Welcome to LA, Richard Johnson

Tabloid Baby pal Richard Johnson is leaving his job as editor of the New York Post's Page Six and moving to Los Angeles. Johnson has been at the helm of the most influential gossip column of our time for close to twenty five years, and a made a little gossip himself along the way while steering the column from the days of Sukhreet Gabel and Mark Gastineau. We'd have thought Johnson would have headed West fifteen years ago to become a television star, but he was to be respected as one of the last of the print guys. His skipping of the medium and move to a News Corp, "digital venture" signals the death of print gossip as far as we're concerned. Long live Jim Brady and Neal Travis.

Click here to read Richard Johnson's goodbye to New York. Last line:

In the words of J.J. Hunsecker, "I love this dirty town."

Page Six Scandal Exclusive! Stern calls Burkle "a power-mad, paranoid greaseball" who "should crawl back down his diamond-paved hole!"

Thanks for the email. Obviously it was a set-up, a smear, a vicious attempt at a take-down.

The guy's a power-mad, paranoid greaseball. He should go back to L.A. and crawl back down his diamond-paved hole.

best
JPS

That’s the word from Jared Paul Stern, the man in the middle of the Page Six scandal, going farther than ever in his attack on his accuser, after Tabloid Baby contacted him with some specific questions about accusations he tried to shake down West Coast billionaire Ron Burkle in exchange for nice stories on the gossip page.

Were Stern a civilian, this story could have been punctuated with the sound of his body swinging from the rafters of his attic in the Catskills. But Stern’s no wide-eyed rube. He’s playing the story like a journalism pro, talking to more naïve members of the media (like TV news bookers and producers and straightlaced reporters), giving them follow-up story ideas, and controlling the headlines.

It’s Tabloid 101 (see Tabloid Baby, especially Chapter 19, page 233, for the primer on taking back and controlling the headlines in a scandal).

We’ve suspected all along that big Democratic Party booster Burkle had bigger fish to fry than Stern. And now, thanks in part to Stern’s almost loonie aggressiveness, the spotlight is turning to Burkle.

Sure, the world is shocked to find out that Richard Johnson got a free trip to the Oscars (what’s more shocking is that the Post didn’t pay for their renowned columnist to cover the big event). It’s never a pretty sight when the door to the sausage factory is opened. But what’s more telling is the way some tabloid journalists distanced themselves from Page Six in this time of trouble (rat finks like Rush & Molloy at the Daily News even crowed to Nikki Finke about their pristine ethics).

Just days before the scandal broke, we’d written that New York Post columnist Cindy Adams was far too connected and too good a journalist to be labeled a gossip. Writers like Anita Talbert, Marilyn Beck, Stacy Jenel Smith and Matt Drudge are up there with them. And so’s Page Six editor Richard Johnson.

But gossip is a different game. And there are different rules. It’s not reporting. It’s not straight journalism. It’s a game of favors and tips and grudges and blind items and press releases. It’s Liz Smith writing glowing graphs about a stinker of a movie. It’s Lloyd Grove holding his nose because he thinks he’s too good for gossip. It’s Mike Walker playing The Gossip Game on the Howard Stern show. It’s sniping and it’s fun and a lot of time it’s bullshit.

It’s a game. But it’s an essential part of journalism, because big stories and deeper investigations often grow from the gossip dirt.

In this case, billionaire Burkle’s video sting is already backfiring in his face. Because Jared Paul Stern has the balls to fight back and call him a power-mad, paranoid greaseball. Stern is controlling the headlines. He’s telling his fellow journalists to follow the smell and follow the money. And lots of mainstream journalists are now sniffing around the Ron Burkle story.

Let us now praise Page Six

Yes, there’s a big scandal breaking with the New York Post’s Page Six, as its editor Richard Johnson ships out to get married.

Page Six will be thirty years old in January 2007. So now's as good a time as any to remind ourselves of its place in tabloid history and popular culture, and to remember our great departed brother, Neal Travis, who helped give birth to Page Six and fed it through its Wonder Years.

We don't know Jared Paul Stern, who's accused of trying to extort a billionaire in exchange for nice stories, but we've been seen on Page Six, we've been seen with the team, and we won't kick 'em when they're down--or at least seem to be.

From Vanity Fair:

It was "Page Six” that broke the news in 1983 that the city's cultural-affairs commissioner, Bess Myerson, had hired Sukhreet Gabel, daughter of the judge who happened to be presiding over the divorce trial of Myerson's boyfriend, Andy Capasso-an incident that would eventually make its way into the national press. And people are still talking about the column's coverage of the public sexual favor that former New Line production chief Mike De Luca received at the 1998 William Morris pre-Oscar party. More recent "Page Six" scoops have included Donatella Versace's rehab stint and Spears's engagement to Kevin Federline.

Mostly, though, "Page Six" serves to provide a daily, pointillist portrait of an increasingly ephemeral culture. The Page's hallmarks are alliteration ("portly pepperpot"), memorable word choice ("canoodling," "bloviator"), an unswerving adherence to the creed that conflict is good for business, and the regular reward and punishment of the latest bad boys and "It girls" seeking the limelight. The exploits of 80s "Deb of the Decade" Cornelia Guest and actor Mickey Rourke have receded, only to be replaced in good time by the adventures of socialite-actress Paris Hilton, actress-dipsomaniac Tara Reid, and current "self-described It boy" Fabian Basabe, whose manhood was recently mocked on the Page after he was pantsed at a party.

