Liz Hurley: The never-ending story

What am I bid for De Niro's kidney stone? Elton John recovers from bad day. Plus: What's up with Destiny's Child?

Published December 7, 2001 5:53PM (EST)

Liz Hurley's taste in men has now gone from bad to worse to worse still.

Hugh Grant's predilection for prostitutes was one thing, and Stephen Bing's attempt to weasel out of responsibility for the unborn child she insists belongs to him is something more despicable still (prompting even Grant to label Bing a "real jerk," according to the U.K. Sun). But now, it seems, the actress/model may have gotten herself into something downright abusive.

In what may be an attempt to help us all feel less sorry for her, Hurley has apparently revealed to Movieline that she has a new, post-Bing beau, whom she describes as "an American I'm very fond of."

But she's afraid to say more. "He would be mortified if I talked about him in the press," she tells the magazine. "I'd probably get strangled."

Strangled?

Don't worry, Hurley reassures, "He's not a mobster. He's not an ex-president. None of the above."

Very comforting, Liz. Very comforting indeed.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Jed, move away from there!

"We're all riding on the same spaceship / Ain't it time we start to get along."

-- A few lyrics from "Spaceship," a new rock 'n' roll ditty by 93-year-old Buddy Ebsen, who played Jed Clampett on "The Beverly Hillbillies."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Stone soup

The ultimate collectible: Robert De Niro's kidney stone, passed in a Los Angeles hospital in 1981.

A U.K. TV channel hopes to raise $5,000 by auctioning off the 1-centimeter-wide stone, the provenance of which is still being authenticated.

"It's a real gem, very weird, yes," a spokesman for the channel told Ananova.com. "It's a very weird item for someone to want."

De Niro's agent, Stan Rosenfield, apparently concurs. "We know Mr. De Niro passed a stone in 1981," he told the U.K. Web site. "Whether this is the stone is debatable."

Well, it does look a little like him.

Juicy bits

J.R.R. Tolkien biographer Michael White has some good news and some bad news for the creators of the movie version of the author's "The Lord of the Rings." The bad news? He's pretty sure Tolkien would have hated having his book flickified. "He had a hatred of all things Hollywood and did not believe in the idea of imitation being the best form of flattery," White told the BBC. The good news? He thinks the film's gonna be a raging success. "The Harry Potter film has broken box office records -- but I am going to put my head on the block and predict that 'The Lord of the Rings' will just pip it," he says. Just pip it? Well, I'll be gobsmacked!

Elton John: big, fat tease. Perhaps you heard that, just last week, the flamboyant rock star vowed never to record another album. Well, guess what? He didn't really mean it. He was "just having a bad day," John said during a radio interview this week. "I love playing so much. I'll probably make another record." The bitch is back.

Not teasing: Destiny's Child. You may not have to say the trio's collective name for a while, as it turns out: They're splitting up ... for the time being, anyway. "They are all working on solo projects and have put the group on hiatus," a spokesman for their label tells the New York Post. "But they will still appear as Destiny's Child sometime in the future." Until then, we'll all just have to find some way to cope.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Miss something? Read yesterday's Nothing Personal.


By Amy Reiter

MORE FROM Amy Reiter


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Celebrity J.r.r. Tolkien