Clipmarks | wiccantexan's 'celebrity' clips

Manson follower Susan Atkins being considered for release

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 00:10:26 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Authorities say Susan Atkins, a Charles Manson follower convicted in the 1969 murder of actress Sharon Tate, could soon be released from prison because she is near death.

State corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton says the now 59-year-old Atkins is terminally ill and is being considered for so-called "compassionate release."

Thornton says the corrections department is reviewing the request, which would then be passed to a state sentencing court.

Thornton did not say what sort of illness Atkins has.

Atkins helped stab Tate, the pregnant wife of filmmaker Roman Polanski, 16 times during a 1969 rampage that saw six others murdered.

Tags: charles manson, murder, prison, death, celebrity

Jodie Foster and partner split

Thu, 15 May 2008 05:05:08 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.woai.com

Actress Jodie Foster has split with her longterm partner Cydney Bernard, according to tabloid reports.

The news comes just five months after the intensely private star paid tribute to her alleged partner of 14 years at an award ceremony.

An insider tells the National Enquirer, "Jodie breaking up with Cydney is shocking. Right now it's the best kept secret in Hollywood, and it's not just because Jodie is legend and an intensely private person, either."

"She and Cydney have been together for so many years and have two children together, the potential fallout and legal wrangling from this split could be monumental."

Tags: hollywood, celebrity, gay, actor

Newlywed Gary Coleman off to ‘Divorce Court’

Thu, 01 May 2008 05:11:26 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

The honeymoon is over for Gary Coleman and his new bride.

The 40-year-old actor and his 22-year-old wife, Shannon Price, are set to appear on TV’s “Divorce Court” on May 1 and 2. The couple wed in August after meeting on the set of the 2006 comedy “Church Ball.”

“If he doesn’t get his way, he throws a temper tantrum like a five-year-old does,” Price says, according to a transcript of the show obtained by The Associated Press. “He like stomps the floor and yells, ‘Meehhhh,’ and starts throwing stuff around. He bashes his head in the wall, too.”

Tags: celebrity, hollywood, marriage, divorce

Scientology Is 'Brainwashing'

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:03:58 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

Jason Beghe is the bravest actor in Hollywood. He’s come clean about his 14 years in Scientology, the religion that Tom Cruise reveres. He says the purpose of Scientology is to create a "brainwashed, robotic version of you."

He also says that he spent about $1 million to work his way up the Scientology ladder to become what’s known as an "OT5 auditor," or someone who listens to new members and teaches them the ropes.

He was so successful as a celebrity auditor, he says, that David Miscavige, the head of the sect, referred to him as "the poster boy for Scientology."

But now that Beghe and his wife have left the sect, the actor has concerns. They can be, he says, a vicious and vindictive group. When he asked for money back that he had banked for future study — some $60,000 to $70,000 — it was returned and he was banished.

"Once you ask for refund and repayment, that’s what it’s called, you’re not allowed to take another course or speak to another Scientologist ever again," Beghe says.

Tags: religion, faith, scientology, celebrity, brainwashing, sect

Scientology's Anonymous Critics: Who Are They?

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 04:54:19 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: abcnews.go.com

The controversial group has been labeled secretive, inspirational, dangerous and misunderstood.

The Church of Scientology?

No, it's a mysterious group of masked men and computer hackers called Anonymous who say are committed to dismantling the powerful religious organization renowned for its celebrity members such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

Over the past few months, Anonymous has picketed and protested at Scientology centers around the world from Australia and Atlanta to Brussels and Boston. They've also hacked into the church's Web site, posted numerous videos on YouTube criticizing the church and have been accused of harassing church officials.

Now the church is fighting back with its own public relations onslaught, releasing a recent video titled "Anonymous Exposed,"

"Anonymous contains all kinds of individuals, academics, college students, members of law enforcement, media professionals and blue collar workers,"

We have no leaders and adhere to the true definition of a collective."

Tags: religion, scientology, critics, church

Obama in Senate: Star Power, Minor Role

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 23:22:32 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Senator Barack Obama stood before Washington’s elite at the spring dinner of the storied Gridiron Club. In self-parody, he ticked off his accomplishments, little more than a year after arriving in town.

