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Jon Hamm Opens Up About Recovery And Therapy

dorriolds — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 10:39:25 +0000

“There’s something to be said for pulling yourself out of the grind for a period of time and concentrating on recalibrating the system,” said Jon Hamm.

Actor Jon Hamm, 45, is best known for his eight years on AMC’s hit show Mad Men, during which Hamm starred as the deeply flawed ad executive Don Draper, a charming alcoholic and womanizer in a successful ad agency in the 1960s.

Hamm recently gave a candid interview to Mr. Porter’s Journal, during which he talked about his 30-day stay in an alcohol treatment facility. “It has all these connotations, but it’s just an extended period of talking about yourself,” said Hamm. “People go for all sorts of reasons, not all of which are chemically related. But there’s something to be said for pulling yourself out of the grind for a period of time and concentrating on recalibrating the system. And it works. It’s great.”

Hamm’s parents had divorced when he was two, and he lived with his mother until she lost her battle with cancer when he was 10 years old. After that, Hamm went to live with his father, who he spoke fondly of. “I was always fascinated by my dad because he could talk to anyone,” he said. “He was a great listener and he knew a little bit about a lot of things. I aspired to be like that.”

But tragically, his father died when the actor was only 20. He was suffering terribly, so one of his half-sisters convinced him to go into therapy.

He told the Journal, “After I’d lost my dad, I had this horrible paralyzing inertia—and no one in my family was capable of dealing with it. So what do you do? Go and see a professional. I preach it from the mountaintops.”

The actor is sensitive to the fact that not everyone is as fortunate as he’s been, and said about the high cost of therapy, “I know it’s a luxury and it’s not something everyone can afford. But if you can, do it. It’s like a mental gym.”

As for many stars before him, life in the public eye proved difficult. “It is not easy having immediate and huge-scale fame thrust upon you,” he said. “I’m a pretty shy person. I like talking to people one-on-one, but I do not like people taking pictures of me with 400mm lenses across the street.”

Society’s hunger for celebrity pics seemed to irk him. “It’s mystifying to me why we give that any time in our culture,” he said.

The actor refrained from discussing the end of his long-term relationship with actor and director Jennifer Westfeldt. The two never married but were committed to each other for 18 years.

About their split Hamm said, “It’s very personal and specific and I think people tend to draw their own conclusions about that anyway.”

Hamm is now promoting his upcoming film, Keeping Up with the Joneses, which opens Oct. 21.

See more articles by Dorri Olds for The Fix

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Steven Bauer of Ray Donovan Returns to Rehab

dorriolds — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 11:21:10 +0000

Written for The Fix

Showtime’s Ray Donovan is my favorite show. Brilliant writing, brilliant cast including Steven Bauer.

Ray Donovan actor Steven Bauer (Breaking Bad, Scarface) has checked into rehab in Malibu, California, according to In Touch Weekly. Bauer’s rep told the magazine, “In recent months, he realized he was starting to drink more than he was comfortable with. He preemptively wanted to take care of the issue. But in no uncertain terms does he take drugs, nor is he being treated for a drug-related addiction.”

The magazine also quoted an unnamed source, who said, “He loves working on Ray Donovan and wants everyone to know he’s back on the straight and narrow … His mom, son Alexander and girlfriend, Lyda Loudon, have been there for him. He’s serious about staying sober.”

The actor is probably best known for his role as the drug dealer Manny Ribera in Brian De Palma’s movie, Scarface. He also played Mexican drug cartel boss, Don Eladio, in Breaking Bad.

Bauer has lived through quite a few upheavals in life. His first marriage was to actress Melanie Griffith in the ’80s. The couple parted ways in 1989. His next three marriages also ended in divorce.

Griffith and Bauer have remained friends. Radar Online reported last week that Griffith has been helping Bauer with his addiction, fearing that if he “didn’t get help fast, he was going to die,” said an anonymous source.

They added, “Steven has type 2 diabetes and pancreas problems. He was still doing a lot of drugs, mostly cocaine, which he’d been doing since at least the early ’80s!” Apparently his addiction was affecting his work on Ray Donovan and Showtime producers warned him “to straighten up or he’d be off the show.”

