<![CDATA[Defamer: Aaron Spelling]]> http://cache.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/defamer.com.png <![CDATA[Defamer: Aaron Spelling]]> http://defamer.com/tag/aaron spelling http://defamer.com/tag/aaron spelling <![CDATA[ And Special Guest Star Heather Locklear as ... ]]> And Special Guest Star Heather Locklear as Amanda: After Emmy producers found great success two years ago by reuniting the terrifyingly taut stars of Charlie's Angels onstage, E!'s Marc Malkin is reporting that another Spelling summit may be in the works. Producers are attempting to mount a Melrose Place reunion for this year's telecast, a stunt that raises all sorts of questions about who amongst the drama's sprawling cast would be asked to attend. Sure, Heather Locklear is a gimme, but what about the quickly exiled Vanessa A. Williams? Would Marcia Cross rather blow up the ceremony than share the stage with random late-season replacements like Linden Ashby and Jamie Luner? And, most pressingly, is the Zuniga free (our guess: yes)? Kudos, Emmy producers. We eagerly await next year's poignant reunion of the Small Wonder cast. [E!]

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Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:40:00 PDT Kyle Buchanan http://defamer.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5040626&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Only those of you with elephantine memories ... ]]> aaronspelling2.jpgOnly those of you with elephantine memories will recall the case of Charlene Richards, the nurse that was hired to watch over legendary television superproducer Aaron Spelling during his final, bedridden days. While under the employ of the Spellings, Richards found herself in hot water after she refused to ride the grumpy old man's baloney pony. She was quickly fired for insubordination, but she didn't go quietly. She filed a sexual harrassment lawsuit, during the process of which her team of legal eagles sent a questionnaire out to over 600 actresses (including Heather Locklear and Teri Hatcher) asking if they, too, had been forced to endure the come-ons of the doddering billionaire. Well, as you can assume, the Spelling estate was none too happy about the media attention this received (one headline read "Sex Scandal Rocks Hollywood"), and they consequently filed a countersuit charging Richards' lawyer with defamation. All of this preamble serves to set-up this note: earlier today, the California Appeals Court threw the suit out. And that concludes today's episode of L.A. Law. Now, if you'll excuse us, we must be going. We hear that Arnie Becker is throwing a raging kegger, and we want to get a few words in edgewise with Grace Van Owen before she gets sloppy. [THR, Esq.]

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Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:03:35 PST Mark Graham http://defamer.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=361647&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Candy Spelling Still Finding Creative Ways To Render Hellspawn Tori Miserable ]]> spellings-feud - DefamerWith the only talented, productive member of the Spelling dynasty gone, it falls to the surviving Spelling women to proudly bear the torch, and honor their beloved in the best way they know how: by doing everything in their power to slander the other's good name while sabotaging planned, competing TV tributes.

A special tribute to the late TV producer Aaron Spelling to be hosted by daughter Tori will not air on ABC this fall as planned - after Spelling's widow and Tori's mother, Candy Spelling, blocked the project, a source confirms to PEOPLE.

Tori was to have served both as host and executive producer of the ABC tribute, according to the source, who said: "All of his (Aaron's) stars had signed on and some interviews had already been taped. ... But Candy wouldn't release the clips of his shows because Tori was involved in the project. She had it killed." [...]

Meanwhile, the source tells PEOPLE, Candy has agreed to provide clips to rival network NBC for a tribute to Aaron on its Aug. 27 Emmycast. The source confirms that she will attend the Emmy ceremony with son Randy Spelling but that Tori has yet to be invited as part of the family.

We must admit, we have watched this feud unfold until now with nothing more than mild, "rich people sure are batshit insane!" bemusement. But now that Candy has pulled the plug on the ABC tribute, we can't help but find ourselves developing a vested interest in the petty proceedings: An Emmy montage, after all, will only have time for a highlight reel, while Tori's planned tribute would surely have made room for some of the lesser known, but no less deserving, achievements from Spelling's prolific past—unsung classics such as B.A.D. Cats, The Making of a Male Model, and T.J. Hooker. It's troubling to think that Adrian Zmed should be denied an opportunity to say a proper farewell to the man who made him a star, merely because these two headstrong women stubbornly refuse to bury the hatchet.

