Michael Douglas, the defiant one

Michael Douglas, shown this morning in New York City, is said to responding well to chemotherapy and radiation treatment for his Stage 4 throat cancer. The Oscar® winning actor has roles in two movies released this year that will surely vie for Best Actor Academy Award® nominations. We expect to see him at the ceremony after he beats this.

Burt Reynolds on Cloud 9 with Burn Notice

At 74 and months after quintuple bypass surgery, Hollywood superstar Burt Reynolds was putting in 17- and 18-hour days as a guest star on the hit TV show “Burn Notice.” The episode airs tonight at 8 pm on the USA Network. Reynolds tells TCPalm he was glad to reunite with old pals on the set, like veteran stuntman Glenn Wilder-- whom he knocked through a window while performing his own stunts.

Reynolds performed-- and directed-- his fight scene with Wilder's son, Scott Wilder, in the 2006 beach volleyball comedy smash, Cloud 9, which was written and produced by our pals Burt Kearns and Brett Hudson from Frozen Pictures, along with their Academy-Award®-winning (The Godfather, Million Dollar Baby) producer pal, Albert S. Ruddy.

Postscript: Chris Montez at Beatlefest

The NY Metro Fest for Beatles Fans is history, but the buzz is only building after Sixties pop legend Chris Montez rewrote Beatles history in his festival debut. Chris, who headlined a UK tour in March 1963 just as the first wave of Beatlemania broke across England, was on hand to share his memories and to introduce a preview of the new nonfiction film, El Viaje Musical de Ezekiel Montanez: The Chris Montez Story, which demonstrated how he not only influenced the Beatles' choice in electric guitars but their taste in fashion as they copied the round, collarless jackets he wore on stage.

The film from our pals at Frozen Pictures played twice to enthusiastic audiences on Saturday and Sunday, filming continued at the Fest and Chris rocked the packed ballroom two nights in a row with his triple-threat combo of Call Me, The More I See You and Let's Dance.

Backstage with The Chris Montez Story producer
and director of photography JB Blunck

Rehearsal with topnotch Beatles band Liverpool

Montez was only one of a group of crowd-pleasing cultural legends on hand including Mark & Brett Hudson, Martin Lewis, Spencer Davis, Andrew Loog Oldham and Denny Laine and Denny Seiwell of Wings.

Panel discussion on The Chris Montez Story with the Frozen partners

Chris with former Rolling Stones manager & producer Andrew Loog Oldham
(a name we remember from those album covers)
and Chris' publicist on that Match 1963 tour with the Beatles

Legendary publicist Sam Peters (second from lower left,
at the hairline of the big head in the corner)
adds his bongo beats to the nonstop Beatles music celebration
in the lobby of the Crowne Plaza

Fest for Beatles Fans is on

The NY Metro Fest for Beatles Fans launched tonight with Sixties pop star Chris Montez (who headlined over the Beatles in a March 1963 tour of the UK) among the celebrity Beatles friends and colleagues including Denny Laine of Wings, Spencer Davis and Tabloid Baby pals Mark and Brett Hudson. A preview of the Montez biopic, El Viaje Musical de Ezekiel Montanez: The Chris Montez Story, from our pals at Frozen Pictures plays at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Idol return puts spotlight on Dunkleman

The debut of the ninth season of American Idol and Simon Cowell's coinciding announcement that he'll bolt when it's through has brought Tabloid Baby pal Brian Dunkleman back to the entertainment spotlight, putting his decision to leave American Idol after its first season in a new, perhaps prescient, light. Dunkleman, who has spent the past seven seasons honing his comedic chops, has developed into a top standup comic and comedy performer, as demonstrated in the proposed series American Dunkleman, produced by our pals at Frozen Pictures, and for some reason in a zucked-up TV world looking for a smart hit, has as yet not gone to pilot.


Dunkleman is showcased in an interview on AOL's Television webpage. Some highlights follow:

Everybody wants to know: What are you up to these days?
What am I up to? Right now I'm on the golf course, so that about sums it up. Doing that and doing standup. Making America laugh is what I'm doing.

What about more recently?
I actually just shot a comedy special for Showtime that should be airing in a few months. I don't have an official air date yet, but that's what I've been working towards for the last few months...

