VALERIE HARPER HAS BRAIN CANCER
TV legend Valerie Harper reveals in this week’s People that she’s been diagnosed with incurable brain cancer and has about three months to live. Harper, best known for playing Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda, was diagnosed in January with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, a terminal condition where cancer cells spread into the membrane surrounding the brain. “I don’t think of it as dying,” says the 73-year-old. “I think of being here now.” Harper, who beat lung cancer in 2009, adds, “I’m well past my expiration date already. I’ve had a good run, what more can I ask for?”
MARY TYLER MOORE DEVASTATED BY HARPER NEWS
One day before going public with the news of her illness, Valerie Harper called her longtime co-star Mary Tyler Moore and told her the sad news. “I'm absolutely devastated by this news," says Moore, 76, who herself underwent surgery in 2011 for a benign tumor in the same spot where Harper's malignant cancer cells are located. "Valerie has given so much joy, laughter and love to the world. I join her fans and send much love and positive thoughts to her and her family during this difficult time."
JAKE DATING SWIMSUIT MODEL?
Us Weekly reports that Jake Gyllenhaal has a new girlfriend. The actor is said to be dating Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Emily DiDonato, who he met during spin class in New York City. The insider claims the pair has been dating for “a month or two,” but a source close to Gyllenhaal tells Gossip Cop that the story is not true.
MILEY DENIES CALLING OFF WEDDING
Miley Cyrus is denying tabloid stories that her relationship with Liam Hemsworth is in trouble. Tabloids lately claimed that Liam had cheated on Miley, and that she called off he wedding, but she took to Twitter to shoot them all down. "I am so sick of La. And sick of the lies that come with it," she tweeted yesterday. "I didn't call off my wedding," adding, "Taking a break from social media. #draining."
MORE SHIA VS. ALEC
The Shia LaBeouf/Alec Baldwin feud over the play Orphans doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon. A day after Alec dissed Shia’s theater experience, the Transformers star posted email exchanges between them and the show’s director, one in which Alec claims to be “f***ing tired.” When Shia responds, “I’m a hustler, I don’t get tired, I’m 26 chief,” Alec jokingly replied, “Listen, boy. I’m not your f***in’ chief. You got that? Ha. Hahahaha. Let’s go.” When Shia forwards the exchange to Orphans director Dan Sullivan, the director writes of Alec, “I think he’s nervous.” Then in another email, Sullivan seems to insult Alec, telling Shia, “Don’t be too surprised if Alec doesn’t look up from his script much for the first few days. I suspect he’s not nearly as prepared as you are. Not unusual at all when actors have a good long rehearsal time like we have. I just don’t want it to throw you.”
DEMI TO FILE FOR DIVORCE
Sixteen months after splitting from Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore is finally ready to file her own divorce papers. Kutcher filed for divorce in December, but Demi waited, hoping to reach a confidential settlement with her ex. “Ashton made a lot of money after marrying Demi — a lot more than she made — but despite him becoming just as famous through her, he believes he doesn’t owe her that much,” a source told the New York Post. “She has had enough.” The source says that Ashton was “very difficult” during negotiations, adding, “You could even say he has been hostile.” But now, the insider says, Demi finally seems “ready to move on.”
LINDSAY KEEPING INCOMPETENT LAWYER
Lindsay Lohan doesn’t take advice from anybody, not even a judge. Sources tell TMZ that Lindsay doesn’t care that Judge James Dabney said her lawyer Mark Heller was incompetent to practice in California and is sticking with him. Dabney last week was unimpressed by Heller and actually said that if Lindsay wants to keep him, she’ll have to come to court for a hearing to specifically say she’s waiving her right to a competent attorney. Lindsay’s criminal trial is due to begin March 18th.
STEWART TALKS MACY’S COURT BATTLE
Martha Stewart took the stand earlier this week in her court battle with Macy’s and spoke to the Today show yesterday about the case. Macy’s is suing Martha for breach of contract over a deal she made with JCPenney. "It's terribly important that we don't lose a case like this,'' she told Matt Lauer. Macy’s Chief Executive Terry Lundgren testified that he hung up on Martha after she informed him of her new business deal, something Martha was shocked by. "Terry Lundgren is the consummate CEO,'' said Stewart. “He is an excellent businessman. He should be able to discuss business in a business-like fashion. Hanging up on a woman — businessperson — I think was rude and not right.'' As for how she thought her testimony went, Stewart said, “I think I did all right. It's a very difficult thing to sit there for four hours and be asked complicated, convoluted questions. I think I understood most of the questions and answered them fairly and honestly."
SIMPSON SURPRISED BY SECOND PREGNANCY
Jessica Simpson revealed on yesterday’s Ellen that she and fiancé Eric Johnson were as surprised as anyone that she wound up pregnant again so soon after giving birth to daughter Maxwell. “We were definitely extremely shocked,” she said. “Apparently, protection just went out the window. Maxwell was our focus and then I was puking and lying on the couch.” Rumor has it, Jess is expecting a boy and she sort of confirmed it on the show. Ellen held up two different onesies as a gift for Maxwell; one said “I ‘heart’ my baby sister” and another said “I ‘heart’ my baby brother.” “You can’t have both,” Ellen told Jess. “You can only have one.” Ellen eventually let her out of the decision, but gave Jess the “brother” one saying, “that’s my guess okay.” Jess then took the onesie and said, “Maybe I’ll take this one…you never know.” Later, in a radio interview, Jess said she hopes she’s done after the new baby. “I really hope that it stops," Simpson said of her accidental pregnancies. "I think originally I had wanted three [kids] and now that I have one and another one on the way, I feel like I could stop here. It's a lot of work. Obviously it pays off and it's totally worth it, but it's a lot of responsibility."
