Kevin DuBrow 1955 - 2007

I am sad to have to report the passing of one of my closest friends, Kevin DuBrow.   DuBrows' body was found by friends, on Sunday in his Las Vegas home. Dubrow recently spent a birthday weekend in New Orleans where he ate great food and even caught The Cult at The House of Blues.  Kevin loved fine foods and was a true gourmet at heart.   Kevin was a true Las Vegas icon and could be spotted eating nightly at any of his favorite Vegas eateries like Carlucci's, Simons Kitchen, The Palm or Messa Grill.  DuBrow grew up in Hollywood, California, before settling in the Los Angeles suburb of Van Nuys at age 13. By the time he was in his mid-teens he had developed an appreciation for a number of British rock acts including the Small Faces, Spooky Tooth, Rod Stewart and Humble Pie. It was the latter of those influences that would leave the biggest impact on DuBrow and act as a compass in his musical career.

Quiet Riot

The original band was started by Randy Rhoads in 1975, but broke up in 1979 when Rhoads went on to join Ozzy Osbourne's band. In 1980, DuBrow formed a band he named DuBrow, which also included brothers Tony and Carlos Cavazo. After Rhoads' death in 1982, Dubrow changed the name of the band to Quiet Riot, which his record company felt would allow the band to capitalize on wide name recognition. Rudy Sarzo ended up joining the band once again before the release of Metal Health, which stormed to the top of the charts, making Quiet Riot the first metal band to achieve number one status on their (U.S. release) debut album. Songs like "Cum on Feel the Noize", and "Metal Health (Bang Your Head)" then launched them into national fame

Donny & Marie Reunite

Show business legends Donny & Marie will reunite at MGM Grand’s Hollywood Theatre for eight unforgettable performances July 17 – 23, 2008.  Show times are 8 p.m. July 17 and 21 – 23 and 8:30 p.m. July 18 – 20, with a 4 p.m. matinee July 19.  
         
During this rare limited engagement (the first time the pair has played a Las Vegas run since 1979), Donny & Marie will perform their greatest hits on a custom stage designed specially for this historic reunion.  The show will be a state-of-the-art extravaganza utilizing multiple projection screens, interlacing rare archival footage with the world premier of brand new videos produced by Donny.
 
Donny & Marie made television history when the seminal variety show “The Donny & Marie Show” debuted on ABC in 1976 --- they were the youngest hosts ever of a primetime network series.  This wildly successful show solidified their worldwide fan base still numbering in the millions.  After multiple solo successes, the duo teamed up once again in 1998, hosting the nationally syndicated daytime talk show “Donny & Marie.”
 
Beginning his illustrious career at the age of five on The Andy Williams Show performing with The Osmond Brothers, Donny has been awarded a grand total of 33 gold records.  His most recent album (his 55th), “Love Songs of the 70s” immediately went gold in the UK.  His multi-faceted career includes being a national television host (“Pyramid”), a best-selling author (his autobiography debuted at #1 on the UK bestseller list) and the Theater (over 2,000 performances starring in Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and most recently on Broadway starring in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”).  “College Road Trip,” the Disney movie in which Donny co-stars with Raven Symone and Martin Lawrence, opens this March.  He has even been a champion race car driver.
 
Making her debut at the age of three on The Andy Williams Show, Marie has had an equally stellar recording career, making history at the age of thirteen with her very first single, “Paper Roses,” the first time that a female artist debuted at #1 in the country music charts.  She has starred in several television movies and feature films, the ABC sitcom “Maybe This Time” co-starring with Betty White, and on stage in “The Sound of Music” and on Broadway in “The King and I.”  A New York Times best-selling author (“Behind The Smile”), Marie was a judge on Fox’s “Celebrity Duets” in 2006 and was most recently a finalist on the #1 smash series, ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.”  Her award-winning “Marie Osmond Fine Porcelain Collector Doll” line, debuted in 1991 on QVC, and has grown into one of the most beloved doll lines in the industry.
 
The Children’s Miracle Network, a project of the Osmond Foundation, the Osmond family charity which Marie oversees, has thus far raised almost $4 billion for children’s hospitals in North America, and will soon expand internationally.

Vegas’ Beloved Norm Clarke spits hate at Formerly Corpulent Columnist

Vegas’ Beloved Norm Clarke spits hate at Formerly Corpulent Columnist Michael Politz
 
It was reported today in The Las Vegas Review Journal by gossip columnist Norm Clarke, that the reason little person Matt McCarthy of Beacher’s Madhouse assaulted a bar patron at Hog’s & Heifers on Monday Night was due to the patron referring to him as a “Midget”.  Ironically, in a quick twist of fate.  Norm is just as prone to use offensive adjectives referring to people, calling our very own Michael Politz a “Plus-Sized Local Food and Beverage Publisher”, does this warrant Politz to slap Norm…?  Norm Clarke should have learned this lesson the hard way. After including Pete Rose on a list of the ten worst tippers in town, Rose saw Clarke at a restaurant and came over to the table where he was having dinner and slapped him right across the face.  The funny thing is that there is a rampant rumor about one of Norms' associate writers having such poor tipping habits that the waitresses in the nightclubs complain to management if they have to serve him.
 
Truth be told, if Norm (for once) did his due-diligence in his reporting he would have found that Politz is 80 pounds lighter than his “Plus-Sized” days.  Politz has made a complete life change in acquiring the services of physician Dr. Ivan Goldsmith and personal chef Josh Green to keep him on a program to ensure a healthy life-style.  Politz feels “better than ever!” and is in the best shape he’s been in since 1995.  
 
Being spit at by a little person is not our idea of good clean fun, Norm’s venomous depiction of Politz’ appearance is just as DISSSSPICABLE.  Not once has Politz poked fun at any of Norms' ailments, disabilities, poor reporting skills and even worse inadequate social skills.