Those who have felt the sting of the Page-- or complained that they've been steamrolled by an editor or reporter who carried a grudge-- don't always see what's so entertaining about the column. And there are those who contend that "Page Six" has become as fervently right-wing as the rest of the paper. But when it's doing what it does best-lampooning pomposity and ostentation and sticking it to lying publicists--"Page Six" provides a caffeinated kick the city has come to depend on. It's difficult to imagine how the New York Post would survive without it.

"Page Six"'s DNA can be traced directly back to the man who introduced Australian Rules tabloid journalism to America's genteel Fourth Estate in the mid-70s. The story begins in the days of hot-metal type and IBM Selectrics, when Rupert Murdoch, the driven Melbourne-born media baron… whose assets then included The Australian and the London Sun as well as "the Murdoch mafia"-- a band of hard-drinking, fiercely loyal newspapermen who would follow their stern-faced leader anywhere-- hired James Brady in 1974 to serve as the editor of the National Star (known today as the Star), the supermarket tabloid Murdoch started as part of his initial foray into American media… And when Murdoch bought an ailing liberal tabloid, the New York Post, in 1976, he put Brady in charge of developing a feature that would herald the paper's new ownership and direction: a gossip column.

Murdoch, according to James Brady, wanted the Post's new gossip page fashioned after "William Hickey," a gossip column that ran from 1933 to 1987 in London's Daily Express newspaper. Named after an 18th-century Irish rake, who, as penance, chronicled his drunken, scandalous life in a memoir, the column was written and edited by a changing cast of characters that once included the well-known British gossip Nigel Dempster. The Post's new column would work on a similar premise: a group of reporters would gather and write up brief, pithy stories about the powerful and famous and file them to the column's editor, who would imbue them with a unifying voice and plug them into a modular format…

By the time Murdoch actually began publishing the paper, Brady says, he himself had already been tapped by his boss to head his newest acquisition: New York magazine. Editorship of "Page Six" then fell to the natty, elfin Neal Travis, a New Zealand-born product of the Australian tabloid scene. His recruits included a young Post reporter named Anna Quindlen, who already had one foot in the door of The New York Times.

Remarkably, since Travis himself departed "Page Six" in 1978, only a handful of editors have presided over the column for any length of time. Claudia Cohen succeeded Travis, and when she left, in 1980, Brady returned for a two-and-a-half-year stint. Up next was Susan Mulcahy, who wrote a book about her experience, My Lips Are Sealed. She was followed, in late 1985, by Richard Johnson, who is the current editor of "Page Six" and the column's iron man, having held the top byline for more than half of its 28-year existence. There have been a few notable cameos too, including longtime Post columnist and former A Current Affair personality Steve "Street Dog" Dunleavy. And, surprisingly, given the disdain that was once heaped upon the profession, a number of people who worked for the Page have been Ivy League graduates...

The real target of the Page Six scandal

The Page Six scandal is not going away soon.

So let’s start with the most obvious question: Why did this California billionaire set up a lowly New York Post gossip freelancer in a federal sting over gossip items?

The target here is Rupert Murdoch, right?

It's interesting that this extortion case concerns little stories that, in Ron Burkle’s case at least, didn’t effect his bottom line or social standing beyond accusing him of being a skirt-chaser. And neither Page Six nor the New York Post is the source of Murdoch’s power.

Fox News is.

Interesting that in today's New York Times, the alleged extortionist, eccentric freelancer Jared Paul Stern, seems pretty nonchalant about the charges:

"I can't defend my lack of judgment here," he said. Still, Mr. Stern maintained that he had not been trying to use his position at Page Six for extortion. He said he had approached Mr. Burkle both to discuss investing in a clothing company Mr. Stern had started and to offer his services as a media strategist. He said Mr. Burkle was the one who first brought up the subject of payments for protection.

“He said Mr. Burkle was the one who first brought up the subject of payments for protection.”

The Times reports on viewing a section of the sting video: The moment is captured on a heavily edited version of a secretly recorded video of the meeting. It was provided to The New York Times by a person who had a copy of the entire recording, which was made by Mr. Burkle's security team with the aid of a private investigation company. The edited version contains only six minutes of roughly three hours of conversations...

At one point, the discussion was reduced to a bald question. The billionaire, Ronald W. Burkle, asked: "How much — how much do you want?" Mr. Stern paused for close to 15 seconds, shifting uncomfortably in his chair, holding his head in his hands at one point. Then, haltingly, he answered: "Ahhh, I think, like, you know, a hundred thousand to get going, and then we can do something like, month to month, like say, ten thousand."

Interesting that the scandal just happens to break as Page Six editor Richard Johnson leaves town to get married, possibly at Page Six mainstay Donald Trump’s spread.

Johnson, his staff, and possibly Post editor Col Allan, will most likely take the hit here. But this promises to go deeper as the first strike in a major offensive against Murdoch's influence and organization.

In fact, it's all promising to be even bigger than the revelation that George Clooney had signed a deal with Paramount Television promising cooperation with Entertainment Tonight as long as they kept him off Hard Copy. And we hear that the ethical questions raised by the Page Six flap will spread beyond newspapers to TV infotainment shows that shovel most of the flak-fed celebrity gossip to most of America.

Stay tuned here for the latest.