Steven Bauer

In a 1990 article in People, Griffith spoke about her marriage to Bauer and their use of cocaine. “We were wild but it was more me than him,” she said. “He was doing it too, but he didn’t have a problem with it. He tried to get me not to do drugs.”

Bauer said about using coke, “I was carelessly casual about it. It was as natural as the ingestion of liquor. But it hurt me in more than a few ways. I behaved irresponsibly when I should have been professional.”

20/20 Anchor Elizabeth Vargas Talks About Anxiety, Alcohol and Her Moving Memoir

dorriolds — Thu, 15 Sep 2016 10:39:00 +0000

Celebrity newscaster Elizabeth Vargas told me, “I was nearly fired from my job. My husband left me while I was in rehab, I hurt my kids tremendously, and I nearly lost my life.”

Written for The Fix

“A huge part of my alcoholism was anxiety,”20/20 anchor Elizabeth Vargas told me. “I had panic attacks since kindergarten.” During our interview and in her new book, Between Breaths: A Memoir of Panic and Addiction, the veteran newscaster was candid about almost losing everything.

Between Breaths: A Memoir of Panic and Addiction by 20/20 Anchor Elizabeth Vargas

She went to her first rehab in 2012, but denial said she only needed two weeks of treatment. It’s no surprise that didn’t work and the disease progressed. In 2014, she went to a second rehab but left prematurely. She went home and drank again. Resigned and humiliated, she returned to that second rehab. Now sober for two years, Vargas is committed to sobriety but understands we only have a daily reprieve from alcohol.

“My story is different than others I’ve heard ‘in the rooms,’” she told me. “I drank moderately for 20 years. It wasn’t until my 40s that I fell off a cliff.”

Vargas described a day in 2012 when she showed up at ABC too drunk to work. “I stepped out of the car and stumbled. That’s when I knew I was in no condition to conduct an interview. My friend took one look at me and knew.” Her first rehab was that year at Cirque Lodge in Utah. “I look back on a lot of the writing that I did,” she said. “I’m struck by the lectures and therapists there. It was a very good experience.” But after leaving the Utah rehab after only two weeks, she was not able to stay sober and her alcoholism progressed. Vargas blames a combination of factors. “Stress at work, and then being diagnosed with post-partum anxiety. My drinking was suddenly on steroids and I had huge consequences.”

“I’d had lots of brownouts,” she said, “but never a blackout.” That is until one day when she began drinking in the early afternoon after work. “The next thing I remember is waking up at four a.m. in the emergency room with zero memory of what happened. I had a blood alcohol level of .4, which is lethal. I’m told a woman saw me at Riverside Park in my work clothes and wobbling in high heels.”

Two predatory men were eyeing Vargas so the concerned passerby intervened and got the drunk newscaster home safely. But Vargas passed out in the lobby and was taken away in an ambulance. The incident scared her enough to stop drinking and she went to her second rehab.

“It was a rude awakening. I woke up in Tennessee. My husband and therapist picked that rehab. I don’t understand how anybody would’ve picked it. Even my therapist there said, ‘This is not the right place for you. I don’t know how on earth you ended up here.’ But once there, I couldn’t get out.”

In the memoir that second rehab in 2014 is referred to as The Center. But Vargas told me, “I wrote that it was in rural Tennessee so most people can figure out it’s really The Ranch. For some people I’m sure it’s a life-saving gift but it wasn’t the best place for me. Most of the patients were in their teens and twenties. We had different life experiences and different issues.”

The newscaster confided that she already suffered with guilt. “Making my shame front and center wasn’t the best way to go. I wasn’t thinking about getting better and saving my life. I was thinking, ‘How do I get home?’ I wasn’t seeing my children and was desperate to know what was going on. I feared that my husband was hiring divorce lawyers and starting to date other people.” Frantic, she left prematurely against advice and learned her suspicions were correct.

I asked if she thought drinking caused the divorce. “My husband would say it did,” she said. “It’s easy to judge him but I didn’t walk in his shoes. I don’t know what it was like to be married to an alcoholic. I’m sure it was really difficult.”

Vargas said she would die for her sons. “I love them more than anything in the world. I would do anything for my children. But I couldn’t stop drinking for them.”