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Wed, 09 Aug 2006 15:01:17 PDT Seth http://defamer.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=193182&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Tori Spelling's Mother Exacts Revenge By Giving Her $800,000 ]]> spelling-revenge - DefamerAaron Spelling deathbed no-show Tori Spelling is now paying the price for her lax mourning schedule and subsequent, messy tabloid war with mother Candy Spelling. According to Us Weekly, the go-to publication for when you absolutely, positively have to hear Tori's Side of the Story, her share of her father's $500 million fortune will barely cover this month's breast-inflation bill:

Us has learned exclusively that the actress, 33, will get just 0.16 % of the Spelling fortune. Tori's share - a cash inheritance payment of $200,000, combined with approximately $600,000 in private investments her dad set up for her - is a brush-off Aaron Spelling would never have intended for his only daughter, says a family source. "I believe Candy had a lot to do with what was left for Tori," the source says of Tori's mother, who is sole managing executor of the estate. (Candy's rep had no comment.)

Of course, a well-proven and bankable talent such as Tori doesn't need to rely on acquired family wealth: Once her autobiographical VH1 series So NoTORIous goes into syndication, the residual payments will afford her an extremely comfortable existence. Lifetime audiences, meanwhile, will be able to delight five times weekly in Tori's adventures—particularly the hilarious episode in which her new husband leaves her when he finds out she's only worth $800,000.

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Wed, 26 Jul 2006 11:34:59 PDT Seth http://defamer.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=190014&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Candy Spelling Denies Plan To Sell Iconic Family Estate And Move Into Modest 42-Bedroom Condo ]]> spelling-mansion - DefamerWith Aaron now out of the picture, and her children having either flown the coop and/or waging bitter tabloid battles against her, rumors have arisen that Candy Spelling is looking to dump the famed 56,500-square-foot Holmby Hills mansion the family has called home since the late 1980s. TMZ.com was first to report the estate was on the market, priced at a Sultan-friendly $150 million, but a quick denial was issued, and TMZ updated their story, specifying it was a "pocket listing." (Which, from as best as we can gather, is a listing on the downlow.) Today's LAT addresses what a sale like this would mean to the obnoxiously overpriced real estate market:

$150 million would be a new record by any measure. The highest residential sale in the United States was the $70 million paid for businessman Ronald Perelman's estate in Palm Beach, Fla., two years ago. The local record is the $47.5 million that David Geffen paid for a Beverly Hills estate 16 years ago.

A $150-million sale would even trump Donald Trump, who has a house on the market in Florida for $125 million. [...]

"The fact Aaron Spelling lived there and built it is not a bad thing," [Rick Goodwin, the New Jersey-based publisher of Ultimate Homes and Unique Homes magazines] said. "Properties like this don't come on the market that often."

We can hardly blame the Widow Spelling for wanting to rid herself of the sprawling thing: Amenities that must have once seemed the height of opulence and sophistication, like riding the solid gold monorail to Brunch Island, now must just seem empty and daunting when there's no one with whom to share the experience.

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Fri, 07 Jul 2006 11:49:40 PDT Seth http://defamer.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=185837&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Short Ends: Aaron Spelling Kicks Ass From The Hereafter ]]> spelling-quiz.jpg· David Hasselhoff's unbelievable winning streak comes crashing down on him like a crystal chandelier that his head hit while shaving at some gym or something, we're too close to the weekend to really care.
· Jennifer Lopez uses every legal means necessary to shut her first husband up, before he spills the beans on the voodoo practices she directed towards "this particular lady." We have a feeling it involved slitting a live chicken's neck over a picture of Mariah Carey in order to make sure Glitter tanked. (Worked, too!)
· Close but no cigar, Keith Urban.
· We're glad Prime Minister Koizumi can finally dispel that tired old stereotype of the Japanese being obsessed with American celebrities and culture. (By the way, doesn't the President have, like, war shit to attend to before hitting the Karate Wing at Graceland?)
· Gold Derby has whittled down the humongous list of probable Emmy nominees to a more manageable, gigantic list, though it must not be completely accurate, because they seem to have omitted Ghost Whisperer.
· Don't feel too bad for Aaron Spelling. He's too busy training his team of SWAT-CORPSES to worry about the annoying women he left behind.

