Sean “Diddy” Combs’ five-year contract with Warner Music is up in April, and sources say he may jump labels. “Diddy was supposed to release his new album, ‘Last Train to Paris,’ with Atlantic Records [a division of Warner] in November,” said an insider. “But he’s holding off on releasing it until April.

If he doesn’t renegotiate his contract, he might end up releasing it on Interscope.” Diddy is friends with Interscope CEO Jimmy Iovine, and tongues are wagging about a possible partnership. Combs started Bad Boy Records as a joint venture with Warner Music in 1993, but one insider said, “Who knows what will happen with Bad Boy if Diddy leaves?” Combs’ spokeswoman said, “We are unable to comment at this time.”

(source)

We had been told to expect the deaths of the famous to come in threes, not in the dozens.

But all through the summer of 2009 came a ceaseless and somber drumbeat, as idols of all walks of life passed away. From Walter Cronkite to Sen. Ted Kennedy, the nonstop loss of luminaries continued almost as if a seasonal occurrence – as much a part of summer as hot dogs and humidity.

If a filmmaker were trying to capture the summer of 2009, Michael Jackson news would be playing in the background. Many thought coverage of Jackson’s death was too much; a Pew Research Center poll released in July found that 64 percent of those surveyed thought the media blitz was overdone (though none could top MTV Japan, which designated an entire week of mourning for Jackson).

But news outlets went heavy on coverage for the many others who passed. Collectively, it made the constant commemorating hard to escape, especially for anyone active on social networks and the Web.

“It’s relentless because of the impact of the Internet,” said Adam Bernstein, the obituary editor of the Washington Post. “Twitter feeds go out. Every death seems to become more of a tempest rather than just the simple news of what it is.”

Hayes Ferguson, the chief operating officer of Legacy.com, a site dedicated to providing a way for readers to express memories and condolences, believes media and technology can offer comfort to those grieving.

“People are able to reminisce and collect their thoughts after reviewing career highlights of prolific artists such as Michael Jackson,” said Ferguson. “The number of Kennedy and Jackson tributes has been particularly large but there is a demand for this type of information.”

Even with the media-inflated memorials, the parade of deaths was unusual. The phrase “summer of death” popped up, perhaps first used by New York magazine, which cheekily claimed the trademark. There’s no particular reason for such an aberration; the death rate is typically higher during winter.

Early May saw the passing of the beloved Dom DeLuise, 75. But the portly entertainer was only a springtime harbinger of what was to follow.

On June 4, the “Kung Fu” actor David Carradine, 72, was found dead in a Bangkok hotel room. On June 23, Ed McMahon, the loyal “Tonight” show sidekick to Johnny Carson, died at the age of 86.

Just two days later, two icons of Generation X died. First was the news that Farrah Fawcett, the `70s sex symbol and “Charlie’s Angels” star had died of cancer at 62. Late in the day, came the more unbelievable reports that Jackson had died.

Jackson’s cultural importance alone would have been enough to keep his passing in the news cycle for weeks. But the complex nature of his estate and the murky details surrounding his death (eventually labeled a homicide by the medical examiner’s office) insured Jackson remained on front pages and on cable news crawls. He was only buried on Sept. 3. Prosecutors are still investigating.

Before the end of June, the TV pitchman Billy Mays died. Like Jackson, he was just 50.

Early July saw the passing of Robert S. McNamara, 93. The Pentagon chief who directed the escalation of the Vietnam War – and was vilified by many for it.

Cronkite, who memorably commented in 1968 that Vietnam appeared an unwinnable stalemate, died on July 17. A voice of authority and the premier TV anchorman of the century, Cronkite’s death was felt across journalism.

Don Hewitt, the TV news pioneer who created “60 Minutes” and was, like Cronkite, a CBS legend, died later in the summer on Aug. 19. That was just a day after the passing of political columnist Robert Novack.

Two days after Cronkite’s death was Frank McCourt’s. The teacher and “Angela’s Ashes” author, died of cancer at the age of 78. Perhaps more than anyone, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer blazed the trail of the popular modern memoir.

August saw the death of writer-director John Hughes, whose films such as “The Breakfast Club,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “Sixteen Candles” defined `80s youth. Hughes was 59.

On Aug. 11, Eunice Kennedy Shriver died. Famous to some for being the sister of President John F. Kennedy, Shriver’s great accomplishment was founding the Special Olympics.

Two days later, Les Paul died at the age of 94. His contributions to music can’t be underestimated; he developed multitrack recording and the solid-body electric guitar.

And just two weeks after Shriver’s death, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy died at his home in Hyannis Port at the age of 77 after battling a brain tumor. The liberal lion of the Senate served for 46 years in Washington where he helped pass countless laws on many parts of civic life, from civil rights to health care.

The glamorous New York author Dominick Dunne, who specialized in stories about the rich and famous, died on Aug. 26 at the age of 83. Two days later followed DJ AM, the 36-year-old celebrity disc jockey.

“It feels like there’s a lot of interest in celebrities – maybe more interest now than there used to be,” said Claire Noland, obituary editor of The Los Angeles Times. “Any time you have someone that’s even a moderate celebrity, they make more news now than maybe they would have before.”

Last week, Patrick Swayze. The “Dirty Dancing” actor, 57, lost his long fight with pancreatic cancer. But even he wasn’t the last.