I pointed out that many interviewers still don’t seem to understand alcoholism. Vargas agreed. “They don’t. Trust me. Many people have no concept that this is a disease. To tell an alcoholic to stop drinking is like telling someone born with depression to be happy….”

* * *

Vargas said, “I asked my son last night, ‘Why do you think I’m writing this book?’ He said, ‘Because you’re brave and want to help people.’ I hope people will be kind.”

She confided, “As a child, I was shy and quiet because of my tremendous anxiety.” As an “army brat,” she moved almost every year. “I was bullied mercilessly from third grade through junior high. You’d have to learn how to fit in,” she said. “A lot of times, I didn’t.”

I asked if she thinks: Yeah, well, look at me now! Vargas said, “No, you never shed those horrible feelings. My earliest memories are infused with fear.”

Mads Mikkelsen Goes From Hannibal to the Chickens

dorriolds — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 02:26:39 +0000

Danish stunner Mads Mikkelsen from NBC’s recently axed “Hannibal” stars in the twisted dark comedy “Men & Chicken.” The film, by Oscar-winning writer-director Anders Thomas Jensen, makes its North American premiere today, Friday, Sept. 11 at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
My movie crush on Mikkelsen began with his 2012 lead role in the Oscar-nominated steamy romantic thriller, “A Royal Affair.” Starring opposite Alicia Vikander (“Ex Machina”), he sizzled a message onto the screen: Hot!
His next starring role was in the award-winning “The Hunt.” Mikkelsen told me during our exclusive interview that he never planned on being an actor. He was a gymnast who just fell into it. After telling everyone I knew about the hot Danish actor, they saw for themselves when he became TV’s “Hannibal.”
In the hilarious “Men & Chicken” (“Mænd og Høns”), Mikkelsen plays drastically against type. Here we see him as Elias, a hare-lipped, prosthetic-nosed, purposely repulsive, mentally compromised, compulsive masturbator.
The movie begins with Elias’ also harelipped-but-slightly less-peculiar brother, the wiser Gabriel (David Dencik). After the death of their father, they receive a message from ole dead Dad. We see only his feet in the poorly aimed video as we hear his startling secret. The sons were both adopted and had different mothers.
Naturally shaken, the now half-brothers set out on a journey to meet their biological father. He is a 100-year-old scientist who lives on Ork, a sparsely populated island, in a crumbling mansion that was once a sanitarium. It is here they find out they have three hare-lipped, large-nosed and mentally bizarre brothers, Franz (Søren Malling), Gregor (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) and Josef (Nicolas Bro). This is where the film becomes a cross between the hillbillies in “Deliverance” and “The Three Stooges” on crack.
With no access to females on the island of only 40 inhabitants, Gregor describes the pleasures of doing it with chickens, sheep and a bull. Elias, the guy who’s constantly excusing himself to go yank his weenie, calls Gregor disgusting.
This genre-bending comedy also sneaks sci-fi into the mix via malformed chickens that stroll by on odd feet.
Gabriel, the only bro with some semblance of normalcy, functions in the real world teaching evolutionary psychology and philosophy at a university. In an attempt to civilize his subhuman sibs and teach them morality, Gabriel grabs a dusty Bible off of their father’s bookshelf and instructs Josef to read it out loud. Josef interrupts the tale with an outburst. Because Abraham sacrificed his son Isaac, Josef states he was clearly mentally ill (pot calling the kettle black) and there was nothing to learn from him. It is a Quentin Tarantino-type message about mankind’s search for meaning — and the hypocrisies of religion and society — underneath a comic delivery.
Suprisingly, behind all of this madcap hilarity is a tender story about humanity and existentialism. The ending satisfies and the five misfits, despite their unique brands of oddity, prove to be mostly lovable in the end.
Mikkelsen is a household word in Denmark, and “Men & Chicken” is already a smash hit in theaters. Drafthouse Films just purchased the North American distribution rights. To find out when and where you can see the quirky, oddball movie gem, stay tuned on the “Men & Chicken” website or Facebook page.

Opening in New York & LA on April 22nd.

In Danish with English subtitles. Not rated. 104 min.

