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Michele Lee came in from L.A. and got last minute tickets to everything. She and Fred Rappaport sat fourth center at Radio City where Michele rekindled her old friendship with Jane Fonda. On Saturday night, Michele sneaked in a performance of “Blithe Spirit” to see pals Angela Lansbury and Christine Ebersole. There was a time when Michele and Angela were the cornerstones of the CBS line up with two of the network’s longest running series ever, “Knots Landing” and “Murder She Wrote.” Michele co-starred on Broadway a few seasons ago in “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife.” Now the Tony nominee for “Seesaw” — who’s had sensational reviews for a Houston production of “Hello, Dolly!”– is looking for a musical return to Broadway.
P.S. A new list of top TV episodes of all time omits the best “Murphy Brown” — when Ebersole is hired by Murphy’s newsroom buddies to be her sister, as a birthday gift. Ebersole’s actress turns into Murphy’s stalker. It’s genius…
…Meantime: who in New York City government approved one of those traffic-snarling, rat infested “Street Fairs” to run all day Sunday right in from of Radio City Music Hall? Does any keep a calendar in this city? How is it possible that such a spectacle of unncessary tchotcke selling and greasy sausages could take place on the same day as the Tony Awards? The “fair” — the same one that will snake around the city all summer for no reason — tied up traffic as Tony Award guests, dressed in black tie, had to step through the trash on the way to the show. If Mike Bloomberg wants to be mayor again, his first campaign promise should be to get rid of these things, pronto…
You know, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller wrote ‘Hound Dog’ for Big Mama Thornton in the 1950s. Then Elvis Presley got hold of it, and the rest was history. Leiber and Stoller have like seven thousand hits from ‘On Broadway’ to ‘Poison Ivy.’
They were at Elaine’s last night for a book party, in from Los Angeles. David Ritz has just co-authored their original biography, called ‘Hound Dog’ (Simon & Schuster). The thing about Leiber and Stoller is, they’ve always been outspoken. Stoller says in the book that he was uncomfortable at first when Presley took the song and changed the lyrics. But he adds it wasn’t like Pat Boone covering Little Richard. ‘Pat Boone was insipid,’ he says.
Stoller says Ahmet Ertegun passed on signing Elvis because Colonel Parker wanted $25,000. So RCA got him. Ahmet’s elegant widow, Mica, came by Elaine’s to pay respects to the songwriters last night. I asked her which of Ahmet’s acts was her favorite. ‘Ben E. King,’ she said, ‘but I was always a Rolling Stones fan.’
The book party was like a meeting of the real Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Lesley Gore and Leslie Uggams turned up, also. Legendary producers Phil Ramone and Tommy LiPuma posed for pictures together. It was a tasty appetizer before the Apollo main course — a Monday music night in New York.
But wait: the last chapter hasn’t been written. Stoller has a musical called ‘Laughing Matters’ opening at the Pasadena Playhouse this November. Iris Rainer Dart, author of ‘Beaches,’ supplied the book and lyrics. Leonard Foglia, director on Broadway of ‘Thurgood’ and ‘Master Class.’ is in charge. The producer of the show told me last night it’s coming to Broadway. Ritz will have to add a chapter to the paperback of ‘Hound Dog.’
The Apollo’s 75th anniversary show Monday night was star-studded to say the least. Bill Cosby and wife Camille got the Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee Award. Jamie Foxx did some stand-up and a couple of good imitations (one especially good one of President Obama). Steve Harvey emceed and told more jokes about how he was restraining himself from using the ‘F’ word in his routine because it was a nice event.
There was music, too: Fantasia, newly svelte and elegant in a jet black short wig with bangs and a white mini dress, did a couple of Aretha Franklin songs and Prince’s ‘Purple Rain.’ The O’Jays — still all three original members after 50 years — closed the show with a hot set of their hits including ‘Backstabbers,’ ‘Love Train,’ ‘For the Love of Money,’ and the rousing ‘She Used to Be My Girl.’
Quincy Jones, who’s 76 years young and not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, accepted a lifetime achievement award for 60 years of innovation in jazz, rock, pop, and classical music. He was the only one of the celebrities in the show who bothered to attend the big fundraising buffet later in a giant white carpeted set sent up behind the Apollo on West 125th St. That’s because he’s a mensch.
‘Q’ — that’s what his friends call him — told me: ‘I’m going to China with Halle Berry for a film festival.’
‘Not bad,’ I replied. ‘She’s beautiful.’
Q added quickly, with some disappointment: ‘Her boyfriend, Gabriel, is coming, too.’
