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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2006 > June > 25 > Entry
Truett Cathy a marriage success, too
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy has become the media darling of the biggest marriage conference of the year, being held at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis this weekend.
“Good Morning America,” “ABC World News Tonight” and Fox News have sent camera crews to the Hampton home of Cathy to interview the restaurateur about his pro-marriage and work philosophy.
“He gets a lot of awards,” said Chick-fil-A spokesman Mark Baldwin. “We’re surprised this one has generated so much attention.”
Today, Cathy will be honored with the 2006 Smart Marriages Award, marking the first time a corporate leader has received the honor.
“Happy homes mean more productive employees,” a cheerful Cathy told Buzz as he geared up for back-to-back media interviews.
Cathy’s efforts to bolster marriage include the $14 million conversion of Berry College farmhouses into a marriage retreat center. He also invites employees’ spouses to attend annual meetings in Florida, where he has marriage advisers on hand. And Lunch and Learn seminars at the corporate headquarters often focus on marriage-boosting tips.
“If there are problems at home, you can’t put your best foot forward at work,” he said.
Cathy, 85, first met his wife, Jeannette, at age 8. He had a crush on the girl two doors down who looked “just like Shirley Temple.”
They parted ways, and more than 10 years later they crossed paths and got married.
Mary Mac’s fesses up
Equal artificial sweetener and Zagat’s food guide have named the top spots for iced tea and other summertime beverages in a variety of U.S. cities. In Atlanta, its pick for the best place to tank up on the elixir that runs through every Southern vein is a sentimental choice: Mary Mac’s Tea Room, on Ponce de Leon. The best coffee/tea house to visit with your pet? Java Vino, on North Highland. Does Mary Mac’s (where sweet tea is referred to as the “table wine of the South”) use Equal to sweeten a (sacrilege!) low-calorie version of its eminent brew? “Yes we do honey,” said a patient lady who answered the phone during the suppertime rush. For other Zagat picks, see www.zagat.com.
Counting down
Although she has tried to duck the spotlight, Nicole Kidman’s every move has been followed by photographers, TV crews and fans in the days leading up to her marriage to Keith Urban in Australia.
On Friday, Kidman, Urban and some high-profile guests drove out of her Sydney waterfront property amid rumors of a wedding rehearsal. The fine points of the ceremony — expected Sunday night — remain top secret.
Kidman, who was born in Hawaii to Australian parents, and Urban, a country star who was born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, ended months of speculation with an announcement shortly after arriving in Sydney on Monday.
The couple are expected to be married in a Roman Catholic ceremony at a Gothic-style stone church overlooking Sydney’s Manly beach.
Local media have predicted an extravagant, black-tie affair with a guest list that includes Kidman’s longtime friend Naomi Watts, Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman and “Moulin Rouge” director Baz Luhrmann.
It will be the first marriage for Urban, 38, who is based in Nashville. Kidman divorced Tom Cruise in 2001 after 10 years of marriage.
Saved by the T-shirt?
In all those annoying years of “Saved by the Bell,” Dustin Diamond — aka “Screech” — says he managed to accumulate $2 million. Somehow most of that is gone, and the former child star is just a few weeks shy of becoming homeless. Or so it says on his Web site, www.getdshirts.com, where Diamond is hawking autographed T-shirts to keep his house from foreclosure. “I paid $15 to save Screeech’s house” says one shirt, adding an extra “e” to keep from running afoul of copyright laws. TV Guide Channel is helping with an appearance by Diamond on the chat show “TV Watercooler” to be taped next week.
Celebrity birthdays
Today: television actress Sherry Stringfield (“ER”) is 39; drummer Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac, is 59 (or 64, depending on your source); guitarist Jeff Beck is 62; cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (“Apocalypse Now,” “1900”) is 66.
Sunday: singer Carly Simon is 61; pop singer George Michael is 43.
Contributing: Helena Oliviero and news services. If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or e-mail: buzz@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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