People: You, too, can be an editor
Rock star Bono is adding another title to his resume: first-ever guest editor of Vanity Fair.
The U2 frontman will edit the magazine’s Africa-themed July issue on behalf of his Project RED campaign.
“We’ve talked about doing a special issue on Africa for awhile now, and of course Bono came to mind during those discussions,” says Vanity Fair Editor Graydon Carter.
“He’s very knowledgeable and passionate on the subject, and he’ll be an authentic guest editor.”
Last May, Bono was guest editor of The Independent newspaper in London. He featured stories on HIV/AIDS in Africa, poverty and global warming to highlight his Project RED, which enlists corporations to donate the proceeds of RED brand products to humanitarian efforts in Africa.
“As guest editor, I want Africa to appear (as) an adventure, not a burden, and put faces and personalities to the statistics we read elsewhere,” the 46-year-old Irish rocker says.
Shaq attacks snacks
Basketball star Shaquille O’Neal is the focus of a TV reality show about childhood obesity.
The six-episode ABC summer series will feature the Miami Heat center and his effort to help Florida schoolchildren lose weight.
O’Neal’s Hollywood resume includes appearances on the reality shows “Fear Factor” and “Punk’d” and roles in movies including “Kazaam” and “Blue Chips.”
America, maybe – but Jerry?
Jerry Springer is taking on another TV show.
The host of “The Jerry Springer Show” and “Dancing With the Stars” alum will be the new frontman of “America’s Got Talent” when it returns for a second season this summer.
Regis Philbin hosted the talent competition during its premiere season last year.
Spontaneous Combs bustin’
A lawsuit has been filed against Sean “Diddy” Combs, alleging the music mogul punched and pushed a man and his girlfriend at a Hollywood nightclub.
The suit claims Combs threw the man several feet backward into a parked car, pushed the girlfriend and “attempted to spit on another female member” of the group.
Says a Diddy lawyer: “It’s just another example of an opportunist seeking to fabricate a lawsuit based on a flat-out lie to try to take advantage of Mr. Combs’ celebrity status.”
Guess he’s not favoring curry
Rapper Kanye West says he’s not part of a plan to have a $3,900 curry dinner to be delivered across the Atlantic from an Indian restaurant in England, as reported yesterday.
But the British Raj restaurant said Tuesday that the feast was en route to New York City by plane, paid for by a music production company called Raw Soul and reportedly intended for a meeting with West and seven guests.
The birthday bunch
Comedian Alan Sues (“Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In”) is 81. TV personality Willard Scott is 73. Actor Daniel J. Travanti is 67. Singer Peter Wolf (The J. Geils Band) is 61. Actor John Heard is 61. Actor Bryan Cranston (“Malcolm In The Middle”) is 51. Actor Bill Brochtrup (“NYPD Blue”) is 44. Comedian Wanda Sykes is 43. Singer Taylor Dayne is 42. Actress Rachel Weisz is 36. Actress Laura Prepon (“That ‘70s Show”) is 27.