Comedian lands one last Grammy
Comedy legend George Carlin's final project earned him a posthumous Grammy on Sunday for best comedy album.
It was the fifth Grammy for the longtime Las Vegas headliner, who died of heart failure at age 71 on June 22.
His daughter, Kelly, accepted the award and promised she would take better care of the statuette than her father, a counterculture icon, did after receiving his first one in 1972.
She told the audience that "during a chemically-induced altered state, he took it apart." The Recording Academy had to send him a replacement.
The album, titled "It's Bad For Ya," was released a month after he died. His last special aired in March.
Also nominated was Lewis Black, Kathy Griffin and the New Zealand comedy duo Flight of the Conchords.
JOINT JAW DROPPERS
Two evenings stick out among my most memorable at The Joint, the Hard Rock Hotel's legendary music venue, which closed Saturday with a Mötley Crüe performance.
One was a holy-moly moment: I'm sure I'm not the first person smitten at first sight when Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas took over the stage.
The other ... Well, it is one for those who often have wondered: Has anything remotely embarrassed Paris Hilton?
At a September 2005 "Beacher's Madhouse" show, the showstopper was gender bender Leonid the Magnificent, a tall, flamboyant Russian who wore boas, feathery wings and what appeared to be the tail of an ermine dangling from his waist.
On this night, he had bigger fish to fry than balancing a sword point on his forehead. He rushed into the crowd, scooped up Hilton and brought her on the stage.
After Hilton spanked Leonid's bare cheeks, he propped her up on her hands and knees -- think show pony -- and climbed on, slowly flattening the elegantly dressed heiress.
With Hilton pinned facedown on the stage floor, Leonid stretched out on her back, and, in a final "OMG" moment, added a hump or two for good measure.
The horseplay ended with Hilton frantically using both hands to keep her dress from falling down as she stood up.
"My fiancé is going to kill me for that," she said, making a hasty exit for her seat in front of a roaring crowd.
Completing the evening was a humbling moment for Hollywood wild child Tara Reid.
When host Jeff Beacher began introducing celebrities in the crowd, Reid was at the ready when he announced, "We have two very special ladies in the audience with us tonight." As Reid stood up, Beacher bellowed, "Paris and Nicky Hilton!"
Later, as she headed for the exit, a wobbly and overwrought Reid was overheard saying, "I should have been onstage. I'm bigger than Paris Hilton."
THE SCENE AND HEARD
Recording artist Usher has canceled out of his hosting duties tonight at Privé nightclub, in Planet Hollywood Resort, because of a family emergency in Brazil. His wife, Tameka, has suffered a serious injury from complications from plastic surgery, according to "Access Hollywood." She had their second child in December. He has been recording a new album at the Palms studios. ...
Media update: Local publicist Ryan Brooks has been named director of public relations for Fontainebleau Las Vegas. He starts today. ...
Correction: Dave Hall is a morning news anchor at KVVU-TV, Channel 5.
SIGHTINGS
Ryan Seacrest, putting Grammy winner Ne-Yo on the spot during a red carpet interview Sunday night in Los Angeles. Seacrest asked Ne-Yo and his date whether they were "an item." Ne-Yo, who had been the epitome of poise and cool up to that point in pre-Grammy interviews, suddenly seemed flustered. "Something like that," he said. ... "American Idol" and "Gone Country" contestant Mikalah Gordon on Saturday celebrated her 21st birthday at Tabú, in the MGM Grand. Gordon sang "Killing Me Softly," a hit for Roberta Flack in the early 1970s and for The Fugees in the mid-1990s, followed by Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name." The celebration included the presentation of a chocolate cake by the staff.
THE PUNCH LINE
"Unemployment is the worst it's been in 25 years. Here's how bad it is: Right now, people are begging to work with Christian Bale." -- Craig Ferguson
Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.
