This Week: Paint It Black
Drape some black crepe around this week in the calendar.
It opened with somber memorial services around the globe to mark the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and ended with plans for memorial services for crocodile hunter Steve Irwin and Anna Nicole Smith's 20-year-old son.
It seemed that sadness and bad news were everywhere. But nowhere was it more poignant than in a hospital in the Bahamas. There, TrimSpa spokeswoman and former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith brought her new baby daughter into the world only to find, days later, her 20-year-old son dead in a chair by her bedside. According to reports, desperate attempts to revive him were fruitless.
Daniel Smith's death remains a mystery. The chief inspector of the Bahamas coroner's office on Wednesday called the death "suspicious" and scheduled a formal inquiry for Oct. 23 that could lead to criminal charges. The family is waiting for a second, independent autopsy to be conducted before the body is brought back to California for funeral services.
Meanwhile,public memorial services were being planned for Irwin, who was killed Sept. 4 by a stingray's barb while filming a new TV show off Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Funeral services were private, but now a public memorial service, billed by Irwin's father as "a celebration of his life, not a sad funeral," is planned for Wednesday on the grounds of the Australia Zoo.
His death prompted an outpouring of grief around the world, especially in his home state of Queensland, where tens of thousands of fans turned out to lay flowers, candles and messages of support outside Australia Zoo.
Death stalked the set of "CSI: New York" this week as well. An unidentified, mummified body was found at the same location where the CBS crime drama was filming its sixth episode in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday. In an eerie coincidence, another episode titled "Not What It Looks Like," is about the discovery of a mummified body. It was filmed just last month and is to air Sept. 27.
Actor George Clooney was talking about mass death when he addressed the United Nations on Thursday. With Nobel Peace Prize recipient Elie Wiesel, Clooney urged members of the U.N.'s Security Council to help end atrocities in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region. More than 200,000 people have been killed and millions have fled their homes since 2003 when ethnic African tribes revolted against the Arab-led Khartoum government.
"The United States has called it genocide," Clooney told council members. "For you, it's called ethnic cleansing. But make no mistake — it is the first genocide of the 21st century. And if it continues unchecked, it will not be the last."
Death even took center stage at the movies. The box office leader was "The Covenant," a tale of supernatural teens trying to destroy each other at an elite boarding school. It was followed by "Hollywoodland," a drama about the 1959 death of TV's Superman, George Reeves, played by Ben Affleck. The actor won an award for that performance last weekend in Venice.
In Toronto, where Oscar contenders are getting a first outing, there was much buzz about "Bobby," Emilio Estevez's look at the assassination of Sen. Bobby Kennedy as he was campaigning for president in 1968.
Set to open this weekend is another film noir: Brian DePalma's "Black Dahlia" about the brutal murder of an aspiring starlet in 1940s' Hollywood. It is based on real-life unsolved murder that continues to generate interest decades later.
This week also marked the death of several marriages. Actress and singer Whitney Houston filed for divorce from singer Bobby Brown, ending a troubled 14-year union. They have one child, a 13-year-old girl. And model Christie Brinkley made it official, filing for divorce Peter Cook, two months after they separated amid reports of his alleged affair with an 18-year-old employee.
It wasn't fatal, but the accident that injured Ellen DeGeneres resulted in DUI charges for a California woman. Jeanne Werber, 52, of Los Angeles, was charged Tuesday with misdemeanor DUI in connection with a Sept. 1 crash in which her 2002 Buick LeSabre struck the back of DeGeneres' 2006 Porsche Carrera. None of the injuries required medical attention.
Also facing some time in court is reality TV star Duane "Dog" Chapman who was arrested Thursday with two co-stars on charges of illegal detention and conspiracy in an alleged kidnapping three years ago. The charges stem from Chapman's capture of Max Factor heir Andrew Luster on June 18, 2003, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Finally, Sean "Diddy" Combs got some bad news this week from the courts in Great Britain. The entertainment mogul agreed to bury the "Diddy" name in the U.K. as part of legal settlement with London-based music producer Richard "Diddy" Dearlove. Previously known as "Puffy" and "Puff Daddy," Combs has been known as "P. Diddy" since 2001. He said he will rebrand his commercial activities in Britain while keeping "Diddy" alive elsewhere.
By MARY JAYNE McKAY