Dancing in the Dark a highlight of Dunleavy bash

The retirement party for journalism legend and culture icon Steve Dunleavy was an affair crowded with the greatest figures in modern-day journalism, from Rupert Murdoch to The National Enquirer's Barry Levine, Jim Brady to Peter Brennan. And Murdoch, Levine and Brennan spoke tribute to the legendary Dunleavy, at the bar of the Bourbon Street Bar & Grille on West 46th Street, along with New York City police commissioner Ray Kelly, a fireman, a priest, Maury Povich and Col Allan, editor of the New York Post. The entire two-floor establishment was packed with journos who'd journeyed from as far as London, Hong Kong, Los Angeles and Sydney to be there to pay tribute to their mate while he was still standing.

The highlight of the evening was a special video tribute including comic bits from the likes of Maury and wife Connie Chung, and greatest hits of Dunleavy's storied career. And who would have thought the finale of the video tribute was our own video tribute Dancing in The Dark, that was received with loud cheers, and later played on its own on flatscreen sets around the restaurant.

Dunleavy's dancing on the video was so graceful and athletic that more than one attendee, including Page Six editor Richard Johnson, asked whether a stunt double had been used.

Page Six coins new word

History was made this morning as the New York Post's Page Six team apparently coined a new word in an item about Paris Hilton:

"Celebutard".

As in: "For those still wondering what the world-renowned celebutard is really like in person..."

It's great, descriptive word that applies to many people in the spotlight today. And it's up there with Page Six's revival of "canoodle."

Celebutard.

Share it.

(The paper says Richard Johnson is on vacation, so we must give all credit to Tabloid Baby friends Chris Wilson and Paula Froelich for this colorful and valuable addition to the American lexicon.)

Celebutard .

Exclusive: British guy comes to America to write book on US-UK relations-- and to meet 500 celebs

We don't subscribe to the idea that British people all have bad teeth. We understand that the island nation discovered fluoride sometime in the Seventies, just as they managed to spin out a chef or two and learn to cook in the past fifteen years. We do hold the belief that all British men have had at least one gay experience, and that even the most lady-killing British male is overcompensating for a buggering in his schooldays-- a prejudice enforced over the weekend when we cracked open Victor Spinetti's book and later on the Virgin America flight home read an Esquire UK article about some hot tart named Rosamund Pike who claimed her hottest romance was with a guy who turned out to be gay and that they and his new boyfriend now go on threesome vacations together, not that there's anything wrong with any of that but which simply isn't so taken for granted in America.

Which leads us to Jules Segal, a young British guy who's arrived in the States to research a new book and embark on a stunt crusade to get 500 US celebrities "to sign a British flag with messages of support for the British people" (the flag will be auctioned for a kids' charity).


Jules pulled off a similar stunt in the UK, in which he got celebs like Cheri Blair, Ian McLellan, Jonathan Ross and Chris Martin, the bedwetting guy from Coldplay and a lot of people we're not familiar with (but who are very familiar in the UK) to shake his hand. He got a lot of publicity and a book out of the deal: Greeting The 500.

Now, like Sacha Baron Cohen, Toby Young and Marco Pierre White (well, not Marco Pierre White...) he's headed across the pond, and like de Tocqueville and Allan Whicker before him, will take the pulse of the big country while exploring the "special relationship" between the UK and the US, and speaking to Americans about their views on all things British, "our accents, our bad teeth, the Beckhams, our music, our common foreign policies, whether we should always go to war together..."

And then there are the 500 celebrities, a list he gathered from a Facebook poll and whom he's approaching quite formally, quite British, actually, through letters and proper channels as opposed to the good old American tradition of stalking.

We like the idea that Jules' project started out as a bet. Jules' mate gave him a list of 500 UK celebs and six months to get his photo taken shaking hands with as many as possible. He need to meet 20% of them to win the bet. Gambling comes into play this time as well:

"Jules has very little money, no full-time job and the residue of a gambling habit. In order to finance his trip, he has placed two bets with the William Hill bookmaking firm. One of these bets relates to how many of the 500 he will manage to meet in 90 days, the other bet will be paid out if amongst others, he meets Tiger Woods, Scarlet Johansson, Kanye West, Emeril Lagasse and Daniel Negreanu and completes a pre-arranged task with each of these individuals..."

The list follows. If you are on it or have an in with someone who is, you can reach him here. We spoke to Jules this week, he comes recommended by our pals at Anorak and we'll be keeping track of his progress.

Jules in in Los Angeles now. He's got quite a task ahead. Some of his target celebs are in prison; one or two may be dead.

Fellow journos: go out and do your jobs, run a feature on The US-Say project and book this guy for your shows.