“I’ve been very blessed,” Mr. Obama told the crowd assembled in March 2006. “Keynote speaker at the Democratic convention. The cover of Newsweek. My book made the best-seller list. I just won a Grammy for reading it on tape.

“Really, what else is there to do?” he said, his smile now broad. “Well, I guess I could pass a law or something.”

They were the two competing elements in Mr. Obama’s time in the Senate: his megawatt celebrity and the realities of the job he was elected to do.

“I think it’s very possible to have a Senate career here that is not particularly useful,” he said in an interview, reflecting on his first year.

“It’s sort of logic turned on its head, but it really is true,” said Tom Daschle

Tags: obama, politics, law, government

Beatles' Guru Yogi Dies At 91

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 01:40:37 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a guru to the Beatles who introduced the West to transcendental meditation, has died at his home in the Dutch town of Vlodrop, a spokesman said Tuesday. He was thought to be 91 years old.

Once dismissed as hippie mysticism, the Hindu practice of mind control that Maharishi taught, called transcendental meditation, gradually gained medical respectability.

He began teaching TM in 1955 and brought the technique to the United States in 1959. But the movement really took off after the Beatles visited his ashram in India in 1968, although he had a famous falling out with the rock stars when he discovered them using drugs at his Himalayan retreat.

With the help of celebrity endorsements, Maharishi - a Hindi-language title for Great Seer - parlayed his interpretations of ancient scripture into a multi-million-dollar global empire.

Tags: yogi, religion, meditation, music, beatles, hindu

Paparazzi admit pursuit of Britney has gone too far

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 05:31:12 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

The rapid downward spiral of Britney Spears' life marks perhaps the lowest watermark in our tabloid culture – an entire industry feeding off the misery of a former teenage idol turned very public basket-case.

Much of this has gone unquestioned, outside of some high-minded media discussion forums at the Los Angeles Times.

Now, though, even some of the photographers who make their living chronicling every step of her meltdown are beginning to examine their consciences, and their professional ethics. One British photographer based in Los Angeles, Nick Stern, became perhaps the first to make a public stand when he quit his job with the Splash news agency a few days ago because he could not bring himself to cover Britney another day longer.

"The Britney story is no longer about Britney," he said. "It's the media circus surrounding her... It's not journalism. Sooner or later, someone's going to get killed. Possibly Britney herself."

Tags: paparazzi, journalism, britney spears, tabloid, celebrity, hollywood, media, culture, music

Suzanne Pleshette dies at 70

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 16:04:43 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Suzanne Pleshette, the husky-voiced star best known for her role as Bob Newhart's sardonic wife on television's long-running "The Bob Newhart Show," has died at age 70.

Pleshette, whose career included roles in such films as Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" and in Broadway plays including "The Miracle Worker," died of respiratory failure Saturday evening at her Los Angeles home, said her attorney Robert Finkelstein, also a family friend.

Pleshette underwent chemotherapy for lung cancer in 2006.

"The Bob Newhart Show," a hit throughout its six-year run, starred comedian Newhart as a Chicago psychiatrist surrounded by eccentric patients and neighbors. Pleshette provided the voice of reason.

In a 1999 interview, Pleshette observed that being an actress was more important than being a star.

"I'm an actress, and that's why I'm still here," she said. "Anybody who has the illusion that you can have a career as long as I have and be a star is kidding themselves."

Tags: actress, celebrity, tv, television, death

Associated Press working on Britney obit

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 18:09:49 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

Usmagazine.com is reporting that The Associated Press has begun preparing Britney Spears’ obituary.

“We are not wishing it, but if Britney passed away, it’s easily one of the biggest stories in a long time,” AP entertainment editor Jesse Washington tells the magazine.

“I think one would agree that Britney seems at risk right now,” Washington says. “Of course, we would never wish any type of misfortune on anybody and hope that we would never have to use it until 50 years from now ... but if something were to happen, we would have to be prepared.”

It’s not uncommon for news organizations to have obituaries prepared for celebrities and other high-profile individuals, but they are generally much older than the 26-year-old Spears.

