Times Square Gossip

**** BERNIE MADOFF WILL DIE IN JAIL **** The Evil Bernie Madoff Low life Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison today for fraud against thousands of victims, totaling in the billions. The judge said he needed to send a symbolic message to potential imitators and to victims who demanded harsh punishment. Applause broke out in the packed Manhattan courtroom after U.S. District Judge Denny Chin issued the maximum sentence to the 71-year-old defendant, who said he lives "in a tormented state now, knowing all the pain and suffering I've created." Chin ignored the request by Madoff's lawyer for leniency and said he disagreed that victims of the fraud were seeking mob vengeance."Here the message must be sent that Mr. Madoff's crimes were extraordinarily evil and that this kind of manipulation of the system is not just a bloodless crime that takes place on paper, but one instead that takes a staggering toll," Chin said. The judge said the estimate...

According to the New York Post, Michael Jackson's oldest son thought his father was kidding around when he collapsed on the living-room floor, but soon stood "in a trance" as Jackson's personal doctor tried to revive him, a family confidant told the newspaper."The horror of it all is that Prince thought his dad was just being his dad and clowning, but it was real, and he watched as they worked on him," said Stacy Brown, a Jackson family biographer who has spoken extensively to the Gloved One's relatives since he died Thursday. "Prince was stunned, in a trance, just watching," Brown said. "There was no movement, just looking around and not really processing what was really happening." Brown also said he was told that when Jackson went into cardiac arrest, he was in the living room of the $100,000-per-month Los Angeles California rental with the 12-year-old boy. Also there were the pop star's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, h...

Stephie Eslie With Victory Chase, Todd Schultz And Barry Z. Todd Schultz With Barry Z And Peter Rockwitz Today is gay pride once again in New York City. We caught up with Todd Schultz from the Jerry Springer show who was riding the float with cable Icon Barry Z. Todd was in town to promote the hit television shows move from Chicago to Stamford Connecticut this August. He handed out Springer Tee shirts to the wild crowd marching down fifth avenue. To find out how you can get tickets to the Springer Show visit JerrySpringerTV.com . Photos By: James Edstrom

**** KATHY POSNERS CHICAGO POINT OF VIEW **** Kathy Posner With Mancow Erich Muller New York has become the first state to permit researchers to pay women up to $10,000 for the “expenses, time, burden and discomfort” of donating their eggs for stem cell research.The Empire State Stem Cell Board (the Board) quietly voted on June 11th to allow funding for egg donation, but no one seemed to notice the story until the Washington Post broke it this week. The Board has $600 million in state funding for stem cell research. That will buy a lot of eggs!The Board issued a statement that read, “On June 11, 2009, the Empire State Stem Cell Board (the “Board”) voted to allow funding of research on stem cell lines derived using eggs (called “oocytes”) donated solely for research purposes where the donor was, or will be, compensated for the expense, time, burden and discomfort associated with the donation process -- within specified limits -- as is currently permitted when women donate oocytes for r...

Autumn Reeser And Jesse Warren Brittny Gastineau With Jorge Perez Antonio Sabato Jr. Anna Kournikova Last night saw several stars catching rays at TAO Beach. Actor Antonio Sabato, Jr., Aaron Paul of HBO’s Big Love and 90210’s Jessica Lowndes mingled in corner daybeds near the pool, where they sipped mojitos and enjoyed the sounds of DJ Skratchy. Later in the evening celebs from the Hard Bat ping pong tournament journeyed to LAVO. Sabato Jr., Jonathan Schaech, Autumn Reeser and her husband, director Jesse Warren, Brittny Gastineau along her beau Jorge Perez and Rooney front man Robert Schwartzman all dined at a center table in the restaurant. After dinner the group, along with stunning tennis pro Anna Kournikova, who had drinks downstairs in the restaurant with friends, adjourned to the nightclub. Joining the entire group later were Paul and Lowndes, who were spotted dancing to the sounds of DJ Reach. Photos By: Denise Truscello

**** IT WAS A THRILLER TO MEET MICHAEL JACKSON **** David Salidor And Deborah Gibson It was 1988 and Long Island-born Debbie Gibson was the hottest thing since sliced bread. She broke onto the scene in 1986 via her song “Only In My Dreams’, and, by 1988 … was everywhere. We were in L.A. for numerous MTV events and media-ops, and the invitation came down to come see Michael Jackson at L.A.’s Forum. Deb was a huge fan, as was I, and was delighted when I was asked to join in. Quickly ushered into the backstage area … we were escorted in to meet Michael. In a huge room, brightly lit, there was The King Of Pop! He was genuinely delightful … honestly, all these years later I don’t recall what I expected, but he could not have been nicer. His personal photographer at the time, Harrison Funk, shot some photos … and, then we were gone. The one thing I’ll never forget is that as we were brought to a special VIP-area (were Tiffany, of all people, was sitting), Marlon Brando was wheeled in … ye...

