Pink reader Cindy gave me the head’s up that Lifetime TV, the network which currently owns the syndication rights to The Golden Girls, has announced that they are planning a 10 episode tribute marathon in memory of the late Estelle Getty. Starting at 12PM this Friday afternoon, Lifetime will air a series of 10 Sophia Petrillo-centric episodes in her memory … and they are asking that fans vote for the 10th ep to end the marathon tribute:

Friday, July 25, from 12 noon to 5 pm et/pt, see a special on-air tribute to Estelle Getty, who played the cantankerous Sophia Petrillo on “The Golden Girls.” Ms. Getty passed away on Tuesday, July 22, at age 84. We’ll air 10 episodes showcasing the actress’s character, Sophia, in all her blustering, sarcastic splendor. The final episode shown will be one picked by the fans, so vote for your favorite Sophia moment now.

Click HERE to cast your vote, my pick is for the episode entitled Old Friends … I think that ep would be the most poignant episode to end the marathon (additionally, Old Friends is on my Best Of list of Golden Girls eps). I’m actually surprised that NBC (the network that originated The Golden Girls) hasn’t offered any public tributes to Estelle, at least, none that I could find (not even a mention on their website). The Golden Girls formed the foundation of their Must See TV line-up in the mid-80’s and did much to help the network soar to success. I think it would’ve been nice if they offered some sort of tribute to her.

PS: I don’t know if this t-shirt by Glen Hanson is still available but HERE is info from his site about the shirt.

[Source, thanks Cindy]

A Nick Cannon-less Mariah Carey paid a little visit to the MTV studios in Times Square here in NYC yesterday to premiere her new music video I’ll Be Lovin’ U Long Time on TRL. Here are a couple pics of Mrs. Cannon at the MTV studios and a couple of her posing for pics on her way out of the studio afterward:

When asked about her new marriage to Nick Cannon, Mimi called it fantastic and different saying, “It is different in the best way that it could be different.” Mimi also teased a little bit about her as-yet-unscheduled concert tour saying, “[I'm] very excited to go back on tour but I haven’t officially announced the dates. We announced it but it’s in the beginning stages. I’m about to go home and have a meeting after this about it so yeah, excitement. Lots of ideas, nothing set in stone yet so just waiting to get that together.” I dunno now I feel about all that pastel that Mariah was rockin’ but she looks good … very fresh, very happy. I am really excited about this upcoming tour. I’ve never seen her live in concert before (mainly because I could never be arsed enough to compete with her legions of lambs for tickets) so I’m hoping to catch her on the road this time around. It’s strange seeing Mimi out and about without her new hubby attached to her hip … I wasn’t aware he was old enough to stay home alone.

[Photo credit: Wireimage, Splash News]

Days after the rumor broke that Jennifer Garner is pregs with her second child and moments after we got our first glimpse at her possible baby bump, Jen and hubby Ben Affleck were snapped house-hunting together. Even tho the couple haven’t officially confirmed the news that they are pregs, it seems pretty likely that the couple are interested in a bigger home for their possibly expanding family. Curiously, Jen was wearing an over-sized sweatjacket in the blistering SoCal heat … a baby bump to hide, perhaps?

The couple were scoping out new homes in the Brentwood, CA area and seemed to take a particular liking to this one. All signs to point to a pregnancy … now all we have to do is wait for the official confirmation. I sincerely hope that Bennifer 2.0 aren’t planning on playing the coy game of denial … it’s gonna be a pretty brutal August in SoCal, wearing a sweatjacket is not advised.

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin]

Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum unveiled its new wax statue of troubled British pop star Amy Winehouse in London earlier today and her parents, Janis and Mitch Winehouse, were on hand for the official unveiling. Amy was a no-show for the event — which was prolly a good thing … I highly doubt she could’ve looked as good, as lifelike as her waxed doppelgänger:

Amy Winehouse’s wacky – and waxy – likeness has now been officially immortalized, along with her tattoos. The singer’s parents, Mitch and Janis, unveiled their daughter’s wax figure at Madame Tussauds London on Wednesday, with her father calling its likeness “perfection.” “This is the reward for her musical achievements and her talent,” he told reporters. The waxwork’s outfit replicates the one Winehouse wore to 2007’s Brit Awards – a bright yellow mini-dress with towering black heels. Microphone in hand, the figure stands in the museum’s “Music Zone” among such other chart-toppers as Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake and Kylie Minogue.

