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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2008 > May > 02
Friday, May 2, 2008
Actor gets motor running in Braselton
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ian Ziering, best known as smooth-talking Steve Sanders on “Beverly Hills 90210” during the 1990s, has joined the ranks of fellow actors Frankie Muniz and Patrick Dempsey and taken on auto racing as a hobby.
You’ll be able to hang out with him today at Road Atlanta in Braselton, where he’ll be competing at 1:30 p.m. in the SCAA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup. (That rolls off the tongue. …)
“I’ve loved motorsports since I was a kid, but I just went pro last year,” Ziering told Buzz this week.
He took a racing school class at Road Atlanta five years ago and deemed it an “awesome track.”
This is not a cheap hobby. Besides the vehicle itself, staffing a pit crew and maintaining the vehicle can go into six figures per year. As a “complete newbie,” Ziering said he’s seeking more sponsors. Interested? He gave Buzz a contact number at Hale Motorsports: 860-399-4603. Psst, ask for Randy.
Ziering’s profile went up a year ago when he finished a solid fourth on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.” This led to hosting duties of Lifetime’s recent reality show “Your Mama Don’t Dance.” He fended off assertions that the show is creepy because it features parents dancing with their sons and daughters, often in sexy outfits.
“The dancers were not sensual,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything more beautiful than a parent having fun with their kids.”
Ziering isn’t involved with efforts to create a “90210” spinoff, but he’s not against the idea. “It’s great if they capture the spirit” of the original, he said. “I’m like anybody else. I want to be entertained!”
MONEY FOR CENTER
If Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine and his co-chairman, Dr. Jeffrey Gallups, want to put their feet up today, they should be indulged. After all, when the final numbers were crunched this week, the pair and some deep-pocketed pals helped raise $106,000 via the first Murphy-Harpst Golf Classic at St. Ives Country Club. The outing generated necessary funds to go toward the planned Murphy-Harpst Children’s Center. Gallups told us a live auction featuring a trip to New York City with tickets to see “Live With Regis and Kelly” and “Late Show With David Letterman” and a stay at the Intercontinental-Barclay were among the signature items.
“This may have been my first and last time as a co-chair,” Gallups joked. “I had no idea exactly how much work goes into creating a successful fund-raiser.” Gallups conceded that his wife, Dr. Nancy Gallups, is usually the charitable co-chair in the family.
Despite Jeffrey’s protestations, we’re wagering that after raising $106 grand his first time out, the Atlanta doc is already being considered for an encore.
COUPLING?
When she was making the media rounds on Atlanta radio last week, pop diva Mariah Carey declined to discuss her relationship with comic and actor Nick Cannon.
But according to several published reports, Carey, 38, married Cannon, 27, on Wednesday. Neither Carey’s publicist nor Cannon’s manager returned requests from The Associated Press for comment.
If the pair did indeed wed, it would be a whirlwind romance. Word that the two were seeing each other first surfaced in the past few weeks. Last Saturday, Carey was seen sporting a huge diamond ring on her finger at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of her movie “Tennessee,” in which she plays a waitress. Cannon was at her side at the party. Speculation swirled that the couple were engaged.
Latina.com was first to report that the two got married, at Carey’s home in the Bahamas. Friday’s New York Post also reported that the pair had wed, and E! Online quoted a relative of Cannon’s as saying that Cannon called his family and confirmed the news.
“He called us and told us all about it. We are happy for him. If that is what he wants, then we are happy for him,” Linda Cannon, identified simply as a family member, was quoted telling E!
People magazine’s Web site reported Friday that Carey had obtained a marriage license on the island of Eleuthera, in the Bahamas, where she has an estate.
Cannon is best known for his role in the movie “Drumline” that was shot in Atlanta.
HIGH FIVE
Television
The top On Demand programs for the week of April 28, as determined by Comcast customers in metro Atlanta:
1. Lil Wayne, “Lollipop,” music video, Music Choice
2. “House of Payne,” “Cheers” episode, TBS
3. “Family Guy,” “Airport 07” episode, TBS
4. Lil Wil, “My Dougie,” music video
5. “Family Guy,” “Dammit Janet” episode, TBS
— Courtesy: Rentrak’s OnDemand Essentials
OVERSCENE
The Boston Celtics’ starting lineup, including Kevin Garnett, Sam Cassell, Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce fueling up on burgers, oysters, sushi and tapas at Twist in Buckhead before the team’s Friday night playoff game against the Hawks at Philips Arena.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Saturday: Folk singer Pete Seeger is 89. Actress Ann B. Davis (“The Brady Bunch”) is 82. Singer Frankie Valli is 73. Sports announcer Greg Gumbel is 62. Actor Dulé Hill (“The West Wing”) is 33. Dancer Cheryl Burke (“Dancing With the Stars”) is 24.