That first season looked fun. Did it seem fun at the time to you?
It was fun sometimes, and sometimes it wasn't so fun. I think that's the same with every job. Some days are good, some days are bad.

That's the reason that you left, right?
It was more than one reason. I mean really, I wanted to have a career as an actor. That's what I had done. This was actually the first time I'd done any kind of hosting. And all my experience was as a standup and as an actor. I hadn't done a ton of stuff, but I'd probably gotten like 12, 15 little guest-star appearances and co-star stuff. [So it was] mainly that reason, and I didn't think ... Here's my poor judgment. I didn't think the whole reality television thing was going to last. And neither did a lot of people, actually...

I saw somewhere that you're pitching a series called 'American Dunkleman.' What is that?
Do you remember a show called 'The Hudson Brothers' many years ago? A guy named Brett Hudson, he's a producer, he was on the show. And he was kind of a teen idol; he and his brothers got very famous, very quickly. So they got approached by McDonald's, who were like, we want you guys to be the McDonald's brothers -- you'd have a big M on your sweaters. And he's like, I'm not gonna sell out, are you crazy? There's no way we're doing that. And obviously they'd be billionaires right now. So he looked me up and had an idea for a show, just kind of like about the situation of my life, kind of a 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'-type, 'Extras'-type show, revolving around me. So we shot a little demo a while ago, and we're in the process of developing it and trying to pitch it.

So why hasn't this gone to pilot? TV genius pals, get in touch with the Frozen boys.

...and a tip of the Tabloid Baby hat to Michael Karp for pointing us to the story...

Vic Chesnutt committed suicide because he couldn't pay his medical bills

Vic Chesnutt was a performer whose talent as a songwriter and singer overshadowed the novelty of being a paraplegic, performing with a guitar in a wheelchair. He wrote of struggling through life and committed suicide this week, apparently because he couldn't pay his medical bills.

We've been following the health care debate in Washington, learning firsthand how difficult it is to heal and carry on or even get treatment at all while negotiating the insurance bureaucracy through Tabloid baby pal (one of our pals at Frozen Pictures) Brett Hudson's blog, and know far too many people without medical insurance not to know the corruption of America's health care system.


Vic Chestnutt wrote of struggling through life and flirting with death and had attempted suicide before. He was also a loud critic of the health care system and in recent interviews said that operations had left him deep in debt.

Earlier this month, he spoke with the LA Times for an article whose lead was "If you ever need a clear example of the institutionalized cruelty of the American healthcare system, ask Vic Chesnutt."

"There's an albatross that follows Chesnutt from the door of his home to every show he plays. Though he's currently insured, an accumulating stream of nearly $70,000 worth of unpaid hospital bills is threatening to swallow much of his livelihood as a songwriter. It's left him in an unprecedented condition-- one where he's at a loss for words.

"'I'm not too eloquent talking about these things,' Chesnutt said. 'I was making payments, but I can't anymore and I really have no idea what I'm going to do. It seems absurd they can charge this much. When I think about all this, it gets me so furious. I could die tomorrow because of other operations I need that I can't afford. I could die any day now, but I don't want to pay them another nickel.'

"...Chesnutt's very real ensnarement in the insurance system lends an uncomfortable yet deeply compelling undertone to his lyrical attempts to make peace with illness, his paraplegism and death. Chesnutt doesn't hold out too much hope for whatever healthcare bill makes it through the Senate, either-- 'What will pass will be weak, the powers that be will be happy and the insurance companies will be thrilled,' he believes."

Yeah, Vic Chesnutt was suicidal and his demons and death obsession were at the core of his artistry. But it sure looks like the health care system helped him over the edge.

Brett Hudson talks cancer on Internet radio

Brett Hudson, one of our pals at Frozen Pictures, is on the radio with quite an amazing story. Brett's entertained us as one of the Hudson Brothers, and behind the scenes with this television and film work, and over the past two years, inspired and illuminated us since he went public with his successful fight against two formidable foes: throat cancer and the American medical establishment. While he's kept us updated with his blog on the website for his documentary project, The Klinik, you can catch up as he talks about his experience and philosophy with Louis Velazquez online at the UCW Magazine Radio Show.

