LOVE of people, places, art, music, dance, books, acting, food, animals, nature, the planet and a myriad of other things is what nourishes our spirit and gives us a sense of purpose and fulfillment. Then there are life’s challenges and heartbreaks that we all go through that provide us with common ground.
As a journalist I’ve had many great conversations with some fascinating and talented people, from Andre Agassi to Jay-Z, about all of those things.
Here at CelebrityScribe.com, I share my recollections and impressions about the celebrities I’ve had the pleasure of talking with. You’ll also be able to link to the interviews I did with them. Those conversations have touched my heart and I hope they will touch yours as well. You’ll also find reflective musings about other notable people who are part of our pop culture, and some of my thoughts and opinions about day-to-day events that are happening in the world that shape and affect our lives.
Making a difference feels good and is empowering, so I’ve added a Resource Guide called “Giving Back” that links to charitable foundations and organizations supported by many of the celebrities I’ve interviewed that addresses animal abuse, children’s needs, gay rights, health concerns, environmental issues, poverty and inequality, and women’s needs. Check it out – something may call you to get involved or maybe you know someone who is in need of help.
I’ll continue to add more valuable content, so visit often and stay awhile. Hopefully you will be more than entertained; you will be inspired, uplifted, and perhaps even guided to take action or make changes both personally and globally. I welcome any heartfelt thoughts and suggestions you may have.
Enjoy the beautiful slide show. I carefully chose each photo in the hope that it would remind us to…Connect, Communicate and Celebrate a Meaningful Life!
I had the chance to get “Up Close and Personal with Eva Longoria” for the January 2012 issue of Luxury Las Vegas Magazine, and in talking with her it quickly became obvious that Eva is quite different than the spoiled, self-centered, ex-model, Gabrielle Solis, she plays to perfection on Desperate Housewives.
While Eva has graced the covers of Vogue, Marie Claire and Harper’s Bazaar, she is much more than a beautiful, sexy woman. What impressed me most about her is that she is incredibly smart, articulate, and outspoken about important social and political issues that include immigration reform, labor laws for farm workers and the roles available for Latinos/Latinas in Hollywood, as well as in life.
While Gabby is busy lunching with the ladies on Wisteria Lane, Eva has been getting her Master’s Degree in Chicano Studies and Political Science. And while Gabby can barely boil water, Eva has written a cookbook, and owns two restaurants, one in Los Angeles and one in Las Vegas.
As Eva explained, she packs in every minute of every day. She says that she’ll sleep when she’s dead and I believe her. She called me to do the interview while she was in between scenes on the set of Desperate Housewives and she launched right in wasting no time with pleasantries. She was like a race horse anxious to get to the finish line.
I’m used to talking with my celebrity guests for at least an hour, sometimes more, but with Eva I was lucky to get half the time. Fortunately, she can say more in 29.36 seconds than some people do in an entire day.
She talked about growing up on a ranch outside Corpus Christi that has been in her family for nine generations. She talked about her mom who is her role model; her older sister Liza who is mentally challenged and was Eva’s hero growing up; her divorce from Tony Parker; her plans after Desperate Housewives ends this spring; what life lessons she’s learned; the philanthropic work she is most passionate about; and much more that might surprise you.
One of the films Eva produced is called “The Harvest” about the children of Latino migrant workers in America who travel with their parents from farm to farm picking the food that ends up on our table.
I think if people really understood the harm caused by the pesticides used on our food, they would be outraged. In my opinion most people prefer not to acknowledge the connection between what they eat and the diseases they get, because if they did it would be insane not to make wiser choices. It’s crazy not to read labels and know what we put in our bodies. And if people don’t care about their own health, why would they care about the migrant workers who breathe in and handle food that has been sprayed and contaminated with carcinogenic chemicals.
Who gets the risks? The risks are given to the consumer, the unsuspecting consumer and the poor work force. And who gets the benefits? The benefits are only for the corporations, for the money makers.
Cesar Chavez
LIFE LESSON: In my interview with Eva, she suggests people try and buy at least some organic produce. My husband and I have been buying organic produce whenever possible for probably the past seven years and I think the few extra pennies spent is one of the best investments we can make in our health.
Someone once sent me a basket of chocolate-covered strawberries. Because I know strawberries are on the Dirty Dozen list of foods that hold the most residual pesticide, I had to throw them in the garbage. We get to vote with our dollars. If we boycott companies and demand healthier products, sustainable farming and ways of manufacturing that don’t pollute the air and water, they will eventually have to comply or go out of business.
There was just a report that said that Hostess Brands, the company that makes Twinkies and Wonder Bread, is facing bankruptcy. I like to believe that’s because people have gotten smarter about putting sugar, fat, artificial flavoring, and empty calories into their children’s bodies and calling it a treat and less gullible believing ads that promise white bread will build strong bodies 12 ways.
