Troubled grandson of J. Paul Getty dies at 54

Great wealth became his great curse, consigning him to a life that seems to have been almost over before it truly started. J. Paul Getty III, born into one of the world's richest oil families, was a kidnap victim at 16, and coldly mutilated by his captors after his cash-rich family stalled on paying ransom. Getty's grandfather refused to pay. He was quoted as saying that he had 14 grandchildren "and if I pay for one, then I'll have 14 kidnapped grandchildren." Once freed from his five-month ordeal, the traumatized teenager — grandson of the founder of Getty Oil — embraced the hippie counterculture that flowered in the late 1960s and early 1970s, turning his back on his family's capitalistic roots in favor of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. At 17, he quickly took a bride and soon had a child of his own, but Getty soon fell victim once again, this time succumbing to his own youthful excess, suffering a devastating stroke in his 20s after becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol. Getty never recovered, spending the rest of his life severely impaired in a wheelchair. He died Saturday at his country estate in Buckinghamshire northwest of London. The cause of death was not disclosed, but Getty had been gravely ill for some time. Getty is survived by his two children, Balthazar and stepdaughter Anna, and six grandchildren. He is also survived by his mother, Harris, and four younger siblings: Getty Images co-founder Mark Getty, prominent AIDS activist Aileen Getty, Ariadne Getty and his half-brother Tara Getty.  Balthazar Getty has starred in film and TV productions and is currently appearing on the ABC network drama "Brothers & Sisters."

Christine Marinoni, Cynthia Nixon welcome baby boy

Cynthia Nixon's fiancee, Christine Marinoni, gave birth to a baby boy. Max Ellington Nixon-Marinoni is the third child for the "Sex and the City" star, who has two older children with former flame, Danny Mozes. Little Max joins Samantha, 14 and Charles, 8. He is the first child for the same-sex couple, who had hoped to wed by summer 2010. stars are getting smart, we have a lot just popping up w/ babies. i guess those baby bump photos in the mags got annoying, lol.

Lindsay Lohan To Be Charged with Felony Grand Theft

Lindsay Lohan's legal troubles just went from bad to worse. The actress will be charged Wednesday with one felony count of grand theft for allegedly stealing a $2,500 necklace from a Venice, Calif., jewelry store on Jan. 22, the Los Angeles District Attorney has announced.  She is required to show up in person for an arraignment at an L.A. courthouse Wednesday afternoon. If convicted, Lohan, 24, potentially faces several years in state prison. The actress's attorney Shawn Chapman Holley has denied Lohan committed any crime and plans to defend her in court. LAPD detectives obtained a search warrant last week to search Lohan's Venice home, but before they descended on the actress, the necklace was returned to the police station, according to an LAPD statement. Lohan is currently on probation and under random drug testing in her ongoing DUI case. She's also currently under investigation by Riverside County prosecutors for allegedly battering a Betty Ford employee.  whatever doubt she will get any real jail time. i was sympathtic at first crazy parents drug addict and was like good when she was sentenced to rehab. she didn't take that seriously and was sneaking out and partying in there, so now she needs to get clean a la robert downey, while behind bars. and maybe she will even be a better actress when she gets out, lol.

Jude Law and Sienna Miller Call It Quits...Again

Jude Law and Sienna Miller have officially ended their on-again, off-again relationship. "Yes, I can confirm their separation," Law's rep said.  Law, 38, and Miller, 29,  first hooked up as costars on 2004's Alfie soon he divorced wife Sadie Frost. The pair got engaged on Christmas Day of that year only to see things come to a screeching halt following tabloid revelations that Law had an affair with the nanny of his children. The thesp subsequently issued a public mea culpa in July 2005 and tried to work things out with Miller, but they ended their engagement in November 2006.  Three years later, however, in fall 2009, the acting couple reunited when both were headlining Broadway productions, soon after Law had a child with a bikini model.