Click hear to listen to the entire ninety-minute interview with Brett Hudson.


And while you're at it, click here to listen to Lou's talk with Tabloid Baby pal Michael Lohan, star of Brett and Frozen Picture's legendary reality show pilot you can see on the right hand side of this page --->

(And Tabloid Baby pal Chris DeRose, too. That Lou is everywhere.)

Did chemo kill Patrick Swayze?

Cancer survivor Suzanne Somers is quoted this morning saying that cancer-riddled Patrick Swayze was killed by chemotherapy treatments. She told columnist Shinan Givani: "They took a beautiful man" and "put poison in his body. Why couldn't they have built him up nutritionally and got ten rid of the toxins?" Somers has a kook reputation that dates back to her wacky decision to quit Three's Company at the height of its success, but she has been at the vanguard of alternative cancer treatments.Tabloid Baby pal Brett Hudson has written vividly about the cruel effects of chemotherapy on his blog on The Klinik documentary project website, and also about the importance of combining traditional treatments with nutritional, complememntary and alternative therapies. When it came to going beyond the American medical establishment, Swayze, alas, came late to the game.

Cool photos from The Fest for Beatles Fans

The Fest for Beatles Fans that roared into Chicago over the weekend was not only a great prelude to the 09.09.09 release of the remastered Beatles CD collection (and for the youngsters, the Beatles RockBand game). It also showcased the first preview of the new Chris Montez biopic (from our pals at Frozen Pictures), introduced Montez and his Beatles connections to the Beatlephile crowd and was witness to great rock 'n' roll performers like Ronnie Spector, Mark & Brett Hudson, Earl Slick and the ukulele-toting former Carsman Greg Hawkes.


YouTube and Facebook are full of videos and photos from the Fest. As we got back to business, we found an excellent set of pix from Fest star Sharon Paige, who was gracious enough to allow us to post them.

Photos © Sharon Paige

Exclusive! Hudson Brothers reunion movie announced at Chicago Fest for Beatles Fans

Friday's special The Seventh Python movie and music event is a 'best bet' for Chicago

Patrick Swayze: Still smokin'

Patrick Swayze is gaining weight, looking better and in fight against pancreatic cancer. Yet, he's photographed outside a smoke shop, still smoking cigarettes. Says an expert: "Here's a news flash for you, Pat: Cigarettes cause cancer. QUIT SMOKING!!!"

Visit The Klinik movie website here.

The Seventh Python returns to Chicago!

Friday, August 14th, The Comedy Shrine
22 E. Chicago Avenue Naperville, Illinois 630.355.2844

So what is it with The Seventh Python and Chicago? The veddy-Anglocentric award-winning nonfiction feature about the veddy-British musical satirist, rock 'n' roll legend and Monty Python compatriot Neil Innes from our pals at Frozen Pictures returns to the Chicago area on Friday, August 14th, with a one-night-only screening and (two-thirds) Hudson Brothers performance at The Comedy Shrine.

The announcement is great news for comedy and Monty Python fans... but begs the question why, after entertaining audiences and winning standing ovations around the world-- from Perth, Australia to the New Jersey Meadowlands-- The Seventh Python keeps returning to the City of Big Shoulders in the American Heartland?

Since the film's premiere at the American Cinematheque's Mods & Rockers Film Festival in Hollywood, it's played at:

The Chicago Fest for Beatles Fans...

The Chicago International Movies & Music Festival...

The Wilmette Theatre...

and now..

The Comedy Shrine
22 E. Chicago Avenue
Naperville, Illinois
630.355.2844

So what's the secret to Chicago?


"The secret to Chicago is-- there is no secret," says Seventh Python director Burt Kearns. "Chicago is a comedy capital. They've got The Second City there, but also universities, where some of the finest comics and comedy writers were schooled. There are a lot of comedy legends in and around Chicago."

One of those legends is Dave Sinker. The longtime Hudson buddy, Emmy-winning writer and Second City veteran runs The Comedy Shrine, and came up with the idea of bringing back The Seventh Python for a return engagement.

The Friday evening show on Chicago Avenue in Naperville is set to begin with a screening of the hilarious film starring John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Aimee Mann, Matt Groening and many others, followed by a special performance by Brett and Mark Hudson (they'll arrive after they appear at The Fest for Beatles Fans at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare). Brett produced the film. Mark, the noted music producer and performer, was music supervisor.

