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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

People: Clooney, Alamuddin tie the knot in Venice

George Clooney, right, waves from a wedding party boat with his fiancée’s father, Ramzi Alamuddin, his father, Nick Clooney, beside him, and his mother, Nina Bruce, standing behind him. (Associated Press)
From Wire Reports

George Clooney married human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin in Venice, Italy, on Saturday, the actor’s representative said, out of sight of pursuing paparazzi and adoring crowds.

A smiling Clooney traveled up the spectacular Grand Canal to his wedding standing coolly aboard a water-taxi, waving to hundreds of well-wishers on shore and a flotilla of photographers chasing a glimpse of his final moments of bachelorhood.

With the pink sunset casting a gleam on Venice’s most picturesque canal, Clooney rubbed his hands in sweet anticipation and disappeared into the luxury Aman hotel’s tent-covered pier, where celebrity friends including Cindy Crawford and Matt Damon had passed moments earlier.

The bride was nowhere to be seen.

Clooney’s long-time representative Stan Rosenfield announced in one sentence some 2 1/2 hours later that the wedding had taken place. It is expected to be the only communication on the much-anticipated marriage of the actor who long reigned as Hollywood’s most-eligible bachelor.

Clooney and friends had coolly sipped champagne before at the five-star Cipriani hotel before forming a procession to the Aman that included Damon, Crawford, her husband, Rande Gerber, and Bill Murray from the five-star Cipriani hotel opposite St. Mark’s Square up the Grand Canal to the luxury Aman Hotel.

Clooney, 53, had vowed he would never marry again following his 1989-93 marriage to Talia Balsam. He dated a series of models and actresses that made his love life tabloid fodder, until meeting his match in Alamuddin, 36.

Venice is perhaps a natural setting for Clooney’s wedding. The star owns a villa on Lake Como north of Milan, feels at home in Italy and is a frequent visitor to Venice, often to promote his films at the Venice Film Festival.

The birthday bunch

Actress Brigitte Bardot is 80. Singer Ben E. King is 76. Movie writer-director-actor John Sayles is 64. Zydeco singer-musician C.J. Chenier is 57. Actress-comedian Janeane Garofalo is 50. Actress Mira Sorvino is 47. TV personality Moon Zappa is 47. Actress Naomi Watts is 46. Writer-producer-director-actor Bam Margera is 35. Rock musician Daniel Platzman (Imagine Dragons) is 28. Actress Hilary Duff is 27.