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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2006 > April > 03 > Entry
Stupid human tricks get a new, local face
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Monday night at 10:30, after “Punk’d” on MTV, watch for a guy named Ghost (real name: Jeff Yarbrough) on a new show “Call to Greatness,” where a group of guys try to break world records, Johnny Knoxville style.
The graduate of Marietta’s Lassiter High with a huge afro, seven necklaces and a handgun-shaped ring cheats death at least twice on the show. “It’s stupid athletic daredevil stuff,” Ghost told Buzz over lunch at Fox Sports Grill in Atlantic Station. “I get hurt a lot.”
He said he almost drowned funneling 80 ounces of slushie down his throat through a beer bong. “It filled my lungs and oozed out of my nose and mouth,” he said. “They had to beat it out of me.” Then he hurt himself driving a hearse over a bus. (MTV must have paid a fortune for liability insurance!)
Not all the records they break are Guinness-friendly, he acknowledges, but they’re camera-friendly. “There’s a feeling that you can’t explain when you succeed and push yourself beyond the limits you thought you had,” he said.
An ex-aerospace engineer and physics major, the wannabe actor was bouncing in a Los Angeles club, “beating up drunk people every night,” when producers discovered him.
Edith Yarbrough, his mom and manager, said her son was always a risk-taker, climbing a tree 30 feet at age 6. “He’s always doing nutty things,” she said. “That’s just him.”
“I’m hard to kill,” Ghost said, with a grin.
Cowboy gets revenge
Actor Sam Elliott possesses a laconic, flinty-eyed cragginess that embodies the American cowboy of yore, but it also fits the character he plays in the gritty thriller “Avenger” on TNT this Sunday at 8 p.m.
“It was an opportunity to do the leading man thing,” Elliott told Buzz recently. “Most of my TV work has been supporting work.” In “Avenger,” he plays a Vietnam vet, a widower and disenchanted lawyer who quietly helps people avenge the violent deaths of loved ones but gets caught up in a big CIA conspiracy led by characters played by James Cromwell and Timothy Hutton.
Elliott (“Tombstone,” “We Were Soldiers,”) said he’s picky about roles and has saved enough money to have that luxury. “Nobody can play Sam Elliott like I can,” he said wryly. “It’s been good to me, whether I’m a biker or cowboy or vet.”
Though he admires director Ang Lee and was in “The Hulk,” he didn’t warm up to Lee’s controversial “Brokeback Mountain.” “It’s a little disconcerting,” Elliott said. “I’m such a purist [when it comes to Westerns].” His reaction? “What’s the big deal? What’s everybody talking about?”
Boy Hits Car hits big
Chris Williams, program director and afternoon jock for 105.3/The Buzz, was always a big fan of L.A. rock band Boy Hits Car when he was at 99X. But the group lost its record contract and faded away.
The band recently recorded an independent release, “The Passage,” and sent it to radio stations. Williams and his staff loved the song “Escape the World” so much, the Buzz added it three months ago. It has since become one of the station’s top songs, a rarity for a band with no label.
“I think they’re on the verge,” Williams said. “They’re the best band I’ve ever seen live.”
Williams helped the band do a residency in Atlanta last month, with Creative Loafing footing the hotel bills. Boy Hits Car did several concerts and opened for 30 Seconds to Mars, culminating in a CD release party at Tower Records last week, which drew more than 100 fans.
“Their energy is just amazing,” said fan Matt Schneider at the signing. “I’ve converted a lot of people. They’ll be very big.”
Lead singer Craig Rondell is naturally grateful: “Atlanta is special to us. It feels like our second home.”
Big ups for the Goliath
The Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia, which opened to the public this past weekend, certainly lives up to its name. Not a coaster enthusiast with an iron stomach, Buzz is still nauseous after two trips on the behemoth, which features monstrous drops, nonstop action and plenty of G-force.
But members of the American Coaster Enthusiasts raved about the Goliath during a special VIP day last week.
“It’s incredibly well designed,” said Joe Andrelczyk, an Athens engineer. His 18-year-old son Brian, who ranks the Goliath third best out of 104 coasters he’s tried, rode it a whopping 34 times that day. “I’m still impressed with it,” he told Buzz afterward. “I just loved all that air time.”
Random bits
After a disastrous two weeks against “Lost” in the 9 p.m. Wednesday slot, NBC’s “Law & Order” moves back to the 10 p.m. spot it held for almost 14 years, swapping times with NBC’s new nonhit “Heist.” …
After Us mag featured photos of the pair smooching, Dunwoody grad and “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest on the “Tonight Show” last week confirmed he was dating actress Teri Hatcher. …
Celebrity birthdays
Actress-singer Doris Day is 82. Singer Wayne Newton is 64. Singer Tony Orlando is 62. Actor Alec Baldwin is 48. Actor David Hyde Pierce (“Frasier”) is 47. Comedian-actor Eddie Murphy is 45. Singer Sebastian Bach is 38. Actress Jennie Garth is 34. Actress Amanda Bynes is 20.
Contributing: news services. If you have a tip, call 404-526-5688 or e-mail: rho@ajc.com.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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