- Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Like his character on “Boss,” Kelsey Grammer is playing some political hardball.

The former “Cheers” and “Frasier” star earned a Golden Globe for his work on the first season of the Starz drama, but came away empty-handed when Emmy nominations were handed out in July. As he told Jay Leno on Tuesday night, he thinks it has something to do with his proud political activism for the Republican Party.

“It’s hard to figure. … It may have to do with several things, honestly, but I think it’s possible. … I’m a declared out-of-the-closet Republican in Hollywood,” he told the host, according to the Hollywood Reporter. “Do I believe it’s possible that some young person, young voting actor — or even older voting member for the Emmys — would sit there and go, ’Yeah, that’s a great performance, but ooh, I just hate everything he stands for?’”

No, that’s impossible, he said — quite sarcastically.

Mr. Grammer has won five Emmys, all for playing Frasier Crane, the stuffy-yet-beleaguered psychologist that originated in the fourth season of “Cheers” and ran through much of the ’90s on its own NBC spinoff, “Frasier.” The Emmys for those shows came in the 1980s and ’90s, which as Entertainment Weekly points out, came before his political activism began. He did win another Emmy in 2006 for voice work on “The Simpsons.”

Mr. Grammer has been quite outspoken, one of the rare conservatives in Hollywood. He endorsed former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani in the GOP presidential primary in 2008, then backed John McCain; this time around, he originally backed Rep. Michele Bachmann in her quest for the White House. He has also said that he may run for mayor of New York City when he retires from acting.

Jimmy Kimmel to marry show’s co-head writer

Jimmy Kimmel is engaged to Molly McNearny, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” host, 44, asked Miss McNearny, a co-head writer for the Emmy-nominated ABC late-night show, to marry him while on vacation in South Africa, in Kruger National Forest. The news was first reported by People.com.

The news comes during an already eventful year for Mr. Kimmel. Earlier this year, he roasted President Obama as emcee of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, and come September, he will host the Emmy Awards, airing on ABC.

Mr. Kimmel has been married before; in 1988, he wed his first wife, with whom he had two children in the early ’90s. After their 2002 split, he dated comedienne Sarah Silverman, with whom he split in 2009.

Kardashian-Humphries divorce dragging on

Kim Kardashian’s divorce has engulfed her family and network, literally.

Attorneys for her estranged husband sought detailed records Wednesday about her reality shows and details of depositions with her mother and current boyfriend, Kanye West, to prove her 72-day marriage to NBA player Kris Humphries was a fraud.

The legal bickering means it’s unlikely the couple will be granted a divorce, or annulment, as Mr. Humphries desires, before next year, attorneys and a judge said during a testy hearing.

Miss Kardashian’s attorney, Laura Wasser, accused Mr. Humphries’ team of overreaching in the effort that already has resulted in $250,000 in legal fees for the model-actress. The acrimony over the breakup led attorneys for Mr. Humphries to recently try to serve Mr. West with a deposition subpoena — disguised in a Nordstrom’s box — at Miss Kardashian’s home.

Mr. Humphries’ attorney, Marshall Waller, said the lack of cooperation from Mr. West’s attorneys and companies that work on Miss Kardashian’s reality show were delaying the case. He said it could take a two-week trial if Mr. Humphries keeps pursuing an annulment based on fraud.

Mr. Waller said at the hearing that he wanted to prove Miss Kardashian had “no intention of proceeding with this marriage. That it was basically a contrivance for the benefit of her show and to make money,” he said.

Ms. Wasser said the tactic was slowing the legal process and that she intended to bill Mr. Humphries for her legal fees.

“To say that I’m frustrated would be an understatement,” Ms. Wasser said in the packed courtroom, where 18 other cases were to be called. “I am at a loss to figure out what the holdup is. … It’s dragging on; it’s clogging resources.”

The couple was married last summer in a lavish, star-studded, televised ceremony, but Miss Kardashian filed for divorce on Oct. 31. Mr. Humphries responded a month later asking for an annulment, claiming the couple’s nuptials were based on fraud. He did not lay out specific evidence.

Miss Kardashian is the star of the E! Entertainment Television series “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” the network’s top-rated show, averaging more than 3 million viewers in its sixth season.

Superior Court Judge Stephen Moloney said he thinks the case can be resolved by next May and ordered the attorneys to return for an update on Nov. 28.

Lozada files for divorce after husband’s arrest

Evelyn Lozada is ending her 41-day-old marriage to Chad Johnson after the football star was arrested for purportedly head-butting her over the weekend.

A rep for the VH1 reality star confirmed reports that Ms. Lozada filed for divorce on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.

“Given the recent events that have taken place, Evelyn has decided to file for divorce and move on with her life,” Ms. Lozada’s attorney, Michael B. Gilden, told “The Insider” TV show in a statement. Mr. Johnson’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, declined to comment.

The marriage imploded on Saturday after an argument between the two ended with Ms. Lozada being treated at a hospital for lacerations to her head.

According to Davie, Fla., police, Ms. Lozada found a receipt for condoms and confronted Mr. Johnson about it at dinner. The argument continued during their drive home, and when they arrived at their driveway, he allegedly head-butted her. Mr. Johnson, however, told police she head-butted him.

Mr. Johnson, a six-time Pro Bowler who last season played for the New England Patriots, had been signed to the Miami Dolphins this season — but was dropped a day after the arrest.

His July 4 wedding to Ms. Lozada — whom he courted publicly on the VH1 series “Basketball Wives” — was taped for a spin-off show called “Ev & Ocho.” It was due to debut Sept. 3, but VH1 shelved it after Mr. Johnson’s weekend arrest.

• Compiled from Web and wire reports

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