Why Harry Connick Jr. Couldn’t Sit Idle During ‘Idol’

harry20connick20jrI was home sick with a virus one night watching “American Idol.” I was motivated to write this blog after guest-mentor Harry Connick Jr. took issue with the show’s judges. It posted the next morning and went viral, bringing me 112,000 Likes on Facebook. I was viral when I went viral. HCJ even called me to thank me.

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My Dance With Mr. Bojangles

55-28638-sammy-davis-jr-1440786389When I was a reporter at the S.F. Examiner in the late 1970s, I was assigned to write a feature about people who live and work at Lake Tahoe. Sammy Davis Jr., aka “the world’s greatest entertainer,” kept a residence there.

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Miss Kitt To You

Miss Kitt To YouI couldn’t imagine why Eartha Kitt—’the most exciting woman in the world’—would want to hang out with someone as ‘unsophisticated’ as me.

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Apple’s Tim Cook Came Out and We Can Relate

Apple's Tim Cook Came Out and We Can RelateIt’s not about being gay, it’s about knowing and showing who you are.

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Frank Sinatra and I Stopped the Show

I had no sooner gotten to the office on the morning of April 27, 1978, when my phone began to ring.

Throughout the day, excited callers wanted to know: “Did you hear what he said about you last night!”

“He” being Frank Sinatra.

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20 Questions for the Silent Star of ‘Downton Abbey’

exclusive_interview_with_highclere_castle I couldn’t get Maggie Smith, or any other stars of the show. So I did a phone interview with the castle.

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Remembering Julia Child: “Come Sit Next to Me”

lets_remember_julia_child I once spent some time with the famous chef. Here’s how one little act defined who she was at heart.

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Why ‘Girls’ Is a Must-See Show for Anyone Over 50

girls_on_hboI love pop culture. ‘Girls’ is one of my favorite TV shows. Each episode convinces me that I never want to be young again.

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Annette Funicello: Forever Young

I remember exactly where I was the moment I heard that Annette Funicello had died — some 56 years ago. It was the most shocking news I had ever heard, prior to the Kennedy assassination.

The year was 1956. I was 8 years old. I was on a cement playground at the Evergreen Elementary School in Whittier, Calif., which was Richard Nixon’s hometown. I had stayed after school to play with some classmates. My friend Raleigh came over to me with a stunned look on his face. “I just heard that Annette died,” he told me. “She was killed in a car crash.”

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