Get quacking
Want to take a quack at being the new voice of the ever-abrasive Aflac duck? Now’s your chance.
Aflac Inc. is accepting submissions in its search for a unique voice to replace Gilbert Gottfried’s signature squawk, Associated Press reports. Mr. Gottfried, who voiced the duck for more than 10 years, was ousted last week after making insensitive remarks on Twitter about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Anyone interested in becoming the quack behind the duck can submit a 30-second audio or video file belting his or her best version of the “Aflac” squawk at www.quackaflac.com. A 2006 ad featuring the Aflac duck in a silent movie — with no dialogue — was re-edited to promote the search.
The submission deadline is midnight on April Fool’s Day.
John, Mirren hosting ’SNL’
NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” has lined up Elton John and Helen Mirren for hosting duties on back-to-back shows in April, according to Associated Press.
The network announced Tuesday that Mr. John will pull double duty on April 2. He’ll host and share the stage with fellow musical guest Leon Russell. Mr. John will debut as host. It’s his first return to the show in nearly three decades.
On April 9, the Oscar-winning Miss Mirren will make her “SNL” debut, with musical guest the Foo Fighters.
“Saturday Night Live” airs on Saturdays at 11:30 p.m.
Frankel pens rules of life
When reality-TV star Bethenny Frankel first pitched her idea for a low-calorie, ready-to-drink bottled margarita to liquor companies, she got rejected, so she decided to make and distribute it herself.
“Little old me, who knew nothing about the booze business, said, ’You know what? This is a good idea. I know it. I’m acting on it,’” she told Associated Press.
Now, more than 100,000 cases of the SkinnyGirl Margarita ship annually, and Fortune Brands Inc. announced Monday that it had bought the brand for an undisclosed amount.
Miss Frankel talks about her drive in her new book, “A Place of Yes,” in which she presents 10 rules to follow in life. The rules help her “keep moving forward” and “break the cycle … of inner noise that tries to hold me back,” she writes.
Miss Frankel placed second on Martha Stewart’s version of “The Apprentice” in 2005, then returned to reality television on Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New York City” in 2008.
That’s when Bethenny Frankel became a brand.
She has her own TV show on Bravo, “Bethenny Ever After,” as well as a workout DVD. Her first book, “Naturally Thin,” was a New York Times best-seller. And more SkinnyGirl liquor is coming, including a white sangria, mojito, sweet-tea vodka lemonade and a Cosmopolitan-type cocktail.
There’s also a daily cleanser and skin-care line and shape wear.
• Compiled from Web and wire reports
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