Former Nightline anchor Ted Koppel turns 70 today. John Grisham is turning 55. Mary Steenburgen is 57. Nick Nolte is turning 69. Vince Neil of Motley Crüe turns 49. Seth Green is 36. Mary McCormack, the star of In Plain Sight, is turning 41. Comedian Robert Klein is 68. Times Magazine editor Gerry Marzorati is 57. And recently-jailed actor Gary Coleman turns 42 today.
Former congressman and possible Senate candidate Harold Ford is getting $20K a pop to give speeches around the country. Among the demands listed on his "tour rider": Limo drivers have to carry a sign that reads "H.F."; he needs an "alternate entrance & exit" at each venue; and you can't feed him shellfish. He's allergic (but will probably claim he's kosher when it comes time to lock in the Jewish vote.) [TSG]
• Condé Nast Publications exists no more. The company will now be known simply as "Condé Nast," since the powers that be there have finally realized that people like to read stuff on the Internet every once in a while. [NYP]
• Bill O'Reilly invited Jon Stewart on his show this week. (Bold!) Unfortunately, all of Stewart's good jabs were edited out. (Not surprising!) [Gawker, NYT]
• Keith Olbermann is feuding with journalists and bloggers. Once again. [HP]
• Fashion mags struggled during the second half of '09: Sales of Vogue and Marie Claire fell by 15%, while Elle and Harper's Bazaar were flat. [NYM]
• Exits: Lifetime CEO Andrea Wong has been ousted from the network amid lackluster ratings. And the president of TV Guide Network is stepping down.
• Rumor has it Howard Stern may replace Simon Cowell on Idol. [P6, LAT]
• The cover of the new issue of SI has some people hot and bothered. [LAT]
• Magazines that tried cutting prices to boost sales? It didn't work. [AdAge]
• A rundown of the ads you can expect to see on Super Bowl Sunday. [ABC]
• Last Sunday's Grammy Awards boosted music sales this past week. [LAT]
• The Oscars are officially a month away. Mark your calendar. [The Wrap]
The world's most precocious blogger, Tavi Gevinson, will be in town to cover New York Fashion Week, which kicks off next Thursday. In the meantime, the 13-year-old fashion industry sensation (who is looking a few years older now that she's decided to follow the trend and die her hair grey) was asked about the most memorable moment of her two-year-old career covering fashion: "Probably meeting Rei Kawakubo, or meeting Karl Lagerfeld and him saying some very nice things and also I could SEE HIS EYES (there were no lasers)." [Fashion Informer]
Matt Lauer will soon have a new neighbor: The Wall Street Journal reports that Bernie Madoff's penthouse at 133 East 64th Street has gone into contract. The buyer has yet to be identified and it's unclear how much the apartment went for—it had been listed for $8.9 million—but whoever it is, let's hope he/she performs a thorough home exorcism before moving in. [WSJ]
Is the New York Times working on a "bombshell story" about Gov. David Paterson's personal life "that will be far worse than his acknowledged extramarital affair with a former state employee"? That's the rumor, and it could involve the claim the governor and his wife, Michelle, are swingers. God help us all if Oprah connected to this in any way. [NYDN, Daily Intel, Gawker]
Paris Hilton filming a commercial for Israeli television on Lexington Avenue ... Mary-Kate Olsen leaving her apartment in the Village ... Mike Myers crossing the street in Tribeca ... Cynthia Nixon talking on her cell phone in the West Village ... Pierce Brosnan going to lunch on the Upper East Side ... Jennie Garth arriving at JFK ... Channing Tatum getting out of a car in front of the Apple store in SoHo ... Lauren Conrad arriving at the Wendy Williams Show in Midtown ... Mick Jagger having a late-night dinner at La Esquina ... and James Gandolfini leaving lunch at Bubby's on Hudson Street.
• Marc Brown, the author and illustrator who created the Arthur series of books as well as the animated PBS show by the same name, has dropped the price of the 8,300-square-foot Tribeca townhouse (left) that he shares with his wife, Laurie Krasny Brown. The five-story building at 19 Jay Street, which the couple bought for $6.15 million in 2004 and put up for sale for $15.85 million in 2006, is now listed for $9.995 million. [Cityfile, BHS]
• Rory Tahari, the social fixture and wife of fashion mogul Elie Tahari, has unloaded a two-bedroom loft at 72 Mercer Street. The 2,142-square-foot apartment, which Tahari bought for $3.165 million in 2008, sold for $3.2 million. [Cityfile]
"JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, who led the second-biggest U.S. bank to a profit each quarter of the financial crisis, got a bonus package valued at $17 million for 2009 that didn't include any cash. The 53-year-old banker, who got a $27.8 million bonus for 2007 and only a $1 million salary for 2008, received restricted stock units and options and no cash bonus for last year, spokesman Joseph Evangelisti said. The valuation of his 2009 bonus was based on a JPMorgan regulatory filing today. "It's consistent with past pay practices and returns," said Alan Johnson, founder of New York-based Johnson Associates Inc. "You could argue that for him, personally, pay could have been higher, but this isn't the year for them to have done that." There's always next year! [BN]
• It looks like Madonna and Jesus Luz haven't broken up after all. The singer and her Brazilian boy toy attended the London premiere for Tom Ford's A Single Man on Monday night and "they were all over each other" and "kissing in front of everyone," according to people who were there. So if they have broken up, well, they have a funny way of showing it. [NYDN]
• Lindsay Lohan isn't a hoarder because she has a shopping problem; it's because "a lot of it is gifted," says Dina Lohan. LiLo and her mom/party pal say they plan to donate a lot of Lindsay's "stuff" to charity and the public will be able to buy some of it on their website. So head over to lohanhouse.com in case ripped leggings and Red Bull-stained clothing is your thing. [People]
• Tiger Woods is a free man: After a month in sex rehab, he's reportedly flown home to Florida with his wife. So consider yourself warned. [Radar]
• Since things didn't work out too well with Brad, Vince, or John, Jennifer Aniston has decided that she "wants to be set up with a wealthy businessman, not a celebrity," at least according to an anonymous "insider." Somebody call Millionaire Matchmaker's Patti Stanger. Stat! [Us]
Laura Linney turns 46 today. Actress Jennifer Jason Leigh is turning 48. Retired New York Times publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Sr. is 84. Writer/director Christopher Guest is turning 62. Baseball legend Hank Aaron is 76. Movie director Michael Mann is turning 67. Documentarian Errol Morris is 62. Michigan's governor, Jennifer Granholm, turns 51. Videogame pioneer Nolan Bushnell is 67. Former SNL stars Chris Parnell and Tim Meadows are turning 43 and 49, respectively. And Mr. Bobby Brown turns 41 today. A few people celebrating birthdays this weekend are below.
• Lawmakers on Capitol Hill grilled Brian Roberts and Jeff Zucker today about Comcast's proposed takeover of NBC Universal. Meantime, Zucker's chances of keeping his job as NBC's CEO? Dimmer by the day. [Reuters, WSJ, LAT]
• Observer owner Jared Kushner is expanding: He's decided to partner with another company to launch a free newspaper in Vegas for some reason. [NYT]
• More on the deep job cuts at CBS News this week. [NYT, LAT]
• Howard Stern's contract with Sirius XM expires this year. Whether he ends up staying put—or finds a new home on radio or TV—is up in the air. [THR]
• EMI announced a massive annual loss and now needs more cash. [BBC]
• Another installment of Fast and Furious is on the way. Finally! [Variety]
• Does the National Enquirer deserve a Pulitzer Prize? Probably! [Gawker]
How much do celebrities get paid to attend shows during Fashion Week? More than you might expect!
