Celeb Interviews

Like a Magician But Cooler

Host of Cupcake Wars on Food Network
“Rachael Ray” Show Buddy/Correspondent – (over 20 appearances)
Disney’s “Suite Life on Deck”
MTV’s Room 401
Host/Creator Turning Tricks (Lifeskool network)

1. Someone once dared me _
Someone once dared me to do magic naked. I’m all for it, but where would I hide the rabbit?

2. My most unexpected moment in entertainment _
During college I was doing a show for an uber-devout Christian summer camp. My illusions must have been top-notch that day, because they stopped my show half-way through. Apparently the preacher feared my magic was the work of the devil…I took it as a compliment.

3. Hot on the trail of Houdini, what’s your next plan to marvel us?
I can’t wait to find out myself! I’m just happy to be doing what I dreamed of doing when I was a kid. Best job ever!

4. Now that you have your street cred, whom do you admire in your arena?
I’ve always been a huge Steve Martin fan. He’s a living legend, his early comedy is timeless, and he too started as a magician….definitely a career to emulate!

5. Lost on an island—five things I’d want (not need)
1.) A Frisbee
2.) Someone to play Frisbee with
3.) A deck of cards
4.) My iPhone (with power source & 3G tower of course)
5.) A boat.

6. My best kiss happened …
My best smooch has to be the asses I kissed in order to get on the Rachael Ray Show.

7. Something most people don’t know about me …
I sometimes do a trick in my show where it appears that I swallow a long balloon sword. I don’t actually swallow it, but it really looks like I do. Well, unfortunately one time it didn’t really go as planned…and I had to actually swallow the balloon. While everything came out okay (excuse the vile pun), it did open my eyes to a potential career as a narcotics mule.

Justin lives up to his recent title of “Entertainer of the Year 2009″ from Campus Activities Magazine. (That’s three years in a row…btw)

Justin has toured with musician Jason Mraz as the host & ringmaster of “Music, Magic, and Make Peace”. The groundbreaking tour was a neo-vaudeville, earth-friendly, circus-on-wheels.

Check him out at www.justinkredible.com
And look to You Tube, www.youtube.com/watch

Motivator, Exercise Guru Extraordinaire, Inspiration to countless men and women, gracious guy and a little bit wacky, Richard Simmons is a must meet in Los Angeles.

I took Richards class after a friend and her husband took it on a whim. We all know him from the countless times we’ve seen him on TV, his books, his DVDs, but what I hadn’t known was that he was merely 15 minutes from my doorstep. And once I saw the photos they took with him, I knew I had to meet the icon and see what all the sweat was about. He wears the dazzling tanks and striped shorts and arrives to a packed class full of men and women of all sizes. And it appears there’s always visiting some Parisians. Richard is global.

After just a few classes, it’s easy to see why Richard draws such an adoring crowd. He makes you laugh, he makes you sweat and then he makes you laugh some more. And while you shake your ass and kick your legs for the 500th time while singing along to Michael Jackson or an old Broadway tune he motivates you to take better care of yourself. So friends, if you haven’t visited his studio, Slimmons in Beverly Hills, it’s time to put pedal to the metal. Here’s a snippet of some private time I got with Richard.

What brought you to LA to start up the exercise craze?
I moved from New Orleans in the 70’s. I worked as a waiter at night and during the day I took lots of classes like Pilates, yoga, tap and jazz. I never saw fat people. I had originally lost my weight through dieting so this was new to me, but I felt something was missing. One day I passed this building, Wilson’s House of Suede and it was up for sale. I had $25,000 saved and decided to go for it. I put up flyers in the neighborhood and soon people were coming for classes. And 38 years later, it’s still going strong.

Did you ever think you’d reach icon status?
This is my job, my crusade. I look forward not left and right. This is my fun and my hobby. Isn’t it great that I can combine my hobby and exercise?

You have such a strong following of all kinds of people—the rich dames of Beverly Hills, heavy and slender men and women, gay and straight, all kinds in such a welcoming environment. What keeps it going?
It’s friendly, good music and before you know it an hour has passed and you see yourself in the mirror and you look better.

Why records in class?
I’ve been collecting records for over 38 years. I started going to Tower Records and several other places and I’d sit on the floor of the studio and listen to them to find the right songs for class. A good mix. I now have a huge record room. I do go to iTunes and MasterBeat as well. It’s about anything that will put a spell on people so they don’t think about their credit card bills or any worries. Old and new music that will give people energy and forget about the 500 leg lifts. You just come in here and let the disco ball spin and have fun.

