Celebrity News Reborn
As the curtain fell on 2001, celebrity news was churning with a pre-Sept. 11 ferocity. Winona Ryder was arrested on suspicion of shoplifting from Saks Fifth Avenue. Mystery shrouded the location of George Harrison’s death. A few months ago, these reports might have seemed in poor taste. After all, even Liz Smith declared gossip dead. But human nature abhors a vacuum ... of celebrity news.
And so, as the lights come up on 2002, we review some of the more talked-about stories of last year:
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman divorced after 10 years of marriage. But that was just one of many court cases in which the power couple starred.
Kidman received some unwelcome attention from aspiring actor Matthew E. Hooker. In May, she got a three-year restraining order against Hooker when a Santa Monica judge found “clear and convincing evidence” that Hooker harassed and “seriously annoyed” the actress. Hooker claimed he was only trying to woo the actress, offering to take her out for ice cream and inviting her to the ballet.
Cruise filed a couple of defamation lawsuits--including one against a magazine publisher who claimed to have a compromising videotape of the actor. (That suit was dropped after the publisher backpedaled.)
But the year also featured some bright moments for the two stars. Cruise took up with Penelope Cruz (Us Weekly reported this week that wedding bells are nigh), and Kidman told David Letterman after the break: “Well, I can wear heels now.”
Other high-profile splits included Julia Roberts and Benjamin Bratt, Jennifer Lopez and Sean “P. Diddy” “Puff Daddy” Combs.
In April, Lynn Redgrave battled ex-husband John Clark in Los Angeles Superior Court over the couple’s property. The couple’s 32-year marriage collapsed over Thanksgiving dinner in 1998 when Clark revealed to Redgrave that he was the biological father of a family friend’s child.
But divorce was not the only item on the court calendar.
In January, David Warren “Skippy” Malloy was ordered to stay at least 100 yards away from David Spade by a Superior Court judge in Beverly Hills after he attacked the petite actor with a stun gun.
After legal woes involving her children, Paula Poundstone completed court-ordered alcohol rehab and began her comeback.
The Hollywood trades had their share of problems, too. Variety Editor in Chief Peter Bart was briefly suspended from his job after an unflattering Los Angeles magazine profile.
At the Hollywood Reporter, editor Anita Busch, deputy Beth Laski and reporter Dave Robb all resigned, they said, to protest the paper’s handling of ethics allegations against its longtime columnist George Christy. (Christy eventually left the paper.)
During the summer, President Bush’s daughters discovered Hollywood. The 19-year-old Jenna Bush, who was in town for an internship at Brillstein-Grey, and her twin sister, Barbara, made their mark on the local celebrity scene with appearances at the sexy club Deep in Hollywood-- Secret Service agents in tow.
At the intersection of Hollywood and politics: Arnold Schwarzenegger reportedly courted the Republican candidacy for governor, but dropped out some time after Premiere magazine published an unflattering profile. (Oh, those unflattering profiles!)
In November, as Richard Riordan announced his candidacy for the office, Schwarzenegger offered his support.
Not everyone was breaking up or getting sued. Some folks got married:
Sonny Bono’s widow Rep. Mary Bono (R-Palm Springs) married Wyoming businessman Glenn Baxley in Palm Springs.... Pierce Brosnan and Keely Shaye Smith wed.... Jennifer Lopez and Cris Judd tied the knot in September.... Edward Burns and Christy Turlington set a November wedding date, then postponed it.... TLC’s Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes and former Atlanta Falcon wide receiver Andre Rison reignited their flame and got engaged this year.
And the best quote of the year? It comes from the guest of honor at a private gathering last summer in Hancock Park:
“Hi, my name is Al Gore, and I used to be the next president of the United States.”