Leighton Meester Actress Leighton Meester and Sebastian Stan are engaged after reportedly announcing their marriage plans on the social networking site Facebook.com. Meester has been dating Stan since he appeared on her hit Television show Gossip Girl last year, and now they are ready to make their romance official by exchanging vows. The New York Post's gossip column Page Six claims the stars both changed their relationship status to "engaged" on their online profiles this week, and Meester's representative are fueling the gossip by refusing to comment.This comes in after a sex tape purportedly starring the sexy star, ignited a bidding war between online porn sites, with offers for the video exceeding $1 million. Photos By: Walter McBride/RD / Dziekan / Retna Digital

Madonna Pop singing icon Madonna was planning to take to the stage for a one-time performance with Michael Jackson at his 50-date London residency. According to gossip, Madonna was desperate to join Jackson onstage at the 02 Arena in London England. Dates were due to start in July, and Madonna was all set to be a special guest, according to her manager Guy Oseary. In a post on his Twitter.com blog, Oseary says, "A month ago Madonna told me she wanted to do a surprise performance at one of Michael Jackson's UK shows." Photo By: Sara De Boer/Retna

Redmond O'Neal Television legend Farrah Fawcett's jailed son Redmond O'Neal has been granted permission by prison officials to attend his mother's funeral. Farrah died yesterday, after losing her three-year battle with cancer at the young age of 62. O'Neal, whose father is Fawcett's longtime partner Ryan O'Neal, is currently undergoing intensive drug treatment in a California prison following his April arrest on drug charges. Redmond was only allowed out of prison to visit his mother twice since he was locked up in April. But Commissioner Jane Godfrey has signed a removal order which allows O'Neal to attend his late mother's funeral, according to RadarOnline . The Web site reports O'Neal will be allowed to wear a suit rather than his jail clothing to pay his last respects to his mom. In a progress report hearing last month Godfrey declared O'Neal was "responding well" to drug treatment and he is due back in court next month. No dat...

Corey Feldman Actor Corey Feldman is guilt ridden following the death of ex-friend Michael Jackson, because he never had the chance to fix his broken friendship. Jackson befriended "The Goonies" child star as a teen, and the couple was often seen together at Hollywood events decked out in the same outfits. However, their friendship fell apart as Feldman grew older, and the pair severed their relationship in 2001. Feldman was also called to testify at Jackson's child molestation trial in 2005, and although he denied Jackson had abused him as a child, he went on to slam his former mentor, reportedly saying, "He did real damage in my overall life. Michael would sit and talk to me for hours and he would listen. Then, he would get bored." In a statement to TMZ.com , he writes, "I come to you today with great sadness, acknowledging the loss of the greatest entertainer in the history of mankind. For me he was more than that, he was my idol, he was a role model, ...

Zoe Kravitz Hollywood star Zoe Kravitz is denying gossip of a romance with loser Woody Harrelson, after the couple was seen enjoying drinks together during a recent night out in New York City. Kravitz, the daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet, was spotted at the bar of Manhattan's Jane Hotel last Saturday night, where she and a friend joined Harrelson. Rumors suggested the two stars spent the night together, but a representative for Kravitz has denied the claims. The spokesperson tells the New York Post's gossip column Page Six, "Zoe went to the Jane Hotel but left at midnight." Photo By: RD / Dziekan / Retna Digital

Elizabeth Taylor Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor ignited a medical emergency of her own yesterday, when she collapsed in her mansion after hearing about the tragic death of her very good friend Michael Jackson. A press representative for Taylor, who coined the phrase King of Pop when she presented him with an award in 1989, claimed the actress was "too devastated" to comment on Michael's death in the hours following the shocking news. But it's now emerged the actress, at age 77, is recovering from her own health problems, which prompted her personal physician to make a late visit to her home yesterday. According to In Touch magazine, Taylor was preparing to dash to UCLA Medical Center in California to be by Jackson's bedside when she was told of his untimely demise. A source says, "Liz was getting dressed when the second call came that Michael had died, and she collapsed. Liz is in a state of shock. "She and Michael had their ups and downs, but she neve...

Robert Pattinson Filming on sexy Robert Pattinson's new picture "Remember Me" was thrown into total chaos on Wednesday, when firefighters rushed to the New York City set to investigate a crumbling building. Robert is currently shooting the film in downtown Manhattan, but work was delayed when a crack in the wall of an old property nearby widened, setting off warning alarms placed to monitor the damaged building. Five fire engines and 20 firefighters rushed to the scene to get the situation under control, and the disruption caused a number of problems for the movie crew, which attempted to shoot around all the chaos. An source tells OK magazine, "It's causing a hold-up for the shoot. We can't get anything in or out of here." However, actor Pattinson refused to let the interruption interfere with his job. An onlooker says, "Robert was concentrating on his scene. But most of the crew were staring nervously at the crack in the building and talking abou...

Rihanna Pop singer Rihanna and Chris Brown allegedly are looking to have a court order of protection banning the couple from contacting one another lifted because they want to work on their friendship. A Los Angeles California Supreme Court judge sentenced Brown to community service and probation on Monday after he pleaded guilty to assaulting Rihanna following an altercation in February that left Rihanna battered and bruised badly. Brown was also told he must stay at least 50 yards away from Rihanna and keep a distance of 10 yards from her if they attend the same event. But the singers are reportedly eager to have the ban removed because they consider it "unnecessary" and have already broken the order by patching things up over the phone. A source close to the pair tells the New York Daily News, "They think it's unnecessary and ridiculous. "After (the court proceeding) Ri and Chris talked on the phone for almost an hour and really worked at becoming friends. T...

Farrah Fawcett's Star Michael Jackson 's Star Hollywood Walk of Fame Flower tributes for Super Star Michael Jackson and award winning actress Farrah Fawcett in Hollywood, California today. Photos By: Sara De Boer / Retna Ltd.