Celebritology Live: Sarah Palin's Celeb Look-a-like?; New '90210' Reax

When stars shave their heads, couch-jump, spend countless minutes in jail, commit a fashion faux pas and/or other random acts of ego-inspired inanity, washingtonpost.com Celebritology blogger Liz Kelly is on the job. Every weekday, Liz shares the buzz, offers perspective and provides crucial links to juicy alternate news sources and, of course, takes your reaction in her daily blog.

Join Liz LIVE every Thursday at 2 p.m. ET to gab about the latest celebrity pairings (and splittings), rising stars (and falling ones), and get the scoop on the latest gossip making waves across the Web.

In her pre-celeb obsessed days (as if!), Liz ran washingtonpost.com's Discussions section, where she enjoyed talking to really interesting people -- sometimes even Post reporters -- on the phone. She still produces Pulitzer-prize winner Gene Weingarten's weekly Chatological Humor discussion and serves as co-proprietress of post.com's "Lost" Central.

Celebritology Live Archive

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Liz Kelly: Welcome back.

Breaking news: The Spears camp is now saying that 16-year-old mom Jamie Lynn did not send gifts of any kind to fellow Juno-wanna-be Bristol Palin.

Also: I want to warn everyone now that this chat could be interrupted by a service appointment I've got scheduled with my Internet provider, Brand X. Brand X was supposed to come during a 10-hour window on Sunday and never showed. We reskedded for today, with the same parameters. And, since it would make for the most annoying disturbance possible, I'm sure the amiable Brand X technician will arrive sometime during this one-hour chat.

Let's jump right in...

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Ant Island: Hi Liz! When I came back from vacation, all I could find on People.com were ugly, fugly, outfits worn by Katie Holmes: baggy jeans, weird cardigans flapping in the wind, baby-doll shirts from Kmart. What's up with that? Is she trying to cover a baby bump? Or did she get a lobotomy, or what?!

Liz Kelly: That's what you get for coming back from vacation and diving unprepared into People.com. If you'd reviewed Celebritology first you'd have been slowly acclimated with posts like this one.

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Seattle, Wash.: So, are there any actors or artists at the GOP convention, or are they all over 60 there?

And what happened to all the Latinos and blacks? Even my northern state of Washington has more people of color than the GOP convention!

Liz Kelly: Glad you asked. Just today we published this robust gallery of all the pix we could find of celebs attending this week's GOP-fest in St. Paul. It's not exactly a stampede compared with last week's crew on hand in Denver. But we expected that, right?

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Falls Church, Va.: Does anyone else think Sarah Palin looks like Tina Fay?

Liz Kelly: Fey, darling.

And I want people to stop saying this or it is going to totally ruin my enjoyment of "30 Rock" this fall.

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Randomville: Have you seen "Pineapple Express"? Didja like it?

Liz Kelly: I have and I did.

Stoner comedy but (to me), more accessible than a Cheech and Chong romp. It's got a bit of a "Sean of the Dead" vibe about it.

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44west: Dear Liz,

While on vacation last week, I read a brief review of Roger Moore's new autobiography, "My Word is My Bond," in USA Today. Here is one sentence from the review:

"He writes that Ava Gardner's [shoes] were superimposed onto Grace Kelly's body on a poster for the movie 'Green Fire.' Kelly was not amused."

Cosmetic surgery, 1950's style -- what's not to like? No post operative pain or complications, and the results are always reversible should the public's tastes change. But really, I submit this quote as an example of how much times have changed -- Grace's embarrassment is a particularly modest touch.

Liz Kelly: Well, that is interesting. V. non-invasive. I can practically picture Don Draper dreaming up this scheme from his Madison Ave. office.

It really leaves me curious, though -- what was the problem with Kelly's feet? Too big? Too small? Toenail fungus?

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Washington, D.C.: Can you get a copy of J.Lo's book of photos? Perhaps you can paste your face over J.Lo and give the modified book to Mr. Liz for your anniversary present.

