"NO, NO! Don't take them off! If you do your feet will swell. The blood is going to rush to your feet!"
That was actress Hayden Panettiere's advice to a pained woman in the ladies room at the HBO Golden Globes party. The woman wanted to remove her spike heels "for a bit." But in the end, she took Miss Panettiere's warning to heart. Or to feet. She hobbled, but kept the shoes on.
- THE BIGGEST star at the HBO soirée -- literally -- was basketball's Kobe Bryant, who arrived with his newly reconciled wife, Vanessa. Sports-loving partygoers stood on chairs to get a really good look at Kobe. Although, given his height, the chair-standing didn't seem really necessary. I think some of these people just wanted to be noticed themselves. So -- stand on a chair.
- THE HUGE diamond band on the right hand of George Clooney's current lady, Stacy Keibler, caused a lot of party chatter. The pair just returned from two weeks in Cabo. Relax, folks. Marriage for Mr. Clooney is as far off as the Mayan apocalypse turned out to be.
- RUMORVILLE: That Paul Rudnick is working on a sequel to his The First Wives Club, which was such a big hit for Bette Midler, Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn back in 1996.
Tis' said the new script will update the lives of the three women who liberated themselves from unhappy or confining marriages. Could be fun. And none of the star ladies look significantly different than they did 17 years ago. (Miss Midler, whose energy knows no limits, is even returning to Broadway in a one-woman play called Skyfall -- about the famous Hollywood agent Sue Mengers.)
- OUR FRIEND Harvey Weinstein says we need to reconsider his Silver Linings Playbook movie as Best Picture. (Our choice is Argo.) Okay, Harvey. We'll see it again, but can't promise anything.
- SOMETIMES when we write about stars who have recently departed, we get mail to the effect of "Stop writing about dead people!" But if we fail to mention the passing of certain celebs, we are chided by fans -- "Oh, is so-and-so not good enough for mention in your column?"
So forgive me, if I didn't rush to mention the death of singer Patti Page at age 85. She was known as The Singing Rage and for good reason. Patti had 14 million-selling singles between 1950 and 1965. In all, she sold 100 million records. And this was back when selling millions of records really meant something!
Her mellow, velvety voice caressed such classics as With My Eyes Wide Open... I Went to Your Wedding... Confess... and that "beautiful Tennessee Waltz." And, like many singers of the era, she also lent herself to nonsense songs that sometimes achieved incredible popularity. Page's offering was "How Much is That Doggie In the Window" which stayed on the charts for an astonishing five months. She was on The Hit Parade for what seemed liked 1,000s of years. (Some singers might have objected to being so well-remembered for such a silly jingle -- which included the sound of a dog barking--but not Patti. She dutifully and happily sang it in concert after concert.)
Paige worked steadily for many years, and maintained the famous tones that had made her The Singing Rage. In later years, through her concerts, she helped raise more than $100,000 for people afflicted with HIV/AIDS.