Kobe Bryant
Photo: Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
Kobe Bryant (basketball player) is 29
Vera Miles (actress, "Lila Crane" in Psycho) is 77
Mark Russell (satirist) is 75
Barbara Eden (actress, I Dream of Jeannie) is 73
Richard Sanders (actor, "Les" on WKRP in Cincinnati) is 67
Rex Allen Junior (country singer) is 60
Linda Thompson (singer) is 60
Rick Springfield (singer-actor) is 58
Shelley Long (actress, "Diane Chambers" on Cheers) is 58
Woody Paul (country fiddler-singer, Riders in the Sky) is 58
Mark Hudson (producer, Aerosmith) is 56
Dean DeLeo (guitarist, Stone Temple Pilots) is 46
Jay Mohr (actor) is 37
Nicole Bobek (figure skater) is 30
Julian Casablancas (guitarist-singer, The Strokes) is 29
THE EVENTS OF AUGUST 23rd
In 1962...John Lennon married his first wife, Cynthia, in Liverpool, England. Fellow Beatles George and Paul were in attendance. John's wedding night was spent playing with the Beatles at Liverpool's Riverpark Ballroom.
In 1966...In Chicago, Big Brother & The Holding Company signed to Mainstream Records in return for airfare back to San Francisco.
In 1968...Flushing Meadows in Queens hosted the New York Rock Festival, which featured the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Big Brother & The Holding Company and The Soft Machine.
In 1968...Ringo Starr temporarily quit The Beatles.
In 1970...Lou Reed left The Velvet Underground following a gig at the New York club Max's Kansas City. The group's manager carried on and made Doug Yule the frontman. Yule toured with a variety of line-ups and the band's final 1973 album Squeeze featured no original members.
In 1972...The Looking Glass hit the top of the Billboard singles chart with "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)."
In 1975...Paul Kossoff, former guitarist with English rockers Free, had a scare when his heart stopped beating for 35 minutes. Doctors at a London hospital kept him alive until a blood clot in his leg was removed. Kossoff later emerged from his coma and returned to his band Black Night Crawler. He died the following year.
In 1975...Fleetwood Mac's self-titled album entered the charts. It was the former blues band's first record with pop-oriented songwriters Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham on board.
In 1993...David Rose, the instrumental composer who wrote the theme tunes to Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie, died in Burbank, California at age 80.
In 1993...Duran Duran received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 1999...An autopsy was performed on the body of Bobby Sheehan, the bass player of Blues Traveler, who was found dead in his apartment on August 20th.
In 2003...Bobby Brown was arrested in an Atlanta restaurant while eating dinner with wife Whitney Houston. The former New Edition star was wanted for violating his parole.
VMA FACT OF THE DAY
Madonna has scored 62 MTV Video Music Award nominations and has won 19 "Moonmen," the most of any artist.
MOVIE MINUTE: WAR
War is the new action flick that stars Jet Li and Jason Statham. In the flick, Statham plays an FBI agent searching for Li's character, who killed his partner three years earlier. The duo has worked together before in The One, but they didn't get to fight, which Jason was very upset about. "I mean, I'm a massive Jet Li fan. I mean, he's probably the best martial arts chap on the planet and for me to be working in the company of Jet, and then not being able to do a fight scene was like, oh my... you know, it was just something that was too much to take. So when this opportunity arose all these years later, I was like, 'I can't let this one pass.'" Statham insists that War is not your typical action flick. "You know, it's dramatically driven. Most action movies are just... you know, they got a pretty weak structure. This will keep you guessing, keep you scratching your head and hopefully keep you entertained." War also stars Luis Guzman and My Name Is Earl's Nadine Velazquez, and it hits theaters tomorrow.
LINDSAY LOHAN'S REHAB PHOTO SHOOT. According to the New York Daily News, Lindsay Lohan recently posed for an "inside rehab" photo shoot with Ok! magazine. The issue is on newsstands now and features LiLo reading her Alcoholics Anonymous book, as well as doing various other rehab activities. Lohan has been spending her time at Cirque Lodge detox center in Sundance, Utah. According to Ok! magazine, Lindsay is spending most of her Utah days writing in her journal, attending spiritual classes and working at a nearby supermarket, where her wages go to a local charity.
MADONNA SELLS HER RECORD COMPANY. NME.com reports that Madonna has sold her label, Maverick Records, to the Warner Music Group. Madge and her partners owned 60 percent of the label and Warner owned 40. Warner has now bought out Madonna and her crew. The singer formed the label 12 years ago and it is the home to Alanis Morissette as well. Maverick had filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Warner earlier this year over, but the buyout effectively settles the disagreement.
50 CENT SUPPLEMENTS YOUR DIET. 50 Cent is expanding his empire with a new dietary supplement company. According to IrelandOn-Line the rapper, who already has his own record label, energy drink, publishing house and clothing line, is looking to launch his new venture at the same time his new movie is released. 50 said, "I'm getting ready to do a dietary supplement company, so I have a nutritionist and a physical trainer travel everywhere with me. I'm preparing for a boxing film. I'll be working out with Roger Mayweather, (boxer) Floyd Mayweather's uncle." Look for 50's dietary supplement and his boxing movie The Dance sometime next year.