Segal's List
‘500 Americans’

50 cent Aaron Sorkin Adam Sandler Adam West Al Jarreau Al Roker Al Sharpton Al Gore Al Pacino Al Unser Jr Alan Dershowitz Alan Alda Alan Greenspan Alex Trebek Alex Rodriguez Alexi Lalas Alice Cooper America Ferrera Andre 3000 Angelina Jolie Ann Coulter Anna Wintour Anne Rice Annie Liebowitz Anthony Bourdain Antonio Fargas Ariana Huffington A Schwarzenegger Arsenio Hall Art Garfunkel Ashley Olsen Axl Rose Barack Obama Barbra Streisand Barbara Walters Barry Bonds Ben Stiller Beth Ditto Betty Ford Betty White Big Bird Bill Bryson Bill Cosby Bill Maher Bill Clinton Bill Gates Bill Murray Billy Crystal Billy Graham Billie Jean King Billy Ray Cyrus Bo Derek Bo Jackson Bob Beamon Bob Dylan Bob Woodward Brad Pitt Bret Easton Ellis Britney Spears Bruce Campbell Bruce Springsteen Bruce Willis Burt Reynolds Butch Harmon Calvin Klein Cameron Diaz Carl Lewis Carly Fiorina Carrie Fisher Carson Kressley Casey Kasem Charles Barkley Charles Manson Charlie Kaufman Cheech Cher Chevy Chase Chris Rock Christopher Gardner Christian Bale Christian Slater Christina Aguilera Christy Turlington Chubby Checker Chuck Norris Chuck Palahniuk Cindy Crawford Clint Eastwood Colin Powell Condoleeza Rice Courtney Cox Courtney Love Dale Earnhardt Jr Dan Rather Dan Brown Dan Aykroyd Dan Castellaneta Dan Marino Dan Quayle Dane Cook Daniel Libeskind Daniel Negreanu Danielle Steele Danny de Vito Dave Brubeck Dave Chapelle Dave Grohl Dave Lee Roth David Duke David Geffen David Blaine David Copperfield David Hasselhoff David Letterman David Lynch David Mamet David Schwimmer David Soul Debbie Harry Debbie Gibson Dennis Hopper Dennis Rodman Denzel Washington Derek Jeter Diana Ross Diane Sawyer Dick Cheney Duane Chapman Dolly Parton Don King Donald Rumsfeld Donald Sutherland Donald Trump Donna Karan Donnie Wahlberg Donny Osmond Doris Day Doyle Brunson Dr Dre Dr John Dr Ruth Dr Phil Drew Barrymore Dustin Hoffman Ed Moses Eddie Murphy Eliot Spitzer Ellen DeGeneres Emeril Lagasse Eminem Evander Holyfield Fats Domino Fergie Florence Henderson Frank Oz Frank Gehry Fred Savage Garth Brooks Garry Shandling Gary Busey Gary Coleman Gary Larson Gene Simmons Gene Wilder George Foreman George Lucas George Romero George Lopez George Pataki George W Bush George Clooney Gilbert Godfrey Gore Vidal Grace Jones Greg Louganis Gwyneth Paltrow Harper Lee Harrison Ford Harry Connick Jr Harvey Weinstein Harvey Keitel Hayden Panettiere Heidi Fleiss Henry Winkler Henry Kissinger Hilary Hahn Hillary Clinton Howard Stern Hugh Hefner Hulk Hogan Ice Cube Ice T Iggy Pop Isaac Mizrahi Jack Nicklaus Jack Black Jack Nicholson Jackie Chan Jackie Mason James Gandolfini James Horner James Earl Jones James Ellroy James Hellwig James Woods Jane Fonda Janice Dickinson Jason Bateman Jasper Johns Jaws (Richard Kiel) Jay Leno Jay-Z JD Salinger Jeff Gordon Jeff Goldblum Jeff Koons Jeff Skoll Jenna Jameson Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Lopez Jermain Jackson Jerry Rice Jerry Bruckheimer Jerry Springer Jesse Draper Jesse Jackson Jesse Ventura Jessica Simpson Jessica Alba Jim Brown Jim Davis Jim Carrey JJ Abrams Joan Rivers Jodie Foster Joe Montana Joe Pesci Joe Torre John Glover Roberts John Williams John Irving John Bobbit John Cusack John Daly John Glenn John Grisham John Malkovich John McEnroe Jon Stewart John Travolta John Wooden Johnny Depp Jon Bon Jovi Jordin Sparks Jordy Chandler Jorge Posada Josh Holloway Judd Nelson Judith Sheindlin Julia Roberts Justin Timberlake Kanye West Karl Rove Kate Hudson Kathleen Battle Kathy Ireland Kathie Lee Gifford Katie Couric Kato Kaelin Keanu Reeves Kelly Slater Kelly Clarkson Ken Starr Kenny Rogers Kevin Bacon Kevin Federline Kevin Smith Kiefer Sutherland Kim Cattral Kirsten Dunst Kobe Bryant Laffit Pincay Lance Armstrong Larry King Larry Seinfeld Larry Craig Larry David Larry Hagman Lee Corso Leonard Nimoy Leonardo di Caprio Linda Carter Lindsay Lohan Liza Minnelli Loretta Lynn Lou Ferrigno Lou Reed Louis Farrakhan Lucy Liu M N Shyamalan Macaulay Culkin Madeleine Albright Madonna Magic Johnson Malcolm Glazier Marc Jacobs Marie Osmond Marilyn Manson Marc McGwire Mark Zuckerburg Martha Stewart Martin Scorsese Martina Navratilova Mary-Kate Olsen Matisyahu Matt Damon Matt Groening Matthew Broderick Maya Angelou MC Hammer Meatloaf Mel Brooks Michael Bloomberg Michael Chertoff Michael Dell Michael Douglas Michael Griffin Michael J Fox Michael Jackson Michael Johnson Michael Jordon Michael Moore Michael Phelps Michelle Kwan Michelle Wie Mike Judge Mike Tyson Mikhail Baryshnikov Missy Elliot Moby Molly Ringwald Monica Lewinsky Mookie Wilson Morgan Freeman Morgan Spurlock Mr T Muhammed Ali Nadia Comaneci Nancy Cartwright Nancy Pelosi Neil Armstrong Neil Diamond Nicole Richie Noam Chomsky N Schwartzkopf OJ Simpson Oliver North Oprah Winfrey Oscar de la Hoya Owen Wilson P Diddy Pamela Anderson Paris Hilton Pat Sajak Patricia Arquette Patty Hearst Paul Auster Paul Shaffer Paul Teutul Paul Wolfowitz Paula Abdul Pauly Shore Pee Wee Herman Penn Jillette Perez Hilton Pete Sampras Peter Falk Peyton Manning Phil Mickleson Philip Glass PJ O’Rourke Prince Queen Latifah Q Tarrantino Quincy Jones Ralph Lauren Ralph Macchio Ray Liotta Reese Witherspoon Reggie Bush Regis Philbin Revered Al Green Richard Gere Richard Petty Rick Warren Ricki Lake Robert Rauschenberg Robert DeNiro Robin Williams Rodney King Roger Clemens Roger Ebert Ron Howard Ron Popeil Ron Jeremy Rosanna Arquette Rose McGowan Rosie Perez Ross Perot Roy Innis Ru Paul Rudolf Giuliani Rush Limbaugh Ryan Seacrest Samuel L Jackson Sara Silverman Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Michelle Gellar Scarlett Johanssen Scooter Libby Sean Penn Siegfried & Roy Serena Williams Seth Macfarlane Sharon Stone Sheryl Crow Smokey Robinson Sophia Coppola South Park guys Spike Jonze Spike Lee Stephen Sondheim Stephen Colbert Stephen King Steve Buscemi Steve Carell Steve Guttenberg Steve Jobs Steve Martin Steve-O Steve Williams Steve Wynn Steven Spielberg Stevie Nicks Stevie Wonder Susannah Hoffs Sylvester Stallone Ted Danson Ted Koppel Ted Turner Teddy Kennedy Terry O’Quinn The Fridge The Rock Thomas Mesereau Tiffany Tiger Woods Tila Tequila Tim Gunn Tim Robbins Tim Sale Timbaland Tom Anderson Tom Brokaw Tom Clancy Tom Cruise Tom Hanks Tom Selleck Tommy Franks Tommy Hilfiger Tommy Moe Tony Danza Tony Hawk Tony Robbins Tony Romo Tonya Harding Traci Lords Ty Pennington Tyra Banks Uma Thurman Vanilla Ice Vanna White Vera Wang Verne Troyer Vince Vaughan Vincent Gallo Walter Kronkite Warren Buffett Weird Al Yankovitch Wentworth Miller Wes Andersen Whoopi Goldberg Will Ferrell Will Smith William Shatner Willie Nelson Wolfang Puck Woody Allen Zach Braff Zsa Zsa Gabor