Let us know if Brand X Internet technician is wearing pleated pants or not!

Liz Kelly: Or just her feet.

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Washington, D.C.: Liz, thanks for braving yet another chat. No question, just an objective, neutral observation:

Helen Mirren is so utterly, gorgeously sizzling, she is like a net multiple of Portman and Hathaway, with extra sex drive.

Liz Kelly: I'm just going to put this random Helen Mirren observation out there. It's been a tough week for Dame Helen, who should have probably kept her skepticism about date rape to herself.

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East of West Beverly: What did you think of the 90210 premiere? It felt like there was too much thrown into both shows. Brenda's 10-second appearance seemed kind of random. And Annie's simple adjustment to her new life was just too, well, simple. I can't say that I won't tune in next week though.

Liz Kelly: Okay, I'm so glad you asked. I didn't watch the entire thing -- just a 30-minute chunk from the middle. That was enough, though, to:

-- be utterly annoyed by Lori Laughlin
-- question that that guy is old enough to be a high school principal
-- Make disparaging remarks about the MTV video-ish shots interspersed with the usual stuff (like the scenes of the sweet 16 party)
-- Cringe for poor Jennie Garth, who seems utterly lost here.
-- Oh, and keep confusing the chick who had the sweet 16 party with Denise Richards.

Maybe I'm a purist, but this just ain't "90210" to me -- Brenda and Kelly or not.

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Blacksburg, Va.: While Palin may look like Tina Fey, she reminds me most of Tracy Flick in "Election."

Liz Kelly: Yes, she is a plucky little thing, isn't she? (And I by no means mean that as a dismissive anti-feminist comment). Joe Biden is plucky in his own way, too.

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Washington, D.C.: I still say Palin looks like Tina Fey and Lorraine Bracco's love child.

Liz Kelly: Take out the Tina Fey and replace with Tracey Gold and you've got a deal.

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Gov. Palin doesn't look like Tina Fey: Here's who MyHeritage compares the Governor" My Celebrity Look-alikes

Liz Kelly: Man, those are some pretty slim pickings. If I got those comps, I'd cry.

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Alexandria, Va.: Shaun of the Dead, darling. Know thy Simon Pegg!

Liz Kelly: Eeks! Thank you. Who can keep Sean, Shaun and Shawn straight?

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Washington, D.C.: Liz, JLo may use her butt as a shelf, but some posters continue to use your blog as their butt. The cut and paste jobs from other blogs are annoying. That's all I got. DaneCook.

Liz Kelly: Thanks for checking in with this important PSA, Dane. I agree. We're working to bring registration to the blog comments, which would make it much harder to be an anonymous backside. Until then we'll have to content ourselves with glowering in the general direction of these miscreants.

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Ant Island: Liz, My verdict is that Katie is preggers. I thought you would enjoy this: my son's school has changed the school uniform, and he is supposed to wear pleated pants! Of course he doesn't have any, and now we are in constant fear of the pleat police! What can we do? Draw fake pleats on with a Sharpie? Use staples, or just have the headmaster give you a call.(Also they are supposed to wear hemmed, untucked, polo shirts...guess who is supposed to do the hemming.)

Liz Kelly: Okay -- forget the Sharpie. You're going to think this is an over-reaction, but I think you need to take your son out of that school, and pronto. Those pleats could scar him for life.

And really -- you think Katie is preg? I dunno. I saw some pix of her this morning rocking a pretty clingy Missoni top and she didn't look very rotund.

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Arlington, Va.: Today's Celebritology mentioned some unpaid bills that were run up by Oprah's mom. Which begs the question: Oprah has a mom?

Liz Kelly: You know, I had the same thought. Considering Oprah's wont to pimp everyone in her life -- think Gayle King, Dr. Phil, her chef, her trainer, her pet guy, her favorite authors -- why don't we ever hear about this alleged mother?

Could someone out there a bit more versed in Oprah-story please fill in the blanks?

