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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Dec 5, 2011
December 5, 2011
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He's dead, Jim:
Former "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" cast member ALAN SUES. He was 85, and had reportedly been in failing health due to old age for the past couple of years. His big characters were loud-mouthed, over-the-top characters like "Big Al" the Sportscaster and "Uncle Al the Kiddie's Pal." The LA Times obituary included comments from his longtime friend, MICHAEL MICHAUD, who said Sues was gay but not publicly because he feared it would ruin his career.
Also pushing up daisies:
JUDY LEWIS. She was the daughter of LORETTA YOUNG and CLARK GABLE, who was conceived while the pair were shooting the movie, "Call of the WIld," back in the 1930s. But since her movie-star mother was single (and Catholic) and her famous father was married to another woman, Judy was raised at an orphanage for two years and then adopted by her mother when she was two.
In fact, Judy apparently never knew her father, and was only told who he was six years after his death. She went on to describe the situation in her book, "Uncommon Knowledge," in 1994. She looked like her father growing up and had his prominent ears that stuck out, so her mother had them surgically pinned back when she was seven years old.
The story was reportedly an open secret in Hollywood, but it never got to Judy because all her friends had been instructed not to tell her. The Lewis was from radio producer TOM LEWIS, who married her mother when she was five years old.
Judy passed away of cancer the day after Thanksgiving in the Philadelphia suburb of Gladwyne. She was 76.Squealing in heaven:
character actor BILL McKINNEY, who was the Mountain Man in the 1972 film, "Deliverance," has died of cancer of the esophagus at the age of 80. McKinney was a smoker for 25 years when he was younger. He was also in several CLINT EASTWOOD films, including "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot," "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and "Pink Cadillac." Facebook page HERE.
Christmas shopping:
Already sold out on Amazon --Scentsicles! Pine-scented “ornaments” to hang on your fake Christmas tree to make it smell real. You might find them at your local craft store. (Kaye)
Black Friday shoppers flocked to stores in hordes for the best deals on TVs, stereos, clothes, and, apparently, guns. Firearm sales in the U-S reached a record high --129,166-- the day after Thanksgiving. That’s 32 percent more guns than were sold last Black Friday.
The FBI confirmed the figures but could not explain the jump. A National Shooting Sports Foundation spokesman suggested that "there also is a burgeoning awakening of the American public that they do have a constitutional right to own guns," but the president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence doubts there's any significance to the increase. "It's possible that gun companies are just catching on to creating a Black Friday frenzy for themselves," he said.
Editor's note: Nothing says "peace on Earth" better than a fully automatic weapon. In fact, I think the Baby Jesus owned a derringer. Or at least that was the image I saw in the French Toast I burnt this morning. Wanna buy it? (Maiman)Trolling for publicity:
Are you looking for something that will dazzle your co-workers at the holiday party this year? Fear not --PAULA ABDUL is here to help. The "X-Factor" judge is selling lots of her finest duds --like animal-print pumps by CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN and Yves St. Laurent handbags-- on eBay. The auction closes this Saturday, and you can find the goods here. (Lee)
Now we know how PIPPA MIDDLETON keeps her derriere looking so good. Star magazine caught up with the royal sister-in-law and snapped a pic of her ice skating at London's Somerset House. (Myers)
Health and Medical Briefs:
A 29-year-old Florida mother is recovering from burns to her face after a freak accident during routine surgery.
According to the Crestview Bulletin, KIM GRICE was having cysts removed from her head when a fire erupted, leaving her with burns to her face and neck. Doctors at the North Okaloosa Medical Center say they’ve never seen anything like it. A hospital employee explains Grice was wearing an oxygen mask and the doctor was using a cauterizing tool when the flash fire occurred. Grice was not awake when the fire broke out, but she was awakened. She told media when she woke up, everyone around her was hysterical.
Grice is now being cared for at the University of South Alabama Medical Center’s burn unit. She hasn’t seen her children yet, but has talked to them on the phone. She can’t wait to see her kids, but is nervous about them seeing her burns. (Page) -
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