HOLLYWOOD DIRT OVERFLOW (6-24-09)

ED MCMAHON HAS DIED:

Entertainment GIANT ED MCMAHON passed away just after midnight yesterday morning. He was 86 years old.

Ed's rep said he died at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, surrounded by his wife and other loved ones. (--Ed and his third wife, Pamela, had been married for 17 years. Ed had five children from his previous two marriages.)

There's no word on the cause of death, but Ed's rep cited, "a multitude of health problems the last few months." Back in March, McMahon was hospitalized for several weeks with a serious case of pneumonia . . . as well as other, unspecified ailments. (--There were reports at the time that he was battling bone cancer. Those were never confirmed.)

McMahon is probably best known for his 35-year association with JOHNNY CARSON. It began when Ed served as the announcer on Johnny's daytime game show, "Who Do You Trust?", from 1958 to 1962.

When Johnny took over as host of the "Tonight Show" in '62, Ed went with him . . . and stayed on until Johnny retired in 1992. (--Carson died in 2005, at the age of 79.)

He also hosted "Star Search" for 12 years, beginning in 1983. That show helped launch the careers of Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Rosie O'Donnell, just to name a few.

Sadly, Ed was best known toward the end of his life for battling the foreclosure of his Beverly Hills home. He spoofed his financial troubles in a series of ads for FreeCreditReport.com. (--Check 'em out here . . .)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhVxy6XlsAMhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl4gh60WJWY

He also did a Cash4Gold.com commercial with MC HAMMER, that ran during this year's Super Bowl. (--Watch that one here . . .)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrNipeP4HvQ

He will be missed!

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POTTY BREAK

Here's a semi-amusing video of BRITNEY SPEARS making a mad dash for the bathroom . . .http://www.tmz.com/videos?autoplay=true&mediaKey=6031bed2-a02b-466f-9087-5ed0cafe364a

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WIPE OUT!!

"Twilight" actress KRISTEN STEWART wiped out BIG-TIME during the filming of her new movie, "The Runaways". (--Check out the video . . .) http://www.tmz.com/videos?autoplay=true&mediaKey=d30cb30d-8956-4db9-9170-e0413b141ddf

(--"The Runaways" is about the '70s all-girl rock band of the same name. Kristen is playing JOAN JETT. LITA FORD was also in the band.)

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FACEBOOK - THE MOVIE???

Facebook: You love the website . . . now watch the MOVIE. Seriously . . . there's a movie in the works called "The Social Network". It's about the evolution of Facebook from its creation in 2004 to the present.

DAVID FINCHER is in talks to direct it. (--His credits include "Seven", "Fight Club" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" . . . all starring Brad Pitt.)

The script was written by "West Wing" creator AARON SORKIN.

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"JON AND KATE PLUS EIGHT" SCORED *HUGE* RATINGS ON MONDAY NIGHT . . . BUT NOW THE SHOW IS GOING ON HIATUS:

The TLC reality SENSATION "Jon and Kate Plus Eight" scored HUGE ratings on Monday night . . . for the episode where JON and KATE GOSSELIN announced their, quote, "separation." (--In actuality, they've begun divorce proceedings.)

An estimated 10.6 million viewers tuned in . . . (--which is remarkable for a lot of reasons, including the fact that EVERYONE knew the divorce thing was coming.) That's the biggest audience in TLC's history, and it also beat out every show on the networks on Monday night.

Obviously, that means it outdrew the "Jon & Kate" season premiere, which scored (a then-record) 9.8 million viewers last month. "Jon and Kate Plus Eight" is riding some serious ratings momentum right now, and TLC has announced that it'll respond by . . . putting the show on HIATUS. --For real.

Production on the show has been halted. Next Monday's episode will be a clip show, which will reflect on Jon and Kate's 10-year marriage. The next NEW episode is tentatively scheduled to air on August 3rd.

Right now, the show is only six episodes into a planned 40-episode, fifth season. In a statement, the network said, "TLC continues to support the Gosselin family and will work closely with them to determine the best way to continue to tell their story as they navigate through this difficult time. -"The show will be on hiatus until August 3rd. During this time the family will take some time off to regroup and then a modified schedule will be in place to support the family's transition."

According to the "Los Angeles Times", it was TLC's call to take a break . . . not the Gosselins'. Supposedly, all this divorce insanity caught the producers without enough current footage for new episodes. (--I guess this means they're going to SCRAP most of the material that they had prior to the divorce announcement. We'd heard they had a few episodes worth of footage from before all that went down. But a lot of it is probably irrelevant now.)

By the way, the "Hollywood Reporter" says all this "Jon and Kate" hysteria has boosted the ratings of the series that airs after it, a reality show called "Cake Boss". That show observes the daily happenings at a New Jersey bakery.