Beyonce announces clothing line
After rocking the house Wednesday at the Radio City Music Hall, held as part of New York Fashion Week, Beyonce and her mother, Tina Knowles, announced Wednesday the birth of their new clothing line, to be called “The House of Dereon,” The Associated Press reports. The line is named after Beyonce‘s grandmother, Agnes Dereon, whose work as a skilled seamstress inspired the two generations of stylish women. “To me, this is the greatest way to enter into the fashion world,” Beyonce said in a statement. “Inspired by my grandmother, working with my mother and pursuing a dream we have all had for many years–establishing an important fashion company.” The trademark for the line will be “Couture. Kick. Soul.” It will be produced by the Knowles’ company, Beyond Productions, and is expected to hit stores in fall 2005, AP reports.
Jennings’ reign may have ended on Jeopardy
Could Jeopardy‘s Ken Jennings be out? A report posted Wednesday on TV Week‘s Web site said the software engineer, who has won about $2.5 million in cash and prizes during an unbelievable winning streak, lost in a show taped Tuesday, walking away after his 75th straight game, AP reports. The magazine cited unidentified sources and said the show would air later this fall. Calls late Wednesday by AP to Jeopardy! publicist Jeff Ritter and to the show’s production offices were not immediately returned.
Pam Anderson helps her feathered friends
Actress Pamela Anderson is lending her image for a billboard campaign, which is calling for a boycott to KFC chain of chicken restaurants, Reuters reports. The billboards, which were created by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, feature a photo of the former Baywatch start with the words: “Boycott KFC–Pamela Anderson. Live Scalding, Painful Debeaking, Crippled Chickens” as well as the address of a Web site attacking the fast food chain (www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com). “KFC stands for cruelty,” Anderson said in a statement. “If KFC executives treated cats or dogs the way they treat chickens, they could go to prison on felony cruelty-to-animals charges.” The billboards were going up in Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston, San Francisco and other cities, a spokesman for PETA told Reuters on Wednesday.
Get ready for Q Television
Q Television, a network devoted to providing television programming for the gay and lesbian community, announced it has overcome its technical problems and will launch Sept. 8. “We have two goals for the network, our first goal at Q Television Networks is to rapidly grow to 150,000 subscribers within the first year and 250,000 the second year,” Frank Olsen president and CEO of Q Television said in a press release. “Secondly, we want to make the Network interactive with its subscribers through a unique use of some of the latest technology.” While the company expects much of its subscriber base to be comprised of members of the gay and lesbian population, management also believes that quality programming about the gay and lesbian experience, designed to entertain, educate and inform, will attract many other segments of the viewing public.
Electra searches for gorgeous male models
Carmen Electra will host Bravo’s upcoming reality competition Manhunt: The Search for America’s Most Gorgeous Male Model, AP reports. “Carmen Electra has just the right mix of energy, magnetism and fun to be the ideal host and guide for the young, novice competitors on `Manhunt,'” Bravo President Lauren Zalaznick said in a statement Wednesday. Judges Bruce Hulse and Marisa Miller, both professional models themselves, will join Electra in her judging duties. The show will feature 15 men competing in a series of challenges in hopes of nabbing a one-year contract with the IMG modeling agency. Manhunt premieres Oct. 12.
Charges against rapper Loon dismissed
Superior Court Judge Richard Stone dismissed assault charges against rapper Loon, who was arrested in February after a security guard was stabbed outside a nightclub, AP reports. Authorities said the 32-year-old security guard was wounded Feb. 13 after he refused to let the three men into a party for Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz at the House of Blues in West Hollywood. Loon, whose real name is Chauncey Hawkins, was later charged with assault with a deadly weapon. But Stone dismissed the case at a preliminary hearing Wednesday because neither the victim nor a witness could identify the attacker. He also dismissed assault charges against two acquaintances, William Reyes, 23, and Teon Tanqueray, 27.
Hootie and the Blowfish donate money to schools
Grammy-winning group Hootie and the Blowfish, whose hits include “Only Wanna Be With You” and “Hold My Hand,” donated $80,000 to eight troubled South Carolina school districts, AP reports. “The children in our state are our best resource and our most hopeful investment,” lead singer Darius Rucker, a South Carolina native, said Thursday. The schools have requested the money go toward classroom items such as computers, overhead projectors, VCRs, tape recorders, maps and globes. The band will also hold their second annual Hootie and the Blowfish Homegrown Concert Oct. 8 at the Family Circle Tennis Center in Charleston. The show will be the first in a series of four concerts aimed at improving the educational needs of schools in the Carolinas. Concertgoers are asked to bring school supplies as a donation.
Guylaine Cadorette contributed to this report.
