Thursday, November 17, 2005
McCartney, wife hostland mine benefit
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- A child is killed by a land mine every 18 minutes, guests were told at the fifth annual Adopt-a-Minefield benefit gala hosted by Paul McCartney and his wife, Heather Mills McCartney.
On Tuesday, the McCartneys hosted about 1,000 guests, who dined on a vegan dinner and were entertained by special musical performances by Paul McCartney and singing legend Tony Bennett. A silent auction took place as cocktails were served, followed by dinner and a live auction led by talk show host Jay Leno, who served as the master of ceremonies.
Governments should "listen to the voice of the people" and sign a treaty banning the deadly devices, Paul McCartney told AP Television News on the arrivals line for Tuesday night's event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
"People don't like land mines, especially the survivors and the people who are living in the countries with them," McCartney said. "They think they are cowardly, like we do, so I think it's down to the governments to actually just listen to the people and sign the treaty and get rid of all these things and there would be an end to it."
Adopt-a-Minefield, a leader in addressing the pervasive global problem, holds the annual benefit to raise money for mine clearance and landmine-survivor assistance.
Other guests included actors Pam Anderson, Alex Baldwin and Andy Garcia.
Mariah Carey returnsto Hollywood triumphant
LOS ANGELES -- Talk about a comeback kid.
In 2001, Mariah Carey took on Hollywood -- and Hollywood won. Her feature film-starring debut, "Glitter," proved anything but gold. It was drubbed by critics and ignored by ticket buyers.
What followed could have made a far better movie: Carey suffered a breakdown and within a year was bought out of her $100 million contract with Virgin Records.
On Tuesday night, at the Virgin Megastore, she returned to Hollywood nothing less than triumphant. Her latest CD, "The Emancipation of Mimi," has sold 4 million copies in the United States. She's sold another 2 million copies worldwide.
"They can call me whatever they want," Carey, 35, told AP Television News. "I never went anywhere. And my real fans have always been here for me. And, you know what? It's a wonderful feeling and everything I have is because God has blessed me with this and I'll always be grateful for what I have."
Carey -- in a low-cut, mid-thigh-length silver-sequined dress -- greeted and chatted with the fans on the street. Inside the store, she tried to make meaningful connections with those who got autographs.
"I love meeting fans face-to-face when I can," she said. "There's something about somebody just connecting with you musically, and knowing that I've written a song that has touched them, that's invaluable to me."
This week marks the release of a special-edition version of Carey's latest CD, "The Emancipation of Mimi: Ultra Platinum Edition," which has four additional tracks, including the new single, "Don't Forget About Us."
And despite "Glitter," Carey is talking about getting back into acting -- although she isn't saying much just yet.
"I'll talk to you about all that soon," she laughed.
Mexican singer Gabrielinjured in fall from stage
HOUSTON -- Mexican pop star Juan Gabriel is recovering from injuries suffered in a fall from a stage during a performance in Houston.
Gabriel fell Sunday night just minutes into the opening set of his performance at the Toyota Center, according to a statement on the venue's Web site.
The Houston Chronicle reported that Gabriel broke his wrist and suffered a concussion. Witnesses said the singer appear to trip on the microphone cord.
Pace Concerts said Gabriel, 55, was fine and resting. The Houston concert will be rescheduled, according to the Toyota Center.
A six-time Grammy nominee, is perhaps best known for the ballad "Hasta que te conoci," which has been re-recorded by many other top Latin singers.
Gabriel, who was born Albert Aguilera Valadez, grew up in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The remaining dates of his U.S. tour, which was to run until Sunday, have been postponed.
Princess Di's weddingdress to be auctioned
LONDON -- Princess Diana's spare wedding dress -- a replica made in case the one she wore got damaged -- is to be auctioned.
Diana tried on the ivory silk gown, an exact copy of the dress she wore, on the morning of her wedding, auctioneer Cooper Owen said Wednesday.
The only difference between the dresses is that the actual one she wore had Queen Mary's lace sewn on to the front, while the replica had a copy of the lace, the auction house said.
The dress is expected to fetch more than $90,000 at the Dec. 7 sale of celebrity memorability at the Proud Gallery Camden, in north London.
Millions of television viewers around the world watched Diana marry Prince Charles on July 29, 1981. The couple divorced in 1996.
The original gown is part of an exhibition about the princess at Althorp, her family's country home near Northampton, central England.
A replica of the wedding dress worn by the Duchess of York, which was also a standby, will also be auctioned and was expected to fetch around $10,000. A vest worn by James Dean in the movie "Giant" was predicted to go for around $58,000.
Today's birthdays
Olympian-turned-politician Bob Mathias is 75. Singer Gordon Lightfoot is 67. Movie director Martin Scorsese is 63. Actress Lauren Hutton is 62. Actor-director Danny DeVito is 61. "Saturday Night Live" producer Lorne Michaels is 61. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Tom Seaver is 61. Movie director Roland Joffe is 60. Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean is 57. Actor Stephen Root is 54. Actress-producer-director Yolanda King is 50. Actress Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is 47. Actor William Moses is 46. Entertainer RuPaul is 45. Actor Dylan Walsh is 42. Actress Sophie Marceau is 39. Actress-model Daisy Fuentes is 39. Rhythm-and-blues singer Ronnie DeVoe (New Edition; Bell Biv DeVoe) is 38. Rock musician Ben Wilson (Blues Traveler) is 38. Rhythm-and-blues musician Jeff Allen (Mint Condition) is 37. Actress Leslie Bibb is 32. Actor Brandon Call is 29. Country singer Aaron Lines is 28. Actress Rachel McAdams is 27. Rock musician Isaac Hanson (Hanson) is 25. Actor Justin Cooper is 17. Actress Raquel Castro ("Jersey Girl") is 11.
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