 entries), Jackson 5 hits and a tribute to Michael.
"Jermaine, who sang Michael's favorite song, 'Smile,' at his brother's memorial, plans to hire some of Michael's musicians, said Lightman.
"...Jermaine recently announced he was organizing a tribute to Michael in Vienna, Austria, and promised 1 billion TV viewers. But no family members agreed to participate.
"Larry King's wife, Shawn, was initially involved, but pulled out."
Another connection: Shawn King was set to perform with Danny Gans at the Wynn Resorts' Encore Theatre on May 2nd.
Lightman has been booking some acts into Gans' theatre at the Encore. We reported in July that he'd floated the story that he'd talking to a representative of Jackson's brothers about having them take over the empty stage.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
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/.")
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/.")
More photos! Cristina's Court's Emmy night
Cristina Perez moments aftr her winning her second EmmySo is anyone still talking about the Daytime Emmy Awards? In the case of the Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program, the answer is resoundingly "Yes." The second win in a row by Cristina's Court not only is giving new attention to judge Cristina Perez and the show's production team--but has a lots of execs pointing fingers for canceling the show midway through its second championship season!
Senior supervising producer Lisa Brennan and executive producer Peter BrennanOur favorite story is the one about the Fox exec who uttered these immortal words when he got the news: "Oh, sh#$!!"
Cristina with fellow two-time Emmy winner Dean Manibog, who produced and did most of the field camera work for the award-winning episode. We've got more exclusive photos. Why stop the party now?
Jerry Kupcinet, Cristina & Peter Brennan2009 Daytime Emmy Award
Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program
Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program
Cristina's Court
Host: Cristina Perez
Executive Producer: Peter Brennan
Co-Executive Producer: Jerry Kupcinet
Senior Supervising Producer: Lisa Lew
Senior Producer: Dean Manibog
Senior Show Producer: Terry Powell
Coordinating Producer: Robin Craig
Producers:
Sandra Gin
Judson Touby
Monique Stinson
Patrick Harris
Trisha Boyd
Danette Kubanda
Richard Velasquez
Dione Calderoni
Megan Hundahl
Michele Fitzgerald
Jeannine Sullivan
Co-host: Reynard Spivey
Bailiff Reynard Spivey holds court-- and Judge Cristina!
Executive Producer: Peter Brennan
Co-Executive Producer: Jerry Kupcinet
Senior Supervising Producer: Lisa Lew
Senior Producer: Dean Manibog
Senior Show Producer: Terry Powell
Coordinating Producer: Robin Craig
Producers:
Sandra Gin
Judson Touby
Monique Stinson
Patrick Harris
Trisha Boyd
Danette Kubanda
Richard Velasquez
Dione Calderoni
Megan Hundahl
Michele Fitzgerald
Jeannine Sullivan
Co-host: Reynard Spivey
Bailiff Reynard Spivey holds court-- and Judge Cristina!"Appearance of conflict": Steve Friess attempts to reconcile his roles as Michael Jackson reporter and exploiter
Las Vegas blogger, New York Times stringer, Gay Vegas author and comp queen Steve Friess knows he violated journalistic ethics when he produced his “Michael Jackson’s Untimely Death Was The Best Thing That Could Ever Have Happened to Michael Jackson’s Music Show” at the Palms over the weekend.
This morning, in a piece called "What did I just do that for?", he calls his actions “journalistically complicated,” admits that he’s “duty-bound to stay out of the news, not to make it, to observe and analyze, not to participate,” that “the two roles caused me plenty of angst,” and that “I also knew there could be an appearance of conflict.”
But no worries. Steve Friess reasons his way out of the mess!
And he also promises to open his books to us...
It seems that Steve Friess always has a lot of ‘splaining to do.
He’s a music critic who has a severe hearing disability; a media critic who sleeps with a local television news producer; a supposedly unbiased Vegas correspondent for many out-of-town outlets who’s known to cadge free show tickets whenever relatives are in town, then mentioning the show on his blog to legitimize the scam.
He’s also the guy who called us “a**hole” and other names and then attempted to have the TabloidBaby.com site shut down, after we emailed privately to ask why his colleagues in the local Las Vegas news media were not investigating the recent, very mysterious death of Strip headliner Danny Gans.
In the weeks to follow, he and other Gans friends would campaign to mislead and distract from the facts about Gans’ death. After it was revealed that Gans died from a dose of Dilaudid (AKA “drugstore heroin”), he followed up with an apologia in the Las Vegas Weekly (which looks like an alternative paper but is really a screeding and story dumping ground for reporters and columnists for the daily Review-Journal and Sun and establishment freelancers like Friess) that was meant to put the matter to rest, but instead was viewed as an instant camp classic of hilarious, infuriating, self-deluding justification.
