Josh Hartnett
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Friday, July 20th
Sir Edmund Hillary (first person to climb Mount Everest) is 88
Chuck Daly (basketball player/coach) is 74
Sleepy LaBeef (singer) is 72
Diana Rigg (actress, The Avengers) is 69
John Lodge (bassist, The Moody Blues) is 64
T.G. Sheppard (country singer) is 63
Kim Carnes (singer, "Bette Davis Eyes") is 61
Carlos Santana (guitarist) is 60
Paul Cook (drummer, The Sex Pistols) is 51
Donna Dixon (actress, Bosom Buddies) is 50
Radney Foster (country singer) is 48
Chris Cornell (singer, Audioslave) is 43
Stone Gossard (guitarist, Pearl Jam) is 41
Reed Diamond (actor, Homicide: Life on the Street) is 40
Josh Holloway (actor, Lost) is 38
Vitamin C (singer) is 38
Simon Rex (actor, Scary Movie 3) is 33
Charlie Korsmo (actor, Can't Hardly Wait) is 29
John Frances Daley (actor, Freaks and Geeks) is 22
Billi Bruno (actress, According to Jim) is 11
Saturday, July 21st
Josh Hartnett (actor, The Black Dahlia) is 29
Billy Taylor (jazz pianist) is 86
Kay Starr (jazz singer) is 85
Paul Burke (actor, Dynasty) is 81
Norman Jewison (movie director, Moonstruck) is 81
Patricia Elliott (actress, One Life to Live) is 65
Edward Herrmann (actor, Gilmore Girls) is 64
Leigh Lawson (actress, Tess) is 62
Ken Starr (lawyer) is 61
Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens, singer) is 59
Garry Trudeau (cartoonist, Doonesbury) is 59
Robin Williams (comedian-actor) is 56
Jon Lovitz (comedian) is 50
Emerson Hart (singer, Tonic) is 38
Paul Brandt (country singer) is 35
Vanessa Lengies (actress, American Dreams) is 22
Hatty Jones (actress, Madeline) is 19
Sunday, July 22nd
Bob Dole (politician) is 84
Louise Fletcher (actress) is 73
Chuck Jackson (singer) is 70
Terence Stamp (actor) is 68
Alex Trebek (game-show host, Jeopardy) is 67
George Clinton (singer) is 66
Bobby Sherman (singer-actor) is 64
Estelle Bennett (singer, The Ronettes) is 63
Paul Schrader (writer, Taxi Driver) is 61
Don Henley (singer, The Eagles) is 60
Danny Glover (actor) is 60
Albert Brooks (actor-comedian-director) is 60
Alan Menken (composer) is 58
Willem Dafoe (actor) is 52
Keith Sweat (singer) is 46
Emily Saliers (singer, Indigo Girls) is 44
David Spade (actor-comedian) is 43
John Leguizamo (actor) is 43
Rhys Ifans (actor, Notting Hill) is 40
Rufus Wainwright (singer) is 34
Daniel Jones (musician, Savage Garden) is 34
Franka Potente (actress, The Bourne Identity) is 33
ON JULY 20th...In 1954...In Memphis, a young Elvis Presley gave his first concert using a flatbed truck as a stage. Billed with Scotty Moore and Bill Black as The Blue Moon Boys, Elvis was playing the show to commemorate the opening of a new drugstore on Lamar Avenue.
In 1965...Bob Dylan released "Like a Rolling Stone." The single became his first major hit, reaching number two.
In 1965...To promote his film Von Ryan's Express, Frank Sinatra left his handprints in front of Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
In 1968...Paul McCartney's girlfriend Jane Asher announced on British TV that her engagement to the Beatles bassist had been broken off. McCartney met Linda Eastman on a business trip the previous month.
In 1969...Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon.
In 1974...The Doobie Brothers played England's Knebworth Festival with The Allman Brothers and Van Morrison.
In 1974...The Ramones decided to make their drummer Joey Ramone the lead vocalist.
In 1975...On Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run tour stop in Providence, Rhode Island, The E Street Band played their first gig with "Little Steven" Van Zandt on guitar.
In 1986...To celebrate his 39th birthday, Carlos Santana played a reunion concert with the original members of his band.
In 1986...Van Halen manager Ed Leffler was beaten up by an unknown assailant in a Dallas hotel elevator.
In 1987...Mick Jagger shot the video for "Let's Work" in New York. The track came from for his solo album, Primitive Cool.
In 2004...Andre 3000 of rap duo OutKast was named the World's Sexiest Vegetarian by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
ON JULY 21ST...In 1956...Johnny Cash went to number one in the country charts with "I Walk the Line."
