"TO WIN back my youth there is nothing I wouldn't do -- except take exercise, get up early, or be a useful member of society, said Oscar Wilde.
- LOVE FLIES out the door, but private jets are forever. At least they are when you are handsome 22-year old "model" Nick Gruber.
Mr. Gruber, for several years the inamorata of designer Calvin Klein, fell on hard times recently--brawling in public, arrest for cocaine possession, splitting with Calvin. But just when it seemed Nick was down for the count-- well, as down as one can be at 22--he was whisked away in Calvin's private jet to a rehab facility in Arizona. (Other pampered types have been served there.)
Nick's sojourn has apparently worked wonders. In the fashion of people today, Nick took to Facebook to relate the tale of his alteration. He said, in part--"I had such an amazing learning experience at Rehab" (caps are Nick's-- I guess he feels "rehab" deserves caps.) "I am a different person. I don't want to go back to my old self....no more partying. Time to be a grown adult."
He wants to work in Education. (Again, Nick's caps.) It will be fascinating to learn what Nick wants to teach.
Well, good for Nick Gruber and a salute to Mr. Klein, who, even though he'd parted ways with Nick, cared enough to see to his rehabilitation. But Calvin has always been a sweetheart.
- CARRIE FISHER'S last Broadway outing was the funny one-woman show "Wishful Drinking." Now I hear she's working on a new stage show, tentatively titled "She Said, She Said." This project, in its infancy, would be a two-woman show, starring Carrie, and her mother, MGM movie icon, Debbie Reynolds. (Debbie, as we all know, was reportedly the inspiration for Carrie's screen masterpiece, "Postcards From The Edge." This is the movie where the sometimes tipsy actress-mommy, played by Shirley MacLaine, aggravates Meryl Streep--who plays her talented, struggling, drug-abusing daughter.)
- NO MATTER the fate of his male-stripper movie, "Magic Mike," Channing Tatum must be feeling pretty pumped right now. Chief among the many reasons Paramount has bumped "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" to next year, is that Channing's character in that movie dies. Now, the young actor is seen as too hot to end up in the cooler. He'll reportedly shoot a few more scenes, very much alive.
- HAS DAVID Letterman become even more sour recently? The other night I watched a Letterman interview with "The Avengers" hunk, Chris Hemsworth. (He plays Thor.) The interview was a repeat, done just before the mega-hit movie was released. Hemsworth, who looked like the half a billion dollars the movie has now grossed, was charming. Letterman seemed bored and even antagonistic. Letterman didn't ask one interesting question. Mr. Hemsworth played along as well as he could, and was extremely polite. But one could sense his relief as the segment ended.
The next night, I caught Letterman being interviewed by Regis Philbin on CNN. (I don't know where Piers Morgan was.) Philbin was bursting with his usual energy and enthusiasm. Letterman looked like somebody who'd just been told his entire family had been wiped out in an earthquake. The contrast between the eager Regis and the withholding Letterman was striking.
- THE LATEST (and last) Christian Bale "Batman" movie will soon hit screens. Then we can expect another "reboot" of the series in a couple of years.
- PARIS HILTON, who keeps a fairly low and respectable profile these days, has been "approached" by hunky middle-distance runner Nick Symmonds -- the current U.S. champion for the past four years. Nick, smitten from afar by Paris, actually sent her father, Rick, a letter, asking for "permission" to meet his famous daughter. He invited Miss Hilton to see him run in the Olympic trials in Oregon next month and hopefully, in London, for the grand event itself. (Symmonds is known as the "Brad Pitt of Track.")
Sweet! By the way, Miss Hilton is very much interested in the arts. No, I am not kidding. She's planning to visit schools in LA, this fall, lecturing kids to become interested in art. The former "celebutante" is frequently seen at LA's "Color Me Mine." She custom paints pottery and plates for friends, and is, reportedly, not without talent.
Seems that Paris has come a long way from the girl who sashayed out of jail -- the climax to an epic, ridiculous tale of DUI's, probation violations and Paris in shackles.
How well I recall Anderson Cooper's fury at having to cover Hilton's release. But Anderson's lightened up-- his annual appearances on New Year's Eve with Kathy Griffin.....being a guest on Andy Cohen's "Watch What Happens Live," (dishing about "The Housewives of Atlanta")...and now he has the "Rid-icul-List" at the end of his nightly, strenuously serious, CNN broadcast.