HINDER MAKING PLANS TO RETURN TO THE STUDIO. Having gone double-platinum with their debut album, the guys in Hinder are now road-testing new tunes for their next record on their current tour. According to Billboard.com, the group is playing two new songs in each of its shows - one in a full-band version, then another in a stripped-down acoustic rendition. Frontman Austin Winkler says the new material's not headed in any particular direction yet, but the band hopes to start recording it early in the new year, hopefully for release next summer.
DIDDY'S WHITE PARTY GOES BLACK THIS YEAR. Diddy's Labor Day weekend, "white party" in the Hamptons will have a bit less boom. The Associated Press reports East Hampton, New York town officials have turned down the hip-hop mogul's plans for a 100 thousand dollar fireworks show over East Hampton's Northwest Harbor on September 2nd, out of concern that the spectacle could draw boaters to a risky, rocky area. Diddy had planned all-white pyrotechnics to match the event's dress code.
HOW THE EDGE GOT HIS NAME. Ever wonder how U2's guitarist The Edge got his nickname? His real name is of course Dave Evans, but he reveals on U2.com how he became The Edge. Apparently, he was first given the nickname "Inchicore," after a suburb in his hometown of Ireland, which was then shortened to "Inch" which somehow morphed into The Edge. Edge explains, "All three are a reference to my angular chin. We had this whole thing of name-giving: expressing our friends' physical characteristics in an onomatopoeic fashion. So we had Little Billy One Way Street, Bono Vox of O'Connell Street, Mr Burns The Jam Jar. Bono himself gave some great names. Some of them stuck. And some of them didn't." Bono Vox was a hearing aid shop on O'Connell Street, one of the main streets in Dublin's city center. U2 are currently working on a new album, but no release date has been set.
SLASH ALMOST DONE WITH AUTOBIOGRAPHY. Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash has lived quite a life, so it goes without saying that people would be interested to read all about it. That should make Slash happy, since he's just about finished penning his memoirs. He told Glam-Metal.com, "It's almost done. I thought about doing it forever, but I didn't want to look like I was getting bored from what I was doing. Then Velvet Revolver happened and some people thought if I was going to do it, it's a good time to do it because you have another career started." Slash went on to say that while rumors sidetracked him, he found inspiration and plans to release his autobiography in November. As for the writing process, Slash said, "It's hard to write a book, because it seems like it's all about me. It's sort of weird...It does sort of factually tell everything that happened since I started till now." The writing is apparently finished, Slash just has to get it edited. The rocker says he plans to do a book tour to promote it.
WILL MOTLEY CRUE'S DIRT HIT THEATERS? If any band has truly lived the rock and roll lifestyle, it's Motley Crue. In fact, the tell all book The Dirt goes into detail about the group's tales of sex, drugs and rock and roll, and a movie based on it will be made. While there have been obstacles, bassist Nikki Sixx told the Artisan News Service that it is still in the works. He said it already went through one director and "We got the second director and he lost focus on what the project was really about. He sort of dived into all the dirt in The Dirt and that was the story and I don't think that is the story. I think it's a different movie." As for what is happening now, Sixx added, "We're now having meetings and we're going to move forward with it. Like all things Motley Crue, it's a very big barge and it takes a long time to turn around. I'm in no rush to make the wrong movie." No word on when to expect the film in theaters.
NIKKI SIXX GOES ON TOUR...A BOOK TOUR. Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx is getting ready to release his new book, The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star. It's based on some diaries the rocker found in storage and is due out on September 18th. To promote the release, Sixx has planned a book tour. He'll be signing Heroin Diaries in L-A, Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Philadelphia and Boston. You can get more details at NikkiSixx.net. You can also get the soundtrack to the book, which is in stores now.
VAN HALEN STILL TRYING TO ERASE FORMER BASSIST? We recently reported about Van Halen taking out some photos of former bassist Michael Anthony from their Web site. Well, while those pictures have been restored, AntiMusic.com reports that now, the group seems to be removing Anthony's name from writing credits. One fan wrote in to the site after seeing the film Superbad, which uses the Van Halen tune "Panama." While the song is usually credited to Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony and whoever the lead singer featured on the song might be, in the credits to the film, the track was only credited to the two Van Halens and David Lee Roth. AntiMusic even checked with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and it turns out that Anthony's name has been removed from the album 1984, but his name is still on other releases. The re-united Van Halen tour kicks off on September 27th in Charlotte. They'll reportedly be using pre-recorded tapes to recreate Anthony's backing vocals. Anthony, for his part, doesn't seem to have hard feelings. He wrote about his replacement on his blog, stating, "Wolfgang is a great kid, so don't judge him too harshly. I'm sure he'll do just fine."
