Though it’s been four years since model Anna Nicole Smith‘s untimely death, she’s in the spotlight once again — this time thanks to an opera about her life.
The “rags-to-riches” story of Smith’s rise to fame — titled ‘Anna Nicole‘ — debuted at London’s Royal Opera House last night to a sold-out crowd.
“She is fame incarnate,” the show’s lyricist, Richard Thomas, told CNN about Smith and her life story.
“It is a rags-to-riches story and a cautionary tale all chucked into a blender and whooshed up with three bags of sugar and two bottles of tequila and poured over a two-hour time frame.”
However, Larry Birkhead says Anna Nicole Smith’s Estate is threatening legal action.
Birkhead spoke with TMZ and said the producers never contacted Anna’s estate or him. They also didn’t offer Larry an advance screening. Larry says the opera is like “a sleazy tabloid.”
Smith famously married multimillionaire J. Howard Marshall, who was 62 years her senior, and endured a lengthy court battle for his estate. She passed away suddenly due to an accidental drug overdose in 2007 at age 39.
I’ve never seen a ghost in my life, my family always say that they seen them in the old family home but unfortunately for them the ghosts weren’t of famous people. Here is 8 celebrity ghosts that apparently haunt certain places…
Jim Morrison
If you ever get the urge to talk to Jim Morrison’s ghost, no need to travel to Paris where he died. Nope, the owners and staff of a Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles, aptly named Mexico, believe Jim is haunting their bathroom. This isn’t actually as random as it sounds—the building the restaurant occupies was once The Doors’ workshop and recording studio. Apparently, the vocal booth was located exactly where the bathroom now sits. “Jim Morrison is definitely still here,” said the restaurant’s manager. “Funky things happen all the time we can’t explain. Lights popping on and off at weird times. But when that bathroom door handle jiggles by itself, that’s the weirdest sign. It’s totally inexplicable.” The restaurant’s chef adds, “We had someone come in before we opened up, to do a ‘spiritual cleaning’ to try and put everything at peace. But in the end they told us, ‘Sorry, whatever is here is not leaving.’”
Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett‘s ghost can be found at … Tori Spelling‘s house. Tori had a medium over to try to contact her dead father, but instead supposedly found herself talking to Farrah, who asked that she pass on some important messages to her family.
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe may have died at her home in Brentwood, but her ghost supposedly haunts the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, where she loved to stay. Guests have seen her image in a mirror in the lobby, which was once in her poolside suite, as well as seen her specter in the ballroom.
Cass Elliot
Dan Aykroyd swears his house is haunted by Cass Elliot of the Mamas and Papas, who died after choking in 1974. “A ghost certainly haunts my house,” he said. “It once even crawled into bed with me. I rolled over and just nuzzled up to whatever it was and went back to sleep. … The ghost also turns on the Stairmaster and moves jewelry across the dresser. I’m sure it’s Mama Cass because you get the feeling it’s a big ghost.” Oooh, harsh.
John Lennon
When the remaining Beatles got together in 1995 to record “Free As A Bird,” they all felt the studio was haunted by the ghost of John Lennon. “There were a lot of strange goings-on in the studio—noises that shouldn’t have been there and equipment doing all manner of weird things,” said Paul McCartney at the time. “There was just an overall feeling that John was around.” They also say that, mysteriously, you can hear John’s voice in the recording.
Elvis
Elvis haunts pretty much everywhere. People have seen his ghost at Graceland. Some even claim to have seen his ghost marrying Marilyn Monroe there. They’ve also seen him at the Las Vegas Hilton, where he performed from 1969 to 1976, waiting backstage. Oh, and near a home he rented in Bel Air, though the place was knocked down forever ago.
Anna Nicole Smith
Anna Nicole Smith died at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino three years. Ever since, guests have seen her ghost wandering the hallway. Which would actually make sense, because after her death, the hotel renovated the suite and re-numbered the rooms so that no one could request the fateful room on purpose.
Kurt Cobain
Years ago, a bar manager in the U.K. claimed that Kurt Cobain was haunting her laptop computer. She says the computer asked her for a kiss, and when she complied, it stopped working. Ooookay, lady.
Do you believe in ghosts? Got any creepy stories to share?
A Los Angeles jury convictedAnna Nicole Smith‘s lawyer boyfriend, Howard K. Stern, and her psychiatrist but acquitted her doctor in a prescription drug conspiracy case.
The split verdict came Thursday afternoon, after 58 hours of deliberations over 13 days.
Lawyer Howard K. Stern, Dr. Sandeep Kapoor and shrink Khristine Eroshevich were charged with providing excessive prescriptions to the pill-popping Playmate.
Stern – who was Smith’s lawyer, manager and lover and falsely claimed to be the father of her baby – was convicted of giving false names to obtain prescriptions but cleared of seven other charges.
He tried to look on the bright side.
“Everything relating to the appropriateness of the medication I was acquitted of,” he said.
None of the three were charged with the reality TV star’s 2007 death from an accidental overdose of at least nine medications in a Florida hotel.