The LAPD was all over Jackson’s death from the moment his doctor, Conrad Murray, ran away from the emergency room of UCLA Medical Center within minutes of the official death call. Police towed Murray’s car from Jackson’s driveway that very first day with full knowledge that Jackson’s death was suspicious and by the time Friess announced his Jacko show, the investigation was in full swing and publicized widely
Friess gets to the point when he claims:
“When I informed my editors at various outlets of the concert, they just told me not to write about it in their publications. Good help, evidently, is hard to find in Vegas.”
Once again, Tabloid Baby was the only journalistic organization to criticize Friess for covering the investigation of Dr. Murray after celebrating Jackson’s death in print and then churning up a money-making scheme to capitalize it. Friess ignored our requests for comment. At one point, he emailed us an hysterical attack.
Yet, he reveals this morning that he took our criticism to heart:
“The two roles caused me plenty of angst. I knew there was a distinction between a charity show and a death investigation, but I also knew there could be an appearance of conflict. I don’t dismiss such concerns— they’re valid and part of every journalism school’s curriculum— but it’s telling that every nonjournalist I groused to viewed one as having little to do with the other. Did putting on a show have any bearing whatsoever on the criminal probe, or vice versa? Of course not. I agree that journalists shouldn’t become involved in political causes, but must we never do charitable works?”
Let’s put aside the encouragement Friess says he received from the “nonjournalists” he associates with in Las Vegas.
“Did putting on a show have any bearing whatsoever on the criminal probe, or vice versa?”
We’d say the question deserves more debate than the “of course not” Friess inserts before the reader can make up his or her mind:
Steve Friess was assigned by the New York Times on July 28th to cover the probe of Las Vegas doctor Conrad Murray in regard to alleged illegal prescriptions and the possible homicide of Michael Jackson. Friess, who wrote on his blog that he spent time “chilling” in the newsvan of the local NBC affiliate (“Miles’ TV station”—Miles being his unofficial husband).
On July 11th, Friess’ friend and mouthpiece Norm Clarke had written in the Las Vegas Review-Journal: “How widespread has the practice of doctor-shopping become in Las Vegas? Will the investigation into Jackson's prescription drug abuse lead back to the Las Vegas medical community, given Jackson spent a good deal of time here in recent years?” Surely. a probe that exposed widespread prescription abuse among Las Vegas entertainers would harm Friess' show. Any local show business criminal probe, especially one related to Michael Jackson, could have bearing on his ticket sales.
Friess went beyond reporter’s role on August 19th when, on his blog he criticized ABC News for assigning a reporter to cover Dr. Murray's movements.
So in the end, does Steve Friess realize that his actions in the Danny Gans and Michael Jackson cases hurt his credibility and legitimacy? Sure. But in Las Vegas, does it matter? Probably not. Friess can say anything he wants in today's column because he's protected by the code he revealed in his Danny Gans apologia:
"In Las Vegas, when left to our own devices, we do things a little differently.”
Read Steve Friess’ entire Michael Jackson apologia here. We welcome your comments.
It seems that Steve Friess always has a lot of ‘splaining to do.
He’s a music critic who has a severe hearing disability; a media critic who sleeps with a local television news producer; a supposedly unbiased Vegas correspondent for many out-of-town outlets who’s known to cadge free show tickets whenever relatives are in town, then mentioning the show on his blog to legitimize the scam.
He’s also the guy who called us “a**hole” and other names and then attempted to have the TabloidBaby.com site shut down, after we emailed privately to ask why his colleagues in the local Las Vegas news media were not investigating the recent, very mysterious death of Strip headliner Danny Gans.
In the weeks to follow, he and other Gans friends would campaign to mislead and distract from the facts about Gans’ death. After it was revealed that Gans died from a dose of Dilaudid (AKA “drugstore heroin”), he followed up with an apologia in the Las Vegas Weekly (which looks like an alternative paper but is really a screeding and story dumping ground for reporters and columnists for the daily Review-Journal and Sun and establishment freelancers like Friess) that was meant to put the matter to rest, but instead was viewed as an instant camp classic of hilarious, infuriating, self-deluding justification.
"The records of revenue and expenses
will be available soon for
any legitimate journalist who asks.”