IS BIGGER BANG THE STONES' FINAL TOUR? The Rolling Stones wrap up their two-year long world tour on Sunday and the rumors have started that the trek was the band's last. According to MonstersAndCritics.com, a source close to the band said, "We've been told this will be the last tour. Embarking on a Stones world tour takes years to plan. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards would be in their late 60s by the time they would be ready to rock once more." It has been a rough few years for the group. Charlie Watts recently beat throat cancer, Ron Wood has had troubles with alcoholism, Mick had some voice issues and of course, Keith had a mishap with a tree in Fiji. However, Keith has said in the past that he is most comfortable on the road. In the past, he noted, "All I can say about this band is, in essence, they're still very youthful physically in the way they feel about things. I guess maybe rock and roll does that for you." The Stones' last show of their A Bigger Bang Tour will be at London's O2 arena Sunday.
...AND ROLLING STONES AVOID SMOKING FINE. Since July 1st, smoking has been banned at London's O2 arena, but apparently, the Rolling Stones didn't get that memo. The BBC reports that guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood both smoked before one of their gigs there earlier this week. While the fine for breaking the rule is nearly five-thousand dollars, the rockers were spared the charge. A spokeswoman for the venue explained, "A band member appeared to have a cigarette, however it was extinguished almost faster than the message to put it out got to stage. We are sure it was an oversight and are grateful for their cooperation." Apparently, Richards started the concert by saying, "It's been a long haul. It's good to be back," all the while holding a cigarette. This isn't the first time Keith got hit for smoking. He was chastised for not abiding a smoking ban in Scotland last year. He avoided the fine in that case as well.
BRIT POPPPER WAS A DRUG ADDICT. Blur drummer Dave Rowntree has admitted to NME.com that he was once a drug addict. The kitman says he began using cocaine heavily in the '90s, but is now sober and active in the recovery community. Rowntree, who is planning on running as a Labour Candidate in England's next general election, says that he'd like to fight drug problems in the country. He shared, "Some evidence suggests that the proportion of people who may be at serious risk of becoming dependent could be as high as one in six. If so, taking drugs is really like playing Russian roulette." Blur are rumored to be working on a new album featuring the band's original line-up.
SAMUEL L. JACKSON READY TO DITCH QUENTIN FOR SPIKE. It seems like just about every movie that is out there stars quintessential actor Samuel L. Jackson. His latest film is called Resurrecting the Champ and in it, Jackson portrays a former boxing champion who has become homeless. But after working in so many movies with so many different actors and directors, what does Jackson look forward to? "I'm still looking forward to doing another Quentin Tarantino movie. This movie he keeps promising me that he's writing. He's been talking about this movie forever. The World War Two movie about the black soldiers and World War Two that he's never done. Now Spike Lee's in Italy doing a movie like that. Maybe I should just call Spike and go do his movie." Jackson's current movie, Resurrecting the Champ, which co-stars Josh Hartnett and Alan Alda, fights its way into theaters tomorrow.
KID NATION MAY HAVE BROKEN LAWS. The attorney general of New Mexico says CBS probably broke child labor laws in the production of Kid Nation. The reality program dropped 40 kids into the ghost town of Bonanza, New Mexico and gave them the opportunity to build a society with no adults. The problem is, some of those production days ran 14 hours or more, which violates child labor laws. CBS attempted to skirt the labor laws by declaring the production a "camp" - but the New York Times is reporting that the producers of the program didn't file for the necessary exemptions that all camps must file in New Mexico. The newspaper also reports that investigators looking into to the labor law violations were turned away from the production site twice. Kid Nation premieres September 19th.
VICK STILL THE 100-MILLION MAN. Michael Vick won a 130-million dollar contract with the Atlanta Falcons when he signed in 2001. Now, as he faces up to 18 months in prison on federal dog fighting charges, Vick stands to lose 100-million dollars. Sports Illustrated reports Vick will lose 71-million dollars in base salary and may have to repay as much as 25-million dollars from his signing bonus with the Falcons. He's already lost an estimated five-million dollars in endorsement deals. The Los Angeles Times reports Vick may have been on his way out, anyway, as new Atlanta coach Bobby Petrino didn't think Vick would be able to run the new offense he is installing with the team this year. Apparently, he probably would have been traded or released by the Falcons next year.
"KEN" NOT UPSET BUT PORNO "BARBIE" GETS SUED. According to the Associated Press, model "China Barbie" and her pornographic Web site of the same name are being sued by Mattel. The site, whose content has been disabled, used to feature naked pictures and video clips of the model, available to view for the small price of 19.95 a month. Mattel has filed a lawsuit against the Web site, saying its material hurts the trademarked name Barbie, as well as the image the brand tries to portray. While the site is down, fans of "China Barbie" can rent her previous work like Me Luv You Long Time, Ethnic Cheerleaders 8 and Passport to Paradise from their local off-color video store.
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