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Orange is the New Black Series 4 Confirmed

dorriolds — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 08:51:18 +0000

Orange is the New Black Series 4 Confirmed
The hotly anticipated return of everybody’s favorite Netflix series has been getting mixed reactions. “Orange is the New Black” was created by Jenji Kohan based on the memoirs of real-life inmate Piper Kerman about her own experiences in prison. The series has received critical acclaim, 12 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and accumulated rabid fans that claim to subscribe to Netflix just so they can watch the show. The third season premiered on June 11, 2015 but some are questioning if the magic is still there.
Storylines Continue
OITNB Season 3 opened with a special Mother’s Day event for the inmates as Joe Caputo debuted his more relaxed attitude toward running the prison. As Bennett faces up to Daya’s extended family he begins to realize the arduous road ahead. Through the backstories of Big Boo we watch her struggle with family expectations. It’s all about pressure to be more feminine, learning about Chang, and discovering there’s an Amish inmate in the midst.
Steadfast Fan Base
The show’s huge following has created a hungry demand for OITNB merchandise like the recently developed app made by Sankeerna Wali that quizzes fans on their trivia knowledge of the show to a Crazy Eyes keychain. It’ll be interesting to see how many ways the fans will root for the drama. We can only guess if we’ll see theme parks pop up or slot machines, like the Terminator 2 slot and a whole host of companies cashing in with new games. Gambling in the prison is strictly forbidden, of course, but that doesn’t mean the fans won’t go crazy getting greedy for more and more and more.
2016 Season 4 Confirmed
Fans were ecstatic to hear that the show has been renewed for a fourth season, which will debut in 2016. No doubt there will be countless questions left unanswered by this series finale. In the meantime, the actresses who have enjoyed success on the show are developing their own projects for fans to enjoy in the interim. Laverne Cox stars with Lily Tomlin in “Grandma,” opening Aug. 21, she played Sheena on “The Mindy Project, ” and she’s now filming the movie, “Doubt.” And Taylor Schilling’s movie, “The Overnight,” just hit theaters on June 19.

Laverne Cox. Photo © Dorri Olds.

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‘True Blood’s Carrie Preston on the Show’s Hot Men and Her Favorite Thing in the World

dorriolds — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 16:29:07 +0000

Photo by Shawn Flint Blair

You may know Carrie Preston as waitress Arlene Fowler on “True Blood” or for herPrimetime Emmy Award-winning role Elsbeth Tascioni on “The Good Wife” or Grace Hendricks, who plays the love interest to her real-life husband Michael Emerson on “Person of Interest.”

Maybe you recognize her as the high-strung Judy on “The Following” or from, like, a gazillion other TV and movie credits. This woman never stops.

Preston and her husband Emerson were in the play, “Love Letters,” which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. She is also co-owner of the production company, Daisy 3 Pictures, with partners James Vasquez and Mark Holmes. But, after our convo, I think the starring role she is most proud of is being the mother to rising star Chumley, her amazing and snuggly rescue dog. Of course, you know that means she and I got along famously.

Dorri Olds: You wear so many hats. Can you describe a typical workday?

Carrie Preston: It varies depending on what I have on deck. Generally, I spend a lot of time planning the logistics of how to spend my time. I travel a lot, between New York and Los Angeles, but I’m good at time management and enjoy being busy. I feel lucky when I have a lot of reasons to wake up in the morning, and I embrace whatever challenges come my way with whatever projects I’m lucky enough to drum up or create.

What are the differences and similarities between some of your TV series’ characters?

They all have red hair. [Laughs] That’s where the similarities end, though. They’re all so complicated. Well, I would call all of them intelligent women who take their relationships seriously, and they’re all mothers. No, wait a minute, that’s not true; Grace is not a mother. From there on, they’re very different. It’s hard to put it into a few words, but I guess I would say Arlene is passionate, maternal and histrionic. Elsbeth Tascioni is brilliant, scattered and mercurial. Grace Hendricks is quiet, sincere and lovely, and Judy is cunning, intelligent and a little scary.

Have either you or Michael felt a twinge of jealousy watching each other do romantic scenes with other actors?

