Free Republic

Actor Jeff Goldblum died while filming a movie in New Zealand early this morning - June 25, 2009. Preliminary reports from New Zealand Police officials indicate that the actor fell more than 60 feet to his death on the Kauri Cliffs while on-set. Specific details are not yet available. The accident occured at aproximatly 4:30 a.m. (UTC/GMT +12). Additional details and information will be forthcoming.

(Note: this report is a paraphrase based on memory, not tape. Any inaccuracies will be corrected down thread by me or other FReepers.)Fox News Channel host Bill O'Reilly responded on The Factor tonight to criticisms of his attacks last night on Free Republic and Hot Air by the sites' respective founders, Jim Robinson and Michelle Malkin. The segment last night was on reaction by right and left wing websites on the Judge Sotomayor nomination to the Supreme Court. Free Republic was singled out for an obnoxious comment about Sotomayor being diabetic. Hot Air was singled out for an impolitic strongly...

Meghan McCain was again provided with a national outlet for her "moderate" Republican views with her appearance on "The Colbert Report" on May 18. Host Stephen Colbert said to her, "You're more liberal than President Obama. Is that how you see the future of Republican Party going?" "I'm liberal on social issues," McCain responded Later in the interview McCain explained her views: "All I'm trying to say is it can be a party for a 24-year-old pro-sex woman. It can be. I just think that we have people that are in this party that are hijacking it and - trying...

He’s the gift who just keeps on giving. This week’s featured Celebutard already figures like an incurable disease in my new book, “Celebutards: The Hollywood Hacks, Limousine Liberals and Pandering Politicians Who Are Destroying America” (Kensington). He is Sean Penn – the A-list actor who brazenly broke bread with America-hating Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. He also traveled to Iran where he heard 10,000 people shouting in unison, “Death to America’’ and “Death to Israel’’ – and decided they didn’t really mean it. Let’s give ‘em all a hug.

James Whitmore, dead at 87.

Vinnie Jones gets into bar fight over role in X-Men SIOUX FALLS, South Dakota, (AFP) - - British football star turned tough-guy Hollywood actor Vinnie Jones was hospitalized and arrested after he got into a bar fight over his role in the film X-Men. Jones took offense when one of the men identified as Juggernaut from "X-Men: The Last Stand" which he apparently took as a slight against his more significant roles. "He started pushing my other friends around," said Juan Barrera, 24, who sat nearby while his roommates played pool. "He said he's been in so many other movies...

The chasm between those who want President-elect Barack Obama to produce his birth certificate to verify his eligibility to hold the nation's highest office and those who simply support the Democrat is widening. "The Constitution means what we today decide it means," opined one participant on a new WND forum that offers readers an opportunity to express their opinion on the birth certificate dispute.

Tim Robbins made a big stink at the YMCA on West 14th Street this morning when he was told that his name was not on the voter list. According to City Room, Robbins has been voting at the same polling place since 1997, but for some unknown reason, his name was nowhere to be found when he went in this morning. The Times happened upon him sitting in a folding chair looking dejected and annoyed: "The poll workers here know me...The woman said she remembered seeing me here for the primaries." On Real Time with Bill Maher last month, Robbins...

<p>An unconfirmed report just came in from AD reader Kubrickguy. Newman was battling cancer but must have lost the fight. Long live Paul Newman.</p>

Jerry Reed, the country and western star who was also world famous for his role in the 'Smokey and the Bandit' films, has died. He was 71. Reuters reports that Reed passed away on Monday from complications arising from emphysema. Known as 'The Guitar Man', Grammy winner Reed made his first record aged 18 and went on to release over 40 albums. Reed wrote for Johnny Cash and Brenda Lee and two of his early songs, 'US Male' and 'Guitar Man', were recorded by Elvis Presley with Reed playing on the studio versions.

Anyone else notice that Michelle didn't Thank her Mom in her speech? Didn't hear any of the pundits comment on this last night. All it would have taken was six words, Thank You Mom, I Love You. Opportunity of a lifetime to honor the person who raised and cared for you, gave you a great video intro, and you missed it. Shame on you Michelle.

Actor Ernest Borgnine: America 'an Amazing Country' By Justin McCarthy (Bio | Archive) August 12, 2008 - 15:37 ET    Veteran actor Ernest Borgnine, still acting at age 91, does not represent the mainstream ideology of the Hollywood elite, or even a potential first lady named Michelle. Borgnine, unlike most of his fellow Hollywood elitists, believes America is "an amazing country" and that one has to "prove" one is "a good American by being an American."Appearing on the August 12 edition of "Good Morning America," Borgnine promoted his new autobiography. When given the opportunity, Borgnine, the son of Italian...

Morgan Freeman is critically ill after a car crash, a US hospital has confirmed. A spokesman for the Regional Medical Centre in Memphis, Tennessee, said the 71-year-old The Dark Knight actor's condition was "serious". Mississippi state troopers told showbiz website TMZ.com that Freeman was involved in the crash at around 11.30pm local time on Sunday (5.30am BST), north of the small town of Ruleville. He was airlifted from the accident scene to the hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, where he is being treated. An unidentified female passenger was also in the car and her condition was not known. The hospital, commonly...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Television star Kelsey Grammer is back in hospital with an irregular heartbeat, two months after suffering a heart attack the actor has said nearly killed him, a celebrity news program reported on Monday. The 53-year-old actor, best known from "Cheers" and his sitcom "Frasier," has checked into a hospital in New York after feeling faint, "Entertainment Tonight" said. "(Grammer) is being treated for an irregular heartbeat, which we've learned could be a result of medication he was taking for his recent heart attack," the program said in a statement.

IF BARACK Obama doesn't win November's presidential election in the United States, "you can kiss the Democratic Party goodbye", the actor and director Robert Redford told an audience in Dublin last night. Speaking at a public interview in Trinity College in advance of his conferral with an honorary degree by the university today, Redford said he hoped Obama would win because while John McCain "represents yesterday", the Democrat embodied the sort of change America needed. Asked by Michael Dwyer, film correspondent of The Irish Times , if he was looking forward to "regime change" in the US, Redford said: "Yes....

First time poster and proud to join the community of Free Republic. I've been lurking for about a year now and know that a lot of you's are fans of Stargate SG1. Don Davis who played General George Hammond died on June 29th of a massive heart attack. He played a better General in fiction that those in the real world such Ret General Weasley Clark. RIP Hammond of Texas. You can post tributes to General Hammond on Gateworld.

Bruce Willis Biography on A&E now. One of the few "Republicans" in Hollywierd...good show.

Bo (woof) In Commentary: Monkey see, monkey do. That’s the explanation I come up with as to why a damn, dirty ape won’t keep his mitts off the honor of being on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Clearly driven by the sight of Lassie’s and Rin Tin Tin’s names between his toes as he peruses the shops on Hollywood Blvd, Cheeta the monkey actor is pushing to get his name put there as well. (LOS ANGELES - Three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame have gone to the dogs, so why can’t Cheeta the chimp get some love? The...

Egyptian actor Omar Sharif — best known for his film roles in Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago — reportedly blasted U.S. policy in Iraq and said Americans are ignorant. According to The Middle East Media Research Institute, Sharif said the "East" will never have a democracy because people like him "prefer to go to the neighborhood sheik." MEMRI —a Middle Eastern press monitoring organization — posted an interview of Sharif that aired on the Al-Hayat TV network.

p>FORT RILEY, Kan. (AP) — As a boy, Michael Conner Humphreys made a splash on the silver screen as "Young Forrest Gump." As an adult, he somewhat mirrored the life of his movie character: He joined the Army and fought in an unpopular war.Humphreys' enlistment ends June 4 and Hollywood is already calling. He's landed a role in an independent film, playing, of course, a soldier.It's a route similar to that of Tom Hanks, who won the Oscar for playing adult Forrest Gump.Hanks later starred in "Saving Private Ryan" and produced "Band of Brothers," a series about the men of...

A SICK actor collapsed on stage - at the same time as his character was meant to have a heart attack and die. Steve Dineen was taken to hospital after he keeled over during the dramatic finale of Mike Leigh's famous comedy Abigail's Party.

Either the years haven't been kind to veteran actor Peter Falk or he wasn't having a very good day. The 80-year-old former Columbo star looked dazed and confused as he walked near his Beverly Hills home on Tuesday afternoon.

HARTFORD, Conn. - Richard Widmark, who made a sensational film debut as the giggling killer in "Kiss of Death" and became a Hollywood leading man in "Broken Lance," "Two Rode Together" and 40 other films, has died after a long illness. He was 93. Widmark's wife, Susan Blanchard, says the actor died at his home in Roxbury on Monday. She would not provide details of his illness and said funeral arrangements are private. "It was a big shock, but he was 93," Blanchard said. After a career in radio drama and theater, Widmark moved to films as Tommy Udo, who...

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - After a failed run for president, Fred Thompson is getting back to pretending to be commander in chief. Hollywood's high-powered William Morris Agency announced this week that it has signed the actor/politician, signaling a return to the screen for the former senator from Tennessee. Thompson most recently appeared as grizzled district attorney Arthur Branch on "Law & Order" and has played authority figures in the films "The Hunt For Red October," "Die Hard II" and "In the Line of Fire." Thompson dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination on Jan. 22.

Failed GOP presidential hopeful Fred Thompson says he will be going back to his old day job, playing pols on TV. William Morris announced that they've signed big Fred to do TV and movie roles. Before he tried to make it as an actual president (after being a real Senator from Tennessee), he spent years playing big-shot pols and most recently the District Attorney on "Law & Order." Of course, there's still buzz that could be cast in the role of Veep for John McCain.

January 24, 2008 -- The masseuse who discovered Heath Ledger's body made two frantic calls to his latest squeeze, actress Mary-Kate Olsen, before dialing 911 for help, police revealed yesterday. MORE: Star's Tragic Timeline "Heath is unconscious. I don't know what to do!" Diane Lee Wolozin screamed in her first call to Olsen on Tuesday. "I'm sending my private security there," the actress replied. Moments later - after finding the body of the "Brokeback Mountain" star cold to the touch - Wolozin, 40, made another panicked call. "I think he may be dead. I'm calling 911!" she said. "I...

Actor Brad Renfro has died. Renfro's lawyer Richard Kaplan says the 25-year-old actor's body was found in his Los Angeles home early today.

Actor Brad Renfro, whose career began promisingly with a childhood role in "The Client" but rapidly faded as he struggled with drugs and alcohol, was found dead Tuesday in his home. He was 25. ADVERTISEMENT Paramedics pronounced him dead at 9 a.m., said Craig Harvey, chief investigator for the Los Angeles County coroner's office. The cause of death was not immediately determined, Harvey said, but an autopsy could be conducted as early as Wednesday. Renfro had reportedly been drinking with friends the evening before his death, Harvey said. Renfro's lawyer, Richard Kaplan, said he did not know whether the death...

James Lipton, the host of U.S. talk show, Inside the Actors' Studio, once worked as a pimp in Paris, France. The revered TV presenter, who has sat down with Hollywood's biggest names for in-depth chats about their life and work over the last 13 years, has revealed he once procured clients for French hookers. He says, "This was when I was very very young, living in Paris, penniless, unable to get any kind of working permit... I had a friend who worked in what is called the Milieu, which is that world and she suggested to me one night, `Look,...

George Grizzard, a versatile actor who achieved his greatest renown on the stage, playing everything from Shakespeare to Shaw, from Neil Simon to Edward Albee, died yesterday in Manhattan. He was 79 and lived in Manhattan... Mr. Grizzard’s career began in the 1950s and lasted more than 50 years. He had roles in movies and was a familiar face on television...

I think we need both Thompson and Hunter on the final ticket. It is too early to rule out HUNTER as top of ticket, but presently it looks like THOMPSON in the top spot. These guys should follow Reagan's "Eleventh Commandment" as regards each other. I think I was the first to suggest Hunter run for the presidency, on the F.A.I.R.(Dan Stein Report) Commentaries. I have been bullish for Thompson, whenever he addressed illegal immigration, or addresses a madness like the "Sanctuary City Movement". Let us pray that these two seemingly good conservatives can avoid trashing each other in any...

WAYNE, N.J. -- An actor who once played a lieutenant on NBC's "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" has been charged with possession of child pornography, authorities said Tuesday. Albert Insinnia, 57, of Bloomfield, turned himself into the Passaic County Sheriff's Department in Wayne on Monday and was released on bail Tuesday morning, said sheriff's spokesman Bill Maer. Insinnia was charged with two counts of possession of child pornography after authorities allegedly discovered 180 images of child porn on the hard drive of the actor's laptop computer.Your Ad Here Reached at his home Tuesday afternoon, Insinnia told The Associated Press...

Fred Thompson is laying on the southern-fried charm. It’s a tire-melting afternoon in June, and the son of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, turned two-term United States senator, Law & Order star, and now almost Republican presidential candidate has just arrived at the Clarion Townhouse hotel in Columbia, South Carolina, for a state-party fund-raiser. A crush of reporters has swarmed him, one of whom has just asked if today will be the day Thompson makes things official. Thompson delivers his honey-smooth reply as if on cue. “I’m just testing the waters, but the water is pretty warm,� he says as he plows toward...

Fred Thompson didn't enter the 2008 presidential race Tuesday, but he talked like he was getting close to jumping in. Asked by Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show" if he'd like the nation's top job, the former Tennessee senator said, "I've never craved the job of president, but I want to do some things that only a president can do. "So," Thompson added, "the answer is yes." Thompson - a Republican best known for playing a prosecutor on NBC's "Law & Order" - has formed a presidential exploratory committee and is expected to join the GOP race this summer. He...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Stage and screen actor Harry Frazier, whose full white beard helped him land Santa Claus roles in movies and commercials, has died. He was 77. Frazier died May 26 of complications from diabetes at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills. He started on Broadway appearing in various plays during the 1960s. He performed regularly in Shakespeare plays in Southern California and had leading roles in "The Tempest," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and "Henry IV." Among his TV credits included "Night Court," "Cheers" and "Hill Street Blues." He also played King Neptune on three...

He was comfortable after his conversations with Gephardt, but even queasier about Edwards after they met. Edwards had told Kerry he was going to share a story with him that he'd never told anyone else—that after his son Wade had been killed, he climbed onto the slab at the funeral home, laid there and hugged his body, and promised that he'd do all he could to make life better for people, to live up to Wade's ideals of service. Kerry was stunned, not moved, because, as he told me later, Edwards had recounted the same exact story to him, almost...

If the story of the rich young man from the Gospel of Matthew had a sequel updated for modern times, it might resemble the life of actor Eduardo Verastegui, a Catholic who stars in the new film Bella. In the Gospel account, a rich young man asks Jesus what he needs to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus tells him to sell all he has and follow him. But the man goes away sorrowful because he had great wealth. In the modern day sequel, Verastegui, a rich young man, does sell all he has and is prepared to give up...

Leonardo DiCaprio has been fighting to save the world from climate change — but the star's neighbours claim it is he who is wrecking their environment. The Departed actor — who will debut his environmentalist call to action film The 11th Hour at Cannes next week — is being taken to task in court for allegedly undermining and trashing the garden of his neighbours' multi-million dollar mansion. DiCaprio is being sued for "maliciously" crossing onto a neighbouring couple's property while renovating his Hollywood Hills home — cutting and removing hedges, excavating earth and bedrock which the couple claims destabilised their...

A local DJ filed a criminal complaint against actor Tracy Morgan this afternoon, claiming the actor touched her inappropriately while she was on the air, according to Miramar police. Mega 94.9's Sandy Domingo said Morgan, who was a guest on a neighboring station's show this morning, walked into her booth at the Clear Channel building on Riviera Boulevard and began rubbing her arms and shoulders and kissing her on the back of her head, said police spokesman Bill Robertson. Police have yet to get Morgan's side of the story and are looking for him, Robertson said. Morgan, who can be...

Hugh Grant has been arrested over an allegation that he lashed out at a paparazzi photographer with a tub of baked beans.

The ashes of Star Trek star James Doohan will be blasted into space this weekend when a rocket carrying a symbolic portion of the late actor's cremated remains is launched in New Mexico.

Fred Thompson, lawyer, lobbyist, actor, former Senator has two things going for him if (when) he seeks the Republican nomination for President. First, he has impeccable conservative credentials which he has not seemed to ever have compromised, even during his time in office. Second, Fred Thompson's physical appearance, his gravely, southern drawl, and his body language make him the very personification of "Mr. President" as if he had been found in central casting. In fact, Fred Thompson's film and television career has displayed his talents in the role of wielder of government power. He has played a CIA Director, White...

WASHINGTON, April 18, 2007 – The Military Officers Association of America recognized actor Gary Sinise, the DuPont company and six other people for their support of the military, during the association’s 10th annual awards ceremony here last night. MOAA is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with members of the military and their families. “It’s a great opportunity to say thanks to people who are very dedicated and patriotic, and whose goal is to make the country better,” said retired Air Force Col. Marvin Harris, MOAA’s director of public relations. Harris...

Walker Edmiston, an actor who was the voice of many cartoon and puppet characters, including Ernie the Keebler elf in TV commercials, has died. He was 81. Edmiston died of complications from cancer on Feb. 15 at his home in Woodland Hills, said his daughter, Erin Edmiston. He worked up until becoming ill in January, she said. Edmiston was born Feb. 6, 1926, in St. Louis, Mo., and moved to Los Angeles in 1947. In the 1950s and early 1960s, Edmiston had a children's show on local television. "The Walker Edmiston Show" featured his own puppets, including Kingsley the Lion...

FORT LEWIS, Wash. - Sean Penn hunched alone over his coffee Monday in a Starbucks shop, a stone's throw from the DuPont overpass where supporters of Lt. Ehren Watada held their signs aloft and a much smaller number of foes counter-protested.The actor had been out there with the Iraq war protesters in the chilly fog, which dampened the air but not their spirits. Watada was inside Fort Lewis, his first day in a military courtroom for a court martial that will decide his fate for refusing to go to Iraq and for talking publicly about his reasons.Penn was about to...

Skinny, hatchet-faced, bespectacled American character actor, ubiquitous in literally hundreds of films. With his prominent nose, his rimless eyeglasses and his permanent scowl, he typically portrayed short-tempered and often loudmouthed bureaucrats, yes-men and other minor minions, principally in lighter fare.

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- My name is Kirk Douglas. You may know me. If you don't ... Google me. I was a movie star and I'm Michael Douglas' dad, Catherine Zeta-Jones' father-in-law, and the grandparents of their two children. Today I celebrate my 90th birthday. I have a message to convey to America's young people. A 90th birthday is special. In my case, this birthday is not only special but miraculous. I survived World War II, a helicopter crash, a stroke, and two new knees. It's a tradition that when a "birthday boy" stands over his cake he...

Call it a Hollywood shocker: Mel's Apocalypto will have a bigger weekend opening than his Braveheart. Despite scandal, an R-rating, subtitles because of an ancient dialect, no stars, and direct competition from movieland AAA-listers Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz, Gibson's Mayan epic won Friday's matinees and evenings, I'm told. At first, box office gurus were warning me that the weekend victor among three very competitive films all opening against each other would be too close to call. cameron_jude.jpgBut now I've learned it looks certain that Apocalypto will win the weekend -- bearing out my reporting back on December 1st when...

Conservative Fox News commentator Sean Hannity will be the "special guest" Oct. 26 at a fund-raiser for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Don't tell Democrats who have embraced Schwarzenegger this year after he raised the minimum wage, signed legislation curbing global warming, and actively courted the Democratic Legislature. The event at the Sheraton Grand in Sacramento costs $1,000 per person, but "platinum" sponsors can pay $100,000. Platinum sponsors listed on the invitation (at left and below) are Chevron executive Jack Coffey; developer Gerry Kamilos and his wife, Karen; and McDonald's franchise owner C.C. Yin and his wife, Regina. Hannity has been a...

Physicist Hawking to star in movie: report Sat Oct 14, 6:31 PM ET LONDON (AFP) - Acclaimed British physicist Stephen Hawking will reportedly trade in scientific journals for the big screen by starring in a movie. The film, "Beyond the Horizon," aims to explain some of the complicated theories backed by Hawking and his fellow physicists, including the idea that space has up to 11 dimensions and the cause of the big bang. The 64-year-old Hawking, famous for his 1988 international best-seller "A Brief History of Time," will also narrate a soundtrack which explains cosmological concepts. "Beyond the Horizon" centres...