I suppose it had to end like this. The soap opera of Anna Nicole Smith’s life came to a sudden finale on Thursday afternoon in a Hollywood, Florida hotel room. Smith had been in the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino since Monday, leaving five-month-old daughter Dannielynn behind in the Bahamas with a close friend. Anna’s unconscious body was discovered by her private nurse on Thursday afternoon. Her bodyguard and local paramedics attempted CPR, and she was rushed to the hospital, but she died before she arrived. Her body was covered by the time the ambulance arrived at the ER.
The autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow. One of Anna Nicole’s lawyers states that she had not “been well the past few days, she’s had cold and flu symptoms.” Which is, as I recall, what they said about her son in the days before his sudden death last September (Daniel Smith died of a drug overdose). I suppose we’ll have more details by tomorrow, and hopefully now this mystery will unfold over time. Anna had always idolized Marilyn Monroe, who died of a barbiturate overdose at the age of 36, and her death was ruled a probable suicide. Anna was 39.
It is this blogger’s opinion that we’ll learn Anna met the same fate as Marilyn (and, incidentally, as her son). Whether the death was accidental or a suicide may never be known, but my guess is she had some idea what she was getting herself into as she was taking the pills, and probably had more than one thought of Marilyn. Following Anna’s recent life, for me as a gossip blogger, has been exhausting, confusing, maddening, depressing and overwhelming, so I can only imagine what she went through actually living it. While her death means the exact opposite for members of the media, at least Anna Nicole will have some peace now. This is probably what she wanted — to die young, beautiful and shrouded in mystery, just like her idol.
As with the death of Marilyn, Anna’s death has already prompted a string of conspiracy theories (although Anna’s don’t yet involve a U.S. President). With Anna and her son Daniel dead, who stands to inherit the gazillions of dollars Anna’s been trying to get from her late husband? Her lawyer and boyfriend, Howard K. Stern, has spent the better part of his legal career fighting for that money. Anna’s mother told Nancy Grace on CNN in October: “If Howard Stern marries her and she ends up dead, then who does the money go [to]? Danny’s not there.” Well, I’m not a lawyer, but doesn’t she still have that daughter of dubious paternity and name-spelling, Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern? Regardless, it hasn’t stopped folks from speculating that Howard K. Stern was maliciously involved somehow. Personally, I doubt this, but feel free to run with it (you know Law & Order will). While Stern is currently the legal guardian of the child, Larry Birkhead (who has been claiming since Dannielynn’s birth that he is the father), and every U.S. camera crew not yet dispatched to Florida, will be at an L.A. court tomorrow for an emergency hearing on the paternity testing. No word yet on whether Howard K. Stern will be present — no one’s can seem to pin down his exact whereabouts.
We’ll keep you posted on the details of this tragic story as they unfold.
CNN is reporting Anna Nicole collapsed in a hotel room and died shortly thereafter.
**I’ll be updating as events warrant**
-Autopsy scheduled for tomorrow down in beautiful South Florida.
-Anna Nicole was dead before she reached the hospital, bodyguard attempted CPR in hotel room.
-Emergency filing re: custody of six month old daughter by Larry Birkhead. He is demanding DNA test, as he believes Anna’s husband Howard K. Stern is not the father of the child.
-Anna Nicole’s room being searched for drugs, this could affect insurance claims.
-Larry King “She wasn’t the smartest person in the world… but she was savvy.”
Well, the hubbub seems to be dying down, CNN has returned to regular programming. Thankfully both Larry King and vampire Nancy Grace will both be dedicating full hours to this story this evening.
Heatherette gets no love. The hipster fashion line debuted its new line at NYC Fashion Week on Tuesday, sans a model and a high-profile guest. Paris Hilton — a longtime friend of the designer duo — was slated to walk the runway, and Britney Spears had front row seats. Paris canceled at the last minute, citing a stomach ache, but Radar provides a little more insight. Paris was spotted doing shots of tequila at Butter with Brandon Davis until 3:30 in the morning, at which point she puked and went home for some, uh, beauty sleep.
