Yesterday's Trader Is Today's Ice Cream Man

cityfile · 09/18/09 09:03AM

You've heard about lots of Wall Street refugees who have lost their jobs and been forced to change careers. But have you heard the one about the former trader at the New York Stock Exchange who now drives a Mister Softee truck on Long Island? Bill Sonner says he's using the skills he learned on Wall Street to his advantage ("He's underpriced the competition and chased other, competing trucks away from his turf," says the Journal reporter). Sonner says his life is a lot less stressful these days. And, hey, it could always be worse: His brother, who also lost his finance job recently, occasionally works as his assistant. [WSJ/Video]

Evidence Mounts Against Raymond Clark

Hamilton Nolan · 09/18/09 08:34AM

Yale murder suspect Raymond Clark—charged yesterday with killing Annie Le and hiding her body—is looking guiltier than ever, if you believe anonymous sources that leak to the media. Clark's DNA was a match, allegedly. Plus: An accomplice?

Spotted

cityfile · 09/18/09 08:30AM

Jared Leto going for lunch with Moby in SoHo ... Jennifer Hudson leaving her hotel ... Bar Refaeli shopping in SoHo ... Chanel Iman walking in Bryant Park ... Rihanna going to dinner at Philippe with her assistant ... Bill Clinton getting into an SUV after an appearance on the Daily Show ... Suze Orman walking in the street ... Taylor Swift leaving her hotel with her mom ... Leona Lewis walking in SoHo ... India Arie walking by herself ... Alicia Keys getting in an SUV after a night out ... and Sarah Jessica Parker and Kristin Davis leaving a trailer on the set of Sex and the City 2.

Tom Cruise Gets a Very Special Invite

cityfile · 09/18/09 07:50AM

Did you catch Tom Cruise's appearance on The Jay Leno Show the other night? If you missed it, Cruise mentioned to Leno that he'd never been to a strip club, a response that elicited boos from the audience (but may not be all that surprising when you consider the possible explanations.) In any event, Lonnie Hanover was certainly inspired by Cruise's comments. The former manager of Score's and now the frontman for the NYC location of Rick's Cabaret has extended a personal invitation to Cruise to come and see what he's been missing.

Ex-Amex Chief Unloads

cityfile · 09/18/09 07:15AM

• Former American Express CEO James Robinson and his wife, Linda, have sold their estate in Warren, Conn. The buyer is famed architect Santiago Calatrava, who paid $5.5 million (or 25 percent less than the original asking price) for the 5,500-square-foot home set on 35 acres. [WSJ]
• Real estate developer Andrew Heiberger has cut even more off the price of his townhouse at 161 East 63rd Street. Heiberger bought the six-story manse in 2004 for $8.15 million and put it up for sale for $16.85 million in February 2009. He dropped the price to $14.85 million in June. Now it's listed for $13.75 million. [Cityfile, Sotheby's]

Happy Birthday

cityfile · 09/18/09 06:36AM

James Gandolfini turns 48 today. Lance Armstrong is turning 38. Jada Pinkett Smith is 38 today, too. Designer Karim Rashid is 49. Comic actor Fred Willard is turning 70. Actor James Marsden is 36. The Brazilian soccer star Ronaldo is turning 33. The rapper Xzibit is turning 35. Senator Bob Bennett of Utah is 75. Actress and former Talk Soup host Aisha Tyler is 39. Singer Frankie Avalon is turning 69. Actress Holly Robinson Peete is 45 today. And Robert Blake, the former Baretta star who was acquitted of murder in 2005, turns 76 today. You'll find weekend birthdays listed below.

Katherine Heigl Adopts; Ivanka Breaks With Tradition

cityfile · 09/18/09 06:09AM

• Katherine Heigl and her husband Josh Kelley have released a photo of the baby they adopted, a special needs child from Korea. According to the actress' charity website, the couple "named their daughter Nancy Leigh and she will go by the nickname Naleigh. She is named after Katherine’s mother Nancy and Katherine's sister Margaret Leigh." This is one cute baby, but her mom sure is a handful. [AP, People]
• The nuns at Lady Gaga's high school, Convent of the Sacred Heart on East 91st Street, seem to find the Poker Face singer a little too intense. When they were reportedly shown a video of her bizarre, bloody performance at the VMAs the other night, they "were not amused." But really, did anyone actually find that funny? [P6]
• Ivanka Trump has absolutely no plans to sell photos from her October 25th wedding to Jared Kushner at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, NJ. While it could be argued that her parents are media whores, this apple apparently does far fall from the tree. [P6]

Stop Your Whining, Americans. We're Rich!

Andrew Belonsky · 09/18/09 05:30AM

In the face of the recession, Americans saved more money and stopped borrowing. Meanwhile, stock prices started rising. All this gave households the highest amount of wealth they've had in two years. Let's go shopping! [WSJ]

Nuns Not Impressed by Lady Gaga

Andrew Belonsky · 09/18/09 05:00AM

Nuns don't understand Lady Gaga. Small children understand Michael Jackson and Heath Ledger's deaths. And Martha Stewart can't comprehend Jessica Simpson's dead dog surprise. Welcome to your Friday gossip roundup!

Live Blogging Project Runway, Week 5

MisterHippity · 09/17/09 08:00PM

Welcome back to Project Liveblog. Is everyone ready to witness the biggest lie in runway history? Because that's what Lifetime's breathless episode promo says we'll see tonight. Unless Lifetime is, you know, lying about this?