This morning, it’s Michael Jackson, and how he came to cross journalistic lines, violate basic journalistic ethics and reveal a gross hypocrisy by promoting a Michael Jackson “tribute” show while simultaneously covering the federal probe of his death, and negotiating and schmoozing with Jacko’s father and associates after writing that "Michael Jackson’s untimely death was the best thing that could ever have happened to Michael Jackson’s music."
Friess claims it was magical serendipity after a performer named Erich Bergen, whom Friess says he befriended after devoting a column to him) “tweeted something vague about wanting to do a tribute show… and I called Erich to find out more.”
And just like that:
“I was suddenly co-producer of a benefit that, at that point, we thought would maybe fill the Liberace Museum showroom.
“Whoa! Aren’t I a journalist? Aren’t I duty-bound to stay out of the news, not to make it, to observe and analyze, not to participate?
“Fair questions, all. And given what has happened to the Jackson story since then—that the death is considered a homicide and that a Vegas doctor is at the probe’s epicenter—those questions are even more pertinent. But when this started, it was a few days after Jackson’s death, and nobody I knew imagined it would be a criminal matter. It took weeks before any national media outlet recruited me to dig into Dr. Conrad Murray’s background and a month before his office and home were raided…”
As Fries says: “Whoa!”
“When this started, it was a few days after Jackson’s death, and nobody I knew imagined it would be a criminal matter”? Friess has tried that line in his own column, and still rings demonstrably untrue.
The LAPD was all over Jackson’s death from the moment his doctor, Conrad Murray, ran away from the emergency room of UCLA Medical Center within minutes of the official death call. Police towed Murray’s car from Jackson’s driveway that very first day with full knowledge that Jackson’s death was suspicious and by the time Friess announced his Jacko show, the investigation was in full swing and publicized widely
Friess gets to the point when he claims:
“When I informed my editors at various outlets of the concert, they just told me not to write about it in their publications. Good help, evidently, is hard to find in Vegas.”
Once again, Tabloid Baby was the only journalistic organization to criticize Friess for covering the investigation of Dr. Murray after celebrating Jackson’s death in print and then churning up a money-making scheme to capitalize it. Friess ignored our requests for comment. At one point, he emailed us an hysterical attack.
Yet, he reveals this morning that he took our criticism to heart:
“The two roles caused me plenty of angst. I knew there was a distinction between a charity show and a death investigation, but I also knew there could be an appearance of conflict. I don’t dismiss such concerns— they’re valid and part of every journalism school’s curriculum— but it’s telling that every nonjournalist I groused to viewed one as having little to do with the other. Did putting on a show have any bearing whatsoever on the criminal probe, or vice versa? Of course not. I agree that journalists shouldn’t become involved in political causes, but must we never do charitable works?”
Let’s put aside the encouragement Friess says he received from the “nonjournalists” he associates with in Las Vegas.
“Did putting on a show have any bearing whatsoever on the criminal probe, or vice versa?”
We’d say the question deserves more debate than the “of course not” Friess inserts before the reader can make up his or her mind:
Steve Friess was assigned by the New York Times on July 28th to cover the probe of Las Vegas doctor Conrad Murray in regard to alleged illegal prescriptions and the possible homicide of Michael Jackson. Friess, who wrote on his blog that he spent time “chilling” in the newsvan of the local NBC affiliate (“Miles’ TV station”—Miles being his unofficial husband).
On July 11th, Friess’ friend and mouthpiece Norm Clarke had written in the Las Vegas Review-Journal: “How widespread has the practice of doctor-shopping become in Las Vegas? Will the investigation into Jackson's prescription drug abuse lead back to the Las Vegas medical community, given Jackson spent a good deal of time here in recent years?” Surely. a probe that exposed widespread prescription abuse among Las Vegas entertainers would harm Friess' show. Any local show business criminal probe, especially one related to Michael Jackson, could have bearing on his ticket sales.
Friess went beyond reporter’s role on August 19th when, on his blog he criticized ABC News for assigning a reporter to cover Dr. Murray's movements.
"Any credible reporter
could have quizzed me"
Then again, Friess admits more while again attempting to justify his actions::
“True, we relied on contributions from many whom I cover, but that cut both ways. Erich did virtually all of the asking, often leaving me out of it to avoid being denied because of something I had written. My coverage has accrued me plenty of detractors in the hotel and show industries, a fact I wear as a badge. I avoided offering myself for interviews until the last week, when Erich became overwhelmed with creative duties. Not because I feared journalistic criticism—any credible reporter could have quizzed me, but only one, my own Weekly colleague John Katsilometes, did—but because I thought I could harm the effort.”
