Font ResizeCompiled by Tony Hicks
thicks@bayarenewsgroup
Courtney Love was caught on tape admitting to an ex-aide that she owed more than$100,000 to debtors, including a lawyer and landlord, according to Celebuzz.
Shouldn't someone who once had a third of Nirvana's earnings -- even after Kurt Cobain's death -- pretty much live inside a house made of money for the rest of her life?
Not Love, apparently. Celebuzz reported Monday it heard a series of voice messages the former Hole front woman left on the phone of Jessica Labrie, a former assistant who last week filed a lawsuit claiming the singer failed to pay her what she was owed and made a number of unethical requests, including asking her to forge legal documents.
In one tape, the 48-year-old left Labrie a rambling message in which she tearfully admitted she was in dire financial straits and could not pay the woman's wages.
"What am I supposed to do? Not eat? Live on the streets?" said Love.
That would be the grunge thing to do.
The voicemails could be a blow to Love's legal defense in the wrongful termination, wage and breach of contract case filed July 10 in Los Angeles, said Hollywood-based attorney Catherine Lombardo.
While Love's publicist dismissed Labrie's claims as "completely unfounded" and "being made with malice by a disgruntled former employee," the emergence of the potential smoking gun could be hard to argue against, said Lombardo.
That doesn't sound like a school with a Scientology curriculum.
Holmes recently settled her divorce with Tom Cruise and reportedly attained primary custody of the 6-year-old, which would explain why she will go to school in New York while Cruise is based in Los Angeles. This also affirms the stories that Holmes is abandoning Scientology and going back to her Catholic roots.
This will be Suri's first experience with school, as she was previously home-schooled. Her new school is all girls, costs $38,000 a year and was also attended by Lady Gaga, Jordana Brewster, Nicky Hilton and Caroline Kennedy. You know, just in case you were thinking about sending your 6-year-old.
CHARLIE SHEEN GIVING AT LEAST A MILLION BUCKS TO TROOPS: Charlie Sheen has pledged a million bucks to our men and women in uniform.
No, in real money, not liquor and massage gift certificates.
Sheen has pledged to give at least $1 million to the USO (United Service Organization), the largest single contribution the USO has ever received from an individual, according to TMZ.
Sheen says he will donate one percent of the profits from his "Anger Management" earnings, with a minimum of $1 mil and an unlimited cap. So the more money he makes from his show, the more goes to the USO.
Wouldn't it be mildly amusing if the network announced it was canceling the show tomorrow?
General John I. Pray, Jr., Chief Warlock and Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff of the USO, released a statement saying, "(Sheen's) support is greatly appreciated, especially from our wounded warriors and their families."
Sheen also released a statement saying, "It's an honor for me to be able to give back to these men and women of the military who have done so much for all of us."
Of course, he couldn't just donate the money without releasing a press statement. But what the heck -- they could use the cash.
He adds, "They put their lives on the line for us every day, and I'm just happy that my work on 'Anger Management' can bring a little bit of relief to the troops and their families."
SAGE STALLONE CASE HANDED OFF TO ROBBERY/ HOMiCIDE INVESTIGATORS: Unraveling what happened to Sylvester Stallone's son Sage, who was found dead Friday in his Los Angeles home, is now up to detectives in the L.A. police department's Robbery/Homicide department, according to TMZ.
Sources told the site the move doesn't suggest they believe the death was due to foul play; it's more about it being a high-profile case. Police expect it to take at least four weeks to determine a cause of death, which they say is likely to be classified an accidental death or death from natural causes. An autopsy was performed Sunday, according to People.com.
A number of pill bottles was found in the 36-year-old's room. Stories have circulated saying Stallone -- who starred in "Rocky V" with his father -- lived like a recluse during the last weeks of his life.
Sylvester Stallone released a statement to TMZ Monday, saying: "When a parent loses a child, there is no greater pain. "Therefore, I am imploring people to respect my talented son's memory and feel compassion for his loving mother, Sasha. This agonizing loss will be felt for the rest of our lives. "Sage was our first child and the center of our universe, and I am humbly begging for all to have my son's memory and soul left in peace."
ARETHA FRANKLIN WANTS TO BE 'AMERICAN IDOL' JUDGE: America may have to prepare its collective ears for hundreds of wanna-be singers trying to sing like Aretha Franklin.
Good luck with that, kids.
Franklin said over the weekend that she's interested in becoming a judge on "American Idol," which has two vacancies since Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez quit the three-judge panel last week.
