Benefiting from Pryor efforts
A ceramic bowl painted by Richard Pryor raised $7,099 in an online auction benefiting an Ohio animal rights group.
The bowl, in which Pryor painted a self-portrait before he died, was sold to GoldenPalace.com, an Internet-based casino company known for buying unusual items for the sake of charity and publicity.
Pryor sent the bowl to the Geauga Humane Society weeks before his death on Dec. 10.
The actor-comedian, who was 65, died of a heart attack. He had been ill for years with multiple sclerosis.
The portrait was surrounded by the painted words, “Little Black Man in Big White World.” The side of the bowl has Pryor’s signature and drawings of a martini glass, lips and a cigarette.
“Richard and I were both there in spirit and I know he did everything he could to help the auction along,” Pryor’s widow, Jennifer, said in a statement.
“I couldn’t be more delighted that he’s still helping animals.”
Playboy to penthouse
Former “Baywatch” babe and Playboy pin-up Pamela Anderson has bought a two-bedroom penthouse condo at a $1 billion luxury high-rise under construction in Las Vegas.
“Spiderman” actor Tobey Maguire and “The Aviator” star Leonardo DiCaprio also are reported to have bought into the development, the first tower of which is expected to be complete by midsummer.
Reese’s pieces
Della Reese is tired of boring clothes for larger women, so the plus-size actress and singer has started her own clothing line.
“It’s very difficult for me to find anything with shape or color … some oomph,” says the 74-year-old former “Touched by an Angel” star, who’s 5 foot 2 and weighs 200 pounds.
Her line, Della Reese Fashions, will debut April 4 on the Home Shopping Network.
More Lincoln Logs
It didn’t cause quite so much a stir as Donald Trump‘s new baby boy, but Chester Bennington of the Grammy-winning music group Linkin Park also is a new father.
Bennington’s wife, Talinda, gave birth in Los Angeles last week to a 9-pound, 3-ounce boy named Tyler Lee. Bennington has two other sons, 10-year-old Jaime and 4-year-old Draven, from previous relationships.
Robbing the cradle?
“Desperate Housewives” star Eva Longoria says she’d consider having a child out of wedlock with Tony Parker – but he wouldn’t.
“He’s only been with one other person in his life,” Longoria, 31, tells Allure magazine.
“He’s very sweet,” she says of the 23-year-old San Antonio Spurs point guard. “I’m the experienced one. I’m the teacher, especially about love. He’s always telling me he’s never met anyone who loves the way I do – wholly and freely and unconditionally.”
The birthday bunch
Actor Karl Malden is 94. Mime Marcel Marceau is 83. Composer Stephen Sondheim is 76. Actor William Shatner is 75. Singer-guitarist George Benson is 63. News anchor Wolf Blitzer is 58. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is 58. Sportscaster Bob Costas is 54. Actress Lena Olin is 51. Singer-actress Stephanie Mills is 49. Actor Matthew Modine is 47. Actress Reese Witherspoon is 30.