Entertaining Posts: 03/15/11

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Charlie Sheen adds five cities to national tour

LOS ANGELES | Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:19pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Charlie Sheen on Tuesday added five new shows to the schedule of live performances he has mounted in the wake of being fired last week from his hit television program "Two And A Half Men."

Sheen's "My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not an Option Show" will expand beyond previous cities of Detroit and Chicago to include New York City, Boston, Cleveland, Columbus, Ohio and Wallingford, Conn.

The new shows were posted on the sales site of Ticketmaster. The trek currently begins on April 5 in Cleveland and ends one week later in Boston. The new stops were added following reports over the weekend that the first two shows sold out quickly.

Sheen, who was TV's highest paid actor for his role as a skirt-chasing, heavy-drinking bachelor on No. 1-rated comedy "Two And A Half Men," has made headlines worldwide since January when he entered a home-based rehab program for drug and alcohol abuse. Production of his show was suspended.

After completing treatment, the actor said he wanted to return to work, but the show's producer Chuck Lorre, its makers at Warner Bros Television and the CBS network that aired it kept the program on hold.

Sheen went on several radio and TV interviews, complaining loudly about Warner Bros. and insulting Lorre by calling him "a stupid, stupid little man," among many other things. Warner Bros then fired him. He has sued both Warner Bros and Lorre for $100 million claiming he was wrongfully terminated.

For its part, Warner Bros. has claimed in a letter to Sheen's lawyer that the actor was engaged in "dangerously self-destructive conduct and appears to be very ill." Warner Bros. said Sheen had difficulty remembering lines, could not collaborate and had poisoned key working relationships.

Indeed, Sheen has had a troubled 2010, pleading guilty to assaulting his now ex-wife, being put on probation, spending several stints in rehab and in hospitals.

In recent weeks, he has gone on a personal media blitz starting a webcast called "Sheen's Korner," in which he talks about whatever is on his mind, and opening his own Twitter account to stay connected to fans.

Not much is known about his show beyond the description on the Ticketmaster site, which reads: "Will there be surprises? Will there be guests? Will there be mayhem? Will you laugh? Will you scream? Will you know the truth? WILL THERE BE MORE?!?! This IS where you will hear the REAL story from the Warlock. Bring it. I dare you to keep up with me."

(Editing by Dean Goodman)

Pop sensation Justin Bieber meets wax double

LONDON | Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:49pm EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - Teenage pop sensation Justin Bieber took time out from touring on Tuesday to visit the Madame Tussauds museum in London and pose next to a waxwork model of himself.

The model, dressed in a red and black checked shirt and black jeans, was one of three Bieber replicas being unveiled -- the others were in Amsterdam and New York.

"It's pretty incredible to see," said the 17-year-old, before joking about how small the waxwork was. "As you can see, you know, I'm at least six feet taller than this guy."

Liz Edwards, spokeswoman for the museum, said the real Bieber would naturally change quickly over the eight months it took to create the life-like model.

"So we really wanted to make sure we made a 'moment in time' figure," she said. "But it's the hair that everyone is paying the biggest attention to. So, I'd say it's the hair that's been the biggest challenge."

The singer, already one of the world's biggest pop stars with albums "My World" and My World 2.0", was accompanied to the event by his mother, and he greeted a small crowd of fans.

He said that he would ideally like his waxwork figure to stand next to U.S. rapper Tupac Shakur.

"Biebermania" has hit Britain during his visit, with hundreds of screaming fans crowding outside his hotel in the northern city of Liverpool last week forcing police to close down the area.

Bieber has two more concerts in London before playing in several other British cities and then heading for mainland Europe.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Gottfried, ex-Aflac voice, apologizes for tweets

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Rock Hall inducts Neil Diamond, Alice Cooper

By Christine Kearney and Chris Michaud

NEW YORK | Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:07am EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Singer and songwriter Neil Diamond was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday, crooning his signature mellow rock songs in a stark contrast to fellow inductee heavy metal band Alice Cooper.

Diamond and Alice Cooper were honored alongside Tom Waits, Darlene Love and Dr. John at a black tie event at New York's Wardorf Astoria hotel, with Cooper performing in a typically theatrical fake blood-spattered shirt and eye makeup while thanking the crowd with a live snake writhing around his neck.

"We have always been a hard rock band, we just wanted to decorate it a little bit differently," Cooper said after his band performed the 1972 hard rock anthem "School's Out."

He later opined the "shock rock" style the band helped originate was gone -- "I don't think you can shock an audience anymore," he said.

Musician Rob Zombie introduced the band by comparing them to "more like a murderous gang of drag queens."

Diamond performed his rousing 1969 hit "Sweet Caroline" -- famed for being inspired by former U.S. President's John F. Kennedy's daughter Caroline -- as he walked among the audience. He also sang his singles "Cherry, Cherry" and "I Am ... I Said."

Singer Paul Simon introduced Diamond by noting artists for the Hall of Fame become eligible 25 years after their first record, making Diamond's induction a long time coming.

"My question is, what took so long?" Simon said, before Diamond stepped on the stage to receive his award.

Diamond, 70, has sold more than 120 million albums worldwide, as well as writing hits for other musicians including The Monkees' "I'm a Believer." He later teamed with Barbra Streisand for the easy-listening hit "You Don't Bring Me Flowers."

His successful live concerts were marked by his landmark live 1972 album "Hot August Night," and many of his songs, including "Solitary Man," "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon," "Red Red Wine", "Holly Holy," and "Song Song Blue" have been covered by the likes of Johnny Cash, UB40 and Chris Isaak.

SIXTIES TEEN SPIRIT

Singer-songwriter Tom Waits, 61, whose blues and experimental rock has won over fans since the 1970s, inflected his acceptance speech with offbeat remarks such as "songs are just very interesting things to be doing with the air".

He also joked about his profile over the years: "They say I have no hits and I'm difficult to work with -- and they say it like this is a bad thing."

Rhythm and blues singer Darlene Love, 72, whose 1962 No. 1 hit "He's A Rebel" with The Crystals gained fame as one of the most definitive girl group sounds of the time, thanked convicted record producer Phil Spector, who was behind her best-known songs.

Actress and singer Bette Midler paid tribute to Love, who worked with Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley and Dionne Warwick, by saying Love "changed my view of the world" and was "the very embodiment of teen spirit in the sixties."