Dunleavy postscript: Once were warriors

Most apparent from the crowd at Steve Dunleavy’s retirement party earlier this month was its substantiality in terms of journalistic background and accomplishment. The number of editors, writers, reporters, media professionals, tabloid journos and pop culture stars was a reminder that the tabloid television genre began as something very different than what was mutated from its drippings, as show business and network news bystanders insinuated themselves into the mix, leaving a legacy of having, as The New York Times pointed out partially erroneously in its Dunleavy tribute, “inspired a lot of what is on television today, like TMZ.com, Court TV and Fox News Channel.”

True enough that Roger Ailes appropriated the tabloid template stamped by Peter Brennan and perverted it for sordid political ends that gave the world the war in Iraq and the increasingly desperate and hysteric GOP talking point parrot Sean Hannity, and though the Times erred in stating that Court TV is “on television today”-- it was replaced by truTV nine and a half months ago-- it’s saddest to think that what was begun in New York City’s grittiest and most legendary local television news operation and what shook the television newsworld to its very core would be reduced in Timesian arrogance to the slime of the corporate porn-pushing gossip site TMZ.com and its inconsequential whitewashed syndicated television sister, who work in an amoral, immoral celeb-sucking netherworld that runs absolutely counter to the taboid teachings of the giants who gathered in the Bourbon Street Bar on West 46th Street on the evening of October 6th to say goodbye or at least pay tribute to the greatest giant among many.

TMZ? Read Tabloid Baby to learn the background of its shaved bronzed midget frontman and the women who nurtured his rise. And read Tabloid Baby to find what The Times and others in the "mainstream" dare not admit: that the true influence of Steve Dunleavy, A Current Affair and the tabloid revolution is reflected in the pages of the New York Times, the staffing and coverage of the network news organizations and stories and news that envelope our culture in a 24/7 cycle.

At that party earlier this month, Dunleavy himself sat with his back to the bar, roped off from the crowd at a high table with his wife Gloria at his side and behind her, always deep in conversation, Rupert Murdoch, looking very much like a rumpled newspaper boss, not the international billionaire mogul with the exotic young bride; his hair streaked Grecian Formula black and not the orange or aubergine we’d read about in the Vanity Fair article on the flight from LA a few hour earlier.