In talking with Eva I gleaned another piece of wisdom that we all need to be reminded of. When I asked her what important life lesson she’s learned, she referred to her divorce from Tony Parker who she’d been with for seven years. She said her whole identity had been wrapped up in being his wife. She said marriage was sacred in her family, and she and Tony would kid each other and say that divorce wasn’t an option, and that she would kill him before she’d divorced him.
While it didn’t work out the way Eva had hoped, she wasn’t bitter and angry. In fact she has never said anything negative about her ex-husband who caused her public humiliation when the media revealed that she had found hundreds of texts from the wife of a former teammate on his phone. Eva has always exuded class and dignity by simply stating, “We really tried, but in the end we wanted different things.”
LIFE LESSON: FORGIVENESS is the key to peace of mind, good health, and happiness. It’s a hard thing to master whether we’ve been betrayed by a husband or disappointed by a friend. In the end forgiveness is a gift we give to ourselves. If we don’t forgive than we go around carrying a lot of animosity, resentment, and anger, emotions that turn to poison in our bodies, and in the end, that person who did us wrong, does us wrong twice.
Forgiveness allows us to live in the present rather than the past. We can’t make someone love us. They might not even treat us fair or with respect. All we can do is be responsible for our own actions, choices and behaviors.
Since the divorce Eva has moved on. For the past year she has been dating Penelope Cruz’s brother Eduardo. In this clip from the “Ellen” show she appears to be very happy. Happy but wiser. Listen and you’ll hear Eva give some great advice to women about not wrapping your whole identity around your partner or even defining yourself by your career.
Just as my interview with Eva was about to end, she was getting ready to jump on a conference call with eight board members from one of the charities she supports. Then it would be back to the set of Desperate Housewives and after that she probably had ten more commitments lined up.
After we hung up I sat there for a minute, exhausted by the speed and intensity with which Eva spoke. Most people could not keep up with her schedule, and yet she inspired me to step it up a notch and do more. Do more to make a difference. Do more of the things I am passionate about. Do more to show others kindness and compassion. Eva says people have more time than they think, and that they waste a lot of it.
Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing.
Thomas A. Edison
LIFE LESSON: How many times do you say you wish you had time to write a book, clean your house, take a class, cook a healthy meal rather than get take-out, keep a journal, exercise, learn to paint, study Italian, or start a business; yet some of you spend hours on Facebook or chatting with friends on the phone. Be selective about how you spend your time. Clip coupons, iron clothes, or exercise while you’re watching Desperate Housewives or Dancing with the Stars. Also try and do something each day that moves you closer to your dreams.
It’s Christmas Eve and I wanted to post something that will touch your heart and help lift your spirit. So often we get caught up in the commercialism of the holiday season that we lose sight of the things that are truly important. Here is a very special video to remind us of our blessings.
Where does the time go? It’s been two months since I last blogged. Shame on me! I didn’t intend for so much time to go by, but I’ve been crazy busy in a good and also a not-so-good way. I know I should have just written some quick, short posts instead of waiting for a block of time when I could compose my longer signature pieces that you hopefully find not only entertaining, but informative, inspirational and uplifting. I’ve definitely learned that it’s better to say something brief than to say nothing at all. So consider me back on track. In fact, I hope in the New Year to make some great changes to my site.
As I said, life has been a mix of highs and lows, of exciting and fun things, as well as some unexpected and difficult challenges.
Under the heading of exciting and fun are six fascinating people that I recently interviewed (sounds a little Barbara Walters-like) – William Shatner, Leeza Gibbons, John Lithgow, Eva Longoria, Michael Beckwith, and Suze Orman (Dermot Mulroney is next).
Here at Celebrity Scribe I’m always looking for those nuggets of gold, those pearls of wisdom gleaned from people who seem to have it all, that will bring more insight and enlightenment to my life.
Yesterday I was in a reflective mood. Yesterday, Paul McCartney, who I fell madly in love with at the pubescent age of 13, married his girlfriend of four years, Nancy Shevell, on what would have been John Lennon’s 71st birthday (October 9, 2011).
I believe Paul’s marital choices say a lot about what the person he is. As I look back over The Long and Winding Road that he has traveled, I’ve been able to extract some valuable lessons from him about love, loss and life.
I liked Nate Berkus long before I interviewed him for Luxury Las Vegas Magazine, and long before I became friends with his mom Nancy Golden, a fabulous leather jewelry designer who, like me, lives in Las Vegas.
The first time I saw Nate was in 2002 when he started doing room makeovers on the Oprah Winfrey show, and like everyone else who tuned in, I was smitten with the design expert and his thick, wavy brown hair, his beautiful blue eyes, and his dazzling smile.