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Not LuvLinsey: Liz, I think that La Lohan's thoughts on the Palin controversy were pretty coherent, and that trailer looks sort of charming. (I love Cheryl Hines, so that biases me a bit.) Plus, she has been doing the low-profile thing with Samantha and doesn't seem to be using the relationship to get press. I think our little Lohan might be growing up. Thoughts?

Liz Kelly: Okay, I have to agree. The "Labor Pains" trailer (in this morning's Mix) isn't horrible. But is it really promising or were we just expecting something so much worse that it actually surprised us with being only mediocre?

Oh, and I love Chris Parnell. That boy can rap.

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RE: 90210: You know -- I didn't mind it so much... I'm not into Gossip Girl and I never watched the original that much. Although, I thought it was much tamer than the original minus the opening scene.

I would like to say I wish I looked as good as Lori Loughlin even with makeup....

Liz Kelly: Lori has totally had some work done. And she looks like she's about 20 years older than her HS principal hubby. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

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Mens Wear Dept, Tysons Corner: Perhaps for you anniversary, Mister Liz could get you a framed autographed copy of the August 30 Zits pleated pants strip that was obviously done in your honor.

Zits Cartoon

Liz Kelly: That would be pretty fabulous. Mr. Liz would def be making all the right moves if the evening started on that note.

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Nosy Parker: Reviving my question re the threshold for celebrity status: At what point do children of presidential or vice presidential candidates (or other politicians, for that matter) become legitimate fodder for Celebritology? Is it when they reach an arbitrary age? Or when they behave "badly" in a public way? When their one of their parents uses them to excess in the campaign process? It seems that politicians, like too many mere show biz celebs, want to have it both ways when it comes to their kids.

Liz Kelly: I'll just throw this out there, though I think the answer is pretty self evident. There are degrees of celebrity, as I mentioned a couple of weeks ago -- and unless and until Bristol Palin becomes a regular on the red carpet circuit, she won't fit into the Celebritology construct (excepting cases when actual celebs buy her gifts from Petit Tresor).

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Alexandria, Va.: Where's Andy?

Liz Kelly: I see it took only 21 minutes for the conversation to turn to Andy today.

He's sleeping in his cardboard cat scratchy pedestal throne thing in the sun.

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My Heritage:: I once uploaded my photo for a whirl around the MyHeritage site, and this is what I got: Amy Adams, Sissy Spacek, some other random people, and RON HOWARD. I cried.

Liz Kelly: I got Paris Hilton, among a few others. A blog post was written, a good time was had by all.

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Speaking of Oprah: Where's Stedman? Is he still on the scene? Seems I haven't heard of him in ages.

Liz Kelly: Still around, I believe. Somewhere in the background taking care of all the dogs and whatnot, I suppose.

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Boob patrol: I don't like to be a hater if you've got it why not flaunt it, but Im starting to be disgusted by Christina Aguilera's flaunting of her assets.. I understand she's a nursing mom and she must be happy she's got the asset now, but geesh, turn it down a little! To add to that overwearing makeup, go simple please! Rant over, thanks! Oh and on a side note, I miss LOST! Can't wait for January! Hope they win an Emmy!

Liz Kelly: Ah, glad you mentioned Lost. Putting aside XTina and her bosom for a moment, ABC announced this week that Lost will return on February 4th and will be returning to Wednesday nights.

But first, you still have about 24 hours to read "Prince Caspian" and join in tomorrow's Lost Book Club discussion.

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Washington, D.C.: Liz,

I'm very sad about the David Duchovny yuckiness- - it always seemed like he had such a great family life with Tea. Do you think he can recover career-wise after such a humiliating "outing"?

Liz Kelly: Sure, Hugh Grant bounced back after his own sex-tinged escapade -- and that was pretty durn embarrassing. And rock stars are going through this sort of thing all the time -- which tends to only add to their mystique.

And, hey, it only gives Duchovny that much more cred for playing his sex-addled "Californication" alter ego.

