"MONEY TALKS -- the only conversation worth hearing when times are bad," said Fred Allen during the Great Depression.
NOBODY PUSHES Barbra Streisand around, but then there is Michael Buble. (Pronounced boob-blay; for those few who might be new to his charms.)
His "Crazy Love" album just hit number one on Billboard, beating out the greatest star by far, and also the legendary rock band KISS. (These latter guys are, incredibly, still making music that their fans find relevant.)
Tuesday night, Michael, his Warner Records press rep Liz Rosenberg, and a gaggle of Buble media friends and fans gathered at the famous Italian eatery Patsy's in Manhattan to sweat out the imminent news that Michael had hit the top spot. It was like the old days of waiting for the Broadway first-night New York Times review at Sardi's. Exciting!
Among the little throng -- People magazine's Deputy Managing Editor Peter Castro, KC Baker, who writes for the mag, NBC's Marianne Haggerty and Aretha Marshall, CBS "Sunday Morning's" Ramon Parkins, Clear Channel's Zena Burns, Maxim magazine's Joe Levy and Lite-FM NY's program director Chris Conley. (Mr. Conley bears a strong resemblance to 007's Daniel Craig!)
There was no assurance that Michael would prevail, so nail-biting tension accompanied the pasta, the meatballs, the mozzarella, tomatoes, the prosciutto, the chicken contadina, the shrimp wrapped in bacon, the stuffed artichokes. Even Michael, who has dieted himself down to a slender, well-toned shadow of his former huskier self, ate heartily and nervously. After all, would it be possible to usurp Miss Streisand from her place at the top of the chart?
When word came, via Ms. Rosenberg's cell phone, Michael leapt to his feet and said, "Finally, I'm on top of Barbra!" Then he left the room to call his mother in Canada. When he came back, more than a little misty-eyed, he thanked all those present. Actually, he hugged all present, which was a hell of a maneuver in a confined space, the intimate upstairs backroom of Patsy's. Not that anyone complained about being up close and huggy with Buble.
I have always had a tender spot in my heart for Michael; he serenaded me at my 80th birthday, on the cusp of his great career.
Singing for octogenarians? It can't hurt.
A NUGGET of gossip was picked up this night. Too bad it has to be blind. The talk of several tables was that the wealthy father of a young, now wildly successful singer, bought up about 80,000 copies of her first CD, putting it over the edge as a hit.
Daddy doesn't have to do this anymore, but baby will always be grateful.
OH, AND what have been the big sellers for People magazine this year, so far? The death issues, alas -- Michael Jackson, Patrick Swayze. And even more alas, the Gosselins. The above-mentioned Peter Castro shrugged when this info caused a massive flinch at his table: "Hey, they sell!"
REMINDER! The great TV guy Don Hewitt of "60 Minutes" fame will be memorialized at 11 a.m., Monday, in the space of Jazz at Lincoln Center. The speakers should be fascinating because Don was quite a character.
THE SUPER star Whoopi Goldberg never stops moving and inventing.
Now, the Whoop is about to embark on a brand-new creation, one you'll be able to see on the Science Channel, bowing Saturday, Oct. 17. It will be seen weekly in prime time.
"Head Games" is something Whoopi and her good-looking and faithful manager, Tom Leonardis, dreamed up. It's like no game show you've ever seen. The design is revolutionary. They went to the gifted Goil Amornvivat from the "Top Design" world. He had never created a TV set before, but Whoopi and Tom like to live dangerously.
The thing I love about "Head Games" is how much fun it is to encounter intelligent diversion for a change. This show has each episode teaching us something new. (What happens when you put Christmas lights in a microwave oven for 15 minutes? What animal is the fastest long-distance runner?) So we can thank Whoopi for giving us both wit and wisdom -- a total package.
Whoopi and Tom produced this new program without a safety net. They didn't even do a pilot. They created 12 episodes in 12 weeks!
People in the TV biz, marveling that Whoopi can host "The View" and do movies, produce stage shows and manage everything else she can think of, honestly thought she was crazy to attempt this. The Science Channel's Debbie Myers decided to take a chance and she was one of the rare ones in television willing to do so.
"Head Games" will have you scratching your head for all the right reasons!
ENDBITE: Unless you've been buried under a rock (or a coffin) you know that the eternal interest in vampires is popping a juicy new vein these days what with HBO's great "True Blood" series, the wildly successful "Twilight" movies and various other vamp projects. And there's no let-up. A sequel to Bram Stoker's 1897 "Dracula" -- actually written by Stoker's great-grandnephew, Dacre Stoker -- is on bookshelves now.
Titled "Dracula the Un-Dead," it has probably already been optioned for the movies. This sequel features the infamous Countess Bathory, who soaked in the blood of virgins. (I like Angelina Jolie for the role. Remember she was so great in "Alexander" as the crazy, snake-worshipping mother of the conqueror?)
(E-mail Liz Smith at MES3838@aol.com, or write to her c/o Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY 14207.)
