A car wreck puts Billy Joel in the hospital and ex Christie Brinkley on edge
Concerned friend or litigious ex-spouse? That's the question surrounding Christie Brinkley and her interest in the horrific car accident involving her former husband Billy Joel. On the evening of Jan. 25 Joel smashed his Mercedes-Benz into a tree in Sag Harbor, N.Y. The singer was taken to a local hospital where he was reportedly treated for facial lacerations and then released on Jan. 26. Last June, Joel was involved in another car crash; shortly afterward he checked himself into a substance-abuse rehab center. This time around, said Joel's rep Jane Arginteanu, "there was no alcohol involved. He had an accident on a bad stretch of road." (No charges were filed against Joel, and police didn't administer a Breathalyzer test.)
The day after the crash Brinkley was seen snapping pictures of Joel's wrecked car, leading to speculation that the ex-model was gathering evidence in order to take legal action to prevent Joel from driving with their 17-year-old daughter Alexa. Although her rep was unaware of a possible lawsuit, Brinkley told the press, "The seat Alexa was sitting in only hours before this latest crash was completely decimated. I am worried about Billy, but like any other mother would be, I am alarmed and concerned about my child's safety by this frightening pattern of accidents."
The Boys Are Back in Town
Toto, we're not on cable anymore. But who could tell? The Jan. 26 debut of Jimmy Kimmel Live, ABC's new late-night talk show, bore the raunchy trademarks of Kimmel's earlier Comedy Central effort, The Man Show. Booze? Check. Foul language? Check. Buxom women bouncing on trampolines? Well, network TV can still be a bit prudish.
Granted the post-Super Bowl time slot, the show drew 4.8 million viewers (including, in the studio, Gwyneth Paltrow, whose guy, Chris Martin of Coldplay, performed live). Celeb cohost Snoop Dogg flipped the bird and cursed, and guest George Clooney passed around vodka. One zealous audience member even vomited at the show, in the company of a Disney exec.
Not surprisingly, booze was banned from the show's set the following night. "Taking alcohol out of the question tones things down," says Kimmel, who substituted a treat of milk and cookies.
Despite all, ABC entertainment chief Lloyd Braun says that he is happy: "What we are trying to do—for better or worse—is Jimmy's show."
SCOOP ASKS
How are celebs selected to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?
On Jan. 24 Suzanne Somers, 56, was given Hollywood's 2,212th sidewalk star. Which raises the question: Why? Pee-wee Herman and Big Bird have been immortalized, but Mel Gibson and Robert Redford are missing. Turns out that every June, a five-person committee goes over more than 200 applications (sent in by fan-club presidents, family members, movie studios and record companies) and chooses roughly 20 to get a star. A celeb then needs to have his or her nominating person or group pony up a sponsorship fee of $15,000. (For example, Melanie Griffith paid for mom Tippi Hedren's star.) That goes in part to pay for the sidewalk installation and awards ceremony. Also, a celeb has to agree to show up for the ceremony. Only then can a star be a star.
Liz's Busy New Beau
When Elizabeth Hurley breezed into Christian Dior's fashion show in Paris on Jan. 20, heads turned toward the man at her side: Indian textile heir Arun Nair, 38. "They held hands," says photographer Michel Dufour. "He was kissing her hair. They snuggled. They put on quite a display." One not lost on Nair's wife of seven years, Italian model Valentina Pedroni, who reportedly fled to her parents' home in Milan after seeing tabloid photos of the pair. Nair's father, Vinod, told Britain's Sunday Mirror, "Arun runs around with all sorts of women. He likes a good social life."
All the News That's Fit to Fake
In the past few weeks reps all over Hollywood have been battling more than the usual tsunami of baseless, and sometimes sinister, rumors. Dave Matthews found dead? Nope, he's fine. Jennifer Lopez killed in a car crash? She's alive, driving and thriving, thanks. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen headed for Northwestern and Britney Spears enrolled at Tufts? No and no. The culprit this time was Fake Cnn.com Generator (accessed on a difficult-to-get Web site), which mocks up an extremely realistic-looking cnn.com Web page. Site operators say the program is meant for entertainment only and that postings that generate complaints are quickly deleted. CNN spokeswoman Edna Johnson would not comment on whether the cable network would take legal action against the site, saying only, "It's not authorized, sponsored or approved by CNN." Added Johnson: "CNN has not reported that Dave Matthews died."
A Late-Night Farewell
Among the "Top 10 Things I, Dave, Have Learned over the Last 1,000 Shows" (which aired on Late Show with David Letterman in May 1998), No. 3 was, "Mujibur: nice guy. Sirajul: son of a bitch." Last week Letterman learned something else: His souvenir-salesmen neighbors and frequent foils Mujibur Rahman, 47, and Sirajul Islam, 44, are about to be unemployed (the shop at which they work is closing). "We are going to meet to think of something to do together," says Islam. Meanwhile they live on in such classic Top 10 lists as:
Reasons Bob Dole Should Be Elected President: White House Chiefs of Staff will be Sirajul and Mujibur.
Ways to Make Basketball More Exciting: new play-by-play guys (Mujibur and Sirajul)
Overheard at the State Dinner Honoring Emperor Akihito: Emperor Akihito, (meet) Mujibur and Sirajul.
POP QUIZ
with Brian Dunkleman
Where is Dunkleman? That's the question on the minds of millions of American Idol fans, who tuned in to the second edition of the reality show to find last season's cohost, Brian Dunkleman, MIA. Dunkleman, 31, tells Scoop what happened.
Why did you leave?
I wanted to pursue acting. And to be honest, I felt like I was going to be forever labeled the American Idol guy.
Then why did you take the job in the first place?
The money. No other reason.
Did they try to keep you?
I didn't get an offer from the producers. They made up my mind for me when they signed [cohost Ryan] Seacrest and let me hang for a couple days.
Near the end of last season, you weren't saying much.
I had a hard time saying the cheesy stuff they'd written for us. They wanted it cheesy so Simon could have lots of ammo against us. I wasn't going to let that happen.
Did you and Ryan Seacrest get along?
Yeah, fine. We were in the same boat. But he likes the gig. He doesn't mind what he says.
Was there any romance between Ryan and Paula Abdul?
Absolutely not.
What about the alleged sexual tension between Simon Cowell and Paula?
The only person Simon is sexually attracted to is himself. Actually, I miss Simon. We got along. He's a great guy.
Who was the hottest contestant?
It's a toss-up between Ryan Starr and Nikki McKibbin. Nikki got more and more beautiful every week.
What are you doing now?
I'm doing an animated series on MTV. It's called 3-South. It's something I'm really proud of. I'm also doing stand-up, which has been really great.
Are you going to watch the new season of Idol ?
Yeah. For material.
ON THE BLOCK
MIKHAIL'S MANOR
Mikhail Baryshnikov is hoofing it off his four-acre Sneden's Landing, N.Y., estate, which is on the market for $9.5 million. Since buying the main residence in 1981 for about $400,000, Baryshnikov, 55, has spent $3 million renovating the house and buying adjoining property. A sweeping view of the Hudson River and a Cape Cod-style guest house (right) are included, as are neighbors Al Pacino, Bill Murray and, soon, Baryshnikov himself, who is building a new home nearby.
- Contributors:
- Ting Yu,
- Jennifer Wren,
- Sharon Cotliar,
- Deborah Geering,
- Todd Gold,
- Liza Hamm,
- Sophia Hemphill,
- Regine Labossiere,
- Cathy Nolan,
- Gregg Rosenzweig,
- Cynthia Wang.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