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Alexandria, Va.: What does Brand X happen to rhyme with -- "Bombast", "Lox, or "Merizon"?

Liz Kelly: I can't say, but will note that there's no sign of them on the horizon yet.

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Appealingtothe, ID: I am sure there is a market for the "JLo Booty Shelf."

Liz Kelly: It would make the perfect place for Andy to nap.

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Report from the Convention: via a young gentleman who was there: Kanye was cool and he brought Jaime Fox; Charlize Theron is beautiful and that guy she dates was there (that's what he said, sorry Stuart), Ashley Judd is REALLY beautiful. REALLY.

Liz Kelly: See, this is the kind of exclusive scoop you can only get here. Thanks, citizen journalist!

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byool, IN: For Seattle (pick me up a good-sized Chinook fillet at Pike Place, willya?):

"Only 36 of the 2,380 delegates seated on the convention floor are black, the lowest number since the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies began tracking diversity at political conventions 40 years ago."

Liz Kelly: There you go Seattle.

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Oprah's Mom: Are they estranged? Why not just pay her bill -- wouldn't it be crumbs to the Big O?

Oprah Winfrey's Mom Sued for Owing $155K to Clothing Store (Us Magazine, Sept. 3)

Liz Kelly: Oh sure -- it seems like peanuts. A $150K clothing bill. But that will doubtless lead to a $300K Olive Garden tab, a million dollar debt at the s and who knows what else.

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Lizard registration: In order for registration to be effective, it needs to be the kind where the person has to activate the account upon receiving an e-mail from the Post acknowledging receipt of the application. In other words, no fake e-mail addresses like when On Balance had registration.

Liz Kelly: I don't implement this stuff myself. I'm allergic to any coding beyond basic html. But I will pass along to our tech guys and find out whether or not the registration will be the real deal.

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Blonder than she paid for: I just have to rant about Cindy McCain's hair color. How can she think that looks good?

Liz Kelly: And, I might add, how can she think that looks good wearing a VIVID GREEN dress (which was way more day-glo than it appears in this image)?

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Newsflash: Kanye was at the Republican Convention?!

Liz Kelly: No, no -- he was in Denver last week.

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Mens Wear Dept Tysons Corner: Serious fashion question here, Liz. I'm looking to buy a tux. The brand that best fits my gorilla chest and shoulders is Calvin Klein. But -- The Horror -- I think that the pants come only in pleated style. What should I do? A Hawaiian shirt is not a viable fashion alternative in this situation.

Liz Kelly: Well you're the one who works in Mens Wear. I'm sure there's another brand that would do the trick -- Hugo Boss mayhaps? But I find it hard to believe Calvin's tuxes only come pleated.

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Oprah's mom: I thought Oprah was raised by an aunt or grandmother or something. So, possibly estranged.

Michael Steele's at the convention. Sort of a Maryland celeb. (Yeah, it's a stretch.)

Liz Kelly: Thanks -- I think I remember hearing that, too. I need to bone up on my Oprah bio.

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Atlanta, Ga.: Kids are off limits unless and until the CHILD themself puts him/her out there. I thought it was Chelsea who wanted everything HER way, and came across bratty -- hey, I'm an adult, and I'm campaigning for my mom, but NO ONE can ask me any questions.

Liz Kelly: What if your mom puts you out there? As legal guardian, does she have a right to expose, say a 17-year-old, to public scrutiny?

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Re Californication: At what point does Duchovny have to bail on the show in order to protect his own personal health? I mean, if he's an addict doesn't he need to remove as many of the triggers as possible. Totally sucks for us of course because it's a funny show, even if it is a male fantasy. Well, except for the punching during sex part.

Liz Kelly: Maybe they can work it into the show? Hank Moody finally settles down? Then perhaps Evan Handler can take on the more promiscuous persona. Oh wait, he already did.

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Arlington, Va.: I do see the Tina Fey resemblance, but even moreso I found myself expecting to hear Karen's voice from Will and Grace. This would have been much more entertaining, I think.