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Fri, 30 Jun 2006 17:40:57 PDT Seth http://defamer.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=184730&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Trade Round-Up: More Goodbyes To Spelling ]]> aaron-spelling2.jpg· The trades do their memorializing duty by noting the passing of legendary TV producer/dynamo/optimist Aaron Spelling. [Variety, THR, THR]
· The retired Michael Eisner takes a break from following the maid around the house and pointing out things she's insufficiently dusted, buying a company that produces videos which help parents brainwash their babies into attending their alma maters. [THR]
· NBC Universal TV International president Frederick Huntsberry will become Paramount's COO in the next few days, a job whose responsibilities include shadowing studio chief Brad Grey and assuring him he's having a "tall day." [Variety]
· An LA judge continues to bar producer Bob Yari from removing Cathy Schulman and Tom Nunan's names from The Illusionist credits through the film's August release, a setback to those who relish a good, old-fashioned Hollywood pissing match. [THR]
· Wall Street investors seem pleased that CBS Corp's Les Moonves' plans for world domination now include film production. [Variety]

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Mon, 26 Jun 2006 13:05:35 PDT Mark http://defamer.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=183452&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Goodye, Lover: The LA Times Says Farewell To Aaron Spelling ]]> spelling-obit - DefamerBy now surely you have heard that Aaron Spelling, the TV-producing giant who popularized cruise-directing cupids, wish-granting midgets, and John Forsythe's disembodied, mission-deploying voice, died Friday evening at the age of 83, after having a stroke last weekend. In order to help you make sense of the LAT's considerable Spelling R.I.P. coverage, a round-up:
· Their obit relates some of the dramatic highs and lows of Spelling's life. Among the lows: A Variety headline that read "Aaron Spelling's Dynasty is Dead," with no quotes around "Dynasty," and being called a "Jewbaby" in his youth. (Little known fact: Charlie's Angels' original title was Stanley's Jewbabies, but network suits bristled at the ethnic implications.)
· 7th Heaven creator Brenda Hampton, a show executive produced by Spelling, shares some of his more intimate quirks, including his habit of calling everyone "lover," and his bourgeois tastes (he liked Chinatown knockoff-wear and In-N-Out burgers).

· The burial was a small, intimate affair, but a larger memorial is planned for next month, which should be the has-been TV star event of the century.
· Daughter Tori Spelling's rushed journey home didn't quite allow for her to be bedside as her father slipped into the campy afterlife (a reader spotted her dining at the Toronto Four Seasons with husband Dean McDermott Friday, 5:45 pm EST), but she did manage to release a statement, which contained this beautiful sentiment: "I am grateful that I recently had the opportunity to reconcile with my father, and most grateful we had the chance to tell each other we loved one another before he passed away." Spelling did not specify whether these tender words were related through cell phone conversation or heartfelt text message.

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Mon, 26 Jun 2006 11:17:48 PDT Seth http://defamer.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=183393&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ UPDATE: Tori Spelling To Rush To Ailing Father's Side Just As Soon As She Gets Around To It ]]> spelling-rush - DefamerQ: How long does it take a starlet who owes her middling acting career to her father to rush to his side following a medical emergency?

A: We'll let you know when she shows up.

Following news of her father's ailing health, TORI SPELLING is rushing home to be with him. Tori told People magazine: "Dean and I will be travelling back to Los Angeles to be by my dad's side. We thank everyone for their love and concern for my dad during this difficult time. It means so much."

Tori will be joined by her new husband DEAN McDERMOTT as they fly in from Canada, where Tori has been promoting her new series, "So NoTORIous."

The senior Spelling had his stroke some time last weekend, which would put his daughter's journey back home at the five days (give or take day or two for the publication of her itinerary) and counting mark. To us, this all seems rather "unrushed," unless Tori's new legions of fans up north managed to convince the actress that they still haven't caught up to flying technology, then promptly mounted her on a dogsled and sent her mushing home through the Canadian wilderness with limited supplies.

