Lizzie Grubman Rises AgainThe PR guru takes on a managerial role, Dina Lohan goes house hunting on Long Island, and Kathie Lee Gifford makes people uncomfortable in the bathroom. That and more in our daily gossip roundup.
in other news
Day Four of Eliot Spitzer WhoreGate: Where’s ‘Kristen’?Okay, so we’ve known the identity of the hooker who hung Eliot Spitzer for nearly two days now, and in that time we’ve heard from her sketchy friends, her family, and a dude who claims to have been her pimp but probably really wasn’t. But where’s Ashley Dupré, a.k.a. Kristen, herself? As AM New York brilliantly points out, “for a call girl, Ashley Dupré sure has proven hard to get ahold of.” The press is camped outside of her tony Chelsea building, but she’s not inside. She doesn’t need to work, because yesterday she made a ton of money off her selling her single on the Internet. But she’s nowhere to be found! Not even at Barbara Walters’s place! While we endure this interminable wait for her spectacular public debut, here’s what we’ve learned about her since yesterday:
• Some people (okay, us) wondered whether she was actually 32, not 22 as has been reported. But it turns out that’s probably wrong. [NYM]
• Spitzer had met with her several times before, but it was only after her last visit that she called her Emperor’s Club bosses and said, “Oh, my God! Do you know who this guy is?” [NYP]
in other news
Kristen Is Rich
Last night, Ashley Alexandra Dupré, a.k.a. “Kristen,” told the New York Times she was worried about paying her rent in the fancy Flatiron district building in which she lives. But in fact, in the less than 24 hours since that interview took place, Dupre’s personal wealth has increased considerably. The two songs on her Amie Street profile, which each cost 98 cents, have reportedly been downloaded more than two million times, and according to that site’s business model, Dupré should receive 70 percent of the total profit. Plus! Playboy and Penthouse are both reportedly interested in setting up photo shoots. “We’ve already discussed some options,” Penthouse publisher Diane Silberstein tells Radar, adding that they’d pay in the “high six figures.” Book publishers, however, are dragging their feet. “I don’t think it’s worth anything,” HarperCollins publisher Jonathan Burnham tells Portfolio today, making us want to wrap our hands around his neck and administer a light throttle. “There’s no story there.” Seriously? Does no one remember for instance the best-selling Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl, soon to be an HBO series with Darren Star? Hookers are so hot right now.
gossipmonger
Spike Lee to Knicks Fans: ‘Don’t Die’Spike Lee advised a fellow Knicks fan, “Don’t commit suicide.” Chace Crawford and Carrie Underwood danced together at Marquee, but not well. Jules Nasso, who may or may not be an associate of the Gambino family, will chair the 2008 Staten Island Film Festival. 30 Rock’s Katrina Bowden exchanged her ravioli for a salad at the dinner at the Four Seasons for Juno. LeBron James sang and danced with Oompa Loompas at Marquee.
company town
Falling Glass a Metaphor for Bank of America’s Finances?FINANCE
• The debris falling off the new Bank of America tower at 42nd Street may have been metaphoric. The firm just reported steep losses, and their wannabe investment-banking unit, set to anchor the new tower, performed the worst. [MarketBeat/WSJ, Deal Journal/WSJ]
• Congrats, James Cayne — nobody wants anything to do with Bear Stearns. Contrary to reports, both Warren Buffett and China’s Citic Bank denied any interest in the bank. [DealBook/NYT]
• Today’s the real anniversary of the 1987 stock-market crash, but at least one veteran thinks parallels to the present are overblown. “The market is just like generals — everyone prepares for the last war.” [MarketBeat/WSJ]
