Ellen brings show, wife to Australia
Ellen DeGeneres was applauded by a rapturous Aussie audience like a cherished part of the family as she introduced her Australian-born wife, Portia de Rossi, on a Sydney Harbour-side stage on Saturday to begin pre-recording Down Under segments for her popular U.S. TV show.
The Emmy Award-winning talk-show host arrived in Sydney with her mom, Betty DeGeneres, and de Rossi on Friday after a 14-hour flight from Los Angeles for a six-day filming trip to Australia.
“I’m moving here, it’s so beautiful,” DeGeneres told 3,000 admirers, who were clearly delighted to be in the sun-bathed Royal Botanic Gardens near the Sydney Opera House for the two-hour recording despite the 86-degree early afternoon heat.
Guests included Oscar-winning actor and Sydney local Russell Crowe. He presented the 55-year-old host with two kangaroo-hide cattle whips that he said DeGeneres might need to catch “some brumbies” – an Australian term for wild horses – when she visits Australia’s southeast.
Staubach decries domestic violence
NFL Hall of Famer Roger Staubach expressed dismay Saturday that public campaigns and rallies must still be held to tamp down the instances of domestic violence that leave women battered and bruised.
Staubach, a former Cowboys quarterback, told a crowd of thousands in downtown Dallas that men should know better than to strike a woman.
“It’s amazing that we even need to have this rally,” Staubach told the crowd at the rally dubbed Dallas Men Against Abuse, “but the momentum needs to take shape.”
Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith also spoke to the crowd, and Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant made a surprise appearance. In brief comments, Bryant apologized for his role in a domestic altercation in July. He was arrested for allegedly hitting his mother, but no charges were filed
The birthday bunch
Poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti is 94. Fashion designer Bob Mackie is 74. Former Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire is 66. Singer Nick Lowe is 64. Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger is 62. Comedian Louie Anderson is 60. Actress Lara Flynn Boyle is 43. Actor Jim Parsons is 40. Actress Jessica Chastain is 36.