Michael Douglas & Catherine Zeta-Jones

[princess 1,712]

Douglases Gather for Eric's Low-Key Funeral

imdb.com

 

Michael Douglas' half-brother Eric Douglas was laid to rest in a low-key Hollywood memorial service yesterday surrounded by 50 members of his family and close friends. Catherine Zeta-Jones flew in from Europe, where she's shooting Ocean's Twelve , to be by her husband's side as he said goodbye to his tragic sibling at the Westwood Memorial Cemetery. The movie star and his son Cameron acted as pallbearers, while Douglas' brothers Joel and Peter comforted their dad Kirk and his wife Anne. Eric Douglas ' body was found on Tuesday morning in a Manhattan, New York, apartment amid reports of a drug overdose. An autopsy, performed on Wednesday, proved inconclusive.

[Jerrica Benton 60]

lil snippet from the village voice

Sadly, Eric Douglas is gone, drugs having anesthetized him to a life in the shadows (including sexually; the poor queen was hiding in so many ways). I'll miss his eternal, bruised optimism.

[BobbyD 2]

From Pagesix.com..CLOSETED FEARS MICHAEL Douglas's brother Eric, who was found dead in a Manhattan apartment on July 6, was tortured by the fact that he couldn't admit to being gay, the National Enquirer claims. The tab relays that Douglas once hit on Enquirer reporter Rick Egusquiza when he confessed his secret in 2001. "Having to hide my true feelings from my family is why I drink and take drugs," Douglas told the tabloid. "I truly believe that the real reason for all of my problems stems from having to hide my sexuality."

[soho2chelsea 3]

Great. And now he's being outed post-mortem by the Enquirer...his greatest fear realized.It's not that I really expect the Enquirer to have any class (hell, I read it while I'm in line!) but this one does turn my stomach a little.

[princess 1,712]

Douglases Testify Against Alleged StalkerThursday Jul 29, 2004 8:00am ESTBy Stephen M. Silvermanpeople.comIn what sounded like a bizarre real-life scene out of his own 1987 movie Fatal Attraction, Michael Douglas and his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, testified in a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday against a woman accused of being infatuated with him and making violent threats to Zeta-Jones.Dawnette Knight, 32, described as an aspiring psychologist, is charged with 25 counts of stalking Zeta-Jones with threatening phone calls and letters between January 2003 and May 2004. The preliminary hearing will determine whether there is sufficient evidence for a trial.Among the letters allegedly from Knight that were presented in the hearing and read aloud by Zeta-Jones, 35, included a threat to slash the actress' throat "like Nicole Simpson" and to blow her up "so pieces of her head look like President Kennedy's."Knight reportedly looked calm during the testimony, during which Zeta-Jones struggled to maintain her composure, Reuters reports.Douglas, 59, said he first learned of threats being made in March 2004, when he received a phone call at his mother's hotel in Bermuda from what he described as a woman with a Southern accent. Upon learning of previous threats ? some of which reportedly were in letters sent to the couple's friends and to his father, Kirk Douglas ? Douglas went to the police, who told him he must inform Zeta-Jones.Until then, Douglas said in the hearing, he was trying to keep the ugly nature of the threats and the very existence of them from his wife."She just felt that she was a marked person, (she) couldn't understand how they knew where she was," Douglas said in reference to the personal details about Zeta-Jones that were contained in the letters.During her testimony, Zeta-Jones, who said the stress of the threats nearly caused her to have a heart attack, said while staring down Knight, who played with her hair braids: "It's hard to keep telling you how I feel. I'm running out of words. ... It's so satanic a terrorist threat."I have never had a death threat in my life and this will affect me for the rest of my life," she told the court.Kinght was arrested in June, after which she reportedly apologized to Zeta-Jones in a letter. Knight also admitted to being "infatuated with Michael Douglas."Knight is being held on $1 million bail. If convicted of the charges ? she has pleaded not guilty ? she could face 19 years in prison.