Jim Brady was a step ahead of us as we pushed through the crowd to greet Steve. Brady took Dunleavy’s hand, gave his shoulder a squeeze, told Steve he’d be missed and that now was the time for him to write the autobiography. Brady, a former Murdoch man who writes the celeb profiles for Parade and Forbes, broke the story of Steve’s infirmities. He wrote a belated tribute in Forbes last week which we reprint even more belatedly:

Brady On Media
Dunleavy And The Boss
James Brady 10.09.08, 6:00 AM ET

He's one of the last of the old-time big city newspaper leg men, and now the legs are shot, so last Tuesday, a rainy night at a vintage gin mill in Manhattan's theater district, a bunch of us got together to serenade the outrageous Steve Dunleavy into hard-earned retirement at age 70.

I don't know that many of the old press lords--Luce or Hearst or Joe Pulitzer or Jock Whitne--attended goodbye parties for booze-lubricated reporters in their employ, but Rupert Murdoch did. The Dow had plummeted by 777 points the day before, the Jewish holidays had just begun, Murdoch's New York Post was cheerleading for McCain and Palin, and there was Murdoch in a gray suit, coming in from the rain, past the bagpipers and firemen, the movers and shakers, the cops, the pretty girls and half the Post's city room, to say goodbye to a man who'd worked for him 40 years.

Dunleavy had commandeered for himself a familiar bit of bar, where he stood, sober if somewhat shaky, greeting well-wishers but refusing to rest his skinny butt on a bar stool. Steve, long ago, worked for me back on the National Star, a supermarket tabloid Murdoch launched in 1974, but I told that story in this column months ago, when Dunleavy first confessed his legs were going and he might have to pack in his column for the Post. (See "'Dirt' On TV.")

Steve's last week began in extraordinary fashion when The New York Times ran a thousand-word feature on him. The Post and the Times have been feuding so bitterly in recent years, this was the equivalent of a Tass editorial in praise of Capitalism. Tim Arango wrote the Times piece, quoting not only Murdoch but old rivals Jimmy Breslin and Pete Hamill, Post editor Col Allan, and Jonathan Mahler, author of Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning.

I especially liked Jimmy's line, "Steve is one of the three people in America who loves Rupert Murdoch. In a time of listless reporting, he climbed stairs. And he wrote simple declarative sentences that people could read." Breslin then derided today's newspaper sentences, "52-word gems that moan, I went to college! I went to graduate school college! Where do I put the period?" Hamill, who once shared with Dunleavy a mutual distaste, appeared to have mellowed, saying of Steve, "He always had this energy. I always thought he was writing his columns like he was double-parked."

After I chatted up Dunleavy, urging him to write another best-selling potboiler while he was still alive, and demanding had he been, in Aussie slang, a "wanker" or a "poofter"? "I was a wanker, mate, but never a poofter." Then, with a bottle of Corona, I worked the room, chatting up editor Col Allan, who may not own a necktie, but who was actually jotting notes, covering the story; columnist Cindy Adams; lanky, red-haired reporter Cynthia Fagen ("the carrot"); and rock critic Dan Aquilante ("You gave me my start on Page Six!"). Also in attendance were firefighters' union leader Steve Cassidy; Ed Burns, the retired cop whose sons Ed and Brian make movies; PR guru Howard Rubenstein; former Post publisher Marty Singerman; Richard Johnson and Paula Froelich of Page Six; restaurateur Elaine Kaufman; some TV types and a gent from Bamberger's in Newark.

At the door, they were handing out eight-page mock-ups of the Post, packed with stories and pics of the evening's hero: Steve with Reagan; with Castro; holding the gun that shot Lennon; with Joey Buttafuoco; Mike Tyson; the Boston Strangler; Bill O'Reilly; at home with Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate; arm-wrestling with Mike Bloomberg; with Geraldo; asleep in a city room chair. Ray Kerrison, who was our racetrack columnist from those first days at the Star, wrote a loving reminiscence, headlined, "50 wild years of news and booze with the man who's king of both.

It's probably my fault for leaving the party early, but when I went out into West 46th Street, not a single punch had yet been thrown, a cop or fireman thrown out, an editor or publisher pummeled, an ear bitten off, or Rupert--standing there happily amid the scrum--cornered by any number of bores, but not being chewed by anyone. Not with Steve Dunleavy, shakily but faithfully, there at his side.

Loyalty most places is pretty rare, so it was nice being at the Bourbon Street Bar, remembering 1974 when I was broke, writing and hosting a New York magazine cable TV talk show for nothing, when Murdoch came to America to stay, hiring me to run his new tabloid, and nothing ever again would be the same. For me or for any of us.

"Dunleavy will be your chief reporter," Rupert said then. "Just don't go drinking with him." A week later, my "chief reporter" and I were having the first of many at Tim Costello's bar. As Dunleavy was quoted in the Times: "I always had dreams of dying at the desk. It's frustrating not doing what I love best, and serving--I know it sounds corny--the one who I admire the most. Murdoch. The boss."

Exclusive! Martin Sheen returns to White House as All The Presidents' Movies finally hits DVD!

Television viewers said goodbye to The West Wing and Martin Sheen as President Josiah Bartlet tonight, but Sheen will be back in The White House in time for the Fourth of July, as the acclaimed documentary, All The Presidents’ Movies, is finally released on DVD.

Movie buffs and historians alike have literally been clamoring to get their hands and eyes on the wildly entertaining three-hour look at Presidential movie tastes and influences, ever since it premiered on Bravo to kick off the network’s run of The West Wing. It hasn’t been seen in the USA since.

