People: Hello, Dolly – goodbye, Jessica
Unhappy with her second try at paying tribute to Dolly Parton for the “Kennedy Center Honors,” Jessica Simpson has pulled out of the show.
Earlier this month, Simpson flubbed the words to Parton’s “9 to 5” during a taping of the annual ceremony, grew flustered and fled the stage in tears.
She told the audience – which included not only Parton, but Steven Spielberg, Smokey Robinson, Zubin Mehta, Andrew Lloyd Webber and President Bush – “Dolly, you make me so nervous, I can’t even sing the words right.”
Producers gave her another chance, alone, while the rest of the group was having dinner in the lobby.
But after Simpson saw a tape, she requested the second attempt be pulled from the show, which airs Tuesday on CBS.
“She really wasn’t happy with her performance and she did want it to be perfect for Dolly, who she idolizes,” a Simpson spokeswoman said.
Closer to father?
Anna Nicole Smith has been ordered to submit her 3-month-old daughter to paternity tests sought by a former boyfriend who claims he’s the daddy.
“Christmas has come early, and I thank God that I will soon have the opportunity to prove that I am the father … and eventually hold her in my arms,” photographer Larry Birkhead said.
Smith says the baby belongs to her attorney-turned-partner Howard K. Stern. Even if the tests prove Birkhead right, he’d still have to wage a legal battle for custody rights.
Thin Lizzie
It’s official: Hilary Duff is a real doll.
The former “Lizzie McGuire” star is the latest celebrity to take on 12-inch proportions as part of the Barbie doll line, joining the likes of Reese Witherspoon, Beyonce Knowles and Lucille Ball.
The Red Carpet Glam Hilary Duff Doll shows the 19-year-old singer-actress’ likeness in a polka-dot dress with a red satin sash.
Fatted Birmingham
After shedding almost 100 pounds, former “American Idol” winner Ruben Studdard wants to help other Alabama residents lose weight.
Through a campaign called Scale Back Alabama, he’s asking the 25 percent of the state’s residents who are obese to lose 10 pounds in eight weeks – a grand total of 10 million pounds.
No more glove handles
Perhaps the most remarkable feat Sylvester Stallone performs in his new film, “Rocky Balboa,” is taking off his shirt.
But Stallone, 60, had to work to get that sculpted look. He worked out five days a week in the gym, boxed for three or four hours a day, six days a week, binged on pasta and other carbs, and sucked up protein drinks.
“In four weeks, I was able to burn off a lot and get into the shape I was in the film,” Stallone says.
“But I don’t recommend it. Do not try this at home or anywhere!”
The birthday bunch
Actor Frederic Forrest (“Lonesome Dove”) is 70. Actor-comedian Harry Shearer is 63. Actress Susan Lucci (“All My Children”) is 60. Singer Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) is 42. Actor Corey Haim is 35.