LAMAR ODOM FALLS ASLEEP IN COURT
Khloe Kardashian’s hubby Lamar Odom was in a New York courtroom earlier this week in connection with his ongoing child custody battle with ex-girlfriend Liza Morales, but he didn’t seem too worried about it. In fact, the LA Clippers star fell asleep on a courthouse bench. Lamar is currently fighting Liza for custody of their two children, Destiny, 14, and Lamar Jr., 11 (they had another son who died when he was six months old). In an open letter to the Daily Beast, Liza wrote about how she felt finding out Lamar was getting hitched. “I don’t think I’ll forget the tight knot I felt in the pit of my stomach the morning I received the text message with three simple words on the screen. It read 'I’m getting married’ and it was from the man I’d spent more than 10 years of my life with,” she wrote. “How could the man who’d constantly given me reason after reason for why we couldn’t get married just yet now be ready to tie the knot so quickly? There aren’t words to explain how I felt that day.”
CROWE CATCHES UFO ON FILM?
Russell Crowe thinks he saw a UFO. The Les Miserables star posted footage earlier this week of some sort of flying object near his office in Sydney, Australia. “UFO? Time Lapse Photos Outside RC's Woolloomooloo Office (THESE ARE REAL!),” wrote Crowe. “A friend and I set camera to capture fruit bats rising from Botanic Gardens, this was a big surprise.” Many of Crowe’s followers were skeptical, with some suggesting it could be a plane or car taillights reflected off of glass, but Crowe rejected that, writing, “The camera is on a balcony not behind glass.”
SNOOKI REVEALS POST-PREGNANCY BODY
Jersey Shore’s Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi is showing off her post-baby bod on the cover of Us Weekly. The 25-year-old has lost 42 pounds since giving birth to son Lorenzo in August. "I lost it for me," she tells Us, "but I also wanted (fiancé) Jionni (LaValle) to know that I can be hot as a mom."
BRET DENIES CRYING OVER APPRENTICE
Bret Michaels is denying a Radaronline report that claimed he cried like a baby when he was fired off All-Star Celebrity Apprentice after only one episode. “I don’t remember having a bawling fit,” he told The New York Post. “I remember saying, ‘You guys f***ed me!’ I didn’t cry on the show. I didn’t cry in the boardroom.” Michaels believes his firing was a “scripted kill” since he was the only past winner in the competition. “I went in to really fight and win money for my charity,” he said. “I just wasn’t let in on the joke. It made me furious. Absolutely I was upset. But crying like a baby was not part of it.”
LEO’S NICHOLSON IMPRESSION
Leonardo DiCaprio confessed on Japanese TV that he can do one celebrity impression. Leo can’t do a vocal impersonation, but did display his spot-on facial impersonation of his Departed co-star Jack Nicholson’s eyebrows.
REEDUS TALKS WALKING DEAD ROMANCE
The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus knows that there are fans out there who hope his character Darryl gets together with Carol (Melissa McBride) and it sounds like he’d be okay with that. “If it does, lucky me. She’s awesome,” Reedus tells EW.com of McBride. “She’s my favorite actress on the show. I mean, I like them all, but I’ve gotten to work a lot with her and know her vibe. If it happens, it happens. I want it to be awkward when it happens. I want it to be really awkward. I want her to make the first move.” He adds, “I like the fact that we’re two damaged people and we sort of gravitate to each other. I like that. If it happens, right on.”
WWE MANAGER PAUL BEARER DIES
William Alvin “Bill” Moody, a WWE legend better known by his ring name Paul Bearer, died Tuesday at the age of 58. Moody made his debut with the WWE in 1991 as manager of The Undertaker and has been with the organization for more than twenty years. In real life, Moody had a degree in mortuary science, which was the inspiration for his WWE character, a funeral director who managed not only The Undertaker, but Kane, Rick Rude and other wrestling stars. No cause of death was given.
MENDES SAYS NO TO ANOTHER BOND FILM
James Bond fans were so happy with Skyfall that they were hoping director Sam Mendes would sign on for another 007 flick, but that’s not the case. “It has been a very difficult decision not to accept Michael [Wilson] and Barbara [Broccoli]’s very generous offer to direct the next Bond movie,” he told Empire. “I have theatre and other commitments, including productions of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and King Lear, that need my complete focus over the next year and beyond."
FURLONG SENTENCED TO SIX MONTHS
Terminator 2 star Edward Furlong has been sentenced to six months in jail for violating probation. He was sentenced Monday in connection with two violations – using force against his ex-girlfriend Monica Keena and violating a protective order, which prevented him from having contact with Monica. Furlong was sentenced to three-years probation in 2010 for violating a protective order obtained by his estranged wife Rachael Kneeland.