Jones then rattled off a list of countries he was going to visit before he returned home. ‘Frank Sinatra said, ‘Live every day like it’s going to be your last,’ ‘ the serene Highness of modern American music observed.
Jones will miss Michael Jackson‘s debut in London on July 13th. He might turn up at some point to see Jackson. But the producer of ‘Thriller’ and Jackson’s other big hits doubts the performer will do all 50 shows for which tickets have been sold.
It was Prince, though, who stole the pre-dinner show because he was a well kept secret. He appeared on stage without any announcement after the band played a minute or so of soft jazz. Now we know some of why he was in New York (see Monday’s column about Prince popping up at a Tony Award after show). If he’s smart, he’ll go see a doctor at the Hospital for Special Surgery, too.
He wore what looked like orange silk pajamas. (They may have been white pjs, bathed in orange light — unclear.) He brandished his diamond walking stick. The audience roared with delight. He spoke softly, as usual. It’s the most I’ve ever heard him say cogently in public.
‘Patti LaBelle is my mother, sister, teacher, my cook,’ he said in a Marilyn Monroe-esque whisper. ‘She’s taught me so much, she helps my guitar playing. I make my guitar sound like her voice.’
(Later, Steve Harvey returned and led the crowd in an a cappella singalong of Prince’s chestnut ‘Adore U.’ For some reason, he also emphasized that Prince gets a lot of women.)
Then Prince said he had a friend in the wings to help introduce LaBelle, but the friend wouldn’t come out when he motioned to him/her. So he went back there to fish the person out. Suddenly, a professional announcer’s voice boomed, ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, Miss Mariah Carey.’
Mariah, sexy and celebratory, not looking at all like the pepperpot described in Monday’s Page Six, appeared at the microphone and said Patti was her ‘godmother.’ ‘You have become the benchmark for which singing is judged,’ Mariah said in a much clearer voice than Prince. ‘A headliner’s headliner.’
LaBelle, who’d spent most of the night sitting in a box above the stage with pal Denise Rich, accepted her award. She said she couldn’t remember exactly when she got her start, but that she was 65 now and maybe she’d begun when was 17. (Her first big hit came in 1962 with ‘I Sold My Heart to the Junk Man.’) For LaBelle, it was a very short speech. But when the band played her off with her hit, ‘If Only You Knew,’ LaBelle spontaneously sang along for a couple of minutes in case anyone doubted her Apollo Legends award meant she was done with her career. Far from it!
Prince was on the prowl again last night, making an unscheduled appearance at the Apollo Theater’s 75th anniversary celebration to toast Patti LaBelle.
But the real buzz on Prince is that his much reported hip problems of the past have now turned into need for a double hip replacement.
Unfortunately, thanks to his practice as a Jehovah’s Witness, Prince still refuses surgery. JW’s don’t believe in blood transfusions.
‘He’s in a lot of pain,’ said a source who was backstage with him last night at the Apollo. ‘He’s popping pain killers and hoping it will all go away.’
But it won’t. Back in 2005 reports surfaced that Prince needed one hip replaced. He declined. Then again in 2007 and 2008 came more reports that he’d finally agreed to ‘secret surgery.’
Now the diminutive R&B star is walking with a diamond-studded stick to keep him upright. It’s the same stick I saw him with two nights ago at a post-Tony Awards bash. I’m sure he’d rather have a Raspberry beret or a little red Corvette, but for now Prince is stuck with the stick.
The question is: if it gets worse, will he go to a wheelchair?
Prince — yes, Prince, the Purple One — capped off the hottest Tony Award night in about 20 years. He showed up unannounced at the Hudson Terrace on West 46th St. where, ‘four Broadway shows were having Tony Award after parties. He sported a long diamond studded walking stick and several burly bodyguards. He had no idea it was Tony night, knew none of the shows and didn’t care. He’s Prince. West Side Story? Feh.
Still, it was a great night for the Tonys. The opening number featured dozens of shows and looked like it had been rehearsed for weeks. Nope — just one soundcheck, yesterday afternoon. Amazing.
The show played very well in Radio City. During commercials,’ a watch company raffled off two expensive time pieces. Host Neil Patrick Harris (pictured) did magic tricks, and was far funnier than when the cameras were on.
It was the first time in years when yours truly didn’t want to leave the audience and hang out backstage. The show was actually entertaining. And the winners were all good choices, from Geoffrey Rush to Angela Lansbury to 10 awards for “Billy Elliott.” It’s the most number of Tonys ever for a British import. And Rush now has an Oscar, Emmy, Tony, and Golden Globe.
