‘Desperate’ actress called disruptive
The creator of “Desperate Housewives” testified Monday that his decision to kill off the character Edie Britt was made months before the actress who portrayed her accused him of battery.
Marc Cherry told jurors in a wrongful termination suit in Los Angeles brought by actress Nicollette Sheridan that he plotted the trampy Wisteria Lane real estate agent’s demise to “shake things up” creatively on the ABC show and not as retribution.
But, in a daylong turn on the witness stand, Cherry acknowledged that eliminating Edie had the added benefit of ridding the show’s budget of Sheridan’s $4 million salary and him of what he described as a disruptive and unprofessional presence on the set.
“It wasn’t the primary reason for my decision, but it was something I was aware of,” Cherry said under questioning by an attorney for Sheridan.
He is expected to elaborate on his problems with Sheridan today when questioned by his own lawyer.
Asked about the reaction of co-stars Eva Longoria and Felicity Huffman to news that Sheridan’s character was destined for a fatal electrocution, Cherry said, “They were relieved.”
Deen eatery allegedly a hostile place
The former general manager of a restaurant co-owned by Paula Deen claims the celebrity chef and her brother, Bubba Hiers, created a hostile work environment that included sexual innuendo, physical intimidation and racial slurs.
Lisa Jackson says in a lawsuit filed Monday she had panic attacks because of the environment at Uncle Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House in Savannah, Ga.
Jackson says Hiers routinely watched pornography.
She says the restaurant required black workers to enter through a back door and barred them from using a restroom that white workers used.
A Deen spokesman declined to comment on pending legal matters.
The birthday bunch
Country singer Doug Dillard is 75. Actor Ben Murphy is 70. Singer Mary Wilson (The Supremes) is 68. Drummer Hugh Grundy (The Zombies) is 67. Singer-guitarist David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) is 66. Actor-director Rob Reiner is 65. Singer Kiki Dee is 65. Actress Anna Maria Horsford (“The Shield,” “Amen”) is 65. Actor Tom Arnold is 53. Actress Suzanne Crough (“The Partridge Family”) is 49. Actor D.L. Hughley (“The Hughleys”) is 48. Country songwriter Skip Ewing is 48. Actress Moira Kelly (“One Tree Hill”) is 44. Rapper Beanie Sigel is 38.