Again, Friess is not being candid. The credible journalists at TabloidBaby.com have criticized and quizzed Friess for weeks, sending him lists of questions and interview requests that he ignored before Katsilometes took them to the source. Thanks, Kats.
“I co-produced this show to learn
what it takes to put on a production
like those I cover. To me, this was
the equivalent of a cop reporter
going to the police academy.”
Friess winds up with two final stabs at justifying his actions. One is an alternative reason for putting on the show:
“I co-produced this show to raise money for kids, but also to learn what it takes to put on a production like those I cover. To me, this was the equivalent of a cop reporter going to the police academy. In this crash course, I learned the costs of everything involved with putting on just one show, much of which never occurred to me, and discovered all the legal and logistical elements of such an effort..."
The other is an ungracious attack on those who didn't go along with his plans, as if his use of obscenity would somehow prove he's still got his journalistic cred:
“…I also learned who in Vegas is for real and who is full of shit. That means those of you who claimed you could get us Celine Dion, Brandon Flowers and even Taylor Dayne. That means you, ‘journalists’ from TMZ, who promised coverage when really you were gunning so obviously for an entirely different story. That means you, singer Earl Turner…”
Friess ends with a promise, though with a caveat that he’s bound to use as an excuse:
"The records of revenue and expenses will be available soon for any legitimate journalist who asks.”
As soon as this item posts, we will “ask” for the revenue and expense report. We expect that Friess will refuse us.
We will, however, obtain the records and present them to you.
So in the end, does Steve Friess realize that his actions in the Danny Gans and Michael Jackson cases hurt his credibility and legitimacy? Sure. But in Las Vegas, does it matter? Probably not. Friess can say anything he wants in today's column because he's protected by the code he revealed in his Danny Gans apologia:
"In Las Vegas, when left to our own devices, we do things a little differently.”
Read Steve Friess’ entire Michael Jackson apologia here. We welcome your comments.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Brian Williams, call your agent...
A little more than six weeks after the death of Walter Cronkite, it's announced that former Nixon aide Diane Sawyer will take over as anchor of the ABC World News Tonight nightly newscast. Your move, Jeff Zucker.
Frank Sinatra Jr. returns to Las Vegas
Frank Sinatra Jr. is playing two shows in Las Vegas over Labor Day weekend. Back in 2002, he played the MGM Grand with a 36-piece orchestra. This time around, he's got an eight=piece band and he's far from the Strip at the Suncoast, a joint that attracts the locals with slots and 16-screen movie complex.
Jow much has Vegas changed? Frank Jr.'s been coming to town since 1954 when he was 10 and begn performing there in 1963. Jerry Fink has a poignant interview in the Las Vegas Sun. Some highlights from Frank Sinatra Jr.:
“Nobody wants to hire the big orchestras anymore. We were four-walling those concerts and the man who paid for the four walls stopped the whole thing after three appearances because he said they weren’t generating enough income. He was so down that the concerts were not carrying their weights that the last appearance, he made me roll the dice with him. When I put my foot on that stage to work, I spent $3,000.
“But that’s what Las Vegas has become. Entertainment is not a primary concern there any longer. It’s whatever can make the most money for the smallest investment. But if I was on the other side of that desk, I probably would feel the same way.”
"Nobody wants to hire
the big orchestras anymore.
You know what the big draw is
in Las Vegas today?
The shopping centers in the hotels.”
the big orchestras anymore.
You know what the big draw is
in Las Vegas today?
The shopping centers in the hotels.”
“When I started working there I was next door to the Sands at the Flamingo. On occasion my father would come to see me when he was in town and when he was finished watching my show he would go into the pit and gamble for a while. This was casino etiquette.
“The stars were the big draws, as well as the gaming. All of the show places, they wanted to hire the biggest stars... When I first went to Las Vegas I saw Sophie Tucker, Joey Lewis, Jimmy Durante. Nowadays entertainment is not even secondary, not even ‘third-dary,’ if there is such a word. You know what the big draw is in Las Vegas today? The shopping centers in the hotels.”
“The first time I came to Las Vegas, the street in front of the hotels was U.S. Highway 91, a two-lane highway that crossed the desert and all of a sudden there were these big hotels. In those days there used to be a kind of motto the city had in order to get people to come -- ‘Play the games, lie in the sun and mingle with the stars.’"
“It’s not that Old Vegas is not here, it’s that the older generation is no longer there. This generation that goes to Vegas, and the generation before them, this is all they’re used to, all they’ve known. Their grandparents knew the great days of Vegas, the ’50s and ’60s.”
