ENGAGED
Love is in the House! The medical drama's costars Jennifer Morrison and
Jesse Spencer, both 27, will tie the knot. No date has been set....
Former SNL cast member Chris Kattan, 36, and model Sunshine Tutt, 30,
will wed next year.
MARRIED
Alan Cumming (X2: X-Men United) and illustrator Grant Shaffer, both 41,
exchanged vows on Jan. 7 in London.... Bradley Cooper (Wedding
Crashers), 32, and Jennifer Esposito (Crash), 34, got hitched over the
holidays.
SPLITS
Emilie de Ravin (Lost) and Josh Janowicz (The Chumscrubber), both 25,
have separated after six months of marriage.... Burlesque dancer Dita
Von Teese (née Heather Sweet), 34, filed for divorce from shock rocker
Marilyn Manson (né Brian Warner), 38, on Dec. 29. The two wed in
November 2005.
RECOVERING
Lindsay Lohan, 20, reportedly had an appendectomy on Jan. 4 at an L.A.
area hospital, and was released a day later.
UNVEILED
Apple CEO Steve Jobs presented the iPhone at the Macworld expo in San
Francisco on Jan. 9. Users will be able to check e-mail, take pictures,
and sync iTunes with the gadget, which will be available in June.
SECOND COMING
Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ), 38, will reprise his role as
Jesus on the 20-disc New Testament Audio Bible from Thomas Nelson, Inc.,
which also features Richard Dreyfuss as Moses, Marisa Tomei as Mary
Magdalene, and Luke Perry as Judas.
HONORED
On March 12, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will induct its first rap
act, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, along with R.E.M., Patti
Smith, the Ronettes, and Van Halen.
COURTS
It's baby steps for Britney Spears, 25, and Kevin Federline, 28. The
exes reached a temporary custody arrangement on Jan. 5. Federline can
visit sons Sean Preston, 1, and Jayden James, 4 months, for 12 hours a
week between Jan. 12 and 31.... Carl Raymond Cheney, 27, who allegedly
broke into the Malibu home of Days of Our Lives' Drake Hogestyn, 53, on
Dec. 31, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery and trespassing charges.
The soap star said Cheney accused him of being possessed by Satan and
attempted to perform an exorcism (yes, exorcism) on him.... Tanya
Milner, an Oprah audience member who claims she was injured on the set
during the April 11 taping, sued the program's studio, Harpo
Productions, on Jan. 4. Milner contends she was pushed down a flight of
stairs as the crowd rushed to its seats, and is seeking unspecified
damages.... As if that's not enough, Oprah herself was reportedly the
target of a recent blackmail plot. Court records say Keifer Bonvillain,
36, tried to extort ''a public figure and owner of a Chicago-based
company'' and claimed he had tapes of damaging phone calls. Two Windy
City newspapers named Winfrey as the celeb. Bonvillain and Winfrey did
not return calls for comment.
CANCELED
NBC Universal axed Megan Mullally's talk show Jan. 3 due to poor ratings
in its first season.
DESTROYED
The home of Suzanne Somers (Three's Company), 60, was razed in a Jan. 8 wildfire that swept through a Malibu neighborhood. At press time, the
fire department was investigating the cause of the blaze.
DEATHS
Animator Iwao Takamoto, 81, who designed Scooby-Doo, of heart failure,
Jan. 8, in L.A.... Flying Burrito Brothers co-founder ''Sneaky'' Pete
Kleinow, 72, of complications from Alzheimer's, Jan. 6, in Petaluma,
Calif.... Novelist/screenwriter A.I. Bezzerides (Kiss Me Deadly), 98,
after a brief illness, Jan. 1, in Woodland Hills, Calif.... Character
actor Frank Campanella (Dick Tracy), 87, of complications from Crohn's
disease, Dec. 30, in San Fernando Valley, Calif.... Grand Ole Opry star
Del Reeves, 74, after a long illness, Jan. 1, in Nashville.... Author
Tillie Olsen (Tell Me a Riddle), 94, of natural causes, Jan. 1, in
Oakland.... Vincent Sardi Jr., 91, owner of landmark Broadway restaurant
Sardi's, of complications from a urinary tract infection, Jan. 4, in
Berlin, Vt.
CONTROVERSY
Madonna's adoption of a Malawian baby continues to cause her PR
headaches. Angelina Jolie recently commented on Madge's travails in a
French magazine, saying, ''I would never bring back a child from a
country where adoption is illegal.'' (Jolie later said the article
''included many falsehoods.'') Madonna's rep reiterates that ''a Malawiancourt granted her an 18-month interim adoption,'' while a spokesperson
for Malawi declares that adoption is legal in his country and asks EW,
''Who is Angelina Jolie?'' — Nisha Gopalan
Group Effort of the Week
When Emilio Estevez's Bobby opened in November to mediocre reviews, the
only nomination it seemed destined to receive was Outstanding Use of
Bouffant Wigs. Yet the drama about RFK's assassination — starring, among
others, Sharon Stone, William H. Macy, and Demi Moore — is vying for a
Golden Globe, and on Jan. 4 it earned a SAG nod for its ensemble cast.
Suddenly, Bobby is behaving like an Oscar dark horse. What gives? Well,
actors make up Hollywood's biggest voting bloc, and they like to
recognize their own. Star-on-star voting helped Crash bag Best Picture
in 2006 and, says Bobby distributor Harvey Weinstein, it could work
similar magic this year. ''Actors can get a movie like Bobby in the
forefront,'' he says. ''It has a real shot to be [a Best Picture
nominee].'' You laugh now, but remember: This is the guy who guided the
treacly Chocolat to five nominations in 2000. — Missy Schwartz
Houston, We Have an Auction
Curious fans and collectors alike descended upon Speed of Sound storage
in Irvington, N.J., for the Jan. 9 auction of Whitney Houston's tour
supplies and personal belongings (including keyboards, a dusty church
pew, and designer shoes). The singer's flashy, Dolce & Gabbana-heavy
wardrobe lured hairstylist Alexis Patterson, who was prepared to bid up
to $1,500, while teacher Rosalind Robinson called the event ''exciting''
and said, ''I'm going to pray for [Whitney's] comeback.'' Houston's rep
says some proceeds from the sale will go toward unpaid storage-facility
fees — estimated at $200,000 — and that it's ''not unusual for an artist to
sell off old equipment and costumes no longer needed.'' — Margeaux Watson