Oh no, no, no. Absolutely not. There’s never any kind of a threat. What most people don’t realize is there’s very little romance when you’re shooting those scenes because there are 50 crew members standing around. It takes you 12 hours to shoot that material, and it’s all pulled apart; it becomes like choreography. In my experience, it doesn’t feel like when you’re actually in a relationship. When Michael and I met, we were doing a play, but we didn’t fall in love because we were doing a play together. We fell because we liked each other’s company.

Of all the sexy men on “True Blood,” who would you rather fall prey to: Stephen Moyer, Sam Trammell, Ryan Kwanten, Alexander Skarsgård — he’d be my pick — or Joe Manganiello?

I’m going to pick Chris Bauer. He’s much more my type. I don’t fall easily, and I’m not one of those boy-crazy girls who goes weak in the knees for every hot guy. Of course, I appreciate what every member of our cast looks like! They’re all very attractive, but I tend to fall for guys more like Chris Bauer. He’s very handsome and has a lot of sexy qualities, but I feel a little uncomfortable going into details because I’m happily married.

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The Many Faces of Queen Elizabeth I

dorriolds — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 22:12:54 +0000

This is a guest post by arts and entertainment blogger Blake Meredith

September 7, 2013 is the 480th birthday of Queen Elizabeth I, also known as Good Queen Bess. From November 17, 1558, until her death on March 24, 1603, Queen Elizabeth I was the queen regnant of England and Ireland. She has been depicted in over 20 films and more than twice that for television. To celebrate the Virgin Queen’s birthday, here is a list of the top 5 actresses that portrayed her.

Helen Mirren
In 2005, HBO aired a miniseries that followed the later years of Elizabeth I’s personal and public lives. Dame Helen Mirren portrayed Good Queen Bess alongside actors Jeremy Irons and Hugh Dancy. The series won three Golden Globes, including Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television, and Helen Mirren took home Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television, in addition to an Emmy. Mirren’s portrayal made Queen Elizabeth 1 seem entirely human. Although Elizabeth I never married, she was rumored to have had secret relationships and Mirren’s performance is phenomenal.

Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett portrayed Queen Elizabeth I in both the 1998 film Elizabeth and the 2007 sequel Elizabeth I: The Golden Age. The first film was praised by critics. Cate Blanchett gives a stunning performance in this dark and lurid account. The film isn’t dry or bland like some historical biopics. It’s an intense movie that contains just the right amount of sex, suspense, and intrigue to keep you on the edge of your seat. Blanchett’s performance earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Blanchett returned to the role in the belated sequel. The second film just did not measure up to its predecessor, but Blanchett nevertheless scored an Oscar nomination again. Clearly the film’s struggles had nothing to do with Blanchett’s performance.

Bette Davis
In 1955, Hollywood legend Bette Davis starred as Queen Elizabeth I in The Virgin Queen. This was the second time she took on the female leader as a role. Davis previously portrayed the Queen in the 1939 film, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, which was nominated for 5 Oscars. In both roles Davis stole the show. Her portrayal of the Queen was both entertaining and inspiring. Queen Elizabeth I went through so much in her lifetime, and Bette Davis showed that with grace and class.

Judi Dench
Although it was only a small role in the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love, Dame Judi Dench took on the role of Queen Elizabeth I with such elegance and style. Dench was on screen just about eight minutes, but it was enough to win her very first Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Dench commanded the screen in her eight minutes and her portrayal of a brutish, yet still kindly Queen will not be forgotten.

Glenda Jackson
In the 1971 film, Mary Queen of Scots, Glenda Jackson plays the cousin to Mary Queen of Scots, Queen Elizabeth I. The film was nominated for 5 Oscars. Glenda Jackson’s portrayal of the Queen is up there with some of her most memorable roles. Jackson portrayed a younger Queen Elizabeth I who squares off against her cousin, showing the qualities that made Elizabeth a strong and independent female leader.

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7 Cartoon Dogs That Make Us Smile

dorriolds — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:30:19 +0000

Written for Petside

Growing up, television was a warm welcoming place. On Saturday mornings I visited with cartoon friends. There was reassurance the characters behaved the way I expected. I knew their laughs, the way their shoulders shook, if their eyebrows tilted up. When they were confused or sad I felt for them but I knew when they were just faking to play a trick. Their flaws were lovable and their cockamamie antics delectable. Here’s my list of seven animated dogs worthy of mention.