But now, in a star-spangled salute, WPOE Entertainment is releasing a deluxe DVD package of the Sheen-narrated film the week of July 4th, so folks all over America can top off their barbecues and fireworks by watching movies with the Presidents.

The long-delayed doco is cultural dynamite that blasts a new path of history. From the shocking first selection to the viewing habits of George W. Bush, the film goes inside the East Wing screening room and inside the hearts and minds of the most powerful men in the world.

At its heart is White House projectionist Paul Fischer, who screened movies at the White House and Camp David for seven Presidents-- from Dwight D. Eisenhower through Ronald Reagan—and from Day One, kept a written record of what they watched and who was there watching them. Those logs are revealed for the first time—and in conjunction with the DVD release, will be heading to an honored place in the Smithsonian.

The documentary is packed with movie clips, rare film and video, and lots of Presidential insides, including Presidential relatives Ron Reagan, Steve Ford and Ike’s granddaughter Susan Eisenhower; Presidential insiders, including Kennedy aide & Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Kennedy & Johnson aide George Stevens, Jr., Truman aide and former Congressman Ken Hechler, Johnson aide and former MPAA head Jack Valenti, Carter adviser Jerry Rafshoon, Nixon aide Herb Klein, Reagan aide and Bush appointee Linda Chavez; Hollywood stars like James Earl Jones and Academy Award winning actors Robert Duvall and Cliff Robertson; directors David O. Russell (Three Kings), Phil Alden Robinson (Field of Dreams), Lionel Chetwynd (9/11), Roger Donaldson (13 Days); producer and Reagan pal A.C. Lyles; and authorities like Pulitzer Prize-winning Reagan biographer (“Dutch”) Edmund Morris, and film historian and author Richard Schickel.

Amid rave reviews from critics and historians, The Hollywood Reporter said: “A fascinating three hour documentary that takes us inside the East Wing screening room and inside the hearts and minds of the most powerful men in the world…All the Presidents' Movies makes tremendous television, mainly because it skillfully blends bits of inconsequential but juicy trivia with powerful insight into the presidential psyche.

“Although three straight hours on commercial TV can be a challenging sit, the program is crammed with wonderful facts we never figured on caring about. And there are alternately touching and poignant moments that history buffs will cherish.

“There's also information that historians -- and maybe conspiracy theorists -- will find intriguing… Overall it's impossible to resist most of the nuggets presented in the show. Bill Clinton sums it up early on: ‘The best perk of the White House is the theater.’ After watching this, constituents might agree.”

The Frozen Pictures project was produced by Brett Hudson and Burt Kearns of Frozen Pictures (the team that brought you Cloud 9!), and co-produced by William Knoedelseder and Joachim Blunck.

Actor wants to play Martin Luther King

While news that DreamWorks is developing a biopic of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King has led to speculation about who'll star as the civil rights hero, there are already stirrings among the Hollywood acting community that a relative unknown would be perfect in the role.

Antonio D. Charity has appeared in television dramas like The Shield, Nip/Tuck, The Wire and the Law & Order franchises, and won raves in theatre showcases in Los Angeles, most notably in performances of The Meeting, Jeff Stetson's imagining of a meeting between King and Malcolm X.

Antonio D. Charity starred as King in the play.

The last time there was serious talk of a King flick, Eddie Murphy was a top contender for the role, but that was before his plans to star in August Wilson's Fences fell through and he resigned himself to family comedies. Placing a relative unknown with such a connection to King would make the film all the more moving.

Antonio D. Charity (right) as the Rev. Dr. King in The Meeting

Charity has exoressed real interest in the role, and is looking for a way to get the attention of producers Steven Spielberg, Suzanne de Passe and Madison Jones.

Already there's a Facebook campaign to give Charity an audition and a chance at the role.

We say there's nothing to lose by getting him in-- and so much to gain!

For the producers' convenience, we include Charity's bio below.

Meanwhile, we'll keep you posted.

Antonio D. Charity is from Surry County, VA. This youngest of twelve children moved to Los Angeles in December 2004 and has been impressing agents, casting directors and filmmakers with his amazing talent.

Antonio was first inspired to pursue acting professionally by the late Wiley Powell, Jr. after he joined the Surry County High School Repertory Club. Under Mr. Powell’s direction, the SCHS Repertory Club’s one-act plays won numerous awards at district, regional and state competitions. For two consecutive summers Antonio was awarded a scholarship from the Surry County School Board to attend “Firespark School For Gifted Students In The Arts” at Brenau College in Gainesville, Ga.

After graduating from Surry High Antonio moved to Washington, D.C. where he enrolled in Howard University’s College of Fine Arts as a theatre major. There he was taught by Al Freeman, Jr., best known for his portrayal of Elijah Muhammad in Spike Lee’s “Malcolm X”. Besides teaching him in class, Mr. Freeman also directed Antonio in Richard Wesley’s The Sirens and in Oak and Ivy, in which Antonio portrayed the famous poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar. The next four years of studying at Howard and working in D.C. and the surrounding areas laid the artistic foundation for the rest of his career.

It laid the business and professional foundation as well because it was during this time that Antonio became a member of the Screen Actors Guild. While still enrolled at Howard Antonio was hired as a guest star on an episode of “Homicide: Life On The Street”, in which he worked with Emmy Award winner Andre Braugher, Clark Johnson and with Daniel Baldwin. He also worked on several industrials, commercials and stage plays.