In 1971...Jesus Christ Superstar mania seized Pittsburgh. An audience of 13-thousand packed the Civic Arena and saw a special performance of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.
In 1973...Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin crashed into the album top 20 with Love, Devotion, Surrender.
In 1977...In Tucson, Arizona, Linda Ronstadt joined The Rolling Stones onstage to perform "Tumbling Dice."
In 1980...AC/DC released Back in Black, their first album since the death of singer Bon Scott. It went to number four.
In 1987...Guns N' Roses released their number one debut album Appetite for Destruction.In 1987...Paul McCartney finished recording Russian versions of rock and roll songs for his Soviet-only release Choba B CCCP.In 1989...UHF starring "Weird" Al Yankovic was released.
In 1990...On pay-per-view, you could have watched the Roger Waters' production of The Wall. The concert at the Berlin Wall featured a host of guest performers like Van Morrison, Bryan Adams and Sinead O'Connor.
In 1993...Bob Dylan filmed the video for "Blood in My Eyes" in North London.
In 1999...MP3.com went public. The stock price soared and made spokesperson Alanis Morissette worth nearly 42-million dollars. She later sold off a portion of her holding in the company after its value dipped.
In 2002...Gus Dudgeon, who produced classic Elton John albums like Madman Across the Water and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, died with his wife in a car crash in England. Dudgeon was 59.
In 2003...Coldplay performed the first of a two-night stand in Sydney, Australia. The shows were later released as their live CD/DVD.
In 2003...Coldplay singer Chris Martin was charged with malicious damage after allegedly attacking a photographer's car with a rock in Byron Bay, Australia.
In 2003...Black Sabbath removed images from a film that played during their Ozzfest set and associated George W. Bush with Adolf Hitler after drummer Bill Ward posted his disapproval on his Web site.
In 2004...Jimmy Buffett topped the U-S album charts with License to Chill.
In 2005...Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" stayed at number one in the U-S singles chart for a fourth week. Carey also has the week's highest new entry, as "Shake It Off" debuted at number 66.
In 2005...A jury ruled that Ashanti was guilty of breach of contract and owed producer Genard Parker 630-thousand dollars. She had promised Parker he could produce two songs on her debut if he released her from an earlier contract, then reneged.
ON JULY 22ND...In 1965...The Rolling Stones were found guilty of insulting behavior after they urinated on the wall of a gas station in East Ham, England, earlier in the year. Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman and Brian Jones were all fined five British pounds each. The owner of the gas station said that to add insult to injury, the band drove off "making a well-known gesture."
In 1967...Jimi Hendrix called it quits as the support act for The Monkees. In 1967...The Doors made their debut on American Bandstand and performed "Light My Fire."
In 1969...In Detroit, Aretha Franklin was busted for "causing a disturbance" in a parking lot. After she paid a 50 dollar fine, she accidentally drove into a road sign.
In 1977...Elvis Costello released his debut album My Aim Is True in England.
In 1979...The Sony Walkman went on sale to the public.
In 1980...A reunited Allman Brothers Band announced that they'd signed with Clive Davis' Arista label.
In 1983...Diana Ross performed a huge concert in New York's Central Park.
In 1987...Michael Jackson released his single "I Just Can't Stop Loving You." The song from Bad became the first of an astonishing five number one singles from the album.
In 1996...INXS singer Michael Hutchence and TV presenter girlfriend Paula Yates became the proud parents of Heavenly Hiranni Tigerlily. Both parents would die a few years later, Hutchence of mysterious circumstances and Yates of suicide.
In 2002...Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach faced the music following a pot bust earlier in the year. A judge told the rocker he would have charges of terrorist threats and drug possession dropped if he behaved himself for a year.
In 2005...The Doors drummer John Densmore won a ruling that kept the other two surviving members - Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger - from using the band's name as part of their oldies act, The Doors of the 21st Century. In 2005...Country singer Mindy McCready was hospitalized after suffering an overdose in Pinellas County, Florida.
MOVIE MINUTE: HAIRSPRAY
The new movie Hairspray is based on John Waters' 1988 cult classic film and the hit Broadway musical. For the lead role of "Tracey Tumblad," the movie's producers went on a nationwide search before finding Cold Stone Creamery ice cream scooper Nikki Blonsky who captured their hearts and won the coveted role. For Nikki, it was just a pleasure to have teen actress Amanda Bynes playing her best friend. "Of course I grew up watching The Amanda Show. Playing with her was so much fun, she's so great, so funny, and so sweet. And exactly what you see on camera as 'Penny' and 'Tracey,' when they yell cut- there was no difference. I mean, we're the exact same way. We make each other laugh. We have fun." Amanda Bynes felt a bit challenged playing "Penny," who is a bit of a shy girl and nerd. "I had so much fun doing this movie. For me, my career has sort of been based on going over the top. So I had to actually pull back in this movie because I had to be shy and sort of quiet. And then in the end I get to be over the top and break out of my shell. But in the beginning it was really hard for me to be quiet, but it was fun. It was a new challenge." Hairspray features an all-star cast including John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Zac Efron and Brittany Snow. It hits theatres nationwide today.
