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Domestic Goddesses
Faith Hill, Glenn Close and Bette Midler all play Stepford Wives in the remake of the 1975 thriller – but what kind of homemaking skills do they have off-screen? "I'm very good at opening beer and wine bottles," says Midler, 58. Close, 57, is "good at picking out pet toys. And I'm good at making pancakes and baking-powder biscuits." And 36-year-old Hill? "I'm a cook – I'm a southern cook. And I'm a piddler – I just enjoy piddling around."
Recipe for Disaster
While we're in the kitchen... Dick Clark shares with us a family baking secret (as he gets ready to announce the $1 million winner of the 41st Pillsbury Bake-Off on June 29). "In my family, there's 'Aunt Dete's Cake,'" says Clark, 74. "She used to make a great chocolate cake, and one of the kids ran in and slammed the back door of the kitchen and the cake fell. It got to be about an inch thick. So Aunt Dete decided, 'What the heck – I'll serve it anyway,' and piled a whole lot of chocolate icing on top to almost the same thickness of the original cake, and the dough was very chewy, like a brownie. So we've continued that tradition: We bake the cake and slam the door on it. It sounds awful, but it's delicious." Alrighty then.
What's In a Name?
Do you ever wonder why celebrities give their kids wacky names like Rumer (Demi Moore and Bruce Willis), Brooklyn (David and Victoria "Posh" Beckham) and Banjo (Rachel Griffiths)? We asked Denis Leary for his viewpoint. "It's a really selfish thing to do. With strange names, your parents were either high or stupid," says Leary, 46, whose wife, Ann, wrote An Innocent, A Broad, a comic memoir about the birth of their 14-year-old son (mercifully named Jack). "The only truly cool celebrity kid name is John Travolta's kid, Jett." Not that the comedian is above playing his own name games. "I had my wife convinced we'd name our second child Cam, whether it was a girl or a boy," Leary admits. "It didn't dawn on her until there was a hockey game on between the Rangers and the Bruins, and (Bruins star forward) Cam Neely got into a fight. He was covered with blood and screaming profanity. Ann said, 'Wait, are you trying to name my kid after him?' I said, 'Noooo, I just like the name.' She said, 'Not going to happen.' "
Good Luck Charm
Speaking of hockey (sort of)... The players of the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning sure are glad Brooke Hogan was free to sing the national anthem before last week's Stanley Cup Finals. Hogan, a 16-year-old aspiring pop star (and daughter of veteran wrestler Hulk Hogan), started singing at Tampa Bay's home games early in the season. The one time she didn't sing, the team lost. Ever since, the tall, blonde singer (whose single "Everything To Me" is set to be released in July) has been considered the team's lucky charm. Her presence – and pipes – didn't disappoint: Tampa Bay took home the trophy after winning game 7 on their home turf.
Caught in the Act
Spotted recently:
• Drew Barrymore, boyfriend Fabrizio Moretti of The Strokes and Cindy Crawford, at the Velvet Revolver show at L.A.'s Wiltern Theatre. Barrymore and Moretti later joined the rock super-group (which includes former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland, former Guns 'N Roses players Slash and Duff McKagan, and former Wasted Youth guitarist Dave Kushner), and Sugar Ray singer Mark McGrath, at the afterparty at the Spider Club.
• By ANNEMARIE CRUZ, KATHY EHRICH, MARK DAGOSTINO and MARISA LAUDADIO