[princess 1,712]

Pill Incident Delays Zeta-Jones Hearing

Friday Jul 30, 2004 8:00am EST

By Stephen M. Silverman

people.com

 

An obsessed fan accused of making death threats against Catherine Zeta-Jones was found slumped on the floor of her Los Angeles jail cell Thursday after illicitly taking two sleeping pills.

 

Dawnette Knight, 32, described as an aspiring psychologist, is charged with 25 counts of stalking Zeta-Jones with threatening phone calls and letters from January 2003 to May 2004. The actress and her husband, Michael Douglas, testified Wednesday at a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence for a trial.

 

Attorney Richard Herman, who is defending Knight, dismissed suggestions that the incident was a suicide attempt by his client, reports Reuters.

 

He also told reporters that Knight posed no danger to the actress and was sorry about the letters, parts of which were read out in court by the Oscar-winning Chicago actress Wednesday. The writer of the letter threatened to "slice up (Zeta-Jones) like meat on a bone" and blow her head apart "like President Kennedy's."

 

Said Herman of Knight: "She is just devastated. She is very, very sorry. She had no idea (the letters) would cause so much distress. ... She just wanted a good night's sleep and she took two sleeping pills and got a little too good a night's sleep."

 

Knight reportedly was taken to a hospital after prison guards were unable to rouse her. After being checked out, she was returned to her jail cell. Thursday's court proceedings were postponed as a result of Knight's condition but are expected to resume Friday.

 

Herman described Knight as having an enormous crush on Fatal Attraction star Douglas to the point of being convinced Zeta-Jones had married him for his money and was unfaithful to him.

 

"This is probably the only 'stalker' case ever where the defendant has no history of mental problems. She is perfectly normal. This is an aberrant thing that happened to a normal woman," Herman said.

[princess 1,712]

Douglas Kept Quiet About Stalker for Two Years

imdb.com

 

Hollywood legend Michael Douglas protected his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones from violent threats made by couple's alleged stalker Dawnette Knight, a Los Angeles court heard Wednesday. The Wall Street actor learnt his father Kirk Douglas and offices linked to the glamorous couple had received letters and phone calls referring to the Chicago beauty in March 2002 and only told his stunning spouse in March this year. Knight, 32, was arrested last month and faces one felony charge of stalking and 24 felony charges of making criminal threats. Child psychology student Knight and her fiance Ronald Calvin have apologised for the distress caused and Knight's lawyers insists his client is "normal" and only had a "girlish crush" on Douglas. At the hearing yesterday, Zeta-Jones said, "I am here to testify against the alleged defendant who has been stalking me and my family for the last tw0 years. I became aware of the threats around the second week of March this year. I was in Bermuda at the time. My husband brought me into the living room, asked me to sit down and said he needed to speak to me about something pretty serious. He sat me down and said, 'I need to tell you that you have been for some time receiving serious threats to your life.'" As Zeta-Jones recalled the moment she learnt of Knight's alleged threats, she tried desperately to fight back the tears at the stand. She continued, "I was stunned, shocked. I was trembling. He said they were of the nature and death threats and a lot had been going to my father-in-law Kirk Douglas. I took it very seriously." Douglas said the first threat was a phone call to the Ariel Sands hotel in Bermuda, near his family home on the island. He said, "I asked the receptionist what the person on the phone had said. I was told she was going to kill Catherine. I was shocked, scared and stunned." The hearing continues.

[princess 1,712]

EOnline.com WHAT CLUED HIM IN? The attorney for Dawnette Knight, the woman accused of threatening to chop up Catherine Zeta-Jones , asking the judge to suspend criminal proceedings against his client because he questions her mental competance. Judge Patricia Schnegg has sent the case to another judge to determine if Knight's case can continue.

[princess 1,712]

Zeta-Jones Zealot's Suicide Try

EOnline.com

by Charlie Amter

Jul 30, 2004, 8:25 PM PT

 

Michael Douglas' number one fan isn't off the hook, but she may be off her rocker.

 

Catherine Zeta-Jones' accused stalker, who is reportedly obsessed with Douglas, tried to commit suicide Wednesday night while in jail, her attorney said in court Friday. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg was initially skeptical, but she ultimately bought Richard Herman's assertions that his client, Dawnette Knight, may not be competent enough to continue with legal proceedings.

 

 

A frustrated Schnegg suspended the preliminary hearing to determine if Knight will face criminal charges for alleged death treats against Zeta-Jones and ordered a psychological evaluation for Knight Friday, but warned, "these [criminal] proceedings do not go away."

 

All parties in the prelim are due back before Schnegg on Aug. 16. In the meantime, the sordid affair is expected to move next week to the Mental Health Courthouse in Los Angeles to determine if Knight is mentally fit.

 

Herman has done a 180 regarding Knight in the last 48 hours. Thursday, he said that his client was just "trying to get a good night's sleep" when she took two sleeping pills Wednesday night. As a result of her taking the barbiturates, Knight missed a full day in court.

 

The lawyer now says that Knight had tried to commit suicide because the Oscar-winning A-listers have been unrelenting in their legal attack since Knight's arrest in June.

 

"This case has turned into Hollywood against Dawnette Knight and it's not a fair fight," he said. Herman was particularly upset that the media did not empathize with Knight's letters of apology, which asked for leniency and forgiveness. "Instead of forgiveness we have seen a campaign of vilification in the media which is both mean-spirited and vicious," he said.

 

Herman also had some choice words for Zeta-Jones. "What's actually happened is that Catherine Zeta-Jones has driven Dawnette Knight to attempt suicide, and the real blood is on her hands."

 

Zeta-Jones did not immediately comment Friday on Herman's allegations. She and Douglas have kept quiet outside of the courtroom this week.

 

But Deputy District Attorney Debra Archuleta quickly responded to Herman's comments, calling them "inappropriate." Archuleta also said she was "shocked and outraged that the victim in this case, Catherine Zeta-Jones, is being portrayed in this manner."

 

Archuleta seemed more concerned with the hearing inside the courtroom than with statements made to reporters outside. "We might be getting dissuaded from the issue at hand," she said.

 

Indeed, the issue at hand has been overshadowed this past week by sensational leaks to the press and heated remarks inside and outside the courtroom.

 

Both Zeta-Jones and Douglas testified Wednesday against Knight, who claims to be an aspiring child psychologist.

 

Zeta-Jones said she "feared for my safety from the moment I was alerted to the fact I [was] receiving death threats." The Chicago star said she even received threats while on location in Amsterdam, and that she feared she was going to "have a heart attack or a stroke."

 

Zeta-Jones has purportedly received numerous phone calls and letters from Knight, dating back to January 2003.

 

Knight and her attorney have repeatedly asserted that the entire case has been blown out of proportion by the D.A., Douglas and Zeta-Jones. "She's very, very sorry that all this happened," Herman said of his client Wednesday. "She's represented to me her remorse on many occasions, including yesterday, and her desire not to cause anyone any more distress."

 

If a criminal trial is ordered, the 32-year-old could face up to 25 charges in September. She remains in custody of Los Angeles authorities.

[princess 1,712]

Alleged Zeta-Jones Stalker Fit for Trial

Tuesday Aug 17, 2004 8:00am EST

By Stephen M. Silverman

people.com

 

Dawnette Knight, accused of stalking and threatening Catherine Zeta-Jones, is mentally fit to stand trial, says court-appointed psychiatrist Dr. Kal Sharma.

 

Sharma examined Knight in Los Angeles County Jail, where she is being held on $1 million bail, the Associated Press reports. Superior Court Judge John Riley Jr. ordered the mental evaluation after Knight overdosed on barbiturates while in jail.

 

Following Sharma's findings, the jurist on Monday scheduled a status hearing for Sept. 8 and the preliminary hearing ? which had been interrupted by Knight's overdose ? to resume Sept. 9.

 

Knight, 33, has been described as an aspiring psychologist who was infatuated with Zeta-Jones's husband, Michael Douglas. She was arrested June 3 at her Beverly Hills apartment and charged with one felony count of stalking and 24 felony counts of making criminal threats. If convicted, she could face up to 19 years in state prison.

 

More than two dozen letters that were sent to Douglas, and in a preliminary hearing last month, Zeta-Jones read one letter aloud aimed at her that said: "We are going to slice her up like meat on a bone and feed her to the dogs."

 

Knight subsequently apologized in another letter to Douglas. Her attorney, Richard Herman, said his client was never a threat and never should have been arrested. Instead, he said, authorities should have simply profiled and taken note of her.

 

He additionally accused Zeta-Jones of waging a media campaign against Knight.

 

Herman also acknowledged that Knight had at least two previous arrests. Although he did not have details, Herman said she was arrested for allegedly filing a false report after she recanted a claim that an ex-boyfriend abused her.

[Selice 0]

Catherine Zeta Jones hires tutor for sonBy Angela BaldassarreWelsh actress Catherine Zeta Jones has hired a tutor to teach son Dylan the Welsh language.Swansea-born Catherine is paying for the teacher to fly out to her home in Bermuda to coach the four-year-old.Lynn Watkins, 26, from Neath, South Wales, is to teach modern languages at the island's private Warwick School.But from next year Lynn will give Dylan one-to-one Welsh lessons. Zeta's daughter Carys, one, will also learn the language."Catherine is very aware of her roots and wants both kids to know they're Welsh," a source is quoted as saying.Jones, 34, and husband Michael Douglas, 59, have made their main home on Bermuda, where Jones's mother Pat also has a luxury home.Pat also resides in her daughter's Swansea home where, a few days ago, she shocked three nosey pensioners by inviting them.She spotted the trio close to the $4 million house and invited them in for a cup of tea and a guided tour, says British tabloid The Sun.

[cydonia 0]

Zeta-Jones in kidnap terror

 

12sep04

 

SCREEN siren Catherine Zeta-Jones was last night recovering from a

brazen attack by Mexican bandits who tried to kidnap her.

 

The wife of actor Michael Douglas, and mother-of-two, was the target

of a heavily armed gang that ambushed her as she returned from a film

location.

According to London's newspaper, Zeta-Jones – in Mexico to film –

"cowered in fear as the gunmen tried to force the limo off the road".

 

The paper said she was saved by bodyguards travelling in another car

who rammed the bandits' vehicle.

 

The ram-raid allowed Zeta-Jones's driver to escape. The bandits then

fled, chased by the other bodyguards, who called in local police in

San Luis, north of Mexico City.

 

Police said four men were arrested over the attack.

 

"The gang was armed to the teeth," one policeman told the newspaper.

 

A film source said: "Catherine has been left really shaken up by this.

She has only been on set for a few days. She was very emotional

afterwards and had to be calmed down."

 

Zeta-Jones is expected to stay in Mexico until December to complete

the film.

 

In a separate case, a preliminary hearing in the US has heard that

death threats phoned to a hotel where Zeta-Jones was staying were

linked to a Los Angeles woman accused of stalking the actor.

 

A detective testified that phone bills showed calls to the hotel were

made by Dawnette Knight, 33, who is charged with one count of stalking

and 24 of making criminal threats.

 

The charges involve phone calls and 19 letters that describe harm to

Zeta-Jones.

 

Prosecutors allege Knight threatened Zeta-Jones because Knight had a

crush on Michael Douglas.

 

One letter said, "We are going to slice her up like meat on a bone and

feed her to the dogs".

 

© Herald and Weekly Times

 

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/st...55E2902,00.html

[princess 1,712]

Holly crap! I feel bad for her, think she'll finish the film now or drop out? I wouldn't blame her if she dropped out.

[karintoronto 0]

interesting....http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/...l?oneclick=trueDoubt over Zeta-Jones 'kidnap bid'September 13, 2004British actress Catherine Zeta-Jones narrowly escaped an abduction attempt in Mexico, a London tabloid has reported.An armed gang tried to force the film star's limousine off the road near San Luis Potosi, The Sun said in its Saturday edition.However, Mexican authorities have questioned the report.The paper said that Zeta-Jones' bodyguards, travelling in a second vehicle behind the limousine, scuttled the plot by ramming the car carrying the would-be kidnappers.The 34-year-old Zeta-Jones was in the region, about a four-hour drive north of Mexico City, during shooting on a film. Her husband, American actor Michael Douglas, 59, was not with her during the incident.San Luis Potosi Governor Marcelo de los Santos and local police representatives said today that they had no knowledge of any abduction attempt against Zeta-Jones.Film producer Lloyd Philips was quoted in the Mexican press as saying only that there was a small accident in which another vehicle struck the car in which the actress was riding.

[princess 1,712]

Alleged Zeta-Jones Stalker Makes Love ClaimTuesday Sep 14, 2004 9:00am ESTBy Stephen M. Silvermanpeople.comDawnette Knight, accused of stalking Catherine-Zeta Jones and making death threats against the star, insinuated in the courtroom Monday that she had an extramarital affair with Zeta-Jones's husband, Michael Douglas, reports the New York Post.Prosecutors are trying to show Knight, 33, threatened Zeta-Jones because she had a fatal attraction on Douglas. Knight, who last week was ruled mentally competent to stand trial (following a barbiturate overdose in jail), has pleaded not guilty and remains behind bars with bail set at $1 million while a preliminary hearing determines if she will stand trial. She was arrested June 3 at her Beverly Hills home.Knight also suggested that Douglas paid her to keep quiet. On the witness stand, asked why she had $2,600 cash on her at the time of her arrest, Knight reportedly replied: "I'm not here to ruin anybody's marriage and (Douglas is) married."On Friday, a sheriff detective testified that death threats phoned into Zeta-Jones at a hotel were linked to Knight. Detective Rodney Wagner, citing phone bills, said Knight had made the calls.In two of the calls, made on May 18 and 19, the caller told a receptionist, "We know she is in the hotel. We are going to kill her," Wagner testified. The caller reportedly mentioned Michael Douglas by name. Wagner also testified that in a third call, on May 21, the caller threatened to "blow Catherine's head off on Sunday in Monte Carlo."

[princess 1,712]

TV Cameras Okayed for Zeta-Jones Case

Tuesday Oct 05, 2004 9:30am EST

By Stephen M. Silverman

people.com

 

The TV cameras can roll during the pre-trial hearing of Catherine Zeta-Jones's alleged stalker, Los Angeles County Judge David Mintz has decided.

 

The only time a blackout will be in effect, Mintz ruled, will be during witness testimony, reports the Associated Press. The judge has not yet determined if cameras will be allowed during the trial itself, which is scheduled to begin Nov. 13.

 

Attorneys for the Chicago Oscar winner, 34, filed a 104-page motion asking the court to bar cameras because they believe media coverage would taint the jury pool and encourage similar behavior.

 

Dawnette Knight, 33, who is being held on $1 million bail, has pleaded not guilty to one count of stalking and 24 counts of making criminal threats for allegedly sending violent letters to Zeta-Jones's husband, Michael Douglas. If convicted, she could face up to 19 years in prison.

 

One letter, entered earlier into testimony, read: "We are going to slice her up like meat on a bone and feed her to the dogs." Prosecutors claim Knight sent 19 similar letters and made phone threats to the actress while she was filming Ocean's 12 in Amsterdam.

 

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has filed a motion asking to bar cameras from the trial because some witnesses are undercover detectives. Mintz did not rule on that request Monday.