Kelly Clarkson's newest album, My December, will land at number five on next week's Billboard chart. Her first single off the album has been on the Billboard singles chart for 12 weeks now but Clarkson wanted to make a few things clear. "My first single 'Never Again,' I wrote over two years ago and I was obviously very bitter (laughs), in a very bitter place, obviously I worked through that. But yeah, I don't know, it was just a really crappy situation and I tend to get my crappy situations out on paper to where it's not inside me just like festering." Although Clarkson was bitter when she wrote the song she says it doesn't mean that you still can't have some fun listening to it. "It's kind of sarcastic and mean and bitter but it's funny, so it's kind of catty and it's kind of loveable. It's just that song when you get in the car and if someone's messed you over you're just screaming at the top of your lungs with your windows down."
Though Avril Lavigne didn't directly address the plagiarism claims that have dogged her over her "Girlfriend" hit, she posted a message on her MySpace page on Tuesday thanking fans for their support and urging them to check out the new disc by her hubby's band, Sum 41. The message read, "I wanted to take this time to thank you, my fans, for all your undying support. You have been amazing and I can't express how much I appreciate it. Thank you all so much. I am so proud of this record and grateful for the response it has been getting from all of my fans. You made it go number 1."
Apparently, Mouseketeers have each other's backs for life, as Christina Aguilera has come to the defense of Britney Spears. The "Dirrty" girl spoke about her former co-worker with The Daily Star, saying, "Britney is a good person and a good mom. She's been under so much pressure since she was a child... I don't think any of us should judge her or jump to conclusions. She loves her boys and they're turning out great."
You may have heard rumors recently that Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz and girlfriend Ashlee Simpson are engaged. Fear not young female fans, they are just rumors and the stars are not set to be hitched. MTV News reports that Simpson is not pregnant with Wentz's child nor are the two heading down the aisle.
Singer Amy Winehouse treated English fans to a surprise at a gig this week and then spit on them. According to ThisIsLondon.Co.Uk, fans walked out of the show after being spat on, clearly not appreciating the gesture from the troubled star. Winehouse also allegedly began crying and hitting herself with her microphone while onstage after forgetting lyrics to her songs. Winehouse recently canceled a slew of gigs in the U-K due to exhaustion. Amy's debut album Back to Black is up for this year's Mercury Music Prize. Winners of the award will be announced in London in September.
In 1997, Duran Duran launched their band Web site DuranDuran.com. Ever since, their site has featured an ASK KATY section where fans can write in and get direct answers back from the band members. Ten years after ASK KATY started, Duran Duran is releasing a book called Would Someone Please Explain?, which is a collection of fan letters from the site. Readers will get the touching, the crazy, the funny and more.
According to the LA Times Web site, an upcoming episode of CBS drama Cold Case will feature music from Nirvana throughout the entire episode. No word when the episode will air, but the show has been known for featuring music from acts like U2, Bob Dylan and more in the past.
It looks like there's no hope for a follow-up to the hit album The Score. Pras tells Billboard.com that the forever-delayed Fugees reunion CD is now off the table altogether - and he's not afraid to point fingers, either. Even though they managed to record a few songs that he called incredible, Pras alleges that he was on the same page as group; member Wyclef Jean, but that Lauryn Hill was (quote) "in her zone." He went on to say, "I'm fed up with that s**t. Here she is, blessed with a gift, with the opportunity to rock and give, and she's running on some bulls**t? I'm a fan of Lauryn's, but I can't respect that."
Ciara just wrapped her feature film debut, Mama, I Want To Sing, last week. Shooting the movie in Louisiana and with such a top-notch cast was a joy for the pop singer and she's also impressed with her own acting chops. "It was somewhat of a very blessed experience for me because I was surrounded by a lot of talented actresses and actors that have had so much experience over the years. People such as Hill Harper, Lynn Whitfield, Billy Zane, Patti Labelle and the list goes on and on. I gotta say for myself, what I told myself before I walked into that environment. I wanted to be a sponge and absorbed as much information as I could and that's exactly what I went for. I brought a coach with me a little later into the shooting. I felt like I need that extra push and extra guidance to help me round everything out since we only had one month to shoot. So my goal was to be the best I could be." Mama, I Want To Sing will be out sometime in 2008.