What do you love about living in LA?
I live a pretty recluse life. I don’t go out much, but I do sneak out to farmer’s markets once in awhile. I have my own garden as well. I do love movies and seeing them on a TV is not the same as the big screen so about four times a year I treat myself and go out to the movies.

I love, love dogs. I used to have eight Dalmations and now I’m down to one. My 14 yr old Dalmation, Hattie. Whenever I’m in town I take Hattie for a drive and let her put her face to the wind outside the window.

And I love to cook.

You’re deserted on an island, what five things could keep you satisfied?
1. My 14 yr old Dalmation, Hattie.

2. TV. I love my Nurse Jackie, Anderson Cooper and plenty more.

3. LA Times. I’ll live on the island, but I need my newspaper delivered everyday.

4. A garden I can tend to so I can eat healthy.

5. Harmonica—No, I’m kidding. But I would need my pillows. I’ve had the same pillows for 62 years ever since my mother put them in my crib as a baby. I don’t know what’s in those pillows now, but I sleep on them every night and take them on my travels. They are flat, but this afro of mine has slept on them every night.

What are your favorite talk shows to appear on?
I love Ellen. I knew her when she was starting out. She and I are both from New Orleans; same with Hoda Kotb. I love Fox, CNN, Neil Cavuto all for different reasons. Recently my TV appearances have been about getting people to vote for their congressman and making people aware of the Fit Kids Bill. It goes in front of the Senate for a vote soon. I want exercise back in school.

I love to go on shows particularly when they let me get the audience involved in exercising and dancing. I love Letterman’s humor, he and I have had a love/hate relationship for the last 20 years.

After a sweaty hour with Richard!

Shooting “How Do I Look” with Jeannie Mai, our makeover participant and her friends.

Daysun Perkins, handsome husband extraordinaire, Jesse Brune, friend and true star of “Private Chefs of Beverly Hills,” and Me

Celebrity Hair Stylist
Hair Guru on What Not To Wear
Owner of Ted Gibson Salon in NYC, Washington, DC and Ft. Lauderdale

1. Besides wearing your signature pink shirts, what else is a favorite in your wardrobe?
My favorite thing is my Hermes ties. Not one in particular, I love them all!

2. Which celebrities do you believe have the best hairstyles? Which ones would you love to work with and which lucky ones do you already work with and have fun stories to share?
I love Anne Hathaway, Debra Messing, Gabrielle Union and Lake Bell (I style them all). I’d love to work with Eva Mendez because I like her no-nonsense approach to beauty and simplicity in the way that she wears her hair.

3. What has been your journey? When did you know you wanted to create beauty with stylish hair and how did you reach your incredible success?
I decided at 21 that that I wanted to become a hairstylist. I always had a passion for it and a good friend of my convinced me to pursue it. Twenty plus years of experience and hard work have brought me to the place I am today.

4. What has been your philosophy for creating looks and your luxury products? From your collection of products which one is a must have for any woman?
When cutting hair as well as creating my product line, I really think about the potential beauty in everyone and how to maximize it. My favorite product from my line is the Hair Sheet Styling - they’re innovative, unique and perfect for the woman on the go.

These sheets are available at www.target.com for $24.95

5. When you’re not styling gorgeous hair where do you go for peace and quiet? And what’s your favorite escape for adventure?
I love my apartment and being home. It’s quiet and gives me inspiration through mediation. My favorite escape is a massage and facial.

6. You’ve lived in plenty of faraway places like Germany, Hawaii and Japan; is New York your tried and true love? Or is there another city you’d consider giving a chance?
New York is my favorite because of the influences that it has on the rest of the world. Being a part of that influence makes me happy as well as connected to everything. But I do love vacationing in the South of France and the Caribbean.

7. Something most people don’t know about you….
Most people don’t know that I love ketchup! I have to ask for it even at the most expensive steak houses.

Ted and his client, Anne Hathaway

Ted and me at the Today show. He had just finished Debra Messing’s hair.

Ted Gibson has an intuitive, almost magical way of manipulating hair and his warm, engaging personality trickles down to the salon’s famously down-to earth atmosphere. Through his daily interactions styling celebrities and models for iconic magazines like Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Marie Claire, and Allure, Ted is tuned into what women want. “I really listen to what they have to say,” says Ted. “I cut hair with sensibility and ease so that my clients leave with a refreshed style without necessarily feeling like they’ve had all their hair cut off.”

