Resurrecting Ray
Recent Oscar winner Jamie Foxx's days as Ray Charles may not be over quite yet. Georgia lawmakers have invited the actor to visit the state Capitol and reenact a 1979 visit by the late singer.
The Legislative Black Caucus is hoping Foxx will come to be honored for his Oscar and, maybe, tickle the ivories and play the state song, "Georgia on My Mind," in the House Chamber.
Oscar winner Jamie Foxx is being called on once again to channel the late Ray Charles.
(Reed Saxon -- AP)
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No word yet on whether Foxx has accepted.
Can You Feel the Love?
Chris Matthews has Debra Messing as a fan. Wolf Blitzer apparently has Shaq.
Shaquille O'Neal -- who blew through town this week touting his new role as spokesman for the Safe Surfin' Foundation, a group aiming to protect children from Internet predators -- naturally went on one of Blitzer's shows. (We can never keep them straight: "Wolf Blitzer Reports," "News From CNN" and, of course, "Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer.")
Anyway, the Miami Heat star, who, by the way is also an "honorary deputy U.S. marshal" and says that when he retires from the NBA he's going to get a job in law enforcement, is just a happy, happy guy. "I'm very happy in Miami. I'm very happy with the law enforcement and what they're doing in protecting our country. I'm very happy with the police officers all over the world," he told the Wolfster before adding: "And I'm very happy with you, Mr. Wolf Blitzer. You are the man." (He shoots! He scores!)
The bearded CNN star replied, laughing: "Our viewers are going to think I paid you to say that."
Back to Shaq: "No, of course not. No, of course not. I love your show."
Survive This
Richard Hatch, the millionaire winner from the first season of the "Survivor" reality show, has backed out of an agreement to plead guilty to tax fraud for failing to declare his winnings and other income, the U.S. attorney's office in Boston announced. The feds will take their case against the 43-year-old Hatch, now a motivational speaker who lives in Rhode Island, to a grand jury.
Curses! How Times Have Changed
Who'd a-thunk it? Former Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock is -- gasp -- going soft on us!
Nearly three decades after the Pistols shocked Britain by their use of various phrasings of a certain four-letter curse word on live television, the now-48-year-old father of two says: "It's pathetic when people swear for the sake of it." He told the British television show "X-Rated: The TV Shows They Tried to Ban," "Something ought to be done about it." (Hmm, does that ring any 30-year-old bells?)
Noted . . .
A decade after hitting the top with "Jagged Little Pill," pop singer Alanis Morissette has decided to do it over again. Along with the album's producer, Glen Ballard, she's going to record an acoustic version of the album. "It just sounded much more appealing than creating my own awards show," she explained. Well, she oughta know . . . MarkMcGrath, the spiky-haired Sugar Ray frontman turned "Extra" co-host, is jumpin' in the ring with Sugar Ray Leonard. (Yes, McGrath's group is named after the famed boxer.) Perplexingly, he doesn't seem worried. "What's the worst that can happen?" McGrath asks. (Uh . . .) The fight will air Monday on "Extra."
. . . and Quoted
"We have agreed not to publish any embarrassing revelations about each other, unless one of us gets really, really desperate for a column."
-- New York Times op-ed columnist Maureen Dowd and newly appointed op-ed columnist John Tierney in a joint statement to the New York Daily News regarding the fact that they used to date.
-- Compiled by Anne Schroeder
from staff and wire reports