Not all celebrities are born with a silver spoon in their mouth, some of them have to work their way up the ladder. But before they can even get on that celebrity ladder some of them work other jobs that gather an audience – stripping. Here are 10 celebrities who used to strip before they made it big.
01. Anna Nicole Smith
No shocker here, but Anna used to work the stage in a Texas strip club called, Gigi’s. Woo woo!
02. Courtney Love
Get your singles out, fellas, because Courtney Love is about to take the main stage. Holla! Love reportedly worked as a stripper in Japan, Taiwan, and Alaska
03. Channing Tatum
It was discovered that the G.I. Joe star used to shake his money maker when someone (thankfully) posted the AWESOME VIDEO on US Weekly’s website. His stage name: “Chan Crawford” Nice, dude.
04. Lady Gaga
Before she was ripping up the pop charts, she was a lady of the night ripping up the strip clubs. She told UK’s News of the World: “I was working in strip clubs when I was 18. Girls from my background weren’t meant to turn into someone like me. I come from a wealthy Italian family, went to a good school. You’re meant to live with Mom and Dad until they die.”
05. Amber Rose
Amber Rose already has a stripper name so it’s hard not imaging Kanye West’s main squeeze twirling around a stripper pole. Though back then, she only went by “Rose” on the stage
06. Jenna Jameson
Jenna Jameson’s career went from stripping to porn to acting in somewhat mainstream movies, albeit straight-to-video zombie flicks. But still…
07. Nadya “Octomom” Suleman
The Octomom, who’s been criticized, among other things, for emulating Angelina Jolie, admitted to stripping “just for one night”. Her stage name: “Angelina”.
08. Carmen Electra
Before the Baywatch beauty washed up on the Los Angeles County beaches, she used what God gave her to make it rain singles. She recently even released her own signature brand stripper pole. Claaaaasy.
09. Diablo Cody
It’s no secret that the Juno scribe was once a Minneapolis strip club dancer. Hell, she still goes by her stage name. And she’s not in the least bit ashamed. She told Esquire: “I’ve incorporated the pasties into my business wardrobe.”
10. Tila Tequlia
She reportedly told King-Mag.com: “When I was 18 and still in high school, I was a stripper for a while, because I was trying to save up money to move to Hollywood to become this bisexual Hollywood starlet that I am today.” She also claimed to be pregnant and a billionaire. So draw your own conclusions.
source: Celebrities Who Used to be Strippers [Zimbio]
Zimbio have thrown together a top 100 list of celebrity mugshots from the past, we all know what the recent ones look like so here is some of the ones that aren’t used often.
Anna Nicole Smith
Long before she became a tabloid star and her untimely end, Anna Nicole Smith had this mugshot snapped in Houston in 1989. The starlet, who was still years away from being named Playboy’s Playmate of the Year in 1993, was arrested for drunken driving.
Suzanne Somers
If you don’t recognize Suzanne Somers in this picture, there’s a reason for that: it was taken before she was famous. In March of 1970, Somers was arrested in San Francisco for attempting to pass bad checks totaling around $100. She avoided prosecution by agreeing to pay the amount back.
Carmen Electra
This grainy shot of Carmen Electra (real name: Tara Patrick) was snapped in Miami Beach in November of 1999, after police were called to break up a fight between Electra and her then-husband, Dennis Rodman. Electra was charged with misdemeanor battery, and taken in handcuffs to a a Miami-Dade County domestic violence unit. The fight was apparently sparked when Rodman saw one of Electra’s ex-boyfriends on television and became irate.
Steve-O
Jackass star Steve-O (real name: Stephen Glover) was arrested in August of 2002 for one of the more unusual reasons out of anyone on the list. He had allegedy stapled his scrotum to his thigh during a nightclub performance, causing him to be arrested for indecent exposure. It’s still not as a dumb as drunk driving, the crime of many of the others listed here.
Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen wasn’t quite able to make his own Great Escape when he got busted in 1972 for drunken driving in Anchorage, Alaska. He does, however, get bonus points for flashing the peace symbol. Namaste, Steve McQueen.
Frank Sinatra
By far the oldest mugshot we’ve got, check out this portrait the Chairman of the Board as a young man. Frank Sinatra was busted in Bergan, New Jersey in 1938 at the age of 23, on charges of allegedly seducing a married woman. Yep, you could get arrested for that back then.
Vince Vaughn
In April of 2001, Vince Vaughn was arrested in a North Carolina town after a massive brawl outside a New Hanover County bar. Vaughn, who was in town shooting the movie Domestic Disturbance, was drinking with Steve Buscemi. Vaughn and another bar patron reportedly nearly came to blows, and Buscemi attempted to play peacemaker. Buscemi was stabbed six times for his trouble, and Vaughn was arrested for fighting in public.
Bill Gates
Before he was one of the richest men in the world, Bill Gates was just a tech whiz kid who drove too fast. Here’s a pic from his arrest in Alburquerque, New Mexico in 1977. Gates was busted three seperate times by the cops in Alburquerque in the late 70s, all for reportedly speeding around town in his Porche 911.
