CelebrityWorld

Michael Jackson died June 25, 2009 from “acute propofol intoxication.” Now, the man responsible for administering the drug will face charges in a Los Angeles courtroom.

Dr. Conrad Murray will be charged Monday for his involvement in the death of Michael Jackson. Murray’s attorneys attempted to upstage prosecutors by having Murray turn himself in Friday to avoid being lead away in handcuffs. But the prosecutors office pulled a fast one by declining to file charges until Monday.

Ed Chernoff, lead defense attorney for Murray, says that his team has been in negotiations with prosecutors for several days in an attempt to have their client surrender for booking and arraignment.

“What does it take to surrender in LA?” asked Miranda Sevcik, spokesperson for the defense. “It seems ridiculous to us that it’s been dragging on this long,” she said. “We’ve been here all week long, for God’s sake. What’s the holdup? To us this is showmanship and we are just done.”

Details of the police investigation into Jackson’s death have not been released, but experts believe that the long wait to bring charges does not fare well for Murray.

Also, Murray’s initial statement to police after Jackson’s death is being called into question. Police records show that Murray says he was away from the singer for two minutes after administering Propofol, but his cell phone records indicate that he made several calls totaling more than 40 minutes.

Murray was being paid $150,000 a month to serve as Michael Jackson’s personal physician.

One film set production costs records and the other barely got made. Now, both “Avatar” and “The Hurt Locker” lead the 2010 Academy Award nominations with nine each. And as a coincidental side note, the films go head to head-to-head in the best picture category, and the directors, James Cameron (”Avatar”) and Katherine Bigelow (”The Hurt Locker”), were once married and will compete for best director.

No woman has ever won best director, and Bigelow is only the fourth woman nominated in that category, following Sophia Capopola, Jane Campion, and Lina Wertmuller.

Eight other films will compete for best picture, including; “District 9″, “Up”, Quentin Tarintino’s “Inglorious Bastards”, “Blind Side” starring Sandra Bullock, “Up in the Air”, “A Serious Man”, “An Education”,  and one of the year’s biggest surprises, “Precious”, which stars Mo’Nique. This is the first year that ten films are on the best picture ballot, up the five in previous years.

Best actor nominations include; Jeff Bridges (”Crazy Heart”), George Clooney (”Up in the Air”), Morgan Freeman (”Invictus”), Colin Firth (”A Single Man”), and Jeremy Renner (”The Hurt Locker”).

Best actress nominees are; Sandra Bullock (”The Blind Side”), Hellen Mirren (”The Last Station”), Carey Mulligan (”An Education”), Meryl Streep (”Julia and Julia”), and Gabourey Sidibe (”Precious”).

Grammy Awards night once again belongs to Beyonce, but Taylor Swift won when it mattered. On a night when the celebrity world came out in all it’s glory, the hip/hop diva evolved as the biggest star of the evening, winning six grammys out of the 10 categories in which she was nominated. Her total makes her the top female grammy winner, eclipsing the five that she won in 2004, a record that she shared with Alicia Keys, Lauren Hill, and Norah Jones.

Beyonce’s album “I am… Sasha Fierce” was the most nominated record of the year, but Taylor Swift won the award for album of the year for “Fearless”, breaking Beyonce’s incredible run. Swift was also second to Beyonce in nominations with eight, and her “Fearless” was also the bestselling album of 2009, with 5.4 million copies sold.

Kings of Leon also sprinkled on Beyonce’s parade by winning record of the year with “Use Somebody”, beating out the songstress’ “Halo”.

But it was still Beyonce’s night. Her uptempo dance anthem “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” won song of the year, and also in the best female R&B vocal performance catagory. She won best female pop vocal performance for “Halo”, and best traditional R&B vocal performance with “At Last”, from the movie Cadillac Records. Beyonce took the grammy for best contemporary R&B album, and topped off the evening with a songwriters award for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It).

Other big winners on the night include Maxwell, Eminem, Lady Gaga, and Beyonce’s husband, Jay-Z.

J.D. Salinger became a celebrity after publishing Catcher in the Rye in 1951, but spent nearly 60 years avoiding his celebrity status after the widespread popularity of his novel. The reclusive author died at his New Hampshire home Thursday, according to the associated press. He was 91 years old.

Born in Manhattan, Salinger wrote Catcher after introducing it’s main character, Holden Caulfield, in a 1946 short story published by the New Yorker. The novel was an instant hit, spending 30 weeks as a New York Times Bestseller. But Salinger shunned the fame that followed, and spent the rest of his life in virtual seclusion.

“He was famous for not wanting to be famous,” wrote Ian Hamilton, author of In Search of J.D. Salinger.

Margaret Salinger, J.D.’s daughter and author of Dream Catcher: A Memoir, described her father a deeply eccentric in her book. She describes Salinger as living a life that blended reality with fiction, and as a man who sometimes drank his own urine. The book details Margaret and her brother, Mathew, being raised “in a world where fiction and dreams held sway.”

Though the world has not seen J.D. Salinger for years, his talent will be surely missed.

James Cameron has hit another home run in Hollywood. His latest film, “Avatar”, is now the highest grossing film of all time, topping more than $1.86 billion in worldwide ticket sales. The success of “Avatar” surpasses that of another Cameron classic,’Titanic”, which posted $1.84 billion in sales.

Much of the gross generated by “Avatar” is due to increases in the average price movie goers pay for tickets, but the film has also benefited from showings at 3-D and IMAX theaters. However, that does not take away from the legion of fans who mobbed theaters around the world to view the movie.

