Celebrity Scoop
"Gypsy", one of the season's most anticipated musical revivals opened Thursday night on Broadway. Celebrities including Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Sigourney Weaver, Matthew Broderick and Mia Farrow were among the stars that turned out to see the $8.5 million production directed by British-born Sam Mendes, winner of an Academy Award directing "American Beauty". Also on the red carpet was were director Sam Mendes' girlfriend, actress Kate Winslet, and Erik Preminger, grandson of the real Gypsy Rose Lee and her lover, the married film mogul Otto Preminger. Thursday's opening night marks "Gypsy's" fourth Broadway run. Before the curtain was raised New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg proclaimed May 1, 2003 as "Gypsy Day." He told the audience they were about to see the 1404th Broadway performance of the musical. Two films were also made about the legendary stripper named Gypsy Rose Lee and her relentless stage mother played in this version by Broadway diva Bernadette Peters. Actress Tammy Blanchard portrays Gypsy.
A hairstylist on Fox Sports Network's "The Best Damn Sports Show Period," has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against hosts Tom Arnold and former NBA player John Salley, along with several others involved with the show. Lisa Brescher says she "was subjected to an environment of unrestrained sexual harassment," according to a Superior Court lawsuit filed Wednesday. Brescher claims that Arnold, the show's executive producer, and Salley, who won championships with the Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, made unwelcome sexual advances. The lawsuit states that when Brescher made her feelings known about Arnold's alleged advances, he replied that "he didn't care." It also claims that Arnold, 44, branded her "a troublemaker" and banned her from the set so she couldn't do her job. When Brescher filed a sexual harassment complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Arnold allegedly retaliated by taking her off her "lucrative Sunday shift." The lawsuit states Salley "regularly pawed (and) groped" her and made unwelcome references to his sexual prowess. It also claims that Salley, 38, made suggestive comments and "leered" at her.
Kevin Costner defended co-stars Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon at the BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs on Thursday. Robbins and Sarandon were scheduled to appear last weekend at the Baseball Hall of Fame to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the movie "Bull Durham." Instead, hall president Dale Petroskey surprised the actors with a letter telling them he'd called off the festivities because they had criticized the war in Iraq. "He's a good man and she's a really good woman, she's a thoughtful woman," Costner said. "We don't need to be separating them from us. We need Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon." Petroskey later apologized for not calling the actors before taking action to cancel the celebration. Costner said he doesn't agree with all Robbins and Sarandon say. But it doesn't affect his opinion of them. "If someone wants to talk about them, it's fair to say you won't find me lining up with them," Costner said. "I just really believe in them as people."
"Tonight Show" host Jay Leno has apologized to an eastern Kentucky doctor for insinuating that he looked like Adolf Hitler. In a recent bit in which Leno goofed on newspaper ads, he showed an ad announcing that Dr. Ricky Collins would be joining the staff of a local medical clinic. The ad included a photograph of Collins, who has dark hair and a small mustache, with the words: "A familiar face in a new place." "There's Ricky Collins," Leno said in the routine. "He's no longer the chancellor of Germany. He's now a doctor." Leno said he didn't intend to offend Collins or his wife, who called to complain, but he insisted the photograph was funny. Still, Leno said the apology was sincere. "I said you're a really nice man, and your wife is very upset, and I'm sorry," he told The Mountain Eagle of Whitesburg. Collins said he accepted the apology. "It's not one of those things I've dwelled on," Collins said of the wisecrack.
Is Jennifer Lopez the modern version of the Greek goddess? She sure looked the part at the 2001 Academy Awards when she wore that sheer, draped, one-shoulder Chanel gown. That memorable dress by Karl Lagerfeld is among the 120 outfits that trace the influence of Aphrodite, Hera and Athena on contemporary fashion at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute exhibit, "Goddess." Numerous celebrities attended the exhibit's glamorous premiere, including J. Lo's ex, rapper Sean "P. Diddy" Combs.
A little bit of England will bloom in lower Manhattan in a new garden honoring the British victims of the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attack and British troops who died in the war in Iraq. Princess Anne attended Tuesday's ceremony announcing the British Memorial Garden and donated seeds from a 17th-century royal garden. "This is a very distinctively British contribution," the princess said. "Gardens are about long-term plans and a great deal of care." More than 60 British nationals died in the terror attack on the trade center. The British government says 32 British soldiers have died in Iraq. The garden is scheduled to open next year in historic Hanover Square, near Wall Street. Princess Anne, the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, noted the close working relationship between Wall Street and London. "It came as no surprise, therefore, that the largest number of foreign victims of Sept. 11 were of course British," she said, "and their tragic loss is of course why we are gathered here today."
From television's "Ed" to Broadway's "Urinetown." Tom Cavanagh, who portrays the title character in the NBC series about a lawyer who runs a bowling alley, will join the cast of the long-running musical on May 20th.