“I checked out some of the newer hotels, went into the lounges to see what was happening. There were a bunch of garage bands, absolute amateurs.”
“The stars were the big draws, as well as the gaming. All of the show places, they wanted to hire the biggest stars... When I first went to Las Vegas I saw Sophie Tucker, Joey Lewis, Jimmy Durante. Nowadays entertainment is not even secondary, not even ‘third-dary,’ if there is such a word. You know what the big draw is in Las Vegas today? The shopping centers in the hotels.”
“The first time I came to Las Vegas, the street in front of the hotels was U.S. Highway 91, a two-lane highway that crossed the desert and all of a sudden there were these big hotels. In those days there used to be a kind of motto the city had in order to get people to come -- ‘Play the games, lie in the sun and mingle with the stars.’"
“It’s not that Old Vegas is not here, it’s that the older generation is no longer there. This generation that goes to Vegas, and the generation before them, this is all they’re used to, all they’ve known. Their grandparents knew the great days of Vegas, the ’50s and ’60s.”
“I checked out some of the newer hotels, went into the lounges to see what was happening. There were a bunch of garage bands, absolute amateurs.”
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Liam vacations while Noel burns
Days after the latest breakup of the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band, Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher says his brother Liam is a "f***ing moron" while Liam has taken advantage of the traumatic split to run off on a vacation
Noel walked out of the band on Friday night a backstage brawl that canceled Oasis' appearance at the Rock en Seine in Paris.
According to the Sun, he old a pal later that night: "They say never work with children and animals. No one mentioned f***ing morons though, did they?
"I think all that modelling malarkey has gone to his head. It's a pleasure to give him time and space to work on his autumn-winter collection."
The Sun quotes sources who place the blame on Liam's heavy drinking and abusive behaviour throughout this latest tour, a bender that led to the cancellation of a big show a week ago.
"He has taunted Noel's girlfriend, Sara, other band members and the crew. People have been frightened to go near him.
"He is one very angry man who needs to sort his issues out."
The Sun says the bust-up occurred in Paris after Liam showed up drunk and Noel confronted him "about being unprofessional."
Liam "exploded in rage and started saying horrendous things about Noel's kids" before hurling an acoustic guitar at Noel, which Noel prompyly stomped on and smashed.
The Gallaghers reportedly stopped speaking a few years ago after Liam supposedly questioned the paternity of Noel's daughter.
While Noel lies low in London, photos in the Daily Mail show frontman Liam on an impromptu vacation this week on Italy's Lake Como, along with his wife and Oasis bassist Andy Bell.
The 36-year-old, recognized as the best singer n rock 'n' roll but not the most brainy, did not look concerned at all that the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world is apparently over after 18 years, or that the latest blow-up with his brother has cost the Oasis organization an estimated £4.75million.
Bell's alliance with Liam could be a harbinger the band's decision whether to go on without its original leader and former sole songwriter.
Noel walked out of the band on Friday night a backstage brawl that canceled Oasis' appearance at the Rock en Seine in Paris.
According to the Sun, he old a pal later that night: "They say never work with children and animals. No one mentioned f***ing morons though, did they?
"I think all that modelling malarkey has gone to his head. It's a pleasure to give him time and space to work on his autumn-winter collection."
The Sun quotes sources who place the blame on Liam's heavy drinking and abusive behaviour throughout this latest tour, a bender that led to the cancellation of a big show a week ago.
"He has taunted Noel's girlfriend, Sara, other band members and the crew. People have been frightened to go near him.
"He is one very angry man who needs to sort his issues out."
The Sun says the bust-up occurred in Paris after Liam showed up drunk and Noel confronted him "about being unprofessional."
Liam "exploded in rage and started saying horrendous things about Noel's kids" before hurling an acoustic guitar at Noel, which Noel prompyly stomped on and smashed.
The Gallaghers reportedly stopped speaking a few years ago after Liam supposedly questioned the paternity of Noel's daughter.
While Noel lies low in London, photos in the Daily Mail show frontman Liam on an impromptu vacation this week on Italy's Lake Como, along with his wife and Oasis bassist Andy Bell.
The 36-year-old, recognized as the best singer n rock 'n' roll but not the most brainy, did not look concerned at all that the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world is apparently over after 18 years, or that the latest blow-up with his brother has cost the Oasis organization an estimated £4.75million.
Bell's alliance with Liam could be a harbinger the band's decision whether to go on without its original leader and former sole songwriter.
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