Liz Kelly: Oooh, good one. She also reminds me of Holly Hunter as "Little Miss Firecracker."

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Penn Quarter, D.C.: Hi Liz! If Britney is not performing at the VMA's on Sunday, but is slated to "open the show," what, exactly, do you think she'll be doing? Does she have public speaking abilites we don't know of yet? Any other tips on what to look for at the VMA's and who'll be there? Thanks!

Liz Kelly: I'm guessing it will be either:

A. Some kind of scripted skit and over in a heartbeat, probably done in conjunction with host Russell Brand.

or

B. She's actually going to perform.

I'm pulling for the second option, for obvious reasons.

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Re Tux question: Keep in mind that you don't have to buy the whole tuxedo. Buy parts if the best jacket is Calvin Klein, buy the jacket and find a pair of pants that suit you better. So long as you're not buying some bizarre version of a tux it'll look great. I bought my tux in pieces from a warehouse store ($25 for a perfect fit brand new jacket) and a retail store for the remainder. Paid for itself in less than one year. To make this more celebritology okay, who looks best in a tux?

Liz Kelly: Okay, this is totally moving out of my realm of knowledge here. Is that okay? Don't you have to worry about matching the fabric exactly? Where are Clinton and Stacy when we need them?

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Xtina: Wait, did I miss something? I have no idea to what that is referring.

Liz Kelly: Exhibit A (and B)

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Oprah's mom: If Oprah paid her mother's debt, her mother would have received a gift, thus income, and would have to pay taxes on that amount. It's not that simple.

Liz Kelly: But couldn't Oprah pay the company holding the debt directly, thereby avoiding the taxable portion of the transaction?

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Cindy McCain: The VIVID green dress was an improvement over her Count Chocula dress from earlier this week...

Liz Kelly: Let's just all agree that when it comes to clothes, Cindy McCain is no Michele Obama.

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Washington, D.C.: I simply can't believe that it's 2:40 p.m., and yours was the FIRST mention of Cindy's gawdawful kermit-colored dress. I was going to post about it myself on one of the myriad fora I frequent, then I decided it would be more fun to see how long it took for everyone else to pile on. Long time, is the answer.

Liz Kelly: Like I said, just another example of the hard-hitting news analysis we perform here.

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Sarah Palin Lookalike: She is totally Margene Hendrickson, all grown up.

Liz Kelly: Meh... I dunno. She's not quite sexed up enough to be a Margene.

But, coincidentally, there is something a bit "Big Love"-ish about the Palin brood.

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M Street, Washington, D.C.: Re: Xtina. Someone has to be the new Anna Nicole Smith, you know? I probably just gave three old men a heart attack thinking about that....

Liz Kelly: Dude, Christina is light years away from being the new Anna Nicole. She may have a torso shelf, but she's also got some self respect and a pretty good head on those shoulders, even if her hair is blonder than Cindy McCain's.

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Palin's voice: No, she sounds like that woman who always plays the neighbor in those 80s and 90s shows. Character actress.

Great, I'm sure that narrows it down for you.

Liz Kelly: She does have a little of the "That '70s Show" mom about her.

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Cindy McCain's hair is not so bad...: Compared to the strange corpse-like glow of her lips. What is it with older women thinking that opalescent light colored lipsticks are okay? Every kind of wrong -- gelatinous. And I'd rather focus on the dress! But ew.

Liz Kelly: The other question I had last night: How did they keep baby Trig so quiet through speeches from the gov of Hawaii, Rudy Giuliani and mom?

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Who looks best in a tux: Duh. George Cloony. It's as if the modern tuxedo were invented for him. Duh. (It bears repeating.)

Liz Kelly: I beg to differ.

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Re matching Tux fabric: Yes, you do, but you'll be surprised how many of them are perfect or near perfect matches. Also, if it's conventional tux, it's black which masks small differences in weave.

Liz Kelly: Okay, good to know.