Click here for tickets. Arrive early so you'll have some time to check out the extensive comedy memorabilia collection. They don't call it The Comedy Shrine for nothing.

Patrick Swayze is looking a lot better

With the Die in Threes celebrity death calculator thrown askew by the sheer number of clogs-popping stars from a variety of fields of fame (see Frank McCourt), it wasn't much of a leap to anticipate Patrick Swayze would be losing his battle against pancreatic cancer in the dead of summer. Happy to see in the Daily Mail, then, that the actor, dancer, and real-life tough guy is looking a hell of a lot healthier than he did back in April, when the effects of the disease and the chemotherapy used to fight it left him looking a step from the grave. Swayze's survival and odds-defiance can be credited in part to by treatment by the CyberKnife, a cutting-edge radiation device that blasts tumours with a high-powered laser, reaches tumours that conventional radiation cannot, and does its work in hours, as opposed to several punishing months.


The CyberKnife was brought to the world's attention by Tabloid Baby pal Brett Hudson and Frozen Pictures in their The Klinik documentary project, and has been getting a lot of attention in the UK becaue England now has its very first CyberKnife at Harley Street in London.

Click here to read Brett Hudson's blog at The Klinik movie website.

Farrah's "cancer buddy" writes about funeral

Brett Hudson, who was treated with Farrah Fawcett at German cancer clinics and whose documentary film project about alternative treatments has been dedicated to her memory, shares his thoughts about Farrah and her funeral yesterday at his popular blog page on The Klinik movie website.


Hudson writes:

"I went to say goodbye to my friend Farrah yesterday. Her funeral service was beautiful... It was strange for me in a way. Farrah and I were both fighting for our lives at the same time and she's not here anymore. When we were in Germany at The Klinik, I was only three months in to my disease-- a rookie, so to speak. Farrah had been battling her cancer for over a year. In our six-hour drive to Frankfurt, her strength, determination and fearlessness were an inspiration to me in fighting this hideous disease.

"Farrah said to me, 'Never, ever give up. Keep fighting'..."

Read his complete Farrah post here.

Hudson, one of Tabloid Baby's pals from Frozen Pictures, was most embarrassingly misidentified in a Tabloid Baby post yesterday with a picture of actor Ernie Hudson, who was also at the services.

Farrah's funeral filmed for sequel

Camera crews filmed Farrah Fawcett's funeral in downtown Los Angeles this afternoon, apparently for the sequel to Ryan O'Neal's "Farrah's Story" television special that sadly had the same Hollywood ending as his "Love Story" movie forty years ago.

Tabloid Baby pal Brett Hudson (above, entering the cathedral), Farrah's "cancer buddy" when they both were treated at cancer clinics in Germany, met O'Neal at the reception following the services. O'Neal was overheard telling Hudson that he telling Hudson that he is "in the sequel" to Farrah's Story, and he recognized him from Farrah's original documentary journal that O'Neal took over and recut with NBC News after her health failed. Hudson was left on the cutting room floor.

O'Neal was heard telling Hudson that he is "in the sequel."

Hudson, of Frozen Pictures, is in production on a nonfiction film and documentary project about cancer, alternative treatments and the American medical system, called The Klinik. He announced last week that the project will be dedicated to Farrah and address the issues she wanted to hit in her own project.

** UPDATE: We've just realized that a staffer in the Tabloid Baby photo department erroneously substituted a photo of actor Ernie Hudson for Brett Hudson. Brett did attend Farrah's funeral. Read his thoughts on his blog at The Klinik website.

Exclusive! More video and photos from the big Neil Innes & The Seventh Python event at the Wilmette Theatre and beyond!

A Chicago Tribune photo shoot at the legendary Vintage Vinyl record store (from the movie High Fidelity) in Evanston, Illinois:

Downtown Chicago, heading to the WLS studios to be interviewed, along with The Seventh Python producer Brett Hudson, on the Roe Conn radio show:

Showtime at the Wilmette Theatre:

Above center: The Seventh Python costars Rutling Ken Thornton & Vet Ken Simpson

Signing a poster for the publican at the after-party: