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Charlie Sheen Also at Plaza Hotel Last Night: Drunk, Naked with Police Call

Roger Friedman
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Charlie Sheen Also at Plaza Hotel Last Night: Drunk, Naked with Police Call

Charlie Sheen was also in the Plaza Hotel last night.

According to reports, the police were called at 2 am because Sheen was drunk, naked and causing trouble.

He was there with his ex-wife, Denise Richards, and their two kids. They’d seen “Mary Poppins” earlier in the evening. Richards is in town to promote a show she’s working on. Why Sheen was with them remains a mystery.

‘Reports say police came because Sheen was trashing his room, throwing furniture around. A chandelier was damaged. Was he swinging from it? No one knows.

This would be more the realm of a rock star than a TV star. If Sheen had been lonely, he could have gone downstairs to the “For Colored Girls” party in the Oak Room. I doubt the “Driving Miss Daisy” crowd would have been so welcoming.

Sheen and Richards, of course, had a terrible, nasty public divorce. That was before his terrible, public nasty separation from Brooke Mueller, which sent him to jail and rehab, and her to rehab, all of them into the tabloids. Sheen got a 30 day suspended sentence and avoided jail, too.

What’s with this guy? He just recently walked his 25 year old daughter down the aisle at her wedding. He has five kids altogether (two each with Richards and Mueller), and has never had a day of peace in public during his entire career. It’s not like he comes from a broken family. His parents, Martin and his wife Janet. will be married 50 years next year.

The Plaza has a history of famous people having meltdowns. Daniel Baldwin, anyone?

James Earl Jones, Vanessa Redgrave, Janet Jackson and The Governor: The Plaza Hotel Bursts with Premieres

Roger Friedman
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James Earl Jones, Vanessa Redgrave, Janet Jackson and The Governor: The Plaza Hotel Bursts with Premieres

The Plaza Hotel–isn’t it the province of sweet little Eloise?

Not last night. Not one but two premieres swallowed up the Plaza on Monday.

UPDATE: and apparently, Charlie Sheen, drunk and naked, according to reports, upstairs in a room. Police were called to the Plaza at 2am.

In the Grand Ballroom: everyone from the opening night on Broadway of the revival of Alfred Uhry’s “Driving Miss Daisy” including its two majestic stars, James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave.

Downstairs in the Oak Bar: the movie premiere of Tyler Perry’s “For Colored Girls” with Perry and Janet Jackson, who made brief appearances, and stars like Phylicia Rashad and Kerry Washington. Also on the scene: Hill Harper, the “CSI” actor, and singer Ledisi, as well as Simone, daughter of legendary singer Nina Simone, Valerie Simpson and Nik Ashford, Montego Glover, John Singleton, and Macy Gray.

It was quite a night in that staid old building. Also on hand: New York Governor David Paterson, playful as ever, joking, having a ball, doing his best Fred Armisen imitation. “Did you see the movie?” I asked. He replied, with a guffaw: “I didn’t see anything!” Cark Palladino? “He’s crazy!” What’s he planning to do after he leaves the Governor’s mansion? “We’re trying to figure that out. I’ve got to keep paying the bills!”

Over at the Golden Theater on West 45th Street, earlier, Jones and Redgrave (and Boyd Gaines, excellent as always)  had simply knocked out an audience that included Hugh Jackman, looking suave in a tuxedo, and Ralph Fiennes, in baggy jeans and leather jacket (not together).Broadway vets Joel Grey and Tovah Feldshuh, plus Glenn Close, Isabella Rossellini, Tony Roberts, Penny Fuller, Steve Guttenberg, as well as Liz Smith and Cindy Adams, were also among those who gave the acting legends a standing ovation.

“Driving Miss Daisy” is a slight play that was originally presented off Broadway. It won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1988, and the movie was Best Picture in 1989. Now with these acting titans in it, the first Broadway production ever is a must see.

Still, James Earl Jones told me: “Morgan Freeman was always Hoke for me.” He is a self-effacing, shy man who is almost 80 years old. But JEJ is a giant. He is wonderful was Hoke, Daisy’s driver and friend.

Redgrave didn’t stay at the Plaza party. But she was joined by her grandsons– the sons of her late daughter Natasha Richardson and Liam Neeson. And by the great writer Joan Didion, among others.

King’s Speech–Oscar Buzzed Film–Set for Broadway Next Year

Roger Friedman
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King’s Speech–Oscar Buzzed Film–Set for Broadway Next Year

EXCLUSIVE:

It hasn’t even been released as a movie yet. But “The King’s Speech”–tipped as a definite multiple Oscar nominee–may be heading to Broadway next year.

Producer Michael Alden has put it up on his website as “a play by David Seidler,” the screenwriter of the Tom Hooper directed film.

Alden has already hired director Adrian Noble, the former head of the Royal Shakespeare Company, to bring the film to Broadway. Sources say that the movie’s stars —Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, and Geoffrey Rush— are not expected to reprise their roles.

This story makes some sense. “The King’s Speech” could easily be translated to the stage. It’s that good. As a movie, it functions wonderfully. But after a play is staged, don’t be surprised if someone tries a musical. The material is that flexible and adaptable.

So far only Alden’s company seems to be involved with the straight dramatic version of “The King’s Speech.” But don’t be surprised if Harvey Weinstein gets into it. After all, he’s the one who made the movie and is nurturing it to its November 24th release and ultimate awards-strewn future.

Keith Richards on John Phillips: “I’ve Never Seen a Guy Become a Junkie That Quick”

Roger Friedman
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Keith Richards on John Phillips: “I’ve Never Seen a Guy Become a Junkie That Quick”

The sad story of Mamas and Papas songwriter/creator John Phillips never ends.

Phillips died a broken man, completely crippled by drugs. His eldest daugher, MacKenzie, also a drug addict, accused him last year of molesting her.

Both Phillips and his ex wife, Michelle, wrote books about their brief time together in the mid to late 1960s as pop’s golden couple.

Now Keith Richards explains in his memoir how Phillips got hooked on drugs. It was Richards’ fault, and he takes responsibility for it.

The year was 1976. Phillips, his wife Genevieve Waite, and their son Tamerlane were living in London. Rolling Stones Records had already been enlisted for Phillips’ comeback record. (It was released in 2001, after Phillips died, and it was atrocious.)

“Phillips was amazing,” Keith writes. “I’ve never known anybody to be so hooked on dope so quick, and I had something to do with it. The night Ronnie [Wood] was leaving the Wick, John had called me up and said, “I’ve got a bottle of this stuff called Merck. And he said, Does anybody have some use for it? I don’t do that stuff.” I said I would drop by on my way out of Ronnie’s…[at Phillips’] I went into the john and shot up…When I came out, John said, What were you doing? I said, John, it’s called smack….So I shot him up, in the muscle.

“I always felt responsible for John because I turned him on to smack. Within a week, he’s got a pharmacy under control, and he’s become a dealer. I’ve never seen a guy become a junkie that quick.”

Keith Richards Thought Bianca Jagger Was a Bimbo When He Met Her

Roger Friedman
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0
Keith Richards Thought Bianca Jagger Was a Bimbo When He Met Her

Keith Richards thought Bianca Jagger was a “bimbo” when he first met her.

He writes of Mick Jagger‘s first wife–one of the great people in the world, I might add– in his new memoir, called “Life”:

“At first I thought Bianca was just some bimbo. She was also quite aloof for a while, which didn’t endear her to anybody around us. But as I got to know her, I discovered that she’s bright and, what really impressed me later on, a strong lady. She became a mouthpiece for Amnesty International and a sort of roving ambassador for her own human rights organization, which is some achievement. Very pretty and everything like that, but a very forceful character. No wonder Mick couldn’t handle it. The only drawback was that she was never one for a joke. I’m still trying to think of something to make her laugh. If she’d had a sense of humor, I’d have married her!”

