April Winchell, Radio Personality
* The radio show host is heard Saturdays, 7-10 p.m., on KFI-AM (640) and is also the voice of many Disney Channel cartoon characters, including Cruella De Vil.
Attention, Celebrity Shoppers: One of the greatest joys of living in Los Angeles is the occasional star sighting. For my money, the best place for this is Gelson’s in Century City. There’s something fascinating about watching celebrities stocking up on the same stuff mortals use. Whenever I see a celeb pushing a cart, I trail them discreetly, hoping to get an inventory of their purchases. I’ve seen Anne Robinson buying grapes, Jodie Foster buying milk, and the late Juliet Prowse buying four half-gallon jugs of generic vodka and a head of lettuce. But my greatest moment came when I saw John Lithgow with an eight-pack of Charmin. I had to breathe into a bag of oranges just to keep from passing out.
Stars, Take 2: My husband contends that Sports Club L.A. on Sepulveda is where the stars really shine. The bonus there is that not only do you see them working out, you can see them naked, if your timing is right. Many a night he has come home to tell me he’s seen such luminaries as Pat Boone and Montel Williams padding around the locker room in the altogether.
Of course, nothing compares to the time I saw Monica Lewinsky purse shopping at Barneys while Shannen Doherty tried on jeans just a few feet away. But that’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Like Kohoutek.
Pay-Per-View Challenge: Every Friday, DirecTV adds a few more movies to their pay-per-view lineup. My husband and I eagerly scan the listings for the most god-awful films they have to offer. The challenge is to see how much we can take, and who will wimp out first. “Wimping out” is defined as dozing off, picking up a magazine or leaving the room entirely. I’m sorry to say I have a much lower threshold than he does, and have bailed on such dogs as “The Wedding Planner,” “Stigmata,” “The General’s Daughter” and “Six Days, Seven Nights.” There is only one rule: no Kate Hudson movies. That would give him an unfair advantage, as I immediately fall asleep whenever she appears on screen.
Gourmet Courier: Only one thing can make a great weekend perfect, and that’s never having to leave your house. Trust me on this. I’ve been outside, and it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Fortunately, there’s Gourmet Courier. It’s perfect for people like me, who would rather gouge their own eyes out than go to a restaurant on Saturday night. Gourmet Courier goes to some of the best restaurants in Los Angeles. They give you the full menus of more than 20 places, and if you don’t like any of those, you can send them wherever you like. The food is delivered by courteous, friendly drivers within the hour. That means I can sit around in dirty pajamas, eating crab cakes from Kate Mantilini, while the dogs snore on the couch and my husband dares me to watch “Corky Romano.” By me, that’s heaven.