People: Some huge hurdles for Hulk
It’s been a rough year for Hulk Hogan.
The celebrity wrestler and reality TV show star’s wife, Linda, has filed for divorce after 24 years of marriage.
The couple’s 17-year-old son, Nick Bollea, is facing charges of reckless driving after an August crash that left a friend critically injured.
“I’m leaning into the wind,” Hogan (aka Terry Bollea), 54, tells “Access Hollywood.”
“I’m trying to stay very, very positive,” he says. “You know, I just pray that things get better for my family.
“As far as my son goes, we’re going to be very happy when the truth really comes out of what really (happened), instead of all the speculation and all the mentality that’s going on.
“As far as my divorce goes, I love my family and I love my wife to death and I just don’t know what tomorrow’s going to bring.”
Hogan and Laila Ali co-host NBC’s “American Gladiators,” a revival of the ‘90s competition series.
The new edition debuts Jan. 6.
“Things are bigger and faster,” Hogan says of the show. “Now we’ve got water – and I wish it was shark-infested.”
He’s just the piano man
Billy Joel has released a new single, the anti-war “Christmas in Fallujah” – but don’t expect to hear his voice on it.
At 58, Joel felt he was too old to sing the song, inspired by letters he received from soldiers in Iraq. So he gave it to Cass Dillon, a 21-year-old Long Island singer-songwriter.
“I thought it should be somebody young, about a soldier’s age,” Joel says on his Web site, adding: “I’ve had my time in the sun. I think it’s time for somebody else, maybe, to benefit from my own experience.”
Proceeds from sales of the song on iTunes will be donated to Homes for Our Troops, which builds houses for severely wounded veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Fruitcakes, indeed
At age 73, Pat Boone turned to an elder for songs for his first Christmas album in decades.
“The True Spirit of Christmas” features 21 new yuletide tunes penned by 85-year-old Paul Alter, a longtime TV game show producer/director, including “Reindeer Rose” and “Santa Claus, You Ought To Go On a Diet.”
“(He’s) a musical genius,” Boone says. “He’s even inked a song about fruitcake.”
Taking her next step
Julianne Hough, the professional partner of the past two “Dancing With the Stars” winners, Apolo Anton Ohno and Helio Castroneves, has signed a record deal with Universal.
Hough, 19, released a country single, “Will You Dance With Me,” on iTunes in May.
Might as well pump
Eddie Van Halen returned from the Northwest leg of his self-named band’s tour this week to a mini-disaster.
A broken water main sent thousands of gallons of water flowing into the guitarist’s yard, though sandbags placed around the house prevented water from entering inside.
The birthday bunch
Game show host Bob Barker is 84. Singer Connie Francis is 69. Singer Dionne Warwick is 67. Actor Bill Nighy (“Pirates of the Caribbean”) is 58. Actress Jennifer Connelly is 37. Actress Mayim Bialik (“Blossom”) is 32.