With just days of summer officially remaining, perhaps – and hopefully – the last star to pass away in the summer of ‘09 was Mary Travers, who was one-third of the `60s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. She died Wednesday at the age of 72 after battling leukemia for several years.

And that summary still omits the passings of many others, including TV actress Gale Storm, Academy Award-winning actor Karl Malden, music manager Allen Klein, former NFL quarterback Steve McNair, British conductor Sir Edward Downes, the jazz composer George Russell, and Merce Cunningham, the avant-garde dancer and choreographer.

Together, those who died in the summer of 2009 came from seemingly every phase of life. Among them were titans of the news business, moviemaking, television, politics, music and literature.

No one who ever picked up a guitar, danced to “Thriller,” watched a quality TV news broadcast, read a gripping memoir or laughed through a coming-of-age comedy could have failed to feel the loss.

Autumn can’t come soon enough.

TMZ is reporting that David Hasselhoff was hospitalized again last night for drinking?

We’ve learned 17-year-old Hayley Hasselhoff — who was at home with David — called her mother Pamela, claiming David was extremely drunk. One of Pamela’s friends called 911, paramedics arrived at the family’s home in Encino and took him to the hospital.

The Hoff was to be released last night and I am sure his publicist will release a statement today about why he was hospitalized.

Paramedics were called backstage at the Nokia Theater for Kristin Chenoweth, according to an Access Hollywood source on the scene who witnessed the incident.

The star, who won her first Emmy award earlier on Sunday evening for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy for her role as Olive Snook in “Pushing Daisies,” first complained about a migraine headache, then said she couldn’t open her eyes.

Paramedics on site cared for the star in the room outside of the backstage gift lounge. She rested and then left the ceremony, the source told Access.

The source added that Kristin, who had given a tearful acceptance speech just moments before, remained in good spirits despite the ailment.

According to The Associated Press, a rep for Kristin later said that the star was fine and would potentially participate in the after-show festivities.

(source)

It was a weekend wedding for Zooey Deschanel and her musician fiance Ben Gibbard. The pair, as reported by Us Weekly, tied the knot in a ceremony held near Seattle, Washington on Saturday, September 19.

There has been no confirming statement just yet from both Zooey and Ben. Their camp also hasn’t addressed the wedding report.

Zooey Deschanel and Ben Gibbard, who is the frontman of band Death Cab for Cutie, had been dating for nearly a year before getting engaged in December 2008. At that time it was reported that he proposed to her with a three-carat diamond and platinum Neil Lane ring. “Zooey was swept off her feet, and Ben is so excited,” so said a source of the twosome’s engagement.

Personal life aside, Zooey was last seen starring in comedy-romance movie “500 Days of Summer”. She will next star in comedy flick “Your Highness”, which is slated for October 2010 U.S. release.

Seal and Heidi Klum

Leighton Meester and Blake Lively

Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon

Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tina Fey

LL Cool J and Chris O’Donnell

Glenn Close

Debra Messing and Mary-Louise Parker

The rocker “went nuts” when a guest at a party at the Standard Hotel opened an unlocked bathroom door and saw her on the toilet with her skirt around her ankles.

According to the astonished, unintentional intruder, Love flew out of the loo, launched herself at him and threatened to have him thrown out.

Sebastian Karnaby, a pharmacist, said he was trying to leave the party for the Times’ T style magazine at the hotel’s new Boom Boom the other night when he had the encounter with Love.

He said, “I couldn’t find my way out and asked someone to show me the door.” He opened the door he was led to, and “there was Courtney Love, sitting on the toilet with her skirt around her ankles.”

Karnaby says he was shocked and slammed the door shut, but that wasn’t enough for Love. He relates, “She stormed out screaming, ‘I am going to get you thrown out!’ She jumped on me, went crazy and dragged me over to security by the arm and claimed that I’d attacked her.

“They were trying to calm her down, but she was out of control. She was like a possessed woman.

“I absolutely did not attack her — I was trying to get away,” Karnaby said. “Thankfully, she’d remembered to pull up her skirt.”

He says security told him, “It’s best you get away as fast as possible.”

“I never wanted to see Courtney Love on the toilet,” he said. “It wasn’t a pretty sight. I just wanted to get out of there.”

Enjoying the party in a more civilized fashion were editor Stefano Tonchi, co-hosts Jeff Koons and Simon Doonan, Josh Hartnett, Helena Christensen, and photographer Terry Richardson.

Other guests at the party confirmed Karnaby’s story. Love’s rep refused to comment.

(source)

Roccett’s album catalog is now available on iTunes! You can purchase “Another Day Another Dollar” and “Corporate America” today! iTunes will soon have the complete Roccett collection, so be sure to check back frequently.

In addition to iTunes, the collection is also available on Napster, Amazon & Rhapsody! Check out the links below:

iTunes: http://www.itunes.com/roccett

Rhapsody: http://www.rhapsody.com/roccett/another-day-another-dollar

Napster: http://home.napster.com/#ns/view/artist/?artist_id=12781748&clickSource=list_view_artist

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-music-album&field-keywords=roccett&x=0&y=0

Are you ready for some NEW Roccett music? Watch for Roccett’s new MixTape that will be released in just a few weeks! This project will be another instant Roccett classic.

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