Andrews: Beautiful to bawdy
LOS ANGELES — Even stars get star-struck.
It happened Monday to Zoe Saldana, Katie Holmes and Renee Zellweger at Elle magazine’s Women in Hollywood tribute, where they were honored alongside legendary actress Julie Andrews.
Saldana burst into song — “A Spoonful of Sugar” — at the thought of meeting the “Mary Poppins” star. Zellweger said she’d “certainly be star-struck” when she met the actress.
“I just don’t want to fall or say dumb things,” Zellweger said, “so I’ll keep my fingers crossed.”
Holmes let out an “oh my God” and said she couldn’t wait to meet Andrews.
Longtime friend Carol Burnett shared a different side of the venerable star during a private dinner at the Four Seasons hotel.
“Not only is my chum such a great actress, such a great singer, such a beautiful person and all,” Burnett said of Andrews, “she is also very bawdy.”
The comedian told a story of how Lady Bird Johnson caught her and Andrews kissing. Andrews had planned to play a trick on director Mike Nichols when the former first lady spotted them.
“Aren’t you Carol Burnett?” Burnett recalled her asking. “I said ‘Yes, and this here’s Mary Poppins.’”
“Absolutely true story,” Andrews said. “She brings out the worst in me.”
Swiss started move on Polanski’s arrest
LOS ANGELES — Newly released documents show that Swiss authorities set in motion the arrest of fugitive director Roman Polanski.
A series of e-mails obtained by The Associated Press show that the Swiss tipped off their U.S. counterparts about Polanski’s imminent arrival at a Zurich film festival.
The Sept. 22 tip culminated four days later with Polanski’s arrest.
U.S. authorities had declined to say how they learned of Polanski’s trip to Zurich, but a public records request shows the information came from the Swiss Federal Office of Justice.
The new details again raise the question of why Switzerland decided to go after Polanski now, even though the 76-year-old director was a frequent visitor to that nation.
Psychiatrist: Smith fit definition of addict
LOS ANGELES — A psychiatrist who treated Anna Nicole Smith for drug dependency testified Tuesday the former Playmate fit the legal definition of an addict.
However, under questioning by a judge, Dr. Nathalie Maullin said she never used the words “addict” or “addiction” when discussing the celebrity model’s problems with her, her personal doctor Sandeep Kapoor or her boyfriend-lawyer Howard K. Stern.
Stern, Kapoor and Dr. Khristina Eroshevich are charged with conspiring to provide controlled substances to Smith. All have pleaded not guilty.
The charging document in the case specifically states that Stern, Kapoor and Eroshevich “acted with knowledge that Anna Nicole Smith was an addict.” Prosecutors are trying to prove the defendants had that knowledge.
Smith died in February 2007 of an accidental overdose.
