‘WE DUG so deep three months into our marriage . . . we had to dig re ally deep and that’s what we’ll do and what we’re in the process of doing!”
This is the highest-paid female movie actor in the world, Nicole Kidman, submitting to some intense questions from her longtime pal Russell Crowe on last week’s Oprah “Oscar” special. Russell was asking about Nicole’s relationship to her new husband, Keith Urban, who went into rehab shortly after the honeymoon.
Unlike Julia Roberts interviewing George Clooney, Nicole and Russell, who were filmed in Australia, seemed oddly uncomfortable. But I liked the Oprah show; it was different. And only she could have convinced the super famous to sit down for such a format. I hope she’ll show this again sometime to all you celebrity watchers who missed it.
Some people found this special – where Julia talked to George . . . Russell to Nicole . . . and Sidney Poitier to Jamie Foxx – to be trite. But I especially enjoyed Julia and George kidding around with one another. The pregnant Miss Roberts has to be the most natural and appealing of creatures. She looks great. She and Clooney both excoriated their many friends who go in for ultra plastic surgery. Julia finds it disconcerting to meet people who have had “entire head transplants!”
DANNY BONADUCE, the ex-“Par tridge Family” star, did an MSNBC turn the other eve blaming Paris Hilton for all the problems of the world. She was held up – by Danny and others – as the devil behind the misbehavior of Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie and others.
Oh, give me a break. Paris Hilton may be useless as a talent, but she is perfect as the celebrity de jour. I say – party on, girl. But please, don’t have children.
Mr. Bonaduce has been everywhere expounding on celebrity train wrecks. Mostly he is busy talking about his own substance abuse from which he is now “recovered.” He is somewhat humility challenged, however. He says things like: “There have been so many tragedies . . . maybe it started with Judy Garland, and then, maybe there’s me . . . ” Well, you have to laugh.
Danny had one astute line on Paris. “She’s like Typhoid Mary. She carries the infection, but it doesn’t affect her. Everybody she befriends ends up in rehab. Not her!” Of course, Danny does illustrate an excellent point on the culture that now celebrates dysfunction and addiction and then – the cure!
THE COINCIDENTAL synchronicities of life apply even in the world of cov ering celebrity craziness.
Recently, we were treated to the depressing presentation of what was in Anna Nicole Smith’s refrigerator when she died. The fridge contained SlimFast and Trimspa and a large bottle of methadone, a powerful drug often given to treat other addictions.
At the same time, the “princely” husband of Zsa Zsa Gabor entered the scene, saying he was possibly the father of Anna Nicole’s newly born baby. This seemed an out-of-left-field attempt to cash in on the tragedy.
This brought me around to remembering the heyday of the Hungarian Gabors. Zsa Zsa, the most unforgettable of the bunch, had been the star of United Artist’s “Moulin Rouge” back in 1952. She hit the headlines in later days for tangling with an L.A. motorcycle cop. The famous other sister was Eva, who was seen for years on TV as the wife of Eddie Albert in “Green Acres.” (Magda, the third sibling, had to struggle a bit for attention.) The Gabors, who didn’t always get along, were topped off by mama Jolie, who ran a Manhattan jewelry emporium.
So, once upon a time, inquiring reporters who wanted to know, somehow got a look into the Gabors’ refrigerator. And what did they find? Two orchids and a salami. It became a national joke.
My! My! How times have changed.
THE WINGS Women of Discovery Awards happen at Cipriani 23rd Street on Thursday and the entire Thurman family, including the divine Uma will be there, plus Dr. Jane Goodall and many others. It’s already SRO, but you might try to crash . . . DAVID RIVA‘s book party at Rizzoli on 57th Street was a smash. Everybody wanted “A Woman at War: Marlene Dietrich Remembered.” This Champagne and chocolate get- together drew an unusually exotic crowd. I made a little speech. Dietrich’s legend proceeds, unscathed . . . TONIGHT the popular Bay Street Theatre of Sag Harbor celebrates with “Crazy Rhythm: A Night in Manhattan” at the Rainbow Room. “There is no one quite like singer Mary Cleere Haran,” says the director Murphy Davis . . . Al Roker, the Zagats and Zabars are honoring the 60th birthday of TV chef Lidia Bastianich at Chelsea Piers tomorrow night. Top chefs have blown their white toques preparing a tasting menu. This also benefits the Careers Through Culinary Arts Progam. Call (212) 987-47111 . . . ALSO Tuesday, a Mardi Gras lunch benefiting the Historic Harlem Parks Coalition and Central Park at Doubles with Michael Henry Adams the star attraction.
WE’LL CLOSE with a quote from The Zohar: “There is a palace that opens only to tears!” Guess there are lots of tears in Mudville, or Hollywood today. Only one in five could be filled with joy.