People: Meteor shower him with love
George Takei‘s name has boldly gone where few names have gone before.
An asteroid between Mars and Jupiter has been renamed 7307 Takei in honor of the actor, who played Mr. Sulu in “Star Trek.”
“I am now a heavenly body,” laughs Takei, 70. “I was blown away. It came out of the clear, blue sky – just like an asteroid.”
The celestial rock, discovered by two Japanese astronomers in 1994, was formerly known as 1994 GT9.
It joins the 4659 Roddenberry (named for “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry) and the 68410 Nichols (for co-star Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt. Uhura).
Unlike Web sites that offer to sell naming rights to stars, names approved by the International Astronomical Union are used by astronomers, says Tom Burbine, the astronomy professor who proposed the Takei tribute.
“This is the name that will be used for all eternity,” he says.
Burbine says he suggested Takei’s name in part out of appreciation for his work with the Japanese American Citizens League and with the gay rights group Human Rights Campaign.
Filling up the house
John Stamos, who played Uncle Jesse on the ‘80s sitcom “Full House,” wants to be a father.
“If I don’t have kids soon, I am going to adopt,” the 44-year-old actor, who co-stars on “ER,” tells OK! magazine.
“Even if I do have kids, I think I will (adopt). I always thought to myself that I would be a better father later on in life.”
Stamos and Rebecca Romijn divorced in 2005 after five years of marriage.
Miscarriage or trustless?
Kid Rock says Pamela Anderson lied about having a miscarriage during their brief marriage last year.
Rock says Anderson made the claim during a telephone argument they had while she was shooting a movie in Vancouver, B.C., and he wanted to stay in L.A. to attend a Lakers basketball game instead of visiting her.
But when he chartered a plane and flew to check on her, he says, “She’s partying at this restaurant, drinking champagne, jumping on the tables. I’m thinking, ‘That’s a quick recovery from a miscarriage.’ “
Seeking ‘Blonde’ justice
Anna Nicole Smith’s lawyer and companion, Howard K. Stern, has filed a $60 million libel lawsuit over a book claiming he and her ex-boyfriend, Larry Birkhead, had sex.
In “Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith’s Death,” Rita Cosby also claims Birkhead and Stern worked together to manipulate the media.
The burglar’s new clothes
A tailor has been charged with burglary for breaking into Nicolas Cage‘s coastal California home and trying on a leather jacket.
Cage reported seeing the man standing at the door of a bathroom, a police spokesman said, adding: “He was standing there naked – except for the leather jacket.”
The birthday bunch
Actor Charlton Heston is 84. Author Anne Rice is 66. Actress Susan Sarandon is 61. Actor Armand Assante is 58. Rap producer Russell Simmons is 50. Actress Alicia Silverstone is 31. Actress Rachael Leigh Cook is 28.