Harris, buttoned up most of the night, ended the show with his own song, using “Tonight” from “West Side Story” to sum up all the winners and foibles of the night. He took a nice swipe at the Golden Globes.
After the Tonys, many of the shows repaired to their own parties. “Billy Elliott” took over Bar American on West 52nd St where Elton John and Stephen Daldry each made speeches. Then Elton, cheated out of a best score award, flew home to London where he has a show on Tuesday. He lost, strangely, the best score award to “Next to Normal.” Try singing one of those songs, I ask you.
Many stars filled up the two-story Hudson Terrace including Marcia Gay Harden, James Gandolfini, Matt Cavenaugh from “West Side Story,” and Jane Fonda. Prince, growing tired of this fairly conventional spectacle, finally left for parts unknown.
But four of last night’s Tony winners carried the Weinstein name into battle both at the boxoffice and in the awards skirmish: “God of Carnage,” “Billy Elliott,” “Hair,” and “West Side Story.” Those were the Best Play, Musical, Revival of a Musical, and nominee for the latter.
This is no apologia for Harvey Weinstein. Some of the films he’s put out since starting the Weinstein Co. have been headscratchers. There was one with Mandy Moore, another with ‘Jennifer Aniston and Clive Owen, something with Bruce Willis, and, of course, the tragic “Soul Men,” which I personally loathed more than I have room to say here.
But never count out Harvey. It does seem he’s financially restructuring for fall. But that doesn’t mean anything dire. For one thing, footage of the musical “Nine,” directed by Rob Marshall, blew away everyone who saw it in Cannes. “Nine” looks like it’s a stunner, an Oscar nominee and worthy successor to Harvey and Rob’s “Chicago” success.
Then there’s Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds.” Hopefully, Tarantino is in the editing room right now. You run a risk by rushing a screening at Cannes, and so Quentin showed the world a work in progress. Length is not the problem with that movie. It’s emphasis. Tarantino had so much material to work with, and he became enthralled with the story involving Melanie Laurent’s character of a Jewish French girl avenging her parents’ murders.
Tarantino will likely add more of Brad Pitt and his cronies, and explain more about why they’re obsessed with scalping Nazis to help the Jews. (Pitt’s character isn’t Jewish.)
What will remain no doubt is the award-winning performance by Christoph Waltz as Col. Landa, the Nazi “Jew hunter” who steals the movie. Waltz won Best Actor in Cannes. He will be nominated for everything next fall. A star is born! “Basterds” will be a hit, there’s no doubt about it.
Tonight’s Tony Awards show on CBS promises to be the best in years– maybe ever.
For one thing, this has been a theater season full of movie stars. And they’re all coming to Radio City Music Hall tonight. Be there or be square.
Two time Oscar winner Jane Fonda, nominated for Best Actress in “33 Variations,” will open the show. That’s a big deal. From then on you will see a parade of stars from James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden to Geoffrey Rush, Susan Sarandon, Stockard Channing, and Angela Lansbury. Martha Plimpton — a possible winner for her show stopping performance in “Pal Joey”–will be there despite the death of her uncle, David Carradine, a couple of days ago. Neil Patrick Harris--from CBS’s “How I Met Your Mother”– is hosting the event.
It will also be a big night if you’re a fan of Elton John. He’s set to perform at least a couple of times, and his show, “Billy Elliott,” is on track to sweep through several categories.
Dolly Parton is going to perform with the cast of “9 to 5″ as well. This year the Tonys will only show video clips of nominated plays. The big money is going to be on musical numbers and big names. You do not want to miss the numbers from “West Side Story” and “Hair,” believe me. Or from “Billy Elliott.”
If time permits, I’m told that there’s a big number planned for the end of the show, after the Best Musical award is given. Insiders say it’s worth sticking around till the very end just to see it.
And remember: at least if you’re home you can make a sandwich or take a toilet break. The audience will be in Radio City from 6 to 11pm. Help! The show is followed by an official Tony party in the Radio City ice skating rink. Then many of the shows have individual parties. The celebrating will go on all night.
One thing’s for certain: CBS is very excited about this year’s show. Les Moonves has invited all the big deals from the network including the board of directors, I’m told.
We’ve kind of figured out by now that Ryan O’Neal was a terrible father. All of his kids have had drug problems, from Tatum and Griffin to Redmond, his son with Farrah Fawcett.
But now there’s even good historical evidence. Allegra Huston, sister of Anjelica, has nothing good to say about Ryan in her beautifully written memoir, “Love Child.”
