Ben Silverman Remixes NBC ChimesT.I., the Flaming Lips, and Richie Sambora have been hired to ‘reinterpret’ the chimes in a series of upcoming promos.
ByLane Brown
gossipmonger
Harry Potter and the Lean, Mean, Skorcher Butt MachineDaniel Radcliffe is spotted toning up his bum for ‘Equus,’ Mary J. Blige helps a stranger buy a dress, and Adam Duritz takes up with a new actress, all in our daily distillation of the city’s gossip columns.
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Tony Bennett Marries Down … in AgeRenée Zellweger bought an employee at Saks Fifth Avenue in Southampton a pair of Manolos the two had been eyeing together. Top Chef gay-bashing victim Josie Smith-Malave spoke at a fund-raiser for potential mayoral candidate and current city comptroller William Thompson. Kaz Bayati, the owner of Persian eatery Persepolis, claims his quote in support of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in AM New York was taken out of context. Anna Anisimova finds it strange that people care how much money she spends on Hamptons rentals. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has scheduled a meeting with Angelia Jolie to discuss “global diplomacy,” and he’ll write about it on his blog. Tony Bennett officially ended his marriage to Sandra Grant Bennett and married the younger Susan Crow, though Grant is still bitter she didn’t marry Joe DiMaggio instead.
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Searching for Mrs. XHarvey Weinstein hired private eye Bo Dietl to try to figure out the real identity of The Nanny Diaries’ Mrs. X. New School prez Bob Kerrey seems likely to run for Senate again if Chuck Hagel quits. Jerry Lewis said that Merv Griffin deserved to die of prostate cancer. The fake feud between Kanye West and 50 Cent is officially over. Richard Gere thinks he could capture Bosnian war criminal Radovan Karadzic, even though NATO has unsuccessfully looked for him for a decade. (And James Brolin flies planes and builds houses.) Subscribers to the now-shuttered Jane magazine are getting Glamour instead, and ex Jane staffers are pissed. Katie Holmes fell and bruised herself after chasing Suri in Paris.
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Guv Love?The “tall and attractive” 25-year-old aide whom Jon Corzine may have been sitting next to at the time of his car crash was reassigned last month because she and the governor were allegedly getting too close. Larry and Laurie David may have split because Laurie had an affair with a married man on Martha’s Vineyard. Some Columbia Records staffers are worried that producer Rick Rubin has been named co-head of the label, given that he has no executive experience. Richie Sambora dumped Denise Richards during a Hawaii vacation a few months ago; she’d been expecting him to propose. Michael Jackson placed a number of odd, ill-timed room-service orders at an inn in Maryland, but he did bless the manager. Oliver Platt is an ardent supporter of the business tactics of George Steinbrenner, whom he plays in The Bronx Is Burning. Lindsay Lohan is dropping booze for bottled water.
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Not a Good ThingMartha Stewart’s driver was arrested for undisclosed reasons, and Stewart flipped out because he is Egyptian. Paula Abdul whines and moans a lot on her upcoming Bravo reality show, but it’s good TV. Actors from the Lord of the Rings trilogy are suing New Line, claiming the studio owes them a cut of merchandising revenue. Jean-Georges Vongerichten is set to open an authentic Japanese eatery where 66 used to be in Tribeca. HBO co-president of programming Richard Plepler, ICM agent Esther Newberg, and Lorne Michaels all back Chris Dodd for president. Barbra Streisand may star in a one-woman show on Broadway after her European tour.
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Odd CouplingsTwo men bought a date with New York Giant Michael Strahan at an auction. Denise Richards and Richie Sambora finally split. Bruce Willis is dating a 23-year-old Playmate. Former HBO exec Chris Albrecht went out on the town with the girl he allegedly assaulted. The Office stars Rashida Jones and John Krasinski may be dating again.
