Happy 100th Birthday to the legendary very talented and very kind Dick Van Dyke who has been bringing joy to the world decade after decade. Several weeks ago he joked “I’m not officially 100 until December. It’d be funny if I didn’t make it – I brag sometimes about how I made it to 100 and the truth is if I had known I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself! And it’s frustrating because I don’t know what I did right! Other than my wife Arlene, I didn’t do anything right! ” The photo of Dick was taken at an afternoon tea recently at his home by our friend actress Kathy Garver. Happy healthy 100th Dick!
Kudos to Powerball winner Edwin Castro who is using his big bucks to help many who lost their homes in the devastating Altadena fires.. Well done sir! George Clooney turns in another great performance in Jay Kelly directed by Josh Baumbach after I’m told Brad Pitt dropped out. I was told George was turned down for Thelma & Louise which put Brad on the map… That’s Hollywood…
Writer/producer Michael Landon Jr. says “Great news to share! Not only has our beloved series When Calls The Heart been renewed by Hallmark Channel for a 14th season (season 13 premieres January 4th), but also we’re thrilled to announce that Lori Loughlin will return to Hope Valley as Abigail Stanton! “Lori Loughlin is a very nice person and I look forward to seeing back on the show.”
Jennifer Lopez is getting ready to dazzle Las Vegas with her highly anticipated residency show. The 56 year old artist has been teasing her upcoming performances, including a New Year’s Eve bash, and fans can’t wait to see her shine onstage. You can catch her performing at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace from December 30th to January 3rd and March 6 to 28th. Jlo was great in the remake of The Kiss of the Spider Woman!
All she wants for Christmas….The lovely and talented Marina Anderson is shopping for a movie or limited cable series deal to film her intriguing book David Carradine: The Eye of My Tornado about her late great ex-husband. When she’s not busy acting (Kung Fu The Legend Continues, Bones, The Mentalist, Dexter) and doing media consulting she is a successful acting coach helping many of her adult and kid students land agency representation… She’s also working on a children’s book.. David Carradine’s good friend and co-star Pierre Dulat from The Donor always sings his praises and just landed a movie to be directed by Maria Belafonte… Congratulations!
The lovely and talented singer Christena Rich recently hosted tributes celebrating the iconic Frank Sinatra for Sirius Radio. Her cd Jimmy’s Place is terrific.
Hollywood mourns the loss of acting dynamo /teacher/artist/ordained minister Sally Kirkland. The Golden Globe winner and Best Actress Nominee for the amazing indie Anna sadly passed away at a Palm Springs hospice with best friend and collaborator Paul Cruz at her bedside along with loving members of MSIA, her church. Paul held the phone up to Sally’s ear so lifelong friend Lainie Kazan could tell her she loved her and say goodbye. Paul tells me that a rerelease of their award winning film Archeology of a Woman is planned. Sally was pleased to finish the bio movie Sallyland last year directed by Xaque Gruber which is now streaming… Back in the 90s I was Sally’s Marilyn Monroe consultant for a movie she did called The Isand.. I introduced Sally to several MM colleagues and friends one night at the home of Marilyn Remembered president Greg Schreiner – In the picture Sally and I are joined by famed Kennedy family hairstylist Mickey Song, MM’s hairdresser and confidante Sylvia Barnhart and MM stand in/photo double and confidante Evelyn Moriarty. Sally’s star power got her booked on Entertainment Tonight with Sylvia and Evelyn to promote the MM movie. After the shoot Sylvia was briefly hospitalized and was very happy when the hospital nurses recognized her from ET! I recall back in the 90s Sally telling me how Sean Penn told her how much he and then wife Madonna enjoyed her performance in Anna. It always made her so happy that people enjoyed her work.
Speaking of the Material Girl – The lovely and talented Madonna always has had a good eye for spotting talent and making hit songs… Between getting ready to launch new music in 2026 the material and very spiritual girl has been very busy with her kids, bf Kareem Morris and filming multiple commercials and promos and of course studying Kabbalah… Her interview with Jay Shetty was very interesting. She recently took in a shopping trip in London at MINISO with twin daughters Estere and Stella. (I wonder what she bought me ha ha.)
Madonna owes her strong work ethic to her 94 year old Dad who says he’s gonna keep going til the wheels fall off. I found a nice photo I took of her bff, the lovely and talented Debi Mazar in my SceneAroundTown vault when she and her family cooked up a storm making pasta for us at The Taste of Beverly Hills years ago…
Debi is a nice lady.
The lovely and talented Kristin Joseff of the famed Joseff of Hollywood jewelry company attended Donelle Dadigan’s popular Christmas Tree Trimming Party held at the beautiful Hollywood Museum in the former Max Factor Building in the heart of Hollywood. Others that attended included Kate Linder, Kat Kolla, Meredith Thomas, Nancy Harding, Erin Murphy, Tina Joseff, Kym Karath, James Kong, Alice Amter, Rico Anderson, Jeremy Miller, Geoffrey Mark, Danny Arroyo, Vanessa Angel, Jean Kasem, Eve Richards, Vincent de Paul, Kathy Garver and Alison Arngrim… The museum’s newest exhibit about Hollywood during World War Two is a must see!
Our lovely and talented friend and funny lady Le Maire is now an Angel…She will be missed by her family, friends and many admirers. Le Maire always had a kind word to say. When she wasn’t performing her upbeat comedy, she was busy taking tap and being a successful hairdresser for the likes of the late great Raquel Welch and many others… Le Maire had great anecdotes about life and her showbiz family… Her mom was a showgirl and her father was Colonel Sanders in many ads… Goodbye Sweet Lady – You will be missed.
Publicist Harlan Boll tells me next month the Dynamic Duo of Stefanie Powers and Patrick Wayne will be performing Love Letters to benefit the William Holden Wildlife Foundation at the El Portal in North Hollywood Sunday January 11 1pm – It’s a great cause to support.
I’m still very slowly recovering from traumatic brain injury… It took about 8 hours to write this and 80 hours of worrying…
Here’s a good one… I recently saw John Waters’ wild very funny and irreverent Christmas show… Driving home my car went haywire so I called AAA for help and was told the engine’s “Serpentine” belt had broken…” To be honest, I’d never hear of a Serpentine belt but only after a John Waters irreverent Christmas show would your Serpentine belt bust… ha ha… Happy healthy holidays everyone… Warmly, HH