Now we”ll see how long his million bucks survives
NEW “SURVIVOR” CHAMP Tom Westman collected his million-dollar check Monday – and left little doubt where it was headed.
“My wife should be here so I can just pass it over,” the 41-year-old Brooklyn firefighter said after his payday on CBS’ “Early Show.”
It was his wife, Bernadette, who downloaded his “Survivor” contestant application and dropped it in the mail, he said.
“She said the game was tailor-made for me. How could I not take a stab at it?” he explained, adding that the skills he honed as a firefighter really came in handy.
Westman plans to spend the prize money fixing up his century-old colonial house in Long Island and covering college for his three kids: Meghan, 8, Declan, 6, and Conor, 5.
“We dove into the (hotel) minibar,” he said of his victory celebration. “I said, ‘Kids, go ahead. Have another pack of M&Ms.’ So the kids already know something is changing in our lives.”
Their apprenticeship is no pleasure cruise
So how glamorous is it to have one of those $250,000-a-year post-“Apprentice” jobs working for Donald Trump?
According to a Newsweek report, second-season winner Kelly Perdew‘s desk is in a small, windowless space next to Melania Trump‘s assistant. And both he and first-season winner Bill Rancic spend more time promoting projects than actually managing them – although both say they love their work.
Trump will name the third-season “Apprentice” winner on Thursday night.
Hey, that was Federline’s line
A pregnant Britney Spears appeared with husband Kevin Federline on Tuesday’s “Ellen” to promote their new UPN reality show “Britney and Kevin: Chaotic.”
The 23-year-old pop star said she was the one who popped the question to former backup dancer Federline, 27 – who didn’t even go for it right away.
“I told her that it’s not right for the woman to ask the man. The man’s supposed to get on one knee and do it right,” Federline said. “It took me about five minutes, and then I turned around and asked her.”
Farrell’s fond farewell
Colin Farrell offered a loving farewell, peppered with jokes, at his grandfather’s funeral on Monday in Dublin.
“Granddad would never curse, so it’s fitting that I should now be standing in front of you today,” Farrell quipped at the funeral Mass of Jimmy Monaghan, 89.
He read a poem he’d written – “in case the whole acting thing doesn’t work out” – in tribute to Monaghan, “the truest father, the greatest man, the one and only ‘Gentleman Jim.’ “
Let’s hope she is so lucky
Australian pop star Kylie Minogue has been diagnosed with breast cancer and will undergo immediate treatment, her management team announced Tuesday. Her tour of Australia was postponed following the announcement.
“I’m just hoping and praying because the doctors found it so early that everything will be OK,” said Michael Gudinski, head of the company promoting the tour.
The 36-year-old former soap opera star launched her singing career in the 1980s with hits such as “Loco-Motion” and “I Should Be So Lucky.”
The birthday bunch
Actor Robert Morse is 74. Actor Dwayne Hickman (“The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis”) is 71. Country singer Joe Bonsall (Oak Ridge Boys) is 57. Keyboardist Rick Wakeman (Yes) is 56. Country singer George Strait is 53. Comedian Tina Fey is 35. Singer Darryl Allen (Mista) is 25.