Ted Gibson is one of the most sought-after celebrity hairstylists in the beauty business today. His multi-faceted career as a fashion, runway, editorial and celebrity stylist continues to take him around the world where he finds great beauty in exploring different cultures. Previously exclusive to just A-list celebrity clientele such as Angelina Jolie, Gabriella Union, Renee Zellweger, Keira Knightly and Anne Hathaway; Ted is now available for appointments at the ted gibson salon in New York City and D.C. Ted has also launched a prestige haircare collection, ted gibson beauty that is available at target.com.

“Orchids are the MOST beautiful flowers in the world,” says Gibson. “Like the women I encounter, they are inspiring, beautiful and evoke a sexiness which I believe every woman possesses. It is precisely these orchids that are essential ingredients in my beauty products.

Four girlfriends received a style intervention on The View. I was able to prove to them that they can look fabulous wearing the same designer brands they love by shopping and styling them in looks from TJ Maxx and Marshalls. That’s me in the middle with the girlfriends. From left to right, Marie, Jill, ME, Yajaira and Carrie.

Host of The Dish on Style Network

1. Being the host of a show that gives us some of the best truncated snapshots of reality television, what are your favorite shows to pick on?
Project Runway, because it is such a great show anyway.
America’s Next Top Model gives us plenty of material with Tyra and it’s cast.
Tool Academy, clearly no explanation necessary. (Although I’ve sadly known someone on each season)
And just about anything on The Hills once it’s in full swing.

2. Tell me about the set up of the show and do you really laugh as much as we presume?
We have just finished our first full year of shooting and we love it. We have so much fun and I hope it shows. We have the green screen backdrop that we fake with a pictured studio and we’re lucky with an early shoot time on Friday mornings that we even get about 10-20 people as our audience.

3. We met at the Race for the Rescues to help bring awareness and raise funds for seven rescue groups in LA. Danielle ran in the 5k race and later brought her 10 year old dog, Anna around to the different booths. Her reason to run?
Simple, in this economy more dogs are ending up in shelters and my hope is that these organizations can give them a voice. If you have a home and a job then it’s time you consider giving some love to a dog in need.

4. Last splurge?
I’m pretty good on not splurging, oh no, I take that back. I totally splurged on a pair of Christian Louboutin heels, but bought them on a gift card that The Style Network gave me.

5. Go to item in your wardrobe?
Black knee high leather boots. They work under jeans, over jeans, with a skirt or dress-anytime I put them on I say ”that works.”

6. My best beauty product?
No question, Bobbi Brown tinted moisturizer. I won’t leave anywhere without it. I can wear it anywhere. I can even wear it to the gym so I don’t have a completely naked face, but don’t have to wear a full face of makeup while working out.

7. What’s next?
Hopefully, a second year of The Dish.

Danielle and me at the Race for the Rescues, check out more info at RacesfortheRescues.org or TheRescueTrain.org

As host of the Style Network’s The Dish, Danielle Fishel is always ready to rock with sassy commentary and quick wit as she wraps up the week’s best and worst in fashion and celebrity lifestyle.

Danielle is into fashion and living glamorously but is much too smart to be duped by ridiculous trends, weight-loss schemes or tabloid gossip. She’s not afraid to make fun of the latest Hollywood hairdo—and then admit to maybe trying it herself. Whether it’s reliving the must-see moments of Project Runway, dishing on red carpet do’s and don’ts or chronicling the latest celeb baby bump, Danielle can be counted on to tell it like it is.

Growing up in Southern California, Danielle started acting in TV commercials and series at age 10. Best known for her work as Topanga Lawrence from seven seasons of the hit series Boy Meets World, Danielle was cast originally as a guest star but brought a spark the show needed and was added as a series regular. Danielle has appeared on Yes, Dear and served as a special correspondent for The Tyra Banks Show. She was also a spokesperson for NutriSystem.

When she’s not doing The Dish, Danielle can be found studying for her degree in psychology (with a focus in marriage and family therapy) or hanging with her dog, Anna, a Maltese who does all kinds of cool tricks.

“Happy Living Expert”
Celebrity Chef and Fitness Trainer

Private Chefs of Beverly Hills (on Food Network)
Bravo’s Workout

1. My favorite vacation getaway?
Santa Fe, New Mexico. The desert offers a peaceful solitude that not many other places provide. When you can look up in the sky and see every single star ever made, you know you’re somewhere special. It’s also the only place I have heard a coyote howl and a desert lute play in one sitting… and that happened when I was completely sober!