He transferred to Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond for one year and then returned to Howard. While living in Richmond and studying theatre at VCU he met a very well respected theatre director named Ernie McClintock. Ernie was a teacher, coach and friend. Antonio studied and worked with him for twelve years.

Antonio graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and moved to New York.

Over the next nine years he worked in a variety of television shows, films, commercials and stage plays. He appeared in “It Runs In The Family” with Michael and Kirk Douglas, “The Salon” with Vivica A. Fox, “Something The Lord Made” with Mos Def, “The Corner” with Charles Dutton and Khandi Alexander, “The Wire” with Wood Harris, “Cry Wolf” with Jon Bon Jovi and Gary Cole, “All My Children” with Kelly Ripa, “As The World Turns”, “Law & Order” and several other television and film productions. But mostly he “cut his teeth” on the New York stage in numerous community theatre, regional theatre, off Broadway, and off-off Broadway productions.

In December of 2004 he relocated to Los Angeles. He has worked on television shows such as “Charmed” with Alyssa Milano, the series “Nip/Tuck”, “House”, True Blood”, Numb3rs”, “The Shield” and several others. He has also performed in a made for television movie starring Florence Henderson of “The Brady Bunch” called “For Heaven’s Sake” and the feature films “Che Guevara” and “Over Her Dead Body”, starring Eva Longoria.

Currently he is performing in the Off Broadway hit “Black Angels Over Tuskegee”. In 2009 “Black Angels Over Tuskegee” won an NAACP Theatre Award for Best Ensemble. He also portrayed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the play “The Meetng” by Jeff Stetson. The play was performed at various locations in and around Los Angeles. His star is shining bright, and his reputation as an amazing new talent is growing.

Keep your eyes open and you will see him over and over again. The best is yet to come!

Oscar® nominations: Ten for Best Picture

The 82nd Annual Academy Award® nominations were announced this morning.

Best Picture
“Avatar”
“The Blind Side”
“District 9″
“An Education”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
“A Serious Man”
“Up”
“Up in the Air”

Best Direction
“Avatar” — James Cameron
“The Hurt Locker” — Kathryn Bigelow
“Inglourious Basterds” — Quentin Tarantino
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” — Lee Daniels
“Up in the Air” — Jason Reitman

Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
Colin Firth in “A Single Man”
Morgan Freeman in “Invictus”
Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”

Actress in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
Helen Mirren in “The Last Station”
Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia”

Actor in a Supporting Role
Matt Damon in “Invictus”
Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”
Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”
Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones”
Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

Actress in a Supporting Role
Penélope Cruz in “Nine”
Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”
Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”
Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”
Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

Animated Feature Film
“Coraline”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“The Princess and the Frog”
“The Secret of Kells”
“Up”

Art Direction
“Avatar” — Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” — Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
“Nine” — Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
“Sherlock Holmes” — Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
“The Young Victoria” — Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

Cinematography
“Avatar” — Mauro Fiore
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” — Bruno Delbonnel
“The Hurt Locker” — Barry Ackroyd
“Inglourious Basterds” — Robert Richardson
“The White Ribbon” — Christian Berger

Costume Design
“Bright Star” — Janet Patterson
“Coco before Chanel” — Catherine Leterrier
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” — Monique Prudhomme
“Nine” — Colleen Atwood
“The Young Victoria” — Sandy Powell

Documentary (Feature)
“Burma VJ”
“The Cove”
“Food, Inc.”
“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers”
“Which Way Home”

Documentary (Short Subject)
“China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province”
“The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner”
“The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant”
“Music by Prudence”
“Rabbit à la Berlin”

Film Editing
* “Avatar” Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
* “District 9” Julian Clarke
* “The Hurt Locker” Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
* “Inglourious Basterds” Sally Menke
* “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Joe Klotz

Foreign Language Film
* “Ajami” Israel
* “El Secreto de Sus Ojos” Argentina
* “The Milk of Sorrow” Peru
* “Un Prophète” France
* “The White Ribbon” Germany

Makeup
* “Il Divo” Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
* “Star Trek” Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
* “The Young Victoria” Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

Music (Original Score)
* “Avatar” James Horner
* “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Alexandre Desplat
* “The Hurt Locker” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
* “Sherlock Holmes” Hans Zimmer
* “Up” Michael Giacchino

Music (Original Song)
* “Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
* “Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
* “Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36” Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
* “Take It All” from “Nine” Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
* “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Short Film (Animated)
* “French Roast” Fabrice O. Joubert
* “Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell
* “The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)” Javier Recio Gracia
* “Logorama” Nicolas Schmerkin
* “A Matter of Loaf and Death” Nick Park

Short Film (Live Action)
* “The Door” Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
* “Instead of Abracadabra” Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
* “Kavi” Gregg Helvey
* “Miracle Fish” Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
* “The New Tenants” Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

Sound Editing
* “Avatar” Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
* “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson
* “Inglourious Basterds” Wylie Stateman
* “Star Trek” Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
* “Up” Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Sound Mixing
* “Avatar” Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
* “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
* “Inglourious Basterds” Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
* “Star Trek” Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
* “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

Visual Effects
* “Avatar” Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
* “District 9” Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
* “Star Trek” Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
* “District 9” Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
* “An Education” Screenplay by Nick Hornby
* “In the Loop” Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
* “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
* “Up in the Air” Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Writing (Original Screenplay)
* “The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal
* “Inglourious Basterds” Written by Quentin Tarantino
* “The Messenger” Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
* “A Serious Man” Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
* “Up” Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy