Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter

Former president Jimmy Carter will celebrate his 85th birthday Thursday  at 10:30 a.m. by hosting the grand re-opening of the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum in Atlanta.

Carter Center reps tell Buzz that the public is invited to the celebration, following a five-month major renovation. The library is located at 441 Freedom Parkway.

Among the guest speakers: Former vice-president Walter Mondale, Governor Sonny Perdue, Joseph Lowery, Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin, Carter Library director Jay Hakes and President and Rosalynn Carter.

Free public parking will be offered on North Avenue south of City Hall East and a  shuttle service will be provided back and forth to the library.

For details: www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov.

Continue reading Carter to celebrate 85th birthday with library re-opening »

Continue reading Leon’s True Colors remain as he directs ‘Private Practice’ »

Sept. 29: Actor Steve Forrest is 85. Actress Anita Ekberg is 78. Singer Jerry Lee Lewis is 74. Actor Ian McShane is 67. Jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty is 67. TV theme composer Mike Post is 65. Actress Patricia Hodge is 63. Guitarist Mike Pinera of Iron Butterfly is 61. Singer-guitarist Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad is 61. TV personality Bryant Gumbel is 61. Country singer Alvin Crow is 59. Actor Drake Hogestyn (”Days of Our Lives”) is 56. PBS newswoman Gwen Ifill is 54. Child actor Ken Weatherwax (Pugsley on “The Addams Family”) is 54. Singer Suzzy Roche of The Roches is 53. Comedian Andrew “Dice” Clay is 52. Singer-bassist Les Claypool of Primus is 46. Actress Jill Whelan (”Love Boat”) is 43. Bassist Brad Smith of Blind Melon is 41. Singer Devante Swing of Jodeci is 40. Actress Emily Lloyd is 39. Actress Natasha Gregson Wagner is 39. Actress Rachel Cronin (”Ed”) is 38. Guitarist Josh Farro of Paramore is …

Continue reading Celebrity birthdays »

Whitney Houston ducking into a photo shoot at King Plow Arts Center today. Courtesy: Michael Erickson

Over the lunch hour Monday, former Atlantan Whitney Houston was seen popping into a photo session at King Plow Arts Center in downtown Atlanta.

We hear she’s in town shooting photos for an InStyle magazine feature.  A fleet of black SUVs and a small squadron of stylists announced the pop star’s arrival.

Fifth Group Restaurant’s director of marketing Michael Erickson was at his company’s special event space, The King Plow Event Gallery when he saw the commotion and thoughtfully snapped a photo to share with Buzz readers. As she arrived, Houston was dressed in black and stepped into a photography studio that had blacked out its windows for the occasion.

Upon entering the facility, fans who work in the building attempted to bestow flowers upon the pop star.

But apparently, that sweet, humble lady we all saw on “Oprah” two weeks ago has once again been replaced with the …

Continue reading Spotted! Whitney Houston is back in Atlanta »

Lady GaGa

Live Nation just slipped word to Buzz Central about potentially the weirdest, wildest concert tour of the fall: Billboard magazine’s just-selected “Rising Star” Lady GaGa is touring this fall on a double bill with rapper  and the MTV Video Music Awards’ “I’mma let you finish” Beyonce sympathizer Kanye West.

The tour hits Philips Arena Friday, Dec. 11 at 8 p.m. Tickets go on sale Saturday at noon through Ticketmaster and will range from $39.50 to $129.50.

The pop star behind the omnipresent radio and club hits “Poker Face” and “Just Dance” is no stranger to odd double bills. Last fall, the dance diva cut her arena stadium venue teeth opening for New Kids On The Block in front of thousands of screaming soccer moms.

Kayne West

Will you go to see a Kanye and GaGa concert mash up? Is it an odd coupling or a brilliant musical move?

Continue reading Lady GaGa and Kanye West ‘Fame Kills’ dates announced »

Inaugural season “American Idol” runner up  Justin Guarini quietly tied the knot over the weekend in Pennsylvania. The 30-year-old former Atlantan is the son of Clayton County Board of Commissioners chairman Eldrin Bell, Atlanta’s former police chief.

The bride? Guarini’s former Pennsylvania classmate Reina Capodici, 29.

And no, the groom did not perform at the small wedding with a guest list of 50. The couple instead hired a string quartet who played renditions of their favorite songs by Paramore and Radiohead.

Explains Guarini, a part-time TV Guide corespondent to TVguide.com: “We didn’t want typical wedding music. We wanted to have songs that meant a lot to us but performed very uniquely.”

Read Guarini’s entire interview with TV Guide here.

Continue reading Coupling: Justin Guarini weds »

Pro golfer Tiger Woods checking out of the W hotel downtown Sunday. We hear the golf club phenom stayed there while playing in the Tour Championship over the weekend at the East Lake Golf Club.

Let’s hope Woods packed an empty carry-on bag in his luggage. He took home the $10 million prize FedEx Cup in the tournament.

Continue reading Overscene: Tiger Woods »

Sept. 28: Actor William Windom (”Murder, She Wrote”) is 86. Actor Arnold Stang is 84. Actress Brigitte Bardot is 75. Singer Ben E. King is 71. Actor Joel Higgins (”Silver Spoons”) is 66. Actor Jeffrey Jones is 63. Writer-director-actor John Sayles is 59. Actress Sylvia Kristel (”Emmanuelle,” “Private Lessons”) is 57. Actress-comedian Janeane Garofalo is 45. Country singer Matt King is 43. Actress Mira Sorvino is 42. TV personality Moon Zappa is 42. Actress Naomi Watts is 41. Country singer Mandy Barnett is 34. Rapper Young Jeezy is 32. Actor Peter Cambor (”NCIS: Los Angeles”) is 31. TV personality Bam Margera(”Jackass”) is 30. Actress Hilary Duff is 22.

Continue reading Celebrity birthdays »

Even panda rain ponchos couldn't keep Jazzoo co-chairs Chris Carter and Gene Rice dry as the Zoo Atlanta benefit began Saturday night.

Some of  Zoo Atlanta’s residents may have been on the look out for Noah and his favored mode of transportation as the 2nd annual Jazzoo benefit for the zoo began Saturday night in Grant Park.

Guests arrived in rubber boots and umbrellas as 20 of Atlanta’s best restaurants prepared nibbles, the booze began flowing at the open bars sprinkled throughout the zoo and four stages of entertainment got underway.

Despite a wet start, by the time the rain subsided and cooler, more fall-like temps prevailed, more than 1500 supporters had turned out.

 And they were hungry.

JCT Kitchen's pimento cheese sliders were among the popular nibbles.

Even before the evening’s emcees “Good Day Atlanta” co-host Suchita Vadlamani and V-103’s Elle Duncan could introduce the massive lion cub-themed cake created by the Highland Bakery, attendees had …

Continue reading Downpour doesn’t dampen zoo benefit »

On Sunday, actor and Twitter addict Ashton Kutcher took time out to remember the Georgians affected by last week’s floods.

Kutcher  first became a fan of our fair state earlier this year when he spent two months shooting “Five Killers” here.

Via a retweet, Kutcher posted a link to atlantaredcross.org, a list of shelters and other flood-related profiles and information  on Twitter.

In a matter of seconds, Kutcher beamed the valuable info to 3,701,602 followers. . .

Continue reading Tweet of the day: Ashton Kutcher »