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The year that kept us buzzing

By RICHARD L. ELDREDGE | Friday, December 28, 2007, 11:29 PM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Surreal. It’s the only word that properly describes 2007 here at Buzz Central. In a single calendar year, we found ourselves writing about bank robber makeovers, an awards show red carpet that morphed into breaking news, an e-mail of support for Ted Turner dating someone else’s wife and a birthday celebration where “Barbarella,” “Norma Rae” and Rosie O’Donnell became backup vocalists for Bonnie Raitt.

In our 11 years overseeing Buzz, this was indeed the wackiest year ever. Don’t believe us? Read on as we recount the year in Buzz.

Best e-mail: Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Olen Butler’s memorable missive about his wife, novelist Elizabeth Dewberry, departing their marriage for a relationship with Turner. The original e-mail to Butler’s grad students ended up on Gawker.com. “He’s a decent, loyal man,” Butler told Buzz. “There’s a connection between them that’s quite profound.”

Best Makeover: If the tip hadn’t come from an impeccable source, we would have hung up in March when we were first informed that suspected Barbie Bandits Heather Lyn Johnston and Ashley Nichole Miller had stopped by Carter-Barnes Hair Artisans in Buckhead for pricey post-heist makeovers. Of the pair, Carter-Barnes manager Melissa Methier told us: “They were as ditzy as the day is long.”

Best Musical Moment: “Dreamgirls” diva Jennifer Holliday reclaiming her Tony Award-winning role during a revival at the Fox Theatre in July: “I think I’m finally ready to let Effie go,” Holliday told Buzz. “I was so blessed and grateful to be able to do the show here one last time. Atlanta holds such an emotional connection for me for this show.”

Best Cocktail Party Surprise: Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne becoming the unexpected star at a party for “Young Frankenstein” star Gene Wilder. The pair were in town for a September Gilda’s Club benefit. Delighted TCM fans mobbed Osborne for photo ops. Wilder took it all in stride. As the classic movie fan explained: “My wife and I go to bed with Robert every night!”

Best Cocktail Party Surprise Involving Buzz: The Secret Service ejecting us from a private UNICEF reception for first daughter Jenna Bush, citing an unflattering story on Bush that week in The New Yorker.

Best Guest DJ: B-52’s frontman Fred Schneider’s two stints spinning at Bazzaar in Midtown in February and November. Not only did Schneider get on the dance floor with fans, he ended up playing six tracks from the band’s latest album, “Funplex,” due out early next year.

Best Backstage Interview: Her two sold-out September “Paula Deen Live” shows at the Civic Center came complete with beefy security guards and a small army of publicists, producers, publishers and primpers for the Food Network host. Our old pal however, pulled us into a deserted dressing room for a one-on-one. Of the crazy pace of her current life, Deen conceded: “I haven’t learned how to say no. But after where I’ve been in my life, it’s hard to look a gift horse in the mouth. I realize it could all be gone in a minute.”

Best Zoo Atlanta Birthday: Baby giant panda Mei Lan’s first in September. As Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and esteemed foreign dignitaries praised the panda nearby, the birthday girl happily snoozed through it.

Best Awards Show Red Carpet/Federal Investigation: October’s second annual B.E.T. Hip Hop Awards outside the Civic Center. Thanks to T.I.’s arrest on weapons charges down the street in a Walgreen’s parking lot, we started the day asking ‘Who are you wearing?’ and ended it writing about the lead nominee in an orange jumpsuit.

Best Birthday Parties: Sir Elton’s 60th at Madison Square Garden in March and this month’s 70th celebration for Jane Fonda at the Biltmore. In New York, Beach Boy Brian Wilson boogied to “Crocodile Rock” next to Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears. In Atlanta, Fonda and pals Sally Field and O’Donnell jumped onstage to provide backup for Raitt as she banged out “Something to Talk About” for the birthday girl.

Best Train Wreck: Cybill Shepherd’s jaw- (and dialogue-) dropping, character-breaking one-woman collision in “Curvy Widow” at the Alliance in November. It was “Showgirls” without the stripper pole. Actually, that particular prop could have been added after opening night as the script was continually tweaked.

Contributing: News services.

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