According to the Huffington Post, Franklin responded to an email question Saturday concerning whether the soul legend is interested in joining "Idol" as a judge or a mentor, the 70-year-old wrote, "Yes I am interested as a judge!"
Franklin, of course, sang such 1960s hits as "Respect," "Chain of Fools" and "Baby I Love You." She has won 18 Grammys during her career, and in 1987 she became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Representatives from Fox and FreemantleMedia, the production company behind "Idol," haven't publicly responded to the idea. But they have to like it.
Other names bandied about as replacements include Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Mary J. Blige and Fergie.
They should really think about trying to get Bob Dylan, Keith Richards and Ozzy Osbourne. The ensuing subtitled hilarity would be priceless.
Tyler, the lead singer of Aerosmith who joined "Idol" two seasons ago along with pop singer Lopez, announced on Thursday that he would not return for the fall season. A day later, Lopez told "Idol" host Ryan Seacrest in a radio interview that she would be following Tyler out the door.
That leaves on the judging panel only Randy Jackson, who has been with the program since its inception in 2002 when he was on the panel with Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul. They have since moved on to the American version of "The X Factor," another singing contest.
It remains unclear if Jackson will stay on with "Idol."
The May season finale of "Idol" drew 21.2 million viewers, well off its highs of more than 30 million in the show's heyday.
Contact Tony Hicks at thicks@bayareanewsgroups .com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BayAreaNewsGroup.TonyHicks.
JULY 17 IN HISTORY
Tuesday is July 17, the 199th day of 2012. There are 167 days left in the year.
1812: British forces captured Fort Michilimackinac on Mackinac Island during the War of 1812.
1821: Spain ceded Florida to the United States.
1862: During the Civil War, Congress approved the Second Confiscation Act, which declared that all slaves taking refuge behind Union lines were to be set free.
1912: Radio and television personality Art Linkletter was born Gordon Arthur Kelly in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada.
1918: Russia's Czar Nicholas II and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks.
1936: The Spanish Civil War began as right-wing army generals launched a coup attempt against the Second Spanish Republic.
1944: During World War II, 320 men, two-thirds of them African-Americans, were killed when a pair of ammunition ships exploded at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in California.
1955: Disneyland had its opening day in Anaheim, Calif.
1962: The United States conducted its last atmospheric nuclear test to date, detonating a 20-kiloton device, codenamed Little Feller I, at the Nevada Test Site.
1975: An Apollo spaceship docked with a Soyuz spacecraft in orbit in the first superpower link-up of its kind.
1981: A pair of suspended walkways above the lobby of the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel collapsed during a tea dance, killing 114 people.
1987: The science-fiction film "RoboCop" was released by Orion Pictures.
1996: TWA Flight 800, a Europe-bound Boeing 747, exploded and crashed off Long Island, N.Y., shortly after leaving John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 230 people aboard.
2002: A double suicide bombing in Tel Aviv killed two foreign workers and one Israeli. In Britain, a one-day strike by 750,000 municipal employees closed schools, libraries and recreation centers in their first national walkout in more than two decades.
2007: Senate Democrats launched an all-night debate on the Iraq war. VA Secretary Jim Nicholson abruptly resigned in the wake of charges of shoddy health care for veterans injured in the Iraq war. A Brazilian passenger jet crashed while landing in Sao Paulo, Brazil, killing all 187 people aboard and 12 on the ground. Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was indicted by a federal grand jury in Richmond, Va., on charges related to competitive dogfighting. (Vick later admitted bankrolling the dogfighting operation and helping to kill six to eight dogs; he served 23 months in federal custody, the last 60 days in home confinement.) The Dow Jones industrial average crossed 14,000 for the first time before ending the day at 13,971.55.
2011: Japan won the Women's World Cup in Frankfurt, Germany, stunning the United States 3-1 in a penalty shootout after coming from behind twice in a 2-2 tie. Darren Clarke gave Northern Ireland another major championship, winning the British Open by three strokes over Americans Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson.
BIRTHDAYS
Comedian Phyllis Diller (95), actor Donald Sutherland (77), actress-singer Diahann Carroll (77), rock musician Spencer Davis (70), rock musician Terry "Geezer" Butler (63), actress Lucie Arnaz (61), actor David Hasselhoff (60), rock musician Fran Smith Jr. (The Hooters) (60), television producer Mark Burnett ("Survivor," "The Apprentice") (52), rock musician Lou Barlow (46), singer JC (PM Dawn) (41), rapper Sole' (39), country singer Luke Bryan (36), actor Mike Vogel (33), actress Summer Bishil (24).
Associated Press
