Top Story: Rob Lowe Joins Schwarzenegger Campaign
Action star-turned-gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger has tapped former The West Wing co-star Rob Lowe to join his campaign. According to Variety, the Schwarzenegger campaign said Lowe will coordinate a coalition of artists and entertainers in endorsing the candidate. “Arnold is exciting and dynamic to the Hollywood community and we’re thrilled Rob has decided to bring on as many artists and entertainers to the campaign as possible,” Schwarzenegger spokesperson Sean Walsh said. Plans to officially announce Lowe and other coordinators will be announced later this week. But how much does Lowe, who portrayed a White House political adviser on NBC’s The West Wing, really know about real life affairs of state? The actor teamed with Jane Fonda to support a California clean water initiative in 1986 and supported then-Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis’s failed 1988 presidential bid. In fact, it was in a hotel room during the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta that year that Lowe videotaped himself in a sexual tryst with two women–one of them underage. Lowe, a longtime Democrat, joins billionaire investor Warren Buffett and Ronald Reagan’s Secretary of State George Schultz on Schwarzenegger‘s team.
Coleman, Carey To Enter “Debating Game”
Actor Gary Coleman and adult film star Mary Carey will take part in a gubernatorial candidate debate to be broadcast Oct. 1 on The Game Show Network, The Associated Press reports. The diminutive star and the porn actress are among 135 candidates seeking to replace Gov. Gray Davis if he’s recalled in the Oct. 7 election. They will be among a panel of five who will appear on the show titled Who Wants To Be Governor of California? The Debating Game. According to the network, the contestant receiving the most votes in the election will receive $21,200, the maximum corporate campaign contribution allowed by California law. Three more contestants will be announced over the next two weeks, the network said.
Seabiscuit Star Thrown From Horse
Top American jockey Gary Stevens, who portrays jockey great George Woolf in the biopic Seabiscuit, was hospitalized after being thrown off his horse, Storming Home, just a few strides past the finish line in the Arlington Million in Illinois Saturday. A hospital spokesperson says Stevens‘s left shoulder was stepped on when he fell off of his mount but he is listed in fair condition. According to Reuters, Stevens didn’t move for five minutes after the fall, but eventually sat up and moved his legs before he was carried on a stretcher and later taken to Northwest Community Hospital. Storming Home placed fourth in the race.
Ziering’s Former Housekeeper Convicted of Grand Theft
Actor Ian Ziering‘s former housekeeper, Gloria Lopez, was convicted Friday of grand theft for stealing a pendant and other items from the former Beverly Hills, 90210 actor that had belonged to his late mother. Lopez, 48, also was also convicted of petty theft for stealing a cell phone from Ziering‘s friend, actor David Sheinkopf of the cable television show Design on a Dime. In testimony, Ziering said after the items disappeared he went to a friend’s house where he knew Lopez also worked and found “a treasure trove” in Lopez’s car. Lopez’s attorney told jurors the housekeeper found the items in the trash. According to the AP, Lopez was ordered jailed without bail and faces a maximum of three years and six months in prison when she is sentenced Sept. 11.
Disney and DreamWorks Settle Release Date Scuffle
Disney and DreamWorks’s battle for the Nov. 5, 2004, weekend is over, Variety reports. DreamWorks had chosen that release date for its animated shark feature Sharkslayer but when Disney and Pixar announced the release of The Incredibles that same weekend, DreamWorks backed off from the date to avoid going up against a Pixar juggernaut. Instead the studio will release Sharkslayer on Oct. 1, 2004. Next November is proving to be a busy month for animated fare: Warner Bros. will release its all-CGI pic Polar Express from Tom Hanks and Robert Zemeckis, while Paramount is set to bow its Spongebob SquarePants feature.
Fox Sends Out Web Coupons for DVDs
Sales of 20th Century Fox’s Daredevil DVD are benefiting from a fairly new technology: the printable online coupon. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fox’s latest monthly e-mail newsletter, which is sent out to 1 million subscribers, featured a $5 off coupon for the Ben Affleck superhero pic. Although it will be months before the studio can determine the effectiveness of the campaign, Richard Ashton, director of database marketing at 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, said the coupons at least leave a paper trail showing how their customers are shopping. Fox limited the number of online coupons to 50,000 and prevented exact copies of them from being made by using bar codes.
Never-Before-Released Elvis Song To Be Issued
This fall, RCA Records is putting out a never-before-released song recorded by Elvis Presley nearly 40 years ago, Reuters reports. The recently unearthed single, “I’m a Roustabout,” will be issued as part of a new collection of favorites from the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. The song was originally written for the 1964 Presley film Roustabout and was even recorded by Presley, but the song was rejected by producers and never used. A completely different song eventually became the title song for both the movie and the No. 1 album of the same name. Presley died Aug. 16, 1977, at age 42.
R&B Songwriter Ed Townsend Dead at 74
Ed Townsend, the rhythm-and-blues songsmith who wrote the 1958 hit “For Your Love,” died of a heart attack Wednesday in Sun City, Calif., at the age of 74, Reuters reports. During a career that spanned five decades, Townsend, known as “”Big Papa” by friends, penned over 200 songs. He is credited with helping to shape a string of R&B hits recorded by