He says: “I only got to know the qualities of Bianca later on.”

Keith adds in general about Jagger’s romantic life: “Mick never wants me to talk about his women. They end up crying on my shoulder because they’ve found out he has once again philandered. …And they ask me what to do! How the hell do I know? I don’t f— him!”

Paul McCartney and Keith Richards Almost Put Out a Record Together

Roger Friedman
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Paul McCartney and Keith Richards Almost Put Out a Record Together

The Beatles and the Rolling Stones are always considered rivals. But as Keith Richards writes in his new memoir–and has been written about in the past–they scheduled their records not come out at the same time.

This friendly rivalry began in the early 60s when the Stones were hard up for a good single. John Lennon and Paul McCartney gave them a song–“I Wanna Be Your Man”–which the Stones turned into their own record.

In “Life,” Richards writes that in recent years he and McCartney almost worked together. They ran into each other on the beach and struck up a friendship.

“We were really pleased to see each other. We fell straight in, talking about the past, talking about songwriting. We talked about such strangely simple things as the difference between the Beatles and Stones, and that the Beatles were a vocal band because they could all sing the lead vocal, and we were more of a musicians’ band–we had only one front man.

“He told me that because he was left-handed, he and John could play the guitars like mirrors opposite each other, watching each other’s hands. So we started playing like that. We even started composing a song together, a McCartney/Richards numberwhose lyrics were pinned to the wall for many weeks.”

Richards says he begged McCartney to play “Please Please Me” at the Super Bowl, but Paul said it took too many weeks to plan properly. He did do an imitation for Richards of Roy Orbison–one of their mutual heroes– singing the song.

Real Creator of “Rocky and Bullwinkle” Dies At Age 90

Roger Friedman
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Real Creator of “Rocky and Bullwinkle” Dies At Age 90

The real creator of the mouse and squirrel characters–Rocky and Bullwinkle--has died at age 90.

All this time I thought Jay Ward created the characters, but it was his original partner, Alex Anderson, who came up with the gang including Boris and Natasha. Ross sued the Ward estate and won in 1996. He is now officially known as the characters’ creators.

Ward also had a similar problem with his characters Sherman and Mr. Peabody. They had the “Waaaaay Back Machine,” remember?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65t-OzhlmvE

For 35 years the Wards ran a popular store on Sunset Boulevard across from the Chateau Marmont that sold all kinds of merchandise from their animated characters like Rocky, Bullwinkle, and even Curious George and Crusader Rabbit. I still have Sherman and Mr. Peabody bobblehead dolls left over from that era.

From the various stories on the web it seems that Anderson and Ward started out in San Francisco. But when the cartoon hit big, Anderson didn’t want to move to Hollywood. Ward left him behind, and eventually his name faded from the credits. Ward died in 1989. The store closed in 2004. There’s still a giant Bullwinkle statue on the site, staring into Lindsay Lohan‘s old Chateau room.

Well, god bless Anderson and Ward. “Rocky and Bullwinkle” was the kind of subversive comedy that’s not made much anymore. I guess you could say “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy” are influenced by it, but those early guys really took chances.

JLo Has Billion Dollar Backer for Do-Little Charity

Roger Friedman
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0
JLo Has Billion Dollar Backer for Do-Little Charity

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony‘s twins Max and Emme are going to work! They’re modeling for Gucci.

Gucci is so thrilled that they say they’re donating $50,000 to Lopez’s Maribel Foundation in lieu of a straight payment to the kids. They also say they’re giving $1 million to a UNICEF program for schools in Africa.

That $50,000 may not go so far. In 2008, according to its tax filing, Maribel paid a staggering and unbelievable $90,000 alone to a charity consultant called Legacy Strategies of Los Angeles. The charity only had approximately $350,000 in its bank account.

