Seinfeld suit on front burner
Never take on a jokester, even in court.
That seems to be the lesson for cookbook author Missy Chase Lapine, who claims that Jessica Seinfeld, wife of comedian Jerry Seinfeld, stole her work.
Lapine has sued Seinfeld, claiming the comic’s wife got ideas for her “Deceptively Delicious” cookbook from Lapine’s own “Sneaky Chef,” which teaches parents how to hide vegetables in recipes for children.
Now she’s complaining about a routine that Seinfeld performed on David Letterman’s show, in which the comic claimed that people with three names – James Earl Ray and Mark David Chapman, for instance – turned out to be assassins.
Lapine says she “never felt so frightened and vulnerable” as when her daughter “asked, ‘Mom, what is an assassin?’ ”
The Seinfelds’ attorney begs to differ: “As a comedian, Jerry has a right under the First Amendment to tell jokes. Ms. Lapine, on the other hand, was not joking when she maliciously accused Jessica Seinfeld, who also has young children, of plagiarism, a charge that is demonstrably false.”
No tricks or treats for The Boss
The Boss no longer wants to share his Halloween treats. Rocker Bruce Springsteen and wife Patti Scialfa say they won’t be having their usual elaborate Halloween display this year at their house in Rumson, N.J. The 59-year-old rocker says too many visitors raised concerns for the safety of neighborhood children and parents.
Newman was man of his time
Bruce Willis learned a lesson from the late Paul Newman. At a gathering of Newman’s friends and colleagues to raise funds for Newman’s Painted Turtle camp for terminally ill children, Willis was joined by the likes of Jack Nicholson, Tom Hanks, Bonnie Raitt, Danny DeVito and Edward James Olmos.
“We were doing (the 1994 movie) ‘Nobody’s Fool,’ and I was two minutes late to the set once,” Willis said. “He looked at me and said, ‘Punctuality is the courtesy of kings.’ And ever since then I’ve been on time.”
Becks won’t bend the truth
Don’t expect to see British soccer star David Beckham, 33, on the big screen anytime soon. When GQ inquired about his plans to expand into showbiz, Beckham was clear and concise. “What film career? I haven’t got one,” he said. “Never say never, except about that! And that’s the way it’s going to stay.”
Music sounds the same, though
After debuting her new song “Keeps Getting’ Better” on the Internet, Christina Aguilera, 27, gushed about the number of costume changes the video required. “Being an artist who likes to play around with different looks,” she said, “it was a lot of fun to portray various characters within the same shoot.”
The birthday bunch
Singer Grace Slick is 69. Actor Ed Lauter is 68. Singer Otis Williams is 67. Actor Henry Winkler is 63. Bassist Timothy B. Schmit of The Eagles is 61. Actor Harry Hamlin is 57. Actor Charles Martin Smith is 55. Country singer T. Graham Brown is 54. Actor Kevin Pollak is 51. Actor Michael Beach is 45. Singer-guitarist Gavin Rossdale is 41. “Cash Cab” host Ben Bailey is 38. Actress Nia Long is 38.