Roy Rogers' Stuffed Horse Sold

A Nebraska cable TV network ponied up $266,500 for Roy Rogers' stuffed and mounted horse, Trigger, at an auction in New York City on Wednesday.

The movie cowboy's faithful companion was bought by the cable company RFD-TV in Omaha, Neb., at a Christie's auction of items from the now-closed Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum in Branson, Mo.

Trigger's sale price outpaced the estimated $100,000 to $200,000 it was expected to fetch, with many other items also selling far above estimate.

RFD-TV's chief financial officer Steve Campione says Rogers reflects the company's values. The network airs mainly agricultural, equine and country living programming.

The company's owner, Patrick Gottsch, wanted to buy the whole Rogers collection but didn't have time to work out the deal, Campione said.

"It came to our attention a little too late," Campione said. "By the time we lined up the right financing and kind of got our arms around the value of the collection, it was literally 24 hours ago."

Auctioneer Cathy Elkies said it was the "most colorful, emotional and sentimental" sale she had experienced in her 20 years at Christie's. Many of the bidders in the packed hall came in Western attire and cowboy boots, and there were more than a few tears.

Rogers' son Roy Jr. cried at the beginning of the sale as he spoke of the family's decision to auction Roy's belongings.

"We hope you get a piece of Roy and Dale and take it home and you'll get to pass it on to your children," he said.

There also were strong emotions among Jamie Nudie, Mary Lynn Cabrall and Julie Ann Ream, who flew in from Los Angeles to reclaim a piece of their personal history.

Nudie's grandfather was the "rodeo tailor" who designed Rogers' colorful Western outfits, as well as Rogers' silver-dollar encrusted 1964 Bonneville convertible that sold for $254,500 on the auction block.

The three women have carried on Nudie's Western tailoring business, and they were there to reclaim the Nudie trailer shaped like a covered wagon that the tailor had given to Rogers as a gift in the 1960s. Ream broke down in tears when her paddle went up and she got the trailer for $3,000 without a fight. The trailer was expected to fetch between $5,000 and $8,000.

"For it to come back into our family — it's amazing," she said.

Ream, the niece of another famous singing cowboy, Rex Allen, said her family was close friends with the Rogers' family. She said some of Rogers' children didn't support the auction, and she didn't think Rogers and his wife, Dale Evans, would have wanted the collection dispersed either.

"They are spinning in their graves right now," she said.

Cabrall, also a family friend, had another take on Rogers' wishes.

"Roy always said, `When I'm dead, skin me and put me up on Trigger,'" she said. "It's a famous quote. If he got his wish, he'd be up here for sale today."

Rogers had Trigger preserved with taxidermy and mounted rearing on its hind legs in 1965. The presale estimate for the horse was $100,000 to $200,000.

Roy Jr. said it was difficult to put the collection up for auction, but he said Rogers had told the family to sell the museum collection if it stopped making money and became a burden.

"You're smiling out of one side of the face and crying out of the other," he said.

As for Trigger's new owner, Campione says RFD-TV hopes to start its own Western museum and is looking to buy more Rogers items.

In the meantime, Trigger will be put to pasture at either the network's office lobby or Gottsch's house until final plans are made.

Other items auctioned Wednesday included Roy's first guitar, which sold for $8,750, compared to an estimated high of $3,000; his first boots, which sold for $7,500, compared to an estimate of $4,000; and a charm bracelet that sold for $20,000, compared to an estimate of $9,000.

All sale prices include the buyer's premium of 25 percent for most items, or 20 percent for prices in excess of $50,000.

The auction was to continue Thursday with more than 1,000 items, including the Rogers' family dinner table, toy six-shooters, Rogers-themed tin lunchboxes and the Jeep "Nellybelle" from the Roy Rogers TV show.

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Kelsey Grammer and Wife Ending Marriage

Kelsey Grammer and his wife are divorcing after nearly 13 years of marriage.

Court records show Camille Grammer filed for divorce from the "Cheers" and "Frasier" star Thursday in Los Angeles.

Grammer and his wife were married in August 1997 and have two children, ages 8 and 5.

The actor's publicist, Stan Rosenfield, issued a statement seeking privacy for the family.

Camille Grammer is seeking physical custody of the children and visitation for the 55-year-old actor.

The filing cites "irreconciliable differences" for the breakup but offers no details.



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Manager Who Discovered Kiss Dies

Bill Aucoin, who discovered the rock group Kiss and helped build them into a musical and merchandising juggernaut, died Monday in Florida. He was 66.

Aucoin died at Aventura Hospital and Medical Center in Aventura of surgical complications from prostate cancer, said Carol Kaye, a family spokeswoman.

A former television cinematographer, Aucoin discovered Kiss in New York City in 1973 and helped launch the makeup-wearing, fire-breathing quartet into a moneymaking machine.

He financed the band's first tour on his personal American Express credit card when money was tight, but he was well rewarded when the band's popularity exploded in 1975 with the hit "Rock And Roll All Nite."

"He was the fifth Kiss," said drummer Peter Criss, who had Aucoin serve as the best man at his second wedding. "If it wasn't for Bill, there would be no Kiss."

Aucoin first saw the band at a showcase gig at New York's Diplomat Hotel, then brought it upstairs to meet with record company executive Neil Bogart, who signed it as the first act on his Casablanca Records label.

Criss said Aucoin had an eye for what was visually striking and recognized the vast merchandising potential of rock bands in a way that few others could. With Aucoin's help, Kiss became as famous for the vast array of products bearing their likeness — including belt buckles, Halloween costumes and makeup kits, action figurines, vitamins and even a Kiss pinball machine — as they were for their music.

By 1978, they were voted the No. 1 band in America in a Gallup poll.

"He was a genius," Criss said. "Anything you could do, he could do bigger."

After parting with Kiss in the early 1980s, Aucoin managed Billy Squier and Billy Idol.

He is survived by his longtime partner, Roman Fernandez, and two sisters, Betty Britton and Janet Bankowski.

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A tribute from fans, a lawsuit from dad

LOS ANGELES – On the day Michael Jackson's fans paid their respects with tears, tributes, songs and dance, Jackson's father filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the doctor charged with giving his son a lethal dose of drugs.

Joe Jackson's visit to a federal courtroom in Los Angeles, while thousands of people were filing through the gates of a nearby cemetery to mourn the man they call the King of Pop, punctuated once again just how brilliantly the star that was Michael Jackson's life had burned, and how suddenly it had been extinguished.

"The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, Gone Too Soon," proclaimed a 100-foot banner spread out near the entrance to Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale on Friday to mark the first anniversary of Jackson's death.

"He's been my idol all my life since I can remember. I feel like I haven't had closure," said Erick Dominguez, who traveled more than 80 miles from his home in Victorville to the Los Angeles suburb to pay his respects. As he spoke, the 37-year-old sales representative, his eyes hidden by sunglasses, began to weep. He was joined by mourners from Italy, France, Spain, Norway and numerous other parts of the world.

Several of Jackson's relatives also visited the cemetery, going to its mausoleum, where Jackson's body is entombed and which is off limits to the public. Brother Tito shook hands with fans as he arrived, and brother Jermaine rolled down a window and waved as the family left in a fleet of luxury vehicles. As they departed, fans released a flock of white doves.

"It was a beautiful sight," said one of the mourners, Courtland Llauger.

In Jackson's hometown of Gary, Ind., hundreds cheered as the entertainer's mother, Katherine Jackson, unveiled a memorial to her son in the front yard of the modest home where he grew up.

"This past year has been very hard on the family," she told the crowd. "If it wasn't for the help of all of you, we wouldn't have made it through."

Jackson died June 25, 2009 at age 50, just before he was to begin a comeback tour. Dr. Conrad Murray has pleaded not guilty to felony involuntary manslaughter. Authorities say Murray provided the entertainer with a mix of sedatives — including the powerful anesthetic propofol — that killed him.

Jackson's father filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the physician Friday, seeking more than $75,000. The complaint accuses Murray of professional negligence and contends he tried to conceal his administration of propofol after Jackson's death. Propofol is normally administered only in hospital settings. Murray had been providing it in the bedroom of Jackson's rented mansion in Los Angeles to help him sleep after the physically grueling rehearsals the performer had been putting himself through to get in shape for his comeback.

Murray attorney Charles Peckham said in a statement he expected his client's innocence to be "proven in a court of law."

Away from the courtroom, numerous tributes to Jackson, both poignant and joyful, unfolded throughout the day.

In Japan, hundreds met at Tokyo Tower to honor Jackson with a candlelight vigil, a gospel concert and more. Some got a chance to see some of his possessions, including costumes from his tours and even a 1967 Rolls-Royce Phantom that he used to drive around Los Angeles.

"I don't know what to say. Seeing all his things makes it all come back to me," said Yumiko Sasaki, a 48-year-old Tokyo office worker who said she has been a Jackson fan since she was 12. "It makes me so sad to think that he is gone. He was wonderful."

In New York City, crowds gathered at Harlem's fabled Apollo Theater, where Jackson and his brothers rocketed to fame as the Jackson 5, winning amateur night in the late 1960s. His pictures were hung outside and a sidewalk plaque honored the singer alongside such other Apollo legends as James Brown and Smokey Robinson.

In Santa Barbara's wine country, people showed up throughout the day at Neverland, the playland home where Jackson once lived with his own zoo and amusement park. There, by the front gates, they danced, listened to music and exchanged hugs and tears.

In cyberspace, people also paused to remember Jackson. Among them was Mariah Carey who said via Twitter that she was marking the day by watching the video "You Are Not Alone."

"Love and prayers to MJ 'King of Pop,'" she tweeted. "You will be remembered forever. We miss you."

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Ed Hardy Make-up

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Amanda Bynes Retires?

Amanda Bynes claims that she is retiring from acting. She definitely hasn't been acting because she has not starred in a film since 2007.

Amanda must have realized that her career wasn't going anywhere so she has decided to quit acting at age 24.

"Being an actress isn't as fun as it may seem," she wrote on her Twitter page. "If I don't love something anymore, I stop doing it. I don't love acting anymore, so I've stopped doing it."

"I know 24 is a young age to retire but you heard it here first I've #retired," she added.

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Did Ex-wife Shannon Kill Gary Coleman?

Sounding defensive, Shannon Price, actor Gary Coleman's ex-wife fuels the suspicion that she may have contributed to Gary's recent death. Adding to that is their rocky relationship and possibly Gary's estate. However, that estate may not be worth much at all. Over the course of his Diff'rent Strokes career, Coleman earned roughly $18 million. Coleman's parents set up a trust fund for the money, but wrote themselves into the agreement as paid employees. When the court dissolved the trust, his parents' share was said to be worth only $770,000, while Coleman himself reportedly saw only $220,000. Coleman successfully sued his parents and managers, but for nowhere near the amount he had earned during the course of the show; reports of the settlement ranged from $1.8 to $3.8 million. Unless Gary was careful with that money there truely may be little in the bank. As this plays out, time will show if Shannon had any involvement in Gary Coleman's passing.

Gary Coleman’s ex-wife said on “Good Morning America” Monday that she would take her own life before ever harming him and that the couple had actually been planning to renew their wedding vows until health issues intervened.

Shannon Price, who arrived for the interview in a wheelchair, also described the moments leading up to the fall that eventually resulted in Coleman’s death.

"I asked him if he could make me some food," she told the ABC show. "He went down there (to the kitchen) and I heard this big smack. I went down there and found him in a pool of blood.

"People can say whatever they want. I know the truth," she said. "I would never hurt my husband, ever."

Price and the former child star, who died May 26 of an intracranial hemorrhage, married in 2007 when she was 22 and he was 40. They divorced in 2008 but she said they planned to remarry.

"We decided that (divorce) wasn't what we wanted,” she told GMA. “We just had a disagreement. After we filed and it went through we decided that wasn't the right choice."

Health issues delayed their vow renewals, she said, adding, "I have had a lot of health issues. I have seizures, I have anxiety. I miss my husband a lot. I can barely get around. It's been a trial."

Coleman had a lifelong history of health problems, including congenital kidney disease that resulted in two kidney transplants, and heart surgery complicated by pneumonia last fall.

"We discussed death a few times and he always said he would be very unfair if he left me and I really respect that," Price told GMA, "because I loved him and he loved me and we just can't live without each other."

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Kylie Minogue - All The Lovers

Kylie Minogue's new song All The Lovers.
See and hear it here.

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