A family member of late comedian Bernie Mac is sharing the final moments of the actor's life. Mac's sister-in-law Mary Ann Grossett tells People.com that Mac "struggled for his life" and that he couldn't breathe, before finally succumbing to complications from pneumonia in a Chicago-area hospital early Saturday morning. Grosset also reveals that Mac was actually hospitalized on July 24th, eight days before the date that was given for his admittance. She says the actor was in critical condition when he was admitted and placed on a ventilator. The sister-in-law says Mac's struggle with sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease, likely contributed to his death. Even though she says it was in remission, because he had the condition, his immune system was compromised. Grossett says both her sister Rhonda, Mac's wife of 31 years, and their 30-year-old daughter Ja'Niece were with him when he died. She describes Rhonda as "devastated," saying she and Mac were best friends. A funeral is scheduled for Saturday, August 16th at an undisclosed location.
The music industry is mourning the passing of soul icon Isaac Hayes. The award-winning singer-songwriter died suddenly yesterday at his home in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 65. Hayes, best known for composing and performing "The Theme From Shaft," for which he won an Oscar in 1972, was reportedly found unconscious near a running treadmill at his home on Sunday. He was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. The Rock 'N Roll Hall of Famer helped bring the Stax Records label to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s, first as a songwriter and producer, then as a solo artist. Don Cornelius, the creator of the "Soul Train" TV series called Hayes "a real powerhouse in music," noting, quote, "he took black music to another level." Isaac Hayes found renewed popularity in later years as the voice for Chef on the Cartoon Network's "South Park" series, but left the show a few years ago over its attacks on Scientology, the religious philosophy he followed. Hayes recently wrapped filming on the movie "Soul Men." The movie also stars comedian and actor Bernie Mac, who also passed away this weekend. "Soul Men" is due out on November 14th.
This may be a big year for Katy Perry. The rising vocalist is one of the final nominees for the Best New Artist video award after fans narrowed the list of finalists. Perry, who was also nominated for Best Female Video, will compete against Miley Cyrus, Jordin Sparks, Taylor Swift, and Tokio Hotel for the Best New Artist Moonman. Voting continues this week in the Best Rock Video and Video Of The Year categories. Rockers in contention for the Best Rock clip include Against Me, Alkaline Trio, Apocalyptica, Plain White T's, Raconteurs, Radiohead, R.E.M., Scars On Broadway and Three Days Grace. The winners will be announced September 7th.
Fantasia Barrino says a throat tumor is the reason behind her missed performances during her Broadway run. In an interview with "Sister 2 Sister" magazine, the former "American Idol" champ admitted she became "very tired" during her run as Celie in "The Color Purple" musical. After several visits to doctors, Fantasia learned that she had a benign tumor in her throat. Upon learning the news she said she remembered, quote, "busting out crying and crying 'cause my vocal is my everything." Fantasia underwent surgery to remove the growth after her run ended earlier this year. Last December, the "New York Post" reported that the singer had missed 50 performances while on Broadway, costing the producers tens of thousands of dollars. Fantasia has been tapped to play Celie in the big-screen version of "The Color Purple" musical. Production is expected to get underway after Fantasia releases her third studio album, which is expected to drop late this year or early next year.
Step aside Batman, superhero Paris Hilton is in the works. The "San Diego City Beat" reports the hotel heiress and fashion queen is working with comic book legend Stan Lee and MTV. During a San Diego event to promote her new movie "Repo! The Genetic Opera," Hilton said, quote, "I've created a superhero with Stan Lee, which is based on me, and we're doing a cartoon right now with MTV." She added being invisible is her first pick for super powers. No further details about the cartoon character were revealed. Hilton made headlines last week with her rebuttal spoof video, targeting a controversial political ad for GOP presidential candidate John McCain. The original ad included footage of Hilton and singer Britney Spears in a celebrity mocking attack against McCain's Democratic rival Barack Obama. In her spoof video, Hilton mocked McCain calling him the "oldest celebrity in the world."
It appears Yung Berg has some legal issues to deal with. According to TMZ.com, the rapper was arrested Saturday morning in New York City. Cops were reportedly called by a limo driver who was having a dispute with five passengers. Sources say the investigation led to charges against Yung Berg and his friends. The rapper, whose real name is Christian Ward, now faces charges of weapons possession, marijuana possession and menacing. Yung Berg's camp has yet to comment on the reports. His debut CD, titled "Look What You Made Me," is due out Tuesday and features his 2007 tune "Sexy Lady." Yung Berg is also featured on the current Ray J hit "Sexy Can I."
Some the biggest names in rap are giving up their bling for a good cause. New York's Phillips de Bury & Company has a massive collection of jewelry worn by hip-hop stars that will be auctioned off this fall for Russell Simmon's charities. Among the artists contributing to the event are Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Lil Wayne and Kanye West. Bidders will also have a chance to purchase items from late rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. All of the pieces are slated to be previewed between September 22nd and September 30th. The auction takes place October 1st in New York City. A portion of the proceeds will go to Rush Community Affairs, which is Russell Simmons' coalition of non-profit organizations.
