Armen Gilliam dies of heart attack

Armen Gilliam, who was part of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team that made a run to the Final Four in 1987 and who played for several NBA teams, has died. He was 47. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office said Wednesday that Gilliam died Tuesday night at the LA Fitness gym in Bridgeville while he was playing basketball. The office said the cause of death has not yet been determined pending an autopsy which is likely to be completed later Wednesday. After college, the Phoenix Suns drafted Gilliam as the No. 2 overall pick in the first round of the draft. Besides the Suns, Gilliam also played with the then-Charlotte Hornets, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Utah Jazz. He retired in 2000. ''We are deeply saddened to learn about the loss of Armen Gilliam,'' said Rod Thorn, president of the 76ers. ''He was a hard-working, physical player during his distinguished 13 years in the NBA and we are proud of the contributions he made to the Sixers from 1990 to 1993.


Jennie Garth & Peter Facinelli Split Untrue

There were claims Tuesday Twilight dad Peter Facinelli and his Beverly Hills 90210 wife Jennie Garth are taking some time apart, with divorce looking likely. “Jennie is living in the family home in Toluca Lake and Peter has been renting a home in Santa Ynez,” according to an online blog. “It’s not looking good!” Sources close to the couple say that nothing is out of the ordinary in Peter and Jennie’s relationship, and they don’t see how anything could be going wrong. “They were just on a family vacation together in Europe and had a great time. They leave at the end of the week to continue traveling on a vacation without the kids.” Apparently they are going somewhere tropical — how romantic! Peter tweeted Sunday: “Back in California today. Sad #EuroCruise is over. Hope u guys enjoyed the pics. #Jetlagged”



Juror in Casey Anthony Trial Shops for Interview Deal

One of the jurors in the Casey Anthony trial is apparently soliciting major media outlets. The unidentified male juror is asking for five figures in exchange for an exclusive interview. A lawyer is sending out letters that read: "Our client -- a married, college-educated, 33-year-old white male with two young children -- is willing to consider granting one or more media interviews so long as the opportunities are paid." The lawyer, Rick French, admits it's "a sticky subject and believe me, I understand the delicacy of this type of negotiation." But he insists that his client will not "entertain any offers that don't include compensation for a myriad of reasons."



Natalie Portman Reveals Baby Name

Natalie Portman and fiance Benjamin Millepied who are usually tight lipped about everything, have accidentally let loose their child’s name. The couple has named their son after the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Aleph. Portman who was born in Israel, let the name slip in an interview on Israeli TV show, “Good Evening with Guy Pines.” Alef was born mid-June but Portman and Millepied kept the name super secret until now. Aleph means “the oneness of God” and the element of air. Aleph is the number 1 in Hebrew and can also be spelled Alef.



James Spader joins 'Office' cast as new Sabre CEO

James Spader has joined the regular cast of "The Office" as Robert California, the new CEO of Sabre, the parent company of Dunder Mifflin, NBC has announced. The three-time Emmy winner guest-starred on last season's finale as a scarily capable applicant for Michael Scott's job. In the new season we'll learn that he not only got it, but quickly rose above it. "James will reprise his role as Robert California, this uber-salesman that has a power to convince and manipulate like a high-class weirdo Jedi warrior," said series regular Paul Lieberstein, one of the series' executive producers. "He'll have been hired over the summer as the new manager, but within hours, got himself promoted. Within days, he took over the company. James has an energy that is completely his own, and 'The Office' has no tools for dealing with this guy. We're thrilled he's joining our cast."



Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel Back On

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel are back on-again. Five months after calling it quits, they've decided to give their relationship another chance-again. Again. Again. After four years together JT and Jessica still have a lot of love for each other, so they decided to quietly start seeing each other to see if there's anything there to salvage. "They have been talking the whole time and decided to give it another shot. Jessica really wanted to get back together with him and Justin realized single life is not what it's cracked up to be,” a source says. They were spotted together fourth of July weekend at the Black Hoof restaurant in Toronto trying to be super low key. But once a playboy, always a playboy. Just a few weeks ago Justin was spotted having drinks with Scarlett Johansson in New York. Sure, it could have been a friendly drink, but they reportedly went back to his loft after. The next day Scarlett was spotted wearing the same clothes she'd had on the night before. Walk of shame.



