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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Some facts you may not know about Kelsey Grammer

Jill Jackson King Features Syndicate

With everyone bidding farewell to “Frasier” on the tube, I came upon some facts about Kelsey Grammer I didn’t know till I read the following in People Almanac:

“His father and sister were murdered; his two half-brothers died in scuba accidents; his unborn child died when his wife attempted suicide; he was arrested in 1987 for driving under the influence of drugs; he failed to show for two arraignments for a cocaine arrest in 1988; he was sentenced to community service and 30 days in prison in 1990. In 1995 he faced allegations of sexual assault by a 17-year-old; he crashed his Viper also in 1995 and ended up in the Betty Ford Clinic.”

•Heather Graham’s next is a “quirky comedy” called “Cake” to shoot this month in Canada. Quite the glamour girl now — but not always. Heather was raised in a very religious Catholic family with her parents encouraging her to become a nun. Instead, she became an actress, making her film debut in “License to Drive.” Her very first job was as an usher at the Hollywood Bowl.

•”Van Helsing” is bringing in big bucks at the box office and making Hugh Jackman an even bigger star.

•Aside to Maryjane G. of Dallas. Yup, Hugh is married. He and his wife met when they starred in the Australian series “Corelli.” He was born on Oct. 12, 1968.

•Ethan Hawke may be crying over losing Uma Thurman, but he’s definitely all smiles about co-starring with Nic Cage in “Lord of War,” a drama about seedy arms dealers. Word about his private life is that he would love to get back with Uma, but she “no want.” Stay tuned.

•Want to see stars when you come to Hollywood? Try the Standard Hotel corner at Sunset Boulevard and Sweetzer Avenue. On any given night (late) you might find Drew, or Cameron and Justin, or Leonardo, or Tobey, and many more of the younger set hovering about the bar. … And for the older set like the Spielbergs, Hanks, Douglases or Beattys, it might be the trendy Spago in Beverly Hills.

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Bits ‘N’ Pieces

•Word is that Paula Abdul and Emilio Estevez are getting together again, and everybody’s happy about that.

•Gena Rowlands is still recuperating from that bad fall she had while filming in Louisiana. A broken shoulder in several places really HURTS!

•Justin Timberlake may be kind to Cameron, but I’m told he’s not the nicest when it comes to signing autographs.

•Aside to Josephine M. of New Orleans. Sorry, I’m not going to even try to answer your question: Demi and Ashton, will they, won’t they marry? We won’t know until they do, OR they DON’T.

•Almost to column’s end and no Paris Hilton? Oh yes, there is. The aquamarine-eyed maiden dropped a bottle of olive oil in a Whole Foods market (right down the block from my apartment), and what a mess she made in the aisle. Squealingly, she departed as attendants rushed to mop up the mess.

•Britney Spears causing a commotion when she sashayed into a Coffee Bean in West Hollywood and ordered a frozen blended vanilla latte.