She paints a picture of O’Neal as abusive and out of control, narcissistic, and negligent. When Allegra goes to stay with Ryan and Anjelica in the mid 1970s, Griffin is about 13 and smoking pot in his room. Tatum’s closet is filled with designer clothes more appropriate for an adult. They are also sprayed with an expensive perfume.
Allegra Huston writes with an unerring eye. How she lived through Hollywood in the 70s as an abandoned teen is the real story here. Her mother, Ricki Soma Huston, died when she was 4. Allegra, much younger than Anjelica, was raised to think famed and much older director John Huston was her father. She’s raised by nannies, distant relatives, and Huston’s fifth wife’s parents. Oliver Twist had it easier, frankly.
There are plenty of good Hollywood tidbits in “Love Child,” but none as biting as the ones about O’Neal. Seeing him on the Farrah Fawcett cancer special a couple of weeks ago, it’s hard to imagine this is the same person. But then again: in 2007, O’Neal was arrested for assaulting son Griffin. In 2008, he was arrested for alleged possession of narcotics along with son Redmond. This past January, O’Neal pleaded guilty to a felony drug charge. He avoided jail by going into an 18 month drug program.
Sounds like Allegra and Anjelica were lucky to get away from Ryan O’Neal when they had the chance. Anyway, “Love Child” is the Hollywood summer read. Don’t miss it.
Here’s a little more info on Whitney Houston’s still untitled new comeback album.
I told you eariler this week that Whitney’s album was done, and would be released by the Grammy deadline cut off of August 31, 2009.
Well, yesterday Arista Records confirmed it. There’s one weird hitch: the album will go on September 1st, one day after the deadline. I know, it doesn’t make any sense. Maybe it’s a shipping thing, and the Grammys will allow a 24 hour grace period.
More importantly, here’s some news: Alicia Keys wrote and produced a track on the album for Whitney. Houston has been “working” Alicia for a couple of years, and it finally happened. The track is also produced by Alicia’s reported current love interest, the producer Swizz Beatz. (His real name is Kasseem Dean, by the way.)
There are tracks on Whitney’s album from Diane Warren, Stargate, and other top producers of the day. But the first single is set to be a David Foster production.
And yes, the track that was leaked last year with Akon, “Like I Never Left,” will be included in its finished form.
I am told, also, that the album is a combination of big, sweeping ballads and 80s dance music like Houston’s trademark hit, “How Will I Know” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”
So it looks like we will have new albums from Whitney and Mariah at the same time after all. It’s a flashback battle of the divas, circa 1994. Bring it on!
Good news: when Michael Fleisher was made vice chairman of Warner Music Group last November, part of the deal was a gift to him of 450,00 shares of restricted stock in the company. At the time, WMG stock was at $2.77.
Interesting footnote, just FYI: according to ‘this SEC 8-K filing from WMG, Fleisher got the job in September when the stock was around $8.50. But the deal wasn’t done until November, when the price had fallen around five bucks. That’s when Fleisher locked in his purchase price for future stock buys at $2.77.
During the ensuing months, of course, the stock had plummeted, eventually hitting a low of around $1.50. Who could have guessed that it would drop so between the time Fleisher signed his deal and the day he locked in his price? And that the price would then skyrocket again?
But in the last few months, WMG has been mysteriously and inexplicably on the rise (although this Billboard analysis has its theories). On Tuesday the stock price hit $7.47. And what did Fleisher do? He sold, of course. He made $2,964,000 on the sale of 400,000 shares. And he still has another 400,000 options to buy at $2.77.
That’s quite a reward for an executive at a company that’s failed to do anything remotely successful and whose CEO’Edgar Bronfman, Jr.‘ just announced he was moving to London, far away from the daily decision making that’s so far marked his reign of incompetence at WMG.
Cool.
The big question now is, who sells next? Bronfman or vice chairman’Lyor Cohen? They each plunked down huge amounts in the millions to buy shares when the price was $5.29 back on March 15, 2008. If they sell now, they’ll make $2 per share. But perhaps they’ll wait and gamble that the stock will rise some more for no reason.
WMG currently has two albums bearing its name on Billboard’s Top 25 albums, and two others’by Nickelback’that are part of a now-ended distribution deal.
Prince was on the prowl again last night, making an unscheduled appearance at the Apollo Theater’s 75th anniversary celebration to toast Patti LaBelle.
did magic tricks, and was far funnier than when the cameras were on.
Here’s a little more info on Whitney Houston’s still untitled new 
Good news: when Michael Fleisher was made vice chairman of Warner Music Group last November,