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Washington, D.C.: With all due respect to Michelle, I don't always love what she's wearing. In fact my grandmother thinks that she's inelegant, but my grandmother would also reelect Bush for a third term.

Re how vivid the dress is, remember that your TV doesn't normally display color true to life.

Liz Kelly: I think Michele is fashion forward and understated at the same time. She makes most other Washington women look like Talbots models (with apologies to any Talbots devotees).

Remember the hysteria about how stylish Nancy Pelosi was when she rose to the rank of speaker? I never got that. Although her outfits may be well-fit to her frame, she's still a slave to the D.C. femme suit.

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Snark: The Little House on the Prairie wants it's hairdo back.

Liz Kelly: Is that directed at me, Cindy McCain or Sarah "High Hair" Palin?

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Christina is light years away from being the new Anna Nicole: No kidding. She held her own beautifully in her duet with Tony Bennett. Chick can sing!

Liz Kelly: Yes, girl's got some serious lungs.

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Philadelphia, Pa.: I agree, Chelsea's behavior "campaigning" was odd -- not answering questions, etc., but understandable, given the way the Republican Party in particular treated her through her entire adolescence. If you had had McCain making comments and crude jokes about your appearance in your early teen years, wouldn't you have been a bit reluctant to open yourself up massive scrutiny? How would you compromise between actively supporting your parent and trying to preserve a little bit of the self-confidence you would have had to fight to regain after being a teenager?

Liz Kelly: Good point, thanks Philly. Give my regards to Nicetown.

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Mens Wear Dept, Tysons Corner: I'm getting married in the tux. It damn well BETTER match.

Liz Kelly: Awww, Mens Wear, you shoulda said -- congratulations! Is the lucky lady from lingerie, household goods or the shoe dept?

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Ok ok ok : We get it Liz, you like Daniel Craig. You aren't alone, for sure. I seem to recall a beach photo...

Liz Kelly: Hey, all I was saying is that the man can wear a tux.

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I'm an adult, and I'm campaigning for my mom, but NO ONE can ask me any questions.: Well, I think there was one topic she would not comment on -- Lewinsky. I don't think she avoided answering all questions.

I think if one of your "pros" as a political contender is your family life/moral values/etc., then your kids are almost fair game.

Liz Kelly: Right -- I believe that was the one area she avoided. And I shudder to think about the crass idjit who would broach that subject with Chelsea, whose adolescent life was probably made pretty unhappy by the entire situation.

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Mens Wear Dept, Tysons Corner: Lucky lady is from the Legal Dept.

Liz Kelly: Nice!

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Au contraire: He may be dead but:

Cary Grant and Tuxedo

Liz Kelly: Yowza.

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Reston, Va.: Hi Liz: I didn't have a chance to watch the new 90210, but was wondering if Rob Estes (the young principal) is playing the same character he played on Melrose Place, since those 2 shows existed in the same "Spelling Universe" back in the day. So you know, it totally scares me that I can remember that kind of detail but struggled to remember my ATM PIN this morning....

Liz Kelly: I don't believe so, no. But he did discover in episode one that he has a (surprise surprise) teen-aged son he never knew about. Oh, the drama!

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High Hair Snark: Definitely directed at the Permafrost Princess

Liz Kelly: Tee hee.

Okay, one last cynical thought. There was a moment when Palin's youngest daughter -- Willow or Thatching or whatever -- stood up and waved and I had this flash of them instructng her to "Be as cute as Obama's girls and you'll get a nice lolly!"

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Mens Wear Dept, Tysons Corner: Lucky lady is from the Legal Dept. And here's what I look like in a tux:

Tux Man

Liz Kelly: Like a computer-animated Sean Connery? Wow.

Okay, that's it for today. I leave you to the remainder of your afternoons. Try to stay awake. As for me, I'll continue my vigil for the Brand X technician.

Stay tuned tomorrow for one of the best Friday lists we've seen in these parts for quite some time. That is, if all goes according to plan. Mwah ha ha!

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