It didn’t take long to figure out that Nate was going to become a household name and follow in the footsteps of Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz and get his own television show. But it wasn’t because of his good looks, or because Oprah was his mentor.
Nate got his own show because he’s not only talented and so handsome you could eat him up, but because he has a sensitive nature, a compassionate heart, and a warm and down-to-earth personality that folks connect with.
Thankfully, first-time author Kathryn Stockett did not give up when her novel “The Help,” was rejected 60 times. When someone finally had the wisdom to recognize its worth, and it was published in 2009, the book sold more than three million copies and spent more than 100 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list.
Millions more of us devoured the brilliantly-written, masterfully-plotted book that is based on Stockett’s own white, Christian, southern upbringing and her close relationship with the family maid who died when she was 16. Years after moving to New York City, Stockett decided to write about that relationship that was so intensely influential in her life. It took five years for her to paint a vivid picture of the humiliation black maids in Jackson, Mississippi endured in the early 1960s by their white employers who trusted them to raise their children but often times not to polish the silver.
“I fell in love with tennis far too late in my life, but the reason I have everything that I hold dear is because tennis has loved me back. I’m thrilled, humbled, quite terrified to be honest, to stand before you. I felt vulnerable on the tennis court many times, but not quite like today. I’ve grown up in front of you. You’ve seen my highs and lows. We laughed together, cried together, but what is so clear to me standing here today is that you have given me compassion, understanding, and love – more than I expected, many times more than I deserved.”
Those words are part of the speech given by eight Grand Slam tournament winner and Olympic gold medalist, Andre Agassi on July 9, 2011 when he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.
Andre remains one of the most beloved players in the history of tennis and thousands of fans demonstrated their love the day he played his last game on September 3, 2006 at the U.S. Open.
Carlos Santana was just 22 years old when he and his band mesmerized 500,000 people who were at Woodstock, the three-day phenomenon in August 1969 that is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most pivotal moments that changed the history of Rock and Roll.
Forty-two years later, Carlos the eternal, cosmic melody man, is still using his supremely magical gift of music to touch us in that deepest, most sensual, primal, spiritual place which can only be accessed by the pure, truthful emotion of Divine Love that connects us to our higher selves.
He says, “My job in this life is to give people spiritual ecstasy through music. In my concerts people cry, laugh, dance. If they climaxed spiritually, I did my job. I did it decently and honestly.”
On June 18, 2011 my husband Steven and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary. While we’re both proud of that accomplishment, longevity alone isn’t cause for celebration. What is most meaningful is that the love, trust and commitment we have shared over the years has grown deeper and richer.
As I sat down to write this post, I heard that George Clooney (50) and his girlfriend of nearly two years, Elisabetta Canalis (32) had just split up. It isn’t surprising since the Italian model recently told the press that she will definitely get married someday, and the actor, one of the sexiest men alive, has vowed that he will never marry again.
Hepatitis C and a kidney transplant may have left Natalie Cole somewhat frail and weak, but oh that lady still has an incredible set of pipes. Her voice is smooth as a spoonful of honey, rich like a piece of dark, decadent chocolate, powerful as a freight train barreling through your mind, sensual like your man’s lingering caress, hot like a much-needed glass of brandy, and divine as an angel who takes flight on the wings of love..
Music is in Natalie’s genes which she inherited from her father, the late, great, Nate King Cole who she adored. After he died from lung cancer in 1965 at the age of 46, Natalie was sent away to boarding school by a mother she wasn’t close to. Being only 15-years-old and away from home, it was a difficult time for the teenager to deal with such a devastating loss.
That may explain why Natalie turned to drugs to numb the pain and perhaps deal with the success she’s known ever since she came on the music scene in 1975.
Since then she has been mesmerizing audiences with bluesy ballads, scat-singing jazz like her idol Ella Fitzgerald, and performing signature her hits that include “Mr. Melody,” “Inseparable,” “Our Love,” and “I’ve Got Love On My Mind,” as well as “Unforgettable,” the duet she sings (thanks to film and audio splicing) with her father, and the finger-snapping, toe-tapping, tongue-twisting, “This Will Be” (An Everlasting Love) co-written by Natalie’s ex-husband Marvin Yancy, who died of a heart attack in 1985 at the age of 34.
Royal Wedding Mania has gripped America and ardent fans are anxious for newsy details about anything and everything that has to do with the historic day when Prince William takes Kate as his Princess Bride this coming Friday April 29, 2011.
Jane Seymour, the official British correspondent for Entertainment Tonight, has been happy to oblige – reporting on speculation about the wedding gown designer, the chic custom-made hats for the ladies attending the wedding, the royal carriage ride from Westminster Abbey, the kiss on the balcony at Buckingham Palace, the wedding ring forged from Welsh gold, the tiara, and on and on.