UPDATE:
Aaron Spelling has passed away. Tori, meanwhile, was spotted at 1pm EST today, "walking hand in hand" with Dean McDermott on the streets of Toronto.

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Fri, 23 Jun 2006 17:25:08 PDT Seth http://defamer.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=183107&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ One Stroke Can't Keep Aaron Spelling Down ]]> spelling-tori-aaron - DefamerThe individual responsible for contributing 50% of Tori Spelling's genetic material, 83-year-old TV producing titan Aaron Spelling, suffered a stroke over the weekend, a spokesman announced today:

Prolific television producer Aaron Spelling, whose shows include "Beverly Hills 90210," "Dynasty," "Charlie's Angels," "Love Boat" and "Melrose Place," suffered a stroke over the weekend and was briefly hospitalized, his spokesman said on Wednesday. [...]

Sasaki said he had no details of the extent of the stroke but said that the fact he was released from the hospital was a positive sign.

We wish Spelling a speedy recovery—it's the very least we can do considering all the pleasures, HervĂ© Villechaize-related and otherwise, he's provided for us throughout his career. We're confident, however, that the veteran won't let a little cerebral blood clot get in the way of his life's mission of producing sinfully addictive TV. In fact, we wouldn't be the least bit surprised if a frothy, nighttime soap set in and around the irresistibly campy world of sexy rehabilitation nurses and speech therapists soon found its way onto a primetime network schedule.

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Wed, 21 Jun 2006 13:58:11 PDT Seth http://defamer.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=182420&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ '90210' Confidential: Spelling Free To Sue Loose-Lipped Nurse ]]> aaronspelling.jpgYou may recall reading about a certain unpleasantness between Aaron Spelling and his one-time nurse, Charlene Richards. She sued the decrepit TV hit-machine for sexual harrassment, but not before sending out over 600 questionnaires to former actresses from Spelling's series, asking if they had also been harrassed. He shot back with his own suit, claiming the questionnaires had both defamed him and violated a confidentiality agreement Richards had signed. A judge has partially ruled on the case, claiming the defamation count has no merit, but that the confidentiality breach does:

"He wants a private home — whether he eats Cheerios or Wheaties or oatmeal imported from Denmark on a supersonic jet," [Judge William] Highberger said.

Clearly, the Judge couldn't help but take a thinly veiled swipe at Spelling's notoriously lavish domestic habits. Highberger's outlandish rich man's fantasy, however, was clearly the limited concoction of someone who knows only a civil servant's salary: For not only is jetting in Danish gruel a commonplace compound activity, but Mr. Spelling also demands that his favorite porridge fixings of brown sugar and banana be boated in daily from Costa Rica, preferably mulched by any unlucky field workers who happened to be netted in the automated harvesting process.

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Tue, 18 Apr 2006 15:51:13 PDT Seth http://defamer.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=168098&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Trade Round-Up: Paramount In On DreamWorks Bidding ]]> · Paramount prepares a bid for DreamWorks SKG, obviously fulfilling a secret deal with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen to drive up their studio's price for inevitable purchaser Universal. For his cooperation, Brad Grey will receive a truckload of stuffed E.T. dolls and unlimited weekend stays at Geffen's Malibu compound—including optional day-long shiatsu massage by the strongest-handed masseuse the Gay Mafia has to offer. [THR/Reuters]
· It's like First & 10 meets Unscripted, but the actors are taller: George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh's Section Eight sets up an unscripted comedy series about the NBA at HBO. [Variety]
· Spelling Television lets go of almost all of its staff, prejudicially shitcanning about 25 employees. (No word on whether Aaron Spelling's personal office chef escaped the bloodletting.) The company keeps its bigwigs and becomes a mere pod at Paramount TV. [THR]
· Scarlett Johansson continues to Hoover up all available mid-20s female roles, signing on for Christopher Nolan's dueling-magician pic The Prestige. [Variety]
· Jeff Probst will host Survivor for at least 2 more years, including the franchise's most ambitious installment to date, Survivor: Locked in a Janitorial Closet with a Well-Criscoed Richard Hatch. [Variety]

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Fri, 09 Dec 2005 12:18:54 PST Mark http://defamer.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=142188&view=rss&microfeed=true