LV noted in naked Mona Lisa rumor
An original Leonardo da Vinci painting of a topless Mona Lisa, locked away in Las Vegas and being tracked down by art collectors?
For skeptical locals, it has the laughable ring of yet another urban legend or a rejected movie script.
The wild scenario surfaced Friday on MSNBC's Web site about a similar da Vinci artwork now on exhibit in the Tuscan town of Vinci, the birthplace of da Vinci in 1452.
"The newly revealed painting, hidden for almost a century within the wood wall of a private library, shows a portrait of a half-naked woman with clear links to the famous (and clothed) Mona Lisa," according to Discovery News.
"The frontal look, the position of the hands, the spatial conception of the landscape, with columns at the sides, show a clear link with the Mona Lisa's iconographic theme," said Alessandro Vezzosi, director of Museo Ideale, the museum that houses the painting.
The bombshell came at the end of the article when Vezzosi is quoted as saying, "Our quest for naked Mona Lisas continues. We are now on the tracks of another interesting version in Las Vegas."
MEDIA UPDATE
Another tragic turn for the daughters of Polly Gonzalez, the KLAS-TV, Channel 8 anchor who was killed five years ago in an Easter weekend traffic accident in Death Valley.
Gonzalez' ex-husband, Allan Mota, died earlier this week after a long-term illness, according to family spokeswoman Claudia Briggs. He had been caring for the daughters since they survived the fatal automobile accident. ...
"Hannah Montana" star Miley Cyrus got more than parental approval for her latest rite of passage: a nose piercing. Asked whether her famous dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, approved, she told Mark & Mercedes (KMXB-FM 94.1) on Thursday, "He took me to get it."
The diamond stud will apparently make its film debut in her new movie "The Last Song," which is being shot in Savannah, Ga., over the next three months. ...
Mark & Mercedes also had James Caan on the phone and asked him what roles he turned down during his acting career: "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" four times, he said, because it was " just not visual enough." Jack Nicholson got the role and won an Oscar for it.
Caan said he also turned down "Kramer vs. Kramer" because he thought it was "middle-class bourgeois horse crap." Dustin Hoffman won his first Oscar for that role.
Caan is in town for CineVegas and the premiere of his son Scott Caan's movie "Mercy." James plays Scott's father in the movie. ...
Longtime Las Vegas radio personality Ron Kirsh returns to the air Sunday at 3 p.m. on KJUL-FM 104.7. He has been a local radio personality since 1983, most recently doing weekends at KSNE-FM 106.5.
THE SCENE AND HEARD
Social House, Pure Management Group's sushi eatery at Treasure Island, is moving to a new location. "T.I. is going in a different direction," according to a spy. Social House opened in the fall of 2006. ...
NHL star Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals will be on a synthetic ice rink in front of Caesars Palace on Tuesday for a shoot to capture his moves for NHL2K10, the video game. Joining him was Vancouver Canucks All-Star, Ryan Kesler, along with San Jose Sharks play-by-play commentator Randy Hahn, who will emcee. The event is open to the public. They are in town for the NHL Awards show at the Palms on Thursday. ...
University of Nevada, Las Vegas theater professor Nate Bynum has landed a recurring character role in the TV series "Crash," which appears on the cable channel Starz. He plays Coach Valazquez, a high school baseball coach at an inner-city Los Angeles school. He shot the introductory scene Thursday in Albuquerque, N.M., where the show is filmed. The show stars Dennis Hopper and is based on the Best Picture Oscar-winning 2005 movie. ...
SIGHTINGS
Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, fresh from romantic advances by Paris Hilton, at the Palms roulette tables on Friday, celebrating his move to Real Madrid, which paid a world record $131 million to Manchester United to get the Portuguese megastar. ... International soccer star Ronaldinho, spotted at Tryst nightclub Thursday inside Wynn Las Vegas. He is a two-time FIFA World Player of the Year (2004, 2005) and current member of Serie A Italian league power Milan. ... Ex-Chicago Bears wide receiver Curtis Conway, with wife Laila Ali, daughter of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, racing with family Friday afternoon at Pole Position Raceway.
THE PUNCH LINE
"According to the Congressional budget office, deficit hit a record $189 billion in May. Or as it's known here in New York: four Yankee Tickets." - Jimmy Fallon
Norm Clarke can be reached at (702) 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.