Though “Avatar” is number one in worldwide rankings, the $554.9 million taken in at domestic theaters still falls short of the $600.8 million that “Titanic” generated in domestic sales. But what makes those numbers so impressive is the length of time that it took for “Avatar” to get there.

“In just 39 days it has eclipsed the worldwide record,” say Paul Dergarabedian of Hollywood.com. “That’s extraordinarily impressive.” He also believes domestic sales of “Avatar” will top “Titanic” next week, and that it will eventually bring in more than $2 billion.

Celebrities have contributed to the Haitian relief efforts since a 7.3 magnitude earthquake devasted the tiny Caribbean nation on January 12. And though many united in the televised “Hope for Haiti” broadcast, which generated more than $60 million to those efforts, few have contributed as personally as megastar, John Travolta, who is personally flying food and supplies to Haiti in his own plane.     

Anyone familiar with John Travolta knows that he is a big Hollywood star who flies jet planes as a hobby. But few know of the humanitarian efforts that he and his wife, actress Kelly Preston, have long been involved with. Despite his menacing onscreen image, Travolta has a heart of gold.

Travolta has flown his personal Boeing 707 to Haiti to deliver more than six tons of food, medicine, and other supplies to the earthquake survivors. Preston has accompanied him, and the couple will return to their home in Florida when the supplies are off-loaded.

“We have the ability to actually help make a difference in the situation in Haiti and I just can’t see not using this plane to help,” said Travolta.

Jay Leno is once again the host of the “Tonight Show”, after weeks of high profile negotiations which ultimately left Conan O’Brien out in the cold. NBC announced the switch Thursday, as O’Brien accepted a severance package of more than $40 million.

Talk of a late night line-up change began months ago, as the network conceeded that Leno’s prime time experiment was not going over well with NBC affilliates. The affiliate complained that Leno’s show was a poor lead in to local news, and demanded a change. Network executives offered Leno a 30 minute segment following local news at 11:35pm, which would move the “Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” back an additional 30 minutes. But O’Brien objected, and sparks began to fly.

“Tonight Show” ratings slipped after O’Brien took over, and Leno was seen as the more valuable commodity. After negotiating a settlement which included more than $12 million for his staff (and a non-compete agreement that keeps him off the air until September), O’Brien is moving on.

Conan O’Brien broadcast his last “Tonight Show” Friday, and Leno is expected to air his first show as the “new” host after the Winter Olympics ends on Feburary 26th.     

The whole country has heard it by now. “Pants on the Ground” has become a hit after it’s creator, Larry Platt, performed his origanl song for the judges of American Idol. Since performing during the Idol auditions, Platt has become an overnight sensation, and now he has a record deal.

Platt has been signed by Jake records, and according to company CEO Scott Thomas, Platt’s song has potential.”General Larry Platt has an energy about him that is infectious,” Thomas said in a press release. “We’d love to work with Mr. Platt to generate some exposure for his original song, but also the causes that he holds near and dear to him.”

Platt has taken the nation by storm.  Video clips of his ”Pants on the Ground” performance has made him an instant internet hit, and he has also performed on ”The View”, singing and dancing his way into the hearts of America.

The age limit for Idol contestants is 28, and though Platt is too old to compete as a contestant, he was allowed to audition. During his audition, he floored judge Randy Jackson, and left Simon Cowell speechless with his unusual song and dance antics, which also included a split at the end. Guest judge Mary J. Blige was also amused.

Tiger Woods donated $3 million dollars, and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie gave $1 million. Celebrities around the world have stepped up and taken responsibility, leading the way in giving to a nation in need.

The earthquake in Haiti last week devastaed the island and left thousands of people homeless and in desperate need of food, clothing, and medical attention. The celebrity world has taken notice and is lending support, as are millions of non-celebrities who have been emotionally touched by the tragedy.

Celebrity donations have been puoring in daily, and while many are keeping the extent of their contributions private, some organizations are releasing the names of their biggest  contributors.

Gisele Bundchen gave $1.5 million to the American Red Cross, and Sandra Bullock wrote a $1 million dollard check to Doctors Without Borders. Madonna, Lindsey Lohan, and Coldplay singer Chris Martin has also pledged support.

MTV has announced that George Clooney will be hosting a Haiti relief telethon on Friday, January 22nd.  

R&B crooner Teddy Pendergrass passed away Wednesday after losing his battle with colon cancer. Pendergrass, best known for his silky voiced love anthems, was nominated for 5 grammy awards and topped r&b charts during the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Teddy Pendergrass became a star as the featured singer of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. His most popular recording with the group was “If You Don’t Know Me By Now”, which singled him out in the group and was the motivation for him going solo. As a solo artist, he rose to international fame with such songs as “Close The Door”, “Turn Off the Lights”, and “Love TKO”. He also recorded popular duets with Stephanie Mills and Whitney Houston.

At the height of his career, Pendergrass was involved in a controversial traffic accident which left him paralyzed from the waist down.

“He had about 10 platinum albums in a row, so he had a very, very successful career as a recording artist,” says his friend Kenny Gable, who, along with his partner Leon Huff, wrote many of Pendergrass’ most popular hits. “He had a tremendous career ahead of him, and the accident sort of got in the way of many of those plans,” Huff said.   

Pendergrass died outside of his native Philadelphia at Byrn Mawr Hospital. He was diagnosed with cancer last year, and fought couragously to recover after surgery. He was 59 years old.