Speaking to GMTV, Mitch Winehouse joked that the wax figure looked so perfect that he’d be willing to swap out his real-life daughter for this fake one:

“Yeah, it’s great. We just said we’re going to take this one home with us and send the real one back.” Speaking about Amy’s improving condition, he added: “She’s doing OK. You know, she’s doing well, she’s getting a lot better, she’s getting a lot stronger, she’s putting on a lot of weight, she’s eating, and she’s concentrating on her new album now, so she’s doing pretty well. She’s obviously sad that Blake didn’t come out the other day, but we were prepared for it and she was prepared for it, because we knew that that could have happened, and it did happen, but now she knows he’ll be out in December so things will be ready for him then.” Mitch also claimed Amy is currently “clean” and commented on his daughter’s plans to have five kids with Blake as soon as he’s out of prison. “If Blake cleans up his act, as I’m sure he will do, they’ll have a wonderful life together and we can look forward to being, you know, a happy family.”

Lofty ambitions for a couple as messy as Amy and Blake. I suppose hope springs eternal and naturally Amy’s father is going to wish the best for the two of them (the prospect of children, tho, makes me shudder). I’m not convinced that either of them are “clean” but, again, there is always a hope that they might be some day. I understand that Amy is planning to visit this exhibit at Madam Tussaud’s within the next two weeks … I’m curious to see how the real thing compares to the wax statue. My guess is that the statue will appear the more lifelike.

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source, Source]

Rue McClanahan, who played the sexpot Blanche Devereaux, has released a statement about the passing of her Golden Girls co-star Estelle Getty (who played Sophia Petrillo) following released statements from both Bea Arthur and Betty White (who played Dorothy Zbornak and Rose Nylund respectively). You may sadly recall that Estelle passed away yesterday morning at the age of 84:

“Estelle always wanted to be an actress and she achieved that goal beyond her dreams. Don’t feel sad about her passing, she will always be with us in her crowning achievement.”

I understand where Rue’s sentiments are coming from but it’s hard not to be sad … it kinda feels like losing a grandmother. At the same time, it’s easy to want to celebrate Estelle’s life … she was a comedic giant. I plan on keeping the banner tribute to Estelle Getty at the top of my blog for at least a week’s time. She is sorely missed.

[Source]

Thomas Beatie, known the world over as the formerly “pregnant man”, and his wife Nancy show off the first pics of their newborn baby girl Susan Juliette in this week’s issue of People magazine. Good Morning America ran a short piece on the photos this morning detailing portions of the baby’s birth and providing deets on the home life of the new family:

It’s been three weeks since his blue-eyed baby debuted in this world, but Thomas Beatie – better known around the world as the Pregnant Man – can already say this about his daughter’s personality: “She’s easygoing and mellow and intelligent.” On June 29 at 8:55 p.m., Beatie, 34, a former female beauty pageant contestant, made cultural history as perhaps the first legally transgender male to give birth, bringing into the world a 9 lbs., 5 oz. baby girl named Susan Juliette. “She’s so precious, I just can’t stop staring at her,” Thomas tells PEOPLE in his first interview since he and wife Nancy returned with their bundle from Bend, Oregon’s St. Charles Medical Center. “Just holding her is the best feeling in the world.” Susan – named after Thomas’s mother and conceived through artificial insemination with donor sperm – arrived after 40 hours of labor, with Nancy at Thomas’s side acting as his coach. “When Susan finally came out, it was like in slow motion,” says Thomas. “I was full of wonder.” Echoes Nancy: “There were tears of joy.” Both father and daughter came through the birth in perfect health. “I weigh two pounds less than I did before I got pregnant,” adds Thomas. “And I don’t have a single stretch mark!” At home, the couple is adjusting to their new nightly schedule: Nancy breastfeeding (by induced lactation, a process using hormones and physical stimulation with a breast pump) and Thomas keeping company while watching TV. Crows Thomas, “Susan is a miracle! And we’re finally the family we’ve been dreaming of.”