1. Clifford the Big Red Dog

This year is the 50th anniversary of Clifford the Big Red Dog, a lovable animated character created by Norman Bridwell. Clifford was created for Scholastic Books and remains their official mascot. Clifford’s life began as the tiny runt of a litter. An eight-year old girl named Emily Elizabeth chose him for her birthday and her love for him was so great that Clifford kept growing and growing until he reached the height of 25 feet. He became too big for Elizabeth and her family to stay in the city so they left to find a new home. I think of Clifford from my childhood days as a happy, friendly, gregarious sort. He was well-meaning and helpful but often got into big trouble because of his size. I wished it was me whenever Emily rode on his back.

2. Rowlf the Dog

Ah, the Muppets. Who can forget Jim Henson’s Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Ernie and Burt, Oscar the Grouch and the Cookie Monster? Here’s a surprise: The first Muppet to reach stardom was Rowlf the Dog, a scruffy brown doggy with long floppy ears. It has been 50 years since Rowlf earned TV fame as Jimmy Dean’s sidekick on The Jimmy Dean Show. Rowlf is calm, no matter what insanity goes on around him, he loves classical music and plays a mean piano.

3. Snoopy

My all time favorite cartoon dog is Snoopy. In case there is anyone out there who doesn’t know, Charles Schulz created Snoopy the Beagle for the Peanuts comic strip. It was 63 years ago that Snoopy’s life began. He was a regular dog at first but over time, the little guy acquired personality quirks that shot him to scene-stealing status. Snoopy went from living inside his doghouse to lying atop. Schulz credits that as the life changer for Snoopy. A bit of trivia: Snoopy’s name came from Schulz’s mother. When she’d been alive she had said that if the family ever got another dog, she’d name him Snoopy, which comes from the Norwegian word Snuppa, meaning sweetie, honey or baby. Funny though, Snoopy isn’t the kind of guy who fits those exactly. Snoopy is his own man—who could ever forget Joe Cool with his dark shades or The Red Baron, WWI flying ace?

4. Goofy

Now let’s talk about Goofy. I’ll always think of him fondly. Walt Disney created him in 1932; that’s 81 years ago! Isn’t it great that cartoon dogs never age? Goofy’s name is perfect for this clumsy, lovable, lughead. I always found it funny that he wore a turtleneck, vest, white gloves and pants that were too short, with shoes that were too big. Goofy came into this world at the same time as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck and Pluto and that brings me to number five.

5. Pluto

Pluto is Mickey Mouse’s dog. As most dog owners feel, Mickey considers Pluto his best friend. The pooch has big feet, big paws, a big green collar, skinny black tail, and animated black ears with signature Walt Disney eyes. Pluto can’t stand cats ever since meeting Minnie’s feline, Figaro. He’s got a supersonic sense of smell and can hunt down anything. Pluto falls in love quickly and often. He fell hard for Dinah the Dachshund but despite that tendency, Pluto’s biggest love is for Mickey.

6. Scooby Doo

Scooby Doo was born at Hanna-Barbera and got his name from Frank Sinatra’s song, Strangers in the Night (doo-be-doo-be-doo). Creator Iwao Takamoto went to see a Great Dane breeder and asked about the desired traits for the pedigree. After getting a full description, Takamoto created Scooby with the opposite qualities. He gave him a hump back, bowed legs, small chin and opposable thumbs. As a kid I delighted in the way he was scared of everything. This huge brown dog with a big black nose would tremble and shake, then jump into the arms of his owner, Shaggy. Scooby had a speech impediment that gave him trouble with the letter “R.” As an adult, I’ve attributed my expression, “Ruh Roh,” to Scooby, but I learned today that I was wrong. Read on…

7. Astro

Astro, also drawn by Takamoto for the Hanna-Barbera cartoon The Jetsons(which first aired in 1962), was the Jetson family dog. Astro is the character responsible for “Ruh Roh.” Interestingly, both Astro and Scooby Doo were voiced by the same man, Don Messick, and both added the letter “R” to words. Astro said things like, “I ruv roo.” Another phrase I adopted from cartoon doggies is thanks to Huckleberry Hound. It was Huck who got me in the habit of saying, “stuff like that there.” Now, getting back to Astro and The Jetsons, every episode ended with George Jetson and Astro walking on a treadmill but suddenly Astro chases a cat, the treadmill makes George fall down, he loses his grip on the leash and gets sucked into the treadmill. No matter how many times I watched the ending, I howled.

