People: And speaking of unspoken …
Oprah Winfrey says that she was “stunned” to learn that her father plans to write a book about her.
“I was upset. I won’t say devastated, but I was stunned,” the talk host told the New York Daily News.
Winfrey said she laughed when one of her assistants told her the newspaper was calling to ask about a book her father, Vernon Winfrey, was writing.
“I said, ‘That’s impossible. I can assure them it’s not true,’ ” she said.
But then, she added: “I called him, and it turned out he is writing a book. The worst part of it was him saying, ‘I meant to tell you I’ve been working on it.’ “
The elder Winfrey, who owns a Nashville, Tenn., barber shop, reportedly plans to call the book “Things Unspoken.”
Oprah left her mother’s house in Milwaukee to live with her father when she became pregnant at age 14. He has said she was “out of hand and an unruly child.”
She said they last saw each other when he accompanied her on a trip to Africa a few months ago.
Big fat bank account
Al Franken, a comedian and best-selling author before launching a Senate campaign, is worth between $4.3 million and $9.9 million, according to financial disclosure forms.
The forms require figures to be reported only in broad ranges. A spokesman said Franken’s net worth is closer to the $4.3 million.
Franken, the author of books including “Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot,” left his Air America network radio show in February to mount a bid for a Senate seat in Minnesota.
Hey, Al could afford it
Italian consumer groups want authorities to cancel a scheduled concert by Barbra Streisand because of excessive ticket prices.
The groups urged the city of Rome and the Italian Olympic Committee to deny permission for Streisand to perform at the Stadio Flaminio on June 15.
The ticket prices, which range from just under $200 to more than $1,200, are “absurd and shameful,” the groups said.
Bad aim, too
The wife of former Creed singer Scott Stapp says he’s a drug addict with a bad temper.
Stapp has been charged with misdemeanor assault for throwing a juice bottle at her head (and missing) during an argument Sunday.
Jaclyn Stapp, a former Miss New York, says in court documents that her husband threw a baby’s chair swing and a picture frame at her in previous incidents, and broke down the door to her bathroom in an attempt to get to her.
Third time for the charmer
Finally, speaking of marriages gone sour, Tom Arnold has filed for divorce from his third wife, Shelby Roos, after five years of marriage.
His previous wives were comedienne Roseanne Barr and Julie Lynne Champnella.
The birthday bunch
Actor-comedian Tommy Chong is 69. Musician Bob Dylan is 66. Singer Patty Labelle is 63. Actress Priscilla Presley is 62. Actor Alfred Molina is 54. Singer Rosanne Cash is 52. Actress Kristin Scott Thomas is 47. Actor John C. Reilly (“Chicago”) is 42. Rapper Heavy D is 40. Country singer Billy Gilman is 19.