Britney Spears was also a no-show. The Daily News sheds some light on this one: “Ten minutes before the show started, they got a call that Britney was in the parking area outside,” says a backstage source. “They went out with a Heatherette sweatshirt [Ed: As opposed to, you know, the kind of sweatshirt with which they wouldn't be able to plug their line to the Daily News.] to throw over her head, but there was no Britney. She got to the parking lot and bailed.” Why the about-face? Apparently Britney hadn’t heard that Paris called in sick. She got cold feet about running into Hilton, as their BFF-ship has cooled … well … about as quickly as anyone expected, with Paris now referring to Brit as “The Animal,” and not in a nice way, either. Sigh. Break-ups are so rough.
Who wins in a battle like this? Well, Heatherette, obviously. Britney and Paris garnered more publicity for the show by both not attending than they would have if they’d been there. Paris has been buddies with the Heatherette duo for awhile, so I can’t help but wonder if this was all planned from the start. But I guess I can’t rule out the possibility that Paris and Britney are just grossly irresponsible and operating with the same level of maturity as the girl who sometimes threw pebbles at me in middle school.
Check out a clip from the Kim Kardashian sex tape. I really hope it gets more interesting than this. She’s a beautiful girl and all, but Paris set the sex-tape bar pretty damn high, and this clip is really, really dull in comparison. I read that there were golden showers involved originally, but that they’d been cut before the final release. If that’s not proof that Kim’s involved in this, I don’t know what is.
Update: Ha ha ha, Perez sucks. That was smart, though, dear. Credit where credit is due. Anyway the clip is here.
Teri Hatcher had a lunch date with George Bush, Sr. I’m not sure which of them I feel more sorry for. [Faded Youth]
Lance and Reichen had a love that could have lasted a lifetime … if it weren’t for some dude from Real World: Denver. [ICYDK]
Mischa and Cisco had a love that could have lasted a lifetime … if it weren’t for that picture of his gigantic testicles that made the Internet rounds. [Cele|bitchy]
Breaking: Angelina Jolie is thin. [The Bosh]
Yeah, okay, so Tori Spelling’s like 20 months pregnant, but is that really any excuse to look like Kirstie Alley? [The Blog You Love to Hate]
Blah blah blah … Ryan O’Neal … blah blah son drunk … blah blah blah pregnant girlfriend battered … blah blah blah … Gloria Allred? Jesus. [TMZ]
Will Nicky Hilton face actual consequences for her participation in her sister’s bigoted video projects? Maybe. You know who won’t face actual consequences? Paris. Ever. [MollyGood]
SHE’S here for Fashion Week, but Britney Spears (left last night with baby Sean Preston) could use some fashion tips. The pop tart was spotted in the bathroom of the Carlyle Hotel on Friday about 11 p.m., primping with friends in front of the mirror. Our spy overheard Spears complain, “Y’all, I feel old! I’m 24, y’all. I feel old.” She was wearing “a red tank minidress, no bra, and huge platform shoes” and had “nappy hair extensions.” Spears asked our tipsters, “What should we do in New York? This place [the Carlyle] feels old.” Informed that the hotel is a local institution, Spears opted to party at Tenjune instead.
Britney Spears is, of course, 25 years old, as of this past December. So either Page Six is wrong, or Britney Spears doesn’t know how old she is or — and probably most likely — Britney Spears is lying about her age in public bathrooms, as if everyone in the goddamn first world doesn’t know how old she actually is.
I’m glad Drew has moved past both the drugs and Tom Green and seems to be dating nice introspective guys who write movies to meet Natalie Portman.
Those are my kind of guys. And she was decent on SNL last Saturday too.
I of course speak of Zach Braff and Drew, who are rumored to be mingling though it was of course denied by her publicist. But that’s what publicists do. They would deny just about anything besides charity work and their clients liking gay folk.
So, wrapping up, If you’ve been in the business 42 years and are still barely 30 I wish you all the happiness in the world. Hugs for Drew.