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Celebrity Magician Matt Wayne: Entertainer and Animal Advocate

dorriolds — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:45:53 +0000

Written for Petside.com

Matt Wayne, aka Celebrity Magician, is not only a magic man but also an actor (2012’s movie, When the Devil Comes), producer (Off-Broadway’s,The Complete Performer), TV personality (CSI: NY, The Real Housewivesof New York City) and advocate for animal charities. His favorite causes include Bidawee, North Shore Animal League, Last Chance for Animals and BARC shelter.
Does this man ever sleep? When asked where he gets his energy, Wayne said, “My life is targeted at helping animals. That’s what motivates my career. I’m like the Betty White of magic.” Oh, and he’s only 25.
This holiday season he performed magic for the Paws NY Annual Fundraiser and Cocktails that Care’s barktastic night at the elegant Pranna Lounge on Madison Avenue. He strutted at “Pups on the Runway Costume Ball” where dogs competed in categories like Glamour, Hilarious and Matching Pawrent. Winners received free entry into the 2012 Barking Beauty Pageant and a free copy of the book Chasing Bocker’s Tale.
Wayne arrived in New York City five years ago with only six hundred dollars in his pocket and big dreams of making magic. His first big break was the overnight success of his DVD Gotta Light, a modern version of the 3-shell game. Another career boost came when he appeared on the reality dating show Wing Man. His pitch: “I’m a magician who toured the world but can’t get a date.” Through that show he met his soulmate, Karen Biehl.
“On our first date I made her a white rose out of a napkin,” Wayne said. “Lucky for me she’d always dreamed of a man who’d give her white roses.”
Wayne’s excited about his upcoming February 10, 2012 project, the Pre-Westminster Fashion Show. Their tagline is “Get Ready to Pawty!” It’s an annual benefit for the Animal Care and Control of NYC. One of the Best in Show sponsors will give away a one-year supply of oral care and other natural products to the pet owner that sends the winning photo in the Petzlife Products “Best” Smile Photo Contest.
This past May, Wayne was so moved by the tragic Tuscaloosa tornado he created a relief effort, Operation Toto. “I contacted many friends including Loretta Swit, Bonnie Jill-Laflin, the NBA’s first female scout, actor Doug Jones from Hellboy movies and Richard Pryor, Jr. They all gladly participated. Loretta even agreed to host. I called the Alabama State Department to say I wanted to help and asked to be put in touch with animal shelters and the Humane Society down there. I turned my campaign into the only relief effort that came from the northeast. The New York Daily News did a write-up about it. It went so well I plan to organize another ToTo Relief Op. This time it will be ‘Feed the Homeless’ for hungry stray dogs and cats.”
“My biggest complaint,” Matt said, “is when celebrities don’t use their fame to help others. Being a celebrity magician means I have a voice. I use it to help speak for animals.”

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CNN Makeup Artist & Hair Dresser

dorriolds — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:32:14 +0000

Ever since my guest appearance on CNN’s Dr. Drew show I have received a ton of compliments about the way I looked. I must give credit to the behind-the-scenes women who did my hair and makeup. When I arrived on the scene at 10 Columbus Circle, NYC, I was ushered to the CNN hair & makeup department.
I went prepared. I pulled out my iPhone and showed makeup artist Rosamaria Lionetti Brown a photo of Halle Berry’s eyes and another of Ginnifer Goodwin’s hair and asked if she could do that for me. It was a fantastic experience feeling like a star for a day. I closed my eyes and let Rosamaria powder my face. Heaven.
Hats off (pun intended) to the hair stylist assistant, too. Her name is Claudia Pedala. Claudia’s website is ClaudiaPedala.com. She teased and poofed my hair with expert precision. The smell of the hairspray and makeup was sweet and so were both women. It took them less than a half hour.
I was then led to a waiting room where Steve was awaiting my grand entrance. Steve, who prefers me with no makeup, had a splendid reaction. It looked something like this:

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