Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 31, 1993 TAG: 9401050180
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FRANK SWERTLOW LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
The divorces were uglier and more intense, and even some of the marriages were sudden and shocking. And then there was the Michael Jackson saga.
Following are the 10 celebrity stories that captured the attention of the public and the media.
1. Michael Jackson: The 35-year-old superstar has been accused in a civil lawsuit of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy, prompting a criminal investigation in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties. Jackson has not been charged and has repeatedly denied the accusations. In November, Jackson abruptly canceled his international ``Dangerous'' tour and released an audio tape in which he said he was seeking treatment for an addiction to painkillers.
2. Heidi Fleiss: The daughter of a Los Angeles pediatrician, Fleiss was arrested this summer and charged with pandering. For weeks, speculation about the names in her little black books swirled through the entertainment industry, but neither Fleiss - dubbed the ``Madam to the Stars'' - nor the LAPD have talked. Fleiss has pleaded not guilty to five counts of pandering and one count of transporting and selling cocaine.
3. Woody & Mia & Soon-Yi: Woody Allen, who has been having an affair with Mia Farrow's 22-year-old adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn, was accused by Farrow of molesting the couple's 7-year-old adopted daughter, Dylan. Farrow claimed Allen was depraved, and Allen charged that Farrow was disturbed. Farrow won custody of Dylan, and charges against Allen were dropped.
4. River Phoenix: The young star of ``Stand by Me'' and ``Running on Empty,'' Phoenix was touted as a clean-living actor with a limitless future. But he died outside the Hollywood club Viper Room with a lethal mix of heroin and cocaine in his blood.
5. Burt and Loni: Burt Reynolds, star of ``Evening Shade,'' embraced the National Enquirer as his mouthpiece when he announced he was splitting from his wife, Loni Anderson. He accused Loni of being unfaithful, but also disclosed his own infidelities with a Florida cocktail lounge manager. All the while, Anderson kept mum on the subject.
6. Shannen Doherty: The ``Beverly Hills, 90210'' superbrat had a sizzling year in Hollywood's fast lane. In May, her ex-fiance, Dean Factor, sought a restraining order, claiming she had brandished a gun at him. The matter was resolved without court intervention. United California Bank sued her for $31,628 in bad checks. Doherty's former publicist and manager claimed they hadn't been paid, and her ex-landlord claimed she owed him $14,000 in back rent. Her marriage to Ashley Hamilton, the son of supertanned George Hamilton, was so casual that friends had to bring their own beer to the reception at her rented Mulholland Drive house. And earlier this month, word was out that Doherty's option to appear for a fifth season as Brenda Walsh on ``90210'' was not picked up.
7. Chevy Chase: On paper, Chevy Chase seemed to have it all: funny, can act and deliver impromptu lines. But when the curtain rose for his talk show in September, he fumbled, stumbled and looked like a dropout from the ``Gong Show.'' Fox-TV finally pulled the plug after about five weeks.
8. Ted and Whoopi: Were they or weren't they an item? The speculation for most of the year was that they were, but bashful Danson always ducked answering any questions about the state of their relationship while Goldberg offered a terse ``no comment'' to queries. It all fizzled after Danson showed up in black face at a Friars Club dinner in New York City, where Goldberg was being roasted. It was bad joke that did not fly with the guests, but the couple repeatedly defended themselves to the media.
9. Julia Roberts & Lyle Lovett: It must have been love at first sight for Hollywood's ``Pretty Woman'' and country music's Eraserhead. They fooled everyone with their quickie wedding in a small-town church in Indiana.
10. Tom & Roseanne - & Kim: Hollywood's resident pranksters, Roseanne and Tom Arnold announced early this month that they were marrying their 23-year-old assistant, Kim Silva. The prank took on a life of its own when the media took them seriously. The Arnolds quickly denied they had any intention of living in a three-way relationship, although they have announced they still plan to marry Silva in a mock wedding.
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YEAR 1993
by CNB