Hollywood Everafter

Lisa Marie Presley: Michael Jackson Feared Elvis-like Death

Those close to Michael Jackson are searching their memory banks for clues to explain the tragic loss.

Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis, remembered a warning sign from years past that she had received, which in light of emerging information surrounding Jackson’s death is unsettling.

Lisa Marie, in a post on her MySpace page, revealed a conversation she had with Michael when she was married to him. She remembered how, during the discussion, the talk turned to the manner in which her father had died.

“I am afraid that I am going to end up like him, the way he did,” Michael confessed. The pop singer was alluding to the tragic death by overdose that Elvis suffered.

Lisa Marie blogged that she had immediately “tried to deter him from the idea at which point he just shrugged his shoulders and nodded almost matter of fact as if to let me know, he knew what he knew and that was kind of that.”

According to Presley, she grew tired from “her quest to save him from certain self-destructive behavior.”

She added, “His family and his loved ones also wanted to save him from this as well but didn’t know how and this was 14 years ago. We all worried that this would be the outcome then.”

June 28, 2009 Posted by jimjams | Celebrities, Hollywood, Legal | , , | No Comments Yet

Farrah Fawcett, Angel in Waiting

Farrah Fawcett, Angel in Waiting

By: James Hirsen

It’s not a typical celebrity passing.

In American pop culture terms, Farrah Fawcett was an icon.

She burst onto the Hollywood scene with her sparkling smile, sweet nature and blonde windblown tresses that set hairstyle trends for a decade.

Farrah’s image adorned magazine covers galore, but more importantly her poster was tacked onto teen lockers, shop halls and office walls.

All-American places. All-American dream girl.

She was cheerleader, prom queen, sorority sweetheart and pageant winner all rolled into one. And she graced her way right on up to full-fledged movie star.

Farrah’s career, from “Charley’s Angels” to the reality genre, was a shining example of an actress who lithely coped with a changing media landscape.

Amazingly, the role that defined her fame, that of glamorous detective Jill Monroe who took assignments from the mysterious Charley, only lasted a year.

The TV show was such a hit Farrah became part of that unusual celebrity club of those stars known by their first names only. If you said Farrah, folks knew exactly who you were talking about.

Like Betty Grable in an earlier era, Farrah became the pin-up girl of her generation. The photo of Farrah in a red bathing suit quickly became the biggest selling poster of all time with an unprecedented 12 million copies sold.

Farrah proved she was more than just a pretty face when she took a part in an Off-Broadway play called “Extremities,” and she received critical acclaim. She then tackled a difficult subject in “The Burning Bed,” a TV-movie about an abused woman. It earned her an Emmy nomination.

She starred in another complex made for TV film, “Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story.” And she garnered a second Emmy nomination for a miniseries “Small Sacrifices.”

More critical praise for her acting came from her portrayal of a wayward wife to Robert Duvall’s character in “The Apostle.”

When she appeared as herself in the 2005 reality show, “Chasing Farrah,” the public had a glimpse of the deep love she and Ryan O’Neil shared. The tender relationship supplied a sort of tonic to the public, which offset the disappointing failure of marriages that is so widespread from Hollywood to D.C.

Looks like the Angel got her wings.

June 26, 2009 Posted by jimjams | Celebrities, Entertainment Business, Hollywood, Showbiz, Television | , , , , | No Comments Yet

Madonna’s 7.3 Million Dollar Baby?

Leave it to the material girl to show folks how to adopt a child from a poor Third World country.

Four-year-old Mercy James, whose Malawian name is Chifundo, is all hers now thanks to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Malawi.

The higher court overturned the lower court ruling that had been a stumbling block in the whole adoption process.

The reason the singer’s attempt to adopt Mercy was stopped, according to the lower court judge, was that Madonna had not complied with rules that mandated that she live in Malawi for 18 months before adopting the child.

In rendering the opinion that let her off the residency hook, Chief Justice Lovemore Munlo said, “Madonna has been judged to be a compassionate, intelligent and articulate person. Her adoption of Mercy James is not a selfish act.”

It could be that the chief justice was alluding to something reported in the U.K. Daily Mirror; that Madonna paid out $7.3 million to fund orphanages and buy shoes, clothes, books and more for the impoverished children.

It’s not the first time Madonna was able to skirt Malawi law. She did it when she adopted little David, too. The interesting thing, though, is that David and Mercy weren’t exactly orphans. They both had family.

At the time of his son’s adoption, David’s dad Yohane expressed regrets and claimed he wasn’t fully informed about the arrangements. Kambewa, the alleged daddy of Mercy has gone on record as being opposed to her adoption as well.

Esme Chombo, the provincial judge of the lower court who had ruled against Madonna, quoted G. K. Chesterton to support the idea of sticking with the rule of law, even in a Third World country.

“Don’t take a fence down until you know why it was put up in the first place,” the jurist said.

Meanwhile Madonna has been seen dating a guy in his twenties. No word yet on whether she plans on adopting him.

June 14, 2009 Posted by jimjams | Uncategorized | , , , | No Comments Yet

Rihanna to Be a Witness for the Prosecution

Chris Brown had a bad week.

Rihanna’s former boyfriend released a YouTube video in which he told fans he wasn’t a “monster.”

But then he found out that the upcoming court drama is probably going to tell a very different story.

Prosecutors are going to subpoena Rihanna, and she’ll reportedly testify at a preliminary hearing in the case against Brown.

According to the police report, she’s going to have to give the ugly details of that supposed brutal night.

Brown has pled not guilty to the alleged Rihanna beating, and he’s hired high-profile lawyer Mark Geragos to defend him.

If things go along as expected, Rihanna will be subject to cross-examination by Geragos.

Most celebrity cases end up with plea bargains, but if Brown’s convicted he could end up spending more than four years in the slammer.

There’s no truth to the rumor that Rihanna’s working on a new book: “How I Lost 180 Pounds of Unwanted Fat-By Dumping Chris Brown.”

James Hirsen – - Hirsen on Hollywood

June 2, 2009 Posted by jimjams | Celebrities, Hollywood, Legal | , , , | No Comments Yet