He’s Just Trying To Make A Martha Stewart Living
Martha Stewart spent some of her quality time in a Connecticut courtroom last week, explaining why she won’t pay her former gardener overtime for such chores as washing her cars and grooming her dogs.
Renaldo Abreu is suing the lifestyle maven for the $30,000 he says he’s owed for actions above and beyond the call of duty at her Turkey Hill Farm. Stewart says he often asked for extra work, and isn’t entitled to overtime under federal labor law as an agricultural worker.
As evidence, Abreu produced notes he said Stewart left for him. Read one: “Basement smells BAD look for cat poops, change litter. Happy Valentine’s Day.”
A decision in the case is expected in late November.
Loose talk
Retro country crooner Junior Brown, when asked at the Country Music Association awards whether he has a cult following: “Colt following? You mean little horses?”
Well, look at all the little pink candles
John Mellencamp turns 45 today.
Actually, he’s more of a posterior decorator
Count hard-boiled “NYPD Blue” star Dennis Franz among the ranks of Martha Stewart supporters: “I’m fascinated watching what she does on TV - everything from making holiday cookies from scratch to full-blown meals with fresh vegetables and meat. Martha’s whole idea about decorating her house and making all those things festive for holidays just seems really great.”
The new offer must’ve come out of the blue
Former “NYPD” player David Caruso has received permission from producer Steven Bochco and ABC to star as a crusading lawyer in a CBS series next season. When he broke his contract to leave the cop show two years ago, Caruso promised not to work in TV again until 1998.
Oh, what would he know about good taste
A woman shouting “Fur! Shame!” slapped dapper fashion designer Oscar de la Renta in the face with a whipped cream pie at a Neiman Marcus charity fashion show last week. “I do not use any fur that is not farmed,” de la Renta said, adding: “I didn’t like the taste of the cake.”
But is it the one way, or just a dead end?
The Los Angeles City Council has given preliminary approval to renaming a Hollywood street after L. Ron Hubbard, the late founder of the Church of Scientology. A final vote is scheduled this week.
If you ask us, John Belushi is a dead ringer
Rosie O’Donnell is hoping to fill her whole studio audience with people who look like her for her Nov. 14 talk show. If you think you’ve got what it takes, send your photo, name and address to: Rosie Lookalike Audience, Suite 800E, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10112. (Winners will pay their own transportation).
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Color Photos
The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by staff writer Rick Bonino