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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2006 > July > 31 > Entry
Rapper has big plans to lighten up his look
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bone Crusher (real name Wayne Hardnett), the Smyrna-based rapper known for showing off his monstrous tummy on stage, isn’t the biggest person to show up on VH1’s “Celebrity Fit Club,” the show in which entertainers have 100 days to lose as much weight as possible.
At 421 pounds coming into the show, Bone Crusher, 30, lags behind comic Ralphie May, who entered the first edition at a whopping 481 pounds. Nonetheless, Crusher told Buzz, “I didn’t even know I gained that much.”
His rapper buddy and Season 3 contestant Bizarre encouraged him. “He said, ‘Get on the show and show how big boys do it.’ I love competition. Anytime I can get in there and do my thing, I’m down for it.”
Bone Crusher, who joins the likes of former contestants Carnie Wilson, Ted Lange and Angie Stone, can’t say how much weight he’s lost, but he hopes to eventually drop to a relatively svelte 300. “I think everybody is entitled to one drug,” Crusher said in a trailer to the show. “My drug is eating.”
The fourth incarnation of “Celebrity Fit Club” debuts Sunday at 9 p.m.
Comics stand tall in Roswell
The Funny Farm comedy club in Roswell has become “Last Comic Standing” central, with former contestants such as Rich Vos and Bonnie McFarlane there recently, Gary Gulman coming up Aug. 10-12 and Season 2 winner John Heffron Aug. 24-26. But in a case of prescient booking, the Funny Farm had two of the current final four contestants on the NBC reality show this past weekend: hilarious, curly-haired Chris Porter and easygoing observational comic Ty Barnett.
Both know that the favorite to win $50,000, an NBC talent contract and a Bravo special is Josh Blue, who uses his cerebral palsy as fodder for humor. “Josh Blue is going to win it not because of his cerebral palsy. He’s funny,” a tired Porter told Buzz after his last set Saturday night. “He’s also likable.”
The fourth contestant, Michele Balan, has been skirting elimination for weeks. Via public vote, “Last Comic Standing” will pare the quartet down to three Tuesday night.
‘Murder’ writ large
Actress Angela Lansbury, 80, knows she may be best remembered not for her film career (“The Manchurian Candidate,” “Gaslight”) or her illustrious Broadway run in “Mame.” No, it’s her 12-year run as Jessica Fletcher, the sleuth on television’s “Murder, She Wrote.”
“I’m sure in my obituary, ‘Murder, She Wrote’ will be in the headline,” a chipper Lansbury told Buzz last week by telephone from her Los Angeles abode.
Lansbury gets to run through all aspects of her life with Robert Osborne on “Private Screenings” for Turner Classic Movies (Tuesday, 9 p.m.). “I just decided there comes a time in your life when you’re prepared to go back and re-examine your career,” she said. “I’m surprised and amazed at what I managed to fit into all those years.”
But after decades of working nonstop, Lansbury has slowed down, taking occasional gigs such as the movie “Nanny McPhee” and voicing her “Beauty and the Beast” character Mrs. Potts in the video game “Kingdom Hearts II.” (“Talk about legs,” she cracked. “She’s like a centipede!”)
Lansbury divides her time among homes in L.A., New York and Ireland. In New York, she’s so down to earth that she often takes the bus (!) to see operas, concerts and Broadway shows, graciously greeting the many tourists who recognize her. As for a new “Murder, She Wrote” movie, she said that if a “crackerjack” script can be done, she’s open to it.
Celebrity nuptials
Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock were married Saturday aboard a yacht in Saint-Tropez, France, People magazine confirmed. “She was the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen — like a modern-day Brigitte Bardot,” Jimmy Choo owner Tamara Mellon told People about Anderson, who wore a white string bikini to her nuptials. “Kid Rock was a total rock star. He gave her a good kiss. Everybody was crying.”
A tongue-lashing for Lindsay
A studio executive in a letter scolded party gal Lindsay Lohan for her behavior on a movie set, doubting her reasons last week when she said she suffered from heat exhaustion.
James G. Robinson, chief executive officer of Morgan Creek Productions, sent the letter, dated July 26, to the young actress, as well as agents, producers and others involved in the film “Georgia Rule.”
On Tuesday, publicist Leslie Sloan Zelnick told “The Insider” that Lohan was treated for overheating and dehydration at a hospital after filming “Georgia Rule” in 105-degree weather for 12 hours that day.
Robinson, in a letter posted Friday on TheSmokingGun.com, was skeptical: “We are well aware that your ongoing all night heavy partying is the real reason for your so-called ‘exhaustion.’ ”
Lohan plays a troubled teenager in “Georgia Rule,” which also stars Jane Fonda and Felicity Huffman. Robinson said in the letter that Lohan has been frequently late for filming and has been “discourteous, irresponsible and unprofessional.” She returned to the set without incident Thursday.
Celebrity birthdays
Drummer Bill Berry is 48. Actor Wesley Snipes is 44. Musician Fatboy Slim is 43. “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling is 41. Actor Dean Cain is 40.
Contributing: news services. 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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