2. The best gift you’ve ever (given/received)?
Received: My dog/ best friend/ domestic living partner, Sammy. I know your dog is not like any other dog… but my dog Sammy is really like no other dog I have ever met. He’s a little monk, so peaceful and wise, he always anchors me down when I get too high strung.

Given: I named a star after my boyfriend, Calen. I also gave him a telescope so he could find the location. I knew he loved space and wanted to go there one day… though I couldn’t get him on a NASA shuttle, I figured having a star at least got him in the sky in a cute sort of way. We had broken up three weeks before, but I had already purchased everything so I gave it to him as a sign of good sportsmanship. We got back together soon after that and even lived together. We’re no longer together, but we still get along as friends.

3. What’s currently on your Tivo/iPod?
On my TiVo: Sponge Bob SquarePants and Oprah.

I-pod: Most everything you would find on a 16 year-old girls’ play-list coupled with a few self-help audio books.

4. Your advice for achieving happiness/ideal body/success?
Let Go, Let God. Keep Everything Balance and do as many things that make you feel “yummy” as you possibly can.

5. Your guilty pleasure this week has been: Skinny Cow mint chocolate ice-cream sandwiches.

6. Right now you are so into: The men’s section of Forever 21! Holy Cow… it’s so cheap and yet so frickin’ cool! No one knows you only paid $20 for the jacket; they just compliment it. It’s a like having a dirty little secret.

7. When you need to de-stress: I visit my therapist and take aspin class, something about the crying/sweating combo that really works it out.

Bonus question:
When you were 15… 2 words, “Loud and Proud”

Check out more about Jesse at: www.jessebrune.com

I’m a fan of Elmo

Actress

Southland
The Good Wife
ER
Men in Trees
Gilmore Girls

1. I knew I wanted to be an actress _ when the first agent I ever met told me I wouldn’t be successful in the business. I thought to myself, “If I’m not listening to this asshole, I must really want to do this.”

2. My most unexpected moment in entertainment _ came right off the bat. During my first movie (and first job on camera), “The Rage: Carrie II,” they shot fireballs at me, exploded a two story glass window into my back, and I almost got hit by a car. Nothing has been unexpected since.

3. In your next role you’ll be transitioning from being a cop’s wife on Southland to wearing a suit as a lawyer on The Good Wife. When is the last time you donned a suit for a role or in real life?
This is the first time I have EVER worn a suit for a role. Although I have played a doctor a couple of times, I tend to go for the quirkier roles. Strangely, I find I love wearing suits even though I usually only wear them to auditions and funerals.

4. My favorite thing in my closet at the moment is _ a rose quartz necklace given to my grandmother by her lover.

5. Someone once dared me _ when I was a waitress to hit their friend over the head with my pepper mill. They also offered me twenty bucks to do it, so I immediately whacked the guy and insisted they pay up.

6. Who would you really love to work with and what would be your ultimate role or character? And do you prefer drama or comedy?
I would love to work with Alan Rickman, not only because both my mother and I are in love with him, but also because he is one of the most transformative actors out there. In terms of drama or comedy, I hope I never have to choose! I try to find the humor and the pathos in everything I do. “Southland” is a pretty serious show, but I feel like my character Tammi is almost comic relief.

7. What is something that most people don’t know about you?
I have loved Jimmy Carter since I was fifteen and treasure my JC memorabilia collection.

Emily and Jimmy Carter

Emily and her hammer

A little more about fab Emily-Last year she was inspired to join Global Village, a division of Habitat for Humanity, on the island of Borneo. Each day she traveled by row boat across crocodile infested waters to the tiny village of Kampung Bako, where she helped build a traditional house on stilts for a lovely extended family of six. She found the experience so rewarding, she later joined the Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter Work Project to help rebuild our Gulf Coast. While building in Pascagoula, Mississippi, she witnessed first hand the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, and the incredible difference that Habitat volunteers can make.

This year, she decided to join the Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter Work Project in Chiang Mai, Thailand. This is a monumental build uniting volunteers and families throughout the Mekong Region. Some of the poorest people in Asia live in these countries, with one third of the population living in poverty.

She said that many friends have asked her how to get involved in supporting Habitat. There are so many wonderful trips you can join by simply visiting habitat.org. Or if you’d like to sponsor her trip, you can click on the following link:

http://www.habitat.org/cd/volmgr/participant/cwp/participant.aspx?pid=-170-9210-9392

“I feel that I gain so much from my involvement with Habitat, and I’d like to bring something more to the organization this year besides my mediocre hammer skills,” said Emily. If you’d like to keep up to date on her trip, you can follow her on Twitter under EmilyBergl.