The daily dish… a spicy serving of celebrity news
The Ellen show…
Talk show host Ellen De-Generes and actor-musician Harry Connick Jr. returned Saturday to their hometown of New Orleans to cheer on Tulane University’s graduating “Katrina Class”—the students displaced by Hurricane Katrina nearly four years ago.
“Look at you,” DeGeneres told the 2,000-plus graduates who received diplomas at the Louisiana Superdome. “Usually when you’re wearing a robe at 10 in the morning it means you’ve given up.”
The ceremony included a short film and musicians.
But as in 2006, when she made a surprise appearance at Tulane’s first commencement ceremony after Katrina, it was DeGeneres who stole the show. She had the crowd laughing and dancing as she strutted through the aisles as she does on her television talk show, “The Ellen De-Generes Show.”
In 2006, former Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton were delivering Tulane’s commencement address when DeGeneres walked on stage wearing a white terrycloth bathrobe because, she deadpanned, she was told everyone would be wearing a robe.
Connick addressed the audience only briefly after he was given an honorary degree for his work in the city’s recovery.
Tulane President Scott Cowen presented DeGeneres with the Tulane University President’s Medal for her work to raise money and awareness for New Orleans after Katrina.
Hall of Fame salute…
RoyClark, BarbaraMandrell and CharlieMcCoy, inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, were honored Sunday in a musical salute featuring Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, George Jones, Alison Krauss and many more.
Clark is probably best known for co-hosting the long-running TV show “Hee Haw,” but he also had top 10 hits with “Tips of My Fingers” and “Yesterday When I Was Young.”
Mandrell’s many hits include “Midnight Oil,” “Sleeping Single in a Double Bed” and “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool.”
In 1980, she joined sisters Louise and Irlene to host “Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters” on NBC.
McCoy is best known for his harmonica work.
Jolly rancher…
The tribe has spoken, naming cattle rancher James“J. T.” Thomas Jr. the sole “Survivor.”
The 24-year-old country boy prevailed over New Yorker Stephen Fishbach on Sunday’s season finale. He will bring home the $1 million check and bragging rights to Samson, Ala., where he operates a cattle-ranching business.
The winner was chosen by a seven-member jury of “Survivor” peers.
The 18th edition of the CBS castaway competition was set in the rugged interior of Brazil, where 16 players congregated when the season began.
Museum with heart…
The Discovery World museum in Milwaukee plans to donate part of the proceeds from this weekend’s attendance to the charity started by “American Idol” finalist DannyGokey.
The Milwaukee native was among the top three “American Idol” finalists before being voted off Wednesday. He tried out for the show four weeks after his wife, Sophia, died following surgery for a heart condition.
Gokey started Sophia’s Heart Foundation after she died.
The museum will donate $1 for every general admission ticket sold Saturday and Sunday.
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