Elvis Presley fans wanting to know what it might have been like to live like "the king," might just get that chance now that his Palm Springs, California, home is up for grabs. ETOnline reports the five-thousand square foot estate where Presley recorded eight songs in the early 1970s is now up for sale. Dubbed "Graceland West" by the "New York Times," the house has five bedrooms and a panoramic view of the mountains. The news of the sale comes during this year's Elvis Week in Memphis to commemorate the 31st anniversary of his death. Thousands of fans are flocking to the city for a nine day series of events including concerts, fan club meetings and a candlelight vigil along the driveway at the original Graceland estate where he famously lived and died on August 16th, 1977.
Dr. Dre's daughter is showing her side of what it's like to live with a famous father. AllHipHop.com reports Manaj has released her documentary "Daddy's Shadow" on the Internet. The film features 23-year-old Manaj claiming that her dad has objected to her becoming a rapper. A clip from the documentary shows Manaj saying to the camera, quote, "You don't want me to rap, but you're out here helping everyone else." "Daddy's Shadow" was slated to hit the market back in 2006, but was reportedly pushed back because Dr. Dre was upset over the content. The film is now available for download at www.tmmediagroup.com. The company is charging five-dollars and 99 cents.
The new Batman movie "The Dark Knight" is now the third-biggest movie of all time. The superhero action sequel has amassed more than 441-million-dollars at the movie box office since its July 18th release, ranking it third on the all-time list behind "Titanic" with 601-Million-dollars and "Star Wars" with 461-million-dollars. "Dark Knight" moviehouse Warner Bros. expects the film to surpass the "Star Wars" figure by next weekend. This weekend, the film enjoyed a fourth straight week at the top of the movie box office, pulling in another 26-million-dollars. It was followed by the new stoner comedy caper "Pineapple Express" which opened at number two with 22-point-four-million in box office receipts. "The Mummy: Curse of the Dragon Emperor" slipped one place to number three with 16-point-one-million in its second weekend, and "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" opened at number four with ten-point-eight-million in box office receipts. Rounding out the top five was the Will Ferrell-John C. Reilly comedy "Step Brothers" at number five with eight-point-nine-million in box office receipts.
Rachel Ray leads Forbes' list of the top earning celebrity chefs. She has no trouble whipping up a meal in 30 minutes, and with multiple shows on Food Network and her own talk show, she also dishes up a cool 18-million dollars a year. Wolfgang Puck is a close second with 16-million dollars a year. In third place is "Hell's Kitchen's" Gordon Ramsay with seven-and-a-half-million dollars. Sushi chef extraordinaire Nobuyuki Matsuhisa [[ noh-boo-yoo-kee mah-tsoo-hee-sah ]] and French chef Alain Ducasse tied for fourth with five-million dollars each.
The Star reports Nicole Richie wants to get pregnant again. A source says, "Nicole is dying to have a sibling for Harlow who is close in age. She doesn't want them to be more than two years apart, so that they can be best friends forever."
Christian Bale and Warner Brothers are already at odds over the next Batman movie. A source says the riff stems from a dispute on which characters to intoduce next. "There is one idea to introduce Robin and tell his back story but Christian has already said he doesn't want to do that. The other idea is to have Penguin or Riddler as the main villain but again Christian is not happy about going over old ground or introducing characters who don't fit in with the feel of the first two movies."
Clay Aiken became a proud papa on Friday. His best friend, and record producer, Jaymes Foster, gave birth to Parker Foster Aiken at 8:08 a.m.. The tot weighed 6 lbs., 2 oz. and was 19" long. Randy Jackson says Clay is going to be an outstanding father. "I think he's going to be a really good dad. Call me, dawg. I'll give you some tips."
Timbaland says he tested out some of his new music on his wedding guests. "I got two records (with T-Pain) that are amazing. If you would've come to my wedding, you would have heard the records. At my reception, everybody was going crazy. It's this one record we got that's called, "Talk That". That record, I won't put on my (LP) 'cause it's so much of a smash. My sister needs that record more than I would need that. My sister, which is Missy. If Missy had that record, she's gone. She's gone!"
Katy Perry wants Angelina Jolie. During a recent interview, she said, "Girls, a lot of the time, smell much better than boys. We smell like vanilla. We smell like watermelon. We smell like strawberries. One day I was with my boyfriend and I opened a magazine and realized, 'You know what, honey, I would probably make out with Angelina Jolie if she wanted to'. It doesn't matter if you're female or male, if the right woman walks through the door, everybody's jaw is going to be on the floor."
Rihanna and Chris Brown are currently vacationing in Barbados.
After performing in flood-ravaged Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Taylor Swift donated $100,000 to the Red Cross there to help residents rebuild. She says, "The people in this town have been through so much loss this year, and my heart goes out to them. They've stood by me, they gave me a sold-out show. You've got to pay it forward in life, and that's what I'm doing here tonight."
Nicole Kidman's adopted children, Isabella and Connor, recently met their new step-sister, Sunday Rose. A source says, "Nicole was over the moon . She feels totally blessed to have had a baby at 41, but nothing could beat having all of her family around her. Isabella loved holding baby Sunday. It was a real bonding moment and has made mother and daughter that much closer."
