Larry King got back money invested with Madoff
Larry King said he invested $700,000 with Wall Street scammer Bernard Madoff but was lucky enough to get it all back.
According to the Associated Press, the veteran journalist told the syndicated TV news show “Extra” that he and his wife got money back from the Madoff estate and from the government for taxes they paid on stock they never had.
Madoff never made investments but used money from new investors to pay previous ones. He pleaded guilty to fraud and is imprisoned. His wife said in a CBS “60 Minutes” interview that they tried to kill themselves after he confessed.
Mr. King told “Extra” on Thursday that he thinks Mrs. Madoff came forward to help her daughter-in-law’s new book about her husband, Mark Madoff. He hanged himself with a dog leash last year on the anniversary of his father’s arrest.
New Charlie Sheen sitcom picked up by FX
Fired “Two and a Half Men” star Charlie Sheen will try to return to a winning TV sitcom next summer in FX’s new “Anger Management.”
According to the Associated Press, the cable channel said Thursday it has acquired the series loosely based on the 2003 Adam Sandler-Jack Nicholson movie of the same name, about a troubled therapist who disrupts his patients’ lives.
FX ordered an initial 10 episodes of “Anger Management” starring Mr. Sheen, with production set to begin early next year. The series was announced in July by Lionsgate subsidiary Debmar-Mercury, which had shopped it to various broadcast and cable networks.
If the comedy catches on with viewers, FX will pick up an additional 90 episodes that will air first on the channel and then in broadcast syndication starting in fall 2014. The same model was used by Debmar-Mercury on the Ice Cube comedy series “Are We There Yet?” and on “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne” and “Meet the Browns,” all of which air on TBS.
FX Networks head John Landgraf called “Anger Management” a “wonderful, hilarious vehicle for Charlie’s acting talents.”
Mr. Sheen’s new show will air on the same cable home as his old one: “Two and a Half Men” has been in returns on FX for more than a year.
The actor was fired from CBS’ top-rated comedy by studio Warner Bros. Television because of his erratic personal life and public ridicule of the show’s producer. On the new series, he will be answering in part to himself.
He will have a significant ownership stake in the series, FX said. Mr. Sheen noted in July that he will also gain “a certain amount of creative control.”
Writer-producer Bruce Helford, a TV veteran whose credits include “The Drew Carey Show,” will have hands-on responsibility for the series as its showrunner, FX said.
Rosie O’Donnell isn’t afraid of controversy on new show
Rosie O’Donnell isn’t shying away from controversy on her new Oprah Winfrey Network talk show.
Since the variety program’s premiere on Oct. 10, Miss O’Donnell has tackled topics from her renewed menopausal sex drive to police brutality at the Occupy Wall Street protests.
“I’m going to talk about things that matter as well as entertaining, fun things. But we’re not going to leave stuff out. We’re going to talk about what’s current - what’s happening and what people are talking about in real life,” Miss O’Donnell said in an interview with the Associated Press on Thursday.
Her outspokenness about the Iraq War led to her abrupt exit on “The View” in 2007, and her no-holds-barred attitude may have landed her a few high-profile enemies, but the comedian’s new boss embraces her lack of filter.
“Oprah is so supportive,” said Miss O’Donnell, 49. “She said, ’Trust your instincts, go with your gut, you know what to do, trust yourself.’ And that’s what I’ve been doing.”
“The Rosie Show,” a mashup of celebrity interviews, stand-up comedy, musical acts, games and reality TV, has garnered mixed reviews and lackluster ratings. Miss O’Donnell, however, remains optimistic.
“We’re going slow and steady,” she said. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint. And it’s Oprah Winfrey, so I would not bet against her. That’s for sure.”
’Sunny in Philadelphia’ stars expecting second baby
“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” co-stars and real-life couple Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney are going to be parents for the second time, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Ms. Olson, 36, and Mr. McElhenney, 34, who married in September 2008, are expecting their second child in the spring, People reports. The couple already has a son, Axel Lee, who is 13 months old.
“Were having a boy! Were so happy that Axel gets to have a brother so close in age,” said Ms. Olson, who added that they found out they were pregnant during her mother’s “birthday weekend in Ojai.”
The two star in the FX comedy, which is currently in its seventh season, with Glenn Howerton, Danny DeVito and Charlie Day.
Celebrity stylist Goreski says all’s well with Zoe
Reality TV star Brad Goreski said there are no hard feelings between him and celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe despite their much-buzzed-about professional split.
Mr. Goreski said “everything’s totally fine” with him and his former boss, the Associated Press reports. He praised Miss Zoe as “a great teacher” at the launch of Tommy Hilfiger’s Eau de Prep fragrance Thursday in New York.
The bowtie-clad stylist branched out on his own last year after nearly three years working with Miss Zoe and starring in “The Rachel Zoe Project” on Bravo.
On the latest season of the show, Miss Zoe claimed Mr. Goreski lied about his reasons for leaving and then went on to pursue her clients.
Mr. Goreski’s new reality series is called “It’s a Brad, Brad World.” It’s slated for next year.
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