Of that total, JLo had put only $104,500 into the account– just enough to cover the Legacy bill. The rest of Maribel’s balance — $250,000– came from philanthropist Raymond Dalio. Dalio– who is married to a descendant of the Vanderbilt-Whitney family--runs Bridgewater, an $80 billion hedge fund, out of Greenwich, Connecticut.

Dalio likes celebrities and their causes: he donated $1.23 milliion to quirky film director David Lynch‘s Transcendental Meditation group through his own Raymond Dalio Foundation. He’s a heavy hitting philanthropist who gave away $12.3 million in 2008 including three million dollar bequests.

What’s Dalio’s connection to JLO? He and JLO’s sister, Lynda Lopez, an officer of the Maribel Foundation, are each graduates of Long Island University. Dalio did get his MBA at Harvard, however.

As for Gucci: In 2007, the Gucci Foundation was created so it could receive money donated to Madonna’s all star event for the Kabbalah Center for their Malawi charity. They split the funds between the Madonna cause and UNICEF.

Last year the Gucci Foundation gave UNICEF an underwhelming $11,498. So getting the Lopez-Anthony twins must have really inspired them.

But what exactly Maribel is in business for remains a mystery. On its website, Maribel lists goals of “opening telemedicine centers” and “raising healthy children.” In addition to the Legacy free, last year Maribel also spent $36,820 on legal fees, and $21,000 more on its website and a fundraising video.

So who knows what Gucci’s $50K is going for?

So far Maribel hasn’t listed any accomplishments beyond paying a lot of big fees. Of course, now that JLo is getting $12 million from “American Idol,” she’ll have lots of money to donate to her own charity.

Bloody Andrew Jackson, Broadway Rock Star; Hair Star on TV

Roger Friedman
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1
Bloody Andrew Jackson, Broadway Rock Star; Hair Star on TV

The big sensation on Broadway right now? Benjamin Walker, star of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.” Imagine if you Green Day explaining post war of 1812 politics to their fans. That is this very unique punk rock musical. Walker brings his Andrew Jackson from off Broadway along with a talented cast who bring to life–for better or worse–such heralded folk heroes as Presidents Monroe and Madison, Martin van Buren, and John C. Calhoun.

Jackson, you know, was a hero to some and a villain to others–like the Indians, now known as Native Americans, whom he killed viciously and by the thousands. It’s all in the show, warts and all.

John Quincy Adams, the George W. Bush of his day, stole Jackson’s first election–Jackson got the popular vote, Adams the electoral–so the play is topical and timely. Walker has all the makings of star quality. You can see why he was the first choice for “X Men: First Class.” But sticking with this show will do more for him than an “X Men” movie. We’ll see him in films soon enough…PS “Glee” should do an “Andrew Jackson” cross over. It’s perfect for them…

HAIR RAISING REALITY

About a year ago I met Amoy Pitters by accident. She was checking out space for her new beauty salon on the Upper East Side. Now, of course, she has her own reality show on Oxygen and it’s a hit. “House of Glam” runs on Tuesday nights. Amoy’s clientele includes, most recently, Alexa Ray Joel. (She liked Amoy so much she promised to send mom Christie Brinkley in, as well.) But she’s also got everyone from Alicia Keys to Naomi Campbell to Kelly Rutherford of “Gossip Girl.” Amoy and her team — called the B Lynn Group–B. Lynn Group—  Brandi, Crystal, Atiba, Groovey, Mike, Michiko, and Shaun; travel the red carpet circuit making everyone look better. I wish I had enough hair to require their help. But they’re a hit in the increasingly eclectic world of entrepreneurs turned TV stars…

Keith Richards on How He Snorted His Dad’s Ashes: “It Was Gritty”

Roger Friedman
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0
Keith Richards on How He Snorted His Dad’s Ashes: “It Was Gritty”

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6982145n

“I couldn’t let the man go to waste…I didn’t eat him!…It was gritty.”

It’s going to be a long, long week.

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