The Trouble With Harry
Even at 82, Harry Belafonte is a beautiful man (if a bit sleepy.) From his efforts in the arts to his boundless well of humanitarian activism, the man is a living legend.
But beauty be damned. Any human being can have their ugly side exposed in the court of public opinion. Witness Belafonte, taking flak in certain quarters over his new memoir, In My Song. In the book, Belafonte reveals certain unflattering details about his first divorce. However, he omits an affair that took an emotional toll on his wife.
Is there basis for surprise at this? I’ve written both a memoir and another person’s tell-all and, and let me tell you: Most anyone who would set his life down in words and expect you to pay for and read the story is usually so narcissistic that you expect every single story that makes them less than amazing omitted. The way to read what these celeb authors really mean becomes a game of reading what’s been left out.
Bad Grammer Video
Kelsey Grammer said this week that he wants to ready production of a scripted TV show based on the dissolution of his 13-year marriage to now-estranged wife, Camille. I say he’s already nearly completed principal photography on a season’s worth of shows.
Think about it: The actor’s rapid, if belated, ascent to stardom and utter inability to cope with fame establishes Act One of Season One; we now know what we’re dealing with in a main character. (Also, a surprising amount of Grammer’s shenanigans are widely archived.) Act Two: Enter the zany blonde, about whom we debate, half-heartedly, her genuine interest in the tormented actor. Act Three’s remaining episodes are mostly just re-enacted Real Housewives of Beverly Hills highlights, a digital down payment on alimony, if you wanna get meta about things.
Kelsey might name it Divorce of Destiny. As my old yoga guru used to say, whenever a bullet and a person arrive in a place at the same time, one has to examine how the two colliding objects came to occupy the same space at that moment same. Kelsey Grammer did not just happen into his wacky most recent marriage. And this show has been decades in the making.
Penny Ante
Across four decades, Penny Marshall has contributed to the entertainment world like few others. She’s been a television star and an A-list film director. And sports fans have caught her courtside at some of the biggest hoops games in recent history.
This week Marshall made a huge splash in a new arena: digital publishing. The filmmaker and actress becomes an author in an unprecedented fashion, signing a deal with Amazon to write an e-book. No trees will be harmed in the making of this product, but no one’s too sure about Rob Reiner, who reputedly drove his ex to anxiety attacks in the end of their high-profile marriage.
The End of a Rivalry
I recently relocated from Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay Area – home of the Giants. That’s a problem; I root for the Dodgers and my sons and I have spent many a weekend afternoon at Chavez Ravine. San Francisco hates the Dodgers. So, especially a season after the Giants took the world championship, it’s been hard for me to talk baseball up here. The financial crisis brought on by the divorce of Jamie and Frank McCourt last autumn steered away all but the most loyal fans. Giants fans yukked it up at our expense.
Now we see who laughs last. Frank and Jamie McCourt have settled their differences and, hopefully, gotten some counseling for their out-of-control spending. In short, the Dodgers are back. And I can live here happily. Thanks for finally acting like adults, Frank and Jamie.
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