Tags: britney spears, media, obituary, death, celebrity

Sleeping With the Enemy: Britney’s “Stockholm Syndrome"

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 23:30:20 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: abcnews.go.com

It's a well-documented phenomena that abducted hostages sometimes grow emotionally attached to their captors, despite the danger of the situation.

The condition is called Stockholm syndrome, and it was most famously used to explain the transformation of heiress Patty Hearst, who was kidnapped by a guerrilla warfare group and later took part in a bank robbery with the gang in 1974.

Now some believe that Britney Spears may be experiencing a mild version of the disorder in her relationship with British paparazzo Adnan Ghalib.

"When you see her seeming like she's friends with the paparazzi, she's got, like Stockholm syndrome," actress Patricia Arquette told Contactmusic.com. "I mean she's becoming friends with her captors. She's being torn apart by this business."

Tags: mental, britney spears, psychology, celebrity

Label drops Taylor Hicks

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 03:39:35 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.woai.com

Taylor Hicks has become the second former American Idol winner to be dropped by record label J Records in the space of three weeks.

Hicks won the 2006 series of the TV talent contest and went on to release his self-titled debut studio album on J Records.

But the company has now decided to let Hicks go - just weeks after American Idol's second season winner Ruben Studdard was also dropped.

A label spokesperson tells Entertainment Weekly, "Taylor is going to record his next album on his own. He is no longer on the J Records roster."

Tags: american idol, music, tv, television, celebrity

Singer/songwriter Dan Fogelberg dies

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 04:00:35 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

Dan Fogelberg, the singer and songwriter whose hits “Leader of the Band” and “Same Old Lang Syne” helped define the soft-rock era, died Sunday at his home in Maine after battling prostate cancer. He was 56.

“Dan left us this morning at 6:00 a.m. He fought a brave battle with cancer and died peacefully at home in Maine with his wife Jean at his side,” it read. “His strength, dignity and grace in the face of the daunting challenges of this disease were an inspiration to all who knew him.”

Fogelberg’s heydey was in the 1970s and early 80s, when he scored several platinum and multiplatinum records fueled by such hits as “The Power of Gold” and “Leader of the Band,” a touching tribute he wrote to his father, a bandleader. Fogelberg put out his first album in 1972.

Fogelberg’s music was powerful in its simplicity. He didn’t rely on the volume of his voice to convey his emotions; instead, they came through in the soft, tender delivery and his poignant lyrics.

Tags: music, songs, death, celebrity, rock, cancer

"Make It Right" in New Orleans

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 18:52:43 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: abcnews.go.com

Brad Pitt's passion for architecture and compassion for the people of New Orleans has inspired the "Make It Right" initiative, a new effort to rebuild the Big Easy.

Brad Pitt: These are people who did everything right, according to the American dream. They got jobs and they saved their money. They bought homes. They raised their kids in these communities. And it's all been wiped out, wiped out, and they are in this state of limbo and it is dismal.

And we're asking people to join in with us on this "Adopt a House" campaign.

For every $150,000 that comes in, I guarantee a family will be returning to their home, and not just any affordable home, but a home that's intelligent, that respects your hard-earned money, that respects your health and respects the health of the environment.

To find out how you can help with "Make It Right," click HERE.

Tags: new orleans, housing, american, family, celebrity, initiative

Robin Roberts' Holiday Message to Viewers

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 02:12:27 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: abcnews.go.com

Diane, Chris, Sam and I just finshed taping our Christmas show and I am heading off to my sixth chemotherapy treatment. After this one I will only have two left to go!

You have been there with me and for me every step of the way. I am humbled by your concern and compassion.

I wanted to let you know that I have decided to take off the remainder of this year to allow my body time to heal and rest. I'm doing well and looking forward to spending this time with my family and loved ones.

Thank you again for your cards, letters, gifts and prayers. I also appreciate your many e-mails. Your warm, thoughtful words have brought me much comfort. Especially what many of you said after I shaved my hair. Y'all sure know how to make a bald girl feel good!

I look forward to doing what I can to start your day with a smile in 2008.

Blessings,
Robin

Tags: tv, television, cancer, celebrity, holiday