If you are planning on seeing The Police on tour this summer, you may catch their opening act Fiction Plane. The band's lead singer just happens to be Sting's son, Joe Sumner who talked to us about supporting his dad's band. "We're not like a big band. We're not known. We haven't sold billions of records. Do we deserve it? That's the question that I asked. But then I was like, you know, that's completely retarded. We can go on a massive tour and play our own music in front of a ton of people with absolutely no filter on our own terms. And that's the goal of being in a rock band, to give it to the people, right there, exactly how you meant it." Fiction Plane's latest album Left Side of the Brain is out now.
Fans often wonder what their favorite artists songs are about. Often times, the artists don't feel comfortable revealing their inspirations and White Stripes leader Jack White is certainly one of them. "It's always 'I.' It's always the big 'I,' but it doesn't have to be about me. If it were, I'd be reliving these moments of my life each time I played these songs live. People have to make up their own minds about it. It'd be ridiculous for me to have to re-explain over and over again what the song is about. It'd be like a painter painting a picture, then having to explain what it means over and over again. It's not the painter's job." The White Stripes latest album Icky Thump is out now.
Korn will release their new untitled album on July 31st, but the guys are already talking about a new one. They have started work on a covers album that they hope to release in the future. They've already taken on "Love My Way" by the Psychedelic Furs, "We Care a Lot" by Faith No More and "Head Like a Hole" by Nine Inch Nails. Those tracks are already recorded and the group also hopes to tackle Prince's "Erotic City" and Ozzy Osbourne's "Diary of a Madman." The band has no set release date for the covers record.
Ringo Starr and actor Alec Baldwin have voiced the character of "Thomas the Tank Engine" in the past, but the latest "Thomas" will be Bond star Pierce Brosnan. RTE reports that the actor will narrate the upcoming DVD, Thomas and Friends: The Great Discovery, which is set to come out in 2008. He is also signed up to narrate three more DVD specials and three TV series. The Irish star is thrilled saying, ""One of my fondest memories as a father was sharing the stories of 'Thomas the Tank Engine' and watching the series with my children when they were young."
It looks like it will be a white wedding for Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl. The Knocked Up actress will be getting married on December 23rd and, according to the National Enquirer, she's found the perfect location for the event. Heigl hopes to wed singer/songwriter Josh Kelley at her ranch in snowy, rural Utah. The two met when Kelley hired Heigl to play his love interest in a music video. The wedding will also feature a tribute to Heigl's brother Jason, who died from brain injuries suffered in a 1986 car crash.
The Times of London reported that Paul McCartney's soon to be ex wife, Heather Mills, has turned down a 40-million dollar divorce offer, and said she'd only finalize things if she gets around 100-million dollars. McCartney's reported to have a net worth of more than a billion dollars. But according to the paper, lawyers in the case are wary of any settlements. If a settlement isn't reached, the couple's case will go trial in February. McCartney, 65, and Mills, 39, were married in 2002, but split last year for uncited reasons. They have one child together, Beatrice, who was born in 2003.
TV game show legend Merv Griffin is in the hospital being treated for prostate cancer. According to E! Online, the cancer was discovered a few weeks ago during a routine exam. The 82-year-old creator of Wheel of Fortune released a statement, "I'd rather play Jeopardy! than live it... I was ready for a vacation; however, this wasn't the destination I had in mind." Griffin's son said his father was resting comfortably.
Along with the Baltimore Sun, The New York Times posted an early review of J.K. Rowling's wildly-anticipated Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows on Thursday, two days before the heavily-guarded and embargoed tome is to be officially released on Saturday. Times reviewer Michiko Kakutani, who wrote in her review that she obtained her copy at a New York retail bookstore, doesn't give up any very serious spoilers but does say that the novel "ends not with modernist, Soprano-esque equivocation, but with good old-fashioned closure: a big-screen, heart-racing, bone-chilling confrontation and an epilogue that clearly lays out people's fates." And while Kakutani quibbles about some "lumpy passages of exposition" and "clunky detours," her review is favorable, noting the "somber" direction the series has taken and comparing Rowling's compelling and complete mastery of her fictional world to J.R.R. Tolkien's "Middle Earth" or L. Frank Baum's "Oz." However, Potter fans might want to avoid the review, since certain key details are revealed regarding "Lord Voldemort" and the book's sobering and swift body count. Needless to say, Reuters reports that J.K. Rowling isn't happy with The New York Times or the Baltimore Sun, issuing a stinging rebuke saying that she is "staggered that some American newspapers have decided to publish purported spoilers in the form of reviews in complete disregard of the wishes of literally millions of readers, especially children."
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