Clearing Steve Harvey's name
The comedian's ex-wife Mary, went on a 25 minute tirade on YouTube last month accusing Harvey of cheating on her, evicting her from their home, leaving her penniless and turning his son against her. Now the courts have temporarily lifted their gag order so that he could tell his side of the story.  According to the release of a legal document in their divorce, Mary was paid $40,000 per month from the time of their divorce until March 2009, at which point she was given a one-time payment of $1.5 million. As for the matter of being homeless, she was awarded three homes once all was said and done and their assets divided. The only cause cited in their 2005 divorce filing was irreconcilable differences, and denies that the woman he is now married to, played any part in the end of their marriage. About their son, Steve denies turning him against Mary and counters that she put the boy on a plane to come see him without even giving him a heads up first. umm homeless people don't have 4 homes or $40k a month for 2 years... i don't think i believe her anymore. sounds like she pulled a eddie murphy's ex-wife and blew through her divorce settlement and is bitter about it.

Olivia Wilde Separates from Husband Tao Ruspoli

It's over for Olivia Wilde and her husband Tao Ruspoli. The House M.D. actress and her husband have mutually agreed to separate after eight years of marriage. "They have been living apart after trying for quite some time to make their relationship work," says a source. Wilde, 26, eloped with Ruspoli, 35, an Italian prince whose family owns Rome's Palazzo Ruspoli, when she was 18 years old. The actress most recently starred in Tron: Legacy and will next be seen in Cowboys & Aliens and The Change Up.



Church of Scientology responds: Paul Haggis, watch your back
In a recent profile in The New Yorker, filmmaker Paul Haggis opens up about his three decades in the Church of Scientology -- something the "Crash" writer now openly regards as a cult. Out of the church for two years now, the schism happened when Haggis -- who has two openly gay daughters -- could not convince Scientology officials to publicly condemn Proposition 8. "I was in a cult for 34 years," Haggis says. "Everyone could see it. I don't know why I couldn't." The church in response to Haggis' claims: "The article is little more than a regurgitation of old allegations that have long been disproved. It is disappointing that a magazine with the reputation of The New Yorker chose to reprint these sensationalist claims from disaffected former members hardly worthy of a tabloid."




Fantasia is 'pregnant with prosperity,' not with child, manager says
Fantasia Barrino's recent weight gain fueled online rumors that the R&B singer was expecting a child, but her manager gave another explanation. "Fantasia's pregnant with prosperity," manager Brian Dickens told CNN on Tuesday. The 2004 "American Idol" winner is gaining weight in preparation for a movie role, Dickens said. Barrino, who has been signed to play legendary gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, must gain 45 pounds by the time filming starts in May.  if anyone can sing and take you to church, fantasia can, lol. good for her.



Snow White
Julia Roberts has officially signed on the dotted line to play the Queen in its upcoming untitled Snow White feature, based on the Brothers Grimm story. Pre-production has begun, and principal photography will start in April. The theatrical release date is set for June 29, 2012.



TV NEWS
Rachel Bilson has been cast in the CW's new drama pilot Hart of Dixie produced by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage.


Another legend is going to be appearing at this Sunday's Grammy awards — this time, it's Barbra Streisand.

Streisand is a nominee for best traditional pop vocal album for "Love Is The Answer," and she'll be performing on the live telecast. She'll be introduced by another music legend, her co-star in "A Star Is Born," Kris Kristofferson.

New York Yankees star third baseman Alex Rodriguez went "ballistic" after cameras cut to him and Hollywood gal pal Cameron Diaz during Super Bowl XLV. Cameras caught the superstar couple between plays just as Diaz was feeding the Yankees' slugger popcorn. "He really went ballistic -- thinking the cameraman was out to get them in a paparazzi-like shot…" Anyone who knows anything about producing a live sports event, especially something as huge as the Super Bowl, would know that those celebrity shots are purely random." The source claims A-Rod was not feeling the love and was reportedly given a guarantee that he would not be televised to the 111 million Super Bowl viewers again.


GSN announced on Monday that former Saturday Night Live star, Norm McDonald, will replace Gabe Kaplan as host of "High Stakes Poker".


While the Super Bowl set new records in the ratings, also scoring big with viewers on Sunday was Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl VII, that scored some if its best numbers ever. The Puppy Bowl garnered 1.7 million viewers... a Puppy Bowl best...30% higher than last year... The entire PB logged a cumulative 9.2 viewers.


Audra McDonald, who plays Naomi on ABC's "Private Practice" will be leaving the show at the end of the season, saying she wants to be closer to her family. While the show films in Los Angeles, McDonald's family, including 10 year old daughter, Zoe, live in New York. While she will be losing her regular status, chances are she will be returning in a guest star role next season.



