White House correspondents tap Kimmel to host dinner
Jimmy Kimmel is going to be cracking jokes for the president.
According to the Associated Press, the White House Correspondents’ Association said the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” host will be the featured comedian at its 98th annual dinner next year.
Association President Caren Bohan said Tuesday that the 43-year-old entertainer was chosen because his “humor is sophisticated and edgy while appealing to a wide audience.”
The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner traditionally is attended by the president and first lady, along with various government officials and members of the press corps. Proceeds from the event fund scholarships and awards to support and recognize excellence in journalism.
Mr. Kimmel said in a statement that he is looking forward to being part of the event on April 28, adding “I love dinner.”
Halloween makes a monkey out of supermodel Klum
It was a hair-raising Halloween for Heidi Klum and husband Seal, who donned matching monkey costumes for Miss Klum’s New York party Monday at the Dream Downtown hotel.
Covered head-to-toe in fur, Miss Klum said she was the “link between man and ape.” And though it took the supermodel six hours to get ready, she said she was relatively comfortable in the makeup and prosthetics, saying at least she didn’t have to wear heels.
According to the Associated Press, celebrity guests included Fergie as a young pageant queen from TV’s “Toddlers and Tiaras” and Vinny Guadagnino from “Jersey Shore” as Zoolander.
The “Project Runway” host’s celebrations kicked off Saturday in Las Vegas where Miss Klum arrived on a gurney and then revealed her cadaver costume — a body suit painted like the human body without skin.
’Dancing with the Stars’ a weight-loss opportunity
Even though Ricki Lake consistently earns high scores on “Dancing With the Stars,” she’s still a loser.
According to the Associated Press, the 43-year-old TV personality has dropped more than 20 pounds since the show’s 13th season began in September. So has fellow contestant Nancy Grace. The prosecutor-turned-TV personality said she has shed 23 pounds so far.
Miss Grace has been showing more skin as she shrinks, and she said she’d be thrilled to dance in a leotard if she makes it to the finals on the hit ABC competition.
Reality star Rob Kardashian, who has shared his weight woes on the show, also has been shaping up. While he won’t reveal an exact number, he said dancing is boosting his confidence and helping him slim down.
Last season, contestant Kirstie Alley ended up losing 100 pounds.
’Glee’ singer’s father murdered in Philippines
The estranged father of singer Charice Pempengco of the hit TV show “Glee” was stabbed to death in her hometown in the Philippines, leading the teen star to pull out of a concert in Singapore on Tuesday, the Associated Press reports.
The singer, known as Charice, apologized to her fans for having to skip the show scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday so she could travel home to the Philippines.
“I am not going to be there to be part of David Foster and Friends concert,” she said in a post Tuesday on Twitter. “I have to go back to the Philippines as soon as possible to be with my family.”
Her father, 40-year-old construction worker Ricky Pempengco, had been at a small grocery store in San Pedro township south of Manila late Monday when he brushed against a drunk man who became angry and stabbed him with an ice pick in the chest and back, according to the Laguna province police chief, Senior Supt. Gilbert Cruz.
Charice had long been estranged from her father. Local media reported that her mother left him when Charice and her younger brother were small children.
In another Twitter post Tuesday, Charice said she once had a “really great relationship” with her father before their family troubles began.
“I loved him and I will still love him,” she wrote. “He’s still my dad after all.”
The 19-year-old songstress, born Charmaine Clarice Relucio Pempengco, is widely known throughout Asia from concerts and TV talent shows in the Philippines and South Korea.
She has appeared on the “Oprah Winfrey Show” and has had a recurring role on “Glee” as the character Sunshine Corazon.
’American Horror Story’ gets second season from FX
Just in time for Halloween, FX announced Monday it will continue to tell “Glee” co-creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s American horror stories.
The male-skewing cable network has renewed “American Horror Story” for a second season, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Starring Connie Britton and Dylan McDermott, “AHS” stands as the network’s No. 1 premiere in several key demographics.
The series, which co-stars Jessica Lange and Frances Conroy, opened strong for the network on Oct. 5 with its original and encore airings collecting 5 million viewers.
“Its one thing to have the ambition and guts to reinvent a genre in a way that makes it captivatingly fresh for a broad audience — it’s something else entirely to have the craft to back that ambition up,” said FX president and GM Jon Landgraf. “Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk have hit the trifecta with “Nip/Tuck,” “Glee” and now “American Horror Story,” which will be scaring FX’s viewers to death for many years to come.”
Mr. Murphy and Mr. Falchuk split their time between Fox’s “Glee” and “AHS,” with Mr. Murphy telling reporters ahead of the series’ premiere that working on two shows has been “energizing.”
“If you love something, you make time for it,” he said, noting the sound stages are right next to one another. “If that means you give up your weekends, you do it. And that’s sort of the mood that we had and the ideology that we had as we approached doing these two shows at once.”
“AHS” airs at 10 p.m. Wednesdays on FX; “Glee” airs at 8 p.m. Tuesdays on Fox.
• Compiled from Web and wire reports
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