| ||||||
|
Arts & Entertainment Books Comics Health & Body Media Mothers Who Think News  PeoplePolitics2000 Technology - Free Software Project Travel & Food  Columnists - - - - - - - - - - - - Salon People is sponsored by Lexus - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - Also Today For a full list of today's Salon People stories, go to the
People home page. - - - - - - - - - - - - Search Salon - - - - - - - - - - - - Salon Columnists - - - - - - - - - - - - Recently in Salon People People Feature Nothing Personal People Feature Column People Feature - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Get motivated!
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Feb. 25, 2000 | When the Smoking Gun broke the story of groom Rick Rockwell's more-frog-than-prince-past last week, it included a mention of his motivational speaking career, with a link to his picture and bio on a Web site called Speakinc.com. A few days later the link was broken. A few days after that, the link was gone. Amy Reiter Amy Reiter's column appears daily on the People site, Monday through Friday.
Got a hot tip? Tell Amy! The going theory is that jilted multimillionaire Rockwell's main motive for marrying a stranger on national TV was to revive his flagging comedy and motivational speaking career. But it turns out his newfound notoriety may have had just the opposite effect. It seems that Speak Inc., the company that repped Rockwell (as well as such notables as Calvin Trillin, Mike Singletary, Pat Riley and the geniuses who brought the world "Chicken Soup for the Soul"), may have dropped the pizza-chomping groom like a hot potato. All traces of the ambitious speaker, whose reputed top rate of $7,500 was at the very low end of Speak Inc.'s scale, have been removed from the company's Web site, including the page of biographical information cited in countless news reports. And the company refuses to comment on its relationship with Rockwell, before or after his newfound fame -- although at least one Speak Inc. speaker has admitted to counting ol' Rick among his colleagues. Smoking Gun editor William Bastone says his Web site removed the link to Rockwell's online résumé after readers started complaining that the page had been taken down. He expresses some regret over the lost incriminating document: "We made a mistake. We should have copied the page and had it on our site instead of linking to it." I'm sure Bastone's not the only one mulling over mistakes at the moment. - - - - - - - - - - - - Bye-bye "I'm sorry, but there isn't enough time for me to sing my version of 'American Pie.'" -- Rosie O'Donnell taking a poke at no-show Madonna as she wrapped up the Grammy Awards. - - - - - - - - - - - - Calling Captain Morgan The "Captain Morgan for President 2000" kickoff bash started off as just another product-sponsored party for Capitol Hill staffers. The Captain Morgan rum drinks were flowing. The jazz band was cooking. And the randy young interns, assistants and aides were checking each other out -- big time. Then something strange happened. After James Carville ("Captain Morgan's campaign manager") took the stage to read off a steady stream of rum jokes from the teleprompter: "Captain Morgan's been around since 1635. That means he has the most experience in Washington since Strom Thurmond," "Captain Morgan is the only candidate that it doesn't matter if he gets mixed up with a little coke," "Four more years? Captain Morgan just wants four more drinks," "What this country needs is a good hangover." Polite chuckles turned into all-out guffaws when Al Franken took the mike. Declaring himself "Captain Morgan's spokesman," Franken pulled out his notes. "Captain Morgan is not an alcoholic," he said. "He has spent some time at Betty Ford, but that was for Percocet, which he became addicted to after a back injury -- twice." And while Captain Morgan does have a few DWIs, Franken assured, "he has a driver on the campaign." Funny stuff, but the Captain Morgan people were apparently not amused. In the middle of Franken's hilarious -- but decidedly non-PC -- riff on campus binge-drinking, the band abruptly struck up "Hail to the Chief," halting the routine and driving a confused Franken from the stage. Franken tells me he was "a little" surprised when the band cut him off because he hadn't gone over his 15-minute time limit and "was almost done." "I think they were a little nervous about the content," Franken says. "They told me after I got off that they're very serious about responsible drinking and they felt that my bringing up irresponsible drinking maybe could be misinterpreted by people." Which is why, no doubt, they sent a guy in a pirate outfit up onstage to declare, "What America needs is a good party." Drink up! - - - - - - - - - - - - Fightin' words "To Noel Gallagher, RIP. Heard your latest album with deepest sympathy. Robbie Williams." -- A note British pop singer Williams attached to a funeral wreath and sent to the Oasis star through a U.K. tabloid after Gallagher called him a "fat dancer" in a magazine interview. - - - - - - - - - - - - So much for "Thank you" Don't get Elton John started on the Grammys ... or awards shows ... or videos ... or boy bands. Backstage at the Grammy awards Wednesday night, the Grammy Legend Award winner let loose with a few heartfelt opinions. "I don't want to slag the Grammys, but it's kind of bullshit. Who's to say what the best record is or whatever?" he told reporters. "It's very nice to get this award, and it's very generous of the American people to give me it, because my career started in America. These shows sometimes are still full of bullshit." What's more, John continued, "Videos are bullshit as well. I hate them." What doesn't he hate? Boy bands. In his estimation, the Backstreet Boys, with whom he shared the Grammy stage, "can sing their arses off. They have my ultimate respect." "I've slept with all the boy bands," he deadpanned. "TLC, the Dixie Chicks -- I don't know nothing about them."
- - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - Search Salon | |||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