Oprah's New Job

Now that Oprah has left her daily talk show, her schedule is freed up for some new endeavors like teaching. Oprah will teach a course in the fall at the all girls school that she opened in South Africa four years ago. Oprah just returned from a recent visit to the school and says she will return to teach a course called “It’s Life 101.” That sounds like one of those 1-unit classes I took in college and then never went to. Oprah’s class would teach the girls all the real life issues she wished she had learned while growing up. “Should be fun since I love to teach. And they’re like sponges,” Oprah said, “like 12th graders everywhere, this first class is both anxious and excited about going to college. Most will be the first in their family. So it’s a very big deal for them, and they’re feeling the pressure.” Oprah tells her students, “I now stress to my girls that education prepares you to have options. Without it you have none.”



David Hasselhoff Joins Sons of Anarchy

With production currently underway for Sons of Anarchy season 4, it has been announced that the recent television “phenom” that is David Hasselhoff will be joining the always resourceful SAMCRO this October – one month after the series is set to premiere. The famed Baywatch star for the role of Dondo, a one-time porn star who is known for the size of his… Dondo will be headed to Charming, North California as a now-wealthy producer of adult entertainment. Even though male porn stars and motorcycle gangs don’t exactly travel in the same circles, there’s a very good reason for Dondo to be making an appearance: Luann Delaney. In Sons of Anarchy season 2, Luann – best friend of Gemma (Katey Sagal), “old lady” to Big Otto (Kurt Sutter), and porn producer – was found beaten to death by rival pornographer Georgie Caruso (Tom Arnold). Caruso left the country for Thailand, and hasn’t been heard from since.Dondo cites a major career boost from Luanne as the reason for his career success, so Dondo will be in Charming to help SAMCRO out with some “dirty work” that is being done in her memory. While nothing else has been revealed about Dondo’s role, what said “dirty work” might be, or who will be involved, I wouldn’t be too surprised if Tom Arnold returns to reprise his role as Caruso – until “justice is served”, that is.



TV NEWS

A&E’s Breakout Kings has captured a second season. The series, which was once in contention to air on Fox, goes back into prodution later this year and could return to the airwaves as soon as the first quarter of 2012.



Glee fans crying foul over show’s decision not to pick up Chord Overstreet’s Season 3 contract option can all just simmer down now. “His option to be a series regular was just not picked up at this time,” clarifies the source. “If Chord wants to appear on Glee, the choice is his. The Glee writers like his Sam character, and have plans to write for him. He and his reps have been told that he is welcome back to Glee, and everyone hopes he will show up on August 10 when filming begins.”



Looks like Shameless‘ Lip Gallagher is getting some new competition: Zach McGowan is joining the hit Showtime series in Season 2 as Karen’s new “friend” Jody. The New York-born McGowan, whose credits include guest stints on Body of Proof, Cold Case and CSI: Miami, will recur throughout Season 2.


Disgraced politicians take note: cable news may not be a sure-fire next step after leaving office. CNN announced a new fall line-up that does not include Eliot Spitzer's nine-month-old political talk show "In the Arena." Spitzer's show will be replaced by Anderson Cooper's "AC 360" at 8 p.m. ET. Cooper's show will then re-air in its current 10 p.m. timeslot. The news network also announced the addition of a new general news program anchored by Erin Burnett (a new hire from CNBC), to air at 7 p.m. and the continuation of Larry King replacement Piers Morgan's "Tonight." In a statement, Spitzer wrote, "We engaged serious people in conversations about national and global issues in a way that was informative and challenging. I believe that we provided diverse and valuable perspectives during the show's tenure." Co-host Kathleen Parker (pictured above with Spitzer) left the show in February, after only four months.

Here's the full fall schedule:
(All times Eastern):
6a-9am: American Morning
9a-4pm:CNN Newsroom
4pm: Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer
6pm: John King, USA
7pm: Erin Burnett
8pm: Anderson Cooper 360°
9pm: Piers Morgan Tonight
10pm: AC 360 re-air
11pm: Erin Burnett re-air
12am: Piers Morgan Tonight re-air