[princess 1,712]

Zeta-Jones Blows Her Top at Topless Club

Sat, Oct 23, 2004, 08:10 AM PT

 

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Catherine Zeta-Jones is often in demand, but not everyone is willing to pay for the privilege of using her star power.

 

The Welsh actress has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles' U.S. District Court on Thursday, Oct. 21 against a topless club in Nevada she claims has used her image for advertising without her authorization, reports the AP.

 

The ads and promotion consist of her picture, alongside images of semi-nude women, on the website for The Spice House, which styles itself as "Reno's friendliest topless cabaret."

 

Zeta-Jones' suit states that the site gives the false impression that she "endorsed or approved of the sexually explicit content" and could "dilute the value of her celebrity endorsement." She is seeking unspecified damages and an order barring the future use of her image.

 

The actress also had a problem in September 2003, when the cosmetics company Caudalie used her name in advertising without her permission.

 

Zeta-Jones, 35, won a best supporting actress Oscar for 2002's "Chicago." She next stars opposite Clooney, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts in the upcoming heist sequel "Ocean's 12," which will be released in December.

[princess 1,712]

Oh please, does the strip joint really going to make that their argument?!?!

 

 

Strip Club Fires Back at Zeta-Jones

Tuesday Oct 26, 2004 8:45am EST

By Todd Peterson

people.com

 

Representatives for the Spice House ? a Reno, Nev., strip club that bills itself as "Reno's friendliest topless cabaret" ? are firing back at actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, saying she should have appreciated that the company was using her photograph on its Web site and that she should "pick on someone her own size."

 

"She should have been flattered, as far as I was concerned, " says Kent Wallace, marketing director for The Spice House, according to the New York Post.

 

Wallace said that the company downloaded Zeta-Jones' picture from a royalty-free graphics Web site, and that the strip joint had no idea that the woman in the picture they posted was Zeta-Jones. "One wouldn't think (her image) would appear in a free graphics Web site," Wallace said.

 

The Spice House immediately removed the picture when contacted by attorneys for Zeta-Jones, who filed a lawsuit against the club Thursday. Wallace called the suit "frivolous," and said that the club would ask a judge to dismiss the case.

 

In the suit against the club, attorneys for Zeta-Jones argued that using her image in conjunction with pictures of other partially unclothed women created an impression that the actress endorsed the Web site's content. The suit also said that the photos could "dilute the value of (Zeta-Jones's) celebrity endorsement."

 

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and bars The Spice House from further using her image.

[princess 1,712]

Catherine Zeta-Jones and daughter Carys last week

[princess 1,712]

pagesixsixsix.com

 

Catherine Zeta Jones is said to be pissed over a planned TV documentary about her set to air in England that is shaping up to take an uncompromising and candid look at her and her rise to half of Hollywood power couple extraordinaire.

 

British network Channel 5's expose Catherine Zeta Jones' Secrets will show interviews with childhood friends talking about the 35-year-old's life in Wales and before married life to Michael Douglas. And from all reports, Catherine was as big a bitch then as she is now.

[princess 1,712]

Like Mother, Like Daughter

people.com

 

Catherine Zeta-Jones started studying dance at the age of 4 in her native Wales, but her daughter Carys, who turns 2 on April 20, has already one-upped her. Carys has enrolled in a toddler dance class in Bermuda, where Zeta-Jones and husband Michael Douglas own a $5 million estate. "She loves it," says Zeta-Jones, who sang and danced her way to a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2002's Chicago. "My mother said, 'Golly, she's starting even earlier than you.'" Zeta-Jones (next up in Legend of Zorro this fall) is still keeping her toes in the dance world in other ways. She recently joined the board of the National Dance Foundation of Bermuda to help promote dance programs for island youngsters.

[princess 1,712]

20th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony - Green Room

[cydonia 0]

Looks like Michaels has been dipping in the plastic surgery again. Ouch! Click the link for pics.http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005150845,00.html

[MMM1 1]

That makes me hurt.

[princess 1,712]

Another shot: