AUGUST 6, 2018

Charlotte Rae died yesterday, at the age of 92. She was Mrs. Garrett on “Diff’rent Strokes” and “The Facts of Life”.  First she was the housekeeper on “Diff’rent Strokes”, for the Drummond boys, played by Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges.  Then she played the same character on “The Facts of Life”, which was actually a spinoff . . . she was the ‘housemother’ at an all-girls private school.  Just TWO DAYS before Charlotte kicked the bucket, a “Facts of Life” reboot was announced.

 

DEMI LOVATO issued her first statement since being hospitalized for an apparent overdose almost two weeks ago. She admitted that addiction is something she, “must continue to overcome and have not done yet.” She also thanked her fans for their “positive thoughts and prayers” . . . and her family, friends, and medical staff for their support. She added, “I now need time to heal and focus on my sobriety and road to recovery.  The love you have all shown me will never be forgotten and I look forward to the day where I can say I came out on the other side.  “I will keep fighting.”

 

LANCE BASS had a very emotional weekend. He really, really wanted to own the “Brady Bunch” house, which was recently put on the market.  This is the one that was used for the EXTERIOR shots. The asking price was $1.89 million, and since he was expecting a bidding war, he offered a LOT more than that. TMZ says it was about $3 million.  He was later told that he’d won, and that the house would be his. But Lance says that AFTER the deadline for offers passed, a “Hollywood studio” came in and outbid him, and took it out from under his nose. He said that he was willing to go even higher, but he was informed that the other buyer would “outperform any bid” and they had “unlimited resources.” He said he was “heartbroken,” and he was also upset because he thinks he was merely “used” to set the price . . . and that this “corporation” had always intended on swooping in and buying it after all the bids were in.

 

“Mission: Impossible – Fallout” held the top spot at the box office for a second straight week, with $35 million. “Disney’s Christopher Robin” opened with $25 million, which was good for second place.

 

A security guard thought TYLER FARR was a fan going into a restricted area so he took him down. Hard.  It was at his show in Minnesota. He had jumped into the crowd to mix it up with the fans.  The security guy didn’t recognize him. Tyler told Taste of Country, “He was about 6′ 5″, and about 350 pounds.  I think.  I didn’t know what was going on.  I was mad as hell, but yeah, he took me out.” The crew had to convince the guard that he pounced on the wrong guy before he’d let him up. Tyler didn’t get away clean, though.  “A sprained ankle and a big thump on the head later, and a little visit to the ER, and we’re good to go.”

 

Kenan Thompson’s living his best life in 2018 — he turned 40, earned his first-ever acting Emmy nomination and now he’s become a father for the second time to a baby girl. The ‘SNL’ star’s wife, Christina Evangeline, gave birth to Gianna Michelle Tuesday night in Florida. Little Gianna weighed a healthy 6 pounds, 6 ounces. The couple already has another daughter, Georgia Marie, and the two are already inseparable and obsessed with each other.

 

KELSEA BALLERINI opened up about her new friend, HALSEY. Although they first met a while back, they didn’t connect until she and some friends went to Halsey’s show in Nashville last month. She said, “I’m obviously a really big fan of her music, so I went to the show with my friends and afterwards said hi, and she didn’t have a show the next day, so she was like, ‘Let’s go hang. ‘ And I was like, ‘Yep. ‘” That’s the night they ended up knocking down some beers, doing karaoke . . . and then posting pics of it on social media.  We just hung out a few places in Nashville.  We’re both really similar in age and had a lot to talk about . . . it was cool to be around someone who’s so creative and so driven and so down-to-earth. “She really is so lovely.  I feel like I made a new friend.”  Kelsea’s 24, and Halsey is 23.

 

DAVID FAUSTINO says the whole “Married . . . With Children” cast is down for a revival . . . if they can work out the legal issues.

 

Some thieves in Nashville stole one of LITTLE BIG TOWN’s trailers last week. Police eventually found the trailer, and although it’s not clear what was taken from inside . . . there wasn’t much in the first place. The group posted this on Instagram: “To the guys that stole our trailer . . . guess you thought you were getting vintage guitars and amps.  Instead you got two old kid bikes, one scooter, a baby pool, and a unicorn float.  Karma’s a funny thing.”

 

CRAIG CAMPBELL cast his wife Mindy Ellis as the lead in his “See You Try” lyric video. She’s made a cameo in all of his videos, but this is her first time out front.  He says “I felt like this was the perfect song.  We had a lot of fun making this video.”

 

DOLLY PARTON announced a $37 million expansion to her Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. They’re building a new land called Wildwood Grove, which will feature six new rides, plus a live entertainment venue and a 55-foot tall wildwood tree that will “serve as the land’s centerpiece.”

 

Police are closing the Route 91 investigation. After hundreds of interviews and thousands of hours of investigative work, they found no motive, and are confident there was no conspiracy or second gunman.

 

 

 

 

Soleil Moon Frye is 42.

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