Seeing Jane in London so often this past week reminds me of the interview I did with her in 2007 about six weeks before she appeared on Dancing with the Stars We had a special connection at the time that we spoke. We were two daughters commiserating about the health of our ailing parents. My father who had bladder cancer died ten days after that interview, and Jane’s mom, who had recently suffered a stroke, passed away while Jane was on DWTS about ten weeks later. In my mind there will always be a heartfelt connection that links Jane Seymour to the last few precious days I had with my dad.
Singer, composer Phoebe Snow died today, April 26, 2011, at the age of 60 from a brain hemorrhage she suffered on January 21, 2010. When I heard the news, I realized that even though the Rolling Stone had called her voice a “natural wonder” back in the 1970s, I’d never really followed her music, nor appreciated what an amazing artist she was.
After more than 35 years, the only tidbit of information I had tucked away in my brain about her was that she had a child who’d been born severely brain-damaged.
In researching her life I was enormously touched by the heartache and disappointment, the resilience and courage that filled Phoebe Snow’s life.
Oprah is counting down the last few weeks of her show and I’m sure the Harpo team has been going through an intense selection process, mulling, deliberating, and debating each possible guest.
So it said a lot when Shirley MacLaine came on last week and Oprah called her “one of my greatest teachers.”
I’m certainly not in Oprah’s league, but I’ve also had the pleasure of interviewing Shirley MacLaine, whose birthday happens to be today, April 24, 2011. Ironically it’s also Easter Sunday, the day Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and Shirley MacLaine is a big believer in reincarnation and life after death.
At 77 years old she has not only had many past lives, but she has enjoyed many incarnations in this lifetime as an award-winning actress, dancer, honorary mascot of the Rat Pack, best-selling author, political activist, metaphysical student and teacher, and let’s not forget Warren Beatty’s older sister.
I had a hard time deciding what celebrity to interview for the February 2011 issue of Luxury Las Vegas magazine. Should it be a football player in honor of the Super Bowl; someone who is in love or an expert on love to celebrate Valentine’s Day, or an African-American to commemorate Black History month?
Then I turned on Good Morning America and saw comedian, actor, author, host of Family Feud and the morning radio program, The Steve Harvey Show, and relationship guru Steve Harvey. After listening to him speak for a few minutes I knew I’d found my guy.
It’s true that Steve has never played professional football, though he looks like he could be a running back for his hometown team the Atlanta Falcons; but he is most definitely a proud black man who has plenty to say about love and the differences between the sexes
The first in a six-part series called The Judds aired last night on Oprah’s OWN network. It was filmed as Wynonna and Naomi prepared for their 2010 “Last Encore” tour, the first they would perform together in ten years.
As I watched the show, I was struck by both women’s honesty, openness, and willingness to be vulnerable with each other especially knowing that millions of people would be watching. It’s impressive anytime anyone is willing to let go of their ego, but in Wynonna and Naomi’s case, it is extraordinary, because when you are famous it’s even more difficult to give up the facade.
I had my own personal experience with Wynonna back in January 2006 when I interviewed her for my monthly celebrity column called “Up Close and Personal“ in Luxury Las Vegas Magazine. She blew me away then just as she did last night. She touches my heart in a very profound way. Here is my recollection of that experience and excerpts from that interview:
I liked Nate Berkus long before I interviewed him for Luxury Las Vegas Magazine, and long before I became friends with his mom Nancy Golden, a fabulous leather jewelry designer who, like me, lives in Las Vegas.
Thankfully, first-time author Kathryn Stockett did not give up when her novel “The Help,” was rejected 60 times. When someone finally had the wisdom to recognize its worth, and it was published in 2009, the book sold more than three million copies and spent more than 100 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list.
Royal Wedding Mania has gripped America and ardent fans are anxious for newsy details about anything and everything that has to do with the historic day when Prince William takes Kate as his Princess Bride this coming Friday April 29, 2011.
Singer, composer Phoebe Snow died today, April 26, 2011, at the age of 60 from a brain hemorrhage she suffered on January 21, 2010. When I heard the news, I realized that even though the Rolling Stone had called her voice a “natural wonder” back in the 1970s, I’d never really followed her music, nor appreciated what an amazing artist she was.
I had a hard time deciding what celebrity to interview for the February 2011 issue of Luxury Las Vegas magazine. Should it be a football player in honor of the Super Bowl; someone who is in love or an expert on love to celebrate Valentine’s Day, or an African-American to commemorate Black History month?
The first in a six-part series called The Judds aired last night on Oprah’s OWN network. It was filmed as Wynonna and Naomi prepared for their 2010 “Last Encore” tour, the first they would perform together in ten years.
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