Terrence Howard
Terrence Howard is known for his intense performance on the screen, and he brings that same intensity to this mug shot. The actor was arrested in August of 2000, after allegedly assaulting a Continental Airlines flight attendant after refusing to return to his seat when the seat belt sign was on. The charges, it should be noted, were eventually dropped.
Tupac Shakur
In March of 1995, Tupac Shakur had this mug shot taken by the New York Department of Corrections. Shakur had been found guilty of the sexual assault of a female fan, and served months in prison before being bailed out by Suge Knight. While in prison, Shakur released Me Against the World, becoming the only artist to have an album at number one while serving a prison sentence.
David Faustino
When news broke that the character that played Bud Bundy on Married… With Children was busted for pot possession, the jokes pretty much wrote themselves. David Faustino was arrested in May of 2007 in New Smyrna Beach, FL after police witnessed Faustino yelling profanities at his ex-wife in the middle of an intersection. When the cops discovered weed on the actor, the handcuffs came out, leading to this mug shot.
Akon
Now this is how you do a mugshot. R&B singer Akon turned himself in December of 2007, on charges of endangering the welfare of a minor following an incident when he tossed a young fan offstage after the boy reportedly threw something at him. Akon (born Aliaune Badara Akon Thiam) decided to get dressed up for the occasion.
Jane Fonda
In November of 1970, Jane Fonda was already facing charges of federal drug smuggling when she was arrested again in Cleveland for allegedly kicking a police officer. She fought the officer after being stopped at U.S. Customs and was found to be in possession of a large amount of prescription pills. All charges were later dropped.
Andy Dick
Andy Dick’s rap sheet is impressively long at this point, but none have produced a mug shot quite as disturbing as this, from a July 2008 arrest. Dick was accused of sexual battery, after allegedly grabbing a 17-year-old girl’s tank top and pulling it down, exposing her breasts outside a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant. When cops searched him, they also found marijuana and Xanax.
David Bowie
On average, nobody looks good in a mug shot, but David Bowie is anything but average. The Thin White Duke was busted in March of 1976 for pot possesion, along with fellow rocker Iggy Pop and two other men.
Tom DeLay
You can take the man out of politics, but you can’t take the politics out of the man. In October of 2005, former House majority leader Tom DeLay’s career was in shambles, as allegations of corruption piled up at his doorstep, but you wouldn’t know that from his mugshot. The future Dancing with the Stars competitor flashed his pearly whites after turning himself in for a photo and fingerprinting at the Harris
County police department. Looking good, Tom.
Joshua Jackson
Joshua Jackson was at a Carolina Hurricanes hockey game in November of 2002 when he allegedly drunkenly assaulting a security guard working the event. According to police, Jackson grabbed the guard around the neck and began to throw punches. He was found to have a blood alcohol content of .14, almost twice the legal limit.
Larry King
In December of 1971, future broadcasting legend Larry King was working for a high-powered financier when he got caught on the wrong end of a deal. When King wasn’t able to pay back the his debts, he was arrested on charges of grand larceny. A judge threw the charges out, and King eventually pled no contest to one count of passing bad checks.
Marilyn Manson
Shock rocker Marilyn Manson had this mugshot snapped in January of 2001, after he reportedly shoved his crotch in the face of security guard during a concert outside of Detroit. The security guard, Joshua Keasler, told police that Manson pantomimed masturbation, approached Keasler from behind, spat on his head, wrapped his legs around the guard, and rubbed his crotch on Keasler’s head and neck. Keasler was understandably upset.
Yanni
Yanni, a pianist known for his soothing New Age music, wasn’t calming any nerves when he was arrested in March of 2006 after an alleged domestic abuse incident. Florida cops arrested Yanni (real name: John Yanni Christopher) after the musician allegedly struck his live-in girlfriend and ordered her to vacate his waterfront mansion. According to police, he also verbally abused the woman, calling her a “c—” “whore,” and “garbage.”
Howard K. Stern is turning himself in tonight — he’s being arrested for allegedly illegally obtaining prescription drugs for Anna Nicole Smith.
California drug officials recently raided the Los Angeles office of Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, looking for evidence against Stern.
Stern has denied doing anything illegal in connection with drugs and Anna Nicole.
Stern and Dr. Sandeep Kapoor and Khristine Eroshevich are being charged with a total of eight felonies.
According to the L.A. County D.A., the conspiracy counts allege the three defendants conspired to furnish controlled substances to Smith from between July 2004 and January 2007.
Stern and Kapoor were charged with one count of unlawfully prescribing a controlled substance.
Eroshevich and Stern were charged with unlawfully prescribing a controlled substance between June 2004 and January 2007.
Kapoor and Eroshevich were each charged with obtaining a prescription for opiates by “fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.” They were both also charged with one count of obtaining a prescription for opiates by giving a false name or address.
Kapoor and Stern were also charged with one count of “prescribing, administering or dispensing a controlled substance to an addict.” Eroshevich was charged with the same crime for separate prescriptions.
Too much, too little, too late…. no?
Update: Here’s Howard’s mugshot — attractive. He looks like he was on a few drugs himself.