Celebrity Scoop
When David Letterman's buses bound for big city fun pulled up in tiny Schoharie, N.Y. - population 3,300 - nearly 500 locals took the talk show host up on his invitation to show them a good time. Ten buses took them to the Ed Sullivan Theater in N.Y., N.Y., where they were the audience for "The Late Show With David Letterman."
Letterman poked fun at an exalted rural life in several comedy bits that took up half the show. "Tonight would be an excellent night to knock over the liquor store," said Letterman, noting that those residents not in Manhattan were probably out on the opening day of hunting season. The show's top 10 list, read by village Mayor John Borst, contained the 10 reasons being the mayor of Schoharie is the best job in the world. They included No. 2: "Dude, I'm the most powerful man in the free world."
Chesterfield, Va., police say Grammy-winning singer D'Angelo had to be subdued with pepper spray Monday after he resisted arrest on misdemeanor charges of aggressive driving and other counts. The 28-year-old singer, whose real name is Michael Eugene Archer, is accused of cutting off a woman in his SUV, then cursing and spitting at her in a confrontation at a gas station. Two years ago, D'Angelo received a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Untitled (How Does it Feel)" from the album "Voodoo," which also won a Grammy for Best R&B Album.
A flower war is in progress in Moorpark, California. Gardener Kevin Persons is suing TLC singer Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and her rapper husband, Mack 10, accusing them of stiffing him on a $15,000 bill for snapdragons, sod, and other landscaping items. Asked about the lawsuit, the gardener said he had a verbal agreement with Mack 10, who he describes as having "more money in cars than what I make in a year."
Paul McCartney says he believes the bad press his wife, Heather Mills, has been getting will pass once his fans get used to the couple being married. "All you've got to do is think back to Linda," said McCartney in a TV Guide interview, referring to his first wife, who died of cancer in 1998. "Linda got rubbished in the first year or so. And then she was established and people got over it. It's a bit par for the course." Overall, it's been a good year for the 60-year-old former Beatle, who appreciates the exuberant reaction he still gets at his concerts. "The older people scream because they remember screaming," he says. "And younger girls have seen it on films, so it's like a tradition."
Now that Backstreet Boy Nick Carter has released his solo album, he wants to be a serious musician. "I'm learning to play the guitar. I've been playing for a year now, and now I'm getting to a point where I can play with my band," says Carter. "I play drums, and I want to develop into a really respectable artist, as a writer, as a producer." Carter's debut album, "Now or Never," came out last month. The 22-year-old says the other members of the group are supporting his solo career. "They realize that this is making me a better person, a better individual," he said. "I'm learning how to be a musician, how to be a better artist, and it makes me feel like I can contribute more to the group when I come back, that I can hold more weight."
Another boy band icon, Taylor Hanson, is celebrating a personal milestone. The middle brother of the pop singing trio Hanson has become a father. The 19-year-old singer and his wife Natalie Anne Bryant, 18, are having a great time with their newborn, Jordan Ezra, who was born on Halloween. "Having Ezra is the best thing we've ever done," says Taylor. "Life and art are all about these moments." Taylor and brothers Isaac and Zac are finishing work on their next CD, due early next year.
You can shower her with money and success, but apparently it's hard to keep Lisa Ling, youngest of the gabfest gang on "The View," in any one place for very long. Ling is quitting the daytime talk show to move to Washington, D.C., and work as an international reporter for National Geographic Television and Film. Ling, 29, was a reporter for Channel One News before being selected for "The View" three years ago. She says now's the time to make the switch, because "two years from now, I may be thinking about settling down and may not want to travel."
Hollywood news won't be the same without Vernon Scott, who worked at United Press International for 52 years, covering every major celebrity of his time, including John Wayne, Charles Bronson and Frank Sinatra. Scott, who was battling pancreatitis, died Monday in a Los Angeles hospital at the age of 79. "In the end, Vernon became as much a part of the history of the movie business as the stars he wrote about," says Tobin Beck, UPI's executive editor. In addition to Scott's reports in newspapers and on the radio, he also co-wrote a best-selling book about the late actress Jill Ireland's battle with cancer. It was later made into the TV movie "Reason for Living: The Jill Ireland Story."