Sunday: Surf guitarist Dick Dale is 71. Country singer Randy Travis is 49. Comedian Ana Gasteyer (“Saturday Night Live”) is 41. Actor Will Arnett (“Arrested Development,” “Blades of Glory”) is 38. Bassist Mike Dirnt of Green Day is 36. Singer Lance Bass of ‘N Sync is 29.
Contributing: Rodney Ho and news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Chef Immel says goodbye to Table 1280
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chef-owner Anne Quatrano of Bacchanalia, Quinones at Bacchanalia, Star Provisions and Floataway Cafe confirmed this week that chef Todd Immel (below right) has left his post as executive chef at tony Table 1280 at the High Museum to work in her and husband Clifford Harrison’s stable of restaurants.
Josh Cary, manager at Table 1280, corroborated that Immel left April 1, leaving his sous chef, Tracey Bloom, in charge of the multimillion-dollar venue’s kitchen. Bloom, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park, worked under Immel’s supervision at Table 1280 for more than a year, and before that was his sous chef at now-closed Oscar’s in College Park and Luma (a Concentrics restaurant) in Florida.
“We’re so glad to have Todd as part of our team,” Quatrano said. “As we expand our restaurants, we’re looking to add Todd’s talent to the mix.” Quatrano added that at the moment Immel is “focusing on absorbing all areas of our business — from charcuterie production to our hot line at Bacchanalia and Quinones.”
Bloom already has changed a few menu items at Table 1280, but Cary said the menu would probably not take any dramatic twists or turns. Operated by Restaurant Associates, Table 1280 opened as part of the grand, $124 million revamping of the High Museum in 2005. Atlanta star-chef Shaun Doty opened the restaurant, but left within a year to pursue a restaurant of his own, Shaun’s, in Inman Park. The management group, out of New York, has had a hard time since luring local talent to its kitchen, so Immel’s loss could be a grave one.
Quatrano also confirmed plans to expand the couple’s group of restaurants to include a new “meat-centric” casual spot to reside in the still-under-construction White Provisions complex on Howell Mill Road. The menu will focus on meats and meat products — local pork and lamb, and eventually local beef — but Quatrano was hesitant to call the new restaurant a steakhouse. The venue is larger than the couple’s other efforts, with 130 seats plus 40 more on a patio. The name? Abattoir, which means “slaughterhouse” in French. The restaurant is slated for a November opening.
SUPPORT FROM MUSICIAN SAMPLE
If you know anything about legendary keyboardist Joe Sample (below right), it should come as no surprise that he is more than willing to support jazz wherever it is appreciated. And Clark Atlanta University surely qualifies, he says. “I’ve been impressed with what they’ve been doing there for a long time,” Sample told Buzz this week prior to his appearance Saturday at the 15th annual Jazz Under the Stars benefit concert at Clark’s Panther Stadium. “I remember I was doing this seminar at black colleges in the latter part of the 1980s, where I went to South Carolina, Mississippi, Fisk, all of these schools — even my old alma mater, Texas Southern. And the only school that had what I determined was a well-supported and qualified music department was Clark’s.
“I have been on [Clark’s] campus at least three or four times since then, talking to music students and performing, and it has maintained that excellence,” Sample continued. “So of course I’m happy to return this weekend, and help raise money to keep up the good work.”
Doors open for the benefit for Clark students in the performing arts — which will also include the CAU Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Vocal Ensemble — at 6:30 p.m. Individual tickets are $60, and available by calling 404-880-8136. Corporate tables and sponsorships are available at 404-577-8677.
CELEBRITY DOCKET
Atlanta rapper Baby D released a new CD Tuesday, but it’s unlikely he’s doing much celebrating behind bars.
Koch Records has confirmed that its artist has been a guest at an Ohio jail since March 26, when he was arrested for allegedly trafficking cocaine in Dayton. Baby D is being held without bond in the Butler County Jail.
In addition to those federal charges, the member of Atlanta’s Big Oomp Camp — probably best known for the 2000 single “Eastside Vs. Westside” — has three pending assault charges in Tennessee, according to Koch. And a warrant for his arrest in his home state was dismissed, the label says.
Still, Koch issued Baby D’s third CD, “A-Town Secret Weapon,” this week, featuring guest appearances from fellow local phenoms Sean P of the YoungBloodZ, Pastor Troy, Shawty Low, Gucci Mane, BackBone and DJ Jelly. The first single, “I’m Bout Money,” is enjoying local airplay, and the video is in rotation on BET and MTV Jams.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Lesley Gore is 62. Country singer Larry Gatlin is 60. Singer Lou Gramm of Foreigner is 58. Actress Christine Baranski is 56. Country singer Ty Herndon is 46. Wrestler-actor Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson is 36. Singer Lily Allen is 23. Actress Kay Panabaker (“Nancy Drew”) is 18.
OVERSCENE
Ivory Latta of the Atlanta Dream WNBA team dining on nachos, wings and a burger at Stats downtown. We’re told she “became an instant fan” of the stylish sports bar and plans to bring her family there when they come in town to see her play.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