Our favorite Moh awk'd "American Idol" contestant, Sanjaya Malakar of season six, will make his New York stage debut in the off-Broadway family musical, "Freckleface Strawberry," beginning February 23rd. After finishing seventh in the season and touring with other American Idol finalists, Malakar wrote a book, "Dancing in the Music in My Head", released an EP and appeared on the reality series "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Outta Here!"



Holy Gleek! The cast of Glee is going back on tour in the spring. On the heels of a successful tour run last year, 13 cast members from “Glee” will be taking to stages across America starting in May. Beginning Friday, May 21 at the Mandalay Bay Event Center in Las Vegas, “Glee” stars Lea Michele (Rachel), Cory Monteith (Finn), Amber Riley (Mercedes), Chris Colfer (Kurt), Kevin McHale (Artie), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina), Mark Salling (Puck), Dianna Agron (Quinn), Naya Rivera (Santana), Heather Morris (Brittany), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike), Chord Overstreet (Sam) and Darren Criss (Blaine) will perform in an all-new singing and dancing celebration. not hitting the A-T-L or the M-I-A, so i probably won't ge to see them, bummer.

May 21: Mandalay Bay Event Center, Las Vegas
May 22: Arco Arena, Sacramento, Calif.
May 24: HP Pavilion, San Jose, Calif.
May 27: Honda Center, Anaheim, Calif.
May 28: Staples Center, Los Angeles
May 29: Valley View Casino Center, San Diego
June 1: Target Center, Minneapolis
June 2: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
June 3: Allstate Arena, Chicago
June 6: TD Garden, Boston
June 8: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
June 11: Air Canada Centre, Toronto
June 13: Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit
June 14: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland
June 16: Izod Center, East Rutherford, N.J.
June 18: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, N.Y.

Marvin Sease, American Blues singer, dies

American singer Marvin Sease died at the age of 64 in Vicksburg, Mississippi.The official cause of the blues singer's death is not yet known, but there is speculation that he died from pneumonia. Born in Blackville, South Carolina, Sease started off as a gospel singer with the gospel group The Five Gospel Crowns. After moving to New York City, he started a R&B band with his three brothers named Sease. The band didn't find much success and disbanded a few years later. Sease then went solo and scored a recurring gig at Casablanca, a club in Brooklyn, where he performed covers. Soon after, he hit big on his own with hits such as "Ghetto Man" and "Candy Licker." The former became an instant success in the South despite the fact that it couldn't be played on the radio due to its racy lyrics. While he never achieved massive commercial success, Sease developed a cult following over the years.

Carlina White: New Twists in Tale of Her Kidnapping

The emotional roller coaster accompanying the remarkable story of Carlina White has taken another major dip. Kidnapped as an infant from a Bronx hospital and raised in Connecticut, Carlina tracked down her birth parents and joyfully reunited with them last month after a 23-year separation. Only now, says Joy White, she is again estranged from her daughter, as was revealed in a teary interview on Tuesday's Today show. "It's been pretty tough," said White. "I wanted to have a relationship with my daughter." She now feels like she has lost her daughter twice, and Carlina has, according to her birth mother, grown distant and mercenary. "I was on such a high when I was reunited with my daughter," said Joy White "I was floating on air. Everything seemed so great." But on the second visit it could be detected that Carlina acted distant, according to Joy, who also admitted there may have been a loyalty conflict brought on by pressure from the other family of Carlina – who has gone back to using the name Nejdra Nance. "It really hurts," said Joy White, who described herself as "heartbroken, but I do understand that is her family. She was brought up by them. She's with that family. That's all she knows. [But] I'm her mother. It hurts not to have my daughter. I want her back." There are also questions about a $750,000 settlement Joy White and her husband received from the hospital after the kidnapping. White said a major portion of that money was put into trust for Carlina until the time she turned 21. As she is now 23, the money is "gone," said White, also speaking for her husband, Carl Tyson. "We both had to live and have two other children." "I'm disappointed, because this was a miracle that happened. It's mind-blowing," said White. "It hurts me that it's about money." Carlina White would not comment to Today and will only speak for money, it was reported.