Here is video of GMA showing off the People magazine photos on the air earlier this morning:

Already the family is referring to baby Susan as “Daddy’s Little Princess” (for obvs reasons). While Susan was named after Thomas’s mother, her middle name Juliette was given after her mother Nancy’s middle name. Susan was born via natural vaginal childbirth and father and daughter were able to leave the hospital 4 days after the baby was born. By all accounts, everyone is happy and healthy and I couldn’t wish more for the family. It is my sincere hope that the family is able to live out their lives in peace and quiet. I’m pretty astounded by the uproar that the Beaties have generated because of all of this. Thomas Beatie told Oprah Winfrey that it isn’t a woman or man’s desire to have children, it’s a human desire … and I couldn’t agree more. Best of luck and much happiness Beaties! Congrats on your beautiful baby girl.

[Source, Source]

Camila Alves and Matthew McConaughey’s newborn son Levi Alves makes his worldwide debut on the cover of OK! magazine this week. Born on July7th, this is our very first look at the baby boy borne of the beautiful Brazilian model and the crazy ex-party animal … meet Levi Alves:

For Matthew McConaughey and his longtime love Camila Alves, welcoming their first son Levi Alves McConaughey on July 7 was typical of the way the couple handles everything in their lives: easy-going and as a team. And now, in an exclusive interview and photoshoot, the 38-year-old actor opens up about becoming a father for the first time. “We found a great rhythm,” Matthew tells OK! about the delivery of baby Levi. “Contractions started kicking in. I sat there with her, right between her legs. We got tribal on it, we danced to it! I was DJ-ing this Brazilian music.” Levi was born at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and weighed a healthy 7 lbs., 4 oz., and Matthew tells OK! he kept a detailed diary of his and Camila’s hospital experience. “I have it all chronicled,” he explained. “Becoming a dad is something I’ve dreamed of doing since I was 10. Becoming a father felt very, very natural. We were jamming! She was sweating. No painkiller, let’s go. She just clicked into that gear that only a woman has at a time like this. We’d been up for 40-something hours, and we went from dead tired to a really steadfast, ‘Let’s handle this … let’s stay in the rhythm. Don’t let the contraction be more than you.’” Camila, 25, wanted a natural birth and chose not to have an epidural. But in the end, Matthew told OK! it came down to what was safest for both mom and baby. “We ended up having an epidural because, on the large contractions, the umbilical cord was being compressed. They went in and tried the vacuum. This is where I learned — and no one tells you this — but having a baby is a bloody, pukey, sweaty, primeval thing! And I mean that as a beautiful thing. It is wild. But the vacuum didn’t work, and the doctor said, ‘C-section.’” The Texas-born actor says he cut the umbilical cord in “one snip” and got to hold his son for the first 15 minutes while doctors worked on Camila. Both he and the Brazilian beauty — who waited to know the sex of their baby — say they were not surprised to find out they had a boy. “I said, ‘Come here, little man. I saw the pecker and screamed that we’d been right all along about him being a boy. Then I brought him over to her [Camila],’ Matthew said. “It was neat to find out what the sex was because we didn’t have the doctor tell us beforehand,” Camila agrees. So who does little Levi look more like? “Everybody thinks he looks like me because of the hair and skin tone,” Camila says. “I think he looks more like Matthew every day.” Matthew adds, “I’ve pulled out some baby pictures of myself, and the resemblance is amazing. This kid has a lot to learn from us. I want him to come out being a little wiser, a little cooler and a little happier than we are.”

Awww … it’s sweet the way that Matthew refers to his son’s sex organ as a “pecker”. It’s pretty remarkable how much and how quickly Matthew’s whole persona changed once he found out he was going to be a father. It wasn’t that long ago that he was a womanizing horn dog, partying away the long nights. These days he’s about as straight-laced as they come. I had no idea that Camila was only 25 years old! To be honest, I never thought she looked that young — tho on this cover, she looks about 20. But in any event, I wish much happiness and congrats to the new family. They’ve got themselves a beautiful baby boy and I wish them much love and luck!

[Source]